Here’s the not-so secrets to my blister free success…

1) Go with boots that fit your feet.  I’ve been skiing in Scarpa’s for years and am not sure if they fit my feet or at this point my feet have conformed to the boots, but whatever the case, Scarpa’s are a known and consistent entity for me.   When I was into Alpine racing I wore a size 7 Lange, but for touring have gone up two full sizes to a size 9.

2) Use a thick, high quality sock like a Bridgedale, Smartwool or one of the new BC.com merino wool versions.  They are pricey ($25ish a pair), but they last forever, or seven years – which ever comes first.

3) Find an insole that fits your foot.  Some of the new boots come with substantial insoles (like the BD line), but I’ve found that SuperFeet fit my foot and are comfy.  I have been rolling them over for about five years and take them out of my old boots, then use them again for my new ones.

4) Use a good boot fitter who knows how to fit backcountry/touring boots, as a BC fit is different than an Alpine fit.  I’ve been going to Dennis Maw at Black Diamond in Salt Lake City who is a Liner Magician.

Dennis Maw at Black Diamond Retail and his box full of toe caps. These are made by Intuition and I credit them with saving my toes from freezing.

The key to warmth is to be able to wiggle your toes and have good circulation. For touring boots, I like a lot of extra toe room so if it does get really cold I can put in some of those Warmer Grabber toe warmers. I never wear overboots. In this photo I have neoprene toe liners, the Intution caps with extra toe padding and a pair of SuperFeet ski insoles.

Next up, the entire package is held together with some sexy, thin, black socks. These are not the socks I use for skiing - I usually use just a single pair of high-quality, thick wools socks.

Dennis heats the boots up to a bare minimum (four minutes in the oven?) which still gives a nice custom fit, but doesn't smush-out the liner too much. After heating them up, he inserts the toasty lines into a plastic shopping bag and inserts the whole gooey package into the shells.

After making sure the heel is deeply seated, the boots are buckled up moderately tight and locked into ski mode. After a few deep flexes, you then sit back and wait for about five minutes. Voila - a perfect fit.

For a more skiing performance fit, I just use the toe caps with no neoprene liners. The liners felt pretty good right out of the box, so Dennis just barely heated them up for the fitting. The sexy black sock, shopping bag and flexing are all the same as the touring boot.

Stokage! Good to go for another year. This would be an interesting way to tour - a Maestrale on one foot and a Mobe on the other - I'd climb in circles one way and then ski reverse circles on the way back down. :)

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Help support StraightChuter.com and ooze into a form-fitting pair of Scarpa Maestrale Boots from Backcountry.com. Click on the photo below…

My basic strategy is to start with a home-made guide’s tarp which has zippers down the full length and draw-cords on the end.  From there, I place a foam sleeping pad on top of it, then start carefully stacking in gear.  I try to pad around the bindings as much as possible, as well as the tips.  Starting with all the long, skinny stuff, I lay it out, then chink around it with smaller items.  In the picture above, I have two pairs of skis, a pair of poles, an axe, 60m of rope, foul weather gear, a picket, skins, mittens, first aid kit and a few other small items.

Once this is all laid out, I zip it up.

This forms a nice, tight gear burrito.

After this, I slide the burrito inside of a sleeping bag and then add fluffy clothes to bring it up to just below the 50 pound weight limit.  The sleeping bag then goes into an elongated duffle bag made out of burly canvas.

It is a pain to pack and unpack, but I’ve never lost anything with it or had any skis broken.  The ticket agents often give me the stink eye about there being “more in there than skis” but, there are skis in there, and thus it is a ski bag.  On Delta, there is no limit (or perhaps 80″) on skis, so you shouldn’t get charged for an oversized bag.  Arrive early with printed out regulations and be prepared to wait.

I’m off to Antarctica, so I won’t be able to moderate or approve any comment for the next three weeks.  Bob Lee – behave yourself.  No spam my knee-dropping friend, okay?

