We tend to forget when we are snuggled into our little ski town with a 9 month winter that there are people out there who don’t ski.  Heck, we had a woman from Georgia join us for two days of snowshoeing and nordic skiing last week who had never set foot on snow before.  Most of the locals here have diversified their winter recreation so much that  they have a garage full of winter gear (see Employee Gear Closet Vol 1, Vol 2, and Vol 3), but there are many who come to visit us who aren’t quite clear as to what the difference is between all those skis.  Let’s concentrate on what exactly backcountry skiing is in the first place.  A lot of people have a misconception that telemarking is the only way to ski in the backcountry.  While this may have been true in the early days with bandana donning skiers in jeans and 3 pin bindings, at this point there are many ways to travel in the backcountry including telemarking, alpine touring, and snowboarding.  And again, let’s ‘narrow our search results’ to alpine touring.  Alpine touring (AT) is the closest you’ll get to downhill skiing (as in skiing the groomers at Vail).   Let’s take a moment and see what makes an AT boot different from an alpine boot:

So a couple things here.  First off, ‘walk-mode’ or ‘tour mode’.  This is what is going to keep the skin of your feet attached to your feet.  Anyone who has toured in their alpine boots without a walk mode can attest to shedding some epidermal layers in the process.  Feet/boot problems can be a brutal penance suffered every step–comfortable boots really are the key to backcountry touring happiness.  So essentially the walk mode allows the boot to pivot with your leg when you are skinning.  Another difference in AT boots is the sole.  Typically AT boots have a rubber sole that allow for more graceful walking in rocky terrain, better grip when boot packing, and even on the steps coming out of the bar for that matter.  You shouldn’t use your AT boots in a Alpine binding as the release capabilities are different.  Next difference is the Dynafit tech inserts.  These are the little holes that the pegs from Dynafit (or the new G3 Onyx) clamp into.  Not all AT boots have these–It’s probably 50/50 Dynafit bindings/Fritschi bindings in the backcountry ski world.  If you have a Fritschi touring binding (or a Marker Duke), no real need to have the inserts, but you’ll still have the other inherent AT boot qualities (walk-mode/rubber sole).  Some BD Boots have interchangeable toe pieces to make your boots both Dynafit compatible as well as Alpine ISO DIN compatible, but that’s another blog. . . .Next difference in the Alpine Touring world is bindings–these are Dynafit bindings and they are a far cry from a step in alpine binding.  AT bindings allow the skier’s boot to release from the ski when skinning with  the pivot point at the toe of the boot, and then locks the heel down when you are ready to make downhill turns.  Like I said in the previous paragraph, there are two obvious choices in backcountry bindings–Dynafit or Fritschi.  Dynafit bindings are significantly lighter, but are also significantly lighter–something that a lot of aggressive skiers don’t necessarily want.  A Fritschi step-in binding (or the also prevalent Marker Duke) is heavier to tour with, but skis more like a traditional alpine binding.  It’s a little easier to get into a step-in binding, but ultimately it’s up to the skier to decide if they would rather have an incredibly light, efficient set up, or if they want something that’s heavier to tour with, but will be more powerful for the downhill turns.  Personally, I love the lightness of a Dynafit bindings, and they give me plenty of return on the downhill for my type of skiing.   
Next integral piece of equipment you’ll need when venturing into the backcountry is skins.  These are what you put on the bottom of your skis to give you traction on the skin track.  They are either made of nylon or of mohair, and adhere to the base of your ski with a layer of sticky glue as well as tension.  You won’t have residual glue on the base of your ski after you rip your skins off (at least, you shouldn’t!), and it’s best to keep that side of your skin free of debris or dog hair or anything else that will keep it from sticking properly to your ski.  Wall to wall coverage is another important factor–if you don’t have wall to wall coverage on the base of your ski, your day just got a whole lot harder–depending on how nice the person is that set the skin track, sections of steep climbs or kick-turns can be brutal with skins that don’t cover the full base of your ski.  Get a skin with a width 10cm under the tip width of your ski–this gives you the best coverage without trimming an excessive amount of skin. 

Lastly is the backcountry pack that should have 3 items at all times–Beacon, shovel, probe.  These are REQUIRED tools for backcountry travel and they should be required for your ski partner as well.  If your ski partner forgot their shovel, let them borrow yours!  Seriously, every member of your backcountry party should have these items and more importantly-know how to use them.  It’s also incredibly useful to take a Level 1 Avalanche Course to clue you in to basic backcountry travel as well as teaching you the basics of using your beacon, shovel and probe.

