FEATURES

2014 Ski Test & Gear Guide
Over our last six years at Powder Mountain,we’ve dialed in the Gear Test Week formula, and it’s pretty simple. We provide the basics—food, shelter, beer, and gear. All our testers have to do is ski. For five days, they blast through 400-plus products from more than 40 brands, completing some 3,000 test forms. And when the dust settles, 115 products and the critical feedback from our test crew are all that remains. Find out how it shook out on p. 44.

2014 Board Test & Gear Guide
You'll notice something different about this year's Snowboard Gear Guide. Rather than reviewing a whole bunch of boards, then tossing some additional gear—boots, bindings, whatever—into the back, we're mixing it up. Instead, we're opening with the most innovative binding to hit splitboarding in recent memory. Because, at the end of the day, the splitboard boom has gone beyond the decks. So if you haven't tuned into the backcountry snowboard scene recently, it's about time. A lot's changed.

DEPARTMENTS

Contributors

Cross Out
A note from the editor in chief.

Letters

Backstory
Powderhounds in the Night.

Spectacle

Confluence
A ski expedition to British Columbia's highest peak, Mt. Waddington, is challenging enough. But what about getting there on Class V white water down canyons deeper than the Grand?

Craft Skis
Can region-specific skis really make waves?

The Death of Garmont
The end of a boot era.

Kickturnstarter.com
Behind the CAST Kickstarter campaign. Plus: bc binding alternatives.

That Guy
Yosemite's Golden Boy: Jason Torlano

Biff America
Gets a Tabasco enema.

Lance's Lab
Skin Glue Part Two. Things get sticky.

Last Col
Farewell, Garmont.