Brian Tolbert spent 20 years as a self-proclaimed dirtbag, racing bikes and sleeping in trucks or stuffing six dudes into a hotel room. Camping, and life, has changed a bit since then. Brian, a Backcountry Ambassador, is now the father of four kids, ranging from six months to ten years old. Balancing family togetherness, time outside, and the creature comforts that keep the kids happy is a priority for Brian and his wife, Heather. During the week, Brian works for a software company, but he still spends his weekends racing. It used to be mountain bikes and triathlons, but now [...]
Pro skier Julian Carr never thought of himself as a runner, which is why it’s pretty surprising that he founded a series of running races that’s now receiving national attention. The summertime races of the Discrete Cirque Series take place at world-class ski resorts. They involve a mix of running and hiking to the top of a scenic peak and descending back down to the finish line and into a party scene full of live music, vendor tents, and camaraderie among racers ranging from beginning hikers to trail running pros. “I love bagging peaks,” says Carr, who used to live [...]
We go hiking and backpacking to escape, free from our “real life” responsibilities. But often this freedom doesn’t come for free. Whether you’re 25 or 52, hitting the trails on the weekend leads to sore bodies. Cue trekking poles. Once considered just for older folks, trekking poles have become increasingly popular among hikers, trekkers, and backpackers of all ages. The advantages of hiking with trekking poles are possibly endless. Reasons to pick up a pair of trekking poles: They increase your stability traveling with a heavy load and when you’re traversing sketchy terrain. Trekking poles reduce the impact on your [...]
We are all drawn the open trail, our gear on our back and map in hand, searching for some solitude next to a campfire far beyond the lights of the city. When you decide to leave the campground behind and make the leap to the backcountry, there is a lot to consider. My first backpack was a hand-me-down Gregory and it took me years to accumulate the necessary gear to support me in the wilderness as a bona fide backpacker. Loading up your pack, leaving the car far behind, and carrying everything you need on your back combine to raise [...]
Writing the opening line of an article about Tommy Caldwell is tough. Do you mention the tweet he got from President Obama congratulating him for his first ascent of El Capitan’s Dawn Wall, or do you talk about the seven-year process of making that dream ascent happen? Do you describe his completion of Patagonia’s legendary Fitz Roy Traverse, also a first, or do you mention his belief that losing a finger in an accident was a launching point for his professional climbing career? The obvious catchy first line has something to do with how he escaped terrorist kidnappers holding him [...]
If there’s one piece of climbing gear that gets overlooked all the time, it’s probably the harness. Everyone seems to know which shoes they want, what cam will be best for their project, and the exact weight of their Black Diamond Neutrino Carabiners, but few people think about the tech behind and the thought put into the gear that keeps their rope tied securely to their bodies. But it’s an important decision! As a Backcountry Gearhead I get a lot of questions about what gear you would use in which situation and why to purchase one particular piece of gear [...]
The Columbia Directors of Toughness came to Salt Lake, and we took a few hours to give them a taste of the best of what the city has to offer. Of course, for us that would be great access to the outdoors. Faith Briggs and Mark Chase are the Directors of Toughness, traveling around the world testing Columbia’s products in some pretty rough conditions. They’d just gotten back from a 60-mile run through the Andes, so they were more than ready to join me and Jimmy Elam, another Backcountry Gearhead and dedicated runner, for an early spring desert run—just miles [...]
Each spring as the snow on the ski slopes turns to slush, idiots across the globe dress in neon and make fools of themselves. I’ve been one of them. Images courtesy of Park City Mountain Resort The spring fling, the beach party, the carnival weekend—these ski resort rites of passage go by many names and host many events—the garden hose race, the cardboard classic, and so on. But if you truly want to be queen or king of the mountain, your focus will be on just one event: the pond skim, the granddaddy of them all. For the uninitiated, it [...]
Hero Dirt: when the earth has the ideal moisture content for enhanced traction, and mountain bike tires grip the ground with extra ferocity. These perfect conditions—not wet and sloppy, not dry and dusty—allow you to angle your bike through any corner, climb any slope, and fly down a trail at unmatched speeds. Like skiers chase storms for powder, mountain bikers wait for the right forecast to transform their trails to velvet. I was fortunate enough to encounter “hero dirt” on my recent road trip to California in Montaña de Oro State Park. After four straight days of rain we found [...]
What is a Gearhead? The word can mean a lot of different things, but here at Backcountry, a “Gearhead” is a customer service rep–but with a very big difference. We’re experts that go above and beyond to make outdoor experiences a part of every Backcountry customer’s life. A Gearhead’s resume might include things like a Pacific Crest Trail through-hike, a year as an Outward Bound guide, a cross-country bike tour, or several years as a pro skier or snowboard instructor. As a result, we know exactly what you need to follow your own passions. We have a saying at Backcountry, [...]
The step-in snowboard binding is back. “Not again!” I thought. The first round of step-in bindings for snowboards left a lot to be desired. High off the board and super stiff, they never caught on, for good reason. And I just had visions of ejecting out of the bindings and having to search around in the snow for my board, just like a skier. So when I heard Burton had created a new Step On system, I was kind of skeptical. Burton’s been previewing the new Step-On bindings/boot system in advance of next fall’s debut, and since Backcountry will be [...]
I have been rock climbing since I was about 10 years old (I’m 31 now) and am absolutely addicted to the sport. However, up until a couple years ago, I limited myself to rock because, well, ice scared the crap out of me. All the crazy variables—the cold, the foreign surface, odd equipment, and who knows what else—always kept me away. Fortunately, I have friends who pointed out the error in my logic; all those things are what make ice climbing awesome! Seriously, the cold is alleviated by wearing the right clothing, the ice surface is really freaking neat, and [...]
