Resources
Resources
In theory, the more educated and informed you are about something the more success you will have doing it. Splitboarding is no different. We encourage you to utilize the resources below. If you have some resources of your own you’d like to share please feel free to let me know through the About page.
Avalanche and Weather Center
Before you venture out on your splitboard, whether that be from your local ski area, a roadside attraction, or deep into the wild, be sure you possess the necessary skills to travel safely in the backcountry. Snow stability assessment, the impact of weather on the snowpack, how to read terrain, proper route selection, practicing rescue scenarios, and understanding the human element are all important factors in making sure your day in the backcountry starts and ends safely.
There are a number of excellent resources available to you on the web. We've listed a few of them here:
A Day in the Backcountry - An informative slide show by the USFS National Avalanche Center.
Interactive Backcountry Tour - Test your decision making skills in this pretend backcountry outing.
Conway's Corner - Good avy info from Sarge over at Teton Gravity Research Films.
Avalanche.org - One stop shop for comprehensive avy info.
Current Avalanche Bulletins - Forecasts and bulletins compiled by the Cyberspace Avalanche Center (CSAC).
Avalanche Education - State-by-state listing of avalanche courses compiled by CSAC.
Avalanche Incidents - Learn from past avy incidents. What was done right or wrong?
Splitboard.com Avy Forum - Share your local avy observations and post questions here.
Telemarktalk Avy Forum - Avy discussion provided by our friends at telemarktips.com.
National Weather Service Homepage - Your comprehensive weather information resource.
In addition to these resources and taking a snow safety class from your local avalanche professional, we recommend that you read some of the excellent books out there on snow science and backcountry safety. Although there are many good ones (see "Backcountry Library" below), if we had to read just one, Splitboard.com recommends Bruce Tremper's Staying Alive in Avalanche Terrain. In this book, Tremper (Director of the USFS Utah Avalanche Center) covers the basics of snow safety in a highly readable book with terrific illustrations and charts.
Backcountry Library
The list of available books on backcountry skiing and riding, wilderness travel, guidebooks, and snow safety is large and always growing. We couldn't possibly list every book of interest, but below is a listing of some of our favorites (admittedly from a western US/California bias):
Avalanche Safety
Staying Alive in Avalanche Terrain by Bruce Tremper - Avalanche safety by one of the best.
Snow Sense by Jill Fredston & Doug Fesler - A great little book that fits in your daypack.
Guidebooks
Backcountry Skiing in California’s High Sierra by John Moynier - A lifetime of outrageous tours and descents in one nice compact book.
50 Classic Backcountry Ski and Snowboard Summits in California by Paul Richins - Some overlap with the Moynier book but every California splitboarder should won both.
The High Sierra: Peaks and Pases by R.J. Secor - The bible of the High Sierra. Loads of great reference photos for some of the best splitboarding terrain on the planet.
Backcountry Snowboarding in the Northern Sierra by George Hurchalla - A must-have guide to some of the great Tahoe stashes by our friend George Hurchalla.
The Chuting Gallery by Andrew McLean - Wasatch steep skiing guide by celebrated skier and all-around funny guy also known as AT Apostle on the internet.
Backcountry Skiing Utah by Tyson Bradley - More beta for the mountains of Utah.
Dawson’s Guide to Colorado Backcountry Skiing by Lou Dawson - The Colorado backcountry bible by one of the sport’s best.
Climbing the Cascade Volcanos by Jeff Smoot - More of a climbing guide but a great resource for the volcanos of the Cascades nonetheless.
Cascade Alpine Guide by Fred Beckey - A must-have reference for splitboarding in the Cascades.
100 Classic Ski and Snowboard Routes in Washington by Rainer Burdorfer
Backcountry Ski Oregon: Classic Descents for Skiers and Snowboarders by Christopher Van Tilburg - A great list of some of the Oregon classics by splitboard.com forum member, docwild.
Oregon Descents: A Backcountry Ski Guide to the Southern Cascades by David Waag
Wild Snow: 54 Classic Ski and Snowboard Descents in North America by Lou Dawson
Tips and Instruction
Backcountry Snowboarding by Christopher Van Tilburg - Not splitboard specific but a great introductory book to snowboarding in the backcountry.
Allen & Milke’s Really Cool Backcountry Ski Book by Allen O’Bannon and Mike Clelland - A really cool book chock full of great winter camping tips, sweet illustrations, and classic humor.
Mountaineering: Freedom of the Hills - The classic text of mountaineering know-how; a must on every splitboarder’s bookshelf.
Recommended Websites
Maps
Topozone.com - Online topo maps for the entire United States
Mountain and Route Info
Summitpost.org - Online community of peakbaggers. Lots of great information on skiable peaks, including plenty of route and reference photos.
Climber.org - A collection of climbing and mountaineering trip reports and associated resources with a heavy Sierra emphasis.
Wildsnow.com - Lou Dawson’s website.
TetonAT.com - Steve Romeo’s AT (alpine touring) site with lots of great info on the Tetons.
Tahoebackcountry.net - A great resource for Tahoe and Sierra skiers, riders, and climbers.
Guiding Services
Newsomesnow.com - Scott Newsome’s guiding service for snowboarders based in Canada.
Shastaguides.com - Chris and Jennifer Carr’s Mt. Shasta based guiding company.
WebCams - (coming soon)
Online Communities
Telemarktips.com - Tele-skiing focused website, but with a great talk forum containing lots of useful info on backcountry skiing, winter camping, and trip reports.
TetonGravityResearch.com - One of the most visited ski and snowboard communities on the web from the makers of high quality ski videos.
Biglines.com - Canadian based site with news, forums, and photo hosting.
Visual Stoke and Professional Photographers
Danmingoriphotography.com - BCD on our forum, Dan Mingori take some great photos of the Eastern Sierras.
Christianpondella.com - Mammoth based photographer with amazing talent.
Adambarkerphotography.com - Another extremely talented photographer based in Utah.
Jeramieprinephotography.com - Known as Wyomingsplit_ride on our forum, Jeramie is also an aspiring photographer.
National Forest and Wilderness Information
The vast majority of backcountry skiing and riding in the US takes place on public land administered the US Forest Service (Department of Agriculture) or the National Park Service (Department of Interior). There’s a lot of red tape to deal with, including permits, quotas, use restrictions, etc. “Know Before You Go” and remember to respect the wilderness so future generations can enjoy it!
Wilderness.net - A clickable national map with links to all US wilderness areas, including comprehensive information on permits and other requirements.
Here are some good resources for splitboarders we’ve complied over the years.
