Helicopters, skins, sleds, snowshoes, crampons, just plain ol’ bootpacking — we’ve seen a lot of methods for ascending mountains — but never a fan-powered paraglider. Xavier De La Rue and Ralph Backstrom are charging new frontiers in both backcountry snowboarding and transportation.

Watch also: Mark Carter on blue collar living and snowboarding’s future

From Smith Optics via Vimeo:

Life Beyond Walls: Alaska

After the extensive travel to the Last Frontier, Xavier De La Rue and Ralph Backstrom set up base camp amongst the giants of the Alaskan Mountain Range. Just outside the tent walls, Xavier and Ralph found themselves not only living life beyond walls, but on them.

Music by-
Artist-Colormusic
Song-“Silvertape”
Album-May You Marry Rich
Courtesy of Great Society