Not many people know how extroadinary the Washington Cascades are. Heck, before I moved here I had no idea just how diverse and immense the Cascades were. Thankfully, I have a much better idea now…
This was one of those perfect days of backcountry skiing, when everything aligns just right: deep snow, cold cloudless skies and [...]
Mar 10, 2009 | Categories: Backcountry Ski Photos | Tags: adventure photo, adventure photography, backcountry, Backcountry Ski Photos, backcountry ski touring, backcountry skier, backcountry skiing, backcountry skiing photos, Cascades, landscape and pictures, landscape images, landscape photographs, landscape photos, landscape pictures, northwest, photographs images, pictures of skiing, seattle, ski adventure, ski photo, ski tour, skiing, skiing pic, sports photography, telemark skiing photos, the backcountry, Washington, winter | Leave A Comment »
When it’s clear in Washington, there really is no better place than Mt Rainier. So this past weekend a group of us headed down for a quick ski. It felt more like spring then February but we weren’t complaining when we stepped out of the car at the parking lot near Paradise Lodge.
Rather than post [...]
Feb 10, 2009 | Categories: Backcountry Ski Photos | Tags: backcountry, Backcountry Ski Photos, backcountry ski touring, backcountry skiing, mount rainier, mt rainier, mt rainier photos, national park rainier, the backcountry | Leave A Comment »
I’m not sure if this is good or bad news, but regardless, it’s news. The New York Times just ran a story on the science of avalanches. As any backcountry skier knows, understanding how avalanches work is a bit of art and science…and, in my opinion, luck. The story is no doubt in response to [...]
Jan 20, 2009 | Categories: Backcountry Ski Photos, Ski Touring Resources | Tags: adventure photography, avalanche awareness, avalanche center, avalanche facts, avalanche fatalities, avalanche forecast, avalanche rating scale, avalanche video, avalanche website, Backcountry Ski Photos, backcountry ski touring, backcountry skiing, photographs images, ski trips, snow, snow avalanche, telemark ski, the backcountry, us telemark ski team, wilderness experience, winter | Leave A Comment »
It’s been a tough year for backcountry skiing just about anywhere in the west. According to avalanche.org, there have already been 22 avalanche fatalities in the US and Canada. Not all of these were backcountry skiers, a couple were rock/ice climbers and almost half were snowmobilers.
Here in the Pacific Northwest, our season was slow to [...]
Jan 07, 2009 | Categories: Backcountry Ski Photos | Tags: adventure photography, avalanche fatalities, Backcountry Ski Photos, backcountry ski touring, backcountry skiing, backcountry skiing photos, bc skiing, british columbia, Cascades, cross country ski, crystal mountain, images pictures, mt rainier, nordic skiing, northwest, pacific nw, photographs images, pictures nature, pictures of skiing, seattle, skate skiing, ski adventure, ski photo, ski pics, skiing, skiing photos, skiing pic, skis, snow, sports photography, telemark ski, the backcountry, whistler area, whistler backcountry, whistler bc, whistler blackcomb, whitefish, whitefish mt, wilderness experience | Leave A Comment »
Winter has officially arrived here in the Pacific NW. Besides a few breaks here and there, it’s pretty much been snowing for the past two weeks. This is great for the snow pack, but unfortunately the backcountry is hard to reach and scary to be in at the moment. We’re not alone. The other day [...]
Dec 29, 2008 | Categories: Backcountry Ski Photos | Tags: alpine terrain, avalanche awareness, avalanche center, avalanche facts, avalanche forecast, avalanche website, backcountry, Backcountry Ski Photos, backcountry ski touring, backcountry skiing, backcountry skiing photos, bc skiing, british columbia, cross country ski, images pictures, mt rainier, nordic skiing, northwest, oregon images, pacific nw, photographs images, pictures nature, pictures of skiing, ski adventure, ski photo, ski pics, ski terrain, ski tour, ski touring, ski trips, skiing, skis, snow, snow avalanche, telemark ski, the backcountry, winter | Leave A Comment »
This is not the weekend to go backcountry skiing, at least here in the Northwest. Interestingly, the reason for what could be a truly hazadarous weekend for any sort of ski touring, has less to do with the Pacific Northwest and more to do with the Rockies.
