Totally Deep goes deep with meteorologist Joel Gratz, the founder of OpenSnow. Over the years, the site has expanded from offering forecasts for on-piste venues to localized predictions for off-the-grid locations. Gratz dishes on the meteorological scene and how he attempts to best serve the backcountry community.

In the new Patagonia AlpLoft Down Parka, we see a big puffy not overburdened with heft but, at the same time, not cursed with the weight-saving zeitgeist of the times. The jacket has a job to do: keep you warm and hold up. It does that. The build is near perfect in coupling durability, function, and a reasonable weight.

A long awaited 1kg class boot from Tecnica, the Peak series, arrives on store shelves this fall. Cripple Creek Backcountry’s Doug Stenclik spoke with the brand’s Product Innovation, Test Teams, and Winter Validation lead, Stefano Mantegazza, about the Peak’s debut and the long road from prototyping to ready-for-market build.

The Outdoor Research Helium AscentShell is a weatherproof hardshell with minimal bulk and weight for those who count paperclips and like to stay dry.

As backcountry skiers and riders, we can access deep parts of the mountainscape. These regions are often unmonitored by SNOTEL sites. In a few easy steps, we can help fill in these data gaps by collecting snow depth information while touring.

New to the Stateside scene of tents and packs, Samaya, an Annecy based company focuses on gear for the alpine. As skiers and boarders combine projects involving technical climbing and snow sliding descents, Samaya’s ULTRA35 pack is built for the mission. Here’s our first look.