Alpine touring skis
- Thread starter Toshi
- Start date
ah yes, the early days the skizee
If only we knew then what we know now....before the skizee completely took over backcountry travel and revolutionized an industry!
You just had to speak my language didn't you.......
Could also work for summer water skiing outings on the lake
I would like to have so many skis I need a trailer to bring them around on the National tour
wait, I think I’m describing the contents of Nick’s garage currently
What does 100-106 mm mean, though? Like varies by shell size? Super confusing imo
Best Ski Touring Boots for Wide Feet - Updated 2021/22
Its the rarest combination. Trying to get your wide feet into a ski boot that will allow you to go and explore the backcountry. So what are your options? Here are the best choices for ski touring boots that have wide lasts and high volumes to suit your wide feet. But first...There are three...patriotfootbeds.com
Salomon Shift AT boot in a 106mm wide last? Dang.
Edit: powder7 to the rescue:
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Matt at Bentgate is the man for boot fitting.
Made an appointment for 11 am on Friday at Bentgate. Shall let him sell me some frontside and/or AT boots if they fit just right, princess slipper style
I also wondered what the 100/106 meant, I thought maybe it was general width and forefoot width? But expandable from/to makes sense. I guess.
apparently there's a panel on the lateral foot section of the shell that's of a plastic that's more easily moldable with heat. a built in punch-out option, if you will
Did you request Matt in your notes?
Consider a 50/50 boot, they're getting so much better at skiing and the occasional touring, and most of those have grip walk soles which "can" work with the Pivots on your other skis (with correct afd). Full 9523 touring soles will not.
I did not request Matt but will inquire about his presence when I show up a bit early.
Thanks for the tip re soles. My Pivot 14s indeed work with GripWalk--swapped the sole plates on my Tecnicas to GripWalk ones last season iirc after verifying they're compatible and don't even have to switch the height of that front plate as you allude to.
^try these
Then accept what should now be the obvious problem with backcountry skiing (too much shit), the fact that everyone else in colorado already did what you're thinking now and winter trailheads are just as crowded as ski areas..........and then go buy a snowmobile and leave all that bullshit in the rearview mirror.
It's what I call the futility of the prius and backcountry skiing and everything else affluent white people think is cool that month creating constantly evolving rat races.
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I should get them to fit me for a 50/50 boot so that I can try out these rentals (and maybe be more comfortable than my packed out but still too tight in places Tecnicas).
I have some wide-ass feet
true story
tried on a bunch, picked out from the range by Alex (Matt works M-Th, it turns out), who has similarly nominally wide feet to mine albeit 1.5 sizes longer:
None were close enough. I think he was going for 27 in order to try to get the volume but they didn't feel right in the forefoot due to the oversizing. The Salomon was the closest but I didn't love it, esp on my right foot, and it'd need lots of work. Didn't have time for that.
I did walk out of there with new poles for my almost normal human sized eldest kid (who likes blue) and new Intuition liners for my existing alpine boots, as its current liners are very packed out by this point. Right now they're too tight but I'll ski a day with them and come back and meet Matt and get these molded some other day.
true story
tried on a bunch, picked out from the range by Alex (Matt works M-Th, it turns out), who has similarly nominally wide feet to mine albeit 1.5 sizes longer:
None were close enough. I think he was going for 27 in order to try to get the volume but they didn't feel right in the forefoot due to the oversizing. The Salomon was the closest but I didn't love it, esp on my right foot, and it'd need lots of work. Didn't have time for that.
I did walk out of there with new poles for my almost normal human sized eldest kid (who likes blue) and new Intuition liners for my existing alpine boots, as its current liners are very packed out by this point. Right now they're too tight but I'll ski a day with them and come back and meet Matt and get these molded some other day.
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Planned attempts at AT bootfitting for my feet-mallets, in chronological order:
- Fri Feb 17, walk in at Christy Sports. Satisfaction guaranteed through the end of the season after purchase.
- Mon Mar 13, appointment with Matt at Bentgate. No guarantees. Perhaps I should just cancel edit: canceled this. As no return policy unlike the others!
- Mon Mar 20, appointment at Evo. With their higher end of two EvoFit packages get adjustments for a year included, and store credit at the end of the term if not satisfied.
If none of these pan out I’ll ski my current alpine boots forever and ever.
In other news reading the Blister review of the Tecton makes it sound like 100% what I’m looking for, being a DIN 9 type skier when inbounds (saw a few too many inadvertent ejections at 8 with how I naturally ski). Elasticity and release options all sound good.
- Fri Feb 17, walk in at Christy Sports. Satisfaction guaranteed through the end of the season after purchase.
