Colorado Roots Propel Cirque Mountain Apparel

cirque mountain apparel

Find a snow-covered cirque on skis, and you’ll likely be taking some great powder turns.

“A cirque is a basin carved out by a glacier,” said Alex Biegler, owner and founder of Cirque Mountain Apparel. “And they always make for … Continue reading


Up Your Elevation Awareness: The Importance of Acclimation, with Tips and Tools

After visiting his family in North Carolina and Virginia over the holiday season, Christopher Joyner said the transition back to Colorado altitude hit him harder than he expected.

Joyner is the public affairs specialist for the Bureau of Land ManagementContinue reading


Gear Review: Yukon Charlie’s 825 Pro II Series Women’s Snowshoes & Trekking Poles

Gear Review: Yukon Charlie's 825 Pro II Series Women's Snowshoes & Trekking Poles

There’s no doubt that one of the biggest improvements in snowshoe design recently are the bindings. I started snowshoeing about 10 years ago, and the only thing I disliked about the sport was putting on the equipment on my feet … Continue reading


Training Tips For Snowshoe Racing: Triathlete Brad Zoller Hits The Snow

Brad Zoller with his training partner, Senna, last year in Barrington, IL for the Frozen Zucchini 5k snowshoe race.

When triathlete Brad Zoller lived in Chicago, he used to run the stairs to his apartment twice a week. He lived on the 23rd floor, and it took him about two minutes.

“I would take the elevator down, and then … Continue reading


Gear Review: SportHill Saga II 3SP Women’s Tight

Saga Tight

Twice a week throughout the year (minus mud seasons), a local group of runners and hikers rise with the sun to hit the steep on Vail Mountain in Colorado. Ellen Miller, accomplished mountaineer and endurance coach, leads the sessions out … Continue reading


The Intend Jacket by Dare2b Is Perfect for Snowshoeing

I should open with a confession.  I grabbed up the Intend Club jacket by Dare2b for only one reason: I thought it looked really cool.

And my fashion sense was quickly confirmed.  First, there were all the compliments.  Then there … Continue reading


The FLEX RDG Shoe by Tubbs Is Adaptive and Free of Flaws

Any time you assess a shoe by the Tubbs Snowshoe Company, the Vermont shoemaker starts out with stellar credibility.  It was in a 1928 expedition that Admiral Richard Byrd and his team walked on Tubbs snowshoes all the way to … Continue reading


The Height of Performance and Convenience: Black Diamond’s Carbon Compactor Poles

There are times when we need to pack up your poles.  When we’re traveling to our snowshoe destination by airplane.  When we’re touring the backcountry, camping along the way, or touring across a variety of terrain, some of which requires … Continue reading


Range of Light Carries on a Rich Ecological Tradition

One century ago this month, on December 24, 1914, America’s greatest pioneering naturalist died in Los Angeles at age 76.  John Muir was a true Renaissance man – a botanist, geologist, engineer, inventor, rancher, explorer, ecological thinker, and writer whose … Continue reading


A Great Vermont Export: Darn Tough Socks

While I never saw her drink the entire time I was growing up, my mother kept a small bottle of brandy in the cupboard.  Mom hailed from upstate Wisconsin and had been a great ice skater in her day, so … Continue reading


Is There Something Magical at Work in Klymit’s Backpacks?

Perhaps it had been too long since I’d studied the features of backpacks.  Perhaps I hadn’t ever taken backpacks seriously enough.  But I was a bit taken aback when I read what Klymit’s Motion 35 backpack can do.

A backpack … Continue reading


Stio’s Merino Wool Hoodie May Be the Best Midlayer Ever

When I began wearing my Merino wool hoodie by Stio, I didn’t have to be convinced of the value of Merino wool.  I already knew that Merino wool makes the best inner layer and probably the best “non-jacket” midlayer.

Wool … Continue reading