Alaska native, Backcountry.com athlete, 4FRNT pro skier, and product manager for the 4FRNT White Room series skis, Cody Barnhill doesn’t just cut clean lines and land terrifying airs. … He also presses a badass pair of skis. Last summer, we visited Cody at the 4FRNT facility and got to see how his Renegade ski is made. Peep the video to see what goes into hand-building a pair of highly coveted skis in the good ol’ U.S. of A.
‘How To’ Articles
Monday QA
By: Adam Riser | March 7th, 2011
Thule Prologue Pack Bike Mount
Q: Will this rack work with a thru axle design on the front forks?
By: W.Ward 
4 days ago
A: Unfortunately, this rack will only work with standard drop-out designs. Since you’re like I am and you run a through-axle fork, your only option is to either get a different rack or buy a through-axle fork adapter. Yakima and Thule both make them, and you can get them in any size out there. It’s not as easy as using a rack like the Thule Sidearm, which is designed to work without forcing you to remove the front wheel at all, but it will do. It’s also handy to have one of these adapters when you’re shuttling with friends, since your pals’ racks may not fit your bike. Read More …
How to Make a Ski Pole Mount for a GoPro for Under $1
By: Justin Mool | March 2nd, 2011
DIY Pole Mount for a GoPro HD Helmet Hero
Thanks to GoPro, and the GoPro HD Helmet Hero, helmet cams are now commonplace on the mountain. But sometimes you want to capture more angles than the standard perspective. Sure, you could buy a GoPro Ride Bike Handlebar Mount, but what fun is that when you could make your own with 50¢ and 5 minutes? Plus, that thing costs $20. There are lots of different ways to make a ski pole mount, but I chose two that give you options. The first option is a little more involved, but has the advantage that you can take the GoPro off with the quick-release. That way you can switch up quickly between your helmet and pole. And also it means you can remove the camera easily if you’re touring. Read More …
How to Shoot and Edit POV Video
By: Jeb Admire | February 25th, 2011If the Internet is the great equalizer of the 21st century, democratizing the power of data, then POV action sports video cameras like the GoPro Hero and Contour HD are the equivalent video camera revolutionaries of our age, giving everyone from 3-year-old rippers to gray-haired veterans the chance to share their ski footage with the world.
Inspiration
Videos created with these cameras have the potential to wow your audience, but don’t be intimidated or tell yourself you have to be the ripping-est shredder on the hill to produce compelling footage. With a simple shot list of angles to get, followed by a couple of hours of filming and a modicum of commitment toward editing, you can ditch the bored-to-death ’60s vacation slide show stereotypes and keep your audience glued to their screens.
- Caveat: This is not meant to be the definitive syllabus on shooting with a POV camera, but simply a starting point for those who eschew the thought of becoming the latest blip in the YouTube universe. Read More …
Ode to the Office Job
By: Adam Riser | February 23rd, 2011
Drying gear and working hard (or at least appearing to) after a morning of face shots.
I have an office job. I sit in a cubicle and spend most of my day typing on a computer and looking at spreadsheets. It wasn’t always like this; I used to be a river guide. I worked rivers all over Washington and Oregon while living in my truck. I climbed 200 days during my first year as a river guide. Then I became a climbing guide on Mt. Rainier. What could be better? I got paid to climb and climbed all day. Well, in theory anyway. Really, I got paid to carry a big pack and walk slowly in dangerous places while tied to clients who were seemingly trying to kill themselves (and, by extension, me). When I did finally have a day off, climbing was the last thing I wanted to do. Eventually, and entirely by accident, I landed a “real” job. I hear a lot of people blaming their office jobs for their failure to get out and get after it. However, I find that my desk job hasn’t killed my climbing; it’s actually given me the freedom (and rest) to do more.
Dressing for Ice Climbing
By: Adam Riser | February 16th, 2011
Dress light to keep from sweating. Rick Vance on a warm day in Maple Canyon.
