Tetongravity.com’s Top 10 Stories Of 2014

2014 has been a good year. Freeskiing was introduced at the Sochi Olympics, people dumped ice on their heads for "charity", U2 forced their music into our iTunes library to general outrage, and people finally gave a shit about a James Franco/ Seth Rogen movie. Throughout 2014, TGR has been bringing the best of action sports directly to you! To celebrate a year well done we have compiled the Top Ten Stories of 2014. Enjoy! 

#10: 7 Lessons I Learned From Surviving An Avalanche - 25,242 Views

Mark Epstein captures his brother Greg recovering well in Jackson's St. John's Hospital last March following Greg's harrowing avalanche.

Last March, Greg Epstein, TGR's Head of Physical Production was injured in an avalanche last March while skiing the backcountry in Granite Canyon off of Jackson Hole Mountain Resort. As an avalanche survivor and well-traveled backcountry skier, we sat down with Greg to share with us some of lessons he learned from his experience surviving a harrowing avalanche, breaking his leg and pelvis in the process, and surviving the hours-long rescue. Read the list now. 

#9: Approach Skis: Energy Saving or Bullshit - 30,067 Views 

The MTN Approach skis fold and pack into your backpack.

A core collection of snowboarders question the efficiency of a cut-in-half snowboard mounted with metal hardware. These riders range from big-name professional snowboarders like Xavier de la Rue to Bryan Iguchi, Scotty Lago, and Austin Smith. The Ketchum, Idaho-based company, MTN Approach, makes lightweight approach skis with permanent skins that are used exclusively for the uphill. Are they worth it?

#8: The Best Audience Responses to 8 Reasons Why Women Need to Go to the Mountains with Other Women - 32,959 Views

After a great deal of controversy we pulled your responses together and given some more ladies a voice. Photo Credit: Leslie Hittmeier

This year we posted an article that contributor Leslie Hittmeirer wrote called 8 Reasons Women Need to go to the Mountains With Other Women. The response was overwhelming! Lots of people loved it, but many felt that it didn't come close to giving women the credit for being the strong and amazing people they are. We decided we'd go ahead and try and share those opinions and open up the floor to anyone who wanted to contribute. We got some seriously amazing feedback that we were super excited to share. We put together 11 more kickass reasons, which vary wildly, to get outdoors with other ladies, all submitted by members of our audience.

#7: Meet Johan Jonsson, The Guy Blasting in Sh!t F@ck Conditions - 33,104 pageviews

Remember Johan Jonsson? If you don't, give the video above a quick watch. The Swede with balls and quads of steel broke the internet with his POV edit shot of him skiing the absolute worst conditions the Alps can provide as if it was the most forgiving powder day out there. Our follow-up interview with Johan, in which he discusses how the edit was put together, was a hit.

#6: What Ski Town Should You Move to This Season - 34,629 Views

What would TJ & Dexter do? (They'd move to Aspen, but it was the '90s).

We built the ultimate guideline to figuring out what ski town to move to.  So ditch college, postpone grad school, drop the career you’ve been building for a decade. You are not going to be one those saps that just rides on weekends, or spring break from college anymore! This is your season!

#5: Avalanches Claim Lives of J.P. Auclair, Andreas Fransson, & Liz Daley - 74,730 Views

Ski in peace Andreas, JP, & Liz. 

On October 1st, two separate avalanches in South America claimed the lives of ski legends J.P. Auclair Andreas Fransson, and in a separate incident, snowboarder and prolific member of the TGR Forums, Liz Daley. These three individuals held different, but vital, places in the greater snow community. In the aftermath of this terrible tragedy, we at TGR compiled the details as they came in to create this story.

#4: How to Build Your Dream Mountain Town Tiny House - 112,867 Views

The self-built tiny home Brittany Gibeau shares with her husband and TGR cinematographer Dan in Jackson Hole.

Brittany Gibeau–wife of TGR cinematographer Dan Gibeau–contributed this great story explaining how they solved their ski town housing issues by thinking creatively, and ultimately deciding to build their own tiny house from scratch. For those looking at this seriously, there's a host of useful knowledge to be found from Dan & Brittany's experience. Check it out here!

#3) 17 Signs You Might Be A Dirtbag - 132,540 Views

The dirtbag in his low-budget, tin-can throne. Sam Morse photo.

Whether it's by living in their car, bathing in hot tubs, or cooking the majority of their meals with a camp stove, the dirtbag seeks the maximum ratio of time enjoyed doing their passion sports to money and time invested to make that happen. Violations of hygiene standards and social norms are par for the course. The only tool they own is a roll of duct tape, they're employed less than half of the business week, and they wouldn't know where to buy laundry detergent if they had to. Here's 17 signs you might just be one yourself..

#2) 10 Types of People You Meet In A Mountain Town - 171,271 Views

The man child...one of the many people you meet in a ski town. 

Living in a ski town is pretty epic. From the awesome powder days to the killer après scene, why would you live anywhere else? During your time in these little winter hamlets, you have met some of your best friends and some wildly interesting characters. Here at TGR, we celebrate the variety of personalities that make a ski town so special, so we have compiled a list of the 10 types of people you're most likely to meet in a mountain town.

#1) 8 Reasons Why Women Need to Go to the Mountains with Other Women - 266,960 Views

Do you like to enjoy the outdoors exclusively with other women? Leslie Hittmeier Photo

Our most popular story this year came from contributor Leslie Hittmeier, who wrote about why women need to go out in the mountains with other women. The response was overwhelming, and led to the creation of another story that made this list. From girl beta to thoughtfulness, check out the original list here.

About The Author

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stash member Jonathan Desabris

Digital Content Producer at TGR. Jackson Hole transplant from the Green Mountain State. Contrary to popular belief I have never lived in New Jersey.