Approaching the summit of Learnard Peak, AK. Photo: Matt Barrett.
Hardboot or softboot? If you have been cruising along on your AT ski setup, you may have missed the debate. Up in Alaska, one splitboarder has decisively chosen his path.
The way splitboarders are using the backcountry is changing for those who have an open mind and are willing to think like, dare I say it, a skier. The ways of the past, carefully choosing tours with snowboard-friendly out tracks, jumping up small uphills, pushing with one foot, and double poling your snowboard on flats, are over, thanks to the popularization of tech ski boots and bindings, generally referred to as hardboot setups.
Before I moved to Alaska, I used to tour almost exclusively with skiers. My partners and I were going on longer tours that would bring us deep into the mountains of Southwest Montana. Initially, the splitboarders I knew were not into these types of tours because of the laborious approaches and frustrating exits in rolling terrain with softboots. I was once one of these soft boot splitboarders and shared these sentiments. But in 2016, I met a hardboot splitboarder that changed my perception of what is possible in the backcountry.
When I first started touring with Tom, the hardbooter mentioned above, I was touring on a soft boot Karakorum setup with Scarpa 6000 mountaineering boots. These boots are far from ideal in any condition aside from powder snow and…ascending 6000m peaks. Before this fateful day in the Bridger mountains outside Bozeman, MT, I had been slowly chipping away at buying the parts for a hardboot setup, intrigued by the possibilities this setup could open up. Watching him that first day, we skied together and rocked my world: he climbed effortlessly, descended, and split-skied out our exit track.
I went home that day and plunked down the last of my savings for the remainder of the necessary hardware to complete my setup. My life had forever changed.
In variable terrain, and snow, the hardshell splitboard boots can pay dividends as they offer more stability. Photo: Matt Barrett.
The terrain where I cut my teeth splitboarding around Bozeman, MT, is not exactly snowboarder-friendly. Long, flat approaches are common, and my setup using Dynafit TLT6 boots changed the game for my touring.
Skiers will find these points obvious and played out, but they were mind-blowing for a snowboarder who had never skied a day in his life. The pin bindings were hyper-efficient compared to the typical splitboard binding; my stride was better, and the weight reduction in the setup allowed me to tour longer. Side hilling on firm snow became monumentally easier. Descending steeps improved as I harnessed more edge control in firm and scary conditions, giving me more confidence in my snowboarding.
Booting up terrain features and using automatic crampons in adverse conditions is far superior to strap-on crampons on softboots. In total, hardboots lend themselves to more exploratory splitboarding.
However, the setup had a downside: low-angle terrain was less fun or playful than soft boots (or Scarpa 6000s).
Fast forward to the phantom link lever coming on the scene. This little engineering beauty has changed the game on low-angle terrain, making hard boots as fun and playful as soft boots. Another partner, Zach, a long-time lifty at Big Sky Resort, is a stylish snowboarder. When you watch him descend, you can’t help but think that he looks damn good doing it—he harnesses the juxtaposition of flow-state and athleticism seen in some world class surfers. On a recent trip to Roger’s Pass, I watched him nose butter and jump off features in his hardboots as playfully as he would in his softboot setup.
Skiing above a bergshrund on Learnard Peak. “Descending steeps improved as I harnessed more edge control in firm and scary conditions, giving me more confidence in my snowboarding.” Photo: Matt Barrett
In places like Yellowstone, where vast expanses rolling terrain require efficient skinning—it’s a handy place for the hardshells too. Photo: Brian Richards
Thinking Like a Skier
If we are being honest with ourselves as snowboarders, we are not using the ideal tool for backcountry travel: The ski is more convenient in just about every way for getting around the mountains. However, let that not discourage us, as there are techniques you can use to make yourself nearly as efficient.
Split skiing is critical. If you don’t believe me, I’ve read interviews with professional snowboard guides like Joey Vosburg saying the same thing: you must ski your splitboard. I would call myself a mediocre split skier, but my ski partner, Tom, is a master. I have watched him routinely pass skiers on the skin track while split skiing out. This skill is critical, and the learning curve can be steep, but it is ultimately worth it and quite fun once you get the hang of it.
Rolling terrain becomes much easier during split skiing because you can make strides on flats and side steps up hills instead of awkwardly lunging your body up any small hill you encounter on the out track. What a concept! Phantom makes their heel risers with slots to put a ski strap through to help keep your heel down, so that option is there as well, but split skiing free-heeled is what I do 99% of the time.
Opening up your mind
It’s funny that most skiers and snowboarders are so set in their camps, unwilling to look across the aisle to see how the other discipline can improve their own. In the mid-2000s, snowboarding effectively saved skiing by changing the shape of skis to be more playful, fun, and, dare I say, more like a snowboard. So why can we not do the same again and look to ski technology to improve our experience as splitboarders? Skiing on flatter terrain is far superior to snowboarding on flats. It’s just a plain fact.
But, there are upsides to using the snowboard in the backcountry. From experience, I have found that a snowboard cuts through less-than-ideal conditions much better than skis. Wind skins, breakable crusts, and zipper crusts are easily sliced through with a snowboard, making it a superior tool on the downhill. Having both your feet on one plank gives your body more power to break through slight snow imperfections, making adverse conditions on skis honest-to-god fun on a snowboard. This is probably why fat skis are so popular.
The real positive of hardboot splitboarding is allowing the rider to use the board in several ways to allow for the most efficient usage in a given scenario. Skinning in hardboots gives you better sidehill stability and handles variable snow skinning much better. With snowboarding downhill and then split skiing the exit, you are using the tool most effectively. Your ski partners will thank you, and it will feel more natural after the learning curve of skiing free-heeled on a snowboard. And is cross-country snowboarding any fun? The answer is a resounding no.
Since I switched to hard boots six years ago, I have not looked back; they are the future of splitboarding.
