Ski Dog in Powder Magazine

As a product designer for Ruffwear and a ski-obsessed maniac, there are many times when my professional and personal lives intersect. I love dogs, and especially love snow dogs, so when that happens it is usually a good time!

I was recently flipping through Powder Magazine's 2013 Photo Annual, and came across a photo of a dog cruising up a boot pack with a Ruffwear Singletrak Pack on. How exciting to have my two worlds collide!

It is no accident that this particular Ruffwear product happened to end up in Powder: the idea was born from backcountry skiing. Our director of product development was a backcountry skier, and wanted to figure out a way to have his dog carry water -- and not much else -- close against his body rather than in a big pack that flapped around while he was chasing his ski buddies down the mountain. We already had a secure, stable platform in the form of our Web Master harness, so we modified the footprint of the harness slightly to accommodate two pockets sized specifically to carry 0.5L Platypus SoftBottles.

Kaya the ski dog had the pleasure of testing a prototype up on Broken Top, one of my favorite mountains. She was happy to do the job!

It was a great excuse to enjoy yet another gorgeous day on Broken Top!

Back to today: here's what the Powder dog had to say about skiing in the backcountry:

"This is what it's all about. Me and the boys. The wild. The monotony. The grind. The weight of the pack and the balls of snow on my paws. I remember my first climbs. Was still a pup. Brazen and all about the down, the next cookie, the next stick, the next thing to pee on. I'm older now. Is that a squirrel? Damn squirrels. At my age, it's more about the up. The slog. Patience and delayed gratification. The trust of fellow men. I smell peanut butter. I love peanut butter. I'll follow these guys anywhere."

Kaya has been following her people around snowy mountains for most of her life as well, and loves every second of it. That Powder dog is invited to come along on a ski adventure in Oregon sometime... she may even have a little peanut butter in her pack to share!

Broken Top's A la Mode

February 24th, 2013

 Skiers: Erik Schmidt and Lindsey Clark

A la Mode is the lovely face illuminated on the right

When mid-winter high pressure is in the forecast, Erik and I tend to head straight for Broken Top... and this day was no exception. Fresh powder and blue skies awaited us!

We decided to ascend the southeast ridge, and ski whatever looked good.

 Clouds moving in and out throughout the day made the views extra dramatic.

Once we gained the ridge, we assessed the recent weather and current snow conditions, and decided to ski the south-facing A la Mode. 

It took a little traversing across a steep slope of firm snow, then some more booting, to get to the top of the line.

Erik was happy to arrive!

Standing on top of the line, I was equally excited and intimidated about the ski down! It makes things a little more interesting when you can't see the bottom.

I dropped in first, then watched Erik ski the line. The snow went from firm at the top, to breakable crust on the apron down below. Glad I had my rockered skis on my feet!

There were big smiles and high-fives at the bottom! I was super excited to ski such a sick line. We got to look back and admire our tracks during our ski out.

As a perfect end to a perfect ski day, we rode off into the sunset.