There are many different styles of winter camping and ski mountaineering expeditions, but for those which involve flying in and setting up a basecamp right near the landing strip, a cook tent is essential.  Since one of the main cook tent activities is melting snow to make water, having a solid stove platform is one of those small details which makes a huge daily difference as it gets used so much.

In the past, I’ve brought 2-3 smaller plywood stove boards, but on our recent trip to the Ruth Amphitheater, Noah Howell packed along a 14″ x 48″ sheet of 3/8″ plywood which he got out of the scrap bin at a Home Depot for $.99.   Not only does a mega stove board like this give you lots of room for stoves, but you also get tons of chopping real estate.  As an added benefit, it also supports the center pole incredibly well and in the case of our trip, we never had to adjust the tension or redress the central snow pillar.

A the end of the trip, the board can either be recycled, passed on to another group or burned as a ceremonial offering to the Cheese Gods.  The downside of having a huge stove board is that they don’t travel well if you decide to move camp, but that is more of a planning issue.

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Behold – A perfectly melted cheese spinner bagel.

I learned the trick to a perfect bagel melt from Jim Harris, who said he learned it from someone else.  A key component of the entire system is a non stick frying pan, but even a semi non-stick frying pan will work.

Step One – Throw the cheese directly into the pan and let it melt in a big mess.  If you happen to be boiling water or melting snow on another stove, you can preheat the bagels by placing them on top of the water lid and underneath a Pot Parka.

Step Two – Using the bagel as a sponge, spin (thus the name “Cheese Spinner”) it around such that it collects all of the melted cheese.  If done correctly, this almost cleans the frying pan at the same time.

Voila!  A perfect backcountry treat.  Top with hot sauce, salami or whatever else you have around.

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There is obviously far more to skiing couloirs than can be described in 4:30, (or, maybe not..), but this highlights a few key strategies. In general, here are some things I think about:

• Make sure everyone is ready to go before you start down so that they will be able to quickly get to you in case of a fall or avalanche rescue.  Don’t start down if your partners are hanging out eating lunch with their skins still on.
• Give the top of the slope a nice hard ski cut, preferably in both directions.
• Give a quick pause before diving into your turns after the ski cut.  Sometimes it takes the slope a few seconds to “wake up.”
• I like to stick by my booter near the top as you know what the snow is going to be like while you are doing your first few turns, plus you are not deeking out to the side into potentially loaded untouched pockets.
• Look for good, safe sheltered places to pull off and stop.
• When/if regrouping, try to make it easy and obvious for others to pull in below you rather than above.
• I like to keep plenty of leg power in reserve in case of a fall or avalanche.  That way I’m not maxed out and have some room and energy to maneuver.
• I prefer to “leap frog” down couloirs instead of having everyone regroup together.  This helps spread out the skiers, yet also keeps you relatively close in case someone falls or needs help for some reason.
• Skiing in sluffs is fun, but they have a way of rapidly escalating and becoming dangerous.  Getting clocked from behind, especially on a steep line, is no fun. Give them some respect.
• A lot of times the tail of a chute will have a short section of “burnished” snow or runnels from prior sluffs running over it. This is usually no big deal, but also no fun to hit unexpectedly with fried legs.
• Be aware of crossing back into the 38 degree slope angle bulls-eye after leaving steeper terrain.  The chute above may be steep enough to sluff, but that all ends up in a big pillow right at the base, and also right when you might be thinking you’ve got it made.
• Try to ski as far out of the way and off to the side when you are done.

And a few million other things.  ;)

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2013 Wilderness Ski Week Gallery

I think a few people have already signed up for 2014 and I’m already looking forward to it.

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Ruthless Ambitions 2013

This was the second part of my trip to Alaska this year and involved a nine-day outing in the Ruth Amphitheater (thus the “Ruthless Ambitions” trip name) with Garrett Grove, Noah Howell and my old skiing buddy, Mark Holbrook.  The skiing and conditions were much tougher than expected, but the scenery was amazing.

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A tiny vertebra of the Chugach spine.  This extends for 360 degrees for miles around, and as good as it is, it is but one little chunk of one Alaskan mountain range.  Photo by Jim Harris.

For this season, I’m doing a two-part trip.  The first segment is with Wild Alpine and the Ultima Thule Lodge in the Wrangell-St.Elias National Park & Preserve for the second annual Wilderness Ski Week. Every time I go up to this area, I realize how lucky I’ve been to have such an incredible experience. From a skier’s perspective, there is really nothing else like it – 13 million acres, the longest drops on earth, nobody else out there and Dall Sheep pizza.

An obscure little 3k+ splitter in the Wrangell-St.Elias National Park & Preserve.  Photo by Jim Harris.

