You Have A Ski Quiver, Should You Have A Boot Quiver Too? Your boots are the most important piece of ski equipment you own. Besides keeping your feet warm, they’re the only connection you have between you and your skis. Go ahead – buy the best skis and bindings, and hire Bode Miller as your personal coach, but if your boot fit sucks, so will you. You’ve got skis for every pursuit and […] Backcountry Mike Lavery | May 2, 2022 6 Comments
Conditions Report: April Delivers in SW Montana [arve url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-6dbcyPlxA"] Mike Lavery | April 19, 2022 Likes Tweets 1 Comment
Bode Miller and The Peak Skis Experience Last week I got an email from the SnowBrains editors about a new ski company being launched in Bozeman by Bode Miller. I live in Bozeman, so I replied, “Sure, I’ll swing over and check it out.” I’ve always been a Bode Miller fan. As a guy that grew up ski racing in New Hampshire, it’d be weird not to […] Industry News Mike Lavery | April 7, 2022 0 Comments
SCOTT Patrol E1 Airbags: The Ultimate Freeskiing Backpacks Brought to you by SCOTT Sports On January 18th, 2022, SnowBrains founder and SCOTT athlete Miles Clark was caught in an avalanche in the backcountry outside of Revelstoke, BC. Miles was wearing a SCOTT Patrol E1 electronic airbag pack, which he quickly deployed, and was able to ski off of the slide without being buried or injured. SCOTT’s lineup of Patrol […] Gear Mike Lavery | February 28, 2022 0 Comments
Vermont is Home to the Best Glades and Steep Skiing Classics on the East Coast Brought to you by The Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing As a native New Englander, Vermont skiing has always been something special. Growing up, my dad and I would drive hours past our local resorts and head straight for Vermont. The trails were more challenging, the snow was deeper, and the trees seemed to grow the perfect distance apart. […] Featured Article Mike Lavery | January 19, 2022 6 Comments
LEKI USA Drops an Awesome New Lineup of Backcountry-Specific Ski Poles Brought to you by LEKI USA Backcountry-specific ski poles are one of the most useful and often overlooked pieces of gear you should have in your quiver. At the resort, just about anything will suffice, but on the skin track the right set of poles can make or break your day. I’ve tried a lot of options over the years […] Gear Mike Lavery | January 5, 2022 0 Comments
Don’t Miss Backcountry Safety Awareness Week, December 13-18th, Presented By Take Care Tahoe Brought to you by The Tahoe Fund Whether you’re a backcountry rookie or professional ski mountaineer, keeping your skills sharp is a life-long process. For the second year running, Take Care Tahoe is hosting Backcountry Safety Awareness Week, December 13-18th. It’s a mix of online programming and in-person events to promote backcountry safety and education, and best of all, it’s […] Featured Article Mike Lavery | December 8, 2021 0 Comments
The 15 Highest Ski Resorts In Colorado Colorado is synonymous with skiing. CO sees more skier visits than any other US state. The Centennial State is home to over 25 ski resorts and tons of elevation. In fact, Colorado owns most of the highest elevation ski areas in North America. Here are the top 15: *** #1 – Silverton Mountain, 13,487 ft #2 – Telluride, 13,150 ft #3 […] Mike Lavery | September 3, 2021 2 Comments
How To: Properly Adjust Your Bike Shifting. It’s Super Easy. Nothing can make a long day on the trails less fun than a poorly shifting bike. Adjusting things on your own is super simple. Front derailleurs are all but dead on mountain bikes, so I’m going to focus on adjusting the rear. First off, an anatomy lesson. For a simple shift adjust, all you need to worry about is the two […] Biking Mike Lavery | July 5, 2021 1 Comment
How To: Fix Spongy Brakes in 10-Minutes If you’re riding hydraulic disc brakes, you’ve probably dealt with less than ideal lever feel. Air will eventually find its way into your lines one way or another. That sneaky stuff… If your brakes are completely non-functional, you’ll need a full bleed, which is beyond the scope of this article. Brakes aren’t something to experiment with, so please consult a qualified […] Biking Mike Lavery | June 3, 2021 4 Comments
