In this episode of our Gear Shed podcast, Gavin Hess (our Gear Editor) interviews the founder of Glacier Black—Shawn Breaux. Glacier Black, at least on paper, specializes in canyoneering gear. In the past few years, as Gavin has explored technical rope options for ski mountaineering, his attention was drawn to Glacier Black and some of their rope options. This is very much a nerding-out episode. And the nerding goes deep into rope specs, manufacturing, and certifications. What you’ll learn are a few things—some canyoneering ropes can function as a rope for skiing and certain canyoneering ropework techniques might be of some use in the alpine. Which is also to say, this is only a podcast—we are not responsible for your actions. Proceed with caution when using new gear and techniques.

Read up on a Glacier Black rope with ski mountaineering applications.

If you are new to The High Route, we are a reader and listener-supported enterprise focusing on human-powered turn making. Our mission is simple, but it takes real-deal calorie-burning to piece it all together.

We’d like to thank Patagonia, Blue Ice, and ATK for supporting us.  

We are also excited to announce that you can subscribe to Issues 2 and 3 of our fine print journal (The High Route journal) on our site. Fancy paper. Good reads. High-octane photos. And some fine mountain ranges. And turns. You can learn more about our subscription options here.

The theme music for The High Route Podcast comes from Storms in the Hill Country and the album The Self Transforming (Thank you, Jens Langsjoen). You can find a link to the album here—there are so many good songs on this album. And if you think you've spotted a UFO in the past or visited the 7th dimension, "Beautiful Alien" is a good tune to start with.