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CultureBetter Bouldering
Better Bouldering
Peter Beal on Small Arms, a V11 problem at Lincoln Lake, Colorado. Courtesy photo Peter Beal has been climbing for 30 years, and he’s one of the few masters climbing boulder problems at the V11/12 level in the United States. As an instructor, he’s someone climbers of every age, skill level, and background would want to get advice from. Now they can, thanks to his new book, Bouldering: Movement, Tactics, and Problem Solving, published in October 2011 by Mountaineers Books. The book covers gear, physiology, training, injury prevention, competitions, and more for climbers of all abilities. It’s an ideal introduction…...
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CultureMountain Games
Mountain Games
Sam Elias has been swinging ice axes and climbing in crampons all day. This is his 11th trip up a 50-foot face—a foam and plastic route equivalent to a 5.11 rock climb—in less than 10 hours. He clips in at the top to win the men’s mixed climbing event, then leans away from the wall and tips his head back to roar into the fat, wet flakes falling from the night sky. Elias turns to cheer his competitor, Stanislav Vrba, and the pair raise joined hands in a moment of shared accomplishment. “If he had beaten me I would…...
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CultureDay 3: Teva Mountain Games
Day 3: Teva Mountain Games
Sari Anderson won the Ultimate Mountain Challenge at the first Winter Teva Mountain Games. Photo by David Clifford / Winter Teva Mountain Games presented by Eddie Bauer/Vail Valley Foundation More Coverage: Day 1 • Day 2 Competing in the Ultimate Mountain Challenge at the Winter Teva Mountain Games is no small feat. The schedule: 10K Nordic race on Friday, ski mountaineering race on Saturday (20 miles and 8,000 feet of elevation gain), and finally a two-mile race up 2,200 feet on Sunday morning. The outdoor athletes vying for the UMC title in Vail, Colorado did all that—and in less than…...
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CultureDay 2: Teva Mountain Games
Day 2: Teva Mountain Games
Fire, big air tricks, and bikes on snow upped the ante at the Teva Mountain Games on Saturday night. Photo by Johnathan Greenham More Coverage: Day 1 • Day 3 Scroll to the bottom of the page for more photos from Saturday’s big air and best bike trick competitions. Saturday was an action-packed day in Vail, Colorado for the second day of competition at the inaguaral Winter Teva Mountain Games. It began at 7:30 a.m. with ski mountaineering, and wrapped up under the lights that night with a mountain bike and telemark skiing big air competition. Despite the cold,…...
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CultureDay 1: Teva Mountain Games
Day 1: Teva Mountain Games
Sam Elias (left) smiles back at the crowd after claiming the men’s mixed climbing title at the Winter Teva Mountian Games.Sam Elias of Boulder, Colorado claimed victory in the men’s mixed climbing event at the first Winter Teva Mountain Games on Friday night at Vail’s Golden Peak base area. “I just tried to climb well,” Elias said. “You just hope for a little bit of luck and just do your best.” Stanislav Vrba was second for the men. Dawn Glanc claimed the women’s title, with Emily Harrington taking second. Heavy snow fell throughout the mixed climbing finals, contested…...
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BikeRacing Mountain Bikes on Snow
Racing Mountain Bikes on Snow
The starting line at Copper. Photo by Sydney FoxI’m at the start line of the Copper en Fuego bike race surrounded by 161 other racers, my breath frosty in the night air. I’m not thinking about winning. I’m thinking: How I am going to stay on my bike on snow? Fireworks explode on the side of the course and we’re off with a bang. It’s the first event of the Leadville Winter Mountain Bike race series, held at Colorado’s Copper Mountain. The series of four races (three are at night) is considered the ultimate in winter bike racing—in the…...
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CultureWounded Warriors Learn to Ski
Wounded Warriors Learn to Ski
Click the image below to launch a slideshow. Photos courtesy of DSES Tom Hopkins was a strong expert skier. But during his fourth tour of duty with the U.S. Army, he suffered a traumatic brain injury. Back home in Wisconsin with his wife, Kristina, he adapted to life in a wheelchair and dealt with post-traumatic stress disorder. They stay focused. “We don’t use the word ‘try’ in our house,” says Kristina. “It’s do or do not.” Tom’s recovery didn’t leave much time for planning ski vacations. That’s where Wounded Warriors comes in. The organization funds programs that help servicemen…...
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CultureBetter than Flowers
Better than Flowers
Break from Valentine’s Day tradition this year. Instead of chocolates or flowers, send one-of-a-kind gear to your sweetheart. Princeton Tec Spectrum headlampLight up Valentine’s Day with the Spectrum platform, which lets you customize Fuel ($35) and Remix ($45) headlamps. Select from 10 colors for parts and two options for head straps. spectrum.princetontec.com MyChacos sandalsFor a significant other that sports a Chaco tan year-round, take one of four classic sandal styles and choose from a palette of webbing colors and patterns to make it unique. $125; [email protected] Footbalance insolesInsoles sound as desirable as a toaster or vacuum cleaner, but a few steps on…...
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Culture
Winter Teva Mountain Games
Winter Teva Mountain Games
The first-ever Winter Teva Mountain Games take place in Colorado’s Vail Valley this weekend, February 10–12. Professional athletes to weekend warriors will compete for $60,000 in prizes in ski mountaineering, mixed climbing, mountain biking on snow, telemark big air, and more. “I’ve been to the summer games several times to support friends,” says ice climber Sam Elias, a favorite to podium in mixed climbing. “This event can be even bigger.” Climbers are traveling from around the world to compete under the lights on an artificial wall in Vail’s Golden Peak base area Friday night. The athletes will use…...
