backcountry skiing

Grieskogel is a medium sized ski peak in the western Stubai Alps, in the Larstiger mountains between Sellrain and Hochstubai. You reach it for backcountry skiing via the usual network of roads you find in this area, in this case reminding me of spring skiing on Independence Pass back in Colorado. I’d hooked up for today’s trip with Manfred Barthel, the Austrian alpinist elder I’ve come to know over the past few years. Manfred continues to amaze me with his skill and endurance, not to mention his amazing knowledge of the Alps. He seems to have a sixth sense of where the snow is good, the avy danger lower, or the

As long time backcountry skiers my wife and I have always been excited to share the exploration and fun of back country skiing with our children. We got just that chance recently with a late season blast of snow and a hut trip we’d planned with our friends. Check out one of our best yet ski adventures.

Outdoor Research Revel pants and Orage Abdi jacket for backcountry skiing and bike commuting

Consider the new Onyx backcountry skiing binding from G3. Not only do these guys have to take a complex meld of ski machinery from fantasy to reality, but they’ve got things like user manuals to produce, not to mention putting together an effective back country story for their marketing, as well as educating their retailers and sales reps on how to mount, maintain and use the Onyx binding. Oh, and how about minor details such as customer service, spare parts inventory/supply, and having an army of lawyers on tap just-in-case. Must be an interesting life. For now, I think I’ll stick with blogging. To that end, let’s get on with mounting those Onyx.

Our version of the Whitehouse is plenty white, but it’s not a house. Instead, it’s this big hunk of rock you climb and ski. I got up there the other day with Penn Newhard of Backbone Media. Always good to get out with Penn and talk about family life, along with trying to scam airline tickets to his latest European luxury press junket espresso fest. He’s used being hit up like that, and somehow always turns the focus back to climbing and making turns. Oh well, espresso is over rated!