Skis

How to choose a backcountry ski

b) Snowboards: some do's and don'ts in mountains....mostly don'ts.

Bindings

a) AT bindings: A selection guide. Light is right....mostly.

Boots

a) Comfort vs control: Do I have to make a trade off?

 

How to Choose a Backcountry Ski
Choosing the perfect backcountry ski is a daunting task these days.  Ski design has gone through a dramatic evolution over the past five years.  You could argue that this dramatic evolution has been going on for the last twenty years, but the most recent developments in this evolution have had a major influence on how well skis perform in the backcountry.
So what are these improvements and how do we decide what’s important and what’s just ski industry marketing hype?  The most important aspects to focus on when looking at a backcountry ski are:

• Rocker
• Width
• Shape
• Weight

Rocker – If it doesn’t have it, don’t buy it! 
Rocker, reverse-camber, early-rise, splay, whatever you want to call it, it’s more than just marketing hype.  This is a game changer when it comes to ski performance in the backcountry.

So, what is it?  A ski with rocker is bent toward the topsheet, or has what you would call reverse camber (picture the legs of a rocking chair).   This can be in both the tip and the tail, just the tip or throughout the entire ski.  In the picture (above) you can see the comparison between a ski with significant rocker (2010 K2 Obsethed on the left) to a ski with zero rocker (2007 K2 Coomba on the right).  This change in camber allows the ski to float effortlessly in powder and helps ease turn initiation. 
The other major benefit of rocker is that it allows the skier to stay centered on the ski.  Before tip rocker and wide skis, you often had to ski with your weight on your heels, or in the back seat, in order to avoid going over the handle bars when skiing deep or variable backcountry snow.  This not only burned your quads but also made it difficult to finish the turn because all of the weight was on the tail of the ski.  This would prevent the skier from being able to feather the turn and change the turn shape.   Now, with a rockered ski, you can stay more centered and ski deep and variable snow with confidence and ease.

Many skis these days offer rocker in both the tip and the tail.  While true twin tipped skis (like the skis on the right in the picture above) are meant for skiing backwards, rocker in the tail serves a different purpose.  Its main purpose is to help ease the finish of the turn.  More tail rocker means a “looser tail”, providing a more “surfy” feel to the ski.
Many backcountry skiers prefer to have a flat tail with no rocker.  A ski with a flat tail makes certain types of kick turns easier and makes the ski more useful for snow anchors both for rope work and for quick security on steep slopes. 

The amount of rocker will vary from ski to ski.  The picture (above) shows three different skis with three different amounts of rocker.  How much is enough?  That’s a tough question to answer.  It all depends on skier preferences, flex patterns, tip shape, etc… etc…  It’s a question that most ski manufactures are trying to answer themselves.  Just make sure your next backcountry ski has some rocker. 

Width – Bigger is better …..
…..when it comes to ski performance in soft and variable snow.  A wide ski allows the ski to plane to the surface faster and easier.  This helps provide a more forgiving platform and allows easier turn initiation and finish.   It also allows the backcountry skier the option of skiing low angle terrain when the avalanche danger is high because the increased floatation equates to increased speed (when desired).
Increased width does come at a price.  More width means more weight and more skin drag on the uptrack.  Finding a balance between wide enough but not overkill will come down to personal preference.  For example, Jeff’s preferred mid-winter touring skis are in the 110 to 120 mm range underfoot, while Larry’s preferred skis are in the 95 to 105 range. 

Shape – It’s not all about side cut these days. 
Back in the mid-90’s “shaped” skis revolutionized the ski industry.  Increase size cut (picture a ski shaped like an hourglass) made carving on firm snow much, much easier.  While this is an advantage on firm or groomed snow, increased side cut does have some disadvantages in the backcountry.   A ski with dramatic side cut tends to be a little more “hooky” and unpredictable in soft or variable snow. 
To address this issue some companies have gone as far as offering reverse side cut in their powder skis, where the waist is actually wider than the tip and tail.  Other companies offer skis that have “pin tails” where the ski is shaped more like a tear drop.  The popular K2 Pontoon and DPS Lotus 138 (shown below) are good examples of this design.  This creates a ski with an amazing amount of float and makes it nearly impossible to sink the tip. 

The most popular shapes these days have been the shapes that mimic a ski with reverse side cut but have a small amount of traditional side cut underfoot to increase firm snow performance.  The DPS Wailer 112 (shown below) and Armada JJ are good examples of this design.