“This is the weakest snowpack I have seen in [...]
Dec 27, 2008 | Categories: Backcountry Ski News, Ski Touring Resources | Tags: alpine terrain, avalanche center, avalanche facts, avalanche forecast, avalanche rating scale, avalanche video, avalanche website, backcountry, Backcountry Ski Photos, backcountry ski touring, backcountry skiing, backcountry skiing photos, bc skiing, mt rainier, northwest, nwac, pacific nw, pictures of skiing, seattle, ski adventure, ski photo, ski pics, ski terrain, ski tour, ski touring, ski trips, skiing, snow avalanche, the backcountry | Leave A Comment »
I never thought I would be skate skiing to breakfast…in Seattle!
Ok, so it’s not exactly an epic backcountry ski tour. But when you consider having to be aware of what’s coming around that next blind corner, it’s almost like exploring a new mountain.
And more snow is on the way!
Dec 23, 2008 | Categories: Backcountry Ski Photos | Tags: Backcountry Ski Photos, backcountry skiing, cross country ski, nordic skiing, northwest, seattle, skate skiing, ski photo, skiing | Leave A Comment »
Snow is finally starting to fall here in the Pacific Northwest and soon enough we should all be enjoying some backcountry ski tours. For now I’ll take what I can get, even if it’s a couple ski photos from past trips.
This shot was snapped on a three-day ski tour to the Snow Peak hut in [...]
Dec 14, 2008 | Categories: Backcountry Ski Photos | Tags: adventure photography, backcountry, Backcountry Ski Photos, backcountry ski touring, backcountry skier, backcountry skiing, backcountry skiing photos, bc skiing, Cascades, cross country ski, images pictures, northwest, pacific nw, photographs images, pictures nature, pictures of skiing, ski adventure, ski photo, ski pics, ski tour, ski touring, skiing, skis, snow, sports photography, telemark ski, telemark skiing, the backcountry, Washington, winter | Leave A Comment »
It’s that bad. Dec 7th, 2008, and still no snow in the Washington Cascades. So what’s a backcountry skier to do? How about go for a trail run up Mt Si? Sounds like fun right? We’re getting desperate, but at least the 4,000 ft climb up Mount Si was under clear blue skies and afforded [...]
Dec 09, 2008 | Categories: Backcountry Ski Photos | Tags: backcountry, Backcountry Ski Photos, backcountry skier, backcountry skiing, backcountry skiing photos, Cascades, mount si, mt rainier photos, mt si, northwest, photographs images, pictures nature, pictures of skiing, seattle, ski photo, ski pics, ski tour, ski touring, skiing, telemark skiing, the backcountry, trail running, Washington, winter | 2 Comments »
Time is running out on holiday shopping. Which is kind of scary, because with Christmas only a couple weeks away, there still is barely any snow in them hills! I woke up this morning, as I do every day, looked out the window and the Olympic Mountains are bare bare bare. It will come they [...]
Dec 04, 2008 | Categories: Backcountry Ski News, Backcountry Ski Photos, Ski Touring Resources | Tags: backcountry, Backcountry Ski Photos, backcountry ski touring, backcountry skiing, backcountry skiing photos, bc skiing, british columbia, cross country ski, glacier national park, images pictures, mt rainier, mt rainier photos, nordic skiing, northwest, oregon, oregon cascades, oregon coast, oregon images, oregon photos, oregon pictures, oregon surfing, pacific nw, photographs images, pictures nature, pictures of oregon, pictures of skiing, polebridge montana, seattle, ski adventure, ski photo, ski pics, ski tour, ski touring, ski trips, skiing, skiing lodge, skis, snow, surf pics, telemark binding, telemark ski, telemark skiing, the backcountry, Washington, winter | Leave A Comment »
There a lot of folks here in the PNW who actually ski year-round. I’m not one of them. But I do love backcountry skiing and there really is nothing like that first ski tour of the year. Despite a pretty abysmal start to the winter, we were lucky to hit Mt Rainier on a very [...]
