Feb 12 2012

CCSP Guide to Mendocino Ski Tours

Home turf for the CCSP
click to enlarge

The Mendocino National Forest in Northern California contains nearly one million acres. From the Snow Mountain Wilderness in the southern end to the Yolla Bolly – Middle Eel Wilderness in the north, numerous peaks hold snow well into the summer.  Access to these peaks can be tricky.  And time consuming.  The better part of two decades has been spent unraveling the possibilities of earning turns in the Northern California Coast Range.

The Coastal Crest Snow Patrol (CCSP) consists of a group of friends that have spent the last couple decades exploring the possibilities of getting turns on the snow-covered peaks of the Mendocino National Forest.

I first discovered the skiing here with my good friend Eric Heim (sirjibalot).  We got our first turns in the Coast Range on Hull Mountain back in the mid 90’s.  We were amazed at the depth of the snow, the 1000′ of vertical and the steep terrain.  
Keep making backcountry turns

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Feb 10 2012

TR: Spring conditions on Castle Peak

One thing is for certain. There are not enough people getting out these days and the reasons are merely justifications for staying home. BaaahhhhhhHumbug!

Castle Peak has enough snow to be worth a tour.

The skiing is actually quite good around Tahoe right now. True, the snow isn’t as deep as we are accustomed to, but it is deep enough. You just need to adjust your attitude a little because right now it’s spring conditions with a thin yet very solid base. It isn’t thick, but it’s solid enough to keep you above the myriad obstacles poking through.
Keep making backcountry turns

Feb 09 2012

Preview: Four new AT boots for 12/13

There was a demo day put on by WWSRA (Western Winter Sports Retailers Association) for northern California at Alpine Meadows earlier this week (Mon. – Tue., 7-8feb12). This worked out to be a more cost effective way to sample next years offerings for those looking to get an out of bounds passport.

Checking out next year's AT gear - Dalbello Sherpa boots with a superlight AT rig (Plum h/w and Elan planks).

The word is out that fresh tracks can be had by anyone on almost any given ski day if they’re ready to venture into the borderlands surrounding the resort. Jumping out is easy, but everyone knows it takes a bit more effort to get back in bounds, made easier with a pair of climbing skins and a free heeled binding.

Next year there are plenty of good offerings in the binding department with over 12 plate bindings (Marker Duke/Baron, Tour F12/F10, Salomon Guardian, Atomic Tracker, Elan Adrenaline, Head Adrenaline, Fritschi Diamir Freeride Pro, Eagle, and Scout, plus a plate binding from Hagen) and almost as many tech bindings with hints of a surprise entry from a French company, so be on the Look out. It is doubtful this free heeler would be able to distinguish much between bindings with training heels, however, Ski the Whole Mountain author Eric DesLauriers confirmed my suspicions about the Salomon Guardian – its downhill performance is indistinguishable from Salomon’s high end resort bindings.
Keep making backcountry turns

Feb 08 2012

Upcoming Events (Tahoe & Wasatch)

Sunset on Sugar Bowl's Crows Nest


 

There’s a bunch of events coming up this week that you may want to attend to stay psyched while fresh snow remains elusive. Better to have virtual snow than no snow, eh? Nor do we have none so get on out there and enjoy it. There’s plenty of places worth a hike, you just need to be selective in the line back down.
 

TONIGHT !!! Wednesday – 8feb12

The Back Country Slideshow Series featuring John Scott with a kids perspective on backcountry fun.
Where: Squaw Valley’s Olympic Plaza Bar
Time: 7:00pm
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Feb 06 2012

Review: Scarpa’s T2X / T2 Eco

Teleboot Extraordinaire

When it comes to making turns, even this old leatherneck is finally admitting that perhaps the foundation of the best plastic tele boot ever designed was the first all black T1. That was around 1997, the 3rd version of the Terminator. The T2 had just turned blue and that was the boot a lot of us had been waiting for.

Sorry guys, the blue T2-Eco (12/13) is for girls.

It could be argued the black-on-black T1 was overkill – except for the guys who knew it was the future – because skis weren’t fat enough yet to require it. The ’97 T1 showed us all just how big you could go with heavy telemark, and that was only the tip of the iceberg.

Which is why the current T2 Eco, a descendant of the black Terminator and a clone of the T2X, but with a pebax based on plant oil, not the petroleum variety, is my fave boot. It is big enough to drive fat skis, but small enough to make touring a delight, not a sufferfest. And it keeps the same power and flex properties, albiet improved from the original T1, thanks to an articulated bellows, refinements that come from multi-density shells, metal buckles, and moldable liners. For super phat skis it’s a tad weak, but you can always equalize that equation with an Axl underfoot.
Keep making backcountry turns

Feb 06 2012

Nachtspektakl draws a good crowd!

The first ever Nachtspektakl as held Saturday evening, Feb. 4th at Squaw Valley ski resort. A group of about 45 locals from Tahoe’s north shore showed up to skin up the summer road to Squaw’s High Camp.

The first wave of backcountry skiers skinning up the summer road to High Camp at Squaw Valley.

It was rather fun to be part of the first crew to legally skin up the runs of a resort known in the backcountry world for having a rigid closed boundary policy. That was hardly the topic of conversation on the skin up, rather it was a typical backcountry outing, albiet in-bounds at Squaw, where a large group of like minded skiers were brought together and it became an excellent opportunity to meet and make new friends.
Keep making backcountry turns

Feb 03 2012

Preview: Elan Adrenaline AT Binding

Elan/Head’s Adrenaline
MSRP: $525 • Weight: 5 lbs., 13.5 oz. (2650 g)

Hot on the heels of Marker’s Duke revamp and Salomon/Atomic’s new AT binding comes the Adrenaline, yet another AT binding where beef is the obsession, not weight. Designed and built by storied Austrian binding manufacturer, Tyrolia, the Adrenaline with be sold under both the Head and Elan marques.

Utterly few and far between at this stage of the game stateside, both the Head (red plastic highlights) and Elan (green plastic highlights) versions were on display during the recent SIA show. The operative word here being “on display” as none were available for actual testing. The samples did give an indication though of what we can expect from the binding.
Keep making backcountry turns