Stuff I like - Scarpa F1 LT

Over the last 20 years, or so, backcountry skiing and ski mountaineering equipment has seen a ton of innovation. I’ve been both an observer and consumer of much of it. Aside from the development of the tech binding in the 90’s, boots have been the recipient of some of the most profound improvements in material, design and performance. Much of this innovation has been driven by the skimo race segment of the sport and the trickle down effect of boot design from race to touring boots.

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Stuff I Like - CAMP Ski Raptor pack

photo: Jason DoraisAs another ski season comes to an end, I’m once again, reflecting back on lines skied, partners I’ve had and gear I’ve used. As part of this ritual, I typically find myself in the garage going through my quiver, patching bases and putting on some wax for the summer and making assessments of everything that contributes to experiences on skis I seek so passionately. As most of you know, I’m a gear dork so my thoughts quickly go to what worked and what didn’t. 

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Quiver Update 2018

Over the last several months, a few commenters have suggested that I update my “quiver” piece that I wrote several years ago. I’ve certainly gone through a few skis since then, discarding some I didn’t like while embracing a few that I did. I will list my favorites here while expanding on the topic of what (I think) makes a good ski for ski alpinism and general back country whoring. So, while the snow is finally falling in Alaska and the temperatures drop, I’ll take a break from whining about my jacked up knee and write about something perhaps more interesting.

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Stuff I like - A2-16 Ski Poles

The A2-16 ski pole from Chamonix represents the full pendulum swing of pole design which I feel best suits the need of steep skiers and ski alpinists. My path to them has involved many stops with attempts at several innovations tried and discarded along the way. I’ll present a case for them here along with some history about the journey.

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Hot Waxing Climbing Skins

It's that time of the year again. The solar is on but it's still snowing. This creates wide fluctuations in snow surface temperatures and snow consistency leading to the dreaded glopping of skins. Anyone who's spent anytime touring in the spring knows what I'm talking about. It's absolutely maddening. I've covered many aspects of the climbing skin in these pages but this final detail has eluded publication here until now. For those new readers, you can catch up here, here and here.

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