backcountry skiing

We’ve got an excellent situation here in western Colorado during the midwinter months, when the lower altitude snowpack builds up and February/March powder storms renew the surface every few days. To enjoy this, I head west from Carbondale into the…

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.

Where did we leave off the last blog post? Oh yeah, it was about manning up and making Valentine’s day happen. My approach this year, don’t mess around. Sure, I skulked out of City Market with a dozen red petaled…

According to a recent study, at least 25% of avalanche deaths are caused by trauma.

Louis DawsonWildSnow.com publisher emeritus and founder 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…