February 2011 archive

Ten-11, D20: Sugar Bowl Sidecountry

Despite the fact that we didn’t even arrive at the parking lot until 11am, Sugar Bowl’s sidecountry terrain remained untracked. That would soon change. Last week the January dry spell was broken when the heavens dropped over 8 feet of snow at the higher elevations in the Tahoe area. Before the dust had barely settled …

Keep making backcountry turns

Stoke: Tahoe Pow

Sometimes all the ingredients come together. Friends, blue skies and calm winds the day after a storm with enough time available to nail a few runs of untracked bliss.

Winter returns to Tahoe

It’s been over six weeks since La Niña gave California a good pounding. She gave us a nice 10-inch resurfacing three weeks ago. Despite that, compared to the regular dumps the ten-11 season began with, the last six weeks were beginning to feel like the familiar dry and blue skies of drought times. The Sierra …

Keep making backcountry turns

Converting Elevations in Your Head

  Don’t you hate it when you’re looking at a topo map, or reading an article, and the elevations are in the wrong units? That would be meters if you’re an American, and feet for everyone else. We all know that the difference is roughly a factor of three, but it truly is a rough …

Keep making backcountry turns

Review: Day 2 on TTS beta binding

Dynafit is not just the binding platform of choice for ski mountaineers with locked heels, but those with a tele-style free heel too.

Review: Day 1 with TTS beta binding

The TTS binding uses a Dynafit (aka Tech) toe with a classic telemark cable with compression spring cartridges that latches around the heel of the boot. It only works with NTN boots that have Tech fittings.

Tahoe conditions & TTS tease

Spring has spring here in the Sierra. It’s full on corn season and finally, today, the sun came out and the wind died.