Very few people would quibble over whether ice climbing is a really cold sport. It has to be; you need ice to do it. But that doesn’t mean that you have to be cold. The difference between someone who shivers all day long and someone who stays warm has little to do with genetics; the difference is a matter of preparation. Learn what to wear and when to wear it, and you can be nice and toasty even when you’re on a frozen waterfall or belaying your partner while he spends two hours battling the steep ice above you.
Friday Video – Full Mental Jacket Part II
By: Austin Holt | February 11th, 2011Happy Friday; only a few short hours exist between you and your weekend. Be strong, push through, and while you’re killing time, check out the videos featured below.
In follow up to Wednesday’s Full Mental Jacket: Finding Your Ideal Touring Shell article, we’ve included a series of videos below. Each video outlines a different portion of the article, with the first being an introduction, the middle three being overviews of the respective jackets, and the fifth and final video representing a conclusion and overview of the Outdoor Research jacket I finally decided on.
Special thanks to Sam Peters of the Backcountry.com video department for shooting, and editing the videos below.
Part I. Introduction
Full Mental Jacket | Choosing Your Ideal Ski Touring Shell
By: Austin Holt | February 9th, 2011Full Mental Jacket: Finding Your Ideal Touring Shell
Conquering the Quest for a New Piece of Kit
Pulling the trigger on a new jacket can feel like a daunting mission to gear newbies and veterans alike. Maybe you’re new to ski touring and looking for your first, truly “bomber” shell, or you’re a old pro upgrading from your withering old shell jacket. Either way, the options are seemingly endless. To add to this needle-in-a-stack-of-needles feeling, these days, even the cheapest technical jackets offer a surprisingly high level of protection matched with well thought-out features.
Dave Kelly touring in the Utah backcountry, photo: Austin Holt
Fear not, though; I recently embarked on a quest to find exactly the right hardshell jacket for my own personal touring needs, and here I explain, step by step, what I learned about narrowing down the options. Read More …
Monday Q&A: Brakes, Boots, Armada, Skins and Helmets
By: Austin Holt | February 7th, 2011
We trolled around our community and found a few unanswered questions to tackle for our regular Monday Q & A. Maybe we’ll help you out by answering a question you were curious about, or maybe you can chime in and add your experience to the conversation.
I’m planning on buying the 173 cm Shoguns. I have Salomon
I’m planning on buying the 173 cm Shoguns. I have Salomon Z12 bindings that were on my old X-Wings. I know the brakes are too narrow so if I buy some 100mm wide brakes will it fit on the 173cm (99mm waist) Shoguns? or will I have to get the 110mm?
By: kkamo1
Brake width is a common concern these days. Sizing up to 100mm brakes gives you 1mm of space at the side for the arms to swing down, which isn’t much, but you can easily give each of the arms a slight bend to get past the edges. Any shop worth its salt can give your brakes a little clearance when you take the bindings in to get mounted. 110mm brakes would give you more than enough clearance, although if you’re looking to lay your Shoguns over hard on groomers, they could cause a bit of drag. So go with the 100mm brakes, even if they need a bit o’ modification. Read More …
Monday Q & A – Helmet, Down, Pack and Kayak
By: Catherine Greenwald | January 31st, 2011We reached into our grab bag of questions from the community, stirred them around a little bit, and pulled four out, one by one, to answer for our Monday Q & A. Maybe we’ll cover a gear question you had, or maybe you can chime in and add your experience to the conversation.
Ice Climbing with backcountry.com Athlete Stephen Koch – Part 4
By: Jeb Admire | January 28th, 2011JOE’S VALLEY, UT — Having a technique always matters. Backcountry.com athlete Stephen Koch shows you two in the last installment of our January Ice Climbing series. Whether you’ve been swinging tools for years, or are just getting started and looking to soak up some insider beta, Stephen has something for you. This week’s videos cover proper rope coiling and tying into your harness. Read More …