Paging through the latest issue of Backcountry Magazine (looks good, but kind of heavy on the advertising vs. content ratio), low and behold, someone covers the Rat Tail skin attachment I’ve promoted for years, and does a how-to article about it! I’m flattered! Let’s be clear, however, that I didn’t invent the Rat Tail. While I refined the concept over the years and was the first to pubish it (here on this website), the idea had an early occurrence in Aspen in the 1970s when it was used by extreme skier Chris Landry, who said he’d seen something similar in Canada.
WildSnow.com publisher emeritus and founder Lou (Louis Dawson) has a 50+ years career in climbing, backcountry skiing and ski mountaineering. He was the first person in history to ski down all 54 Colorado 14,000-foot peaks, has authored numerous books about about backcountry skiing, and has skied from the summit of Denali in Alaska, North America’s highest mountain.
