Ready to leave the resort boundaries and explore untracked slopes in Utah’s backcountry? Well you better get educated about avalanches first. One way to get started is by attending the Backcountry 101 course at Brighton. This course is geared toward skiers and snowboarders who are brand new to off-piste riding who need to learn how…
Category: Backcountry
Backcountry Skiing Whitewater, British Columbia
One of the greatest joys of being a skier is the ability to explore mountain ranges you’ve never been to before. Sometimes the only way to rediscover your home range is to branch out and get lost in a new, wild place. So myself, along with Adam Symonds and Jon Strickland, loaded up the Yurt…
Wilderness First Responder (WFR) Courses in Utah
Accidents and injuries happen in wilderness settings everyday (just watch a good carnage video if you need convincing). Knowing what to do in these situations can not only be the difference between life or death, but more often the difference between quick and effective treatment or a time-consuming, painful, and expensive rescue. One of the…
Winter returns to the Wasatch!
Finally! After weeks of record-breaking warm temperatures for December in Utah, winter has arrived… again. With plummeting temperatures and 14 inches of new snow in upper Little Cottonwood Canyon, the skiing is exponentially better. With a fresh coat of fluffy snow on everything, Alta is a veritable winter wonderland right now. On Sunday, powder fever…
Osprey Kode ABS Compatible 22 +10 backcountry pack review
Avalanche airbag packs used to be an elusive beast; a rarely seen mountain specimen. But now, airbags are almost as common in the backcountry as beacons, shovels and probes. The packs are still expensive, but prices have been climbing down, and many more companies are getting into the game… including Osprey. This season is the…
Boney backcountry skiing on Brighton Hill
Here we go again. The Wasatch is under a massive ridge of high pressure and temperatures were in the 50’s in the Salt Lake Valley on December 7th. Backcountry skiing outside Brighton was an effort in snow seeking, as the avalanche danger had calmed down, but the powder was nowhere to be found. Mason Diedrich…
Pre-season turns at Alta
I wouldn’t exactly call them turns, but many powder-starved skiers flooded Alta over the weekend for a taste of winter before the 2014/15 ski season’s official start. With all uphill traffic at Alta closed as the resort prepares to open on November 21st, skiers had only the summer road to Catherine Pass to play on….
Ski Utah reveals ONE Wasatch lift connector locations
The very contentious ONE Wasatch plan to connect all seven ski resorts from Park City to Little Cottonwood Canyon seems to be moving forward, as Ski Utah revealed the possible lift alignments that will turn the Central Wasatch into a giant, interconnected ski resort. This mega resort would have 100 lifts, serving 18,000 acres. And…
Video: Powderwhore Productions’ “Some Thing Else” Trailer
You know fall is knocking on our doors when ski movie trailers start hitting the interwebs. Well, Utah’s own Powderwhore Productions released the trailer for their latest yearbook ski flick. “Some Thing Else” is the name of their 2014/15 ski season creation, starring many local skiers like the Provo Brothers, Noah Howell and Andrew McLean….
Splitboarding Mount Adams, Washington
What do you do when you buy your first splitboard but the Utah backcountry riding season is over? You find an awesome partner, pack up a truck, and head to the Cascade Mountains, where backcountry touring is in full swing. That’s just what happened in early July, as my girlfriend Jess and I made a…