I think this is a cool idea. Have not tested it. Saw it on GoBlog this morning. Podpro.ca now offers download-able trail maps for your iPod or iPhone.

The reach is limited to a couple dozen ski resorts in the
U.S. and Canada. But many major resorts—Snowbird, Aspen, Alta, Mammoth,
Squaw Valley, Whistler Blackcomb—are in the mix.

The advantage? You can click and scroll on the chairlift to pick your route
of descent from a tiny backlit screen (instead of an unfolded map
flapping in your face).

You can also get an RSS feed for each resort’s weather sent to your iPhone.

For the iPod, Podpro.ca offers “quick, informative videos
that give the guest the desired information or directions at the touch
of a button.” The videos are designed and formatted to operate on iPods
as well as BlackBerrys and some cell phones.

Head here for the full dope: Podpro.ca

(This is the final post in a three-part report on my trip to Norway's Romsdal Alps in early March.)

Day 3 and 4 on the Norway trip included ski touring to peaks like Smorbottentin and Kvitfjellet, the latter an amazing 1,381-meter mountain/plateau perched between a fjord and a massive inland lake. We skied about 10 kilometers that day, skinning up the mountain, trudging a couple KMs across the plateau, then dropping off a steep south face into the valley 800 vertical meters below. Here are some photos from the adventures. . .

Shannon Ryan, Didrick Ose and Tom Bie cresting the final ridge on Kvitfjellet.

Dan Nordstrom in perfect tele form on the descent from Kvitfjellet.

Skins off, ready to ski on the summit of Kvitfjellet.

Dropping into the 800 meter oblivion of Kvitfjellet's south face.

Dan Nordstrom on top of Smorbottentin.

Unidentified tele skier carving long turns halfway down Smorbottentin.

Guide Didrick Ose of DID Adventure (Molde, Norway).

Martin Volken near the summit of Smorbottentin.

Todd Walton on top of Smorbottentin.

Check out part 1 and part 2 of this series of articles.

I'm back from Valhalla, jet lagged and mind swimming (and legs aching) from a week of adventures in the high peaks of central Norway. This is my first trip report, a hash out on a mountain climb and ski tour my group did last Saturday in the Romsdal Alps, thousands of meters high over yonder fjords on a peak called Kirketaket.

http://thegearjunkie.com/dailydose

Kirketaket, a 1,439-meter summit outside the town of Andalsnes, Norway, is a famous peak in the Romsdal Alps of central Norway. My adventure up the mountain last week started with a drive from sea level to the trailhead, where the group put skins on skis and headed uphill. The climb -- about 1,300 meters -- would take around four hours to reach the ski-jump-shape mountain's summit.

Our guides for the day were Halvor Hagen of Andalsnes and Didrick Ose from Molde-based DID Adventure (www.didadventure.no). Easy skinning on cross-country-like trails led to a forest and a steep climb an hour into the journey. (Our route in GREEN on the image below.)

(image courtesy of www.kirketaket.com)

For gear, I tromped along in Black Diamond Kilowatt skis, Fritschi Diamir Freeride Plus bindings and SCARPA Spirit 4 boots -- an alpine touring setup made for serious steep and deep terrain. The Black Diamond Covert 32 AvaLung was my pack of choice. My apparel was a mix of Outdoor Research outerwear, new prototype wool base layers from Duofold, Defeet socks, and a buff hat.



We ascended Steinberget, a ridge before the peak, breaking for lunch at a snow-wall camp. White peaks and slate-blue fjords stretched into the distance. The summit ridge of the Troll Wall, a 2,000-meter cliff outside of Andalsnes, poked spires against a pale sky.

I had a Clif bar and some Norwegian chocolate. Then it was back to business, poling and striding in zigzag fashion on the face of the mountain.

The wind kicked up, sending spindrift over a ridge, sandblasting the line of skiers. Near the summit, the snow became a polished face, icy and glinting in the sun, skins slipping as I pounded edges in for grip.



On top my hands were frozen and stiff. Face exfoliated from the violent spindrift. I hid behind a cairn to get out of the wind, the Romsdal Alps dropping to all points of the compass from the perch.



Time to descend. The icing on the cake of a ski tour. I peeled skins off skis, stuffed them away in my pack, and clicked my bindings down. Edges cut into the mountain, slicing turns, losing vertical fast for a thousand feet, fjords and endless snow in the distance. We'd ski another half-hour, cutting turns on the steep upper mountain, then cruising gentle terrain back to the trailhead, from the mountain summit back to sea level and icy fjords, one Norway adventure down, many more for the week still to come.

(Stephen Regenold writes The Gear Junkie column for eleven U.S. newspapers; see www.THEGEARJUNKIE.com for video gear reviews, a daily blog, and an archive of Regenold's work.)

Just received issue No. 2 of The Ski Journal, the
self-appointed “world’s highest quality ski publication.” But indeed this
glossy magazine is pretty, a bright catalogue of deep snow, mountainscapes at
sunset, weird ski people, and cliff-hucking fools.

In the company’s own words, the journal is “a coffee-table quality,
collectible journal of skiing’s greatest imagery, inspiring powder landscapes,
and compelling personalities.”

issue No. 1

In the second issue—which hit stores last week—there are
stories on French freestyle skier Candide Thovex; historic Alta; an ode to Sun
Valley and the decade of love.

There's and a gallery of images from Hank de Vré, including
a classic shot I like of Scot Schmidt hitting a Squaw Valley chute in
rear-entry boots. State of the art gear for their day.

The publication comes out four times a year, available by subscription
and at bookstores and ski shops. www.theskijournal.com