 Poster: A snowHead
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| KenX wrote: |
Yes, a momentary lack of concentration, some strong rays of sunshine and the snow round my pole melted, toppling the helmet down the slope around 200m of vert, all the way down to the torrent at the bottom!
Several rounds of expletives later I set off after it, hoping that one of the many rocks on the way had arrested its fall......
No, finally spotted it bobbing in a rock pool in the torrent, extended my pole to max length and fished it out!
The goggle lens was toast, but helmet and frame just very soggy!
Luckily we were now skinning back up to where we dropped in so the liner had time to dry on the ascent!
Lesson learnt  |
Wearing a helmet ski touring clearly a very dangerous endeavour!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@BobinCH,
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Now if you had been caught in an avalanche and sadly not rescued, that skull would really confused future archaeologists (Ötzi style) trying to work out the weird skiing/goat worship cult 
I found one once which must had fallen off the cliff above, the day or night before, as it was completely untouched.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@swskier, how is the course? What kind of stuff have you done? How macho was the uphill?
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That’s a hell of a nice touring forecast - cold nights and sunny days. I’ll be up there from 7th with my crew in case you want to tag along for some action
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@BobinCH, I concur.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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@swskier, is that you on the atomic backland 95? If do how do you find the skis?
Anyone else here tried them? I am thinking of pairing with ATK R12 bindings.
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@Matrix, not me no, wrong gender! I was on some Elan Ripstick 86s after I decided my Volkl Revolt 121s were way too big and heavy!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@swskier, ha yes!
My son and I did a day with a guide last week. Around 500m ascent in total. I stupidly forgot my skins for my 90mm Fischer Rangers and had to take out 107mm Soul 7s with shift bindings. I am not fit enough and really struggled on the up. Coupled with Atomic Hawk Ultra boots it wasn’t a very light set up! My son was on Blizzard Zero G 84, tech bindings and tour boots and laughed his head off at me. Anyway I wanted to add a set up without sacrificing the downhill performance. I appreciate that’s difficult but thought the Backlands might be a good balancing act. 95mm too wide? Any thoughts? (New to touring)
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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@Matrix, I would disinherit him, then see whether he still laughed! 
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@Matrix, I'm not the best to ask as I'm new to touring too, this was my first foray in to (minus some very easy walks with the dog at christmas).
I'm planning on buying something around the 95-100mm mark as an all rounder type of ski, probably with a pin binding rather than shift, although i'm not quite decided on the binding set up yet
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You know it makes sense.
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@Matrix, And now for a more grown up answer. I opted (5 seasons ago) for the Souls little brother the Sin 7 (129-98-108). The bloke in the touring shop said I had made a good choice as they were a good all round ski for a middle aged, relatively fit, skinny bloke (67kg). Despite what you read in the brochure touring is not about powder days (though it can be) you are likely to meet all conditions, so you need a ski that can cope with all. Everything with touring is a compromise. Then we came to bindings, I thought about what I wanted to do when I go touring, looked at the current offerings, had an idea and then went to the touring shop and explained that. The French bloke seemed a bit surprised when I gave him my criteria. I explained that he was the expert, I wasn't and I was buying from him, rather than an online shop for his expertise.
Thinks to consider:
Weight of bindings (not that bothered for me) as the difference is not huge, eat the Mars Bar at the bottom! I also opted for skins that were €30 more and weighed about half the cheaper set).
Control on descent - this varies wildly from the ultra 'I'm skinning up the piste in a lycra suit for exercise' to the more robust.
Weight of total set up. Are you looking for a couple of hours day tour, maybe 2 or 3 ups and lunch at a refuge (what some of the more snobbish refer to as slack country rather than back country - I find it best to ignore them) or are you looking at a hut to hut multi day tour where weight is everything, cos you have to lug your life with you.
Importance of release - for me a biggy - so full DIN accredited front and back bindings for me as getting over a knee injury would now take a season.
Are you having a complete alpine set up and a touring one (2 sets) or are you looking for a compromise? Living in resort allows me to have 2 (well 3 actually).
Ability and ease of fitting couteau.
Cost - not really an issue.
The answer was Tecton 12 for me.
I know it's not the answer and others will disagree, maybe vehemently, - but hopefully the thought process will assist.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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| chocksaway wrote: |
@Matrix,
Importance of release - for me a biggy - so full DIN accredited front and back bindings for me as getting over a knee injury would now take a season.
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https://www.wildsnow.com/30710/atk-fr14-ski-touring-binding-tech-review/ I find that this puts in a more useful context what DIN certification of touring bindings actually is and the minimal value it probably represents. It is nothing remotely like as useful as the certification of alpine bindings.
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Poster: A snowHead
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@chocksaway, thank you for the detailed response. I am not looking to skin up the side of the piste or do multi day tours. Max 2 day, a couple of ascents, hut for lunch etc. So slack country may be the description I think.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@HammondR, great site. I haven’t seen it before, thank you.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@BobinCH…and it also has some excellent content: binding reviews are very well informed for example
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Wildsnow used to be a wealth of knowledge and an interesting read, but has fallen off the dge of a cliff since being sold........
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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I’ve never really dwelled on it that often but when I have, it’s been pretty good. When was it sold and who to?
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So there we were chilling out at the summit waiting for the snow to do it's thing.
And were watching the three guys coming up wondering what they were up to as they'd seemed to have chosen three separate routes up to the Gardiole, which then became clear when the first guy arrived and said that they were looking for their friend's ski!
I asked did he fall and the answer was that he had no brakes, and he'd put the ski down for the transition, turned around and it wasn't there, hence he wasn't too sure where it had shot off to!
