October in the Utah desert means the annual return of the biggest event in freeride mountain biking, Red Bull Rampage. With a return to a historic venue, athletes from across the globe were prepped to go bigger than ever and we saw plenty of riding that was truly BANANAS. Here’s the full replay.

10/17/23 - This week’s stoke:

What we’re watching:

• Famous Potatoes 2.0 - While we love big productions and pro skiers there something to watching everyday skiers like ourselves get after it. Especially when the production quality is as high and the skiing as good as many of the big-name films. Follow the potato boys chasing pillows and ski mountaineering lines from Idaho to Canada.

• Born In Chamonix - French freeride ski mountaineering legend Tof Henry and his ski partner, Chilean IFMGA guide Juan Senoret, tragically died in an accident on Chile’s Puntiagudo Volcano last week. Reports say that the skiers were riding together on the steep upper flanks of the peak when they both slipped in no-fall zone. Henry and Senoret both redefined the sport with their skiing technique, climbing and then riding highly technical and exposed lines at high speeds with style, like in Tof’s unforgettable 2018 film Born in Chamonix. They will be deeply missed.

The Beta:

• Colorado Avalanche Center 2022/2023 Season Recap - Colorado’s 22/23 winter season was characterized by above average snowfall and also above average avalanche incidents. There were 11 fatalities, including one from a roof avalanche and four where the victims were not wearing transceivers. The season started with early season snowfall followed by a dry spell causing most areas to develop basal facets. By March, enough snow had fallen to render those layers dormant in most areas but surface snow avalanches continued to produce fatal incidents. The post covers more detail about last year’s snow pack and avalanches.

• Colorado’s Arapahoe Basin Announces 10/23 as Opening Day - If you’re looking for something to do next weekend and want to slide around on the white ribbon of death, Arapahoe Basin is deep in preparations for Sunday, October 23 to be opening day for the 23/24 season. For the record, they like to call it the “white ribbon of joy.”

Elevating the Craft:

• Deep Dive Into Bootfitting - Blister’s Kara Williard talks Jake Nelson from Moment Skis about all the nuances of fitting your boots. They have decades of boot fitting experience between the two and cover topics from why bigger boots aren’t more comfortable, to how to keep you feet warm, custom insoles, the subtleties of ramp angle, and much more.

• Raide Research Launches Packs and Zero G Pro Tour Mod - Raide Research is a new brand out of Colorado making specialty tools for human-powered travel in big mountains. They are launching with an impressive 40L ski pack that combines ultralight materials and thoughtful features like a back panel entry, and an aftermarket CNC machined walk-mode bracket for the Tecnica Zero G Pro Tour that gives it a few extra degrees of forward lean.

Sidetracked:

• ISSW 2023: The Swiss Expand their Avalanche Danger Scale and ATES Gets a Revamp - The 2023 International Snow Science Workshop convened in Bend, Oregon last weekend, gathering world’s foremost avalanche scientists and educators to discuss the state of snow science. Jason Albert from The High Route reports that the Swiss Avalanche Warning Service is re-thinking the 1-5 scale of avalanche danger, adding more nuance with sub levels that will now include 1, 2-, 2=, 2+, 3-, 3=, 3+ and 4-. Albert points out that existing international avalanche danger scales are not linear—consider them exponential, and adding these sub levels gives forecasters (and those reading the forecast) a more detailed understanding of any given day’s hazard. That’s especially true during those midwinter days where the danger rating hovers somewhere between 2 and 3. The existing Avalanche Terrain Exposure Scale (ATES) also gets more detail, making trip planning and terrain evaluation easier.