Random
Ski Magazines Worth Buying
I was perusing the magazine stand the other day and ended up buying not only one, but two skiing magazines, which doubles my combined retail purchase of ski mags for the last two years. The first one was the 2012 Skiing Adventure Issue which I bought mainly for the Grant Gunderson double fold-out cover photo. […]
The Canyons Tram and Ted Wilson
After an email and a follow up phone call from Ted Wilson, I have decided to delete the previous posting as Ted said he felt it was a personal attack on him and betrayed our friendship. The gist of the post was that Talisker, an ultra high-end developer in the Park City area whom Ted […]
Scooter Town
As a first time visitor to the town of Longyearbyen in Svalbard, it is hard not to be astounded at the number of “snoscooters” or snowmobiles sitting around. They are randomly parked by the side of the road, grouped in clusters of 2 or 3, amassed in lots of 50, left up on pallets, slowly […]
Svalbard Part 2
Noah Howell and I have returned from Dicksonland where we found some, uhmm, firm, skiing and unfortunately almost no wind for kiting, which was a shame as the area is a kiter’s dream. We started on a glacier, then work our way down towards the sea-ice, camped for a few days, then crossed the sea-ice […]
Skiing 80 Degree Slopes
Eighty degrees north, not 80 degrees in steepness, although you never know… One of the most influential things I’ve ever read was a fortune cookie which said “Practice Saying Yes.” It wasn’t even my fortune, but I adopted the philosophy and it has served as a starting point for many, many expeditions. Trips take on […]
Folding and storing skins in high winds
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Shovelful of Love
I’ve owned, broken, loved and hated about 15 different avalanche shovels over the years and admit to being very opinionated about them. Shovels aren’t rocket science and I can usually tell if I’m going to like a shovel or not just by deploying it and shaking it like a baby rattle. If it is loose, […]
To Probe or Not To Probe
I’ve been called a moron for not carrying a probe, but in truth, I’m only a 3/4 moron as I do carry one occasionally, namely on expeditions or when skiing with a large group of people. I like them for expeditions as they serve many uses – marking caches, anchoring tents, probing for crevasses or […]
Dave Hanscom, Alexis Kelner & Wasatch Tours 0
When I first got into backcountry skiing in the Wasatch, people were always referring to runs that were “in the book,” which unfortunately was out of print. You either had one, went skiing with someone who did, or figured it out on your own. I’d given up hope of ever getting a copy of the […]
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