I triggered avalanches five out of five of my first backcountry trips to Colorado. One of the more insulting ones involved having a car-sized pocket of crusty snow pull out and dump me into the surrounding rocks. The mountainscape was more rocks than snow at the time and it didn’t even seem conceivable that snow could avalanche, but it did. Continue reading ’3 – Dawson on “It Never Gets Better”’
Archive for the 'Tips & Technique' Category
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Part 2 in a 10 part series of personal avalanche avoidance theories…
Most skiers are familiar with the concept of owning a quiver, or variety of skis. Quivers often include powder skis, rock skis, fatties, all-around, racing, resort, tele, twin tips, etc.. The idea is to have the correct ski for the ever changing conditions. Continue reading ’2 – Building a Quiver’
Part 1 in a 10 part series on some of my personal avalanche avoidance theories. These are not meant to replace avalanche classes and mostly fall under the “Human Factors” category.
Human triggered avalanches are far more likely to occur on a 38-40 degree slope than any other. The numbers drop off rapidly on both sides of this average, and at the ends of the spectrum, statistics show that a 50+ degree* slope has roughly the same odds of having a human triggered avalanche as as a 30 degree slope. For every 340 human triggered avalanches on 38-40 degree slopes, there are about 10 on slopes steeper than 50 degrees or less than 28. From a steep skier’s perspective, this seems too good to be true: just stick to the steeps and you’ll be fine. Continue reading ’1 – Above Average Skiing’
Ripping skins at the top of a climb is ideally done on a summit or flatish ridge, but it doesn’t always work out that way. There are a lot of times where I end up stopping on a steep slope next to a cliff or in the middle of a steep pitch to change over from skins to booting or ‘poons, and in those cases, I like to dig what I call a “launch pad.” In order of importance, launch pads serve three purposes:
- Provide a flat, secure spot to sort gear
- Dig a quick half-assed snow pit
- Stay warm Continue reading ‘Launch Pads’
I happened to have my POV camera with me yesterday when I stumbled across the Holy Mole couloir, so I shot a little 10 minute “How I Ski Chutes” tutorial, or Chututorial. Don’t get your Oscar nominating hopes up – it is pretty crude, but it does illustrate the thought process that goes into skiing a couloir, especially one that you haven’t climbed up from the bottom. Continue reading ‘Chututorial 101′
Whenever I’m in JHole with Rando Steve chugging down GU Chomps and Cucumber Mint Nuun chasers, he asks me how I sharpen my Whippets. Here’s how… Continue reading ‘Whippet Sharpening’
Without a doubt, solid partners are the A-#1 best piece of avalanche gear out there. This doesn’t mean partners who can dig you out quickly, but more partners who are less likely to get you or themselves buried in the first place. Good partners come in all sorts of sizes, shapes, sexes, speeds and ability levels, and sometimes being an uber-rad skier is actually a detriment in a partner. I’ve been on two trips with partners who were very accomplished skiers, yet were livid that I wanted to ski low-angle terrain after waiting out multi-day storms with high winds. One of the better descriptions of an ideal partner came from a eulogy for a French skier whose friend described him as someone who “knew when to hit the gas, but also knew when to hit the brakes.” Last year in the Wasatch was a classic example of riding the brakes almost all season long – I went through two sets of brake pads and almost ruined my rotors because it was such a weird snowpack. The challenges came in finding fun, safe routes and exploring new terrain instead of skiing steep lines. There’s a time and place for almost everything. Continue reading ‘My Most Valuable Piece of Avalanche Safety Gear’
Ahhh, I can feel the pounds falling away. Tomorrow is my first day out with my lighter set-up and I can’t wait/weight.
As mentioned in the last post, I am keeping my heavier Safety Pack and assembling a light one as well.
Things that got the outright chop:
- Goggles – I use wide sun glasses instead.
- Probe – I’ve used a ski pole as a probe before and it worked.
- Avalanche Airbag – I love this thing (BCA Float 30) but there’s no denying it is heavy.
Substitutions:
- Down jacket (MHW Phantom) replaces synthetic (MHW Hooded Compressor).
- Old skool water bladder replaces fancy-ass CamelBak with huge screw-on lid.
Downsizing: Continue reading ‘Enlightenment – Step 2′
The process of reducing my total backcountry skiing equipment weight is harder than it seems. First, there are times when I definitely DO want the full-monty of safety gear and creature comforts, but it is hard to say exactly when that is. For instance, during the past few days the avalanche danger in the Wasatch has been High, but instead of needing more safety gear, I prefer to ski low angle terrain and do safe, exploratory tours instead of steeper skiing. Conversely, when the avalanche danger is low or moderate, I might ski steeper, more exposed terrain, but then there is less avalanche risk, so perhaps I don’t need all the extra gear then either..? Hard to say.
Rather than constantly shuffling gear between packs, I’m putting together two completely separate and different packs – a light one and a heavy one. May the best pack win. ;) The light pack will have a minimal amount of gear, water and food, and will be outfitted for a day of backcountry skiing in the Wasatch, where if you get cold or hurt, you ski ten minutes back to your car and go home.
In the name of weight savings I’m willing to sacrifice a degree of safety (down jacket vs. synthetic, no extra gloves, minimal 1st Aid Kit, etc.,) but there are a few items that are sacrosanct, namely a large shovel and pair of Whippets. I learned the value of a large shovel (G3 AviTech, Voile Telepro, etc) in 1993 when I tried to dig a buried friend out with a tiny mountaineering shovel, which was tragically frustrating. As for the Whippets, if I could have them surgically implanted in my hands, I’d do it as I use them so often and in so many different ways. For long mellow tours, I’ll occasionally use skinny little carbon-fiber pencil shaft poles with Nordic grips on them, but not that often. Give me Whippets or give me death. Continue reading ‘Enlightenment – Step 1′
Few topics get the fur flying among backcountry skiers more than discussing the merits of A-frame vs. diagonal ski carrying modes on backpacks. Blood will be spilled. Continue reading ‘A Frame vs. Diagonal Ski Carry’
