(Part 2) Top products from r/Backcountry

In addition to what's already listed (which are great options, I must say)

For breakfast, granola and powdered milk works great (if you like that sort of thing).

Vodka and powdered drink mix like lemonade for sipping after a long day.

For dinners (and lunches as well), I had an ex-girlfriend change my life back in 2008. For overnight or multi-day trips, she taught me to make and dehydrate my own meals. It's really easy and good to know that you are not eating a bunch of preservatives and god knows what else. It's also more cost-effective (like super cheap) than buying Mountain House. I've taken these on backcountry ski and hiking trips and they work really well. You can also use a vacuum sealer and make many ahead of season to freeze so they are ready when you are. I usually have anywhere from four to eight two-person sized meals in the freezer at any one time. Frozen, I've had them stay good for over a year. They are shelf stable, unrefrigerated for like 3 months. No dehydrator? No problem, you can use your oven for drying them.

I'm including links to the two recipe books below to Amazon for convenience but you can buy them many places. I think I got mine at OMC in Portland. The first is focused on one-pot pre-prepared meals that you simply re-hydrate on a camp stove/Jetboil, etc. They require almost zero prep and use a single pot. Very compact and light.

http://www.amazon.com/Backpack-Gourmet-Dehydrate-Healthy-Eating-ebook/dp/B001GIPF6O/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1450834460&sr=1-2&keywords=backpack+gourmet
(The portobello curry and Moroccan stew are amazing) I think there is a later edition but this one is less expensive and has served me very well.

http://www.amazon.com/Trail-Food-Cooking-Backpacking-Paddling/dp/0070344361/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1450834500&sr=1-1&keywords=trail+food
This book focuses more on bringing dry ingredients to mix in the pot to cook in camp.

Below is the dehydrator I use. I bought four extra trays and added the fruit leather inserts which make dehydrating soups, stews or anything juicier MUCH easier.

http://www.nesco.com/products/Dehydrators/Dehydrators/FD-1010/session_0a694eac1158/

I hope that you find this as amazing as I have! Bon Appétit!

"The Avalanche Handbook" is a good, thick reference though drier then Trempers "Staying Alive."

Tremper has a new book that I haven't read.

"Snow Sense" is a classic but short.

I just recommended this book on another thread and it is really great and covers lots of emergency shelter style stuff. Written by two NOLS instructors one of whom happens to be a brilliant cartoonist. They have other books on avalanches and telemark skiing too.

Some good blogs are http://wildsnow.com, http://bedrockandparadox.com/, http://straightchuter.com/, http://forrestmccarthy.blogspot.com/.

I am going to be that guy that reminds you about avalanche safety. As someone just getting into backcountry myself I have been trying to get educated and perhaps some of my research might help you.

• Avalanche Essentials by Bruce Tremper is a great book IMO.
  
• I also recommend Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills.
  
• My friends and I plan on taking Level 1 avalanche courses before going anywhere with avalanche danger, and are looking for classes early in the season.

Make an effort to get to know the people in your class, find people that have the same interests as you in the backcountry. Get their emails or whatever before the class is over so you can ski with them!

Do the reading and the homework they want you to, participate when they ask questions - normal classroom stuff. Make sure you're wearing warm and comfortable clothes when you're outdoors so you can focus on what they're teaching rather than staying warm.

Then, just supplement the material they provide. Get some books like Staying Alive in Avalanche Terrain and Snow Sense, go through some youtube channels [1] [2], there's even an avalanche podcast (Slide) now.

The best tape is Leukotape. Works best combined with tincture of benzoin.

I always keep both in my medical kit, and you can apply it preventatively before you tour too.

That said, the best option is to figure out how to avoid the heel lift that’s causing blisters. Different foot beds, pushing the tongue down before lacing, and playing with how tight you keep your buckles while skinning are a few things you can try.

I had severe/repeated blisters in a pair of ski boots once that was completely resolved by switching from the stock liners to Intuition Pro Tour liners, so that’s another option. Really depends on the situation.

http://www.amazon.ca/Backcountry-avalanche-awareness-James-Jamieson/dp/0968585612

This is the book they gave us at the AST 1 course, maybe check it out for a quick overview of avalanche safety and rescue... good luck and stay safe.

Wawa Ridge at sunshine is common.

Check out Chick Scott's book
http://www.amazon.ca/Summits-Icefields-Alpine-Canadian-Rockies/dp/1926855787/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1451494831&sr=1-1&keywords=summits+and+icefields


also this site:
http://backcountryskiingcanada.com/touring-locations

they have a guide book as well.

I don't think there is any good tours off Norquay...but you never know.

Safety gear can be rented at a reasonable price at the University of Calgary Outdoor Center: http://www.ucalgary.ca/outdoorcentre/rental
or at MEC: Mec.ca

Jared Hargrave's https://smile.amazon.com/Backcountry-Ski-Snowboard-Routes-Utah/dp/1594858314/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=backcountry+skiing+utah&qid=1555543402&s=gateway&sr=8-2 and Tyson Bradley's https://smile.amazon.com/Backcountry-Skiing-Utah-Guide-States/dp/0762787546/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=backcountry+skiing+utah&qid=1555543402&s=gateway&sr=8-1 are both pretty decent. There's also the "Wasatch Tours" volumes, not sure which volume concerns northern Utah but I'm sure that one does.

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Personally I'd start with Hargrave's book. There is also of course McLean's famous "Chuting Gallery" but that concerns almost exclusively Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons.

Nothing can replace hands on instruction but I would read Bruce Tremper's "Staying Alive in Avalanche Terrain" for some baseline knowledge. https://www.amazon.com/Staying-Alive-Avalanche-Terrain-Tremper/dp/1680511386/ref=sr_1_1

2 Hours there's not a ton of choices, there are few more places 2-4 hours away near Bend, but still most of it will have longer approaches, until April-may, that's when those volcanoes become accessible. In Washington 3-4 hours away there's tons Touring at Snoqualmie pass Area, Stevens pass, and some stuff in the Olympics. Here's a book for Oregon and southern Washington:, has most of the Hood routes. This one is forWashington There more Washington books to choice from. Here's one for just Snoqualmie pass which is about 3h without traffic, It's not imprint anymore, only pdf. Here you can find other routes, and people to tour with.