Weight – It’s all about the down but you have to get up the thing first. 
Well, here comes some of the bad news.  While wider may be better, wider usually means heavier.  Luckily advances in ski construction technology have helped.  With a sizable increase in the backcountry skiing population over the past ten years, the ski industry has more motivation to decrease the weight of their skis.  Many companies are starting to incorporate carbon fiber and lighter weight wood cores in an effort to decrease weight.  At times this can produce a ski with decreased performance but many companies have found a good balance between weight and performance. 
Here are a few tips that might help you decrease the weight/increase efficiency while still enjoying the benefits of a fat ski:

• Pay attention to ski weights.  Skis with the exact same dimensions can have dramatically different weights. 
• If this is going to be a dedicated touring set up go with a Dynafit-style binding.  You can save anywhere from a pound to over 3 pounds a pair when compared to beefier binding like the Marker Duke. 
• If your skis are wider than 115 mm underfoot consider using a “split skin” such as the Black Diamond Split STS Skins.  These skins have a smooth nylon center strip that decreases weight and increases glide.
• For skis that are too narrow for the split skin, make sure you go with a skin with good glide.  Skin glide has a huge impact on uphill efficiency.  You already have enough grip due to the amount of plush on a fat ski’s skin.  Glide is what you need. 
• Consider going with a lighter touring boot.  Boots like the Dynafit TLT 5 Performance weigh in at half the weight of a beefier boot, have an excellent tour mode, and perform well on the down.  As these skis get easier and easier to ski a beefier boot becomes less of a requirement.   

Conclusion
While all of these technological advances are making it more confusing to pick out the perfect backcountry ski, these advances are increasing the enjoyment in an activity that was pretty enjoyable to begin with – backcountry skiing.  If you take these four factors into account when shopping for you next pair of skis – rocker, width, shape and weight, you will likely end up with a great pair of backcountry fun sticks. 
 

 

We think bigger is better, in general. Big, turny skis keep us out of the snow better, and allow us to have more fun when conditions aren't perfect. Here's what we ski on:

~Larry: 5'6", 140 lbs, 43 years old, a strong and aggressive skier. Can ski on telemark, randonnee, and in any conditions. Larry loves his 178 Dynafit Manaslu calling it one of the most versatile skis he has ever been on. The rockered tip does an amazing job at keeping the skis on the surface in any snow conditions. He uses Dynafit Vertical bindings and cant imagine touring on anything else. Larry is considering adding a real "fat" (110+ underfoot) ski to his touring quiver this year. The majority of Larry's telemarking these days is done in the lowlands of the Methow Valley on the Karhu Guide with 3 Pin bindings and Garmont Excursions. For Boots larry uses the Garmont Radium for touring and the Garmont Delerium for Heli guiding.

Anne: ~ 5'6", 135 lbs, 43 years old, patroller at Crystal Mountain for 9 years. AMGA Ski Mountaineering Certified Guide.  Tours 40 plus days a year.   A graceful, competent skier; loves her K2 Shuksans in 167 mounted with dynafit bindings. This is her "favorite ski of all time" She calls this a "great all mountain ski". She is on her third pair. For Boots Anne uses the Garmont Mega Ride with an intuition liner (very key to upgrade the liner...).  For Patrolling and hill skiing Anne loves her K2 Miss Baker's mounted with Fritschi 's.  Anne will be skiing the Dynafit Manaslu with dynafit bindings for the backcountry this year.

~Paul: 6'0",170 lbs, 47 years old; a strong and graceful skier; spends some time telemarking on his Black Diamond Crossbows, but often goes randonee on a pair of Dynafit Manaslu's with Dynafit TLT bindings. Likes to ski fast and go big. For boots Paul uses the Dynafit ZZero.

~Josh:5'8", 155lbs, aggressive skier that likes speed and longer radius turns. Josh skis tele on Voile Chargers (181cm) and black diamond O1 bindings (free pivot touring mode is absolutely critical in the modern tele setup) with Black Diamond Push boots (He really likes the new BD liners with the cable lacing system as it allows for a snug liner and a loose shell, which is ideal for touring with full ankle motion but no blister-causing sliding of the heel). For AT, Josh again skis the Voile Charger with Dynafit TLT bindings and Dynafit ZZero 4 C-TF boots. He has grown to truly love the Voile Charger in soft and variable snow.

