A Day in AK from Chason Russell on Vimeo.

Chason Russell and friends made a trip to Southeast Alaska last spring, check out this edit of one of their days on the glacier.

My buddy Zahan was once again the partner of choice.  At maybe 5’9” tall and weighing in at 135 pounds (soaking wet with a hard-on,) Z is an aerobic machine.  His willingness to break trail from pre-dawn to dusk combined with solid mountain skills make him one of the greatest ski mountaineering partners imaginable.  We’ve spent many days in the mountains together and will hopefully spend many more.  With plans for some really big days in the Tetons when conditions come together, we thought that following a descent of the Apocalypse Couloir with a climb and descent of the Son of Apocalypse Couloir would make for good training.

Crossing the lake with gorgeous morning light on the far shore.

Sunday’s route took us across Phelps Lake and up through the thin forest on the east slopes of Prospector’s.  Sunrise lit up the lower forest while we skinned across the frozen lake and we were granted stunning views of Albright Peak as the morning’s inversion fog burned off.

Albright Peak pops out of the fog in the background.

Winding our way up through the forest, we made good time getting to the ridgecrest and the notch above the top of the Apocalypse.  The couloir ends about 200’ below the ridgecrest, with a steep rockband keeping it from topping out.

The inevitable summit shot--AJ and Zahan, about the enter the Apocalypse Couloir.

With our huge snowpack this year, we found snow covering the rock and were able to downclimb most of it with the aid of a fixed-line that had been anchored to a tree at the top.

AJ down-climbs the entrance to the Apocalypse Couloir.

Midway down, the fixed-line turned into a rappel anchor, so we rapped a short pitch and then down-climbed through a choke to the point where we could step in to board and skis.

Z approaches the bottom the rappel into the Apocalypse.

We made turns down the entrance shaft to the starting zone of the couloir, where I built a quick snow anchor to belay Z while he ski-cut the top.

Z descends the entrance shaft to the Apocalypse. Skinny!

Nothing moved after two aggressive ski cuts, not even sluff.  It felt like cheating to stand at the top of a 50-degree couloir with knee-deep, stable powder in it!  It’s a rare thing–usually the snow is firm and chalky, maybe even crusty, when conditions are safe enough to take on these objectives.  Z gave me the thumbs-up for the first pitch, so I dropped-in to floaty, steep bliss–effortless turns at high speed through magic snow.  Totally awesome.

Fat turns in the start of the Apocalypse Couloir. Wagner Custom just built a new board for me that rides like a dream--a bit shorter for tight spots, and it's super stiff. It powers through thick snow and chunder, and carves into firm snow like cat claws on curtains.

Z fires turns down the Apocalypse.

We leap-frogged our way down the couloir to the choke 1500’ below, where there is typically a 40’ water-ice down-climb, and discovered that it was completely filled-in and skiable!  A bit firm from perpetual sluffing, to be sure, but we were able to ski it clean and make our way to the canyon bottom without having to step out of our gear–again, a rare thing.

Lunchtime. Z catches his breath after skiing the 3000' couloir. (The exit is visible in the background.)

After a brief lunch break in the sun we put our boards back on our packs and pointed ourselves up the Son of Apocalypse Couloir.  The lower half was great climbing–firm and fast.  But as we got higher the snow got deeper until we were breaking crotch-deep trail to the top of it.  Brutal.  We would each take a turn at the front, kicking steps for maybe 5 minutes before stepping out the way and getting a reprieve from plowing the track uphill.  Another quick break in the sun on the ridge allowed us to recover a bit before turning ourselves back downhill for another fantastic run.  The ball-deep trail-breaking on the way up translated to fat, fast powder turns descending the top half of the couloir.

Fast turns down the Son of Apocalypse Couloir--part 2 of one hell of a day.

Leap-frogging again, we made huge, mach-speed turns down to the midway choke and our return to chalky snow.  1000’ of skiing down sluffed snow and old avalanche debris brought us back to the bottom of the canyon and an hour of cross-country travel back to the truck.  (I remain convinced of the superiority of approach skis for snowboard mountaineering–the side-hill skinning and rolling travel would have been awful on a splitboard, but on the Wagner approach skis it felt cruiser.)

I will remember our day on the Apocalypse and Son as one of my most successful, fun days in the mountains.  Amazing snow, mind-blowing terrain, 5000′+ of skiing, and a partner with the skills and stoke to make it happen with style.  Life in the Tetons is good.

Sick Bird Silas shows off his award and his skis. Photo Courtesy of Keith Carlsen / MSI

Way to go Silas! We are so stoked for you and look forward to your continued success!

Founder and CEO of Wagner Custom, Pete Wagner

Check out the recent issue of Forbes Magazine, which features an article chronicling the history of Wagner Custom founder, Pete Wagner, and his custom ski building process.

See the article in its entirety on the Forbes website or by clicking here.

