Whether it’s your first hut trip or your 1000th, it’s always a good idea to make a list and check it twice. You might find a few items here that will make your next backcountry hut trip the best one yet. It’s easy enough to remember the basics like your skis, skins, beacon, shovel, and probe (hopefully), but what about hut booties? Have you ever forgotten the oh-so-valuable toilet paper on a hut trip? Not fun. Read on to discover…
An avalanche beacon (or, more accurately, an avalanche transceiver) is a critical piece of gear for your survival in the backcountry. It needs to be reliable and you need to know how to use it effectively in high stress situations. In this article, we choose an overall best avalanche beacon for 2018 based on current availability. I’ll give you a hint – it isn’t the beacon in the image above. I will also look at the best beacon for people…
This is the first guest post on HikeForPow.com from Mrs. HikeForPow (okay, not truly a guest post – I wrote it but it’s her review). She has a new set of skis and loves them, so we thought a Blizzard Sheeva 10 review would be appropriate. This article will help you decide if the Sheeva 10 is the right ski for you.
Since the first generation of the Tecnica Cochise caused a stir in the skiing community in 2011, the boot has improved with every iteration. The 2018 version is no different in this regard, and is the best yet. This in-depth review takes a close look at the Cochise Pro 130 after around 40 days of testing.
In the world of avalanche safety, the avalanche probe is one of the three key pieces of gear. Beacon, shovel, probe is the mantra. Although probe is third in the list, it is no less important than your beacon and shovel. This article discusses the best avalanche probes for any budget. What is an Avalanche Probe? During an avalanche rescue, a beacon (or transceiver) is used to find the general area where a skier or boarder is buried. You then…
One of the more recent innovations in backcountry safety is the Avalanche Airbag. Airbag packs are particularly interesting because they greatly increase your chance of survival if you get caught in a slide. Update: check out our Best Airbag Packs in 2019 post for updated info. In this article I’m going to take a look at some of the best avalanche airbag packs that are currently available. I’ll give you a summary of the features of each one and let…
If you’ve ever asked yourself “How do avalanche airbags work, exactly?” then you have come to the right place. This article explains the basics of what an airbag pack is and how they work. There are pros and cons to the different designs, and this will give you a good idea of which might be right for you. There are now quite a few options out there (Backcountry Access alone has more models than you can shake a pole at)….
Avalanche Statistics Before we get into avalanche safety tips, I’m going to (hopefully) scare you a bit with some avalanche statistics. In this case, you definitely don’t want to be a statistic. Here are a few numbers to give you a sense of how dangerous avalanches can be. Somewhere between 20 and 50 people die in avalanches in North America every year. The chance of survival if you get caught in an avalanche is less than 1 in 3. Not…
This backcountry skiing for beginners gear guide will provide you with a basic but thorough understanding of what you need to know to get started. Whether you’re an absolute beginner or a seasoned veteran, I hope there is something on this list that will help. The intent of this gear guide is not to narrow down each piece of gear to one recommendation. It’s to give you an idea of what to look for when shopping/scrounging for gear. I’ll give…
So you’re wondering how to start backcountry skiing. Your friends have told you about all the fresh pow that’s waiting out there for you. You’re dying to know what it’s all about. First things first: backcountry skiing or boarding is dangerous, and there is no way around that fact. There are ways to minimize the danger through training, terrain evaluation, avalanche forecasts, experience, technology, etc. but there will always be an element of danger so keep that in mind.