Print issue 2020
Ten exciting years. 150 fascinating stories about and perspectives of a very special pastime.
A lot has changed in these ten years. The gear has developed dynamically; yesterday’s extremes have become today’s normality; a peripheral phenomenon has turned into a serious trend. We are grateful and honored to have accompanied this development over the past ten years.
More and more people are drawn away from the hustle and bustle of the groomers to untouched powder slopes, deeper into remote winter landscapes, away from the reach of everyday life and civilization, consciously resisting the allure of excessive consumerism.
The “why” for this is as complex, individual and unique as the people who leave their tracks in the deep snow, looking for their very own paths, lines and adventures. Many are aware of the fact that they are very privileged to be able to pursue this unique passion, knowing that they have a self-determined responsibility for themselves, their loved ones and all those who accompany them.
We look forward to another ten years and want to thank all our readers, partners and friends who have made BACKLINE possible over the past decade. Have a safe and snowy winter season 2020-21.
Yours,
Tadschikistan · Darvoz Range (Vanj)
The clouds are finally lifting. The sun warms our skin, the last snow crystals dancing through the air sparkle like crazy, and an almost endless couloir is opening up right in front of us. It seems …
2020 · Max Kroneck · 5 min
Italien · Dolomites (Tre Cime di Lavaredo)
When I am planning a ski touring day, the snow conditions, the itinerary and the friends I am skiing with are of great importance to me. On this one day in early March, all of the above came …
2020 · Alice Russolo · 5 min
Finnland · Käsivarren Erämaa (Lappland)
The wind is not just howling; it's raging, trying to rip the roof from our hut, and waking us up with its thundering noise. The fire in the stove has gone out, and the chill starts to creep under the …
2020 · Antte Lauhamaa · 5 min
Kanada · Rossland Range (Monashee Mountains)
Extreme cold. Infinite spaces. Snow-covered trees. Steep descents. Bottomless powder. This is how I imagined the winter in British Columbia. My journey began in August 2018. I started an extended …
2020 · Christoph Johann · 4 min
Österreich · Zillertal Alps
I have these pictures racing through my mind almost every day. I get anxious; I start to focus; it haunts me like a curse. I am talking about big wall skiing. Usually my daughter wakes me up from …
2020 · Roman Rohrmoser · 5 min
Frankreich · Mont Blanc
Colin and I huddled just before midnight in the small chapel above the lake in Champex, at the north-eastern end of the Mont Blanc massif. We had planned to climb and ski an 89-kilometer …
2020 · Ben Tibbetts · 5 min
Italien · Dolomites (Sexten / Pustertal)
Usually it only takes a day or two to decide whether you will find powder or one of the less popular types of snow. For most backcountry skiers this is exactly what makes a trip an #epicday …
2020 · Anton Brey · 5 min
Kanada · Kluane & St. Elias Mountains
In 1999, three hunters found the body of a First Nations man in a remote corner of British Columbia's Coast Range. For nearly 20 years, scientists and his ancestors learned everything they could from …
2020 · Ryan Stuart · 5 min
USA · Olympic Mountains
In 1890, while on a pioneering climb of the Anderson Glacier, deep within Washington State's Olympic National Park, Private Harry Fischer postulated, "...man may never know how deep, the snow, and …
2020 · Jason Hummel · 5 min
Schweiz · Bernese Alps (Mönch / Fiescherhorn)
Big wall skiing. Hara-kiri for some people, fulfillment for others. "Why?" This question keeps popping up in my head, before and during this adventure. Why would you do something like that? I've done …
2020 · Christian Penning · 5 min
USA · Chugach Mountains (Alaska)
One move at a time, we moved up the steep face of Sphinx. Step, place the axe, step, place the axe. Looking down more than 1,500 vertical feet, you knew a fall would allow for a long time to …
2020 · Ming Poon · 5 min
USA · Rocky Mountains (Sun Valley / Idaho)
I shuffle forward in the skin track, pulling my neck warmer up over my nose, the radiating sun my only reprieve against the bitter Idaho cold. Black husks of burned trees rise like porcupine quills …
2020 · Vince Shuley · 5 min
Griechenland · Mountains of Epirus
Three years ago, we had managed to leave the traces of our skis on the snow of Olympus. The experience was immensely charming, and still more charm came from the awareness that those places were the …
2020 · Alberto Sciamplicotti · 5 min
Norwegen · Flåmsdalen
It is hard to imagine a better place for a hotel focusing on ski touring. Located at 2,690 feet above sea level and surrounded by mountains made for skiing, the Vatnahalsen hotel is the perfect …
2020 · Fredrik Schenholm · 5 min
