Stephen Koch

Well it’s the cold and dark time of year again. Time for ice to form and time to climb the ice. Below is a short video about what I carry in my pack for a day of ice climbing. Enjoy! Recommend on Facebook Tweet about it Subscribe to the comments on this post

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Water bladders are a wonderful invention and they work very well for many uses. There are times that I do not carry a bladder, yet still want water very accessible. My solution to this has been to make my own carrier using a few simple items and a used plastic water bottle. In this short [...]

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Steve Romeo, skier and blogger of Tetonat.com, posed  a question about skis vs. snowboard – which is a better mountain descent tool here.   There are many excellent comments, so check out the link above for those! Following are my responses from that discussion. Randosteve:  I think it might be a little easier for snowboarders [...]

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I was skate skiing in Grand Teton National Park with Max Mogren (Thanks Max!) recently and took the opportunity to film this short video where  I demonstrate how to eat GU energy gel. There are two main things to do when eating gel, first is to eat it all and second is to roll the [...]

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In this short video I demonstrate how to warm cold hands. Thanks to Jane Galley for shooting this after we randomly met this morning in GTNP while skate skiing. Help support StephenKoch.com with a pair of warm gloves from Backcountry.com! Recommend on Facebook Tweet about it Subscribe to the comments on this post

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If you are training for mixed martial arts or for your next UFC/cage match, adding ice climbing on an indoor wall or cave will benefit you with stronger hands, forearms (both good for grappling) as well as back and biceps (good for all around strength and punching power) as well as a strong core (good [...]

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How to clean your Camelbak / Hydration Pack.

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I climbed the Black Ice Couloir in Grand Teton National Park last week. I had a blast and it was the first moderately serious solo climb that I have done in several years. The climbing and conditions were favorable and felt moderate enough where I did not break out the rope, which I took as [...]

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For those of you interested in writing a grant proposal, Andrew McLean, Backcountry skiing guru and author of the Backcountry Ski Blog StraightChuter.com wrote a good piece on the basics of an expedition proposal. The expedition proposal helps clarify the purpose of the proposed trip for the participants as well as may land you some [...]

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