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There are a ton of advantages to having two similar/identical 30m ropes for glacier travel, but the main thing is flexibility.  You can travel with four people on a 30m, or break into two groups of two each with their own 30, or clip two ends to the middle person and go three or five on a 60, or leave one section in camp if you don’t think you’ll need it, or coil one 30m section up and bury it in a pack if you are traveling tight and fast… and many other options.  You can also do the same length rappel with as you would anyway (30m) by tying the two sections together.  The one big disadvantage is that you lose the ability to lead 60m pitches with gear placements (the knot won’t pass through biners), but that usually isn’t a big concern with ski mountaineering.  One the positive side, since 9.1′s are a bit sketchy for taking big whippers on (at least mine is), you can double up on the ropes and still lead 30m pitches.

Nearing the summit of Sultana as a four-person team on a 60m rope. A full 60 is undeniably nice, but it also slows a team down to the speed of the slowest member (in this case, me as I was draggin' ass for some reason that day). Two 30's would have been better, especially as we also brought another 60m which we left fixed on a tiny little rappel farther back on the ridge.

Another option is to get two of the 30m Beal style Rando ropes, although that seems like a bit of overkill, especially if you already have an older 60.  For skinny ropes like this, especially on glaciers, I always use a Munter Hitch for a belay as many of the existing belay devices don’t provide enough stopping power with skinnier, wet ropes.

If you try this, be sure and do a deluxe job melting the ends as with 30m of rope, there is quite a bit of stretching going on and a half-assed melt job won’t last.  And, yes, cutting the rope in half voids it’s warranty.
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Help support StraightChuter.com and mind the cracks with a Sterling Fusion Ion Single Rope – 9.5mm from Backcountry.com. Click on the photo below…

Crevasse falls aren't as much fun as they are cracked up to be. Ben Ditto screaming for joy after hanging upside down in a crevasse for 30 minutes.

According to the Authorities, you should also carry a few other items, including a pulley.  I carried a pulley for a while, but to get a full-strength one (why carry weak gear?) meant even more clanking gear, plus I did some selective reading and found that the pulleys don’t reduce the friction all that much more than just a biner, so I dropped the pulley.

However, on our last trip across a glacier, Dylan Freed had a DMM Revolver carabiner with an incorperated pulley in it which made a ton of sense.  I think the Revolver was originally intended for sport climbing where you were suppose to clip it to the crux bolt so that it would reduce rope wear and impact forces, but at $30ish bucks, I’d rather just grab the sling and say “TAKE.” Still, having designed carabiners before, I lusted after a Revolver in my heart as it is one of the more obscure, cool biners out there, but I didn’t have a good excuse to buy one.  Until now.

Starting with a hot forged body (pricey), it incorperates a variety of different gate styles, although I like the simple screw gate version the best.  It also has a keylock nose, which is nice as it is less likely to snag on slings and harnesses.  But, the coolest part is the jewel-like pulley barrel which is seated right at the rope bearing surface.  What I like about these biners for crevasse travel is that they can be used as a pulley, but also as a regular biner or even a locker.  The tail area is too small for fitting around a harness or beefy belay loop, but they aren’t really intended for that anyway.

Is this one sexy little beast or what?

When not in use, I plan on clipping it to the Spectra accessory cord on my titanium spork.
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Help support StraightChuter.com and Z-Drag like a mofo with a DMM Revolver Locking Carabiner from Backcountry.com. Click on the photo below…

I’ve been collecting knives for a while because I like how they often embody the cultures who created them.  Swiss Army knives are tight, compact and high quality, just like Switzerland.  American Buck knives are big, simple and durable – a bit like America. Italian switchblades are flashy and sexy… when they work.  The classic No. 10 Opinel knife from France is beautifully functional and dangerous.  I’m stereotyping and digressing, but within my knife collection I have a bunch of multi-tools as well.  I’ve always been loyal to the Leatherman brand, in part because I once saw Mr. Leatherman speak, and he was explaining how he started the company out of his frustration of having to carry a whole tool kit with him when traveling in Europe so he could fix the plumbing in hotel rooms.  It would never, ever, occur to me to try to fix the plumbing in a hotel room, but I admire his obsessive nature and the fact that he created an entire industry out of it.

