Ski Touring?

“I know there are quite a few folks on here that are located in the southeast US (Tn, Al, Ga, etc). But I have also noted a few of you are from my neck of the woods (Utah).

I was just cureious to see if anyone on here ever goes Ski Touring? If I have to explain it you probably havn't gone.

I'm in the process of planning a three day Yurt trip with my packin buddies for January out here in the Uintas. I'd just like to hear from any or all of you on this topic.

Your thought, suggestions, stories, and experiences are welcome.

Play nice Violin.”

“BWD- I do quite a bit of backcountry skiing in the Beartooth Mtns. and Yellowstone; mostly day trips, but occasionally some overnighters. I only did one 3 day trip last winter, mostly because i was still recouping from ankle surgery. But, I think we'll get maybe 2 or 3 in this winter.

Here's some pics from the Yellowstone trip last March:

Cache Creek, Part I

Cache Creek, PartII

We tried one sled and it worked OK. I carried my pack last time, but I'm going with the sled this year.”

“I'm going to Wolf Creek CO for some ski touring Thanksgiving weekend. The nearby ski area now has 60" mid mountain.”

“Did it last year in Baxter State Park in Maine. Am going back to BSP for a couple of trips, plus a trip to Philips Brooks yurts in NH. Hauled a sled, had a blast!”

“So many ways to play and so little time to do it.

I want to do some alpine ski touring. I don’t have the time to devote to it that would justify the cost of the gear. Really I probably just need the bindings, the skins and avalanche safety stuff.. I would have a tough time getting out once a year. I need more training on avalanche prediction before I go.

For the curious, alpine touring is cross country travel on alpine skis. The things you use to get from the top of a lift to the bottom. For the uphill part you use climbing skins on the bottom of the skis. The binding permits the boot heel to move vertically for climbing or be locked down powder busting downhills. From the picture it appears that areo in doing something fun and challenging but not alpine touring.”

“Great shots Areo, thanks for sharing.

Gawd, I guess I'm getting old, I actually had a Phoebus at one time. You just can't kill those things , Y'know.”

“Don't let cost deter you, you can rent AT gear in most areas that have terraine that is good for that type of activity. Telemark gear is aldo redily avaible. Tele touring is VERY p[opular here in the Wasatch. (I'm an AT skirt myself).

As far as Aero's trip is concerned.......It's all good, just get out and enjoy!”

“I only wear a skirt for my wife on occasions and a few VERY SPECIAL other friends......”

“I do the touring on AT equipment and my plastic climbing boots - not the downhill part - in the Adirondacks. I've posted quite a few times on the subject in posts on winter backpacking. Perhaps someone could find a few.”

“We didn't do too much climbing on that trip. I used backcountry skis with metal edges, 3-pin bindings with a telemark boot. We were still able to get up a few steep trails, tho. I can telemark OK in them, but if i want to get really serious and go to the alpine slopes or more difficult stuff i need to invest in some decent telemark gear $$$$$$$$$$$!!!!!!!!”

“I didn't catch that change in the thread title - I don't do Alpine skiing. To me that means skiing something like Tuckerman Ravine where you hike up the mtn then ski down.”

“It all applies. I was originally targeting the targeting overnight trips. But day trips are just as applicable. Of course, if in the course of your travels you happen to come across a skiable slope........GO FOR IT!”

“how anyone could ski with a pack on is beyond me!”

“OOpps. maybe I should pay attention when I type...sorry.”

“You're right, lyra. It is totally unnatural. The worst part is if you biff and plant your arm in 3 feet of snow. You're like a turtle someone tipped upside down. With all my winter gear my pack was about 45-50lbs. It's like having a hyperactive monkey on your back!”

“oohhh...now you're speaking my language, aero!
;-)

but for real...you're hard-core to even try it. i think i'd get about 2 feet along before i fell...each time.”

“I missed the alpine part too.

Fischer E-99, full metal edge, Saloman Backcountry 8 Boots, Saloman Backcountry Bindings.”