Nov 28, 2008 | Categories: Backcountry Ski Photos | Tags: backcountry, Backcountry Ski Photos, backcountry ski touring, backcountry skiing, backcountry skiing photos, images pictures, mt rainier, mt rainier photos, northwest, pacific nw, photographs images, pictures nature, pictures of skiing, seattle, ski adventure, ski photo, ski pics, ski tour, ski touring, ski trips, skiing, skis, snow, telemark ski, telemark skiing, the backcountry, Washington, winter | Leave A Comment »
It wasn’t so long ago that I was actually looking forward to the onset of spring. An epic winter in Whitefish, Montana, left me secretly yearning for sunny days and warm temps. Let me rephrase that, I just wanted the temps to rise above freezing so I could start training for what would be an [...]
Nov 23, 2008 | Categories: Backcountry Ski Photos | Tags: backcountry, Backcountry Ski Photos, backcountry ski touring, backcountry skiing, backcountry skiing photos, mt rainier, northwest, pacific nw, seattle, ski adventure, ski photo, ski pics, ski touring, ski trips, skiing, snow, the backcountry, whitefish, winter | Leave A Comment »
One of the many benefits to backcountry skiing in the Pacific Northwest (besides tons of snow and huge amounts of terrain) is we don’t have to worry AS MUCH about hoar frost. Which is why, while living in Whitefish, Montana, last winter, I was always a bit nervous ski touring. Although I wouldn’t say Whitefish [...]
Nov 19, 2008 | Categories: Backcountry Ski Photos, Ski Touring Resources | Tags: avalanche awareness, avalanche center, avalanche facts, avalanche forecast, avalanche rating scale, avalanche website, backcountry, Backcountry Ski Photos, backcountry ski touring, backcountry skiing, backcountry skiing photos, glacier national park, ski adventure, ski photo, ski terrain, ski tour, ski touring, skiing, snow avalanche, telemark ski, the backcountry, whitefish | Leave A Comment »
I’ll be the first to say, out loud, that anyone still telemark skiing or ski touring on the ‘old’ telemark bindings are crazy. Although I’ve only been backcountry skiing on the Black Diamond O1s for about a season and half, it took all of two steps to realize, very quickly, that we pin heads were [...]
Nov 19, 2008 | Categories: Backcountry Ski News | Tags: backcountry, Backcountry Ski Photos, backcountry ski touring, backcountry skiing, rottefella ntn, ski touring, telemark binding, telemark ski, telemark skiing, the backcountry | Leave A Comment »
I don’t think you can find a single backcountry skier in Washington State who hasn’t anxiously awaited their day on the Muir snowfield of Mt Rainier. From novice ski tourers to experienced mountaineers, Mt Rainier is a skiers playground.
The below photograph was shot after a day of touring, looking down at the Paradise Inn, and [...]
Nov 11, 2008 | Categories: Backcountry Ski Photos | Tags: Backcountry Ski Photos, backcountry ski touring, backcountry skiing, backcountry skiing photos, mt rainier, pacific nw, pictures of skiing, ski photo, ski pics, ski touring, skiing lodge, the backcountry | Leave A Comment »
Yesterday I posted the video “A Dozen More Turns“, which was played at Saturdays Northwest Avalanche Summit here in Seattle. The avalanche video, showing the real-life story of a group of friends enjoying some epic hut skiing was, and is, a reminder that no matter how much avalanche experience you have, things can go wrong. [...]
Nov 10, 2008 | Categories: Ski Touring Resources | Tags: avalanche awareness, avalanche center, avalanche forecast, avalanche rating scale, avalanche video, avalanche website, Backcountry Ski Photos, nwac, ski photo, ski pics, ski tour, ski touring, skiing, snow avalanche, telemark ski, the backcountry | 1 Comment »
A Dozen More Turns is a reminder that anything can happen to anyone while backcountry skiing.
Nov 10, 2008 | Categories: Backcountry Ski News, Backcountry Ski Photos, Ski Touring Resources | Tags: avalanche awareness, avalanche center, avalanche forecast, avalanche video, avalanche website, backcountry, Backcountry Ski Photos, backcountry ski touring, backcountry skiing, ski touring, telemark ski, the backcountry, winter | Leave A Comment »
It’s raining. Yup, it’s that time of the year. Actually, this time two years ago was when the NW received copious amounts of rain. Just check out some of these photos from Mt Rainier – http://mountrainierclimbing.blogspot.com/2006/11/mt-rainier-storm-flood-damage-photos.html. Believe it or not, there are sections of the park that are just now opening from that storm.
