Avalanche safety, like sex ed, isn’t really about abstinence. People are going to venture into the mountains, so the challenge is to minimize risk, take appropriate countermeasures, and understand when conditions are too dangerous to proceed. Still, things sometimes go wrong even if you’re following best practices, at which point the objective shifts to maximizing your odds of surviving and...

　　Water is heavy—one liter weighs 2.2 pounds, and four liters weighs almost nine pounds. Even the best-designed hydration packs or vests, waistbelts, or handheld carrying systems don’t make water any less heavy than it is. A good system does, however, distribute that weight effectively and allows you to carry what you need comfortably. 　　Figuring out what amount of fluid you...

　　Say it with me: pants are boring. Why wear two pieces when you can roll your whole outfit into one? I’ll admit I was once an overall skeptic—I don’t love the way workwear has become trendy lately. But what may present as an obnoxious lifestyle trend can be surprisingly practical (not to mention make life more fun). Ranging from impressively...