Tis the season for more touring, and, by default, some touring news.
Last Problems and Last Great Lines
A week into December, the weather gods have turned the spigot off for now. Stay tuned; a rain/snow event is coming in the PNW. Let’s get a news roundup to close out this first week of a holiday-ish month.
Whatever one has to say about Outside Magazine, we’ll admit they have done good work over the years. Their model, click-baity content, and new social media-oriented platform are another story. (It does seem that routinely hitting the Outside Mag punching bag is a blog/social media post ecosystem. But, we digress. Either way, Outside does have a not-so-obtuse way of writing clickable titles and articles. Like this: “Everest’s Hornbein Couloir Is the Greatest Line Never Skied.” The article, which we will have some follow-up on, is a solid introduction to the Hornbein and the efforts to ski it.
Piggybacking on the title, “Greatest Line Never Skied,” sorta has the whiff of the phrase “Last Great Problem,” which is often used in alpinism circles to describe an ascent of such complex technical difficulty that it is the apex in difficulty. “Last Great” and “Greatest Line Never” definitely are attention-grabbing. And for sure, as far as difficulty, elevation, position, access, and on and on, no one would argue with the significance of a ski/snowboard descent of the Hornbein. But, young people, you should know this: over the years, mountain cognoscenti have loved to declare certain routes or lines as the last remaining problem to solve.
There are many cool and worthy “problems” to climb and lines to descend in good style. Further, as you will learn from reading the Outside story, bottled oxygen is required by the Chinese on the North Side of Everest. So, maybe, in time, when that regulatory requirement is set aside, some audacious folks will head into that low-oxygen soup without the bottled gas and take it one steep turn at a time. We say that with the caveat that it’s healthy to not set an endpoint for progression.
G3 Back in Business
Over the summer, Canada’s G3 faced financial difficulties and was taken into court-ordered receivership. Now, a few months on, G3 is under new ownership and in the business of selling touring goods. In a press release dated November 19, G3 announced that Canadawide Sports, “a leading employee-owned distributor of sports and outdoor equipment,” acquired G3. Canadawide distributes goods for Adidas, Reebok, and STX lacrosse equipment, as well as several other brands.
G3’s website is open and processing orders.
An image looking across the crown of the avalanche. The avalanche was about 24 inches deep and over 600 feet wide. Photo and caption: CAIC
An image looking up the slide from just above the toe of the avalanche debris. The avalanche ran about 800 vertical feet into the gully at the bottom of the avalanche path. Photo and caption: CAIC
Avalanche News
Avalanche Incidents are in the news. Although high pressure has dominated recently, there’s snow in them there hills.
The Colorado Avalanche Information Center (CAIC) posted information regarding an incident on Colorado Mines Peak. The accident occurred on December 3. CAIC reported, “A skier triggered and was caught in a large avalanche on Mines Peak on December 3, 2024. The skier was injured in the avalanche. The Grand County Sheriff’s Office, including Grand County Search and Rescue, responded to the avalanche and transported the skier back to US-40 for further medical care.”
According to the CAIC, this was a hardslab skier-triggered avalanche on a north-facing slope. While acknowledging all incidents are somewhat unique, this is a note from us to be aware that despite, perhaps, limited snowfall, slides are still a concern in the early season. Further, Colorado Mines Peak and the terrain in which the incident occurred are easy to access. Which is to say, you don’t have to go far to find trouble.
Please be safe.
