Latest from The Spokesman-Review

• Canadian skiing hut a cool refuge for muscle-powered powder seekers

  Feb. 9, 2014 in Outdoors on Page C14 It’s been a grim winter in much of the West for powder hounds. But winter is too short to waste wishing for more snow. When it’s lacking in your back …

• Ski areas confront boom of free-heel freeloaders

  Jan. 12, 2014 in Outdoors on Page C12 Ski areas across the USA are in an uphill battle to get a grip on the growing number of skiers and snowshoers who use the resorts’ plowed roads, facilities and … 27

• Backcountry Film Festival coming to Spokane, Coeur d’Alene

  Jan. 12, 2014 in Outdoors on Page C12 The annual Winter Wildlands Alliance Backcountry Film Festival is coming to Spokane and Coeur d’Alene, sponsored by several local outdoor groups. All or portions of 10 films tapped by the …

• Avalanche threat not apparent to victim

  Jan. 12, 2014 in Outdoors on Page C11 The avalanche that killed a Bozeman snowmobiler riding in the Gallatin Mountains on New Year’s Day – the first Montana avalanche death in more than a year – was somewhat …

• Yurt the Ritz for backcountry skiers

  Feb. 3, 2013 in Outdoors on Page C12 Despite the solace of snow sparkling under starlight, the approaching din of a two-stroke internal combustion engine and the keen reek of gasoline was a dissonance well-received as we hailed …

• Inland NW has cure for backcountry cabin fever

  Feb. 3, 2013 in Outdoors on Page C12 Rendezvous Huts What: Simple unplumbed, wood-heated cabins rustic but comfortably equipped with kitchen gear, firewood, propane cooking stoves and lamps, sleeping bunks or pads for 8-10 people.

• Backcountry films at GU benefit winter access

  Jan. 20, 2013 in Outdoors on Page C11 The Backcountry Film Festival’s road show of human-powered outdoor recreation films will be back for the third year at 7 p.m., Jan. 30, at Gonzaga University’s Jepson Center. The seven …

• Off-grid ski lodge reclaims mined-out Montana mountains

  March 11, 2012 in Outdoors on Page C12 High-mountain hospitality seekers aren’t likely to stumble onto Altoona Ridge Lodge. It’s off the grid in mountains riddled with old mining claims. No billboards advertise the three compact chalets for … 1

• Getting lost can cost – and taxpayers get hit

  Feb. 1, 2012 in Idaho, Outdoors on Page A1 The first call came from snowmobilers near the old mining town of Murray, Idaho. Dusk had set in, and the caller was worried about a man who had gotten separated … 11

• Wolverine sightings curb Silver Valley snowcat skiing operation

  April 10, 2011 in Outdoors on Page C10 Evidence of wolverine activity on the Rochat Divide and St. Joe Mountains south of Cataldo, Idaho, has jeopardized the permit issued to Peak Adventures, a Silver Valley snowcat skiing company … 4

• Powder-light package for backcountry skiers

  Feb. 27, 2011 in Outdoors on Page C11 Big Cottonwood Canyon, one of three iconic alpine valleys outside of Salt Lake City, was glaring in whiteness. Ten new inches of Utah fluff, was at my feet and sprawling …

• Canadian backcountry skier completes huge uphill goal

  Jan. 9, 2011 in Outdoors on Page C11 Canadian backcountry skier Greg Hill, 35, must feel like a million bucks after completing his goal – with a day to spare – of logging 2 million vertical ski-touring feet, …

• Cabin fever feels just right for backcountry skiers

  Dec. 5, 2010 in Outdoors on Page C12 If you’re lucky enough to see them at all, they might look like simple shelters in the woods. But behind the scenic backdrop, the region’s backcountry lodges – the ones …

• Find all styles of remote shelter

  Dec. 5, 2010 in Outdoors on Page C11 The Inland Northwest has a wide range of options to cure “cabin fever.” Solitude and vacancies are more likely midweek. Here’s a sampling.

• Backcountry skiers tackle Haute Route

  Nov. 15, 2009 in Outdoors on Page C14 Skiing through the wilderness of the Canadian Rockies and following the Haute Route through the Alps of Europe are both physically demanding and monumentally scenic. They both pose dire consequences …

• Report offers insight into Eagle Cap tragedy

  April 12, 2009 in Outdoors on Page C10 Persisting snowpack weakness combined with wind-loaded snow on steep terrain last month contributed to the first avalanche fatality in Northeastern Oregon’s Wallowa Mountains since 1982. Roger Roepke, 50, a former …

• Backcountry requires expert guide

  April 3, 2009 in Outdoors on Page B6 The lifts stop turning this weekend. But a hearty, intelligent breed of skiers will keep on turning long after resorts shut down. Until last weekend, 99 percent of my fun …