The guy I was talking to looked familiar and it was Janeau and ex guide who ran a couple of refuges at altitude and then latterly ran a cafe for a short while along from Les Boussardes, we reminisced about how my Norwegian friends gave him some advice for a taxi in Tromso when they were going up there, and then it failed to show up.
I think the guy that lost a ski was also a guide, he was nigh on lycra-ed up a bit and of a younger vintage, but looking a very fit dude.
They left around 15 mins before we eventually got ready and then later on I sniffed a way down that only had us walking a little over the gauze, and just as I arrived at the road on skis who was walking down the road?
They were quite surprised/impressed/frustrated that the Brit had skied down that far, and it made my day, they did say something about a guide / how did I know the route or something but was not too sure, so I just said it was Beanie the Jack that I followed
Bit of Spring combat skiing as we call it
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last "up" I did I seemed to be sliding backwards (both skis at the same time) on hardish (but still gave a bit) snow. The others in the group were fine, skins haven't had much usage so it has to be my technique. Guide suggested flicking the heel lifts into place (Shift bindings) and leaning back a bit more.
So that definitely seemed to help, I told myself to look at the sky not the track!
Anyone else had the issue and got any tips?
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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@kitenski, I took a friend out on Sunday and it's quite a tough climb, a long awkward traverse on hard snow, almost crampons needed, especially if we'd been there earlier, and then quite steep at times.
Mate is overweight and not really fit, however, Janeau I mentioned above, who for a big bloke fairly sprinted up the last steep pitch, is a larger build and carrying a larger gut!
Difference in technique was amazing, hardly surprising given one was nigh on a virgin at skinning and the other and old guide!
What I kept saying to my friend was don't look down at your tips/skin track, hold your body far more upright, and as ever in a lot of sports, engage your core to keep that upright stance, having touring poles (make them longer) I personally think helps, and I gave him one of mine that he used on the downhill side.
Climbing up, as opposed to a traverse, use the palms of your hands to push down on the handles of the poles behind you, this again will help you keep the upright stance, rather than using the poles in front of you, which if short will have you leaning over them.
And slide, slide, slide, using the ball of the foot and no lifting of the ski, so no obvious thumping sound of the ski on the traverse.
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@Weathercam, cheers, longer poles might be a good idea then, off to check the sales!! I think my current ones only extend a few cm before they are at their max length. My usual pole length is around 120-125cm so if I got some that extended to 140cm would that make a noticeable difference?
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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| kitenski wrote: |
last "up" I did I seemed to be sliding backwards (both skis at the same time) on hardish (but still gave a bit) snow. The others in the group were fine, skins haven't had much usage so it has to be my technique. Guide suggested flicking the heel lifts into place (Shift bindings) and leaning back a bit more.
So that definitely seemed to help, I told myself to look at the sky not the track!
Anyone else had the issue and got any tips? |
The guide is right (surprise), normally if good skins are slipping, it's because you have the weight over the toes, so only weighting the front part of the skin and leveraging it. You get away with it a lot of the time but if it's starts to slip, put the weight through the heels speeds the weight over the skin more and gives more grip.
Cheers
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@ecrinscollective, yes I wasn't doubting his wisdom, just wanting any tips people use so I remember next season!
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You know it makes sense.
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| kitenski wrote: |
| @ecrinscollective, yes I wasn't doubting his wisdom, just wanting any tips people use so I remember next season! |
Sorry that came over as a dig at you, it's was meant more of a tongue in cheek with guides.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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I bought some of Alain’s poles a couple of years back. Not cheap but once you’ve tried them you won’t go back!
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Poster: A snowHead
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@BobinCH, but you have one of everything 
but in all seriousness, if I ski, say a 125cm pole usually, would you get a 135cm "fixed"? and do you take that pole out with you even if not touring?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@BobinCH, do you find you grip lower down the pole shaft's in certain types of terrain, usually on the gnarly side?
And what length did you go for compared to your normal ones?
I know I sometimes do with my poles but that article I linked to also suggests it, that said I like extending my current poles for long poling skating run-outs, plus my BCA's have a nifty snow remover for when snow builds up on the skis when skinning, probably more use for the likes of me as I tend to always be the one breaking trail 
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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| kitenski wrote: |
@BobinCH, but you have one of everything
but in all seriousness, if I ski, say a 125cm pole usually, would you get a 135cm "fixed"? and do you take that pole out with you even if not touring? |
Yes I’m usually 125cm and got 135cm or 140cm and just hold them down the handle when skiing downhill. I use them for all skiing not just touring. They are great for poling, traversing/side-skipping in steep terrain etc.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| BobinCH wrote: |
I bought some of Alain’s poles a couple of years back. Not cheap but once you’ve tried them you won’t go back! |
fixed length poles are surely old school of thought ?
its not like your skis collapse when you need to put them on your back 
for point of view of simplicity and strength they make perfect sense.
one small caveat...
for skiing alpine (piste) I like a shorter pole (123cm) than I do for skinning (~130cm).
shorter pole allows you to make bigger angles on piste.
a longer pole is better for kick turns and skating while touring.
though that is easily solved by having 2x pair of poles.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@Weathercam, just give her a backie
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I had adjustable poles. Once. A long time ago. The main problem is that they adjust (themselves) haha. I've been using a pair of black crows with a similar design (but thankfully not such a similar price) to Alan's batons. 130cm long for skinning and I just hold them 5-10 cm lower down for varying levels of send.
Snow build up happens whether you're breaking trail or not IME; although lesser-frequented skin tracks obviously tend to result in more loose snow that hasn't been tracked to death by the hordes.
On a different subject, at some point I'll spew my thoughts on a couple of bits of new equipment I've invested in recently having wallied the life out of them in Lofoten.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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FAQ
