Jul 07 2014

Technique: Getting the right volume boot

 

Getting the right boot means narrowing down the choices.

Getting the right boot means narrowing down the choices.

One of the issues with getting the right size boot for skiing is knowing what a good fitting boot is supposed to feel like. It should be obvious, ideally it will feel snug like a tall, worn, leather hiking boot, only stiffer. Except ski boots never feel like that. Ever.

Because of the inherent stiffness of a ski boot you are simply unlikely to ever feel that. And since ski boots are modular, with a liner and a shell, a lot can get lost in translation. Ski manufacturers try to overcome with liners that give you the sensation of adequate pressure all around, but it tends to also blur perception. That’s where a good bootfitter can help, but it also helps to learn what zones to pay attention to.
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Jul 03 2014

First Look: Five-point Crampons

 

Five-point crampons. Do you need more?

Five-point crampons. Do you need more?

Serious ski mountaineers know that on occasion crampons are an essential tool to have for climbing skiable snow. It isn’t that a few sharp points of connection to the slope aren’t needed, they are, but 12 points can be overkill sometimes.

Manfred Quaeck was annoyed with the necessity of carrying the weight of full size crampons when all he really wanted was a few points under the toe for additional security when kicking steps in hard snow. What he came up with are a set of five-point crampons that make use of tech inserts on the toe of many AT boots to attach these minimalist crampons and that’s about it.
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Jul 01 2014

G3 boots Enzo, Enzo-R lives on

 

G3's Enzo a great, late design.

G3’s Enzo a great, late design.

The latest bellweather for telemark skiing’s lack of popularity is G3’s decision to stop production of their Enzo telemark touring binding. According to sales manager, Gord Bailey, at the current rate of sales “it would take years” to sell off the number of bindings built for a minimum production run. There remains hope for Enzo’s future since the Enzo R, a non-touring version of the Enzo with fewer parts, will continue to be offered.
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Jun 29 2014

Profile: Ruedi Beglinger – Guide for the hardcore.

Ruedi Beglinger was one of the first guides in North America to lead tours with a splitboard.

Ruedi Beglinger was one of the first guides in North America to lead tours with a splitboard.

“It’s not every day that you get to ski with the Rued-man!” he said with an edge to his voice, an edge weighted with the resentment of being cheated. Instinctively I swallowed, trying to flush the guilt that welled in my throat. There was no denying that I was to blame for cutting short our vertical plunder on this, the last day of a week of skiing and riding powder in the Selkirk Mountains. Never mind that my lack of performance would reveal itself as a deadly virus that would rack my body for the next week with hourly visits to the porcelain shrine. At the time, it was simply enough to know that I had caused the day’s bounty to be cut short.
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Jun 22 2014

Whirlwind behind the Tahoe Food Hub

 

Susie Sutphin in a Tahoe Food Hub grow dome.

Susie Sutphin in a Tahoe Food Hub grow dome.


To meet Susie Sutphin is to meet a whirlwind of energy. My first impression of her was at the annual Outdoor Retailer trade show where she was looking for sponsorship as a telemark skier. The year was 1998. At the time it seemed a misguided use of energy for such a small niche, but then, as publisher of the first mag devoted to backcountry skiing, who was I to talk. On second thought, maybe she deserved a closer look.

Suffice it to say before the year was out she was the first person I ever flew in for a job interview. As Couloir’s first official sales manager she proved her enthusiasm was backed with some brainiac ideas on how to grow interest in tele and backcountry skiing. In retrospect she was the energizer bunny that helped fuel Couloir magazine’s growth to international acclaim.
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Jun 19 2014

Review: Princeton Tec’s VIZZ

 

Princeton Tec's VIZZ. Handy mid-sized headlamp.

Princeton Tec’s VIZZ. Handy mid-sized headlamp.

Headlamps are no longer optional in my life. They’re akin to prescription glasses, but they aren’t mandatory and they don’t need a doctor’s signature to obtain. But they sure do make working with your hands easier. It’s amazing how many dark corners there are in the middle of the day that could use a little filler light, especially when it’s aimed right where you’re looking.

Nowadays you almost can’t go wrong with a headlamp. Any brand will do, and for simple tasks around the house, smaller is generally better. Princeton Tec’s VIZZ headlamp is my current fave.
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Jun 17 2014

Another Reason to Go Organic

 

John Holleman enjoys one of Tahoe's finest views.

John Holleman enjoys one of Tahoe’s finest views.

When colon cancer took John Holleman from my small circle of friends we all saw his passing as the warning shot that things we took for granted were not always what they seemed. John was one of the fittest men I knew. He ripped tele turns with an athletes balance of power and finesse and the only time I legitimately beat him skinning to the top was when he refused the option to try a free-pivot tele binding and stubbornly climbed with Hammerhead bridles on his heels. John later admitted, resistance is futile, and then upgraded to BD’s O1.

I thought John ate well too, generally eschewing sugar, but not beer, and perhaps, not paying close enough attention to the source of his food, whether or not it was GMO, or organic. Certainly in his final years he was more attentive to this, even before his diagnosis, but it seems it was too little too late.
Keep making backcountry turns