~Scott: 6'0", 170lbs:58 years old. Scott writes "I am skiing on Mt Baker Superlights,  Dynafit Tourlite tech bindings,with Dynafit ZZero  or Scarpa F1 boots.  The Superlights are all the ski that the Mt Bakers are but less weight.  Still love my F1s in all but the nastiest snow.  The ZZeros are slightly stiffer than the Megarides but this could be the case of a new boot versus an old one.  I'd put them both on the same level as great boots.

~Katharine:5 '7", 140 lbs, 40 years old; skis on 174 cm K2 Coombas, with Dynafit Comfort bindings and Dynafit Zzero 3 Alpine Touring boots. Katharine likes a very light uphill setup, with a relatively flexible boot, and wide skis that feel like they effortlessly carve through powder and crud alike.  For her tele gear, she likes a likeweight setup of K2 Shuksans with Scarpa T3 boots.

~Jeff:5'9", 155 lbs, 39 years old. Ex- ski instructor and ski racer.  Prefers high speeds with very little turn shape - "wiggly turns are so inefficient".  Like many of the guides Jeff has a large selection of skis for a variety of conditions, with rocker being a common theme throughout the quiver.  This year Jeff will be touring on the Voile Drifter (151/125/138, with tip and tail rocker) for the deep days and the K2 Coomback (135/102/121, with a flat tail and tip rocker) for the longer days with less snow.  When using the lifts or the helicopter Jeff will be choosing between a pair of K2 Darksides (156/128/144 - flat tail and tip rocker), the K2 Hellbent (150/122/141 - twin tipped with huge rocker), and the K2 Obsethed (138/105/125 - twin tipped with smaller tip and tail rocker).  Jeff prefers Dynafit bindings for his touring skis and Marker Dukes for his ski area/slack country/ heli-ski skis.  For boots Jeff loves his Dynafit TLT5 Performance in the backcountry and Salomon X-Wave 10’s with Vibram soles when he’s getting a little help on the uphill. 

 

SNOWBOARDS: Baggy clothes aside, snowboards and the back country are not a great mix, as many compromises and concessions are required from you and your ski-equipped tour mates. Having both feet locked into the board severely limits your back country travel options. Traversing to a new fall line is very hard without losing a lot of height. Crossing a short flat section, while only a minor inconvenience to a skier, can be a major obstacle to a boarder. Options for uphill travel are limited to: 1) A split board that takes a bit of time to assemble and break down at the top and bottom of each run but is still the best solution if you must use a board, 2) A pair of shorty approach skis worn while carrying the board on your back for the uphills; essentially doubling your weight and potential equipment problems. 3) Snowshoes for the uphill, again carrying your board. This still has the weight issue, coupled now with the unpleasant fact that snowshoes wreck a ski uptrack, potentially incurring the wrath of any skier you encounter. If you're thinking of breaking your own trail, be advised that snowshoes are much more work in soft snow than skis.

If all this sounds like more hassle than it's worth, you have reached the same realization as virtually all back country skiers. Boards are fun on the downhills but are really not a good choice as a back country tool.

 

TELEMARK: Telemark is a region of southern Norway, renowned as the birthplace of a particular style of ski turn developed there in the middle of the 19th century by Sondre Norheim. This turn was developed to provide more fore and aft stability in an area known for variable and wind hammered snow. It took into account and compensated for the inherent limitations of the skis and freeheel bindings of the day. By assuming a stretched out leg position, a skier could angle the front ski relative to the back one, and coax the skis into a turning mode. With skis having no side cut and flimsy bindings that could not withstand any lateral loading, this type of turn prevailed through the first few decades in all forms of skiing and racing. That clever Norheim also invented the Christiana turn (named after the local name for the capitol of Norway) at the same time; this involved a similar stemming type of maneuver to turn the skis but without the fore and aft straddle of the Telemark turn. With the development of skiing in the western Alps, a new technique arose in Arlberg, Austria. This "Arlberg style" started with the stemmed skis of the Christiana and progressed into something we recognize as a parallel turn. The Arlberg technique effectively obsoleted the telemark by the 20's. The telemark style was resurrected from the dustbin of skiing history during the 70's in the US by skiers rediscovering the joys of back country travel in winter. The nordic equipment of the day may have been lighter, but otherwise ski/boot/binding design had not really progressed much since the 30's. The soft boot/binding combo was hard pressed to turn reluctant, straight long skis. Along with the explosion of the popularity of cross country skiing in the 70's, partly spurred by Bill Koch's US silver medal the 1976 olympics, the touring movement took off with the skiers showing the manufacturers the way. Through the late 70's and 80's, back country use of tele gear flourished, despite the turn's and equipment's inherent flaws. It was the best way to cover long distances in the mountains. Skis remained straight sided and often had a double camber to accommodate nordic kick wax, neither of which helped them turn. Some adventurous souls adapted the lightest alpine skis to back country use. Boot makers began to make stouter and stiffer models to help skiers force skis into turns. The stiffer boots, however, had a negative effect on touring on flats and uphills, as they lost flexibility and hence comfort.

