Sad news is spreading through the ski community today. Professional freeskier Arne Backstrom has died at the age of 29.

Ski mountaineering shredder Kip Garre recently joined the Mountain Hardwear team, and we caught up with him in between his seemingly endless winter adventures to get a glimpse of what keeps him going. Be prepared to be a little jealous.

Some people you meet out there in the world come and go without you remembering their name or why it was you met them. But every so often you encounter a real character, in a league of their own so to speak. Yes, 'that guy'. Like the hippie who paints an arrow on the roof of his van, and then 'follows it'.

In February Doglotion.com was kickin' it in Gulmarg, Kashmir, India, chasing monkeys, dodging avalanches and occasionally skiing some pow. How the hell did we end up there?

Name: Sarah Frood
Hometown: Aylmer, Quebec originally, now Squamish, BC
Age: 26
Years skiing: 23, wow that's a lot!
Blog: http://sarahfrood.wordpress.com

An adventure photographer leaves his day job and forges on in search of...uh...adventure

Speaking softly, but very often, Jason Hummel is a ski mountaineer/adventurer who has been exploring the remote Cascade range in Washington for over a decade.

We're back on the prowl, perving the latest and greatest gear for 2011 at the SIA Tradeshow in Denver Colorado. Say good-bye to Vegas, this tradeshow has a new home (for this year anyway), and we're on a mission to get all the dirt we can on what to expect for 2011...

You used to catch a glimpse of her shredding the slopes of Kicking Horse, but this interior BC girl is now onto her 2nd season of dominating the Whistler Blackcomb ski scene. Tessa Treadway is young, married to the youngest Treadway brother Dave and skis like a prettier version of all 3 brothers. A hunting, clothing designing, non-profit working professional skier.

There's a movement brewing in Whistler this winter. Finally a new production company (with their $h*t together) working on a big mountain freeskiing film set to drop in fall 2010.

Back at ya with our second round of 'Chicks Who Rip', this time with Whistler big mountain skier Sonja Lercher who nailed 2nd place overall in last season's Freeskiing World Tour.