Backcountry Skiing is Magic
No sport has meant more to me than skiing. My parents put me on skis when I was 2 and that trajectory formed my life, friendships, and career.
Early Days
I remember skiing on sunny Park City days with my grandfather. His cracked leather gloves, the squeaky Motherload lift, getting air on Claim Jumper. I remember brown-bag lunches in the Aspen trees with my parents and brothers.
Friends With a Common Love of Snow
Skiing is where I met Mike, one of my closest friends since 1994 and fellow founder of Pingora. We started venturing into the backcountry together; two friends finding a way to be active without the drama or contrived competition of team sports. Just us, pushing ourselves, on our terms, into the great white unknown.
At first, we started pushing into slackcountry; a zone of backcountry terrain easily accessed from a chairlift. Maybe a quick hike from the Summit chair to ski terrain adjacent to the resort, but not controlled, and where fewer people made the effort to turn. Here, we found slopes of unskied powder, open couloirs, and lessons we were lucky to learn without harm. I would design and modify my packs and gear to make sidecountry easier, to carry skis, or my shovel (backcountry ski packs weren’t as available back then).
Training and Preparedness are Key
While slackcountry skiing was our gateway to a life of backcountry skiing, make no mistake; it is backcountry. “Slackcountry” is just easier to access backcountry terrain. And this makes it a bit more dangerous because people venture out without proper training. ANY terrain outside of resort management is backcountry.
Backcountry terrain entices skiers with solitude, fresh snow, no lines, and peace. Yet, it also means self-rescue, avalanche risk, route finding challenges, and total exposure to weather without shelter.
What Experience Taught Us
Since those first slackcountry turns in 1994, Mike and I have learned many lessons. Among amazing powder days, laughs, yurt trips, and tight couloirs are memories of risk, friends who stayed behind, and close calls. My point is this; I hope anyone who carries our backpacks obtains proper education–even if you only plan on hiking outside of a resort. If there’s enough snow to ski then there’s enough snow to avalanche. We design our packs as part of your strategy to enjoy the backcountry, and to help you return safely home. We design the pack with top-level construction and quality to ensure it keeps up with years of use. We design the features to make backcountry life as easy as possible, to make safety gear easily accessible, and the comfort to disappear during the crux.
However, nothing beats education and training. Know before you go. Know your team, know the route, know the weather history and forecast, know your exits, know your plan. Let’s stay alive.
Learn more about Avalanche education from the American Avalanche Association.
Vivid Packs Built for Ski Safety, Built for Durability