Mount Aire, located in Parley’s Canyon, is a moderate peak with an easy approach and numerous options for a fun descent. The climb up is somewhat mellow and relaxing, if you don’t mind a bit of bushwacking down low followed by an undulating ridgeline ascent to the summit. Add in the constant drone of cars…
Category: Backcountry
Salomon shows off high tech backcountry ski gear at Outdoor Retailer 2017 Winter Market
Salomon has been in the backcountry skiing game for years now, but for the winter of 2017/18, they will be going all-in on serious ski-mountaineering, alpine backcountry adventuring, and skimo racing platforms with the new X-Alp series of boots and skis. Plus, they have a look at Salomon’s take on the tech binding which will…
New backcountry ski gear from Black Diamond at 2017 Outdoor Retailer Winter Market
Black Diamond has been killing it with backcountry ski gear in recent years, with a renewed focus and streamlined apparel and ski lines. The winter of 2017/18 looks like it will be no different as a new series of skis, updated touring shells, backcountry-specific gloves, a new touring binding, and an innovative transceiver-connected probe pole…
Update: UDOT to close Little Cottonwood Canyon backcountry on powder days
Update: The full Little Cottonwood Canyon closure policy put forth by UDOT as described below has been revised. The new policy is as follows: The entire north side of Little Cottonwood Canyon from Lisa Falls to Grizzly Gulch will be closed during avalanche control work. However, the closure boundaries will extend an additional 1,000 meters,…
Stio Environ Bib review
I’ve never cared for bibs. As a backcountry skier, I always felt all that extra material around my torso made me too hot, especially when skinning. So when I was asked to review the new Environ Bib from Stio, I had some reservations. Sure, bibs are useful if you crash in powder a lot and…
La Sal Mountains skiing featured in “Sandstone and Snow”
Pro ski athletes tend to spend their winters in exotic, far away mountain ranges like those found in Alaska, British Columbia, or Japan. But Aspen, Colorado-based skier, Colter Hinchliffe, chose the path least traveled (or skinned) by exploring Utah’s comparatively-seldom-skied desert range, the La Sal Mountains of Moab. Of course no athlete goes skiing without…
Get avy savvy at 9th annual Utah Snow and Avalanche Workshop
If you are a backcountry skier in Utah, then you would be advised to attend the annual Utah Snow and Avalanche Workshop, or USAW. In its 9th year, USAW will once again gather the backcountry skiing, riding, snowshoeing and snowmobiling community at the South Towne Expo Center in Sandy for a day of avalanche education….
Luke Hinz aims to ski entire “The Chuting Gallery” in one season
Andrew McLean’s guide book, The Chuting Gallery, is a work found on every Utah backcountry skier’s shelf. In it is a checklist of 90 of the steepest, narrowest, and spiciest ski lines in the Wasatch. Skiing all of them is a massive and brave feat that takes years to accomplish. But one local skier, Luke…
Skiing the National Parks in Powder’s “Monumental”
Ever wondered what it’s like to ski our nation’s National Parks? With the NPS celebrating 100 years, Powder Magazine, along with KGB Productions and REI have teamed up to produce a ski film about that very subject. The film is called “Monumental” and it follows backcountry skiers who travel into the heart of the west’s…
September storm gives Utah first real snow of season
Wax those boards and duct-tape those torn jackets! A late-summer cold front dropped inches of rain in Utah’s valleys and over a foot of snow in the mountains. The two day storm from September 22-24 gave Utah three tornadoes, flooding, and yes, powder in the high country. It’s the first major snowstorm of the 2016/17…