Chasing winter in the summer is exciting for many reasons, and this year clean air was among them. Hot and dry weather was already fuelling record-breaking forest fires that have continued in western North America. While there were no fires that immediately threatened my hometown of Whistler at the time, we were still inundated with thick smoke and ash. Luckily, …
Thinking of words to describe the experience of circumnavigating Crater Lake ski tour in two days is difficult. Perhaps there hasn’t been enough time since having the experience to fully process it. Perhaps there just aren’t words to describe the ups and downs – both figurative and literal – of such a venture. Let’s just start from the beginning. Planning …
As the season for charging powder filled bowls and popping pillow lines comes to a close, my mind wanders to narrower corners of the backcountry. The big boards have been hung up for the winter, but smaller rides like the Vector, Objective and WSP are back in the regular rotation. A consolidating snowpack and peaking snow depth mean it’s high …
Being in the backcountry, surrounded by mountains as far as the eye can see is a truly magical feeling. Learning to access and move safely in the backcountry is a continual and ever evolving experience. Throughout my life, I have been lucky enough to learn from amazing mentors in both formal and informal settings. These people are friends, family, and …
It’s a Saturday night in downtown Portland and we are getting ready to go hard. The streets are filled with bar goers and party hoppers, the atmosphere is loud and boisterous; It’s the perfect time to get out. Except, we aren’t about to go hard to the point of stumbling out of the local brewery down the street. Oh no, …
I recently went on a trip to BC’s Coast Range near Pemberton to see what all the hubbub was about. I was with two of my long-time ski partners, one of them my longest backcountry ski partner. In typical fashion, the coastal mountain weather didn’t make it easy for big objectives, but after several days of getting shut down by …
Dynamic. That’s the word I would use to describe my job backcountry ski guiding. No two days are exactly the same. Everything from the snow conditions, routes, weather, and client goals change from day to day. The only constant in the whole thing is that everyone there, including myself, is there for one reason; we’re there to have fun sliding …
Last week my buddy (Shawn Forry) and I completed a “thru-ski” of the Tahoe Rim Trail……well, the route of the Tahoe Rim Trail, since technically it was under a lot of snow (20+ feet). Thus I supposed the correct terminology would be a “winter traverse of the Tahoe Rim Trail.” The trail runs roughly 170 miles through the high country …
In the past month spent mountaineering in Chamonix, I have watched skiers tumble off cliffs, tomahawk out of icy couloirs, and whip into crevasses. I’ve been told that if I decided to rappel over a group that they would “cut me”, and I’ve been tangled up with impatient guides trying do the same on alpine climbing pitches and glaciers. I’ve …
The Commando Run. It’s a ski tour from Vail Pass to Vail which is named for the U.S. Army’s 10th Mountain Division soldiers who used the route for training in high altitude skiing combat and commando raids during World War II. From a base in nearby Camp Hale, over 10,000 men traveled the mountains in west-central Colorado from 1942 to …
