[VIDEO] The FIFTY – 41/50 – “One of the Worst Places on the Planet” Nestled at the base of the highest mountain entirely in BC, Canada– Mt. Waddington– lies a perfect couloir. A white ribbon knifed through colossal granite towers set among an ocean of ice and snow. While Mt. Waddington is a prize for mountaineers, the Combatant Couloir is a prize for ski mountaineers. But what if the mountains, the ice and the […] Backcountry SnowBrains | January 11, 2023 0 Comments
[VIDEO] The FIFTY – Bonus Ep – How to Plan a Ski Traverse Undertaking the Bugs to Rogers Traverse is a daunting challenge. Planning, mapping and strategizing before you ever step foot on the traverse is a big part of the challenge. Here is a video guide to not only some of the specifics of the Bugs to Rogers Traverse itself, but how to use digital mapping technology to help make your plans […] Backcountry SnowBrains | January 5, 2023 0 Comments
[VIDEO] The FIFTY – 40/50 – Part 3 – The Bugs to Rogers Traverse – Most Iconic Ski Traverse in North Possibly the most iconic multi-day traverse in North America, the Bugs to Rogers Traverse spans three mountain ranges, 80+ miles of distance and over 30k vertical feet of elevation gain. Though the challenges don’t come in the numbers alone, the route is littered with complex navigational challenges, sudden and savage storms, crucial and consequential decision making and surviving in the […] Backcountry SnowBrains | January 4, 2023 0 Comments
[VIDEO] The FIFTY – 40/50 – Part 2 – The Bugs to Rogers Traverse Possibly the most iconic multi-day traverse in North America, the Bugs to Rogers Traverse spans three mountain ranges, 80+ miles of distance and over 30k vertical feet of elevation gain. Though the challenges don’t come in the numbers alone, the route is littered with complex navigational challenges, sudden and savage storms, crucial and consequential decision making and surviving in the […] Backcountry SnowBrains | December 15, 2022 0 Comments
[VIDEO] The FIFTY Ep 40 | The Iconic Multi-Day Bugs to Rogers Traverse – Part 1 Possibly the most iconic multi-day traverse in North America, the Bugs to Rogers Traverse spans three mountain ranges, 80+ miles of distance, and over 30k vertical feet of elevation gain. Related: Spotlight On: Cody Townsend and The FIFTY Though the challenges don’t come in the numbers alone, the route is littered with complex navigational challenges, sudden and savage storms, crucial […] SnowBrains | November 30, 2022 0 Comments
[VIDEO] The FIFTY – 39/50 – What the F#$* is an Uber Tour? Sometimes the crux of a line is just figuring out what the line is. Such is the nature of “The Uber Tour”, a line that is listed in The Fifty Classic Ski Descents of North America but nobody seems to know what exactly it is. Piecing together the description in the book as best as possible, The FIFTY sets out on a link […] Backcountry SnowBrains | November 16, 2022 0 Comments
[VIDEO] The FIFTY – Line 38/50 – A Return to the Steeps – The Sphinx, AK In 2019, The FIFTY sent it up to Alaska to attempt the modern classic, The Sphinx. But the puckering steeps, cruel exposure, and hardpack conditions sent the crew home with their tail between their legs and the line unfinished. Three years of watching the weather, conditions, and stability from thousands of miles away and a miraculous window beckons in April […] Backcountry SnowBrains | November 2, 2022 0 Comments
[VIDEO] The FIFTY Episode 37 – 7 Steps to Paradise, Near Revelstoke, BC Every line has a crux. The hardest part of the journey that puts up the biggest obstacle to a line’s completion. Sometimes that crux is an ice climb, a bushwhack or navigating through hazardous avalanche terrains. Sometimes that crux comes in the form of something entirely outside of the mountains. Near Revelstoke, British Columbia lies an ultra-classic, oft skied, powder […] SnowBrains | October 19, 2022 0 Comments