Welcome to the home of the backcountry skiing blog from Off-Piste Magazine. Here we post backcountry ski gear reviews, feature stories and avalanche safety advice, plus ski news, events and more.
Hyperlite Mountain Gear Ice Pack Summer is in full swing here in Hood River, and that means packing as many adventures into the week (or day) as possible. I have been testing the Hyperlite Mountain Gear 2400 Ice Pack for the past couple of months and have attempted to put it through the full gamut of mountain adventures from day… Read More
Fabio Wibmer rides Saalbach Well, bad acting aside, this is pretty crazy. Full-tilt ripping on the mountain bike on snow with a full array of acrobatics. I’m guessing a few of these scenes required multiple takes.
The Loners – Northeast Appeal – Backcountry Skiing in Chic Chocs For those of us in the western states, it’s easy to think the backcountry ski universe revolves around us. Lest we get too self absorbed, here’s a look at some dedicated backcountry riders exploring the Chic Chocs on the Gaspé Peninsula in Quebec. Looks like fun . . …. Read More
The Wapta Traverse – A Canadian Rockies Classic High Pressure and bluebird conditions prevail and the views stretch as far as my eyes can see in all directions. Dozens of stunning, rocky peaks dressed in white vie for my attention. I wander the ridge toward the summit of a small peak near the Scott Duncan Hut and contemplate the surroundings…. Read More
Candide Thovex ski film Here’s a new take on skiing or at least sliding on skis . . . I kept waiting for the snow. I guess Thovex is just ahead of his time – he’s ready for the future of climate change and a time when there is no more snow . . . Regardless, it’s impressive.
La Liste – Jérémie Heitz redefines steep skiing. Steep skiing evolves yet again – gone are the days of jump turns and mountaineering style descents. Young Swiss skiing phenom, Jérémie Heitz, sets a new bar for fluid freeriding of 45-55-degree ski lines. La Liste follows Heitz in his pursuit to ski 15 of the Alps’ steepest 4,000-meter peaks in just two ski… Read More
The DPS Ski Film Series – Shadow Campaign Volume IV – Episode 4 The DPS ski film crew travels to Kyrgyzstan for the latest ski film in their Shadow Campaign series, Song for the Nomad. The film highlights the Celestial Mountains of Kyrgyzstan as well as the traditional mountain culture all set to an original musical score. Here’s what DPS has… Read More
Patagonia Snowdrifter Softshell Ski Pants Why Go Softshell If you’ve ever ski toured in a pair of GORE-TEX ski pants, you know how little they really breathe when you’re working hard on the uptrack. Unlike our upper layers, no one changes leg layers while out skiing. Backcountry ski pants require breathability to manage the demands of touring. Waterproof and breathable… Read More
As Promised, here’s Episode 1: The Space Within – the first installment of four DPS Cinematic Short Films. And here’s the official word from the DPS team: Exploring the tidepools of a deserted tropical beach, a young boy finds a mysterious treasure washed upon the rocks. ‘The Space Within’ whispers of another world, holding magic unlike anything he has seen… Read More
DPS Skis has just announced Volume IV of their ‘”Shadow Campaign” Film Series. As usual we can look forward to four new films. This year, the DPS Cinematic crew traveled to Kyrgyzstan, Japan and Alaska in search of adventure on snow. Individual episodes are scheduled for release on the third Thursday of September, October, November and December of 2017 –… Read More
It’s that time of year again. September is knocking at the door and the ski movie trailers are here to distract us from our precious workday schedules . . . Here’s what TGR has to say about their latest ski movie, Rogue Elements: Since the dawn of time, everything that has lived and breathed on this planet has been subject to… Read More
G-Form Knee Pads – Soft, Flexible, Low-Profile Protecting your knees while skiing should be a no-brainer. We pad our heads with helmets and protect our bodies with avalanche safety gear. I’d like to think I’m more likley to hit my knee than trigger an avalanche, so it only makes sense to wear knee pads, too. Game Changers Once the domain of… Read More
Patagonia Nano Air Light Hoody Finding the magic layering system that is warm yet breathable enough to handle breaking trail and uphill travel is no simple feat. First off, every day is different – sun, wind, temp, precip – they all vary by day and even aspect. Second, everybody is different – some of us run hot, others run cool…. Read More
Tuesday Time Waster – Candide Thovex Edit The weather seems to have turned toward fall as the calendar turned to September this year. The Northwest mountains have only seen a trace of snow but the cool temps and grey skies help fuel thoughts of the winter ahead. But who needs snow to ski. Apparently, Candide Thovex doesn’t. This clip is… Read More
The opportunity to ski a wide variety of backcountry skis back to back for direct comparisons is the foundation of our ski testing program and our subsequent ski review write-ups. This season’s fresh crop of backcountry skis includes a few highly regarded favorites like the Voile V6, the DPS Wailer 112 and the Volkl BMT 94 but it also includes… Read More
