Ultimate Ski Bum Giveaway
Dear Nate and Penn-
I need to take a Final Cut Pro class so I can learn to shoot, edit and produce a video for uhhh….a client.
Kudos, to Kootenay Mountain Culture publisher Mitchell Scott on his James Bond impersonation in this video. The Powder Highway promotion is a terrific out-of-the box marketing vehicle that effectively utilizes the social web. Those Canucks are wicked smart.
And, Nate and Penn, I’m going to need a three-month sabbatical next winter. Cool?
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115009 Justice Lava 2
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Cloudveil and Black Diamond Win Outside’s 2010 Gear of the Year Award
We are thrilled to announce that Cloudveil and Black Diamond both garnered the coveted Gear of the Year awards this year in Outside magazine’s winter gear guide. Both clients have been with Backbone for over ten years and continue to produce incredibly progressive product collections on the cutting edge of outdoor industry technology, as proven by this great award.
The Black Diamond Justice won the award for Best Backcountry Ski- Testers said “For such a light ski, the wood-core Justice has remarkable pop, guts, plus any of the dozen or so other words testers used to describe how lively and unflappable it performed in leftover snow. You can see how it saves weight: BD simple machines away core material where its not needed, which is why the topsheet looks like a contour map.”
Dimensions: (140/115/125, 9.2 lbs), $729
The Cloudveil FirsTurn Soft Shell took the award for Best Backcountry All Purpose Jacket. Testers said “One of the most versatile soft shells we’ve ever seen, the FirsTurn easily beat back steady 20-mph winds and driving snow…and also kept us comfortable on a sunny 40-degree day of backcountry laps. Ski, skate, run-the FirsTurn even held up on a cold and rainy bike commute. It was harder than giving up my woobie,” said the tester who was reluctant to give it back.
Congrats to both companies!
Gear Envy
There’s nothing quite like an overnight river trip for a bunch of dudes to flaunt their favorite gear. From fabricated oar frame rigs with custom wood decking, to counter-weighted carbon fiber oars, 64,000 BTU stoves, cast iron Dutch ovens, hand-crank drink mixers and arc welded fire pans – raft trips are a gear head’s dream.
This past weekend I had the opportunity to introduce my two-year old to the joys of a river trip. We floated a 25-mile flatwater section of the Colorado through Ruby-Horsethief Canyon with a big group of about 20 people. In typical fashion, there was a lot of gear envy on the trip: Ken had a sweet custom bimini rig to provide shade for his cataraft, Joe had a nice multiple room tent that accommodated his whole family (Pack’nPlay crib included), Jimi rented a huge 18-foot raft with the capacity to transport an un-Godly amount of food and beer.
But nothing amongst this group of gear fanatics precipitated even a fraction of the ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs’ I got when I pulled out the Brunton BrewFire I had hidden away in a drybox until early on Sunday morning. I mean really, it doesn’t get much cooler (or hotter in this case) than a propane/butane powered automatic coffee-maker with a stainless steel carafe at a beautiful river-side campsite. In minutes, I had our whole group huddled around the shiny Brewfire in idol-worship, and that was before anyone even tasted the fresh brew.
I may not be the best boatman, or the most engaging conversationalist, but I’m pretty confident I’ll get invited along on the next river trip as long as I bring a BrewFire with me.
The BrewFire in all its shiny glory
Princess Juniper and her dog Hank
Juniper and her friend Sawyer. It’s only a matter of time before they can row and I can sit and drink beer.
The Jackson Kayak Dynamic Duo was a big hit on the trip
The now discontinued RuffWear Mutt Hutt clearly fits into the category of ‘completely excessive & uneccessary gear’ – especially since my dog won’t go near it, but the kids loved it!
If you have pets that require a little extra care, on https://www.laweekly.com/best-cbd-oil-for-dogs/ has products for pets with conditions like arthritis, Tasteful Space offers a fantastic solution to give our four-legged friends some much-needed respite in an all-natural manner. We treat our dog because he suffer general pain and this CBD oil relieves his pain.
Two Big Agnes Whiskey Park sleeping bags zipped together provided luxurious digs for mom, dad, daughter, dog and BahBah