Jan 12, 2026 | Uncategorized
This is a great video that illustrates one of the trickiest avalanche problems in Colorado: the super hard slab, windslab. Windslabs are such an interesting problem. They come in a wide variety of forms and can present with very different characteristics....
Dec 4, 2025 | AIARE Avalanche Education, Backcountry Skiing, Education, Ski Mountineering
Prerequisites to Enroll Most AIARE 1 Courses do not have any prerequisite experience to signup. While it is great to make these courses available to everyone, it does create an inherent contradiction when people with vastly different skills are all on the same...
Dec 1, 2025 | AIARE Avalanche Education, Backcountry Skiing, Colorado
The use of the North American Danger Scale has a fair bit of nuance to it. Some people tend to get distracted by the “likelihood” verbiage especially when it comes to understanding the difference between Moderate and Considerable danger. In considerable danger...
Nov 28, 2025 | AIARE Avalanche Education, Backcountry Skiing, Colorado, Education, Educational Program, Guided, Rocky Mountain National Park, Ski Mountineering
I’m really excited about getting this program running this winter. This is a program that I really think will provide the best bang for your buck as far as winter backcountry readiness is concerned. Many students I work with in avalanche safety courses don’t...
Oct 4, 2025 | AIARE Avalanche Education, Backcountry Skiing, Education, Ski Mountineering
Colorado is known for big scary avalanches. But some seasons are worse than others. How do we tell if a season is going to be a scary one or a moderate one. A good way to understand it is through the idea of snow climates. Colorado’s mountains tend to follow the...
Sep 29, 2025 | AIARE Avalanche Education, Backcountry Skiing, Colorado, Education, Educational Program, Guided
Here’s some thoughts I frequently find myself giving to people asking how to get into the backcountry. The first thing is to understand it can be a long, complicated journey depending on your goals. It’s important to be realistic about your ability to commit the time,...
Sep 1, 2025 | Backcountry Skiing, Guided, Rock Climb, Ski Mountineering
I get a lot of people asking about how to get into ski mountaineering. But first, what is ski mountaineering, truly? Well… its mountaineering with skis… obviously. Let’s break that down though. One way we could look at it is: skiing in terrain where...
Aug 1, 2025 | Alpine Climb, Backcountry Skiing
In a recent article in the A3 journal, psychologist Maria Konnikova’s work around decision making was used an example to highlight the way our brains are hardwired to seek concrete answers. We want a clear cut answer, a concrete story about what is happening...
Apr 29, 2025 | Uncategorized
Alaska Range Ski Basecamp 2025 Alaska Range Ski Basecamp These programs are the essence of expedition trips. Ski plane flight into the glacier. Self supported basecamp and human powered touring. Remote glaciers in the legendary palace of snow and ice looking up at...
Mar 23, 2025 | AIARE Avalanche Education, Backcountry Skiing, Colorado, Education, Ski Mountineering
This spring in Colorado there was a pattern with the kinds of avalanches people were getting involved with: dry snow avalanches in a spring context. There are a couple nuances with this specific setup that can help us operate more effectively in the...
