217 reports · 44 countries
Every story appears in the printed BACKLINE magazine and online. Pick a year for cover, editorial and all reports.
Italien · Central Apennines
A cool breeze licks my skin as I dig my boots into the firm snow on the ridgeline. Spring has come early in Italy, but enough snow remains to harvest some turns in the Central Apennines. "A week ago …
2019 · Vince Shuley · 5 min
Iran · Zagros Mountains (Chelgerd)
It's 8 pm, late January. An hour ago, we passed through the last settlement on our route. The road continues through the darkness with countless turns while the amount of snow is increasing. Part of …
2019 · Mohammad Hajabolfath · 5 min
Schweden · Kebnekaise Massif
In the very north of Sweden, skiers find the finest backcountry skiing the country can offer. In the mountains next to Kebnekaise there are great 1,000 vertical meter ski runs in a pure backcountry …
2019 · Axel Adolfsson · 5 min
USA · Wasatch Mountains
About 10,000-year-old petroglyphs found in the Altai Mountains, situated in the border area between Russia, Mongolia, and China, seem to represent the first images of people on wooden boards in the …
2019 · Martin Fiala · 4 min
Schweiz · Urner Alps
We are on one of the finer summits found along the Urner Traverse, one of the Alps' lesser-known ski touring itineraries. It's March, and Mike Douglas and Alexis Godbout have joined photographer …
2019 · Anthony Bonello · 5 min
Georgien · North Caucasus (Tusheti / Dartlo)
The sky is cloudy; the clouds only tear open for a few short instants. Sun rays manage to cut through from time to time before they disappear again. A giant lamb vulture with a wingspan of almost ten …
2019 · Martin Fiala · 5 min
Schweden · Låktatjåkka Mountain
Låktatjákko is Sweden's highest mountain hut and a perfect base for spectacular ski touring in the unique environment of Swedish Lapland. Låktatjåkkostugan, as the Swedes call the hut, is located …
2019 · Mattias Fredriksson · 5 min
Österreich · Glockner Group
In the past, I never planned more than one day for the descent of a steep face in the Alps, be it the Matterhorn east face, the Canalone Neri or the Pallavicini. The Wiesbachhorn was different. Ever …
2019 · Thomas Gaisbacher · 5 min
Spitzbergen / Svalbard · Trygghamna Fjord
"Welcome to Russia! Please note the telephone charges that will apply here: Outgoing calls 1.55 Euros per minute, incoming calls 1.55 Euros per minute." Despite the fact that Svalbard is under …
2018 · Fredrik Schenholm · 5 min
Kanada · Hankin-Evelyn Recreation Area (British Columbia)
It's early March and still full-on winter in central British Columbia. We are driving on a narrow, snowy road. It feels like complete wilderness, even though we are only 45 minutes north of Smithers …
2018 · Mattias Fredriksson · 5 min
Norwegen · Narvik Range
When you mention ski touring in northern Norway, most people think of the Lofoten Islands and Lyngen. Strangely enough, Narvik is practically unknown despite offering some of the best backcountry …
2018 · Mattias Fredriksson · 5 min
Georgien · Caucasus Range (Gudauri)
Georgia. The former Soviet republic includes mountain villages in the Caucasus as well as beaches on the Black Sea. It borders Russia to the north, Azerbaijan to the southeast, Armenia to the south …
2018 · Sandra Lahnsteiner · 5 min
USA · Kichatna Mountains (Alaska)
I first skied in the enormous Alaska Range in 2012 with Chris Davenport and John and Jim Morrison. It was a wild, eye-opening experience on several levels. Not only was it my first time skiing in …
2018 · Christian Pondella · 5 min
Österreich · Arlberg Range (Albonakopf)
"The fact that everything has its time also means that everything needs its time." I know every bush and stone around the Albona in Stuben. My father took me on the ski tour to the Maroikopf when I …
2018 · Nadine Wallner · 5 min
Schweiz · Bernese Alps (Lauteraarhorn)
The trip to the Aar bivouac at the base of the Lauteraarhorn is one of the most beautiful in the Alps. The monumental scale of the terrain combined with its limited accessibility makes the area feel …
2018 · Ben Tibbetts · 5 min
Italien · Pala Group (Dolomiten)
There was a time when we always had snow. If there hadn't been any, something would have been missing, like in a bad dream. As the nights became increasingly longer, the children snuggled up in the …
2018 · Giovanni Spitale · 5 min
Österreich · Allgaeu Alps (Wilder Kasten / Lechtal)
It is the middle of winter. Bluebird, clear and freezing cold. The northern slopes are blessed with the most epic and stable conditions. Tobi Heinle, a ski guide from Lech, Hannes Namberger, a former …
2018 · Martin Fiala · 5 min
USA · Sierra Nevada
Teetering on the edge of a couloir, poised in the gap of a cornice, you are hanging in the wind and waiting to drop. The snow is immaculate, and the skies are blue. Clean granite walls frame the view …
2018 · Hans Ludwig · 5 min
Deutschland · Wetterstein / Karwendel (Isartal)
There is this mountain between the Wetterstein mountains and the Karwendel range. It's quite inconspicuous, yet it always attracts my attention when I drive south or back home again. Year after year …
2018 · Max Kroneck · 5 min
Argentinien · Cerro Crestón (Patagonien)
Patagonia, my home. And one of the few places in the world left that hasn't been explored entirely. High winds, pure nature, and excitement await you. We were set on a mission and drove more than …
2018 · Lucas Swieykowski · 5 min
USA · Olympic National Park (Mt. Olympus)
"Did you go to the top and ski it?", a six-year-old boy blurts as I exit the Olympic Mountains after eight days. When I tell him we most certainly did, he loudly declares, "I'm going to do that!" …
2018 · Jason Hummel · 5 min
Schweiz · Albula Alps (Graubünden)
Five exhausting days for a single summit that doesn't even have a name. However, this should turn out to be one of our most beautiful ski touring weeks. The ingredients: The Haute Route in Grisons …
2018 · Baschi Bender · 5 min
Norwegen · Glomfjord
Bodø in Northern Norway has more to offer than the Flight Museum, the worlds biggest population of sea hawks, and the strong swirl of Saltstraumen. There are several areas fairly close to the town …
2017 · Anders Wingqvist · 5 min
Österreich · Silvretta (Heidelberger Hütte)
Between seasons in the Bavarian Alps – the time of year that often sees too much snow to go hiking or climbing, but not enough to go skiing or ski touring. Last winter, it also looked like we had to …
2017 · Bernd Hassmann · 5 min
