Backcountry Skiing, Alpine Touring (AT) or Randonne??
No matter the name, skiing away from lift-serviced & patrolled terrain exerts a powerful spiritual pull on the avid winter recreationalist.
Will the sport and its harrowing risks survive the current Anthropocene epoch?
Climate change has wreaked havoc on the long-accepted tenets of snow science.
The newer breed of avalanche safety courses stress decision making & group dynamics equally with snow pit and Rutschblock testing.
Recent years have seen significant advances in safety gear, most notably airbag packs and transceiver technology. Yet experts & novices continue to perish in avalanche events.
My decreasing risk tolerance has reduced my time in & around mountain and glacier terrain. Nonetheless, I continue the occasional spring foray as evidenced by these shots of a recent trip to some of the best terrain on the planet in British Columbia.