- Mon Mar 20, appointment at Evo. With their higher end of two EvoFit packages get adjustments for a year included, and store credit at the end of the term if not satisfied.
If none of these pan out I’ll ski my current alpine boots forever and ever.
In other news reading the Blister review of the Tecton makes it sound like 100% what I’m looking for, being a DIN 9 type skier when inbounds (saw a few too many inadvertent ejections at 8 with how I naturally ski). Elasticity and release options all sound good.
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so I took all the above advice to heart, and just ordered the last 2020 demo set of Mindbender 108 Tis from powder7, same 179 cm that my daily drivers are. I have a week after picking them up to change my mind, of course.
Idea for this would be to put Tectons on, mate them with some 50/50 boots should I ever get fit properly, and have a setup I like to ski on, anywhere. Just slowly uphill, not that I’d be fast even in light gear. Because physics and all
I didn’t heed this, though. But I do have time to reconsider. I’ll shoot the shit with the powder7 people when I pick up the demo set. They have Warden MNC 13 alpine bindings on them now. Powder7 had a few demo AT setups for sale with Tectons already but I know what I like in skis, and the 108 Ti and I get along well.
Ok, non ski/binding/boot related topics:
I should take a AIARE course.
And there's other gear:
www.mountainhardwear.com
Crampons and a harness?!
Do you all use airbag packs? If so, which ones?
Since I'm a newb I was thinking:
- Ortovox Diract Voice Rescue Set (transceiver, shovel, prove)
- Backcountry Access Float 32 airbag pack
- Suunto MC-2G Navigator since someone said topo maps and a compass are a good idea
All advice appreciated.
I should take a AIARE course.
And there's other gear:
Ski - What to Bring Backcountry Skiing | Mountain Hardwear
www.mountainhardwear.com
Crampons and a harness?!
Do you all use airbag packs? If so, which ones?
Since I'm a newb I was thinking:
- Ortovox Diract Voice Rescue Set (transceiver, shovel, prove)
- Backcountry Access Float 32 airbag pack
- Suunto MC-2G Navigator since someone said topo maps and a compass are a good idea
All advice appreciated.
airbags are kinda heavy/take up space, and awkward. I bought one, wore it for a while and now don't. I just decided my approach of never being in an avalanche was betterOk, non ski/binding/boot related topics:
I should take a AIARE course.
And there's other gear:
Ski - What to Bring Backcountry Skiing | Mountain Hardwear
Crampons and a harness?!
Do you all use airbag packs? If so, which ones?
Since I'm a newb I was thinking:
- Ortovox Diract Voice Rescue Set (transceiver, shovel, prove)
- Backcountry Access Float 32 airbag pack
- Suunto MC-2G Navigator since someone said topo maps and a compass are a good idea
All advice appreciated.
Look at mammut transceivers. They are insanely easy to use and after going through a rescue training class and seeing some version of most of what's out there in real rescue scenarios, it became pretty obvious pretty quickly how much faster you can find someone with one of those. I just bought one based on seeing them all in action.
Ortovox maybe a close second. Much more complicated though.
Don't worry about harnesses.....just go skiing not rappelling first. Buy crampons if you want to ski into deep spring time.
Forgo the airbag pack. *If* you decide to go into avalanche terrain at some point, an airbag might be a reasonable thing to get.Ok, non ski/binding/boot related topics:
I should take a AIARE course.
And there's other gear:
Ski - What to Bring Backcountry Skiing | Mountain Hardwear
Crampons and a harness?!
Do you all use airbag packs? If so, which ones?
Since I'm a newb I was thinking:
- Ortovox Diract Voice Rescue Set (transceiver, shovel, prove)
- Backcountry Access Float 32 airbag pack
- Suunto MC-2G Navigator since someone said topo maps and a compass are a good idea
All advice appreciated.
Oh - and get Avy 1 training before you get ANY of this other shit. And keep in mind you live in the *most* dangerous area in North America WRT snowpack. It's almost always shit here. Even when it's not shit, it's shit. Until spring consolidation comes...
And buy these books before taking a class:
This Ortovox is the one with voice commands. Like an AED. Seems like a good idea to have one less thing to think about in a crisis.
Yeah, I'm not really a fan. If you're doing a search you need to be communicating with other people, not listening to some squawk box that's not as smart as you.
I could see that being useful for someone without training (which includes beacon practice) but you're going to have that......remember?
The flagging feature on the mammut for multiple burials is far superior by being far simpler. I've used both in practice now. Full confession: I took the rescue class specifically to see multiple beacons used in practice so I paid attention to what problems were caused by some systems. Like I said, it would probably be 2nd place in my mind but people with the mammuts found shit quicker. Universally.