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CultureStorm Report: More Powder Crazed than a Fat Kid in a Donut Shop
Storm Report: More Powder Crazed than a Fat Kid in a Donut Shop
Craig DiPietro samples the goods at Eldora. Photo by Lee CohenThere used to be a chicken ranch out in east Boulder. Egg wranglers by the looks of their outbuildings. The place was nasty to ride by on a hot summer day, but in the winter I loved catching the aroma of defecating poultry. The cloying scent meant a moist wind from the east was brewing. An upslope was on the way. A Front Range powder producer. Meteorologists call these storms Panhandle Hookers, which is only a slightly more appetizing term than, say, a Chicken Shit Clipper. They occur when…...
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CultureGetting your Kids up on Edge
Getting your Kids up on Edge
Picabo Street teaches skiing using the Hookease product. Courtesy photo Picabo Street was an Olympic and World Cup champion ski racer, so of course her sister-in-law calls for advice on teaching her kids to ski. That phone call led Street to connect with Launch Pad, a Utah company developing new systems for teaching skiing. Street publically endorsed the product at SIA in Denver on Saturday. “It’s great not only for the beginning skier, but for the person teaching them,” she says. Launch Pad’s Hookease ($60) works by attaching mounts to a student’s ski tails and hooks to the teacher’s…...
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CultureBottoms Up
Bottoms Up
Mixing a Caesar in British Columbia. Photo by Brian IrwinOn a busy winter weekend, Killington’s Grist Mill is swimming in its popular Goombay Smash cocktail, with bartenders churning up five gallons of mix at a time. This tasty drink was not invented in Vermont, however; it was discovered by a traveling bartender in the ’80s and brought to the Green Mountain State directly from the tiny Bahamian island of Green Turtle Cay. The late “Ms. Emilie” created the blend at her pub—a small blue wood box that still stands on the island where her granddaughter carries on the tradition. …...
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CultureNext Year’s Gear
Next Year’s Gear
Click the image below to launch a slideshow of next year’s gear. Pro skiers, your local shop owner, Mountain editors—they all gathered under one roof in Denver last week for the SIA Snow Show, an annual meeting of the snow sports industry. After a roller coaster ride through next year’s gear, here’s what stood out. SkisThe great leap forward in ski technology is nowhere near finished. New shapes, materials, and permutations from every brand highlighted the show. One big story: a complete overhaul to the Dynastar freeride line for 2013. Called the Cham series (think Chamonix, France and big…...
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BikeTesting Bikes—So You Don’t Have To
Testing Bikes—So You Don’t Have To
The Mountain Swami and a select group of his gear minions just got back from testing fat tire bikes in the mountains of Tucson. Actually the venue and logistics were handled by our friends at Outside magazine. (Thanks to Aaron Gulley for inviting us.) We just showed up to ride, fill out test cards, and drink bourbon. And ride we did. Coming from the heart of ski season in Colorado, we suddenly found ourselves cranking out five to six hours a day on rough and rocky track in saguaro and cholla desert. It was a perfect locale to put…...
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CultureDeep Winter Winner
Deep Winter Winner
Photo by Robin O’Neill Six years ago Whistler Blackcomb launched the Deep Winter Photo Challenge. Each January, a handful of photographers are invited to spend three days shooting at the resort. The competition culminates with slideshow presentations of their work to the public, with judges awarding $8,500 in prize money to the top three. Mother Nature threw a wrench in the works this year, serving up bluebird skis and hardpack during the competition window. But Robin O’Neill found inspiration in the Whistler community, snapping longtime locals and young pros alike to earn the title of Queen of Storms. From a…...
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CultureCarving for a Cause
Carving for a Cause
Hank (right) offers encouragement to competitors at the 24 Hours of Schweitzer event. Courtesy photoAt 24 Hours of Schweitzer, relay teams ride the lift and pile up vert from dawn to dusk and dawn again. Last year, Matt Gillis competed solo, logging over 200,000 vertical feet at the Sandpoint, Idaho ski area. His motivation? A five-year-old boy named Henry “Hank” Sturgis. Hank has cystinosis, a rare disease that damages kidneys, the liver, and eyes. To treat cystinosis, Hank takes medications every six hours. “The way the drugs make him feel is like being at your absolute most burnt-out moment…...
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CultureLiving in the Danger Zone
Living in the Danger Zone
Growing mountain communities are building on every available inch, even if that land lies in an avalanche path. As the Mountain West grows, developers are slapping up homes and entire neighborhoods in avalanche paths. Here’s what you need to know if you don’t want to be sleeping with an avalanche beacon on. By Kate Siber | Photographs by Mark Rikkers One morning last March, at the end of a freakishly snowy winter, Steven Siig, a Lake Tahoe cinematographer and ski guide, woke up to fresh snow piled against the windows and the faint sound of a bomb going off…...
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CultureGive Gear, Help Others
Give Gear, Help Others
In a trend that extends beyond the holiday season, gear makers are partnering with philanthropies to promote causes close to the hearts of owners and employees. Here are a few last-minute gift ideas, guaranteed to please mountain-lovers while funding deserving charities. The North Face BaselayersDress your favorite lady in The North Face Slumber Partee Baselayers this winter and support Boarding for Breast Cancer, a non-profit that raises awareness about the need for early detection and active lifestyles. These polyester baselayers wick away moisture and provide warmth in chilly temps—not to mention cheerful pink highlights that brighten a day on…...
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