 OK, it is mid-winter and I guess as the ‘big cheese’ around here it is my turn to take part in our ‘Employee Gear Closet’ write-up. It is also time to set the record straight, as contrary to popular belief around here I do not have 18 pairs of skis, just 4 that are mounted and ready to grab depending on the task at hand. I do, however, have many closets full of gear new and old that has been aquired over the past decade, and thus this write-up is dedicated only to my closet of gear I’m currently using.

 First up is the ski quiver…..the most treasured part of any ski town residents gear closet. The K2 Coomba is again my mid-winter ski of choice for guiding backcountry ski trips. Here I have the original version of this ski mounted with Dynafit bindings for early season rock-skipping in the shallow CO backcountry, and a fresh pair of the new K2 Coombacks with a new rockered tip and same straight tail in the plastic. The plastic has since been ripped off and they are now my #1 ski of choice with the rockered tip a big improvement over the original non-rockered version. For skiing on the resort I enjoy my Colorado homegrown, Unity Skis, solid as a tank and virtually indestructable. And then for the really deep resort days or for snowcat ski guiding at CS Irwin, the unsinkable K2 Hell-Bents. Finally, my ski mountaineering ski of choice is the super lightweight, early rise tip geometry of the Dynafit Manaslu with Dynafit TLT Classic bindings on it, a great ski anything ski that is super lightweight for carrying on the pack as well…..my ski of choice for the Haute Route and Alaska Ski Mountaineering trips.

 My ski boots of choice these days are basically 2 versions of the same boot….the Black Diamond Factor & Method. The ghostbusters green Factor being the stiffer of the two, and the one I use for driving big sticks with alpine bindings and the Method, a touch softer and lighter, for all my touring and human powered skiing activities. Honestly, I can’t tell much of a difference in stiffness between the two, but I am a huge fan of the overlap cuff design now prevalent in the world of AT boots, as it allows for a much more comfortable and freer ‘walk-mode’ as well as a much more high performance and evenly flexing ’ski mode’.

Not being that much of  a die hard ice climber (I can always be talked into skiing over ice climbing), I am nonetheless trying to change that, and have invested in some new gear to help me motivate on broadening my horizons besides skiing in the winter….besides, all the other guides seem to love it. So I have outfitted myself with some leashless Camp AWAX tools, that are super light, and whose aggressive re-curved shaft makes vertical ice a breeze for solid placements. Coupled along with a new set of Black Diamond Express Ice Screws, that are ridiculoussly easy to place, and some La Spotiva Trango boots with Primaloft insulation for my chronically cold feet, and I’ve enjoyed venturing out on the ice more then usual, and am realizing that ‘lack of snow blues’ can be remedied by venturing onto the ice more often. 

Lastly, of course every guide is attached to their pack(s), and unlike CBMG Guide Johnny MacKinnon and his ‘old pack museum’, I prefer new, light, and streamlined designed packs for multiple functions. Out of the 7 or 8 in my closet, I seem to settle on 3 for most endeavors summer or winter. The 40L Mammut Spindrift is my pack of choice for just about everything, as I have it retro-outfitted with an AvaLung for ski touring season, and use it on anything from day tours to overnight hut trips in the mountains, the Haute Route and anything else that I need a good, low profile and comfortable pack to carry gear in technical terrain. For ice and alpine endeavors in the summer months I prefer the Black Diamond Revelation 35L pack for it’s clean and simple design, easy to access top lid, and pick-pocket ice tool holders for quick on the fly grabbing of gear. Lastly, is my Black Diamond Bandit pack, a great little on-piste pack for carrying some avy gear essentials, food, water and a light layer, as well as being my pack of choice for multi-pitch rockclimbing in the summer months for it’s great carrying capacity and low profile.

Of course, the rest of my gear closet is a mess, and as long as I can get to the usual case of Red Bull, then I can get enough clarity in the early morning dawn hours to dig through the rest of the junk and find just what I need for the days adventure.

—JSJ (CBMG Owner / Guide )

Starting last week winter has again returned to Crested Butte, dropping over 3 feet of fresh in the backcountry, and still snowing once again as of today! Timing of these storms could not have been better as they arrived in time to kick off our second sold-out AIARE Level 2 Avalanche Course of the season.

