When I heard the name Teva, I conjured up images of cushy summer sandals and flip flops. Not necessarily the footwear I’d choose to tackle the trails here in the Wasatch; but, oh how our minds can betray us. After wearing the Arrowood Mid Waterproof Flash boots for many a mile, I’ll now associate Teva…
Author: Ryan Malavolta
Solitude Resort opens for 2017 ski and snowboard season
The lifts started spinning and skiers and boarders were making laps this morning at Solitude Resort. It wasn’t the typical opening day froth-fest; as we are all painfully aware, this ski season hasn’t exactly started with a bang. In spite of the harsh hand dealt to the Wasatch by Ullr, the employees up at Soli…
Ski Season Prep: the essential to-do list
Winter is coming. Winter is here!!! Utah lifts started spinning this week, marking the official start of resort skiing and snowboarding here in the Beehive State. If you’re like me, you probably haven’t done any ski season prep to all your winter gear just yet, or figured out how you’ll be getting to the mountains….
Recover Apparel: help save the Earth and look good doing it
I never considered that plastic bottles might keep me warm, let alone be part of my camping attire. As it turns out, eight plastic bottles = the magic number used to create the hoodies in the Recover Apparel lineup. A sweatshirt made of plastic bits; that should be real comfortable I thought in my most sarcastic…
Interview with “This is Home” skier, Johnny Collinson
Johnny Collinson is a Utah born and bred ripper. His big mountain backcountry exploits have been captured by the lenses of Teton Gravity Research, and now, Faction Collective. I caught up with Johnny at the SLC premiere of This Is Home, just as his autograph line was filling up. He was kind enough to talk about…
Adventure Medical Kits Mountain Series review
“I’m an idiot” was the first thought that crossed my mind when I busted out the Adventure Medical Kits Mountain Series “Backpacker” unit on a summer hike. Why be so hard on myself? It was painfully obvious from the first use that this was a thoroughly put-together kit for wilderness first aid, something that was…
Ski Movie Review: This Is Home by Faction Collective
October: the perfect time to start getting hyped for the winter. The air is cooler, the leaves are turning, and ski and snowboard films are being released by the dozens. Faction Collective released their first ever ski film, and I was lucky enough to catch a screening at The Depot back on October 12th. True…
Icebug DTS3 RBG9X Trail Shoe review
All terrain stompers. That’s what I call these Icebug shoes. It’s a heck of a lot easier to say than DTS3 RBG9X GTX, which is their proper name. Whoa- that’s a lot of letters and numbers, and yes, they do all correlate to something particular when it comes to this Swiss Army shoe. From the…
Pelican Elite 20QT Cooler review
When it comes to keeping your beverages ice-cold, the Pelican brand might not be the first to pop into your mind. They make incredibly tough carrying cases for delicate tech gadgets, but they also make one hell of an ice chest. I’ve been using a Pelican Elite 20QT cooler for the better part of the…
JBL Charge 3 Bluetooth Speaker review
“I know what happened out here. You started your campfire, you drank your whiskey, and you cranked that music up until the battery died!” It was a correct assessment by the desert guide who was giving my SUV a needed jump. While his two clients clicked away photos of this high-stakes rescue mission, the guide…