A superpipe is a halfpipe that is about 64 feet wide and typically between 400 and 600 feet long, with walls approximately 22 feet high. The walls of the pipe are near vertical, with a smooth transition that allows riders to carry maximum speed.
The HotBars handlebars have a removable power-bank-slash-control-unit that's wired into the bars and out to heating elements at the ends, warming your hands through standard mountain bike grips.
Presidents Day is right around the corner, which means we're officially in that sweet spot of the calendar where anyone and everyone is running a sale. But while we're bracing for the usual long-weekend price drops, we're checking up on Esquire's old favorite, Yeti. If you read this magazine, you know we don't just casually "like" Yeti-we love it. We've covered Yeti's past sales, officially endorsed the Yeti ice bucket, and even tested its coolers in Death Valley's brutal 117-degree heat.
While the lake spares this area much of the bitter cold, temperatures regularly drop well below zero at night. We have weeks where daily highs are in the single digits Fahrenheit. If that sounds miserable to you its because you don't have the clothes to deal with it. In order to get outside and do anything in these conditions you need good gear.
For 2026, the Superior Peak ships in a mixed wheel configuration (29" front, 27.5" rear). This is what people have been asking for, and Ari has delivered. Riders who prefer a matched setup can still run a full 29" configuration front and rear. Paired with 200mm of travel and Ari's Tetra Link suspension platform.
Whether you are on the trail or riding the road, Pit Viper's 2026 Winter Olympic Original sunglasses will absolutely help you show your support. The 2026 Winter Olympic Originals feature everything rad about the Original glasses, with a flair of patriotism. Of course, it is done in a way that is distinctly Pit Viper. The frames are white and speckled with red and blue.
Mt. Baker is the PNW's snow vacuum. It's close enough to the Pacific to get storm after storm, and the North Cascades do what they do best: force moist air straight up, wring it out, and bury everything in sight. Maritime storms roll in wet and heavy, then pile up fast when they hit terrain.
When you're touring in the backcountry, you'll want a different kit than what you wear inbounds at the resort. Inbounds, your main goal is to stay warm and comfortable, and you're usually not working nearly as hard as you do on the skin track. Touring generates a lot more heat, so your layering system has to breathe, manage moisture, and still keep you warm when you stop.
To get back to average snowpack, we essentially need to have the most snow that we've ever had for the last 30 years between now and mid-April. It would be extremely difficult for Colorado to get back to a normal/average snowpack. As an example, when looking at the Independence Pass SNOTEL site in central Colorado outside of Aspen, we typically have 13 inches of snow-water-equivalent at the end of February. This year, we only have 6.7 inches of SWE.