Along with all this snow, was also had a natural avalanche cycle and a brief window of high avalanche danger, allowing for some optimal learning conditions of which to study snow stability analysis…the core of the Level 2 curriculum.

All the snow has also been bringing some excellent backcountry ski conditions, with the warm and wet nature of the storms allowing instabilities to settle out relatively quickly for a Colorado snowpack and of which to enjoy some fantastic backcountry ski touring conditions with decreasing avalanche danger.

This week, we are also promoting our newest package with Cresed Butte Mountain Resort, in offering a guided backcountry skiing adventure through CBMR & CBMG. Get a full Dynafit AT set-up (skis, boots, bindings, skins) a lift ticket, Mammut Avalanche Package, and AMGA Ski Guide for a lift accessed excursion onto Snodgrass Mountain for some backcountry turns. Returning to the base area via chairlift and a quick stop at Camp 4 on mounatin for a coffee before a final ski back to the base area. All for $416 / person.

And…..finally…..Crested Butte Mountain Guides is finally taking bookings for the brand new ‘CS Irwin’ Snowcat Skiing operation at Irwin. Call us to reserve your cat seats today.

–CBMG Staff

Howdy Folks,

I am merging a couple trip reports into a Crested Butte wintertime sampler blog to show a snapshot of what I have been up to this season with CBMG backcountry guests and AIARE avalanche courses. Despite a lack of snow in the last two weeks I have had several great backcountry ski trips since New Years. The untracked cold stuff is still out there, and I am happy to show you where it is. Steve came to Colorado all the way from Australia with his son Sam. We had a great tour over to the East River Valley and found some virgin powder. 

Here’s a shot of Steve and his first tracks in the Crested Butte backcountry. This early season has been a challenging one in which to guide, but sometimes it takes just a little creativity to find good turns in a familiar stomping ground. Steel and I toured up Washington Gulch to explore a lesser traveled section of Coney’s Bowl. The main bowl was stacked with tracks but we hiked just a bit farther and found some great skiing.  

Backcountry skiing is just one way to experience the mountains outside Crested Butte. Chris and Jennifer joined me for a snowshoe tour and we explored the aspen glades and meadows in Washington Gulch. Beautiful weather, good company and great views made for an amazing day out in the mountains.

AIARE avalanche safety courses have kept me busy just about every weekend this winter. CBMG offers a host of courses–AIARE Level I, AIARE Level II and Refresher Courses–that meet the needs of most winter backcountry travelers. CBMG avalanche courses are taught by local ski guides and avalanche forecasters who are experienced educators and have an intimate knowledge of the local terrain. The courses blend classroom time with practical field experience. In the field we focus on companion rescue, gathering backcountry weather and snowpack information and traveling safely in the backcountry.

The rescue component focuses heavily on shoveling. Recent research in avalanche rescue points out that shoveling a victim out of snow will consume the majority of the rescue. We teach “strategic shoveling” as a method to efficiently move snow and quickly dig out the victim. The entire third day of the avalanche course is a ski tour in the Crested Butte Backcountry. Students learn the skills to plan and prepare for a full day ski tour and then spend the day implementing skills such as navigation, terrain selection, travel techniques, and managing the “HUMAN FACTOR.”

And of course we always try to get some turns in.

Looks like Missy found the goods on Mt. Emmons during a refresher course this winter! It’s been a busy winter and I have had a variety of trips. Give the CBMG office a call and let us organize your next adventure. We enjoy traveling on snow on all kinds of skis–AT, Telemark, and Nordic as well as snowshoes and we hold permits to both the Lake City and Ouray Ice Park. We look forward to sharing our backyard with you!

CBMG Guide

Johnny MacKinnon

One of our partners, Black Diamond has just released information on their fall collection of ‘Efficient’ Skis and Boots.  While BD’s initial jump into the boot and ski market was focused primarily on force rather than finesse (hence the by-line ‘It’s all about the down’), they are reaching out not only to the European market, but the large population of US skiers that understand that sometimes ‘less is more’, particularly when it comes to weight on your feet for long tours.   While a couple of these skis are thinner skis from their previous line up (Guru and Stigma), I’m curious to see the reviews for their fatter early rise skis like the Drift or the women’s Starlet.  And of course, any company that makes a concerted effort to design women’s skis (especially backcountry skis) gets a thumbs up.  So we’ll see what the critics say about the new line up. . . maybe we’ll get a chance to ski them.