Flashback: Softgood Solutions—The MSR Mountain Parka

Jan 7, 2015

MSR is known for high-quality, reliable outdoor hardgoods. But did you know that in the company’s early years, MSR also made clothing? In fact, over the years, MSR offered such items as waterproof rain jackets to insulated footsacks that converted into puffy overpants. But our first foray into clothing started with the MSR Mountain Parka, which debuted in the April 1973 Mountain Safety Research Newsletter written by MSR founder and professional inventor Larry Penberthy.

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Snow Safety Tools: 7 Apps to Help You Stay Safe in the Backcountry

Jan 5, 2015

By Ali Carr Troxell Up until now, technology didn’t really exist in the realms of snow safety and weather prediction. Inclinometers, paper topo maps, online weather websites and walkie talkies aren’t what we’d exactly call 2.0. Be a Luddite no longer and grab that smartphone—the app world has stepped up with a handful of ways to make your life easier when it comes to staying safe on the snow. WEATHER PREDICTION

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Day in the Life: MSR Revo Explore Snowshoes

Dec 10, 2014

Winter weather is here and in many places snow has already blanketed the local hills. Here’s a dose of inspiration to get you excited for the snowshoeing season. Whether your mission this year is to complete a backcountry camping trip, a hut-to-hut, or simply enjoy many days of fun winter adventure and hiking, MSR snowshoes are engineered to back you up with confidence behind every step.

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Eric Larsen on Dog Sledding, the Team Dynamic & Running with Your Best Friends

Dec 8, 2014

By Eric Larsen In the fall of 1994, I was living in a remote cabin in northern Minnesota and working odd jobs. I stopped in a local lodge looking for work and was hired as a dog musher on the spot. At the time, I had never even seen a sled dog let alone driven an entire team of them. I dropped everything I was doing, drove 10 hours back to my parent’s home and grabbed as many base layers as I could find. For good measure, I rented the Disney movie Iron Will to glean a few pointers before my job started.

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Day in the Life: MSR WindBurner Personal Stove System

Dec 1, 2014

From the rocks to the open road, see why our new WindBurner Stove System makes the perfect boiling and brewing machine to always have with you. Its fast, windproof performance lets you quickly brew your morning cup of joe to start the day, then warm up with a midday ramen snack, and later enjoy a hot chocolate  in the backcountry—no matter the conditions. Take a few minutes to escape the cold with our crew as they venture to Bishop, Ca, for some camping and bouldering.

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Staff Picks: Our Favorite Gifts for Gear Junkies

Nov 26, 2014

Choosing the perfect gift for a gear head can be tough. Fortunately MSR employees are experts on gear—and gear giving. So we tapped a few to find out which products they think make the smartest gifts for everyone from backpackers to backcountry skiers—and why. Steve Grind, category director Cook & Shelter: The Alpine Deluxe Kitchen Set

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Timelapse of a Glacier: A Climbing Ranger’s Perspective of Mt Baker

Oct 13, 2014

Photos and story by Leif Whittaker Every weekend when I arrive at a trailhead that I have been to a hundred times before I wonder if I should get a new job. Most climbers would find it monotonous to visit the same ridges, valleys, glaciers, and summits over and over throughout the summer. Admittedly, I often look at the first few steps of a familiar trail and have trouble getting motivated. But after three years on Mount Baker I have learned to appreciate the tiniest details of the seasonal cycle and I believe the mountain is always telling a new story. 

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Behind the Curtains of Hell: 24 Hours of Horseshoe Hell

Oct 1, 2014

A report from the 9th annual 24 Hours of Horseshoe Hell endurance climbing competition.   by Andrew Chasteen The shotgun blasts, and 280 climbers scatter like buckshot in all directions.  Most are running—some are walking briskly up the steep approaches to the crags that make up the borders of Horseshoe Canyon Ranch.  Ten minutes ago the full crowd of 700-plus was lost in a trance of psyche and adrenaline as Jeremy Collins and Kris “Odub” Hampton put on a show (as usual) for the famed Climbers Creed to “I got 99 problems but 100 pitches ain’t one.”  But now minds are focused and fixed on the next 24 hours of pain.

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