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Year: 2020

Press

DREAM PLANNER – THE ICEFIELDS PARKWAY

November 20, 2020September 20, 2021
Marcus Baranow
0

The Icefields Parkway Confessions of a Ski Bum (skicanadamag.com) With 6,641 sq km of mountains to explore in Banff National Park, where does an adventurous skier start? Nowadays, most backcountry skiers start with Marcus Baranow’s Confessions of a Ski Bum guides. Baranow has […]

Bindings Gear Reviews

Plum Summit 12

November 15, 2020December 18, 2021
Marcus Baranow
4

Last season Plum sent me a Summit 12 binding to try and although it’s not a binding type I would normally steer towards, it proved to be a great choice for my resort/backcountry crossover setup. The Summit 12 seems to […]

Bindings Gear Reviews

Plum R150

October 16, 2020December 18, 2021
Marcus Baranow
0

In the past I have steered clear of anything that’s called a “race binding”, my feeling was this category was meant for the single purpose of being as light as possible while being used less than a normal backcountry binding. […]

Gear Reviews Safety

Mammut Alugator Light Avalanche Shovel

September 14, 2020December 18, 2021
Marcus Baranow
0

A few years ago I was looking to lighten my pack weight and after skimming most other areas I was left with safety gear. I already had a bad experience with the BCA Shaxe in regards to finding light weight […]

Trip Reports

Consolation Col

July 14, 2020July 15, 2020
Marcus Baranow
0

Brandon and I’s original plan this week was to ski Bell Couloir starting from Moraine Lake, heading over Consolation Col, climbing the south aspect of Bell and then looping back down through Taylor Pass. We headed out from Moraine Lake […]

Trip Reports

Wapta Summer Skiing

June 29, 2020July 3, 2020
Marcus Baranow
1

It’s officially summer but it sure doesn’t feel like it. Most days around Lake Louise have highs of 15C and there is still snow at treeline in many places and deep snow in the alpine. Leading up to our weekend […]

Trip Reports

Canoskimo

June 22, 2020July 3, 2020
Marcus Baranow
0

A week prior Brandon messaged me looking to get some turns and I had just the adventure to fit the bill. I had been watching the snow levels above Bow Lake for a couple of weeks and I wanted to […]

How To

Get Into Backcountry Skiing PT 1 : Why?

June 8, 2020February 8, 2022
Marcus Baranow
5

The other day it dawned on me that I have answered the question “how do I get into backcountry skiing” more than any other but had yet to write about the topic. Over the next few posts I’ll go into […]

How To

Get Into Backcountry Skiing PT 2 : Gear

June 8, 2020December 5, 2020
Marcus Baranow
0

In part 2 of this series I’m going to go into detail about buying gear for backcountry skiing. If you haven’t already read part 1 of this series check it out to make sure you want to drop a bunch […]

How To

Get Into Backcountry Skiing PT 3 : Education

June 8, 2020February 8, 2022
Marcus Baranow
1

In this section I’ll be talking about gaining experience through education. If you haven’t read parts 1 and 2 of this series please check them out. Geared Up And Ready To Go If you have taken my advice so far […]

How To

Get Into Backcountry Skiing PT 4 : Culture

June 8, 2020February 8, 2022
Marcus Baranow
0

In part 4 I’m going to dive into the dirty world of ski bum culture so you can prepare to deal with kooks, jaded locals and “know it all newbies”. If you haven’t read parts 1-3 you should check them […]

Trip Reports

Helena Ridge

June 8, 2020July 3, 2020
Marcus Baranow
0

Everyone had been hitting up the Icefields but Nick and I kept getting bad weather windows on our days off so this week we decided to check out the Castle Mountain area. I often go to this zone when the […]

Gear Reviews Skis

K2 Wayback 88

May 17, 2020December 18, 2021
Marcus Baranow
0

It dawned on me today after buying a new K2 Wayback 80 for summer use that I have never reviewed my 88s. I’ve owned 2 pairs of Wayback 88s and for several years it was the setup I used the […]

