After a week in the trenches wrenching bindings at Backcountry Magazine’s annual Family Camp (also known as their annual Gear Party…err…Test) at Powder Mountain, I can tell you a few things about which AT bindings were liked and which were not.
2017 Board Test Week: Variable Conditions Close Out Crested Butte Test
The final day of 2017 Board Test Week was far from uneventful. After a week of riding at Crested Butte Mountain Resort and in the surrounding backcountry, a crew of 11 splitboarders put more than 20 standout boards to the test at Irwin Guides, a renowned cat skiing operation in Irwin, Colorado.
2017 Board Test: Midweek Dispatch
A bluebird day on Monday gave way to clouds and fresh snow Tuesday night into Wednesday, much to the delight of the Board Test Week crew. And after a quick dawn patrol into the mountains on Tuesday morning, testers arrived back at Crested Butte ready to put more splits through the paces.
2017 Board Test Week: Testers New And Old
All week long in Crested Butte, Colo., some 40 testers will run countless snowboards, boots and bindings through the test paces, down the resort and up and down in the backcountry. Among those 40 testers, a core crew of a dozen riders who have traveled from across the country will test from bell to bell […]
2017 Board Test Week: Pre-Test Dispatch
Nearly a foot of snow fell on Crested Butte Mountain Resort over the weekend, and while the mercury will spike today, more snow is in store for the 2017 Board Test. “We’re looking at ideal conditions for all-mountain board testing,” said Test Director Adam Broderick. “We usually get a few days of firmer conditions and pow later in the week, and that’s what’s on the books for this week.”
Gear Test Week: Photo Review
It is not every year that we are lucky enough to have incredible snow conditions during our Gear Test Week, held annually at Powder Mountain, Utah. This year, the snow gods must have taken pity on us—having to live through the worst winter the East Coast has seen in a long time—and so presented us with powder that gave way to blue skies.
2017 Gear Test Week Recap: Pow, Sun and Stoke
Gear Test Week 2017 came to an end on Saturday, after five days of bell-to-bell skiing for more than 40 testers at Powder Mountain, Utah. The week ran the gamut of conditions, starting on Monday with heavy snowfall that lasted through Wednesday. This provided perfect conditions to test skis with a little bit more girth underfoot. […]
2017 Gear Test Week: Tech Head Craig Dostie
Craig Dostie is one of those personalities that has made the backcountry ski world what it is today. As Founder and Publisher of Couloir Magazine, running from 1990-2007, and current blogger at Earn Your Turns, his vision for ski publications has shaped our understanding of snow ambulation on the up and the down. But this past week at Powder Mountain, Dostie had a different role— head tech in charge of helping testers get fitted for skis from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. five days in a row.
Powder Mountain Report: Gear Test Week Day 4
A blisteringly bright sun rose on Powder Mountain for the fourth day of Gear Test Week and signaled a great day ahead. As the second to last day of testing, skiers were starting to exhibit the signs of leg fatigue—and maybe a few hangovers—but this did not stop them from rallying next year’s toys on […]
2017 Gear Tester Profile: Gavin Cooper
At the Backcountry Gear Test, our skiers trickle in from all over the country. And with that comes ski preferences as far blown as our testers’ geographical locations. We caught up with Gavin Cooper, a Big Sky, Montana resident—and second-place finisher at the Gear Test Beer Pong Championship—to talk skinny skis, couloirs and what, exactly, […]
