Backcountry Magazine has given significant attention to the Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains in recent months — with multiple articles focused on or set in the range that includes some of the tallest peaks in the lower 48. But around the same time Backcountry Editorial Director Adam Howard was setting the stage for the magazine’s coverage with […]
China’s Secret Primal Powder Paradise Found By Jaime Van Lanen Years back when I first became interested in snowboarding in China various people passed on rumor to me that it was a no-go, that the harsh high-and-dry climate which dominates most of China’s windswept mountain ranges makes it non-appealing to the snow-surfing powder hounds among […]
By Elizabeth Koutrelakos Thanksgiving can provide ample food and time to digest great things that have occurred over the span of the season. My gratitude commenced when the September snow covered the huckleberries while they were still ripe, forcing me to put down my bucket and pick up my Voodoo splitboard! Sunhats quickly got swapped with beanies and […]
The Uncertain Quest for China’s Secret Powder Paradise By Jaime Van Lanen In mainstream, very urban, eastern China things are starting to ramp up ski industry development-wise, and of course there are loads Chinese who are snowboarding at the many, East Coast-like, lift-served ski resorts. Moreover, Chinese culture even now has caught wind of the […]
Voodoo the first splitboard to kiss the snows of the Tibetan Himalaya? By Jaime Van Lanen Aside from Japan, Asia, our earth’s largest continent, has been relatively unexplored by backcountry snowboarders. Some exceptions to this are Gulmarg in India, the Tian Shan in Kyrgyzstan, and Kamchatka in the Russian Far East. But by no means […]
By Will Shoemaker For skiers, the Dynafit binding has been a game changer in every sense of the term. Tech bindings shave significant weight — a pretty big deal in the backcountry — without, for the most part, sacrificing performance. So why can’t splitboarders benefit from this technology as well? They can. The question is: […]
By Dustin Eldridge The alarm clock rang early that morning. At 4:30 AM I lurched out of bed. Early days are less common in February, but the springlike weather of the past two weeks required springlike rituals. And springlike lines. Our sights were on Mineral Point. Mineral Point is a prolific peak in the Gunnison […]
The Waiting Game. Written by Briant Wiles It is inevitable: the scene of craggy mountain peaks reminds me of the bittersweet affliction I have wanting to know every fold of their faces. In some sort of strange unrequited love affair I long for the lines I have yet to feel under my splitboard unsure I […]
Cold Smoke crew ventures deep into the San Juans By Will Shoemaker There is something deeply gratifying about discovering a new zone and pilfering its possibilities. Often, it takes work, vision and multiple attempts. Like playing Jenga drunk. Or hooking up with the captain of the cheerleading squad. But when the Cold Smoke crew crested […]
Emerald Isle: An Eastern Arctic Snowsurfing Saga By: Jaime Van Lanen Iceland may seem a distant land—but when you factor in one’s ability to travel across the Arctic Circle, it becomes much closer. With an invite from Icelandic splitboard legend Magnus Smarason to join a sea-accessed backcountry snowboarding expedition to a remote fjord, alongside a […]