Dec 08 2014
What is it about skis that is so danged exciting? As much as I like to think they are just another utilitarian piece of gear to get me to the goods, the fact is, the sensation of skiing comes primarily from the ski. Everything else is just connecting you to it, although, with tele, the …
Sep 01 2014
Dostie and I ran into each other walking dogs at dusk the other night. No, he’s not my alter ego, rather, my cousin, Jeff Dostie. We both happen to love backcountry skiing, work at ski shops, and purely by chance, live in the same neighborhood. We don’t agree on skin track strategies but we …
Nov 14 2013
What do you get when you cross an axe with a shovel? In the years I’ve spent skiing, mountaineering, and, writing about skiing and mountaineering, a steady procession of ice axes and snow shovels have passed through my hands. One thing, however, that I had yet to see was a serious mountaineering ice-axe capable of …
Oct 17 2013
Saving weight has always been a primary goal with packs. Afterall, the plan is to carry a bunch of stuff on your back without breaking it. Keeping the weight of the container down is part of the puzzle. This gets more difficult when you’re talking about an airbag pack. The main reason you’re buying …
Mar 20 2013
When you first look at any of Dynastar’s Cham skis it is hard not to think, “somebody was smoking some whacky tobaccy when they made that ski.” Even in an age when traditional shapes and construction are rarely the norm anymore the Cham series draws attention with a tip that more resembles the bow …
Jan 07 2013
Over the past three years I’ve had the opportunity to use two versions of BD Ascensions (Nylon), G3’s Alpinist (nylon), BCA’s Magic Carpet skins (nylon), GlideLite (nylon), Gecko (mohair), Clip-Skins (synthetic), Colltex (65/35 nylon/mohair), Pomoca (nylon), K2 (nylon), and La Sportiva (nylon). All were new within the last 3 years. Plus I’ve mixed in old …
Jul 27 2012
© 1994 1994, May 17, Day V on the Wall One more perfect day followed before a cloud bank appeared and we narrowly escaped a whiteout on the descent from 14,500′ to the serac camp at 11,000′. Skins worked well on the ascent to 12,800′, where the Canadian Route becomes a knife–edge ridge dropping away …
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