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Backcountry Skiing: Taos and Santa Fe, New Mexico Guidebook

by todd | Jul 15, 2023

New Mexico has been possessed by many peoples, tribes, countries, and government entities—and without fail, those who visit become possessed by its vastness and beauty. As centuries pass and new abodes are built on top of old, the peaks and valleys forged over geologic time remain. To experience their splendor, open your eyes, take a deep breath of the high desert air, and let the rapture of the place overtake you. At no time is the splendor wasted on those who hike to these summits during the winter and spring months as they are rewarded by the incomparable bliss of sliding down on snow. A truly magical experience.
Backcountry touring is a relatively new activity in New Mexico. The early days of the pandemic left many avid skiers and riders without a functioning ski area. For the cost of a lift ticket, backcountry travelers could buy a new pair of skins and open up the world outside the ski area boundaries.
I never saw tracks far beyond the ski area boundaries in the 80s; it wasn’t until the early 2000s that I started to see occasional tracks. Today, it’s rare that I don’t see someone else out having fun in the sidecountry—but the wilderness experience is still very much available to those willing to explore.
New Mexico offers many adventures in areas less traveled. The snow can be as deep as anywhere in the Rocky Mountains, and the spring skiing can make for quick descents. While the New Mexico snowpack shares commonalities to the snowpack at large within the Rocky Mountains, the lower latitude plus high elevation combine to form a special snowpack different from the surrounding states. The changing snowpack may be very different from the typical continental snowpack folks have come to expect in the San Juan or Elk Mountain ranges just to the north in Colorado.
I am fortunate to have had the opportunity to spend the majority of my youth, and to have made a successful guiding career, in these mountains. I share the common thread of the experience with those who have come before and those yet to make the discoveries.
—James Marc Beverly

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Backcountry Skiing: Tahoe California Light Tours Guidebook

by todd | Jul 15, 2023

With its combination of playful terrain and plentiful snow, the Tahoe Sierra is reputed as one of the best ski touring regions in North America. While extreme skiing abounds in the Tahoe area, many people have an interest in finding enjoyable terrain for making turns while avoiding high-consequence avalanche slopes. Enter this first edition guidebook focused on the mellow side of ski touring by experienced guide and avalanche educator, Richard Bothwell.

With routes spanning the Lake Tahoe region from Interstate 80/Castle Peak in the north to Carson Pass in the south, there are enough tours to last you many seasons of exploration. Whether these mellower tours serve you as a way to get out on a higher-danger day, or as a way to introduce new friends to backcountry skiing, you’ll find that low-angle routes are a great arrow in your quiver.

Explore with a new ski partner, try something new, concentrate on the exercise and fresh air, and most of all, be proud you’ve chosen a sustainable style of ski touring you can enjoy for decades.

In this digital guidebook, you will find a sophisticated navigational mobile app, complete with aerial photos, marked runs, a zone descent list, ascent and skin track info, run descriptions and tour lengths, hazards, slope angles, elevations, Avalanche Terrain Exposure Scale ratings, and more. Additional app features include: offline GPS navigation, zoomable topo maps, map legends, slope angle shading, a searchable/filterable descent list and bookmarking. Designed to go along with you on your tours and accompany the Light Tours of Tahoe Ski Atlas.This digital book covers the following zones: Castle Peak, Johnson Canyon, Sunrise Bowl, Skislope, Boca Hill, Mount Judah, Bradley Hut, Brockway Summit, Incline Lake Peak, Tamarack Peak, Chickadee Ridge North, Chickadee Ridge South, Rubicon Peak, Tahoe Mountain, Mini Trimmer, Angora Ridge, Echo Lake + Becker, Ralston Peak, Waterhouse North, Waterhouse South, Meiss South, Meiss North, Elephant’s Hump, Round Top, Kirkwood + Caples

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Backcountry Skiing: Mount Hood, Oregon Guidebook

by rob | Jul 14, 2023

Mount Hood has captivated the imaginations of many in the Pacific Northwest for centuries. Named for a British admiral in the late 1700s, its native name has been lost to history. Lewis and Clark labeled Hood “stupendous” as they returned east on their epic journey, and that assessment rings true today. The first recorded ascent of Mt. Hood occurred in the 1850s, and the history of skiing on the mountain started with people on long wooden skis using them for transportation. The first recorded ski descent of the south side occurred in the 1920s, and skiing and mountaineering on Hood have been intertwined ever since. With the opening of Timberline Lodge in 1937, skiing on the mountain exploded in popularity. Mount Hood became renowned for backcountry skiing when Sylvain Saudan descended Newton-Clark Headwall on the east side of the mountain in 1971, a descent that heralded the arrival of “extreme skiing” in America. Backcountry skiing and riding has always been relatively popular on the mountain, as a stable snowpack and long season entice locals and tourists alike. As backcountry use has grown quickly in the past few years, Mount Hood remains a sought after destination for those looking for ski mountaineering descents, glaciers and hopefully – powder.
The author and publisher acknowledge that the land surrounding Mount Hood lies within the ancestral territories of several Native American tribes including the Multnomah, Wasco, Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, and the Confederated Tribes of the Yakama Nation, who have looked upon and lived on this mountain for thousands of years.

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Backcountry Skiing: Stevens Pass and Washington’s East Side Guidebook

by todd | Mar 16, 2021

In 1897, John Stevens found the passage for the Great Northern Railroad across a 4,000’ pass in the Cascades. Since then, Stevens Pass place in history is thick with decades of travel, avalanches, ski areas, and so much more. Stevens Pass is one of the essential gateways to the extraordinary backcountry possibilities that exist between I-90, US Highway 97, and US Highway 2.
Over 300 tours, accessible via ski areas, roadside pullouts, and long snowmobile approaches make this region’s diverse opportunities seem infinite. The East Side also provides a drier, colder snowpack—bringing blower pow (and persistent slabs) to the Cascades.
The author and publisher acknowledge that the lands described in this atlas are the ancestral home of the Pisquouse and Si’apkat, members of the Yakama Nation. The Pisquouse (Yakama name: Winátshapam), or Wenatchi, lived in the area that spans present-day Leavenworth to Wenatchee. Wenatchee is a Sahaptian word for “river water which comes from canyons” or “robe of the rainbow.” The first inhabitants of the Kittitas Valley were the Psch-wan-wap-pams (stony ground people), also known as the Kittitas, Si’apkat, or Upper Yakama. They lived along the upper Yakima River (today called Cle Elum), which was a traditional gathering place for tribes east of the Cascades.

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Hatcher Pass Rock Climbing Guidebook

by todd | Nov 2, 2020

Hatcher Pass Rock Climbing
by Kelsey Gray
Koh Tao Rock Climbing

The best (and only) extensive guidebook for Hatcher Pass, Alaska. This new guidebook was published in paperback in 2021. The app includes over 400 climbs within one of the best climbing areas in Alaska.

Buy digital plus book and the price includes $7.00 for shipping, a screaming deal! When you buy a bundle, you can use your digital rakkup guidebook immediately.

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