Telluride Helitrax...this could be you

Here’s an easy way to give yourself a chance to go Heliskiing high in the San Juan Mountains and/or win a pair of Wagner Customs: simply enter Telluride Ski Resort’s contest on Facebook to win the Grand Prize Heliskiing Trip courtesy of Telluride Helitrax. Enter the contest here and good luck!

Bootpacking Aspen Highlands Bowl

Have you ever woken to the sound of explosives echoing across the valley floor or driven through a mountain pass that was recently closed due to avalanche debris and wondered how safe you really are when skiing within the boundaries of a ski resort? Fortunately, years of research, observations, and training by snow safety professionals can help ease the doubts you may have about in-bounds avalanche safety.

One of the most exhilarating experiences on snow is riding down steep exposed terrain where all of your focus is placed on remaining balanced and fluid enough to absorb terrain inconsistencies while traveling at high speed. The possibility that the surface being travelled on could slide out from underneath you is something that rarely enters the mind when skiing in bounds. Resort Ski Patrols and Snow Safety Specialists mitigate this risk to the point of public disregard by using various pre-season and in-season tactics.

Riders recently taking advantage of the hike-to-terrain made possible by bootpacking

Bootpacking is still the original, most cost effective, dangerous, and strenuous method to stabilize snow on steep terrain. At Colorado resorts, such as Telluride, Aspen, Aspen Highlands, Snowmass, and CS Irwin, bootpacking is undertaken by Ski Patrol, Guides, and properly equipped members of the public looking to trade pride-swallowing manual labor for ski passes. As described by a loyal member of the Aspen Highlands bootpacker program, one must bring extra layers, extra food/water, and extra will power to make it through a day of packing. The process consists of walking up and down slopes in neat columns, while focusing on stomping through existing layers that have formed during early season snows. The result of this exertion is the elimination of depth hoar snow that could provide a sliding surface for future destructive avalanches. By packing and condensing the snow, these areas will remain controllable throughout the season by utilizing ski cutting tactics and explosives on new or wind deposited snow as accumulations warrant.

So the next time you get to the bottom of one of your favorite in-bounds bowls covered in January fluff, say a little thanks to Ski Patrol and the others whose November sweat made the experience as avalanche safe as possible.

Directing Bootpacker Traffic, Thank You Ski Patrol!

Winner of the Skiing Magazine Powder Photo Contest

Skiing Magazine has announced the winner of the Powder Photo Contest as voted on by the public. The above image, captured by Larry, was the most popular photo in a contest that received numerous submissions and included two rounds of voting. We are looking forward to designing and building Larry’s skis and finding out exactly where this photo was taken.

Josh Williams entering the Graveyard

click the link to view slideshow

http://vimeo.com/18367226

Skiing Magazine Powder Photo Contest

Check out the submissions for the Skiing Magazine Powder Photo Contest. Pick your five favorite shots and then Skiing will condense the list down for another round of public voting. The winning photographer wins a pair of Wagner Customs. Thanks for all the great pics and here’s to a winter full of many more days like the ones depicted in the contest!

Skiing Magazine Powder Photo Contest

$14,000 bottle of Macallan Scotch

Still looking for the perfect gift for that special someone on your list with discerning taste? How about a 55 year-old bottle of Scotch, or floor seats to a Miami Heat game, or even booking a flight into outer space? Check out Teamspeed’s full holiday guide for more ideas.

Orbiting Space with Virgin Galactic

If you need a present  for the passionate skier in your life, there is still time to purchase the Wagner Custom Ski Gift Package. The package neatly includes information explaining the customization process, how to get started, and some factory swag. You give them the package and we guide them through the process of creating their dream ski, this is a gift that people love. Click here for all the details.

Wagner Custom Ski Gift Package

Aspen's Mountain Chalet: Home of the World Cup Wax Room

What’s the secret to becoming the fastest woman in the world? Part of that answer lies in the bowels of the Mountain Chalet in Aspen, Colorado.  Located in the subterranean garage of this classic Aspen lodge are 45 temporary World Cup waxing rooms built for the athletes competing in Aspen’s annual Winternational World Cup races.

A French Ski Technician irons on the secret wax

Within these 8’x12’ rooms, ski technicians are hard at work perfecting the winning wax combination that will give their athlete that hundredth of a second advantage, which, by the way, was the winning margin in the Giant Slalom this past weekend.  With so much at stake, each room has it’s own dead bolt lock and there is a 24-hour security detail.

Olympic Champion Lindsey Vonn's Wax Room

Removing burrs from ski edges

For us non-World Cup competitors it is important to regularly wax our skis with the proper temperature wax. The right wax will protect the bases of skis from hard snow and rocks, as well as providing the glide needed to get to your favorite stash ahead of your buddies. Colder snow requires harder wax that won’t get scraped off by the cold sharp snow crystals, where softer wax is needed for spring conditions when snow has higher moisture content. Stop by your favorite local ski shop, set up your own wax room in your garage, or send your Wagner Skis back to the factory and make sure they are properly cared for.

Cold Budweiser is the key to Austrian ski waxing strategy