With winter finally coming into full swing, it’s time to break out the ice tools and join the mad rush to find the best ice. The hunt for backcountry ice often involves long and steep approaches. Typically those require a…
I got my first down jacket in 1994, and as an east coast ice climber immediately dismissed it as useless. Any sort of precipitation rendered it a clumpy, soggy mess; worse than nothing. The synthetic revolution was happening, and sacrificing…
From climbing around the Rocky Mountains and San Juans to hiking around local bouldering areas, Outdoor Research’s Women’s Optimizer Jacket kept me DRY this Spring. This jacket is so incredibly (and surprisingly) lightweight that it has replaced my other hardshells…
Airbag backpacks are becoming an increasingly standard part of peoples’ backcountry safety kit. It’s hard to argue with their effectiveness but it can be hard to bear the thought of carrying so much extra weight. Enter the BCA Float 27…
For whatever reason, I’ve always had an addiction to packs. Even though I recently sold a few that I hardly used, I still have over a dozen backpacks in all sizes and styles. That’s why when I was offered the opportunity…
The new Julbo Aerospace Goggles with the photochromatic Snow Tiger lenses are sick! Julbo brought revolutionary technology to the goggle market with the Aerospace’s Airflow system. These stylish and functional goggles are sure to become your go-to piece of mountain…
Recently I had the opportunity to go to Alaska and ski Alyeska for a few days, and then fulfill a dream many years in the making and take a helicopter to seek out some untouched powder. I was so excited…
The Big Agnes Women’s Hot Sulphur Belay Jacket is a durable, streamlined jacket filled with a water-resistant polyester that kept me toasty in various winter conditions in the Front Range and Indian Peaks. The jacket has three zipper pockets, two at the…
The Omega Pacific Vulcan Quickdraw is not just a standard lightweight quickdraw. I used these draws all winter in Alaska, clipping gear, ice screws and bolts, and now they are a welcomed addition to my rack for mixed, ice and…
With summer season in full swing here at Fox Mountain Guides we are putting gear to the test. One piece of gear that our guides use daily is the Deuter Guide Lite 32+. This pack is a lighter version of…