The second part of my trip is to the Ruth Amphitheater in the Denali National Park.  This area is mostly known for its alpine climbing with famous landmarks such as Mt. Huntington and The Moose’s Tooth, but we are hoping to find some good skiing in there as well. For this part, I’m meeting up with my SLC friend Noah Howell, my long-time ski buddy Mark Holbrook and Garrett Grove from Leavenworth, Washington.  This will be more of a traditional cold weather camping trip and I’m excited to see this area as I’ve heard about it for years.  Whether we actually find something to ski is just part of the adventure, although I’m sure we will.

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Harness & glacier travel kit.

Harness and travel kit packed up in a skin bag (ice axe for size comparison).

Two BD 50cm Venoms – one hammer, one adz both with technical picks and leashes.

40 3′ wands with floro tape and flagging.

Wands with a “wand condom” to keep them organized and from flapping in the wind.

Cook kit – 33oz fuel bottle, 3l black pot, frying pan, FairShare Mug, #2 cone & filters, MSR XGK, etc..

Packcloth pot liner – keeps the pot from getting scratched up and good for camp organizing.

Details of what the pot liner holds – heat ring, XGK, pump, floatie filter, spondonical, ti Spork, spatula, etc..

Cook kit all wrapped up and ready to go.

Electronics – all AAA or lith ion.

Repair kit (Leatherman shown for size reference).

Details of the repair kit – wire, zip ties, tent/pole sections, JB Weld, screws & bits, needle/thread, MSR kit.

Day tour 1st Aid (I don’t take this on expeditions).  Knife shown for size reference.

Details of my day tour 1st Aid Kit – AAA’s, Advil, lighter, pain meds, skin wax, headlamp, Micra.

Expedition 1st Aid Kit

Meds – 2 Z-packs, pain meds, Advil, etc..

Bandages, heat packs, emergency blanket.

More stuff from the big 1st Aid kit – tape, compress, skin wax, knife, floss/string/

Packs – Summit Rocket 40 (expeditions), Chuter 15 (safe Wasatch day trips), ABS Powder 15 (day trips).

178cm BD Current skis, Whippets 2x, nylon skins, Dynafit ST Verticals, BD Quadrant boots.

Shells – MHW Synchro softshell, Jovian jacket, Bokta pants, Spearhead mitts, knit beanie.

Warm layers – Compressor synth pants, Subzero Hooded jacket, beefy mitts.

Baselayers – MHW Sychro pants, Bridgedale socks, MHW Powerstretch Zip T’s Pataoginia boxers.

Misc – BD helmet, goggles, pee bottle, 1l water bottles and covers – 2x.

Sleep/Shelter – Foamie, ExPed Down 7, MHW Trango 3.1, Wraith -20 bag.

Wheesh.

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BD Stigma Skis

Fully skinned-out with bindings (no brakes), they weigh in at 4kg/8.8lbs for the pair. This is for 168′s, and although that is far heavier than a racing set-up, it is pretty light for a touring ski.

BD Glidelite Mohair Mix Skins

I generally like 100% nylon skins, but in this case I went with the BD nylon/mohair mix as they have better glide and are lighter – both important considerations for long approaches and carrying skis on your back.

I drilled a tiny little 3/16″ tip holes in them, which I guess technically changes them from a “Stigma” to a “Stigmata” ski, but that is just skimantics.  While you can’t really clip anything through such a small tip hole, it does give you the ability to pass a piece of accessory cord through it and create a tie-off point, so you could rig the skis up as a sled if need be.

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Help support StraightChuter.com and glide into spring with a pair of Black Diamond GlideLite Mohair Mix STS Climbing Skins from Backcountry.com. Click on the photo below…

My first impulse was to blame it on my sucky snow-stake chart, which is erratically updated, located in a poor spot and worst of all, tracked in inches which reeks of snow science unprofessionalism . Unfortunately, this theory was invalidated the other day when the Utah Avalanche Forecast Center posted similar data:

From 03/09/13 – blue is the historical average snowpack depth, red is the horrible 2011/12 season and green is this year.

But, even though we’ve had a low snowpack, the skiing has been pretty good.  What’s different about this year is that the snow has at least layered in nicely and is supportable, unlike last year which had such a rotten base it reminded me of The Eagle Forum (<— Utah humor). The real downside of a lean year is that the lower elevations never fill in, which exponentially reduces the amount of skiable backcountry terrain. When the peaks get blown out and the bottom never fills in, it means only a very narrow band of skiing is good, which then gets immediately tracked out.

I know, I know… talk about 1st World problems.  It is almost as bad as dropping an iPhone.

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