In the 90's, plastic replaced leather for boots, making them even stiffer with better control, but sacrificing touring in the tradeoff for turns. Bindings evolved into more rugged affairs in an attempt to allow some heel lift for touring while holding the boot firmly to the ski in turns. This has been a real engineering challenge that is still not perfected.

The telemark turn, executed on modern equipment, bears only passing resemblance to its namesake, which was awkward and contrived. Today's version has a definite grace and fluidity, the kinaesthetic of which most adherents rate highest on their list of why. There's a certain amount of nostalgia for the roots of ski touring and its nordic tradition that the telemark turn embraces and embodies.

Many Telemarkers enjoy the ability to make parallel or telemark turns on their freeheel gear. A telemark turn requires more strength and skiing skill than a parallel turn, given the same conditions. That is why you see even skilled tele skiers reverting to parallel turns when things get nasty or legs get tired. The tele turn is especially effective in variable snow where the split stance provides the fore-aft stability that is inherently lacking with a free heel.

The same things that make telemarking so appealing is also limiting its use in the back country. It is much harder to become skilled at, requires more strength and younger knees. Making lunges down the fall line all day certainly takes more energy than rolling your ankles on A.T gear. With the modern stiff boots and bindings, the user is at a real disadvantage to alpine touring equipment in the touring mode, especially if breaking trail in deep snow.

 

ALPINE TOURING/RANDONNEE is an outgrowth of the popularity of ski mountaineering. This style of touring flourished in the western Alps between the wars, when Silvretta introduced a hinged cable platform binding that allowed a stiff mountaineering boot (not unlike the alpine ski boot of the day) to be used. Since the sole didn't flex much, if at all, and it was possible to lock the heels for descent, the boot/binding combo offered a lot of rigidity for turns while allowing free pivot of the foot for striding. These bindings allowed skiers to use alpine skiing techniques with their inherent efficiency on the descents. This binding design eventually evolved into lighter and more sophisticated models, eschewing cables (with their tendency to break) altogether, and incorporated adjustable release mechanisms like real alpine bindings, to save torn knee ligaments and broken bones.

The freedom of binding flex during the walking mode makes a surprising difference to, and advantage over, modern stiff telemark equipment. The slightly Frankensteinesque method of walking caused by the rigid sole and forward hinge point of the AT binding is the only real drawback in touring mode. This same pivoting freedom at the toe allows the ski tip to ride up while breaking trail in deep snow, whereas modern telemark boots force the tips to dive at each step.

So if you want a good efficient tool for fun backcountry travel, go straight to AT gear.

 

A/T or RANDONEE BINDINGS have come a long way from the steel cable contraptions that were popular until the early 70s and mostly used by climbers for access to alpine routes. Paul Ramer of Boulder, Colorado, developed a revolutionary A/T binding in 1975 that was light weight, had a release function like an alpine binding and had a climbing post on the heel, making steep ascents a breeze. Your author had the dubious distinction of being one of Ramer's guinea pig testers in the winter and spring of 1976. Paul built these contraptions in his garage to a very high standard, but like the first generation of many clever designs, they required a full set of tools whenever you ventured out on them. Despite several refinements the Ramer died out in popularity due to intense competition from Europe. Ramer was ahead of his time.....too far ahead. The idea of alpine touring had not caught on in the US. Telmarking on skinny skis was all the rage. But those crafty Euros were a couple of steps ahead of us and since randonnee skiing was so popular in their high alpine terrain they copied several of the Ramer's better features. This competition led to a refinement in A/T binding design. Today the major players are Marker, Silvretta, Fritschi and Dynafit.