New to the Backcountry? Alpenglow Expeditions Has You Covered Brought to you by Alpenglow Expeditions The 2020-21 ski season is going to be unique for reasons I need not explain. Many of you (myself included) are planning on spending a lot more time in the backcountry than usual. For even the most seasoned resort skier or rider, venturing outside the ropes can be a scary leap. First, there’s all […] Featured Article Mike Lavery | February 10, 2021 0 Comments
The Best Month To Ski In Wyoming When you think about skiing in Wyoming, you think Jackson Hole. There are some smaller ski areas scattered around, but if you’re packing up and heading to the cowboy state, the Tetons can’t be beaten. The Jackson, Wyoming area is home to Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, Snow King, Grand Targhee, and the backcountry paradise known as Teton Pass. The region gets pummeled […] Mike Lavery | September 16, 2020 1 Comment
Bridger Foothills Fire Burning North of Bozeman, MT A massive wildfire is currently scorching the Bridger Range just north of Bozeman, Montana. The fire started near Bozeman’s iconic “M” trail on Friday afternoon and blew up to 7,138 acres as of Monday night. The cause of the fire is still under investigation. Gusty winds and low humidity caused extreme fire growth on Saturday. Light smoke was visible from […] Fire Mike Lavery | September 8, 2020 0 Comments
How To: Set Up Your Bike Tires Tubeless Tubeless tires are old technology at this point, but I know a surprising number of people that haven’t converted. Either they don’t care or just think it’s too complicated. In fact, I ran inner tubes for an embarrassing amount of time before finally taking the leap. Why do it? You’ll get less flats and it’s an easy way to cut up […] Biking Mike Lavery | June 24, 2020 3 Comments
Bike Bling: When Is It Safe To Upgrade Bolts? On internet forums, there’s one thing I read that always makes me cringe: people looking to “upgrade” all the bolts on their bike to stainless steel or titanium. If you’re not an engineer, or haven’t worked in a shop, you may not know that all bolts aren’t the same. It’s OK, I’m here to explain. Almost every bolt on a […] Biking Mike Lavery | May 16, 2020 0 Comments
End Ski Touring Blisters Once and For All – Leukotape Blisters while backcountry skiing is something almost everyone has dealt with at one point or another. Finding that balance between uphill comfort and downhill performance in your ski boots is a never-ending challenge. Even more, it can be very hard to tell if the boot fit that feels great at home is going to chafe you to death on the […] Gear Mike Lavery | January 10, 2020 2 Comments
How To: Custom Mold Your Intuition Liners at Home Brought to you by Intuition Liners Here at SnowBrains, we’re all fans of Intuition Liners. They make liners for just about every snowsports application you could imagine, and the fit and performance is unrivaled. Another great benefit is that if you don’t want to head into a ski shop, you can order liners right off their website and mold them […] Gear Mike Lavery | January 7, 2020 0 Comments
Explore The Squaw Valley, CA Backcountry This Season With Two New Offerings From Alpenglow Expeditions Brought to you by Alpenglow Expeditions You’re pulling into the Squaw Valley parking lot, and there it is. The Tram Ridge is right in front of you, untracked and calling your name. In the past, your options were to poach it, and probably lose your pass, or spend a good chunk of money for a full or half-day guided trip. […] Featured Article Mike Lavery | December 19, 2019 0 Comments
Intuition Liner Roundup: Power Wrap, Pro Wrap, Pro Tour, Luxury. Which One Is For You? Brought to you by Intuition Liners It’s no secret that Intuition Liners are the best in the business. I haven’t skied a stock ski boot liner for almost 10 years now and I don’t plan on ever going back. Intuitions live in all my boots. Actually, that’s not true. I am skiing the stock liners in my Scarpa touring boots, […] Gear Mike Lavery | December 18, 2019 0 Comments
5 Reasons Why I Won’t Ski Anything But Intuition Liners As a guy with super narrow, bony feet, buying ski boots used to be challenging. Finding a boot that was the right size without being too tight here and too loose there took forever. At one point, I went to a specialty boot fitter and spent a lot of money on custom injected foam liners. They fit and skied great, […] Gear Mike Lavery | November 26, 2019 0 Comments
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