So, you got yourself a copy of Jared Hargrave’s excellent book, Backcountry Ski & Snowboard Routes: Utah. Your skins are cut, you can transition your setup lickety-split, and your beacon battery is at 100%… but before you go breaking trail, take a look at your probe and shovel. Aside from your beacon, these two items…
Author: Ryan Malavolta
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…
Helly Hansen Stockholm Boots review
A trusty pair of boots are essential for winter in the Rocky Mountains. This was a fact that I only recently accepted. Let me confess: for most of my time in Utah, I wore sneakers year-round. Wet socks, cold feet, and untimely slipping and sliding around city sidewalks were just some of the Idiot Tax…
Tinlid Hat Company: making hats, planting trees
Cause-based clothing is all the rage these days, especially with the outdoor crowd. If you’re a gear manufacturer, you better make sure you’re giving 1% for the Earth, or perhaps keeping corporate giants away from wilderness areas, lest you miss out on that sweet millennial money. It seems that appealing to our inner tree-hugger is…
MSR Windboiler Stove review
A hot meal in the backcountry can cure almost everything that ails you. Sore feet and cold bones melt away when you’re enjoying spoonfuls of your favorite dish. But before you dine, you must cook…and for that you’ll need a reliable stove for your travels. With a bevy of backpacking stoves lining store shelves, it…
Demo Days at Brighton Resort: Smokin, Sims and Never Summer Snowboards
Saturday and Sunday were great days to be at Brighton Resort in Big Cottonwood Canyon. It wasn’t the fresh dusting of snow (though that helped), but the free snowboard demos that had people stoked. Smokin, Sims, and Never Summer snowboards were all posted up in tents at the bottom of the Crest Lift with stacks…
White Sierra Camp 4 Shorts review
As we bid a fond farewell to this year’s extended summer season, I’m reminded of two things: it hasn’t snowed yet, and I wore shorts a lot during the past several months. Alas, there is nothing to be done about the first item. At least I had a good pair of shorts to help ease…
Therm-a-Rest Treo Chair review
For as long as humans could stand upright, they have yearned to sit. Yes, there’s nothing quite like taking a load off after a hard day of recreating in the outdoors. Toting a comfortable seat along for your outdoor adventures presents a few challenges: some are bulky and awkward requiring a separate trip to the…
Backpacking to Cuberant Lake
Autumn is upon us, and backpacking trips to the Uinta Mountains may soon be in short supply. If you want to squeeze in a quick overnight trip, but don’t want to skimp on the scenery, Cuberant Lake may be just the trip you’re looking for. A short but stern hike leads to a uniquely shaped…
Helly Hansen Loke rain jacket and pant review
If the El Nino hype is real, then we are headed for a very wet autumn and winter here in Utah. As Chris Farley told us years ago, “all other tropical storms bow to El Nino”, so it would be wise to be prepared before things get soggy. Helly Hansen specializes in outdoor gear built…