How to Stay Alive in Steep Terrain: Lessons From a Life in Chamonix Ross Hewitt has been skiing steep lines in Chamonix for nearly 30 years. He has not just survived, but endured. In a place where mistakes often prove fatal, he’s found a way to consistently keep the most important aspect of free skiing intact: himself. By all accounts, the odds aren’t in your favor. The slopes of the Mont Blanc Massif, […] Deep Dive Martin Kuprianowicz | May 29, 2025 0 Comments
Big Sky, MT, Report: Winter’s Not Over Yet Report from Saturday, March 22, 2025 “What about Big Sky?” my partner asked while we were perusing the list of Mountain Collective resorts early in the season, planning possible ski trips for the season. Though I had always been aware that Big Sky was a big resort in the grand state of Montana, I had not found my way up […] Conditions Report Zach Armstrong | March 26, 2025 0 Comments
VIDEO: How to Make a DIY Whippet Ice Axe Ski Pole for Steep Skiing Ever end up in a situation where you need a whippet ice axe ski pole but don’t have one? Happens to me now and again and this is my solution and it works well. These can be very helpful in steep skiing situations. I just used this one in the North Couloir of 12,424′ North Peak, CA on May 24, […] Backcountry Miles Clark | May 27, 2022 1 Comment
Trip Report: North Peak, CA – 50º+ North Couloir | “I’m Never Doing That Again…” Report from May 24, 2022 2 nights ago we got a text from Tall Carl. It was a picture of the North Couloir of North Peak, CA, and all it said was: “The couloir on North Peak is in.” Greggy & I got the text at the same time, looked at each other and simply nodded. The next day, we […] Conditions Report Miles Clark | May 25, 2022 3 Comments
Meet Molly Armanino: One of the Best Prospects on the Freeride World Qualifier Molly Armanino started competing two seasons ago. She’s a 27-year-old, South Lake Tahoe native who, at 4,400 points, has placed second on the Freeride World Qualifier this season. Before deciding to enter into the world of competitive big mountain skiing, she took five winters off and hardly ever skied during that period. She’s a natural. This is why I called […] Industry News Martin Kuprianowicz | April 26, 2021 0 Comments
Utah’s West Desert Backcountry Report: Beautiful, Clandestine Spring Desert Skiing Brought to you by 10 Barrel Brewing Report from Friday, April 2, 2021 I woke up in the desert in the back of Landon’s van. We were lost. Turns out we ventured an hour in the wrong direction in what could have been Egypt for all I knew—there was nothing out there besides salt flats and a strange compound-like structure with […] Trip Report Martin Kuprianowicz | April 3, 2021 4 Comments
Trip Report: Little Cottonwood Canyon, UT – 3,000-Vertical-Foot “Coalpit #4” Brought to you by 10 Barrel Brewing Report From Thursday, March 11, 2021 It was deep inside the belly of the beast where we finally found solace. Buddies Landon, Gage, and I went for a long boot pack this morning up a narrow couloir near the entrance to Little Cottonwood Canyon, UT. “Coalpit #4” is 3,000-vertical-foot long, 38º steep, narrow, couloir […] Trip Report Martin Kuprianowicz | March 12, 2021 0 Comments
14 Tricks For Making Steep Lines Steeper: Misadventures From “The Chuting Gallery, a Guide to Steep Skiing in the Wasatch” This article was written by Will Thomas One of the key challenges of “extreme” skiing is explaining it to the uninitiated especially when you yourself are the uninitiated. With the influx of new backcountry users, the situation is fraught. Thousands of unsuspecting people have exchanged hard-earned dollars for sparkling new touring gear, and, even with a litany of hashtags, will […] Backcountry Guest Author | December 9, 2020 2 Comments
The SnowBrains Podcast – Episode #7 – Andrew McLean, The Big Mountain Scientist [Part 1] The SnowBrains Podcast is brought to you by Alta Ski Area In October 2020, we proudly announced the launch of “The SnowBrains Podcast.“ The SnowBrains Podcast has already broken into the top 20% of all podcasts, and we’re honored and humbled. Thank you! This week, we bring you episode #7 [Part 1] with Andrew McLean the legendary ski mountaineer, author of […] Podcasts Podcast | December 1, 2020 5 Comments
VIDEO: Alaska Steep Skiing – Todd Ligare – For Good Measure | Spines For Days… [arve url="https://youtu.be/YTRG-9bjTP8"] SnowBrains | October 23, 2020 Likes Tweets 0 Comments
Video: Nikolai Schirmer And Friends Tackling The Steeps In Chamonix Chamonix, France offers some dang steep skiing and loads of exposure. In this video Nikolai Schirmer, Krister Kopala, Jacob Wester, Flo Bastien, and a few others explore some of what this place has to offer. Many ski lines around Chamonix require not only expert skiing ability but also climbing, rappelling, and glacier navigation skills. It is not uncommon to have […] Featured Video Ryan Nadiak | February 11, 2020 0 Comments
Its Snowing! Last Season’s Shred Stoke @ Squawalpine 2017/18 was definitely a weird season for Squaw Valley & Alpine Meadows but by being creative, snow enthusiasts can have a wicked time on the hill. The season started slowly with ‘just enough’ coverage around the mountain. That made perfect opportunities to ski with the kids and get their technique in order. It wasn’t until March when the typical heavy Sierra snowfalls blanketed the region. Casey Cane | November 29, 2018 1 Comment
