In this episode of our Gear Shed podcast, Gavin Hess (our Gear Editor) interviews the founder of Glacier Black—Shawn Breaux. Glacier Black, at least on paper, specializes in canyoneering gear. In the past few years, as Gavin has explored technical rope options for ski mountaineering, his attention was drawn to Glacier Black and some of their rope options. This is very much a nerding-out episode. And the nerding goes deep into rope specs, manufacturing, and certifications. What you’ll learn are a few things—some canyoneering ropes can function as a rope for skiing and certain canyoneering ropework techniques might be of some use in the alpine. Which is also to say, this is only a podcast—we are not responsible for your actions. Proceed with caution when using new gear and techniques.

Read up on a Glacier Black rope with ski mountaineering applications.

If you are new to The High Route, we are a reader and listener-supported enterprise focusing on human-powered turn making. Our mission is simple, but it takes real-deal calorie-burning to piece it all together.

We’d like to thank Patagonia, Blue Ice, and ATK for supporting us.

We are also excited to announce that you can subscribe to Issues 2 and 3 of our fine print journal (The High Route journal) on our site. Fancy paper. Good reads. High-octane photos. And some fine mountain ranges. And turns. You can learn more about our subscription options here.

The theme music for The High Route Podcast comes from Storms in the Hill Country and the album The Self Transforming (Thank you, Jens Langsjoen). You can find a link to the album here—there are so many good songs on this album. And if you think you've spotted a UFO in the past or visited the 7th dimension, "Beautiful Alien" is a good tune to start with.

In this episode, we’ve got Barry Wicks as our host for part two in our series on developing a free-rider ski for resort uphilling. (Talk about niche). To close the quest out, he speaks with Jonno Jacobs the founder of Ronin skis based in Chamonix, France.

At Ronin, Jacobs builds made-to-order custom planks. As you’ll hear in the podcast, what Jacobs offers is more like a surfboard shaper, inspired as much by the art of design as the number-crunching part. Jacobs also lives in one of the hubs of the skimo scene, and although he prefers bigger and wider skis (most days), we picked his brain, asking why. As in,why don’t we see more playful skis for those skinning uphilling on-piste?

Allez! Allez!

The High Route is a reader and listener-supported project, and we'll be releasing our first print edition of The High Route later this winter. You can learn how to support us here.

You can find us at the-high-route.com: Yeah, there are two hyphens for redundancy, which is a good policy in the mountains. And according to Barry Wicks, don't-fear-the-hyphens®.

The theme music for The High Route Podcast comes from Storms in the Hill Country and the album The Self Transforming (Thank you, Jens Langsjoen). You can find a link to the album here—there are so many good songs on this album. And if you think you've spotted a UFO in the past or visited the 7th dimension, "Beautiful Alien" is a good tune to begin with.

In this episode, with Gavin away guiding in Japan, we’ve got Barry Wicks as our host. Wicks is a die-hard ski tourer who brings supremely positive energy into the hills. He’s also a recovering bike racer who claims he’s sworn off Lycra. Despite his baggy clothes, he’s still fast. And he still knows gear.

Anyhow, Wicks has a playful nature on skis. And we’ve been bantering back and forth for a few months about adopting progressive ski designs for those who uphill at resorts. It sort of makes sense—when there is an uphill, hopefully, there is a downhill. And why not try to make the downhill as enjoyable as possible?

Wicks’ quest to find a rockered twin-tipped ski that is light…isn’t exactly easy. On his journey, Wicks speaks with Max Smith, VP of Reno, Nevada’s Moment Skis. Who knows, maybe a mythical and lightweight 85-underfoot Wildcat Tour is in our future.

If you have specific questions regarding the information (and opinions) presented in the podcast, you can comment on the website or email us on The High Route's contact page (editor@the-high-route.com).

The High Route is a reader and listener-supported project, and we'll be releasing our first print edition of The High Route later this winter. You can learn how to support us here.

You can find us at the-high-route.com: Yeah, there are two hyphens for redundancy, which is a good policy in the mountains. And according to Barry Wicks, don't-fear-the-hyphens®.

The theme music for The High Route Podcast comes from Storms in the Hill Country and the album The Self Transforming (Thank you, Jens Langsjoen). You can find a link to the album here—there are so many good songs on this album. And if you think you've spotted a UFO in the past or visited the 7th dimension, "Beautiful Alien" is a good tune to begin with.