Of all the skis I checked out at the Outdoor Retailer 2011 Winter Market, Volkl wins, hands down, for topsheet design. Their killer new skis are part of the backcountry touring line, which features a bunch of lightweight skis with hollowed-out wood cores. Of course Volkl is known for their racing, carving machines, and they’ve had huge success with all-mountain powder skis like the Gotama. So what does Volkl have in store for us backcountry denizens? Each backcountry ski is unique – from the wide, fully cambered Nunataq, the tip-rockered Nanuq, the fully cambered Amaruq, to the skinny guy...
Read more »

Park City Ridge separates Big Cottonwood Canyon from its namesake town and the Canyons Resort, and is like a backcountry ski resort in its own right. The ridge runs from east to west for over six miles from Brighton to the top of Mill Creek Canyon at a consistent elevation of 10,000 feet. Both sides of the ridge feature bowls and trees that can be lapped all day, and the Park City side is known for backcountry skiing open bowls like West and South Monitor. Backcountry skiing South Monitor can be touchy at times, as it’s a north-facing bowl...
Read more »

The Banff Mountain Film Festival is on tour and has several stops scheduled for mountain towns in Utah. This event is the de facto film fest for all things outdoors with a focus on rock climbing, mountaineering, skiing and exploring the vertical world in remote places across the earth. According to festival organizers, the Banff Mountain Film Festival, tackles “current mountain issues” by bringing the best mountain-themed films of the year to the big screen. A whole slew of films will be on tour, including “The Asguard Project” which won the best film on climbing. Check out a film...
Read more »

Klymit, Utah’s own Ogden-based wonder company, has expanded their product line after listening to suggestions on how to improve their noble gas insulating gear. New this year are improved vests, never-before-seen jackets, and another ultra light camping pad. Klymit started it all with their Kinetic Vests that can be filled with insulating argon gas when the chill sets in, then deflated when weather gets warm for on-demand temperature control. Now for 2011 there is a women’s specific model called the Caldera. It features a female-friendly design along with all the things that make the Kinetic Vest so warm and comfortable such as...
Read more »

You’ve planned your weekend backcountry getaway, now the only question is the weather. Most adventurers could qualify as junior meteorologists; constantly pouring over weather reports and charts to ensure their well crafted trip won’t be spoiled by Mother Nature’s harsher elements. Study all you want, the weather research done at home often means little when you get out into the wild. How can you take the guesswork out of weather predicting in the backcountry? Brunton’s ADC Pro Atmospheric Data Center is here to help. This pocket weather station is designed to do it all- from warning you about impending...
Read more »

The Bluehouse Ski Company has seen a popular surge in Utah the past few years. Spend a day at Snowbird, and you’ll see mostly young dudes sporting their Maestro, Maven or District skis. Bluehouse is a local company based in Salt Lake City, and was founded in 2007. Their success can be traced to their commitment to being local boutique ski makers. Well now they’re getting even more local as they’ve announced that beginning in February, 2011, they’ll move most of their ski production to Utah. Bluehouse will move production and distribution of most of their skis to a 5,000 square-foot facility...
Read more »

The ice fishermen at Strawberry Reservoir won’t know what hit ‘em when the Best Kiteboarding SuperFly Open goes down on February 18th through the 21st. Last year’s event happened at Powder Mountain, and for 2011 the venue is moving to Strawberry which is well known among the kiteboarding community as a place with ideal terrain. Anyone unfamiliar with kiteboarding simply needs to imagine a hybrid between skiing or snowboarding with kite surfing. It looks fun and is gaining in popularity in Utah with more and more people trying it out every season. If you’re just curious about kiteboarding, or...
Read more »

This is getting out of hand. First it’s the Salomon BBR ski, and now the DPS Spoon 150. When will ski companies quit innovating thereby making the skis I own become ancient history? I shake my fist at the sky because of you! Well, Salt Lake City-based DPS drew an awful lot of attention to their booth at SIA in Denver with a first look at their new Spoon 150 + patent pending Cleat Technology. I can’t even begin to describe the DPS Spoon 150, or adequately convey what “cleat technology” does for skiing, so I’ll just let the DPS public...
Read more »

The Black Diamond Drift is the fattest ski in their Efficient Series of backcountry specific boards. At 100mm underfoot and only weighing 7 lbs 10 oz, this ski is specifically meant to be a backcountry powder magnet. I’ve skied on the Drift for the past month now, and after several days in the backcountry, and even a few in bounds, I’ve got a pretty good feel for these sweeties. But you have to learn to love them. My initial impression about the Black Diamond Drift is that they are soft and hooky. In fact, I didn’t really like them...
Read more »

The highlight of the Outdoor Retailer Winter Show was the Terra Plana booth where I met running coach, Lee Saxby. Saxby is considered to be one of the best in his field, and a leader of applied science in barefoot running. Chris McDouggall, bestelling author of, “Born to Run”, calls Saxby “the worlds best running coach.” And I have to admit in the 15 minutes I spent working on my form with him, he changed the way I run for the better. At the booth first thing, I put on a pair Evo’s that use the VIVOBAREFOOT technology. Saxby...
Read more »

Imagine an open house for a backcountry ski hut where the real estate agent is showing prospective buyers around the place. “Over here we have the propane heater, the bunk beds come with these designer mattresses, and just a few steps outside is the custom built outhouse.” This is no joke, however, as there really is a backcountry ski hut open house in the La Sal Mountains near Moab, and it happens on February 12 and 13th. Sarah Allen, the Grand Junction Road Trip Travel Examiner, brought this to my attention, and it looks like a good opportunity to...
Read more »