Latest posts on skiing, snowboarding, and snow science
Balaclava: essential winter gear since the Crimean War
The balaclava face mask is essential gear if you ski or snowboard and the origin of the word has nothing to do with a Greek dessert.
How an avalanche beacon works and saves lives
An avalanche beacon is a safety device that transmits a signal that rescuers use to home in on someone buried by an avalanche.
What is a powder day clause and why do you need one?
A powder day clause is an element of one’s work arrangement in which the party can blow off their job and go skiing/riding when there’s fresh pow.
Avalanche probe: gear you hope to never use for real
An avalanche probe is a rod that’s used to poke through avalanche debris in order to find a buried victim.
Graupel, a “supercooled” type of precipitation
Is it sleet? Hail? No, it’s graupel, a relatively obscure form of precipitation that resembles balls of Styrofoam.
Snow cornice: beautiful but potentially deadly
A mass of overhanging ice or snow, typically found on a ridgetop or edge of a cirque.
