Plagued by the constant urge to pack up his pickup and hit the road in search of steep rock and deep powder, Andy Anderson self medicates with the copious amounts of climbing and skiing that the Wasatch Mountains have to offer. For now, he keeps his stuff in a cozy little cabin in Big Cottonwood Canyon.
Carnage in Colorado
The pine beetle epidemic that has been sweeping the western United States and Canada for nearly the last 10 years is old news. By now most people have heard that due to warmer winters and recent drought cycles, these rice-sized pests have been infesting trees at increasing rates since the start of the decade—10 million acres of pine has fallen victim in Colorado alone, and forecasts remain grim throughout the West. Read More …
It's a rough life.
The athletes on the Backcountry.com Pro Team pretty much define the phrase ‘living the dream.’ From heli trips to big-mountain freeskiing comps to remote expeditions, these guys and girls have it made. So where does this army of powder junkies retreat to when the snow melts and flip flops take the place of ski boots? We called up a few to find out what they’re up to until the lifts fire up and the skin track is in. Read More …
How’s this for a secure world record? On the heels of 13-year-old Jordan Romero’s May 22nd summit of the world’s highest peak, which made him the youngest ever to summit, the China Tibet Mountaineering Association (CTMA), which controls climbing activity from the Tibetan side, issued new regulations on June 10 that ban those under 18 and over 60 from attempting the peak. Read More …
Boundary Waters Canoe Trip Sunset
The great North Woods have long been a destination for wilderness travelers of all varieties, and nowhere are the woods greater and more northern (at least in the states) than in Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area. With a million acres of quiet forest (double that when counting Canada’s neighboring Quetico Provincial Park), more than 1,000 unspoiled rivers and lakes, and over 1500 miles of canoe routes to choose from, the BWCA wilderness offers nearly unlimited options to the intrepid backcountry paddler. Seeing other people is a rare occurrence, and often the only sounds you’ll hear are the lap of water on the shore, the soft chirp of crickets, and the occasional loon call. Read More …
It’s April, and your poor feet have been confined to the stiff, plastic pain factory of your ski boots for nearly six frigid months. Warm, sunny rock starts to overpower bottomless pow as the subject of your dreams, and you yearn to peel off those heavy layers in exchange for flip flops and a T-shirt (or no shirt). Flake out your ropes, lube up your cams, and make a beeline for Red Rock Canyon. Read More …
The summer months in southern Utah bring dry, hot weather, sunny skies, and hordes of RVs, tour buses, and camera-toting tourists. Bryce Canyon National Park remains a mandatory stopover on the summer road-tripping circuit, but in the winter, the park’s towering hoodoos, miles of trails, and epic views see only a handful of people per day.
A pair of snowshoes or cross country skis might seem like a useless tool in what is normally an arid desert landscape, but with deep snow that provides a stark contrast to the surrounding red and orange walls, they can be your ticket to total solitude. Miles of ski trails line the rim of Bryce Canyon, and the park’s entire network of summer trails remains open to snowshoers. Read More …
Despite often being mistaken for feathers, down is really the soft clusters underneath a goose’s feathers that insulate them in cold weather (who would have thought?). The lofted down filaments overlap and create small air pockets that trap warmth or body heat.
Wherever you find a down garment, you’ll usually find a fill number (such as 650-fill down or 800-fill down). Often mistaken for QUANTITY values, the fill rating actually indicates the QUALITY of the down within that jacket, sleeping bag, or what-have-you. Read More …
Let’s face it, whether you’re heading out to brush snow off the car or freezing your ass off in base camp, nothing beats the packable warmth of a puffy jacket. But all warmth is not created equal, and there’s a big difference between the box-store special you had when you were six and the plethora of ultralight compressible puffies available today. In Part I of this series, we’ve outlined the major differences between down and synthetic fills, which apply to jackets, sleeping bags, and other insulated gear. Read More …
Paired with some AT or telemark bindings and a hulking set of quadriceps, climbing skins are like your own person ski lift that requires no diesel fuel, packs up to the size of a Nalgene, and costs just a bit more than a day pass at your local mega resort. Some skin manufacturers make pre-cut designs, but most require at least some custom trimming to your skis before you can paste them on and set off into the backcountry. Here are a few tips for cutting your new skins to fit and keeping them fully functional throughout the season. Read More …
In a remote corner of southwest Texas, in a large crook formed by the meandering Rio Grande, the Chisos Mountains rise from the rolling desert scrub and soar to nearly 8,000 feet. Surrounded by vast and often unforgiving terrain that stretches endlessly into the horizon, the majority of this massive expanse (over 800,000 acres to be exact) forms Big Bend National Park, one of the least visited parks in the United States. Read More …
For much of the road-tripping summer tourist crowd, the Tetons are but a bonus stop on the way to the geysers and wildlife traffic jams of Yellowstone—but for backcountry travelers in the know, the Teton Crest Trail trek up the spine of America’s youngest and craggiest range hosts some of the most epic alpine terrain and scenery this side of the Alps. Read More …