I own the original Leatherman, a Micro (nice, but a hassle with TSA types) and a Juice.  I recently ordered a Skeletool based on pure sex appeal alone as they are little works of art.  But, as soon as I got it, the bottle opener and wire-gate clip gave me some buyer’s remorse as they kind of cluttered up an otherwise elegant design.  I was ready to just suck it up, but Leatherman came out with the brand new Freestyle model, which is a streamlined Skeletool sans bottle opener, and perhaps unfortunately, the screwdriver.  These are very nice little units as the knife blade can be opened with one hand and the needle-nose pliers are surgically precise.  In general, both the Skeletool and Freestyle are much smaller than they appear in photos.  For reference, I can almost hide an entire Skeletool in my closed hand.  Still, I like’m a lot.

The Skeletool with the bottle opener.

The Freestyle tool - basically a Skeletool, sans bottle opener.

Having just fallen in a river yesterday and short-circuited my cell phone and camera, I could have, should have, been protecting them with a Loksak bag.  These are basically burly Ziplock bags with U.S. Navy approved seals.  Very basic, very cheap and very reuseable.

Every time summer comes around in Utah, I think about moving elsewhere as it is so damn hot here.  It is no coincidence that “heat” can be anagramed into “hate” and “summer” rhymes with “bummer.”  As such, I was thrilled to find Blubandoo Cooling Headwear. These hats provide shelter from the Great Oppressor (the sun) by having a wide brim, mesh panels and a nice neck protector, plus, the have “magic beads” in the headband.  These aren’t really all that magic, but they are some sort of little gel crystals which absorb and hold water for up to 2-3 days, even in the dry heat of Utah.  I’ve been using my hat for the last few days, and although it doesn’t give me the desired brain-freeze I was hoping for, it does keep my cranial cavity a degree or two cooler, and every little bit helps.

Bad photo... great product. (ps - this is not me or anyone I know.)

On a semi ski related note, Tim Kelley, the guy who championed Dynafit bindings in the US for the last fifteen years both through LifeLink and more recently, Salewa USA has now moved over to I/O Bio Merino in Boise.  I/O Bio specializes in Merino wool garments and Tim had a nice selection of everything from t-shirts to ski shirts and hoodies.  I’m a newcomer to the Merino wool craze, but Tim claims I can now ski in the same shirt for a week, then spend a night in a smokey bar and the next morning just shake all of the stank out of it and start over again without washing it.  I’m going to have to test this out next winter.

Merino wool shirts from I/O Bio.

While the design is nothing new, SMC is making mini Figure 8 rappel devices which are neat as they are small, lightweight, and most importantly, work with the thinner diameter ropes which many Ski Mountaineers prefer.  SMC also makes a nice line of rescue pulleys, which is an appealing option for those who can’t remember how to rig a Z-drag system when their partner plunks into a crevasse

SMC Escape 8

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Help support StraightChuter.com and slice through the gear clutter with a Leatherman Skeletool Multi-Tool from Backcountry.com. Click on the photo below…

The Hotwire Carabiner - one of my favorite design projects while I was at Black Diamond Equipment.

My favorite design projects are for the outdoor industry, which conversely are also the lowest paying.  The higher paying projects are usually incredibly boring, but pay the bills so there is more skiing time.  Right now, I have an incredibly super boring project to work on, which will mean more skiing and skiing discussion later.

Happy turns,
Andrew

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Help support StraightChuter.com and get 12 months of my life compressed into two metal parts in the form of the Black Diamond Hotwire Carabiner from Backcountry.com. Click on the photo below…

Superlight  (15% of the time)

   Skis – 160cm K2 Sahale (68mm waist)
   Bindings – Dynafit TLT’s without brakes
   Boots – Scarpa F1

Comments:  In the right conditions, I love this set-up as it tours effortlessly.  Because it is so light, you don’t have to be going very fast to feel like you’re haulin’ ass, so the thrill is the same as mach-schnelling downhill with a much heavier set-up.  The disadvantage is that it gets knocked around in anything less than ideal (corn/powder) conditions.

Medium Light (45% of the time)

   Skis – 167cm K2 Backouts (Euro skis similar to Chugoris/Summits – 72mm waist)
   Bindings – Dynafit ST Verticals with brakes
   Boots – Scarpa F3

Comments: I prefer this set-up whenever possible as I can ski powder, chutes, meadow skipping, etc. and it has it covered.  It tours very well but is a challenge when the snow gets tricky.  For expeditions, I take this set-up with the Scarpa Spirit 3 boots as the F3′s can get overpowered with a heavy pack or wind-jacked snow.

