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Build My Own FeedThe Journal is dedicated to the sports and people that make Black Diamond what it is.
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Report: Avalanche victim uses the AvaLung and survives a burial at Tessin, Switzerland
The following is a recent report from an avalanche survivor in the Bedretto Valley in Switzerland on January 30, 2010. It is a first person report that has been edited for brevity and clarity/translation. Last Saturday I (and a group of friends) had a very bad experience. We were in Tessin (Italian part of Switzerland) and we... [READ MORE]
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Canmore's Knuckle Basher 2010
The Knuckle Basher returned to Canmore, Alberta for its second year in February 2010. The Knuckle Basher is a grass roots style winter climbing festival originally organized as a last minute fill in event for the Canmore ice climbing festival which was canceled in 2008. Eddie Whittemore, Black Diamond's western Canadian rep, was lucky enough to... [READ MORE]
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BD athlete Ptor Spricenieks goes paraskiing in the Alps
Black Diamond athlete Ptor Spricenieks recently sent us this note and photos about paraskiing in the Alps above his home in La Grave, France. Although it sounds a little rowdy (imagine flying above the clouds at 5000m with Megawatts on!), you can't argue with the results: thousands of meters of fresh terrain, all accessed by flying through... [READ MORE]
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PATH OF RESISTANCE: Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson attempt the first ascent of El Cap's hardest free climb
When is a rock climb too hard, the holds too small, the cracks too thin? Black Diamond athletes Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson pushed those physical and mental boundaries to the limit this past fall when they spent nearly two months attempting to free a line on El Capitan’s southeast face, a 900-meter route (linking up sections of the... [READ MORE]
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VIDEO: BD athletes Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson's portaledge home on El Capitan
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WITNESSES TO THE CHANGE: Daniel Silbernagel adventuring in the Alps
Daniel Silbernagel is a Swiss mountain guide who has spent 300 or more days for each of the past 20-plus years in the Alps, hiking, climbing and guiding. Our 2010 Alpine Adventures brochure highlights the mountaineering gear Silbernagel used during a long weekend in Switzerland’s Gruben Valley where he was doing repair and maintenance on the... [READ MORE]
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VIDEO: BD athletes Zack Giffin and Callum Pettit heli ski in British Columbia
In January 2010, Black Diamond athletes Zack Giffin and Callum Pettit teamed up with photographer Grant Gunderson for a quick heli-skiing mission up to Nelson, British Columbia. Below is Zach's report from the trip, Gunderson's photos and a great POV video that captures all of the action. Life can change real fast... [READ MORE]
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Sign up now for Summit For Someone
16 Challenging Peaks. 1 Great Cause! Join Backpacker Magazine’s Summit for Someone benefit climb series as they continue to climb North America’s most sought after peaks to raise funds for Big City Mountaineers. Not only will you experience your choice of challenging, professionally guided ascents, but also you’ll receive a mountain... [READ MORE]
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Winger For The Weekend #35
This weekend's Winger welcomes you to the weird and wonderful world of stop-motion filming, where you can spend three minutes watching guys play with their t-shirts... [READ MORE]
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VIDEO: BD athlete Jake Sakson ripping dreamy powder lines in the Wasatch backcountry
The crew over at Powderwhore sent us this short teaser clip of Black Diamond athlete Jake Sakson enjoying some of Utah's finest. [READ MORE]
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VIDEO: BD athlete Chris Schulte battles slopers near Lake Tahoe
Black Diamond athlete Chris Schulte sent us the following note and video regarding a recent "off-season" visit to some alpine boulders near Lake Tahoe. After a bit of shoveling and cleaning Schulte scored a great repeat of what looks to be a classic line. When it comes to bouldering on slopers, the cold can be your best... [READ MORE]
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2010 Big LePowSki USA event huge success at Brighton, Utah!
