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.

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. […]

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.

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 […]

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, […]

Thursday brought sun to Powder Mountain for the third day of Gear Test Week. Wind overnight recirculated the snow to provide free powder refills to all who ventured out. Sunscreen-adorned testers explored more of what this mountain has to offer—from the legendary “Powder Country” to the flanks of James Peak. The new snow filled in the […]

Whiteout conditions transitioned to bluebird skis on Tuesday, day 2 of Gear Test Week. Powder Mountain was blanketed with a fresh coating of white overnight and testers were rearing to hit the slopes at the start of the day. Fat skis were the name of the game with all of the powder that is this […]

As the Backcountry Gear Test rolls on, we’re taking a moment to profile those who make the whole shebang work: our testers. First up is Tester newbie Caitlin Mitchell, a Jackson resident, ripping skier and self-proclaimed expert at folding things. We caught up with Mitchell to talk ski background (including a pivotal fall to the face) and to glean some insights into her time at the test thus far.

  With eight inches of snow accumulating over the course of the first day and 11 inches in the recent 48 hour period, the 2017 Gear Test Week at Powder Mountain, Utah started out with a bang. Gear tests are more fun and more productive when the conditions are good, and day 1 saw testers […]