You bust ass in the winter—skinning up, building booters, riding from first till last chair. But when summer rolls around, all that discipline goes down the drain. Even if you spend all summer mountain biking or trail running, beer, BBQs, and more beer generally destroy your mid-winter strength.
Want to get in shape for the upcoming season, but don’t want to waste time lifting weights? Here are some workouts that will get you ripped, but won’t kill your buzz. Read More …
To recap, a list of ‘Ski Schools’ was put up to a vote by Backcountry.com employees in an attempt to uncover the best places spend a lot of time on the slopes whilst obtaining an education. Yesterday, we looked at public schools; today, we’re turning to private schools.
The perfect mid-term stress-reliever? Yeah, that's it. (Photo by Adam Riser)
Eh, I'll write that paper later. (Photo by Chaz Boutsikaris)
It’s that time – high school seniors (and some freakishly organized juniors) are sifting through lists, rankings, advice from clueless adults, and peer buzz to zero in on the colleges they will apply to in the upcoming year. Many of them will be evaluate their potential college of choice using the criteria, “Can I ski/snowboard while I’m there?”
Many add, “… a lot?” to that question, which narrows the field considerably. We trolled the ‘Net looking for lists and suggestions for the best ski colleges and universities, but then put the names we came up with up for a vote to nearly fifty Backcountry.com employees, to attempt to come up with the definitive list. Read More …
Hiking Baldy at Snowbird on May 1, 2010; Photo by Kris Saign
Assuming you’re in the northern hemisphere, you’re likely looking forward to summer’s arrival instead of backward to winter’s snowy days. Here in Utah, however, after a mediocre ski season, we still have snow on the brain. A 33-inch dump at Snowbird resort last weekend didn’t help any of us move on to our summer sport of choice.
As if we weren’t having enough trouble recovering from last weekend’s powder panic, while we sat at our desks yesterday and watched snowflakes fall outside our office windows, we stumbled onto Flaky Science. The Economist highlights the research of two scientists at the University of Utah who think they’ve determined what weather and temperature conditions make the best snow for skiing and riding. 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 …
I’m almost at the top, trying to avoid glancing down. The bootpack is so steep that my skis, strapped to my pack, brush the snow above my head. The guy in front of me is sporting jeans and somehow managing the climb with what must be a pair of at least 190s nonchalantly slung over his shoulder. Crushed cans of Coors Original rattle in the cargo pocket of my ski pants. This is New Hampshire. This is Tuckerman’s.
Having spent nearly a decade skiing the Rockies, I often and only half-jokingly espoused the virtues of my East coast roots. So it always bothered me that I had never skied the East coast’s premier test-piece – the headwall of Tuckerman’s Ravine on New Hampshire’s Mt. Washington. Read More …
As we savor the final weeks of ski season, we at Backcountry.com have noticed the usual seasonable influx of non-ironic denim and colorblock one-pieces on the spring-breaker-flooded resort slopes. Nobody enjoys a hearty point-and-laugh from the mid-mountain patio as much as we do, and we thank the tourists who film their exploits and post them on the interwebs so we can continue to gape vicariously online. Read More …
It’s time to quit driving around with your skis on the top of the car. Before you head for your first camping trip or bike ride, spend a few minutes putting your gear away so your expensive pair of skis or snowboard is still rideable next year. Read More …
Butter knives dull and worn from too much abuse in the park? Your seasoned pow planks suffering from case of dated artwork? We painted our boards and skis and put together a step-by-step guide. We also enlisted the help of the custom painting pros at TOWR13 Customs to show you how to do it yourself. Read More …
Move out
We had hoped that a super-dump of lake-effect Utah powder would bless this experience, but that’s not how it goes tonight—no fresh, just overcast skies. Ty pokes a few buttons on the smart phone that’s connected to the entertainment system, and the cats roll out one-by-one to a soundtrack courtesy of the brothers Allman. Read More …
So what does it take to turn bumpy resort runs into smooth, white goodness reminiscent of sweet, buttery cake frosting? Before resort lifts can propel ski patrol up to deem the mountain “safe” and ready to open, key areas need to be groomed. It takes a specific machine, a snow cat, a confident person to operate it, and every available minute to achieve success. Read More …