Black Diamond’s Big LePowSki ski and snowboard event at Brighton, Utah was a star-studded event held under the blue skies of the beautiful Wasatch Mountains. The event kicked off this year with a Backcountry Film Festival raising more than $1000 for the Winter Wildlands Alliance. The film festival featured films from... [READ MORE]
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BD athlete Katsutaka Yokoyama reports from his seven-month North America rock climbing roadtrip
Black Diamond athlete Katsutaka “Jumbo” Yokoyama, well known for his bold alpine ascents, spent seven months in 2009 rock climbing around North America, visiting most of the mega-crags of the West. Below is his report and photos from his travels. In May 2009 (after Wall of Shadows ), I met up with my girlfriend... [READ MORE]
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BD employees Kolin Powick and Doug Heinrich ice climb in the Canadian Rockies.
Black Diamond’s Director of Quality, Kolin Powick (KP) and Category Director for Lamps & Gloves, Doug Heinrich (DH) went up to Canada to get an ice fix and try out some new gear. They were blessed with atypical temps (i.e., not -40C), and great conditions to get some climbing in before heading back to the grind at the office. Below is... [READ MORE]
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VIDEO Part 1: BD athletes Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson attempting to free El Cap's hardest climb
When is a rock climb too hard, the holds too small, the cracks too thin? Black Diamond athletes Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson pushed those physical and mental boundaries to the limit this past fall when they spent nearly two months attempting to free a line on El Capitan’s southeast face, a 900-meter route (linking up sections of the... [READ MORE]
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BD athlete Matt Segal deep water soloing in Mallorca
Black Diamond athlete Matt Segal traveled to Mallorca in Fall 2009 to check out the amazing deep water soloing on the island of Mallorca. Fellow BD athlete Cedar Wright put together this clip of Segal livin' the dream in the Mediterranean. [READ MORE]
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Winger For The Weekend #36
This weekend's Winger comes from that trippy Xtranormal website that allows you to create your own animated video clips simply by typing in a script. People have cooked up more than 5 million (and counting) of these videos, so it's no surprise that some of them focus on climbing and skiing. Here's our favorite of the lot, one that shamelessly... [READ MORE]
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Sign up NOW for the March 19-21 Red Rock Rendezous climbing event
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VIDEO Part 2: BD athletes Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson attempting to free El Cap's hardest climb
When is a rock climb too hard, the holds too small, the cracks too thin? Black Diamond athletes Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson pushed those physical and mental boundaries to the limit this past fall when they spent nearly two months attempting to free a line on El Capitan’s southeast face, a 900-meter route (linking up sections of... [READ MORE]
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BD athletes Mark Welgos and Angel Collinson podium at FWT stop in Kirkwood, CA
Black Diamond athletes Mark Welgos and Angel Collinson scored spots on the podium at the March 3-7 stop of the Freeskiing World Tour at Kirkwood, California. Collinson placed second for the women and Welgos nabbed third for the men. Awesome! Below is an email and photos Collinson sent us about her second-place finish, and below that is a... [READ MORE]
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Winger For The Weekend #37
Laurel Hunter, a Graphic Designer in our Marketing department, is the Queen Of The Weekend Wingers. She always has a Winger candidate (typically by Tuesday!), and the one she sent us this week is definitely a winner. "ChatRoulette" is causing a stir in the World Wide Web—basically you sign on and video chat with random anonymous people... [READ MORE]
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Sign up NOW for the 3rd Annual Ogden Climbing Festival — April 9-10
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BD atlete Mike Libecki slideshow March 25 at BD retail store in Salt Lake City
Black Diamond athlete Mike Libecki with be presenting a one-hour multimedia show on Thursday March 25 at 7 pm at the Black Diamond retail store in Salt Lake City, Utah (address: 2084 East 3900 South; phone: 801-278-0233). There will also be a prize raffle and a 10-minute skiing slideshow by photographer Jay Beyer. Mike Libecki will be... [READ MORE]
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VIDEO: BD athlete Colin Haley wears a helmet camera during a solo ascent of Aguja Mermoz in Patagonia
