Archive for March, 2009
2009 PowderKeg
Last Saturday, for the first time in seven years, I was on the other side of the starting line of the Wasatch PowderKeg as a racer instead of an organizer. I love this event and thought it was a goner when Black Diamond and Patagonia pulled their backing out of it this season, but fortunately […]
Work, Work, Work…
I got out yesterday with Noah Howell and Jay Beyer, which was a blast. Noah is Mr. PowderWhore and Jay is an outdoor photographer, so between the three of us, the Independent, Freelance, Self Employed, Outdoor Consultants of the Wasatch were well represented. The skiing has been a tad bit lackluster lately, but today was […]
Selective Stopping Spots
One of the basics of avalanche avoidance and good backcountry travel protocol is to always stop below your partner(s), not above them. The reason for this is two-fold; one is that you might blow your last turn and take out your partners from above, and the other is that the weight of a stopping person may cause the slope to […]
Leapfrogging to Safety
Whenever possible, I prefer to ski a couloir or avalanche exposed shot in leapfrogging segments. The idea is that one person skis, then tucks out in a safe spot and watches the other person, then they do the same. Ideally, the stopping points will be staggered so that you can see your partner at all […]
$2.00 Helmet Cam
If you have an old helmet, a Point & Shoot Digital camera and about $2.00, you have all the fixin’s for a dirt-bag helmet cam. More often than not, I’ll shoot POV footage just by holding my G9 camera in my hand and skiing with it, but at times, two hands come in handy for […]
Skiing with The Alpinist
Christian Beckwith, the former Editor and co-owner of Alpinist Magazine came down from Jackson Hole this weekend for his first ever Wasatch backcountry tour. We had never skied together and I had always thought he was more a climber than a skier, but after an 8,000′ day of touring, there’s no doubt. CB is a […]
Steep Skiing 101 – Part IV
One reason there isn’t more super steep skiing footage in ski films isn’t that it is so hard to shoot, but more that it is kind of boring to watch. Slip, slip… slip. Pause. Turn! Slip, slip, slip. Pause. It is way more fun to do than to watch. Steep skiing is like this because when the stakes are high, […]
Steep Skiing 101 – Part III
Ninety-percent of steep skiing is in your head. I’ve witnessed some absolutely crappy skiers make it down steep slopes and conversely, seen experienced skiers (including myself) totally freeze up. It’s one of those things you just have to be psyched for and sometimes you are, and sometimes you aren’t. A bitter divorce or break-up seems to […]
Steep Skiing 101 – Part II
Regardless of technique, one of the hardest things about steep skiing is committing to the first turn. Unlike climbing where you start at the bottom and slowly gain more exposure as you go up, with steep skiing, you are looking at the taking the maximum whipper if you blow the first move. I personally love […]
Interuption of Service
I’m never quite sure what to say when people ask me “What do you do for a living?” If I say I’m a Professional Ski Mountaineer, that leads to all sorts of embarrassing questions, like, “Can you make a living at that?” (no) or “How many of you are there out there like that?” (two) […]
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