There’s more to the shots we handpick for our Photo Annual than meets the eye—like a whole lot of sweating, skinning, planning, suffering and adventuring. So this year, in addition to featuring a massive, 24-page photo gallery, we’ve profiled five of its contributing shooters. Also in the December issue, we’ve blown open the annual Apparel Guide, devoting 19 pages to the outerwear that BCM editors rely on and the latest trends and styles. Then, David Rocchio finds a lost mountain culture in Slovakia’s High Tatras, Andrew McLean visits Alaska’s Ruth Amphitheater and Lance Riek checks out Montana’s newest bc hideaways.

FEATURES

The Photo Annual
Twenty four pages of the best backcountry images the bigger magazines didn't print.

Dark Star
In Central Europe, on the border of Slovakia and Poland, lies a forgotten mountain range. In the High Tatras, Vysoké Tatry in Slovak, razor-edged peaks rise more than 2,000 meters out of steep glacial valleys. And while Slovakia may appear bleak and old-world, the mountain culture in the High Tatras is alive and evolving.

Apparel Guide
Out with the old and in with the new? Not quite. This year, we're reviewing our favorite time-tested skiwear, from beat-up gloves to well-loved puffies. But the Apparel Guide isn't all about the old. Alongside each of our favorite pieces of gear, we've picked a handful of next year's freshest items that may just become our new favorites.

CONTENTS

Contributors

Bro Down
A note from the Editor in Chief

Letters

Backstory
Reader Essay: Winter, Lost and Found

Beyond the End of the Road
Cooke City, Montana's newest shelters

"Powder to the People"
How one Adirondack skier is changing one big park

Strength in the Skintrack
Telluride Adaptive heads into the backcountry

On Location: New Hampshire
There's more to the White Mountains than Tuckerman Ravine

That Guy: Peter Inglis
Telluride's Traveling Hardman

The Warranty Guy
Busted bindings, blown edges and broken headlamps

Lance's Lab
A pound saved is a lap earned

Mountain Skills
The Art of the Up: Skinning Skills

Downward Spiral
Trauma in Idaho

Biff America
Hucking meat and Bible verses

Last Col
A-Hole