Monthly Archives: June 2011

CX through Marin

Although there’s plenty of snow still left to slide around on, sometimes it’s nice to take a break and get out on dry land with a bike. And given that I was going to be in the Bay Area this weekend anyways, it seemed only logical that I lug the cross bike along as well. It turned out to be a great choice (the cross instead of road or mountain), as there are a number of fire road climbs that you can just crush coming from a mile high to nothing.

My first ride was from Point Reyes Station through Nicasio, and then up onto a ridge that led through… Read more

“Bad day” on sleds: Our favorite online dealers in action.

Here’s a homegrown video of snowmobiling outtakes and bloopers from the Beck brothers (www.snowbigdeal.com) and their friends. They are not pro snowmobilers, but they’re pretty darn close. Make sure you listen closely to the sound track. These guys have been selling BCA equipment since almost day 1 and it’s been a fun ride. We’ve been planning to get out with them on their home turf in rural Utah, but have just changed our minds…

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7LkHqIx7jU']

Video Link… Read more

Clinton Peak- Trip Report

Backcountry Access (BCA) employees Adam Sotkin and Andy Wenberg skied the unsung northeast face of Clinton Peak, encountering steep corn conditions. Sotkin is the designer of BCA’s Float 30 avalanche airbag. Andy is BCA’s in-house salesperson.

Snowmobilers congregate in Calgary

BCA snowmobiling reps Dwayne and Debbie Paynton represented Backcountry Access (BCA) at the 2012 International Snowmobile Congress (ISC) in Calgary Alberta.

KGZ

Some of you may remember a trip to Krygyzstan that a few of us went on over a year ago. Since then Ryan Koupal has spent another winter in the Tien Shan Mountains, pioneering his 40 Tribes Backcountry program. What started out as an exploratory mission three years ago, has grown to offer customized trips, featuring life in a traditional Kyrgyz hut, as part of this culturally rich experience. Below is a short trailer that Ryan put together highlighting the spirited life and skiing in the heart of Central Asia. For more information on skiing or fly-fishing in KGZ visit, 40 Tribes Backcountry.

Kyrgyzstan 2010-11 from 40 Tribes Backcountry on… Read more

Ogalalla Express

The ingredients to a successful backcountry trip are pretty simple: good food, good friends, good weather and good snow. When they all come together though, it can make for a downright excellent trip- especially if it’s a brutally long one.

Daan, Moski and I started out from the Camp Dick trailhead on Saturday afternoon, shouldering the heavy packs that included both camping and skiing gear. We hiked a few miles before getting on snow, then began to skin.

Eight miles later, we set up camp, cooked some stroganoff and crawled in our bags.

At the ripe early hour of 3am, we awoke and started up the valley towards this beaut:… Read more

A Picture is Worth a 14 Hour Drive…

Here’s a guest blog from Brandy Floyd. Brandy is a snowmobile shredder, avalanche educator and avid rider from Washington State. You can check out her web site at this link: http://www.brandyfloyd.com/

A picture is worth a 14 hour drive?

It all started the morning of Friday May 27th with a photo posted on Facebook of the Dutchmen Snow Park in Bend, OR.

The ripple effect of said picture reached me, sitting in my office in Bellevue, WA. Before viewing this picture I had plans to remain home and pout over our lack of sunshine locally. The vision of fresh snow set in motion a frantic night of packing up sleds,… Read more

Not done yet! Big day on South Maroon.

The crew from Backcountry Access (BCA) skied the southwest face of South Maroon Peak in Colorado’s Maroon Bells last weekend, scoring a steep descent off the classic 14′er.