Backcountry Blog

Wapta Traverse, Part 2

2009-03-26T23:30:00.001-06:00

Ok, so I have been a slacker with part 2, but that is because I got to the coast of BC and the weather went splitter for 36 hours...so I rallied a crew and we punched the Garibaldi Neve Traverse in a day. Oh well, like any good mountain person, responsibilities get thrown out the window for fun. But here is part two, with another post to come about the Neve Traverse!The next day dawned cold with

Wapta Traverse, Part 1

2009-03-24T00:05:00.000-06:00

Last week I was fortunate enough to guide the Wapta Traverse for the Alpine Club of Canada. If you haven't heard of the Wapta Traverse, it is by far the most classic ski mountaineering traverse in North America, and I would say it is our version of the famous Haute Route in Europe. The traverse can take parties anywhere from a day(the super-humans), to an average 4 days, or a leisurely 5-7. The

(Taos 03/2009) Extreme Freeride Championships

2009-03-15T16:02:00.005-06:00

---Update: Ollie Bell uploaded the video of my qualifier run to Vimeo for me!--- Thanks Ollie Bell! Last week came and went in a blur. The six day journey Nik and I took to New Mexico for the Freeride Championships was completely uncharted territory. New ski area, new event (Freeride World Tour), and a new judging system. Overall it was a very fun experience and something I'd like to do again

Spring is in the Air

2009-03-14T08:25:00.000-06:00

Winter has been interesting this year in Wyoming. Powder has been plentiful, avalanches abundant, and politics have been ripe. I definitely have had my share of ice cream headaches and pow-face burn (all with smiles), but I am ready for spring to refresh all of the above and a little, no a lot, of sunshine for a change. Spring is the time to leave behind so much worry about questionable

US Freeskiing Nationals Live Webcast at Snowbird

2009-03-13T08:28:00.004-06:00

Today is the first day of the Freeskiing World Tour event at Snowbird, Utah. The event will be broadcasted live via webcast today and Saturday. The webcast will be going live at 12pm MST.

El Duderino, if you're not into the whole brevity thing

2009-03-06T17:01:00.003-07:00

February 26 - 28, Backcountry.com went in with Black Diamond to bring Dudeness to the people. The Big LePowSki was a clinic-with-the-pros event at Brighton that benefited The Billy Poole Fund and the Winter Wildlands Alliance.The Powderwhores were there. Check it.The Big LePowSki from Noah howell on Vimeo.

End of the Good Stability

2009-03-06T08:50:00.001-07:00

I took advantage of the last day of our 3 week high pressure and bomber snowpack at Valhalla Mountain Touring, here is a video of the day...enjoy!Lots of other good time wasting material on my blog at evanstevens.blogspot.com

One Run off a Snowcat

2009-02-25T16:02:00.000-07:00

Date: February 20, 2009 Location: Powder Mountain, UT Featuring: Just Me (Jake Kirshner) Low-Res Vimeo Version: High-Res Version: http://www.jakecast.com/helmetcast/helmetCast13.m4v (right-click > save target/link as...) One run off the Lighting Ridge cat skiing at Powder Mountain in Ogden area of Utah. The run I ran in this video is off James Peak which is actually about a 20m hike or so

Gelande Quaffing World Championships: Take Two

2009-02-24T16:48:00.004-07:00

It's that time of year again. Gelande Quaffing season. And this Thursday marks the second World Championships of the World in Jackson Hole. The masters of the sport will converge on the Wyoming ski town armed with lightening-fast reflexes, unquenchable thirsts, and beer guts honed from years of training."My massage therapist tells me that she can identify an athlete's sport just by looking at the

High Pressure Pow

2009-02-20T14:31:00.002-07:00

Well, the high and dry has set in up north in British Columbia, which means it has been dumping down south. I don't mind so much, because it means its time to get back into the alpine and ski the BIG lines in more stable snow. When things set up right, you can really tuck your way up into the mountains inhospitable nooks and crannies, and do some amazing skiing.Here is a video from last week of

Jeremy Jones re-signs with O'neill

2009-02-20T09:07:00.001-07:00

Backcountry.com Athlete Jeremy Jones, the freeriding legend, has pledged his future to O’Neill, who continue to support the big mountain rider in his continual quest to explore and push the boundaries of freeriding around the planet. Jeremy who has been with O’Neill for the past nine years has signed a contract for another five years, with the option thereafter to continue as either a

Nimbus Independent's En Route-Japan

2009-02-18T17:21:00.004-07:00

Our friend Gary Winberg from Nimbus Independent and Spacecraft checking in with a very very cool new webisode-Hey Fellas,I hope this email finds you doing well. Just wanted to drop a quick note and let you know we just released our latest webisode, En Route - Japan, along with a new website at: www.nimbusindependent.com. Check it out if you have some free time, hope you enjoy the vision we are

Zipfit - Are You Drinking the Koolaid?

