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From minimalist speedsters to winter-ready mountain scramblers, we’ve got you covered.

Got Gaiters? Our favorites are still Outdoor Research's light, packable, breathable Verglas.

You now have two choices when it comes to telemark bindings: 75mm (traditional duckbill) and the newer NTN. The former is favored for its simplicity, lower cost, and greater variety of boot choices, but NTN is vastly more powerful and releasable, and it’s better-suited to driving today’s fattest skis.

Rather sort your sock drawer than run on a treadmill? Us too. Here’s the gear you’ll need to keep running outdoors all winter long.

While the minimalism trend has shifted the center of the running universe toward lighter, more neutral designs with lower heels, shoe buyers are still faced with one crucial question: Performance or comfort?

It’s all about fit. Too loose and your head is a yolk inside an eggshell. Too tight and you’ll get migraines from all the pressure points. Most of today’s helmets have features that allow you to maximize fit.

Most goggles feature fog-resistant double lenses, but the cheap ones are built flat and bent into the frame, creating distortion, which can cause headaches. Invest in optically correct spherical lenses. Polarization? It cuts reflected light, but it can mask ice, too.

We tested out the best backcountry and alpine boots to help you find the best fit for your ski experience.

Dynafit-style tech bindings, like the Radical and the La Sportiva RT, are the only ones that offer a true free pivot, meaning there’s no hardware attached to your boot heel or sole. They have fewer moving parts, ice up less, and require 15 percent less energy from you than other bindings.

Whether you’re at the resort or deep in the backcountry, if your boots don’t fit properly you’re miserable. Not sure about size or which brand fit you best? Consult a fitter. To narrow your choices, match the boot to the binding you’re pairing it with.

For a secure, three-closure fit, try the Infuse snowboard boots.

If it’s been a while since you bought telemark or alpine touring gear, you’ll notice that the game has changed quite a bit. Skis that used to be fat are now narrow, almost every new model has some degree of rocker, and Dynafit and Dynafit-style bindings are becoming increasing common at the resort.

If it’s time for an upgrade, start by answering this question: Do you ski almost exclusively at resorts? The defining characteristic of the ones reviewed here is that they’re built for comfort, not aerobic speed.

First things first: your pack will be heavier. You’ll be packing more food, fuel, and layers. As for shelter, if you’re not expecting high winds or heavy snowfall, you probably don’t need to upgrade to a four-season tent; a sturdy (read: not ultralight or mostly mesh) three-season model should see you through.

As backcountry skiing has boomed, so has splitboarding. In the past five years, participation has quadrupled, and companies from Black Diamond to Burton to K2 have tossed their hats into the ring with split-specific gear.

The first question to ask yourself is: Down or synthetic? Synthetic insulation is water-resistant, dries quickly, and is usually not as marshmallowy as its natural counterpart, which makes for better layering.

The nimble, lightweight Velvet Guru stands head and shoulders above the competition in a park setting.

Like riding in slippers, the Boa Coiler is one comfy boot.

When the results were tallied after our on-mountain evaluations, these were our female testers’ favorite planks.

Our Vermont-based test crew started with a field of more than 30 snowshoes and narrowed them down to these three favorites.

Go deeper with our favorite telemark and alpine touring bindings of the year.

We found three fashionable boots ideal for snowshoeing and general winter tomfoolery.

Think of your pack as a closet on your back. And just as there’s no right way to fold your clothes, there’s no single pack that’s suited to everyone. But allow us to offer some advice.

From wool-insulated workout wear to the hardest hard shell we’ve ever seen, this year’s backcountry jackets are an eclectic crop. Material upgrades and smart design leaps have made outerwear a locus of innovation. (Molecular-level polymer coating, anyone?) But enough lab-speak.

Those lift-line elitists snickering at your old traditionally shaped skis could use some manners, but they’ve got a point: the new rockered shapes make skiing more fun. Which ones should you buy? There are two schools of thought.

After air bags saved lives in several high-profile slides last year, demand (and curiosity) has never been higher. In 2011, there were five manufacturers making air-bag packs. This winter there are at least 10, and an increasing number of cat- and heli-ski operations are outfitting their clients with them.

Six rugged timepieces that are up for any adventure, be it on snow, water, or dirt.

Your skis might be flashier, but your boots are the more critical piece of gear. You could roll the dice and buy online, but we highly recommend getting them the old-fashioned way: in person. The more knowledgeable the shop is, the better.

Unfortunately, you can’t just wear your sorels everywhere. Sooner or later you’re going to have to come down from the mountains and return to civilization. But fear not. Bring the spirit of the slopes with you everywhere with our favorite après shoes.

