Slough Management

Alexis and the gut of Apocalypse CouloirSlough management. The expression suggests an ability to somehow control one of winter's most powerful natural forces - piles of snow yielding to the force of gravity. We see the term written in stories and hear it and see it in adrenaline-fueled ski porn. The fatter skis and higher speeds of today's free skiers allows for "managing" ever larger so-called sloughs. But at some point we need to call a spade a spade and admit that some of these events are really avalanches. I mean, who are we kidding here?

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CAMP Flash Anorak

It's no secret that I love innovation in outdoor gear. CAMP-USA has been at the fore front of equipment innovation for some time now.

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Early Season Bliss

East and West Hourglass Couloirs, Nez PierceThe early snow of October kept my gaze toward the high peaks most of the month. Some friends got out right after the storm and skied powder on the Middle Teton Glacier. It looked fantastic although they didn't ski from the top of the "notch" below the summit pyramid. Various commitments kept me from getting up there right away but a window opened a couple of weeks later and I rallied the usual suspects for a look-see.

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Trab Skin Attachment Mod

It's one thing to carve up your own gear but entirely another to permanently modify someone else's. I recently took a Dremel Tool to a brand new pair of skis which I purchased for a friend last spring. He lives in Europe much of the year and wanted me to pick out and buy a pair of skis for him during one of the end-of-the-season sales we have in Jackson. So, I found a pair of sweet Trab Stelvios for about 40% off. Although nice right our of the box, they still needed some refinement. 

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Mid-summer Breakfast Skillet

Skillet Glacier, Mt. Moran, GTNPI thought I was done. Really. The final descent of the Grand Teton seemed like a nice cap to the season. I've lamented not getting to ski a few lines that I had in mind, however. The Grand Teton Speed Project became a late season focus and, for better or worse, other projects were put on the back burner. But then I got the call. Nate Brown, ski partner of mine and, as it turns out, Mastercraft ski boat owner, decided that the Skillet Glacier on Mt. Moran needed our ski signatures. The novelty of a boat-assisted, mid-summer descent of a Teton classic, one that I've been itching to do for years, was too much to resist.

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