Utah skiers claim to have "the greatest snow on earth," and this revised and updated edition guides readers to the best backcountry ski tours in the state. Backcountry expert Tyson Bradley takes skiers from the urban backcountry of the Wasatch Front to spectacular desert destinations in Zion and Bryce, with detailed maps and information on backcountry equipment, techniques, and safety. Ski Utah!
• Nearly 100 backcountry ski routes—most located in the central Wasatch • Written by a ski-obsessed outdoor journalist • Both day trips and overnights included Jared Hargrave averages more than 70 ski days a year, which adds up to a ton of local knowledge. He's exactly the ski partner you'd want to show you the best backcountry routes, from those you can hit on a pre-work dawn patrol to multiday overnight trips. Backcountry Ski & Snowboard Routes: Utah includes tours in the central Wasatch as well as the Uintas, Henry Mountains, and more. As with all books in this series, this Utah guide is designed for intermediate to expert skiers or boarders. Each route includes the following elements: • Detailed route description • Driving directions from nearest major town or junction • Trip rating • Trail distance • Estimated trip time • Skill level • Recommended season • Avalanche routefinding notes • Map/permit info • Starting point elevation • High point elevation • Alternate route options The guide also includes resources for avalanche, weather, and road conditions; land managers relevant to the routes; ski/snow reports; and general safety information, as well as a foreword by one of Utah's premier avalanche experts, Craig Gordon.
Utah has long claimed to have the greatest snow on Earth—the state itself has even trademarked the phrase. In Secrets of the Greatest Snow on Earth, Jim Steenburgh investigates Wasatch weather, exposing the myths, explaining the reality, and revealing how and why Utah's powder lives up to its reputation. Steenburgh also examines ski and snowboard regions beyond Utah, making this book a meteorological guide to mountain weather and snow climates around the world. Chapters explore mountain weather, avalanches and snow safety, historical accounts of weather events and snow conditions, and the basics of climate and weather forecasting. Steenburgh explains what creates the best snow for skiing and snowboarding in accurate and accessible language and illustrates his points with 150 color photographs, making Secrets of the Greatest Snow on Earth a helpful tool for planning vacations and staying safe during mountain adventures. Snowriders, weather enthusiasts, meteorologists, students of snow science, and anyone who dreams of deep powder and bluebird skies will want to get their gloves on Secrets of the Greatest Snow on Earth.
* For intermediate-to-advanced backcountry skiers* Includes trip planning, navigation, fitness, and avalanche safety information, in addition to techniques*Provides advice on how to make well-informed backcountry decisionsMartin Volken and his co-authors provide skiers with all the tools and knowledge they need to safely and successfully travel in the mountain backcountry. The guide features intermediate-to-advanced techniques for ski touring and ski mountaineering, from planning backcountry trips to perfecting turns in rolling terrain and mastering uphill climbing. For those skiers ready for a more technical, high alpine environment, they draw on traditional mountaineering skills, including roped climbing, setting protection anchors, using ice axes, climbing on bare rock, and more. In addition to mastering techniques, Backcountry Skiing also features information on recent evolutions in ski equipment; avalanche safety tips; a primer on mountain weather and glaciers, trip planning tools, a discussion of emergency situations, nutrition and fitness advice, and winter camping basics.Throughout this guide, a special emphasis is put on being well-informed and making good decisions - whenever you strap on your skis and skins and head out into the backcountry.
Whether you’re an experienced backcountry skier or intermediate snowboarder looking to ramp up your out of bounds expeditions, Brittany and Frank Konsella have the cred to guide you to the state’s special runs. Both have descended all of the state’s 14ers on skis and Brittany was the second woman to accomplish that feat. They know where the sweet lines are. Backcountry Ski & Snowboard Routes: Colorado—part of the popular series—includes backcountry routes focused on the Front Range and the San Juans, with other routes in the Sawatch Range, Elk Mountains, Mosquito Range, and more.
