Jake Stern
Gear Writer
Title: Gear Writer
Email: sternjacobg@gmail.com
- Location: South Lake Tahoe, CA
- Social Media Links: instagram.com/jakesternskis
- Pronouns He/Him/His
Expertise
- Topics of Expertise: Alpine and Backcountry Skiing, Ski Mountaineering, Climbing, Backpacking
- Years in This Expertise: 8
- Number Of Products & Number Of Hours Expert Has Tested: [500+, 2,500+]
Career Highlights
- Managed all-mountain ski and alpine and backcountry ski boot reviews for SKI and Outside Magazines for the last four years.
- Crossed more than 40 miles of unmapped, glaciated terrain in Patagonia—for four days without food.
- Led Outside Magazine’s public land policy reporting, editing the column written by Wes Siler.
- Former Gear Editor at Powder Magazine.
- Profiled the diehard ski scene in the Los Angeles Basin.
- Professional bootfitter at Footloose Sports in Mammoth.
Education & Certifications
- Education: BA in Comparative Literature, Northwestern University
- Years of Writing: 8
- Certifications: WFR, AIARE 1, Lapsed AMGA SPI
- Club or Association Memberships: AMGA
- Previous Publications: Powder, Outside, SKI, The Ski Journal, Freeskier, Ori, Climbing, Backpacker
Experience/Personal
I cut my teeth climbing Southeastern granite and sandstone, driving endless stretches from Chicago for good rock. A chance stint waiting tables at the Alta Lodge turned me into a skier—some would say it ruined my life. I worked as the Assistant Editor and Gear Editor at Powder until the pandemic shut down the title. I then moved to the Eastern Sierra and never looked back, skiing countless couloirs up and down the East
Side while working as a Digital Editor at Outside and fitting boots at Footloose Sports.
I managed all-mountain ski and boot reviews for SKI, attending the annual SKI test where I would often ski more than 60 pairs of skis in a week.
I now work at Sierra-at-Tahoe, leading the resort’s content and communications efforts.
Some of my most memorable adventures include my first big wall climb of Moonlight Buttress in Zion National Park, skiing 3D Chute in the June Mountain backcountry—not to mention skiing complex terrain around Engelberg and Andermatt, Switzerland for my honeymoon.
Aside from my outdoor endeavors, I love to read, cook stir fries and noodles outside on my massive wok burner, shake cocktails, and pull espresso on my manual lever machine.