The first three all share a similar design and are called a plate style of binding. The ski boot (or climbing boot in the case of the Silvretta) is attached to a plate by heel and toe bindings very similar to alpine bindings. The plate has a hinge at the toe that allows the foot to pivot around the toe and a slightly awkward walking motion. The heel of the plate locks down to the ski for descents so the feel is just like alpine skiing.

The Dynafit binding is a novel design introduced in the early 90s that completely does away with the pivoting plate. The stiff sole of the boot replaces the plate. Small fittings are molded into the toe and heel of the boot. This necessitates the use of Dynafit compatible boots but several companies are making them now. These little fittings allow the toe to pivot on the front binding and the heel of the boot to lock into the rear binding for downhill skiing. Despite the compact and seemingly delicate appearance of the Dynafit, they have stood the test of time and many experienced backcountry skiers swear by them. Your author is still skiing on a pair obtained in 1993! These little gems have literally hundreds of days of use and abuse. So what are the pros and cons of the two styles of bindings? Weight, weight, durability and, did I mention weight, are the main advantages of this elegantly simple binding. As an added benefit it has the toe pivot closer to your actual toe position than the plate style, hence you get a more natural stride while walking.

The downside to this binding is that it is not quite as user friendly as the plate style. It requires a bit of foot-eye coordination to get your boot into the bindings. Putting them on in the dark can be near to impossible. The release function is not quite as sophisticated as the plate style but I have never heard of any accidents due to this. The ski brakes for Dynafit were pretty poorly designed clearly they were an afterthought on the earlier models, though the newer models have brakes that work quite well

The plate style bindings offer ease of use as their biggest advantage. Anyone can easily step into them on their first attempt, making them a breeze at the top of a hard packed slope where one can lose a Dynafit equipped ski. They look and act like an alpine binding, making them a favorite among cross over skiers. Their release functions just as well as any alpine binding and they make excellent choices for ski patrollers and folks who spend a lot of time skiing lift served areas. Their brakes in general are just as good as alpine brakes.

Drawbacks: Weight! The lightest of these weighs twice as much as the Dynafit set up. That really adds up on a big day or multiple days of touring. The forward position of the toe pivot makes for a more awkward walking feel. You can become accustomed to this, but if you ever switch to Dynafit, you'll notice how much more natural the Dynafit feel is.

 

BOOTS are the interface between skier and ski. Fit is the number one consideration here. A comfortable boot will allow you a snug fit and more control. A sloppy fit will not only result in less downhill control, but can lead to some really nasty blisters, which is a real bummer when they happen on the first day of a several day trip. If you choose Dynafit compatible boots, you are more limited in your selection, although several companies produce very high quality boots that can be used in both Dynafit and plate bindings. The volume of your foot is one of the primary fit determinants. Some manufacturers use a "high volume" last so that virtually any foot can fit inside it. Scarpa, in general, fits this category. The problem with this is that if you have a low volume foot, you may get a better fit by putting your foot into the boot box, rather than the boot. These high volume boots tend to have a wide heel and a voluminous ankle. That said, Scarpa does produce a very nice women's specific boot called the Magic, which is a lower volume boot. It also has a thinner plastic shell, making it lighter than the men's version; it loses some stiffness with this construction, but for lighter female skiers, this is not a big factor. The Dynafit boots tend to be fairly high volume and very weight conscious and thus not quite as performance oriented as some other brands. Garmont has burst onto the scene in the last few years, having been a major player in the telemark world. They produce some very fine AT boots that tend to be lower volume and stiffer, but still comfortable. One of these is the Radium, which several of our guides wear. To achieve the best fit, try to get a boot with a heat moldable liner - the generic term for these is "thermofit". Scarpa, Dynafit and Garmont boots all come with thermofit liners, which can be molded to fit even the most unusual shaped feet and will truly give a custom fit. These liners do pack out with use, but they can be reheated several times.

To sum up: The best advice I can give you is to try as many ski/binding/boot combinations as you can before you buy. Ski area demos is a great way to accomplish this. If you have to prioritize, the bindings are the least important, then boots, then skis. There is a lot to learn, and seeking advice from competent back country tourers can save you a lot of grief.

Feel free to email us with specific questions!