Cyclists, climbers, alpine skiers, and trail runners are all crossing over to nordic skate skiing for two simple reasons—it’s fun as hell, and it delivers a freakishly efficient full-body workout. First know this: skate skis aren’t alpine skis; you don’t choose them by length 
alone.

New Balance Winter 110 Trail Boots Like the Salomon Snowcross CS, the uninsulated Winter 110 is essentially a minimalist running shoe (9 ounces; 4-millimeter heel-to-toe drop) wrapped in a waterproof-breathable gaiter. The outsole lugs shed snow like a champ. Got Gaiters? Our favorites are still Outdoor Research's…

The island traps you. That’s what Manhattanites say when rationalizing their inability to travel freely. But with a little crea­tivity, finding adventure is easier than you think. �����ԹϺ��� fan Joe Sacaridiz, an ad-agency art director who lives in Hell’s Kitchen, spends spring and fall weekends climbing upstate and winters snowboarding in Vermont. Here’s

Whether you’re looking for glacier glasses, everyday drivers, or racy speedsters, we’ve got the right pair for you.

Originally created for epic winter races like the Iditabike, fat bikes lately have gotten as big as … well, their oversize tires. In addition to dedicated snow events—and the list of those is ballooning—we’ve seen these beefy bad boys at 24-hour races, on tour in the desert, and, most recently, at the Leadville 100.

It makes no difference to Mother Nature whether you’re a few hundred feet outside the resort boundary or deep in the backcountry. At a minimum, if you plan to ski any uncontrolled slope, you need four things: a buddy, a beacon (worn over your midlayer, not stuffed in your pack), a shovel, and a probe.

Over the past five years, Google has taken its Street View maps to 43 countries, deploying cars, trikes, snowmobiles, and even a submersible to map 360-degree panoramas of the world around us. In June, the company announced a new initiative to bring the same seamless experience into the backcountry in a bid to create the world’s most amazing trail maps.

Obstacle courses are the biggest thing in adventure sports, with millions of amped-up Americans charging into the slop—and a cadre of cutthroat entrepreneurs cashing in. No one is profiting more than Tough Mudder creator Will Dean, a polished Englishman and Harvard Business School grad who will stop at nothing to sell you his brand of suffering.

Whether you’re night riding, hiking, skiing, cooking or just rummaging around your tent, a bright and long-lasting lamp can make a big difference between loving the great outdoors and cursing it. Light and Motion’s new USB-rechargeable Solite 250 will help you choose the former.

The action cam company's latest iteration is, in a word, awesome.

I want to keep biking deep into the fall—maybe even winter. What’s the most important piece of gear to stay warm?

Versatile. That’s how our East Coast tester described Brooks Range's four-way stretch, water-resistant Isto softshell jacket. He spent 100 days last winter and spring skiing, hiking and ciimbing in snow, rain, slush, sleet, freezing rain, some more snow, sun, blue skies, and any other…

The difference between hitting the summit and hitting the wall often comes down to the fuel in your belly. Here, 11 pros share their favorite nutritional secrets and performance-enhancing recipes.

An avalanche on 26,759-foot Manaslu left at least 11 dead and dozens injured in September—and it could have been a lot worse. Mike Marolt explains how commercial guides are putting their clients at risk.

Snow gunning. Photo: Tim in Syndey/Flickr Pointing to the sacredness of the San Francisco Peaks north of Flagstaff, Arizona, a coalition of Native American tribes has been fighting the development and expansion of Arizona Snowbowl ski resort since 1979. It remains…

Unlike traditional snowboard bindings that use two ratchet straps to secure your boot to your binding, K2's National uses Auto, a new device that tightens both front and rear straps with a single ratchet. Auto saves weight and ups the speed and ease of…

Andrew Badenoch raised nearly $10,500 via Kickstarter to fund his zero-fuel Arctic adventure, but he abandoned his trip and left his backers in the dark. Andrew Badenoch. Photo: Joe Bell Back in February, I wrote about Andrew Badenoch, an ambitious…

Tips for surviving seven of the world's deadliest adventures

We’ve all got that buddy—the one who executes an epic ski or raft mission every year. Reader Keith Pearen is one of those guys. For the past 10 years, the 32-year-old Boulder, Colorado, aerospace engineer has been organizing trips for groups of up to 20 friends. Here’s the formula he applies.

Warning: Many of you aren't wearing a helmet, you're taking big risks, and you lack basic first-aid training. At least you're responsible parents.

David Page gets a crash course in foraging and learns to appreciate nature's bounty (and the flavor of a good fire-roasted grasshopper) along the way

We weren't surprised that you guys go far afield and are polite to harried airline ticket agents when things go badly. But the list of what some of you have smuggled across a border—impressive!

