Author: The High Route Editors

THR Podcast Episode 6: Traversing the Redline

THR Podcast Episode 6: Traversing the Redline

Written by | Dec 1, 2023

On episode 6 of The High Route Podcast we speak with some fine folks about their experiences on the Redline Traverse in California’s Sierras. IFMGA guide Jed Porter completed the Redline in 2017, primarily solo. Spencer Dillon, a law student at the University of Utah, and his partner Matt Skorina maximized the gift of a deep Sierra snowpack to complete their iteration of the Redline in the spring of 2023.

As far as high Sierra ski traverses go, the Redline is mythical. The route was first completed in the early 80s by Allan Bard, Tom Carter, and Chris Cox. Several others assisted the endeavor along the way, but Bard, Carter, and Cox had the vision and the moxy to see it through. Traversing south to north, the Redline begins near Whitney Portal outside Lone Pine, California, and terminates at Mammoth. The intent was to stay as high as possible and ski excellent lines. But all this was in the 80s—a time when even military use of GPS was a decade off.

Read More
A Primer on Removing a Stripped Binding Screw

A Primer on Removing a Stripped Binding Screw

Written by | Nov 27, 2023

Some things in the backcountry realm are decidedly unsexy. The one topic we’re touching upon here is right up there with blown skins as the unsexiest of all—stripped binding screws. 

The mere thought of a stripped binding screw brings back the horrors of f-bombs past. In The High Route’s Bend HQ, we habitually do ski bench work on the heirloom kitchen table. I think the dogs are forever damaged from the virulent f-bombs tossed around each time I’ve attempted to loosen an overtightened T-20 screw, or subsequently stripped the overtightened T-20. Evidently, at the Wilson, WY HQ, the folks there “try pretty hard not to strip screws.”

We’ve all had issues with different drive type screws: Phillips Head, hex, Pozidriv, and Torx (the T in the T-20) are all guilty by association—it takes an overzealous screw tightener to over tighten the screw. In other words, user error happens. Here’s to helping solve the striped screw snafu.

Read More
Women’s-Specific Avalanche Education Scholarships Return For 2023-2024 Winter Season

Women’s-Specific Avalanche Education Scholarships Return For 2023-2024 Winter Season

Written by | Nov 20, 2023

Backcountry Access and the American Avalanche Association are pleased to announce that they are once again coming together to present a scholarship program for female-identifying avalanche professionals. The $1,500 per-candidate scholarships will provide tuition support for women taking their Professional Level 1 or Professional Level 2 Avalanche Courses in the US. The program seeks to further the representation of women in a field where they have been historically underrepresented.

Read More