D’Arcy McLeish

‘Twas The Night Before Christmas – A Skier’s Poem

‘Twas the night before Christmas when all through the town,
There was no breath of wind and no snow to be found.
The local skiers were sleeping and snoring away,
With hopes of that a winter storm was well on its way.
Their quivers of skis lay next to their beds,
While visions of face shots danced in their heads.
As I lay in my bed, hoping for weather,
I pondered a Christmas with only groomers for pleasure. […]
D’Arcy McLeish |
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Danger in the Backcountry – Risk vs. Stupidity

Playing in the mountains is not without risk. For those of us who spend their work and pleasure time in the mountains, managing that risk is the key to staying safe and helping others to stay safe. Over the last few years, the numbers of folks heading into the backcountry has increased significantly and as a result of that we are starting to see more and more situations, specifically with avalanches, where inexperienced groups are getting caught in slides. There have even been cases where the convergence of different user groups in the backcountry have led to incidences of avalanches where one group has caused a slide to take out another group. […]
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D’Arcy McLeish |
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How Many Days Do You Get in the Backcountry? This Guy Got In 115 & Has a Full Time Job…

guido schnelzer heli guide

Guido is one those people I would love to spend a day in the mountains with. He is all about getting after it and his enthusiasm and contagious sense of adventure is something to envy. I love to ski. Most of my life has been about the snow, but Guido has taken his love of skiing to another level entirely. Last season, for instance, he put in 126 days, 115 of which were days ski touring. For someone who works full time, those are huge numbers. Ski touring 115 days is absolutely all time […]
D’Arcy McLeish |
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Elixir – A Film About Nick Geddes

elixir

In the mountain environment, we often point to athletic achievement as a form of inspiration. This athlete climbed that peak or that rider won this competition. While physical achievement can be inspiring in its own way, is it truly a measure of character? Too often in the bubble of the mountain culture, athletic achievement is celebrated over true inspiration. Sure, it takes mad skills, discipline and balls of steel to do some of the things athletes do, but that often has little do to with the depth […]
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D’Arcy McLeish |
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GEAR REVIEW – Patagonia Nano Puff Jacket

I get cold. Whether it’s winter, summer or somewhere in between seasons, I always have some form of insulation with me. For years I had a Patagonia Nano Puff pull over and it served me well. A super compressible, windproof primaloft sweater that weighed next to nothing and could fit in even the smallest of packs, I loved the Nano. But my beef was always with the fact that it did not have a full length zipper. When the Nano Puff Jacket came out a few years ago, my old pull over was still going strong but finally, this past summer, that old rag became just that – an old rag. So I ordered myself a full zip Nano Puff Jacket form EVO. […]
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D’Arcy McLeish |
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GEAR REVIEW: Arc’teryx Vertical SV Gloves

The Arc’teryx Vertical SV glove is the short cuff version of their big gauntlet glove, the Alpha SV. With a full leather palm, beefy fleece interior and a Gore-Tex membrane to keep you dry, these gloves just look burly. After wearing them on most of the colder, wetter days throughout a whole winter season, I can safely say, they stand up as well as most things Arc’teryx makes. They were bomber. At first glance, these gloves are a little strange and chunky looking. Thick, anatomically curved fingers gave me pause as to how they would perform doing anything that required a little dexterity. While they struggled with finer movements at first, […]
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D’Arcy McLeish |
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Hestra Heli & XCR Gloves – REVIEW

I work as a ski patroller, and finding a glove that can withstand the abuse of the job, keep my hands warm and dry and actually last the season is difficult. While not perfect, Hestra has a couple of gloves on offer that come pretty close. Understand that no glove is going to do everything, and the debate between leather and synthetics can be a long one. I choose leather. Sure, it’s a little high maintenance and requires constant treatment with wax to keep it waterproof, but if you take care of them, leather gloves are durable and tough. I’ve used two different Hestra gloves over the last few years, both gauntlet gloves from their […]
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D’Arcy McLeish |
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Why We Ski

The other day my son asked me about skiing. No stranger to the endeavor himself, he asked me why I like to ski. Big question. At first, I was hard pressed to answer. I spent a few moments letting my mind wander and tried to come up with an answer a six year old would understand. I went from thinking about big explanations of the mountain lifestyle and being free and a whole host of other things and finally, as his patience was wearing a little thin, I simply said, “I ski because it’s fun.” And that’s really it, isn’t it? We skibecause it’s fun. Pure and simple. […]
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D’Arcy McLeish |
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Last Frontier Heliskiing = 960″ of Snow Annually

Our friends at Last Frontier Heliskiing have released a short feature film entitled The Last Frontier. Shot over a pre-determined five-day period in January of 2013, the film is a real testament to the unique experience of heliskiing in Northern BC. Ski movies often take the best shots over a whole season, but with the The Last Frontier, the time was booked months in advance and offers the viewer what they can expect in a typical […]
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Arc’teryx Atom LT Hoodie REVIEW

Arc'teryx Atom LT hoodie review

I’ve spent a lot of time in the Arc’teryx Atom LT Hoodie. According to Arc’teryx, the Atom LT Hoodie is billed as an insulated, mid-layer hoody with wind and moisture resistant outer shell. Arc’teryx rarely disappoints but I was curious with this jacket. I got it as a kind of do everything piece, from riding on cold days to ski touring and even being manly around the house. But to be truthful, it felt almost too light […]
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D’Arcy McLeish |
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Powder Magazine Review – Thoughts from the First Issue

It’s been a long time since I bought an issue of Powder. I let my subscription run out about ten years ago; a subscription I had since I was thirteen years old. As a blossoming ski bum, I remember waiting all summer for the first issue to come out, trying to cope with snow withdrawal and teenage ski angst. When it would appear in the mailbox in August, I’d be like a kid on Christmas morning. I would bring it inside and pour over the articles and the gear guide, drooling at what was possible in a world of snow. But my beef came in the early 2000’s […]
D’Arcy McLeish |
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