Surviving Avalanches, Huge Falls, Broken Spines, and Insurance Companies
Last year we highlighted our ambassador Julien "Pica" Herry as he and friends pushed full send on massive, earth shaking lines in the Hunza Valley of the Karakoram. That was 2018. A year later in 2019, he went back to tag new lines. This time his universe turned sideways as a pocket slab punched him off a face and into the Karakoram's troposphere. Julien was lucky to survive a multi-hundred foot fall in a mountain range that is known for snuffing out human life. His experience, as told through his own writing in which you can "hear" his french accent,
Going Higher: Pica in the Mighty Karakoram
Pica, shredding the Brevent side of the Chamonix Valley. Photo: Arthur Ghilini We'll begin this by rehearsing the fact that Julien Herry of Chamonix might just be the best "Steeps Specialist" snowboarder in a generation of riders. He has put down first descents throughout the European Alps, and has honed his skillset as a snowboard alpinist to levels that most of us generally only fantasize about. To ride the terrain that "Pica" does, is to step into another universe in which there is an extra dimension of vertically oriented spacetime. This past spring he took his unbelievably refined skillset to the mighty
Performance Matters: Julien Herry & Another First Descent
Before we really get into this post, it must be said that we (Karakoram) don't necessarily want to encourage our friends or customers to partake in this style of snowboard alpinism. In case you're really wondering, snowboarding on the terrain that Julien "Pica" Herry enjoys, is more akin to full-throttle, full-stakes big range mountaineering. For those with experience in large-scale, high-angle environments, you'll understand what the magnitude and consequences of these photos really are. For those without a trained eye or experience on peaks and slopes like this, all we have to say is, "Don't try this at home!" It
Liz Daley, 2 Years Later
It hardly seems possible that 2 years have passed since we lost our beloved friend, Liz Daley, to that avalanche in Argentina. There is so much that can be said about Liz, and in the same breathe, not enough words in the English language to articulate just how special she really was. She remains in our hearts on a daily basis. In her honor, a band of her family and friends have created a memorial campaign called Liz Rocks. The goal is to build a state of the art outdoor public rock climbing facility at Point Defiance Park in Tacoma,
Liz Daley, one year later.
It’s been a year and two days since we lost her. Approximately 367 days have gone by, and I continue to find myself thinking of Elizabeth Devon Daley at minimum, even at the most distracted of times, several times per hour of each of those days. The thing is, nothing in the handbook of life could have ever prepared us for a “Liz-Less” world. She really was that special, and she really did, have that massive of a presence. Liz and Russman, on Mount Adam's North Ridge. Note the old school approach skis she had! I had a conversation with
Splitboard Touring Just Got More Powerful With The Flex-Lock
Flex-Lock: Ride Like a Soft Booter. Tour Like a Hard Booter. Imagine touring up a hard packed skin track on your splitboard: your legs are on fire as you spit and fight with every ounce of strength and focus just to keep your edges griped to the slope. You’re trying to keep your cool so your buddy on AT gear, who’s effortlessly dancing up the path, doesn’t notice your struggle. Your downhill leg is contorted and awkwardly twisted inward as you desperately try to keep your edges from rolling down hill and breaking free from the firm snow. You even
To Wear a Helmet, or Not to Wear a Helmet? You Decide.
Helmet use and its correlation to traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, and risk-taking behavior in snowboarding and skiing: A VERY brief review of literature. David “Splitstoke” Benton. Mount Rainier, February 2015, just a few weeks before he nearly lost his life to a Traumatic Brain Injury. Photo: Paul Stanley David is a fast, powerful snowboarder, and it was with a halting CRACK that his skull impacted the tree at Stevens Pass, Washington. He had been snowboarding all morning with his friend Jay. Although it had been the worst winter in recorded Northwest history, they were enjoying soft
Alaskan Dreams: My Wilderness Experience
What is this all about? To find one’s self here, complete with a beating heart and inflatable lungs? To find that we have legs, arms, and a mind that thinks… WHY, are we here?