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 )