2009-02-16T20:25:00.006-07:00

I'm not sure why I was so reluctant to replace my ski boots, especially considering that I've pretty much hated them from the very beginning. Most likely, I dreaded the time-consuming boot fitting and figured it would be more miserable than simply dealing with my pathetic old boots. But today I finally reached the limit of my patience and stormed down to Christy's Sports in search of Steve

Ullr, Will You Be My Valentine?

2009-02-16T09:34:00.000-07:00

Just a few quick photos from Snowbird on Valentine's day during some awesome shredding. I am going to post some photos from a mission to Telluride I did last weekend- Kris, not letting his shoulder injury keep him down I show off the top of my helmet Kris doing his best not to swing his arms like a madman I find some random pillows Cheers, Jake

The Big LePowski

2009-02-12T11:50:00.003-07:00

Backcountry.com and Black Diamond Proudly Present:First Annual Big LePowSki USA- To Benefit the Billy Poole Fund and Winter WildlandsThe First Annual BigLePowSki event is aimed at all of the freeskiers out there who sell out the ski movie premiers, who pray for snow, who lick their lips at fresh tracks, who read Powder cover to cover, BUT, who don’t have the cash to head to AK and pay for the

Swiss Peak

2009-02-11T16:20:00.003-07:00

Backcountry.com athlete Gregg Hill getting after it-When Chris mentioned that we should ski off Swiss peak, I was excited by the idea. In 04-05 Troy Jungen and I skied this line and were treated with deep powder turns down the 3000 foot north face. Starting off at 50' and holding steep for its entire length this alpine line is one of the most proud in the pass, it also the longest run in Roger's

Cloudveil Skid Cribs

2009-02-04T19:08:00.005-07:00

Are you dirtbag and proud? Can you prove it?Cloudveil is ISO the most convincing Skid Crib vid so it's time to throw down. Shoot your own home (literally) video and email the embed to tmc@cloudveil.com. Then leave it up to the people to decide if you are the one true champion, deserving of a Cloudveil get-up (head to ankle), a pair of Dynastar Legend Pro skis, Look bindings, and a year free of

Telemark: Norwegian for 'Hey guys, wait up!'

2009-02-03T14:03:00.003-07:00

Backcountry.com athlete Nick Devore really isn't that funny. But he can ski real good.

High Pressure High Routes

2009-02-02T21:18:00.005-07:00

Some folks in Salt Lake City see the high pressure on the weather map, hold their breath and hang up their skis. Others like Andrew McLean charge 10 in 10 days, or myself, I try and get after some longer higher tours that I haven't done in a while, especially since I live in British Columbia these days! Back home in BC, the storms are rolling in, with lots of weak layers being preserved by the

Hangtime in Little Cottonwood

2009-01-30T07:03:00.017-07:00

Date: December 29, 2008 - January 29, 2009 Location: Snowbird, UT Featuring: Me (Jake Kirshner), Nik Aksamitn, Dex Mills, Brady Newton, Alex Mazurkewycz Low-Res Vimeo Version: High-Res Version: http://www.jakecast.com/helmetcast/helmetCast12.m4v (right-click > save target/link as...) Things I have learned in the last month. 1) Getting skiing "out of your system" over winter break is damn near

2009-01-28T12:33:00.003-07:00

The Powder Video awards are a highlight of every season for me. Now in its ninth year, it’s one of the only venues where professional freeskiers, filmers, and photographers are recognized for their hard work throughout the year. This season, several Backcountry athletes grabbed the spotlight.Ingrid Backstrom shut out the women’s field with Best Female Performance.Sage Cattabriga-Alosa, already a

Andrew McLean's Top 10 in 10

2009-01-22T07:05:00.003-07:00

For the past week or so, there's been a lot of buzz around the Wasatch ski and climbing communities. All surrounding Andrew McLean's latest project: skiing 10 classic Wasatch lines in 10 days. Most of these involve well over 5,000' vertical climbing, and sometimes brutal descents. Today he reached #9, Little Pine Couloir. Read the full list of reports at StraightChuter.com.Andrew McLean and Doug

Backcountry.com Welcomes Greg Hill to the Athlete Team

2009-01-19T13:41:00.003-07:00

Athlete wrangler Jonny A recently convinced backcountry badass Greg Hill to join the team. I'll let him do his own intro (see below), but his vids speak for themselves:"I have always defined myself in the mountains, who i really am seems to come out while playing in the hills. I have felt that we define our own boundaries and should search them out. So for years I did just that, I pushed my

Freeskiing World Tour: Subaru Sessions LIVE 2-4PM MST

2009-01-16T10:28:00.006-07:00

Thanks for watching! The event was killer.

Watch the "Subaru Sessions – A Deeper Look at Big Mountain Freeskiing" - LIVE RIGHT HERE - Friday, January 16, 2009, from 1-3 PM MST

2009-01-15T11:09:00.005-07:00

So tomorrow we're going to post a killer new online broadcast series focused on the world of freeskiing. Backcountry's own athlete wrangler, Jonny A, will be interviewed and show highlights from IFSA competitors on the Backcountry athlete team. In short, it's gonna be sick - check back here Friday afternoon and kick off your weekend with some freeski stoke. Here are the official press release