CLICK HERE to download a sample route from Backcountry Ski & Snowboard Washington Ski and snowboard adventures can be found year-round when you know where to look — start here! * Only Mountaineers Books offers guidebooks for backcountry ski routes in Washington, and this is the newest and best available! *Backcountry skiing is one of the fastest growing winter sports * Written by the authors of the bestselling instructional text on the sport, Backcountry Skiing Washington’s Cascades, Olympics, and Mount Rainier are prime destinations for backcountry ski and snowboard adventure, and no one is better qualified to write this guidebook than Martin Volken and his team at Pro Guiding Service, based in the Cascade foothills. The all-new guidebook includes 80 routes throughout the state — plus one in British Columbia! — Ideal for intermediate to expert skiers or snowboarders. It features routes ranging from accessible day trips suitable for relative beginners to more challenging multiday traverses. It’s a guide to the very best routes available to skiers and boarders throughout the state. Each route includes the following elements: * Starting elevation and high point * Elevation gain and loss * Route distance * Time required * Recommended skill and fitness levels * Best season to ski * Maps and permits info * Driving directions, from nearest major town or junction * Detailed route description * Backcountry Ski & Snowboard Routes: Washington also includes an introduction by legendary Northwest skier Lowell Skoog.
After some dreadful years for Sierra skiers, the snow is back and the pent-up demand to ride it is satisfied by this book! From Bishop to Tahoe to Shasta, and multiple slopes in between, California has a big ski and snowboard culture and this backcountry guide describes 97 of the state’s best routes. Part of our critically-acclaimed series, Backcountry Ski & Snowboard Routes: California is written by Tahoe-based professional skier, Jeremy Benson, and covers the best of the state, featuring advanced backcountry descents with serious verticals. The northern region of the book focuses on Mount Shasta and Tahoe, while the central region includes Mammoth, Bishop, and Sierra Club hut trips, and to the south, 14ers Mount Whitney and Mount Langley and more.
As commander of the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Search and Rescue Team, Steve Achelis participated in hundreds of mountain rescues that frequently made the evening news. In Mountain Responder Steve takes the reader along on these life-and-death rescues as he and his teammates dig people out of avalanches, hang on a thin cable below a helicopter, and rescue climbers stuck on rock walls. Threaded throughout these unforgettable rescues, Steve shares the exhilaration of saving a life, the fears and uncertainties during the struggle to keep a patient alive, as well as the doubts and second-guessing when someone doesn't make it.
Fifty Classic Ski Descents of North America is a large-format compilation of iconic and aesthetic ski descents from Alaska to Mount Washington. Created by ski mountaineers Chris Davenport, Art Burrows and Penn Newhard, Fifty Classic Ski Descents taps into the local knowledge of contributors such as Andrew McLean, Glen Plake, Lowell Skoog, Chic Scott and Ptor Spricenieks with first person descriptions of their favorite ski descents and insightful perspectives on ski mountaineering past, present and future. The book features 208 pages of gorgeous action and mountain images from many of North America's top photographers. Whether you are planning an expedition to Baffin Island's Polar Star Couloir or heading out for dawn patrol on Mount Superior, Fifty Classic Ski Descents is a visual and inspirational feast of ski mountaineering in North America.
Edward Power sets the reader down in the midst of a February 2017 blizzard that raked Utah’s Uinta Range as nine snowboarders made their way into the backcountry for a day of intense adventure. As the boarders were taking their first turns, expert avalanche forecaster Craig Gordon was tracking the storm and its impact, posting one of the most dire avalanche forecasts and warnings in his career. In Dragons in the Snow, Power delves into the research and science behind avalanche forecasting and rescue, weaving in the art of backcountry skiing as well as dramatic tales of avalanche accidents, rescues, and recoveries. And he paints compelling portraits of the men and women who have made the study of avalanches their life’s work. The tales told by these avalanche forecasters, as well as the stories of the backcountry riders who may "wake the dragon" make for not just a compelling read, but also a powerful tool for raising avalanche awareness in everyone who plays in the winter backcountry.