Black Diamond athlete Colin Haley has finished up his three-month stay in Patagonia and upon his return Stateside sent us another helmet cam video from a speedy solo ascent of Aguja Mermoz (his first helmet-cam video was from a solo ascent of Aguja Guillaumet ). Below is Colin's report and excellent video. Sit back, click play and enjoy... [READ MORE]
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BD athletes Johnny Collinson and Andrew Pollard place 2nd and 3rd at the Junior Freeskiing Nationals' stop at Snowbird, Utah
Black Diamond athletes Johnny Collinson and Andrew Pollard pulled off impressive 2nd and 3rd place finishes respectively at the Junior Freeskiing Nationals' stop at Snowbird, Utah. Below are emails the two young rippers sent us about their runs, as well as some photos. Congratulations to both Johnny and Andrew! From: Andrew Pollard... [READ MORE]
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BD athlete Drew Stoecklein reports from his trip to Switzerland with Ride Guide TV
Black Diamond athlete Drew Stoecklein has seemingly been on the road skiing non-stop this year. His latest excursion involved visiting some of Switzerland's finest spots with a crew from Ride Guide TV. Below is Drew's report and his photos from the trip. Traveling to Switzerland with Ride Guide TV was one of the most incredible... [READ MORE]
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BD sales rep Roger Strong makes second ascent of The Shadow in the Canadian Rockies
Black Diamond sales rep Roger Strong is crazy for climbing—ice, rock, choss, whatever, Roger is game for it and always sends. So it wasn't surprising to get the following email and photos from him, noting that he'd rallied up to the Canadian Rockies for a quick alpine mission and pulled off the second ascent of The Shadow with Rob Owens.... [READ MORE]
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BD athlete Dave Turner reports on huge kite skiing and climbing trip to Patagonia
Black Diamond athlete Dave Turner has just returned from a wild kite skiing and climbing trip to Patagonia and sent us the following report and impressive images. Looks like Dave made the best of the consistently marginal climbing weather and had a pretty cool adventure out on the ice cap! “Man, you are going to fly. You are... [READ MORE]
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BD athlete Angel Collinson wins overall 2010 title at Freeskiing World Tour
Black Diamond athlete Angel Collinson won the championship stop of the Freeskiing World Tour at her home mountain of Snowbird, Utah, which also secured her the overall title for 2010! Not bad for her first year on the tour... Below is the email and photos Angel sent us after the event. Congratulations, Angel! From:... [READ MORE]
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Winger For The Weekend #38
It seems like everyone is on Facebook these days. (BTW: Check out BD's OFFICIAL Facebook page —and not those fake BD pages—for exclusive deals, latest news and secret sales!) We admit, Facebook (besides being a fantastic time waster) is a great way to stay in touch with friends and let them know what you are up to. But, as this Winger #38... [READ MORE]
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The BigLePowSki World Tour Finishes With a Strike in St. Anton
The fourth and final event of The BigLePowSki Tour went down this past weekend in the freeride hotspot of St. Anton, Austria. And even though the warm weather and mild rain made the snow a bit mushy at times, the epic terrain and endless enthusiasm here in the Arlberg made the last event of 2010 a full-on success. The... [READ MORE]
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Slideshow of Baschi Bender - the winner of The BigLePowSki Photo Contest 2010
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VIDEO: BD athlete Mark Welgos big mountain heli skiing in Haines, Alaska
Black Diamond athlete Mark Welgos found time between big mountain comps to shoot up to Alaska for a quick one week heli mission. Below is a report and video that Welgos sent us after he returned. In my brief trip to Haines, I learned that the rumors are true: the weather is rough; when it snows, it really... [READ MORE]
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QC Lab: Strength of old fixed slings
One of the boys from work brought a few weathered and beat slings into work the other day. They had been fixed in his tree (for some random reason) for seven years. Sun, rain, snow, wind, the whole deal… for seven years. I’ve tested numerous old slings from fixed routes, but figured we’d add this one to the mix. As you recall... [READ MORE]
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BD athletes Whit Magro and Josh Wharton report on climbs in Fitz Roy massif, Argentine Patagonia
Black Diamond athlete Whit Magro flew down to Argentine Patagonia on February 10th for a quick 16-day trip and teamed up with fellow BD athlete Josh Wharton to pull off some great climbs in the Fitz Roy massif. Below is Magro’s trip report and photos from the climbs. The last year has been all about short and potent climbing trips;... [READ MORE]
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