New in August speaks to the hotness all around us: refuge closures on the flanks of Mont Blanc and efforts By Slovenia’s Elan to go green.

Prakash Sherpa and Benedikt Böhm are in Nepal for their 7000m Himalayan speed project: a speed ascent and ski descent of Himlung Himal.

So hot out there— fine temperatures to dig into the question of what is ski mountaineering. The question is making news as we turn into August.

Recalls or not, skier/rider trust with PPE manufacturers is critical. It is a two-way street with many moving parts. The bottom line: PPE gear must work. WildSnow explores recent and past gear recalls and what we can learn. (This is part one of a two-part series.)

For now, the spring volcano ski season sides on the glass half full side of the optimism-pessimism perspective, and some interesting media items of note for the backcountry ski/ride set.

Every day is a good day to highlight a solid word. Today’s word is albedo. Along with that, we’ll get some context from the dust-on-snow events in Colorado.