Archive for September, 2008
Sunday Photo – The Caroline Face
It is one thing to read about the Caroline Face on the east side of Mt. Cook, but nothing beats standing at its base and trying to pick out a ski line down it. The stunning Caroline Face on Aoraki (Mt. Cook), New Zealand In 2006, I took a trip down to this region of […]
Pick Your Poison – Methods of Ascent (part II)
Learning to skin is like learning the alphabet-something you have to do before you start spelling words or linking tours together. It’s a lot like walking, but a bit different. Booting is walking, but unless you are on firm snow, your range will be severely limited as nothing saps your energy like post-holing in deep […]
Pick Your Poison – Methods of Ascent
For ski mountaineering, there are three main methods of traveling over snow; skinning, booting or snowshoeing. Of these three, skinning is by far and away the most efficient and versatile. Booting works well when there is an existing boot track, or when the going gets steep. Snowshoes are better than crawling, but not by much. […]
Grand Teton – Skiing Topo
It took me three attempt to finally ski the Grand Teton, but it was well worth it. Part of the beauty of skiing this peak is that there is no one particular crux to it, but it is more a sum of all of its parts. There is some great skiing on it (as well […]
The Law of Luggage
The Law of Luggage states: “The amount of gear you carry will expand to fit your luggage.” This is closely related to the idiom that nature abhors a vacuum – if there is extra space in a pack, duffle bag or sled, it will be filled with extra gear whether you need it or not. […]
Chuting Spree Clue #4 – Win K2 Tele/AT Skis
Follow five weekly clues and be the first to correctly identify where the skis are hidden to win a pair (any size, any model) of K2 Telemark/AT skis of your choice! Clue #4 of 5 In 2006, two European “daredevils” attempted to ski a new line on this MOUNTAIN which was described by the first person to […]
Chuting Spree Clue #4 coming at 10:00
Tune in at 10:00 for the forth clue in the K2 Ski Chuting Spree. The clues are getting a bit harder to research now that it is coming down to a specific mountain somewhere on the planet. This is clue #4 of 5, with the final clue being given at 10:00am Mountain Standard Time on […]
The Classic Diaper-Seat Harness
After years of looking, I still haven’t found a harness that works better for general ski mountaineering than the trusty “diaper-seat” design. This design is at least 25 years-old and its most famous incarnation is the Black Diamond Bod Harness, (named after Rod “The Bod” Johnson who designed it) although many other companies make them as […]
Sunday Photo – Little Pine Couloir, Utah
This photo of Little Pine slide path on the north side of the Little Cottonwood Canyon road leading up to Alta is a good reminder of why just saying “yes” to skiing is a good idea. Petra Pirc followed by Fred Marmsater in Little Pine slide path, Little Cottonwood Canyon. We did this as a […]
Ski Mountaineering Racing Info
A few years ago I was very involved with ski mountaineering racing, both as a participant and later as a race organizer. It is an incredibly fun sport and aside from the events themselves, there is a a huge amount of carry-over as far as general ski touring goes. After only a single race or two, you […]
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