Stop me if you’ve heard this before: the winter of 2017-18 wasn’t exactly stellar here in Utah. Resorts had meager amounts of terrain open for the holidays, and touring season didn’t start until well into the new year (for me, anyway). When the snow finally came, the weather was variable, even by Utah standards. All…
Tag: touring
Backcountry Touring at Idaho’s Galena Pass
If you’ve already got a copy of Backcountry Ski and Snowboard Routes: Utah, then you know that the Beehive State has plenty of amazing touring options. But sometimes, you just need a road trip. My wife, Jess, and I wanted to get out of town and sample some new zones, so we pointed the car…
TREW Trewth Bib review
Despite the recent warm conditions, winter is definitely not over in the Wasatch Mountains. With spring comes bluebird skies, corn snow, and of course the occasional powder day. With so much variation in mountain conditions, we could all use a snow pant that is ready for anything. Hell, forget the pants…how about some bibs? The…
Backcountry Basecamp coming to Alta
Backcountry Magazine is coming to Alta Ski Area on March 11-12 for their Backcountry Basecamp tour. The Backcountry Basecamp is an excellent way to see what’s new with the backcountry skiing and splitboarding scene. Backcountry Magazine staff set up a huge yurt and inside show off the latest gear including skis, splitboards, skins, shovels, beacons,…
Helly Hansen Warm & Active Flow base layer review
During cold weather adventures, keeping yourself warm, dry and comfortable is paramount. It all starts with our skin, or rather the garments laying on our skin: the base layer. Much like a pyramid of cheerleaders, a strong base will yield good results. If your base is junk, your game is weak…and your time in the…
Scarpa Freedom SL Alpine Touring Boots review
A happy medium. That’s all I want when shopping for alpine touring boots. That medium is good tourability with excellent downhill performance. The lightest boots with the most range-of-motion I’ve found to be wimps on the ski down, but boots that are stiff and stable on the descent can be heavy and uncomfortable on the…
Wasatch Splitfest 2015 kicks off at Brewvies
The end of February and beginning of March will belong to splitboarders in the Wasatch. The 2015 edition of Wasatch Splitfest goes down February 26 to March 1 and it will be full of raffles, backcountry snowboard movies, gear demos, clinics, and of course, splitboarding. Splitfest starts out at on Thursday, February 26 at Brewvies…
First Look: Salomon MTN LAB backcountry boots
The Salomon MTN LAB backcountry boots have gotten a lot of press lately. From Outdoor Retailer, SIA, and ISPO, the boots have won awards and are probably soaking wet from all the people salivating over them. What’s the big deal? Word is that these boots have blurred the line between light weight touring boots for…
Atomic shows off new Backland AT boots at Outdoor Retailer 2015 Winter Market
Atomic is going all-in with regards to backcountry skiing. New Backland skis, packs and skins came out this year. So the big story next season will be the new Backland touring boots. Everyone is abuzz about the Backland boots, which were on display at Outdoor Retailer 2015 Winter Market. There will be four versions: the…
Salomon ups their backcountry offerings at Outdoor Retailer
Salomon has been dabbling in the backcountry ski world for a while now with boots and bindings, but it all seemed more appropriate for sidecountry skiing rather than long tours far from the ski resort. Well, I’m happy to report that after visiting the Salomon booth at the Outdoor Retailer 2014 Winter Market, that’s all…