Backcountry Skiing

 

Re: Bootpack up hills?

gr wrote:
> Some ski films show guys walking up hills for long distances (skis on
> their back) in what appear to be regular alpine downhill hard boots.

They'll quite possibly be ski mountaineering boots with a walk-mode.
Not great fun for walking in, but much easier than a regular downhill boot.

> These boots are crazy hard to walk in, but most of the snow in the
> places shown is supposed to be many feet deep and maybe powder--- so how
> are they walking on snow this deep?

Powder sits in bowls, not on ridges, so you walk up the ridges. Aside
from not sinking so much it's considerably safer from the avalanche
perspective. Another way of working it is wear showshoes up and stow
them before the ride.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net p.j.clinch@dundee.ac.uk http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/
 

Article References :

Bootpack up hills?
 

See Also : Re: Going off trail

Ken Roberts wrote:

> It's easier to tour flat on Scarpa F1s than on lots of telemark boots. The
> Scarpa F1 basically _is_ a light telemark boot -- without the stupid
> duckbill on the toe.

Light for a plastic telemark boot, certainly, but there are no genuinely
light plastic telemark boots, only less heavy ones.

> "telemark skis"?
> If there's some point being made about the suitability of the _ski_ to
> gentle terrain, I will point out that there's no reason why grip wax or
> klister cannot be applied to the base of a light Alpine Touring ski.

Indeed no reason not to, but the fact is you'll be putting more on again
sooner because there isn't a wax pocket to push the wax clear of the
snow as you glide.

What you're suggesting is viable and can certainly be done, but I still
don't see it as anything like optimum for what the OP was after.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net p.j.clinch@dundee.ac.uk http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/