From Norway with love 🇳🇴
Launching a splitboard festival, much less one in the Arctic Circle, is a gamble. If you build it, will they come?
Judging from the turnout of international splitters eager to earn their turns, they will. Joining a healthy squad of Scandinavian shredders, powderhounds came from across the Alps, the United States (including yours truly) and even Japan. Together, we spent four days touring above Finnmark’s picturesque fjords. The terrain is wild. Couloirs cleave between seaside cliffs, big mountain faces echo Alaska, rolling glacial pitches inspire a surfy approach, you name it. And all of that varied terrain has one thing in common: The views alone are worth a four-flight itinerary from Reno.
When snow turned to rain, we dug into avalanche safety and rope work. A personal favorite? Building anchors with workshop professor Krister Kopala. Turns out you can (gently) rappel off a frozen granola bar, but not an apple—in case you’re ever in such a pinch.*
During the calm between storms, I chatted with fest founder Fred Buttard. “It’s going to grow, but we’re not going to make it huge,” he says. “We want to maintain that kind of intimate sense of splitboard community.”
It makes sense—keep it tight, not unlike the halves of a splitboard itself. But instead of hooks and clips, it’s Fred and his team that hold Arctic Split Fest together.
Drew Zieff, Rider in Chief
*This is a joke. Such maneuvers are strongly discouraged.
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There is something to be said for the interwoven exploration of history and land. Whether it’s from the perspective of fur traders and glade-cutting teleskiers on Quebec’s Gaspé Peninsula; via the curious lens of a photographer traversing Morocco’s Mgoun Massif; recognizing the impact of the 10th Mountain Division on U.S. backcountry skiing and mountaineering; or from a thoughtful writer’s investigation of what “home” means in Colorado’s mountains.
Then there are those looking to the future. The former U.S. Snowboard Team slalom racer who, after being diagnosed with myriad autoimmune diseases, including Type 1 Diabetes, has splitboarded around the world and founded an organization to help get more kids with diabetes into sports. And there’s the tele skier who found community in the National Brotherhood of Skiers and is working to get more Black people on the skintrack.
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Gear
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Gearbox: 2024 Sunglasses
Keep your eyes protected and on the prize. From photochromic lenses to stylish frames, these are our favorite sunglasses for the job.
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Gearbox: 2024 Communication Devices
Good communication is core to safe backcountry travel. These radios and satellite communication devices the lines stay open no matter where you’re adventuring.
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Gearbox: 2024 Gloves
Keeping your hands warm and dry on any tour is a must. But depending on the weather, the best glove or mitten for the job changes. So, we reviewed the whole gamut—from extra warm mitts to low profile glove liners.
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Gearbox: 2024 Ropes
For ski mountaineering, it’s crucial to pick the right rope for the job. These lines are designed to fit specific needs all while keeping you safe.
MORE GEAR
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Gearbox: 2024 Spring Ski Mountaineering Collection
‘Tis the season for sharps and harnesses. Here’s the tested gear we’re trusting to get us and our skis high into the mountains this spring.
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Gearbox: 2024 Backcountry Packs
From hot laps to long traverses, these packs are built to match varied objectives, store all the necessary gear and keep you moving in comfort and style.
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Gearbox: 2024 Sport Watches
Whatever the objective, these sports watches are pretty smart. They’ll help you track your stats in any climate, on any adventure.
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Gearbox: 2024 Helmets
Check out the buckets designed to keep your noggin protected while staying comfortable and light.
The Backcountry Podcast
From legendary athletes to iconic product designers, activists to guides, our world is filled with new views, wisdom, determination and crustiness.
Latest Podcast Episodes
From playing NCAA soccer to a successful modeling and acting career to being the top polar explorer of his time, Doug Stoup is an enigma. Host Adam Howard recently journeyed to Antarctica with Stoup and their conversation ranges from Doug’s personal training of A-list Hollywood actors to near death experiences; adventures with Doug Coombs; and taking novice skiers to the South Pole.
Tele Mike Russell: Turns for All
Tele Mike Russell grew up as a sharecropper’s son in Delaware before attending college and becoming an executive in the pharmaceutical industry. Then he watched the second plane hit the World Trade Center and decided he’d better follow another path, this one to skiing in Colorado, where he’d go on to find a family in the National Brotherhood of Skiers and help found its backcountry program.
Eric Blehm’s roots in snowboarding run deep. He started riding during the sport’s infancy, and after college became an editor at Transworld SNOWboarding Magazine. Years later, he was in a lift line when a fellow rider saw the “Craig Kelly is my Co-Pilot” sticker on his board, and asked Blehm: “Who is Craig Kelly?” He was floored by the notion that there were snowboarders out there who didn’t know who Craig was. And this inspired him to write The Darkest White.
Mountain Skills
Resort Skinning Policies
We’ve compiled a database of U.S. resorts with a little about each individual policy—where and when skinning is allowed, whether or not it’s free during operating hours and the link directly to the resort’s guidelines.