Wild Things was founded 31 years ago to provide alpine climbing apparel and hardware for the world’s most extreme expeditions. The co-founder, Chamonix-born Marie Meunier, wore Wild Things on the first ascent of the South Face of Chacraraju, Peru,…

�����ԹϺ��� reviews the best gear from Interbike 2012, the largest bicycle trade show in North America, including the Ultralight Sports Cirrus Ti and Nimbus Steel Pedal.

Seven weatherproof, pocket-size, video-capable cameras.

Four classic dream jobs and the new rules for landing them

The best blenders for whipping up recovery smoothies.

In the 16 years since Into Thin Air, Mount Everest has become safer in many ways, with better storm forecasting and amazing high-altitude rescue helicopters. So why did 10 people die in 2012?

Due to low snowfall and unstable avalanche conditions in many areas of the lower 48 this past winter, the crew at Powderwhore decided to follow skiers and snowboarders to more exotic locales. They packed light and fast, so their gear didn't interfere or slow down…

In Powderwhore's first ski trailer for its 2012 Choose Your �����ԹϺ���, Chris Davenport is on a boat, one in Antarctica, skiing sick lines, singing and dancing and raising the roof.  He’s probably crooning so contentedly because he is in one of the…

Like many fanatical sports, ultrarunning comes with its own set of vocabulary. Though it's nothing compared to baseball, here are a few words and phrases from the ultrarunner's lexicon.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/D7TB8b2t3QEJ.T. Holmes delivers Google's Glass to Sergey Brin. In case you missed it, J.T. Holmes is having kind of a big year. He ski-BASE jumped off a 260-foot cliff with…

In this weekly roundup, we scour the Web for our favorite long-form magazine and newspaper articles, collecting them here and on Longreads and Twitter. This installment focuses on arctic endeavors, the money behind sports, and recess.

We're not sure what inspired a couple of inventors to name their new ski bag the Douchebag. If it was just a ploy to get some attention then, well, it worked. But it wasn't the name that made us want to introduce you to it here…

Putting women's racing back on the map

In this weekly roundup, we scour the Web for our favorite long-form magazine and newspaper articles, collecting them here and on Longreads and Twitter. This installment focuses on novel sources of food, what it's like to be very tall, the health of the seas, and how awes

A fundraising trip in Tigray, Ethiopia, next February gives 14 runners the chance to train with some of the world’s greatest runners—and help restore sight to more than 1,000 locals

We know what our readers look for in any kind of experience: adventure, grit, sweat, a worthy struggle, tested endurance, goosebump-inducing views, wide-open skies, maybe some roiling water. So why should college be any different? The correct answer is: It shouldn’t.

Katie Heaney won't ever climb Mount Everest, but she's ready to step outside and try some things—like looking for a moose

Sitting for three or more hours a day can take years off of your life. When you're active, you won't lose years, but an occasional bump, bruise or sprain can keep you off your bike, out of your running shoes or off the slopes.

Toy Soldier Productions just released the trailer to their new ski and snowboard flick, Act Natural. The movie shows a host of freeskiers and snowboarders testing their skills on slopes, concrete, and rails from California to Minnesota. The movie…

https://youtube.com/watch?v=P9IrVHoTwjc Three separate ski and snowboard tours joined forces last week to become one international series for freeriding. The Swatch Freeride World Tour, the Freeskiing World Tour, and The North Face Masters of Snowboarding will become the Swatch Freeride World…

Here's a different kind of ski flick. Chalk'n Ski is a one-minute short that took more than 20 hours to make. Chris Dickey of Jackson Hole, Wyoming, directed artist Emily Feuz as she sketched out ski scenes…

From magic coatings that repel water to wired ski poles, these are the four innovations of tomorrow

Since the winter of 2004, visitors to Les Arcs ski resort in the French Alps have woken up to find sprawling snow patterns that have a strange resemblance to crop circles. The prints stretch across otherwise untrammelled hillsides and the depressions left by frozen lakes.

From sharks and cougars to avalanches and frozen waters, four survivors share their stories in their own words. Plus: expert commentary.

Climbers have a lot to look forward to in spring 2013. Check out the gear you’ll be taking to the crag or cliff next year in this, our first preview post leading up to the Outdoor Retailer show in Salt Lake City. Gram-counting purists will be elated by…

Our favorite long hauls on two wheels

A titanium bike with swooping lines and parallel triangles for added flex and greater shock absorption.

The renowned actor and his son talk to �����ԹϺ��� about the fight to bring back the Colorado

A brutal beating high on Everest threatens to raise tensions in Tibet