A Dream Come True: Helicopter Skiing in Cordova Alaska Report As I worked 60 hour weeks throughout the 2015 summer and fall, only staying sane by surfing barrels almost every morning, I began to plan my winter on all and every level. Reading weather prediction reports and planning logistics, I knew that Japan was a go to, California would be killer due to EL Nino and the western part of the lower 48 would be legit as well. Ryan Mulcahy | April 10, 2016 0 Comments
Thrashing with the Tribe…a week in Telluride! So here we are…another year, another ‘ski week’ in Telluride. With six days of skiing on the docket, the big difference this year is that the kids can actually ski with us! Hell, my 7 year old decided to pick off ‘double blacks’ all over the mountain. Call this dad impressed… Telluride is our staple ski destination outside of California for many reasons. One, and most importantly, there’s great hike-to steep terrain like the Gold Hill Chutes, Mountain Quail and Palmyra. Secondly, they have some amazing beginning and intermediate terrain for the little rippers in your family. Finally, it was a town before a ski resort and that character shines through as you walk down main street. I guess you argue that the views are pretty spectacular, restaurants are amazing, and the sunsets are to die for, but I only have some much time to editorialize. With over 240 inches of snowfall before our visit and spring time temps throughout the week, we couldn’t have asked for more perfect weather to ski bell to bell everyday. Groomers such as Henry’s, Milk Run, Bushwacker and The Plunge had that ‘every so perfect’ Rocky Mountain chalky consistency. Coverage in the steeps was better than years past, and outdoor lunching at Bon Vivant or Giuseppe’s could not have been more sublime. My only dilemma was trying to fit in some dad time lapping Dihedral face and at least one hike up to Palmyra Peak. I managed to bag those lines and a few others but had just as much fun cruising the mountain with the 4 and 7 year old groms. To be honest, it is pretty rewarding to see your kids having a blast on the hill but its even more rewarding when they crash to bed earlier than usual after a big day. Conditions Report Casey Cane | March 2, 2016 2 Comments
Ridiculously Remarkable @ The Remarkables (New Zealand part I) Toward the end of August 2015, a father & son team made the easy journey (if you ride a plane that is) from San Francisco to the Southern Alps of New Zealand. Our plan was to ski the first 4 days between Coronet Peak and The Remarkables and to introduce my son not only to NZ skiing but also to my good ol’ kiwi mates. As with any ski trip, all you can do is hope and pray that the planets will align to provide epic skiing conditions. Luckily, for my son’s first visit, the snow gods granted us superb weather and skiing around the Queenstown area. Casey Cane | November 15, 2015 1 Comment
Terminating the Terrible Tahoe Season @ Carson Pass, CA Given the absolutely dismal year we had here in Northern California, I never would have guessed that the annual mid-June climb to ski around the Carson Pass area would have the snow to pull it off. Well, after above average snowfall for May 2015, Round Top Peak (10,381 ft) and the Sisters Peaks (10,153 ft) failed to disappoint. Backcountry Casey Cane | July 17, 2015 5 Comments
Clamoring for a New Couloir – Sonora Pass, CA For the duration of the month of May, a continuation of high altitude storms thankfully added to the historically shallow Sierra snowpack. With these storms dropping a foot here, a few inches there, another foot there, I realized the window of opportunity could possibly exist for a certain zone of chutes that I have been eyeing for many years. It’s in an area on Sonora Pass that few frequent as you have to boot directly up a choice of two couloirs, of which, cannot be accessed from above. After a week and a half of road closures among a constant study of the weather, it looked like our chance[…] Backcountry Casey Cane | June 26, 2015 2 Comments
Dreadful Drought You Say? Skiing Lines in May! @ Sonora Pass, CA Back in mid-May, the ski season refused to die in California despite the existence of an unprecedented drought…so the snow soldiers rolled on! The mountain highway passes (89, 4, 108, & 120) all opened in April because of the lack of snow. As a frequent ski tourer of said passes, the usual plan of attack is to get there right when they open as snow conditions generally deteriorate […] Backcountry Casey Cane | June 23, 2015 3 Comments
Early March Radness…on Snow! @ Kirkwood With a few feet at the beginning of March, Kirkwood received a much needed refresher to keep the season on schedule. Other than a nasty ice layer on the steepest upper elevations, skiing was a blast on March 4th and 8th. Highlights include […] Conditions Report Casey Cane | March 20, 2015 1 Comment
Fishing for the Fabulous @ Telluride Given that the Lake Tahoe region continues to struggle for snowfall, this family decided to head back out to our ‘go to’ area, Telluride, for good ol’ family ski fun. With six days of skiing planned, we had time to explore, ski with the kids, not ski with kids, long lunches in the sun, ski school drop off, ski school pick ups, short hikes up to Dihedral face… Conditions Report Casey Cane | February 28, 2015 0 Comments