Tips & Technique
Winning the Uphill Battle – Part II
continued from yesterday… A good way to learn is to follow in the footsteps (or more likely, skin tracks) of more experienced skiers. Try to match their stride, look where they plant their poles, get a feel for the all day ascent angle, mimic their posture, and generally try to absorb what they are doing, […]
Winning the Uphill Battle – Part I
Struggling uphill is an acquired taste that doesn’t come naturally to most people. It’s hard, slow, sweaty, frustrating and at times monotonous, but if you can get over this, it is your ticket to backcountry bliss. The effort involved with earning your turns is the basic barrier that keeps the backcountry, being what it is […]
Pure Misery – Cold & Wet
Note: I am in Boulder, CO attending a film class at Serac Adventure Films today and will have limited computer access. The most unpleasant and dangerous type of cold is that special blend of Pacific Northwest/Patagonian misery where your clothes are damp on the inside from sweat, soaked through from the outside by moist snow, […]
Snuggling up to the Big Chill
Note: I will be in Boulder, CO attending a Serac Advenure Films class until Tuesday and have limited computer access. You don’t have to love the cold to be a ski mountaineer, but it definitely helps. At the very least, try to fake it. As much as anything, cold is a state of mind and […]
Adversity – Making Friends with Pain – Part II
Note: I’ll be in Boulder, CO until Tuesday attending a Serac Adventure Films class and will have limited computer access. A major part of surviving adversity is anticipating it and being prepared. Spending a day out touring in the maw of nature’s fury as it is dumping snow, blowing, avalanching, and going off the charts can […]
Adversity – Making Friends with Pain – Part I
Surviving adversity is a big part of ski mountaineering. After all, if it was fun, easy and safe it would be called resort skiing. Beyond the basic discomforts, surviving adversity with comfort and style is what separates the pros from the amateurs. Scotty Lee and Mark Holbrook laughing it up during a howling storm. Skiing […]
Inside Info – Part II
The snowpack is the third major factor and also the trickiest one. Like the weather, its history is more important than its immediate surface conditions. The plot thickens with the snowpack as there are almost always weaknesses in it, but they are difficult to quantify. Snow is the building block of avalanches, but it is […]
Inside Info – Part I
(continued from Monday’s ABC’s of avalanche train of thought) With so many variables hidden under a blanket of white, where do you even begin? Simplify the process by breaking it down into the big three categories; terrain, snowpack and weather. Will it stay, or will it go now? New snow, steep slope and nice weather… […]
Snap, Crackle & Pop – The ABC’s of Avalanches
The physics of an avalanche is as easy to understand as placing one book on top of another, then tipping the lower book up until the top one slides off. Voila – a bookalanche! The grip or amount of friction between the books will determine how easily they slide apart. If they are both dry […]
Avalanche Avoidance – Salvation Through Education
It would be ideal of avalanche education was like driver’s education, where you studied and learned about the activity before physically doing it. But alas it is not, and some skiers go their entire lives without taking a class. Bad idea! A lack of avalanche education should not be considered a backcountry badge of honor. […]
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