Medium Heavy (35% of the time)

   Skis – 167cm K2 Mt Baker Superlights (88mm waist)
   Bindings – Dynafit Comforts (no brakes)
   Boots – Scarpa Spirit 3

Comments: I use this set-up for powder, shorter tours or when I’m going out with a semi heavy-metal crowd.   I love the way it skis (especially powder), but there’s a weight penalty for longer tours. 

Heavy Metal Thunder (5% of the time)

   Skis – 167cm K2 Kung Fujas (twin tip alpine skis – 94mm waist)
   Bindings – Marker Dukes
   Boots – Scarpa Typhoons

Comments:  I use this set-up for kiting as I get yanked around and land backwards (twin-tips help), as well as resort skiing.  I like the Marker Dukes for this as they have excellent return-to-center abilities, a clean, predictable release and are brainless to step into.  Weight isn’t an issue as I’m probably not carrying them more than 100′.  Tourability is almost more of an insurance policy – it would be better than post holing.

An embarrasment of riches?  Yes, but it is a job and somebody has to do it.  :)

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Help support StraightChuter.com and cover some ground with a pair of Scarpa F3 Alpine Touring Boots on sale now at Backcountry.com. Click on the photo below…
 

Light is right... for long and/or fast outings.

Even if you buy all top-of-the-line gear, it can still seem “off” if it isn’t matched carefully.  A quiver of skis is nice, but a quiver of skis/boots/bindings is even better.  For backcountry skiing, I alternate between three set-up; superlight racing, lightweight all-purpose and the heavy-metal monsters.  I’d be hard pressed to pick a favorite as they all serve such differnt purposes, and in their respective catagories, I think they all ski really well.  On rare occassions I’ll use a heavier boot on a lighter ski, which can be fun as you can drive the ski like a nail and make it come around REALLY fast.

Mid weight, all around. Hard to go wrong, except if you are going really far, or really fast.

When I look at a new skis, boots or bindings, the catagory they are in (light, medium, heavy) is more important than the individual product.  For example, Dynafit TLT bindings (light), Scarpa Spirit 3 boots (medium), and K2 Coomba skis (heavy) are all great products, but would be a horrendous combination.  Conversely, when properly matched, the sum of an assembly of mediocre gear can be magical.

Heavy metal thunder (although not really a touring set-up).

 That said, if it skis good, it is good.  Your mileage may vary.

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Help support StraightChuter.com and go big with a pair of Scarpa Typhoon Alpine Touring Boots on sale now at Backcountry.com. Click on the photo below…

Placed correctly, pickets (as I call them) can be unbelievably strong and provide a secure anchor in the middle of a blank field of snow for belaying, hauling, rappelling or lowering.  The metal ones are usually retrieved, although skiers have been known to make bio-degradable versions out of stout wood if they anticipate leaving them for a rappel.

A few years ago I was attending an AMGA Ski Guides Course when the instructor made an off-hand comment about how his picket was so strong it could hold ten people.  We all immediately challenged the claim, and after whacking it in and clipping a rope on to it, we lined ten people up and pulled as hard as we could.  The rope almost broke, but the picket held strong.  Pickets can be so reliable that it is easy to take them for granted, which can lead to accidents.  In 2003, four climbers died on Mt. Tasman in New Zealand as a result of a failed picket, which lead Don Bogie to conduct an exhaustive study on how to build, place, clip and best use them in all sorts of snow.

Click here for the pdf link to Don Bogie’s paper on Snow Anchors.

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Help support StraightChuter.com and keep your liver intact & anchors stout with an MSR Coyote Snow Picket from Backcountry.com! Click on the photo below…

The longer the better, although beggars can’t be choosers and any length will do.  I assume you can buy these things, but more often than not, they are handed out for free at skiing events where I always try to grab more than my fair share.

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Help support StraightChuter.com and pick up a few Classic Voile Straps from Backcountry.com! Click on the photo below…