Get Your Winter Shred Threads On!!!

Fall is a time of building anticipation for the season. It’s a time to hit the gym and start getting everything in order for the winter ahead. It’s also a time when you start placing your orders for the fresh gear you want to rock this season.

I am truly lucky to have such amazing sponsors that hook me up with the hottest in threads and gear. Here is a little sneak peak of what I will be rocking this year…

 

 

The boys over at Trew have got it going on! Their outerwear is insanely technical yet beyond stylish. Bringing a little bit for everyone from loud colors to mellow tones, they have what you are looking for!

 

                                                                                                     

Smith Optics has been a leader in eye wear for much longer than I can remember. From fun sunglasses that will flare up your day or night to super technical goggles that will have you seeing clear through the storm these guys do the job right!

 

Hestra makes some killer gloves and I just love the way they feel. Whether skinning up on a cold morning, or skiing epic blower they keep my hands dry and warm.

CW-X has been helping me come back from tearing my ACL last season. With there anatomical fit that supports muscles both as they develop and to help aid in fatigue, these keep my body warm and muscles feeling strong.

I have been working with Scarpa for about 5 years now and there is no other boot that I would trust to hold up to the big airs, steep lines, and long skin tracks that make up my days, weeks, and months of the ski season. The T-race is the best 75ml boot on the market hands down. If you like to charge hard and haven’t gotten on a pair I say give it a whirl and you will never look back!

The boys of 22designs have been leading the charge on the big mountain circuit for quite some time. The Axl is your do it all free pivot touring binding, that is agile enough for those long approaches, yet burly enough to ski whatever you dare on the way down.

BCA has been a leader in snow safety equipment for quite some time, but recently they have started really building on their backpack line. Offering comfortable, smart pack designs which have obviously been built by and for people who spend much time out of the resort. Whether you are looking for a small Stash pack for your slack country adventures or you are going full boar with a Float airbag pack you will not be disappointed.

 

         

Head on over to www.backcountry.com to view more styles and get your fall gear geek-out on!

 

 

 

Avi Path: The road to becoming an educator

December and January are the months of building. We build strong legs, while waiting for our snow pack to grow, we become inspired by the white peaks and start developing our season tick list, and we begin to keep track of what Ullar is laying down. Quickly, the anticipation for the winter season turns into deep powder days of excitement and before you know it, we have found our rhythm and are entrenched in the ski season.

For the past four years I have taken December and January to be a time of not only building my legs, and excitement but also building my understanding of the snow and mountains, where I spend most of my days. This season I chose to take my knowledge and dedication of understanding our snow to the next level.

Previously I had taken the level 1 AIARE Avalanche course, the Freeride Avalanche Summit over at snowbird, and countless refreshers, beacon clinics, and snow study discussions and seminars. This season, however I have decided to embark on a path a little more involved, marking the beginning of my long sojourn into the world of backcountry guiding.

There are many ways to approach such a career, but I thought there was no better way to begin this process than by working on becoming a snow science educator. The way I see it, if I am going to make a life out of being in the backcountry I want to make sure that the people I share that environment with are equally in the know of the potential hazards, proper travel and rescue techniques, and have and know how to use their avi rescue gear, because

…well, you never know who might be the one there to save you.

So, the first step was to take my level II Avalanche course. I chose to go through Crested Butte Mountain Guides as they have some of the most highly experienced and accomplished instructors, not to mention that learning the science of snow in some of the most dangerous and unstable snowpack in the country seemed to be an excellent opportunity to really get my hands dirty.

So on the 16th of December I packed up my truck and headed out with Weston D. for Crested Butte, CO.

I am not one of those people who loved school, or even excelled in the classroom environment, so needless to say embarking on this more classroom and science oriented program was more than slightly unnerving. Never-the-less I pushed on, following my desire to become a professional in the outdoors (beyond my career as an athlete).

With a new notebook, my BCA snow study kit, beacon probe, shovel, saw and a mind ready to be filled with terms, data, and concepts I headed into the classroom.

During the course of our Level 2, C.B. proceeded to get hammered with a southwest flow, locally known as “The Pineapple Express“. We received over 5 ft of snow in our three days and the storm could not have provided a better venue for learning and exploring in depth the bonding, layering, metamorphic process and a slew of other topics and concepts.

With a mind full of new dorky data and information based around snow crystal type and temperature gradient, I returned home to Utah just in time for the holiday season to kick into gear. I waded through the onslaught of family and friends all vying for attention, tried to catch a couple pow days in between, and just surrendered to the fact that, until  my AIARE Instructor Training Course in January, my life was gonna be hectic.

So on it went, and yes it was quite crazy, even managed to squeeze in a trip to Sister’s Oregon for Hoodoo’s annual Tele Festival. But, like you always do, I managed to make it through.

So here I now sit, having just completed my Instructor Training Course.

Being re-inspired by developing a new goal and vision for my future has been a really exciting process, one that started this past summer. However, I have decided that I really have to make sure that this “vision” I have for my future actually feels right in reality. While the Level 2 was the start and a prerequisite for the ITC (Instructor Training Course), it was not indicative of my hoped future career.

The real test was heading to Silverton, CO for my ITC. I headed out there alone, with the only familiarity being the Triangle Motel where I had stayed last year with the Trew Crew, and was staying again. It is interesting, when you come out of a period of feeling a bit lost and fragmented, those pieces tend to realign themselves, offering such clarity. And that was the space I was in heading out to Silverton last Sunday. I headed out with the only expectation of experiencing something new and by the end of the course feeling out weather my supposed path was holding up to reality.

The course could not have been more inspirational, educational, and valuable. Tom Murphy, Tim Brown, and Ben Pritchett came to the table with years of invaluable experience, clear teaching techniques, and a free flowing concept of a continued development framework that highlighted AIARE’s dedication to the continual growth a progression of Avalanche awareness and education.

It was an intensive 3 day course with each student teaching one mock level 1 section and an overall frame work of learning the Level 1 curriculum, Teaching techniques and skills, and then furthering our professional development on all aspects.

With only three days it is hard to imagine that so much could be accomplished. I was quite fortunate to be in a group and a class filled with seasoned guides, educators, and rescue workers all who had previously been in professional leadership roles dealing with backcountry safety. Now, at another point in my life (or even two weeks ago) I would have felt completely in adequate and self conscious. However, with my newly re-acquired perspective I was able to feel only inspired and look up to each of my classmates as mentors. With their experience they were able to ask insightful questions, add phenomenal first hand accounts that were applicable to the topics, and provide analytical commentary.

The course came and went and I felt like a sponge trying to soak up each morsel of information. I am not sure anyone could absorb, in entirety, the multitude of ideas and concepts of the three days. However, I do know that I have been inspired!

It is now the middle of January and I am finally feeling the flow. I have completed the first major step on this new journey and am hungry to start practicing my new skills and see where this all will lead.