But that [...]
Nov 08, 2008 | Categories: Backcountry Ski Photos | Tags: backcountry, Backcountry Ski Photos, backcountry ski touring, backcountry skiing, backcountry skiing photos, broken top, mt rainier, northwest, oregon, oregon cascades, pacific nw, pictures of skiing, pineapple express, ski photo, ski pics, ski tour, ski touring, telemark ski, winter | Leave A Comment »
In the winter of ‘05 a group of us took a chopper deep into the Selkirk Mountains of British Columbia. For a week we reveled in the backcountry ski terrain that surrounded us and the Fairy Meadows hut, mostly inspired, often intimidated. Temperatures were utterly freezing (at one point hitting -32 degrees!) and while we [...]
Nov 05, 2008 | Categories: Backcountry Ski Photos, Ski Touring Resources | Tags: alpine club of canada, alpine terrain, backcountry, Backcountry Ski Photos, backcountry ski touring, backcountry skiing, backcountry skiing photos, bc skiing, british columbia, fairy meadows, pictures of skiing, selkirk mountains, ski adventure, ski photo, ski pics, ski terrain, ski tour, ski touring, ski trips, skiing, skiing lodge, skis, snow, telemark ski, the backcountry, winter | Leave A Comment »
You probably never knew there was such a thing as extreme cross country skiing, did you? Me neither, and actually I wouldn’t argue this is extreme per se. Instead I would have termed our little ski adventure to the tiny outpost of Polebridge, Montana, last winter as more backcountry cross country skiing. No groomed trails [...]
Nov 03, 2008 | Categories: Backcountry Ski Photos | Tags: backcountry, Backcountry Ski Photos, backcountry skiing, backcountry skiing photos, cross country ski, glacier national park, nordic skiing, pictures of skiing, polebridge montana, ski adventure, ski photo, ski pics, ski tour, ski touring, skiing, skis, snow, telemark ski, whitefish, winter | Leave A Comment »
Next Saturday, Nov 8, is the Northwest Snow & Avalanche Snow Summit here in Seattle. The full-day event is filled with talks and stories about avalanche awareness, ski touring in the Cascades, and such topics as “Decision Making in High-Risk Environments”. Martin Volken from Pro Guiding Service is just one of the speakers, so the [...]
Oct 31, 2008 | Categories: Backcountry Ski News, Backcountry Ski Photos, Ski Touring Resources | Tags: avalanche awareness, avalanche forecast, avalanche rating scale, avalanche website, backcountry, Backcountry Ski Photos, backcountry skiing, backcountry skiing photos, mt stuart, northwest, nwac, pictures of skiing, seattle, ski tour, snow avalanche, winter | Leave A Comment »
Winter is coming. What proof do I have? Very little actually, except that many of us are talking about trying to fit in one last mountain bike ride before the snow starts falling. Which led me to looking back on some photographs I took last fall right about this time. We took a trip over [...]
Oct 29, 2008 | Categories: Backcountry Ski Photos, Ski Touring Resources | Tags: avalanche forecast, avalanche rating scale, avalanche website, Backcountry Ski Photos, backcountry skiing, north cascades highway, pictures of skiing, ski photo, ski pics, ski tour, ski touring, skiing, snow, snow avalanche, winter | Leave A Comment »
If you believe everything you read on the internet, than Wikipedia is the bible. According to them, backcountry skiing is defined as:
Backcountry skiing is skiing in a sparsely inhabited rural region over ungroomed and unmarked slopes or pistes. More importantly, the land and the snow pack are not monitored, patrolled, or maintained. Fixed mechanical means [...]
Oct 25, 2008 | Categories: Backcountry Ski Photos | Tags: Backcountry Ski Photos, backcountry skiing, mt adams, mt st helens, pictures of skiing, ski photo, ski pics, ski tour, ski touring | Leave A Comment »
