I checked Telemark Tips today, and there is endless foaming about the new "Holy Grail" binding that MAY be available in 2 more years, following on the previous 8 years of development. And by the way, it weighs more than 3 pounds.

The Association of Canadian Mountain Guides is Canada's only internationally recognized guide association. On their web site, at http://www.acmg.ca , you can find Mountain Condition Reports, written by trained and certified professional guides.

The combination of stunning avalanche footage and beautiful music morph the raw, destructive power of an avalanche into nature's performance art. Whether or not your are a skier, this is a must-see movie.

After spending several hours carrying an incapciated skier to the trailhead (a trailhead only five minutes away by skis), I decided it was time I carried the tools and parts to build an emergency rescue sled quickly and easily in the backcountry.

Skiing the Eiger. Check this out. Not really skiing, but definitely a thrill.

Until the last storm cycle, which ended on Friday, December 13, base conditions were marginal here. Most of the backcountry bowls were in, but the access and exits were often difficult. Grand Targhee was open, but wasn't worth a trip unless you were an Eastern skier by heart and had some serious rock skis. But the last storm brought 3 feet of snow. Heavy, dense, wet snow that coated the mountain sides like glue. Bad for skiing but great for base.

Last winter, I stumbled into a disaster scene in the backcountry. When I arrived, several skiers were gathered around a skier laying next to the trail. The only info we could get from the downed skier was: his name was Benny, he wasn't cold, and he couldn't walk. We were only 10 minutes from the trailhead, but it took 2 long, cold, miserable hours to get him out. Without a sled, we had to carry him.

The WYDOT Teton Pass cam sure has changed things. With the Teton Pass Cam, you can be sitting at home in Jackson, Wy, or Miami, Fl, and see exactly what is happening with the weather.