Papsura - Peak of Evil | Nick Russell | E56
With a focus on simplicity, minimalism and human-powered adventure, Nick Russell embodies what it is to be a free-spirited, big line splitboarder while making a living at it. Russell has eschewed guidebooks for true adventure, hunting for big lines and pow based more on a feeling than a calculation. This organic approach to becoming an expert in the backcountry takes years and more than a couple sandbag missions, but in the process creates a deeper connection with the land and with his comrades. Russell’s most recent mission, captured in the Patagonia Films feature Papsura – Peak of Evil, along with his partner Jerry Mark and filmers Morgan Shields and Blake Gordon, claimed a first splitboard descent on an iconic line in the Indian Himalaya, a month-long mission that exceeded all expectations.
Avalanches and the Frog Lake Huts | E30
Fresh off a return from a two-night ski adventure at the Frog Lake Huts, right before PowBot’s departure for Japan, the boys do a catch up, recapping the of the most dangerous periods of avalanche conditions ever in the Sierra Nevada. The boys discuss the unfortunate inbounds fatality on KT-22 opening day at Palisades Tahoe and PowBot recounts the only time he’s ever been fully buried in an avalanche – inbounds at Sugar Bowl – and a second recovery he was involved in immediately after being unburied by a partner. The boys also chat about the inherent dangers of skiing inbounds on a storm day, terrain management, proper recovery gear, the dangers of group think and the expert halo, the risks of traveling in the backcountry and methods employed to stay safe even on considerable and high avalanche danger days, and why PowBot thinks avalanche education and safety is better in Canada and Europe than the U.S. The last third of the show recaps the boys’ trip to the Frog Lake Huts (where Mind the Track was born a year ago) and successfully negotiating avalanche terrain in dangerous conditions en route. They also discuss why there are so many no-shows at Frog Lake despite sold-out reservation status.