Aug 24 2012

News: Backcountry snippets

 

Scarpa
With the next ski season still a full month or four away Scarpa is offering a sweet deal to prepare for it. Through the end of August all boot repairs will be half off and return shipping is free. The key here is the boots must arrive by August 31 at their Denver headquarters. Your boots will be fixed and returned by the end of October, 2012. Here’s the form and webpage with address info. Considering the cost of a new pair of boots an ounce of prevention is sure to save a pound of cure.

Crispi

Crispi’s Shiver Rando with Tech inserts for 2013.

For those who have been waiting, your patience may soon be rewarded, Crispi’s NTN boots will be available this season with tech inserts. Alpina Sports says they have a full size run of the Crispi Evo Rando and Shiver Rando models for this season. What that means in terms of actual quantities is unknown but it sounds like at least a few lucky folks can get the Crispi Evo or Shiver with tech fittings and either switch hit between NTN for tele and Dynafit for training heels, or give TTS a whirl.
Keep making backcountry turns

Aug 23 2012

Access: New Tahoe area FS plan avoids snowmobile issues

 
The Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit of the US Forest Service have released the draft of a new management plan that distills their policy guidelines for the next 20 years. The bureaucrats new plan does not appear to address winter recreation – implying no changes to their decades old plan. If there were no known conflicts or complaints by backcountry skiers that might be okay. Off the top of this writers head it seems there are at least two pressing issues that could be improved upon. First and foremost are the ongoing conflicts between human and machine powered backcountry users and, secondly, limited access points due to a lack of plowed parking areas.

Letter Writing Campaign
To help change that the Sierra Club is hosting one last letter writing and pizza party this evening to influence a change to address winter recreation in the plan. If interested Keep making backcountry turns

Aug 20 2012

Telemark Binding Selection Chart

 

Small, non-functional version of binding selection chart.

This is a dry run of a page that I’m working on for helping people select a telemark binding. Your feedback, input, and criticism are requested. This isn’t complete yet because some of the relevant bindings are still absent in the archives of reviews available. Some will be published soon, others a bit later. But the basic guidelines will, provided it passes muster with your criticism, remain essentially the same with the addition of new options. (Updated 2014 Telemark Binding Selection Guide)

Some classic cable bindings are included for reference, like the Hammerhead and Targa, but the focus will remain on bindings that are designed with a free-pivot touring mode for earning your turns.
Keep making backcountry turns

Aug 18 2012

Rerun: Rainey Design’s Hammerhead (v1)

 

A calculated risk that history vindicated.

As a first year binding it is tough to rationalize awarding the Hammerhead an Editor’s Choice for telemark bindings. However, we couldn’t ignore the improvements either.

When the beta version arrived it was clear that a new standard in control had been set, and for some that is reason enough. However, lots of folks like a more neutral feeling binding, preferring to rely on their own technique to get them through the tough moments. A neutral flexing binding also means less fatigue on uphill climbs. The Hammerhead not only accommodates that, but when it also delivered randonnée-like freedom of the heel for skinning, the award was inescapable.

Many testers have commented that the Hammerhead will revolutionize telemarking. It seems a lofty statement, even if it does raise the bar for downhill control and uphill freedom in the same package. I’ll agree with the claim, but for different reasons.
Keep making backcountry turns

Aug 16 2012

Council of Squirrels predict Winter 12/13

 
With the heat bearing down in the dog days of summer skiers can’t help but seek relief in dreams of a deep, cold winter. The question always is, what sort of winter will the next one be?

NOAA prediction for Winter 11/12.

If you listen to the global warming proponents, last year’s winter is a clear indication of their belief that Old Man Winter should be on the endangered species list. This completely disregards the winter prior (2010/11) as well as the general cooling trend of the last 10 years.

For the purposes of planning for the coming winter, the relevant question isn’t whether there is or is not a long term trend leading to the demise of winter, but whether there will be a short term renaissance of it this next season.
Keep making backcountry turns

Aug 15 2012

Technique: Removing tough screws

Replacing the bindings on your skis with a different pair is not all that uncommon, but it usually requires more effort than just unscrewing the screws. If the bindings were mounted properly, glue was used to seal out water and prevent the screw from vibrating loose. With good glue, it will not only prevent vibrating loose, it will also do a darn good job of preventing you from even loosening it at all without striping the head.

There are two ways to overcome this. Keep making backcountry turns

Aug 13 2012

Review: BD FlickLock® Pro ski poles

 

BD’s new FlickLock® Pro. Leaner and meaner.

When it comes to chosing an adjustable ski pole for backcountry skiing, one can hardly go wrong with the Black Diamond’s FlickLock® series, the most popular adjustable pole seen on skin tracks throughout America. In recent years a number of competitors have come up with some worthy alternatives, but the flicklock concept is a significant part of their appeal. Although the FlickLock® mechanism is more reliable and easier to use than twist-lock adjustable poles, even BD’s FlickLock® concept could be improved upon (see K2 & Leki), so they did.
Keep making backcountry turns