Originally, snowshoeing provided means for me to get started on my quest of summiting the 48 4000-footers in the White Mountains of New Hampshire during the winter. Now that I reside in Utah, exploring the Wasatch-Uinta-Cache National Forest is far easier and more fun thanks to my trusty snowshoes. If you’ve always wanted to get out into the outdoors in the middle of winter, a pair of snowshoes may be your ticket to getting away from it all. Here’s a guide for choosing the snowshoes that are right for you. Working on the same general principle as skis, snowshoes spread [...]
Calculating how to layer on clothing for maximum comfort while venturing outside can be a tricky equation—and I hate math. There are lots of variables, like unknown or changing weather conditions and activity levels that can range on a given day from strenuous boot-packing or snowshoeing to long sedentary chairlift rides or winter camping. Everybody’s different, too, with different comfort and exertion levels, so there’s no one-size-fits-all answer to the layering question. Lucky for us, we can leave our Number 2 pencils at home, because this is a trial-and-error sort of thing. Once you figure out the layering options that [...]
If you’re like me, you live for mornings of digging out cars, of cheering when the lifties open the mountain, and of getting off the first chair of the day with excited ferocity. And, of course, you live for mornings full of face shots. If you’re lucky, you’ll get a few of these increasingly elusive days a season. You’d better make the most of them. First Off, Get There Early Arriving at the parking lot at ten might as well be getting there at two in the afternoon. For me, waking up ass early is only acceptable when I’m hunting [...]
We’ve all been there: it’s cold outside and the local bouldering spots, if not covered in snow and ice, might give your fingers frostbite. But you’re just plain tired of climbing on plastic and 4×4 drills lose their luster after a month or two. Don’t lose your momentum, though. When you desperately need to keep ticking boulder problems, you can find plenty of amazing boulders exist all over the warmer parts of the US. Here’s the beta for six different options, from classics to lesser-known gems. Just don’t forget the crash pads. Above Photo: Derrick Krause Bishop, California Photo: Derrick [...]
Norway has topped my ‘opportunities list’ for some time now, offering some of the most splendid access to pristine hiking, backpacking, and general mountain and ocean adventures that you can ask for in a single location. It’s the kind of place that doesn’t really make sense when you see it in photographs, with mountains rising thousands of feet and dropping nearly straight into the ocean—yet finding your way to a summit often only requires some hiking boots and willpower. With a long list of potential locations to explore, my bag stuffed with gear, and a flexible schedule, I set off [...]
While regular running routes serve as havens that help maintain sanity, they are just that: routine, something that you don’t necessarily remember, the way you don’t recall brushing your teeth. Transporting the activity of running to an exotic destination adds motivation and creates indelible impressions, especially if you wrap the trip around a particular running event. It converts what may be an ordinary endeavor into an extraordinary experience. Besides, after being cooped up from an overseas flight, your body will yearn to run long and hard. Long-haul travel is the perfect taper. Malaysia and Israel are two countries runners don’t [...]
Just because winter has settled in for the season, doesn’t mean you have to hang up your running shoes or retreat to the indoor hamster wheel. And while a frigid jaunt around the park or on the trails can sound pretty darn daunting, outfitting yourself with the right gear can make all the difference. In fact, you might find yourself enjoying cold-weather running. What to Wear—From the Bottom Up Socks Okay, so socks aren’t the most glamorous place to start, but they’re effectively the foundation for your feet. I highly recommend merino wool socks to any who ask (or those [...]
When you ask most people for advice about winter camping, their response is usually either “Don’t!” or “Why?” To many, heading out into the wilderness when there’s snow on the ground and temperatures are in the single digits is totally crazy. But there are actually a lot of good reasons to go winter camping: quiet, solitude, having your pick of camping locations, and freedom from bugs and bears (which are most likely in hibernation), and, if your trip includes backcountry skiing or snowboarding, access to all the untouched snow you could want. The key, of course, is staying warm. The [...]
We’ve all felt it, the way those first stray flakes of a big winter storm turn thoughts from school or work to more important things like waxing your board or setting your ski boots next to the heater for the night. It’s not even snowing yet, but the cars in the parking lot outside the Backcountry office already have their windshield wipers pointed skyward. It might be hopeful thinking, maybe a strange offering to the snow gods, but more likely it’s the knowledge that there’s a storm a-brewin’ and we’ll soon be milking the pow cow. I spoke with Evan [...]
Winter offers unique challenges for anglers, and it can therefore be an especially rewarding season for those who really want to hone their skills. Here are a few important facts about fly fishing during the winter months. Most rivers don’t freeze Unless you’re at very high elevation or very far from the equator, your favorite moving waters don’t freeze in the winter. This is especially the case for tailwaters, any river or stream coming from a dam or other impoundment. Most dams are built such that outflows come from positions lower down the water column, making for generally consistent water [...]
My butt’s too big for the hard molded plastic chairs of Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta Airport; my back aches and the metal armrests on either side dig into my ribs. I’m alone and broke, my student loan deposit having been delayed. People speak Swahili around me, some German, some French. Then I hear a British family across the terminal speaking English, and it brings some comfort. While this moment may seem like a lonesome one, it is actually a fond memory, one of those flashes of time that embed themselves in the mind of a traveler like a photograph. There is [...]
Scoring a pair of older but pristine skis at ski swap can give you serious shopper’s high and make your season, but shopping for ski bindings gets a little trickier. There’s no pretty topsheet, stiffness to test, or sidecut to eye; there are only mysterious inner workings. But don’t be intimidated; essentially bindings attach your boots to your skis. For most types, this job also entails efficient transfer of energy from boot to ski and safe release when you fall, but it’s not rocket science. There are three main types of bindings, and here is how to choose which ones [...]
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