The one stop shop for articles about backcountry gear, with a style that's toned down for those wanting to know about the basics.
We can come up with lots of fun and interesting ski/ride scenarios. There’s the yo-yo laps in deep powder. There’s week-long traverse where you might come home calling it a walking-camping trip. There’s the firm snow steep chute dance to be had. All this might take specific tools. There’s a lot of sweet used gear in the marketplace to fill out the niches in a two-boot two-ski quiver.
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If you opt for a “trim to fit” skin system, dialing in the width and length can help you gain sufficient grip while maximizing glide and minimizing weight.
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Consider this the clarion call for the preseason backcountry gear once-over. It is the pre-season gear check. You might as well make it count now–nobody likes a gear failure. We’ll go in the order of boots, bindings, skis, skins, and poles.
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Add a layer of moisture protection between you and the snow by using a Tyvek groundcloth in your ski touring sleep system.
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Not much is static in the backcountry. The same is true of what’s in a pack as we shift from winter to spring. While much of the kit remains similar between winter and spring, the pack’s contents adjust to meet the changing hazards that we are most worried about.
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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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