“Glad somebody started a thread on this topic. Random comments/thoughts:

I went on a great trip in February in Yosemite (my photo on Phil's page is from that trip). I am definitely going to do it again, although probably won't do something as difficult as that trip for a while. I used Fischer crown base skis with no metal edges, 3-pin bindings, leather boots, and skins (which I also used on the gnarliest downhills to slow me down). There were 6 guys on the trip, and we all had completely different gear. My boots are now dead - need some new ones (any advice appreciated!). We didn't have any avalanche equipment - the trip leader's philosophy for avoiding avalanches is to not go where there might be an avalanche.

Will be taking Cameron for his first XC ski/winter camping trip this winter in Yosemite.

I find that it's not really difficult to ski with a pack - it takes about a half hour to get used to it, then it's just like regular skiing.

Yes, you can scorch the snow you are melting for drinking water.

I will post my photos from February on webshots when I get a chance....”

“My skis are 70's era Elans that I got for 5$ at a garage sale. They are heavy, with wide metal edges, but they have no side cut and so track well. My bindings are Silvretta 500's which, like the Grivel randonnées will take my Scarpa Inverno climbing boots. Poles are 3 section Gabels with snow baskets. I wax ALL my skis myself. I have army surplus strap-on skins, but the skins system needs work. The best thing is that I can use the same boots for ski-ing, crampons, snowshoes, etc.

BTW, I don't think you really need plastic; any stiff climbing boots with a rand for clip-on crampons would probably work.”

“My promised photos from the February trip to Yosemite.”

“Very nice pics, thanks for sharing Marty. Looks like you guys had a great trip.”

“I just ordered some cheap Surplus Swedish Telemark Skis to try this alpine ski touring thing. Gonna try them out over xmas break hopefully.”

“I dunno man... I mean $30.00 is a lot of cash to just throw to the four winds like that. You must be rolling in the big bucks.

Best-o-luck.”

“Are ya doggin me BWD?

A friend of mine got some of these skis last year(minus the skins) and they were surprisingly decent.
Besides - fer 30 bux its worth giving them a test ride.”

“Jus Kiddin.... have fun.”

“Garfum, I purchased a pair of those used Swiss skiis too! They look awesome tacked up on the outside of my wood shed!

Do alot of touring in the Kings Canyon and Sequoia region. I like my Kahru 10th Mt. Tours with Voile cable tele bindings. Great all around touring ski. Not easy to Tele in though.”

“14 lbs of ski!!!!

yikes.

You should see the crap the US Army skis on.”

“Garfum, only teasing too! Actually, the Swiss surplus skiis are very sturdy and well built. They are just a tad on the heavy side.

Have fun und Skiheil!”

“Fer backcounrty these days I'm using my older Elan Mbx RCT's with a marker M36 binding. I use an Alpine Trekker randonee adapter and BCA Skins.

Kind of a midweight (12 lbs all together), but I love the powder performance on the way down.

YEEEE HAAAA”

“Powder performance on downhills is what I do not have with skinny skis.”

“So i'm thinkin that setup cost ya more than $30.

And 14lbs is heavy for a pair of skis?

And - there is a TTer from Colo. actually posting. Greeny.”

“How do you like those? They clip into a regular alpine binding don't they? I've thought about using those to access some local bowls with my alpine boards here in the SEKI Grant Grove area.”

“K2 World Piste Tele Ski
$460.00 Item 689694

3160 Grams equals 7.0 Pounds per pair.”

“I really like my Trekkers. When I first bought them a few years ago I was planning on using them as a stop-gap until I could afford a full randonee setup. They do so well that I have yet to buy a dedicated system for that. They weig in at about 2 lbs for the pair. Very easy to set up and get in an out of.

I'd give 'em four stars.”

“Well I got to try out my cheap Surplus Swedish Telemark Skis this weekend - and THEY ROCK!

My son and I did about 2.5 miles on Sunday afternoon. The bindings work great in either configuration. The climbing skins are amazing at climbing(imagine that) and help slow down challenged skiers like me going down steep hills. They are wide enough to get decent floatation in the deep powder. The poles they came with have huge powder baskets on them. The only complaint, as expected, is the weight. They are HEAVY skis, but they're also built to take a beating. Easily worth the $30/set. Time to build a gear sled.”