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 …
Sport climbers marvel at the clean limestone of Ceüse, boulderers fantasize of the grippy goodness of Fontainebleau, and alpinists dream of going to high mountains in the most-remote corners of the planet. Unfortunately for those of us in the last group, our dreams can involve some serious logistical complications. But hey, it just keeps out the riffraff. Proper planning for a serious trip involves anywhere from six to 10 months, and you really don’t want to miss an important step. This is far from a guide on how to plan your expedition, but it’ll at least get those important items in the back of your mind for when the time comes. Check out Climbing: Expedition Planning by Clyde Soles and Phil Powers for thorough, step-by-step details on how to put together your big trip. If you have any friends who have been on expeditions, buy them some beer, and milk them for tips. Read More …
Rita: Karl, can you tell us what you see?
Photo by Sean Kerrick Sullivan, Courtesy of The Canyons Resort
Karl: There appears to be a crowd amassed around a large pond high up at the resort. The pond looks to be about 100-feet long and considering it is early spring, we can only assume that the water would cause major shrinkage and serious high-beams. The pilot is going to attempt to land near the site so I can get a closer look at this strange event. Read More …
The three articles we posted yesterday were part of Backcountry.com’s monthly newsletter. If you subscribe, in addition to our stories, you get all sorts of promos and deals in your inbox. Or you can just check out the current issue on the Backcountry Beacon for the latest sales/promos.
Daily articles will resume tomorrow.
It’s hard to go touring in the Wasatch without running into a Backcountry.com employee, which makes it feel like just another day at the office–an office stuffed with some of the finest easy-access ski terrain around.
This dedicated crew of tour-ists (touring + enthusiasts, for the gravely uninformed) awakes in the pre-dawn hours to hit Superior before a morning meeting and spends the holy Sabbath trekking up the Pfeifferhorn. Collectively, the Backcountry posse possesses an impressive wealth of backcountry gear knowledge–and as any bloke on the skin track can tell you, having the right touring setup makes the difference between an amazing day and a miserable slog. Read More …
Rumors of ski-resort expansion have two unavoidable consequences: rejoicing amongst the piste-oriented pass purchasers and jaded, not-in-my-backyard derision from the skin-track-centered crowd. Stick this scenario between two incomparable gems (Utah’s Alta Ski Resort and the central Wasatch backcountry), and you’re bound for some ski-world fireworks. We’ve heard that working with fireworks—and avalanche artillery—can be dangerous, so we left the conversation to the pros. Listen to our interviews, become informed, and get stoked or jaded accordingly.
Whether you occasionally dart out of the resort gate for a couple of virgin turns or you spend entire seasons shunning the ski lift in favor of the backcountry skin track, you need a beacon strapped around your sternum. It can make the difference between sharing a pitcher with your pals at the end of the day and explaining to search and rescue why you couldn’t dig your pals out of a slide before they asphyxiated. Stark, but there it is. Read More …
When we heard that this year’s winter games would be held in Canada, we were thrilled. It wasn’t until we saw the event lineup that reality hit. And it hit hard.
Our vision of a two-week, beer-fueled Canadian riot-turned-civil-war was crushed. In its place we got curling. We can appreciate any athletic event that involves brooms, but we had hoped for a little more edge in 2010; something that would drive the imaginations of our mindless reality TV generation to the brink of fascination. Alas, it was not to be. Read More …
When we first created the Backcountry Beacon last year, we thought of it as nothing more than a parking lot for our newsletter articles.
But it quickly became apparent that updating the site only once a month was BO-RING. Read More …
Nowadays just about every ski brand out there—mainstream and boutique—is getting on the rocking horse. Are you drinking the reverso-rocker grape drink? Just like with OJ, soda, and purple stuff—everyone has their own personal preference. If you’re into railing cords and frontside hardpack like Bode is, then a traditional shape and camber is your ticket. However, if floating on powder as well as being agile and nimble in the deeps and the cruddy chops is your flavor, and if you enjoy quick pivot stops, snowboard-like speed checks and smearable, slarvable dynamics in even relatively soft snow—then maybe you should try a sip of the reverse camber-rocker grape drink.
Plugging into the Backcountry – Dangers of Technology
By: Cole Lehman | March 23rd, 201013 Comments »
The use of electronics in the backcountry offers an enhanced experience for those who use them wisely and a presents a danger to those who choose to use them lightly. In order to stay alive and unharmed, wilderness veterans must remember and rookies must discover that total dependence on technology can be a hazard. Why? Either group is vulnerable to the hubris that these devices can encourage.
Read More …
Tags: avalanche safety, outdoor survival, technology, wilderness survival
Posted in Commentary, Newsletter |