The elegance and efficiency of ski touring often comes to a screeching halt whenever we encounter technical terrain, as we trade the simplicity of up and down tracks for anchor building, rope tangles, and shouted commands. What a bummer. One aspect of the technical bits that can satisfy even the most idealistic of mountain travelers, however, is the humble V-Thread.
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The ski/ride objective you have in mind dictates the technical gear you’ll bring along.
Do you plan to climb steep snow? Will you be on rock at all? Will there be sustained icy sections? Will it be necessary to belay or rappel? For me, these questions lead to the right answer for gear selection, starting with the most important part of your kit: crampons. The right choice in crampon can make the difference between a sketchy, terrifying climb up (or down), and a casual hike.
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With the confidence of a priest proclaiming the word of god, a prominent member of the AMGA once told me that ski mountaineering starts when you have to use a rope. I’d argue that using the rope to descend seriously detracts from any ski descent, mountaineering or not. Still, there’s no denying that being handy with the cord can be a pretty useful skill in the mountains: It can get you out of a jam and open up options for lines that simply won’t go without it. Rather than being some hallmark of a “mountaineer,” I’d argue that being a competent rope rider is another skill to learn—a tool you’d rather not use but are sure glad to have when you need it. As skiers specifically, some different considerations regarding rappelling are worth discussing.
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I was digging a quick hand pit, marveling at the size of the near-surface facets (5 mm!) capped by a crust in the upper snowpack, when Pachi Ibarra stepped off the skintrack with a mischievous smile and gave a quick jump. With a sound like a shotgun blast, the entire slope collapsed. She laughed as I just about fell over backwards trying to get my skis pointed downhill. Nothing moved. Instead, we listened as the collapse extended away, seemingly traveling several kilometers up the glacier.
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