Voilé always has new skis to show off at Outdoor Retailer, and 2016 is no exception. You can bet whatever they churn out from their factory here in Salt Lake will win the company some more Editor’s Choice awards from ski magazines. My money is on the Voilé SuperCharger and the skimo/touring hybrid, the Objective….
Backcountry BASECAMP kicks off at Solitude
Backcountry Magazine is traveling around to North American resorts as part of their Backcountry BASECAMP 2016 Tour, and Solitude Mountain Resort is where the fun begins. From Saturday, January 16 through Monday, January 18, the editors of Backcountry Magazine, along with local avalanche forecasters, ski guides, AIARE instructors, and gear experts will be hanging out…
Mountain Hardwear reveals StretchDown Jacket at 2016 Outdoor Retailer Winter Market
It seems that every year at Outdoor Retailer, Mountain Hardwear comes up with a new innovation. This year is no different. STRETCHDOWN JACKET The big news at the 2016 Winter OR is the StretchDown Jacket. The first of its kind, this puffy uses a stretchy material plus welded seams that expand when you move, unlike…
New skis from DPS at Outdoor Retailer 2016 Winter Market
Salt Lake City’s own DPS Skis has a whole new construction coming out for the 2016/17 season – Foundation. The Foundation skis were the highlight of the DPS booth at the 2016 Outdoor Retailer Winter Market. According to DPS, Foundation is a totally rebuilt ski that they designed from under the foot, spreading outward to…
Arva introduces new airbag pack system at Outdoor Retailer
Arva, well known for their avalanche beacons, has just entered the airbag pack market. They unveiled the new Reactor System line of packs at the 2016 Outdoor Retailer Winter All Mountain Demo. I got an in-person demonstration, which I later found out was the very first North American deployment of this totally new airbag system….
Update: Snowbird asks to put ski lifts and zip line in Mary Ellen Gulch
Snowbird has long eyed an expansion into Mary Ellen Gulch, and on January 7, 2016, they announced a filing for a conditional use permit application with the Utah County Board of Adjustments. The application was filed on December 8, 2015. The resort calls this a major step toward resort improvement. Snowbird’s plan is to install…
New skis and gear at Outdoor Retailer 2016 All Mountain Demo
Outdoor Retailer is back in Salt Lake City, and the winter show kicked things off with the 2016 All Mountain Demo at Solitude Mountain Resort. There is so much to see and try out in a short 6 hours, and I skied as many new skis as I could, but it’s just impossible to do…
Fuel 100 Electro-Bites review
Bars, gels, gummies – there no limit to the different types of food that athletes eat during a long workout. For us outdoorsy types, the small packaging and lack of preperation makes energy food super convenient, usually at the expense of flavor. Well, if you’re tired of sucking down gelatin, there’s a new option on…
A backcountry skiing search for pow on Millvue Peak
After a massive snowstorm that dumped 5 feet of powder in the Wasatch on Christmas week of 2015, hordes of backcountry skiers tracked everything out that was low angle and safe. (High avalanche danger kept the smart ones off open bowls.) A week later, without any new snow, untracked slopes in the Wasatch became scarce….
Top Utah Outside Stories of the Year 2015
Oh what a year 2015 has been! The past 12 months have seen tremendous outdoor adventures and first-looks at new gear. But this is not about my personal favorites of the year, but rather what you, the reader, have chosen based entirely on page views. So here are the top 10 stories on UtahOutside.com, separated…