Episode
Backcountry Touring: A Beginner’s Dilemma
- Podcast
- The High Route Podcast
- Published
- May 8, 2025
- Duration seconds
- 2593
- Processing state
not_requested- Canonical source
- https://share.transistor.fm/s/03e65ef6
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Summary
There’s something a bit different on today’s episode. It all started back in March when I Googled a general term like “backcountry skiing in the news.” A February article from the LA Times was indexed. The piece was by LA Times writer Jack Dolan, and it was titled: “ Backcountry skiing is growing in popularity, but experts warn it’s more dangerous than you think .” LINK TO VIDEO Dolan wrote a story and included an accompanying video. I’d give the video a watch if you’ve got a moment before listening to the podcast, as it provides some context for the episode during which I interview Dolan. The video is linked in the show notes and on The High Route website. For some skiers and boarders, backcountry touring begins when they realize lift-serve skiing is either too expensive, too crowded, or a combo of the two. Dolan says in the video that a day at an area can feel “like a Day at Disneyland, not the Great Outdoors.” About 30 seconds into the video, the piece pivots from images of skiers in a way-too-long lift line to serene images of powder skiing on some sun-kissed backcountry mountain slope. Yes, the backcountry. A minute into the video, the tone changes. The music becomes more intense, and we learn, through Dolan’s careful language, that ski areas are what we already know, somewhat curated and controlled mountainscapes. Soon enough, Dolan begins to explore snow instabilities and avalanches. Topics you are likely aware of if you are a regular THR reader or listener. The combination of the music, the narrative, and the images, at least to me, presents a forbidding vibe. A vibe so intense that I came away from the video thinking, “Why do I partake in backcountry touring?” Mine is just one perspective, I get that Dolan’s is another. After asking myself this somewhat rhetor…