Alta Backcountry

winter

  • Greenland Crossing Day 4 – Finding Snow

    August 18. The night was windy and restless, and by morning the ice felt unsettled. Not dangerous exactly, just busy. Crevasses right out of camp forced immediate decisions, and the surface was carved into shallow runnels that didn’t really go… Continue reading

    Greenland Crossing Day 4 – Finding Snow

  • Greenland Crossing Day 2 – Learning the Sled

    August 16. The day began on hard, bare ice. We were still far below the snowline, so the skis stayed strapped to sleds and everyone walked. The surface was a mix of frozen dimples and sun-hardened ripples that made travel… Continue reading

    Greenland Crossing Day 2 – Learning the Sled

  • 2019 Expedition Amundsen Recap: Across the Stormy Hardangervidda

    Getting To the Start: From Eldora, Colorado to Haukeliseter, Norway Expedition Amundsen touts itself as the “World’s Hardest Expedition Ski Race.” The first year my wife Elaine and I competed in the event, in 2017, we felt a little bit… Continue reading

    2019 Expedition Amundsen Recap: Across the Stormy Hardangervidda

  • 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

  • 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

  • Dealing with Disappointment

    They say you learn more from misadventures than from the ones that are smooth sailing the whole way. And you know, they’re probably right. But that doesn’t make it easy. Not by a long shot. It’s actually taken me until… 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