Gear-o-rama
By Doug SchnitzspahnDRESSING
Mountain Hardware Downhill Parka
Nothing beats soft, puffy goose fur in the frigid depths of deep winter. The problem has always been that down is all wet when it comes to performing in the elements. The Downhill Parka is like the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup of deep winter performance shells—it’s a waterproof/breathable Conduit shell on the outside with warm, comfy 650-fill down on the inside. Plus, there’s a fairly modest price for this much jacket. $295; mountainhardware.com
Nau Go More Pile
Yeah, we know. Nau is some aloof metrosexual brand based out of Portland with a store that looks like an android uniform shop in Boulder’s disappointing 29th Street Mall. Get a grip, mountain man, and slip on this eco-friendly, furry-on-the-inside fleece. It’s certainly one of the coziest mid layers we have ever worn and it’s made of Polartec’s 100-percent recycled polyester. Plus, the brand is one of a handful of outdoor companies that has put sustainable ethics above profit—they donate a full five percent of the sale of each garment to selected charities. $160; nau.com
Gordini Ultimate Glove
We like that name. It makes us think this glove will climb in a cage and claw and punch below the belt. Or it could be as light and airy as a Frisbee-tossing hippy. That’s exactly what we want in a glove. And truly there’s a bit of both ultimates in this warm, high performing glove that’s pimped out with goose down and Lavawool. $80; gordini.com.
PACKING
CAMP X2 400
You don’t have to take this 20-liter pack off to remove your skis after a hike to a powder stash. That alone should be reason to covet it. We could go on about how light (just 14 ounces) and sturdy it is thanks to impeccable Italian design. But what is really important is that after your buddies have broken trail for you and stop to unstrap their skis, you are already stepping into yours—and beating them to first tracks. $100: camp-usa.com.
BCA Tracker DTS
Don’t mess around when it comes to transceivers. The reliable Tracker DTS is the type of rescue tool that’s mandatory if you plan on taking on the steeps. It’s an easy-to-use digital transceiver that uses arrows to point to buried victims and gives you the distance to them. But here’s the standard disclaimer: make absolutely sure you train hard with this before heading out. $290; backcountryaccess.com.
Voile Rescue System
It’s a shovel. It’s a probe. It’s a full, 2.6-meter probe that fits in the hollow shaft of a sturdy, packable shovel. End of review. $75; voile-usa.com.
MOVING
Black Diamond Zealot
Unless you live in North Dakota, the true reason you love deep winter is—deep snow. We love temps that create perfect, light, dry crystals of two hydrogen and one oxygen atoms that accumulate in unending and unique perfection—until you crush through them with these 182-cm, 136-110-126 beasts because that’s the kind of person you are. BD changed the design of its skis this season, going to a supple wood core—and it shows. The Zealots are sensitive and floaty, with a respectable 30-meter turning radius—the perfect sticks for the combination of cold reality and cerebral introspection. $640; bdel.com.
Venture Euphoria
The Mountain Gazette is made in Colorado. So are Venture’s boards. Besides beer, steaks, weapons of mass destruction, and ridiculously expensive bicycles, we can’t think of much else that’s hand crafted in the Centennial State any more—and we’re not entirely sure about the WMDs. We do know, however, that this dramatically tapered, wide-nosed powder board will have you floating through the fluff. $555; venturesnowboards.com.
Kahtoola Flight System Snowshoes
Ok, we like snowshoes—we like to be meditative in the woods, we like to have something to do when our parents come in to town. But all too often, even in deep winter, we head out with our snowshoes and end up tromping down a packed trail looking like Barney. If we had been wearing Kahtoola’s flight system, we could have simply unhooked the floaty pat of the shoe (the FLIGHT deck) and cruised down the trail in the crampon overboots (the FLIGHTboot). This is one extremely versatile snowshoe. $149 boot, $185 deck; kahtoola.com.
SNUGGLING
A.T. Richardson 2005 Chockstone Shiraz
Deep winter and a crackling pinon fire scream for a big, deep, berry-and-chocolate Austalian Shraz. And we’ll take the word of a man who knows the depths of winter—8,000-meter-peak climbing monster Ed Viesturs—who says, “I may not be a wine expert, but I do know when I like a wine. The Chockstone Shiraz is an intense and exhilarating wine with an adventuresome spirit. I’d happily toast a summit with this wine.” We’re with you, Ed. Plus, winemaker Adam Richardson himself is a core climber and skier. $25; atriuchardsonwines.com.
War and Peace (Knopf, 2007)
There’s a reason why Tolstoy’s epic chronicle of three Russians caught in Napoleon’s failed invasion of their motherland has become the big cliché when it comes to big books. You can find every aspect of life in these 1,296 pages, which this lively new translation by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonksy brings to life. And if you are indeed human it still resonates, even here and now in the Post-Cold-War Rocky Mountains. Plus, if some jackoff in the café asks if you’re reading War and Peace, you can simply reply, da, tavarisch, da. $37; randomhouse.com.
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Tanzanian Gombe Reserve
If you are going to be an addict to anything, it should be to the bean. Nothing starts a cold, dark deep winter morning better than the smell of fresh grounds in a warm kitchen. And you can feel better about that addiction knowing that sustainability-minded Green Mountain Roasters is the first company ever to top CRO Magazine’s “100 Best Corporate Citizen List” two years running. The Tanzanian Gombe Reserve comes from Tanzania, home of Mount Kilmanjaro, a place that may never know deep winter again as global warming melts its famed snows. Drink a cup and be mindful. $7.69; greenmountaincoffee.com.