Ok. So like this:
www.evo.com
Mammut Barryvox Tour Safety Package
Read or share reviews of the Mammut Barryvox Tour Safety Package or shop similar Avalanche Safety Packages
www.evo.com
Yep. They make a more expensive 'pro' beacon but the differences are minor. That's the one I bought.Ok. So like this:
Mammut Barryvox Tour Safety Package
Read or share reviews of the Mammut Barryvox Tour Safety Package or shop similar Avalanche Safety Packages
worth noting: I ride snowmobiles with a few AIRE professional instructors, all of them teach motorized avy courses now, and all but one used to teach non-motorized classes. They all use the one in your link, or the 'pro' version if that means anything to you.
Regardless of what you get, practicing with it is the most important part of learning to use that stuff.
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I did my AIRIE in RMNP from CMC. https://coloradomountainschool.com/Ok, non ski/binding/boot related topics:
I should take a AIARE course.
And there's other gear:
Ski - What to Bring Backcountry Skiing | Mountain Hardwear
Crampons and a harness?!
Do you all use airbag packs? If so, which ones?
Since I'm a newb I was thinking:
- Ortovox Diract Voice Rescue Set (transceiver, shovel, prove)
- Backcountry Access Float 32 airbag pack
- Suunto MC-2G Navigator since someone said topo maps and a compass are a good idea
All advice appreciated.
Education + beacon, probe, shovel at minimum. Combined with trustworthy partners.
I own an airbag but only wore it 1-2x. If you really want one, I might part with this one.
Not just trustworthy, but partners at a similar risk level. And that is hard thing to judge, IME.
Why do you not use the airbag? Bulk?
You didn't ask me specifically, but I'll answer.
Yet again I agree with @kidwoo here: just not being in an avalanche is my primary goal/focus. A buddy put it this way (paraphrasing here): "If a go / no-go decision at the top of a line comes down to whether or not I have an airbag pack on, maybe I should re-evaluate my decision making." Not that avi airbags don't save lives (they do) but nothing trumps knowledge and good decision making, so I go with that. Otherwise cost and weight have been concerns in the past but I should re-examine that. And this might be an old school myth, for a lot of where I ski in the backcountry I don't think the airbag is as effective e.g. areas with obstacles that would cause trauma (trees) vs. wide open spaces. Again, this could be more myth than fact and I should re-assess. Certainly there are some lines I'll want to get on where the extra safety aspect of an airbag would be warranted. I'd like to ski La Plata this spring/early summer, for instance.
I know @Toshi likes reading...
Avalanche Airbag Backpack - Use One or Not? - The Backcountry Ski Touring Blog
A comprehensive guide to avalanche airbag backpacks for backcountry skiing, these ski touring rucksacks can save your life and increase safety.
www.wildsnow.com
Will Your Avalanche Airbag Save Your Life? - The Backcountry Ski Touring Blog
Effectiveness of avalanche airbag backpacks for ski touring is a constant question, a study by Pascal Haegeli attempts to answer and concludes the airbag can save your life, but remember to trigger it.
www.wildsnow.com
Do avalanche airbags lead to riskier choices among backcountry and out-of-bounds skiers?
While the effectiveness of airbags for reducing mortality in avalanche involvements has been examined in various studies, the question of whether the …
www.sciencedirect.com
Avalanche Airbags: What Are They and Why Do They Matter? - SnowBrains
The avalanche airbag is the newest addition to avalanche prevention safety measures. The device, when used properly, can significantly reduce
snowbrains.com
Debunked: 5 Myths About Avalanche Airbags You Need to Know
Avalanche airbag packs are proven to be a great ally when emergency strikes. Here, we debunk five myths about airbag packs.
gearjunkie.com
I'll also parrot what everyone else here is saying: get the education first and foremost. Before you buy any of the stuff. Learn to recognize avalanche terrain, be aware of the snow conditions, travel in the backcountry, and make good decisions. You know, basically learn how to not be in an avalanche.
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An airbag won't save you if you get caught in a slide in a treed area (or above a treed area) because you're going to get worked via bodily trauma.
And realistically, you're getting all this shit to get away from ski areas, so the goal is more along the lines of having fun skiing without the entirety of denver around.....not necessarily going to ski big exposed lines which are where an airbag is more beneficial.
And realistically, you're getting all this shit to get away from ski areas, so the goal is more along the lines of having fun skiing without the entirety of denver around.....not necessarily going to ski big exposed lines which are where an airbag is more beneficial.