Camping Gear Reviews

PHD Xero Half Bag

April 10, 2020December 18, 2021
Marcus Baranow
6

A few years ago I was trying to figure out how to drop weight from my overnight kit. I started by weighing all my items and it was obvious that the sleeping bag was the first area I needed to […]

Bindings Gear Reviews

Pika vs Oazo

April 5, 2020December 18, 2021
Marcus Baranow
0

This afternoon I opened my IG inbox to find a simple question: “Pika or Oazo?” I had meant to write up a comparison review before the global pandemic started but I had forgot about it amidst the chaos of preparing […]

Trip Reports

Eisenhower Couloir

March 13, 2020June 16, 2020
Marcus Baranow
0

On March 13 2020 Nick and I went back to Rockbound Lake in hopes of skiing the full Eisenhower Couloir. There is a chockstone in this run but you can’t ski under it so we brought a small rock rack […]

Go Skiing! Ski Zones

Two Ways To Talus

March 11, 2020December 18, 2021
Marcus Baranow
0

In the evening on December 11th I noticed a press release from Talus Lodge about their new Climate Action plan, the move to self propelled access for a lodge that traditionally only did fly in access seemed like a bold move. […]

Trip Reports

Rockbound Lake Couloirs

February 28, 2020June 16, 2020
Marcus Baranow
0

It’s been several months since I did a trip report and I was surprised I never made one for this day as it was sweet. On Feb 28 2020 Nick, Brandon, Nathan and I went up to Rockbound Lake to […]

Bindings Gear Reviews

Plum Pika Binding

February 23, 2020December 18, 2021
Marcus Baranow
3

After using the Plum Oazo Binding last season and being very happy with the product, I agreed to sign on with Plum to represent them in Canada. The first binding I received was their Pika model and I have been […]

Trip Reports

Natalko (Talc) Peak FWA

February 22, 2020February 25, 2020
Marcus Baranow
0

Earlier this month Nick and I attempted to get up Natalko (Talc) Peak but were turned away for a few reasons during our 3 day trip to Egypt Lake. After looking at more pictures and satellite imagery we decided to […]

Trip Reports

The Needle

February 9, 2020February 23, 2020
Marcus Baranow
0

For about 10 years I’ve been looking at the east aspect of Natalko (Talc) Peak and wondering what goes and what doesn’t. A few times I have attempted to ski some of the lines by booting up them but always […]

Trip Reports

Plum Family Rockies Week

January 31, 2020February 23, 2020
Marcus Baranow
0

Last year I was able to test the Plum Oazo binding thanks to SkiUphill and I loved them and in the summer I contacted Plum to see if they would be interested in working together to promote their product in […]

Gear Reviews Skis

Fischer Hannibal 106 Ski

January 30, 2020December 18, 2021
Marcus Baranow
1

Full disclosure, these skis were sent to me for free by Fischer via SkiUphill. This review of the ski was not something Fischer or SkiUphill requested before or after sending me the ski and I am writing it in order […]

Trip Reports

The Mind Shaft

January 25, 2020
Marcus Baranow
1

I believe the first time I saw this run was 11 years ago (2009) on a trip to Egypt Lake, (or maybe in Lost Horse Creek, where you can actually see the whole run). The line was huge with massive […]

Press

Mind Shaft – Chugach Mountain Institute

January 20, 2020September 20, 2021
Marcus Baranow
0

Mind Shaft | Chugach Mountain Institute (anchorageavalanchecenter.org) By Mat Brunton I spent a week in the Canadian Rockies (based out of Lake Louise) while driving back to Alaska after a three month 2019-20 snow season road trip during which I […]

Trip Reports

December Pow

January 6, 2020
Marcus Baranow
0

Today as I looked at my website I realized that I forgot to post anything in December, maybe it was all the fresh pow clogging my brain that made me forget to post? In early December the Rockies got hit […]

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