Whew, that was a whirlwind Spring Break with the family. Ended up skiing five days in a row, rest day yesterday, perhaps a few pow turns later today. Leaving for Europe and Silvretta traverse all too soon, so I’ve been…

With all the fatal avalanches we’ve seen this season, a good chunk of them at resorts, there is renewed awareness that skiing inbounds doesn’t guarantee 100% safety. Patrollers do a great job keeping our resorts controlled, but avalanches don’t play by the rules. And while my ski crew is always safe and takes precautions, getting my AIARE Level 1 avalanche certification was in order so that I could make good decisions when skiing – either in the Bowl or in the backcountry – without relying on others to make those decisions for me.

Skiing the classic Skillet Glacier route on Moran during winter requires a possibly brutal slog across about five miles of flat frozen lake, including challenges such as slush (or water) under powder, wind and more.

It died today. The Rocky Mountain News of Denver, Colorado published their last issue this morning. What’s that got to do with backcountry skiing? Some of you younger guys might not even remember when newspapers (and to some extent magazines)…

I’m leaving for Mount Everest in a few days — the movie that is… I’ve been wanting to see this flick for a while. Missed the premier but now they’re having an encore. Said to have some terrific 8,000 meter…

Snowplowing can be fun. Really. Ever tried it? When I was a kid we lived for a few years in a mountain valley where my dad had to plow a 1/2 mile driveway. He mounted a tiny plow on a Jeep CJ, chained all four corners, and chisled away at the white stuff with that underpowered truck like a farmer plowing with one mule instead of a team. I remember ride-alongs, snow flying over the windshield as the blade bounced over rocks and sparked in the early morning dark.