Alta Backcountry

Skiing

  • Gear Review: Åsnes Mountain Race 48 Cross Country Skis

    When I was a kid I had one pair of cross country skis. They were made of wood, had 3-pin bindings and worked for everything. I’d use them to go for weekend skis with my mom and dad on the… Continue reading

  • “Long Way Radio” Greenland Podcast

    We arrived back in the United States from our 16-day adventure in Norway late last week. It’s good to be home in our cabin in the mountains again, where we can be creative, go for little recovery skis, live cheaply… Continue reading

  • Leather 3-pins, snowy forests and wind: A ski trip around Brainard Lake

    One of my favorite places locally to go for a ski tour is Brainard Lake. While Eldora ski area offers the type of nordic skiing most people think about when conjuring up images of the sport – perfectly groomed tracks… Continue reading

  • Gear Review: Amundsen Peak Anorak, Knickers and Gaiters

    In the modern world of ski fashion and clothing, knickers and anoraks rank somewhere in the same spectrum as a pair of 205 cm Rossignol 4SKs. These days, it’s all about steezy (style + ease) Gore-tex garments with baggy cuts,… Continue reading

  • A Million Forks

    It’s dead winter. Eight degrees Fahrenheit tonight, but the numbers mean little. It’s been cold for two weeks, the kind of cold we haven’t seen in Colorado in about a decade. When we ski, the snow crunches. No, make that… Continue reading

  • Home Turns

    The first ski turns of the season trigger nervous tension. Regardless of how long I’ve skied, there is always a predictable self-doubt, “can I still even do this?” The reason I bring this up, is because it’s been snowing a… Continue reading

  • First Day of the 2018-19 Ski Season

    Opening day. There are few things quite as magical as the first ski day of the season. The initial click of the boots and bindings, the first turn and glide, cold air blasting into the face and lungs. It’s a… Continue reading

  • Greenland Ski Traverse Gear List

    Here’s a quick and dirty gear list of what all we’re taking to Greenland. This isn’t a nice write up like the one I did for the Continental Divide Trail, but it gets the point across. The format is also… Continue reading

  • The Big Question

    More than any other adventure that Dan and I have embarked on, we’ve received that big question: Why? So far, most of what we’ve done kind of makes sense to most people – even those who are not inclined towards… Continue reading