ACC Calgary Section – BITS Program 2011- 1 2012 Backcountry Skiing in the Canadian Rockies with the Alpine Club of Canada An introduction to the gear and skills required for ACC backcountry ski trips. The Canadian Rockies remain one of the finest destinations in the world for backcountry skiing, touring, and ski mountaineering. With this fantastic winter playground only an hour to the west, Calgary Section members have no shortage of ideas for how to spend their weekends in the winter. Trips on the Calgary Section winter ski touring schedule generally visit locales in Kananaskis Country and Banff National Park during the early part of the season before venturing farther afield for longer day or overnight trips later in the season when the snowpack, weather and length of day improve. Ski touring and mountaineering difficulties range from an easy tour up Paradise Valley to a day of telemark turns around Helen Lake, from lots of vertical feet of skiing at Rogers' Pass to ski mountaineering routes on the Wapta and Columbia Icefields. BEGINNER INTRO TO SKIING (BITS) PROGRAM The BITS program is run by the Calgary Section every winter, and consists of an orientation evening session (most years) and then a series of backcountry ski trips of increasing difficulty throughout the winter. ‘BITS specific trips’ are posted on the online schedule to try to ensure that those in the BITS program are able to participate in ACC trips - as trips fill up very quickly. trip participants are not selected on a ‘first come, first serve’ basis and it’s the trip coordinator’s decision of who can participate on their trip. RENTING GEAR If you are getting into backcountry skiing, it is a good idea to rent your gear for a few trips before buying your own. There is a wide range of types of ski gear available, and if you buy too soon you may not get the right type for the trips that you want to do. In Calgary, gear can be rented from Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC), and the University of Calgary (U of C) Outdoor Centre. You will need skis, boots, poles, ski skins (material that sticks to the bottom of your skis to help you go uphill), and most trips will require avalanche gear – avalanche transceiver/beacon, snow shovel, avalanche probe. Consider selecting your gear in advance and reserving ahead to avoid a last minute rush the evening before your trip. When you select your rental gear, make sure that the skis are the correct length (if your skiing skills are a bit rusty select shorter skis to make it easier to do turns), the skins fit the skis, and the boots are the correct type for the ski bindings. Get the rental person to show you how to change the boots from walk to downhill mode, how to fit skins to skis, how to attach the boots to the bindings and how to set the DIN (German term) setting on your ski bindings. If you are renting a transceiver, they do not come with batteries. Bring batteries or you will not be leaving the carpark/trailhead! TYPES OF SKI BINDINGS, SKIS AND SKI TOURING BOOTS Cross Country Skis and Boots Cross country gear is used for skiing on reasonably gentle terrain, often with set tracks. The skis are long, straight and very light. The bindings attach at the toe. The correct type of boot is needed to match the binding type. The boots are very light and do not provide much support making it quite difficult to do turns on steep descents. Cross country skiing is not the focus of the BITS program, and this type of gear will not be discussed in detail here. ACC Calgary Section – BITS Program 2011- 2 2012 Fat Carving Skis or Shaped Skis On ACC trips, many people use skis quite similar to downhill skis, i.e. short fat skis with no camber (compared with cross country skis which typically have a strong camber). The camber is how much they bow in the middle to lift the foot off the ground. If they were bought in recent years, they are usually “shaped” or “carving” type skis, i.e. wider at the front and back than they are in the middle. Carving skis make it easier to do turns than straight skis. Ideally for backcountry, it is better to use a specialised touring ski. Touring skis are lighter than downhill skis. However backcountry bindings can also be used on normal downhill skis. Light Metal Edged Skis Some people ski with an older style ski, which is closer to a cross country ski, but has metal edges which allow the skier to traverse across icy slopes. These skis are usually fairly straight (i.e. not much wider at the front and back than the middle) and sometimes have a partial camber (i.e. bowed in the middle like a cross country ski). The oldest skis are wooden, which grip better than modern skis, but ball up (i.e. collect snow under the ski) badly in wet snow conditions. Light metal edged skis are usually faster than fat skis when traveling on gentle terrain, and if they are narrow enough can be used in set cross country tracks. They are more suitable than fat skis for a long ski traverse on easy terrain. Used metal edged skis with telemark bindings can often be bought very cheaply at used gear sales. However long narrow skis will make it harder to do turns, and will give less flotation in deep snow. Most alpine club trips require metal edged skis as a minimum. Alpine Touring (AT) Bindings and Boots AT bindings have a locking mechanism at the heel that allows you to ski downhill in the same way that you would on the normal downhill skis that you use at a resort. You unlock the heel for walking/skiing on flat sections or uphill so that the binding pivots at the toe like a cross country ski. Alpine touring boots are fully rigid like a downhill ski boot, but they have a mechanism at the heel to release the ankle for more freedom of movement when skiing in walk mode. There are several types of AT bindings available which have their own advantages and disadvantages. Some examples are Fritschi Diamir, Dynafit, Naxo, Silveretta and Onxy. Fritschi Diamir is a great choice if you want to use your backcountry set up at the ski resort. The bindings are easy to use, have a high DIN setting of 12 and are extremely durable. On the downside, these bindings are quite heavy. Although Dynafit bindings are a bit more complicated to use, most people get used to them quickly and reap the benefits of a very light system (lighter than tele!). With the Tourlite the skier needs to remove the ski to go into uphill mode. (Don't use the hard twisting technique as it is very rough on the bindings). Removing the skis can be awkward in deep snow. Dynafit bindings require specialised boots, and cannot be used with a non-Dynafit compatible boot. (However Dynafit boots can be used with any AT binding.) Naxo offers a more natural movement in the uphill mode, however these binding breakdown a lot and the company was unable to get around this problem and went out of business. These bindings are also pretty heavy. Silveretta has made great bindings in the past, and was once the gold standard, albeit one without a releasable toe. As they redesign the binding to remedy their toe release issue they've struggled to recapture their past success. Advantages of AT over Telemark bindings: If you already know how to downhill ski, you can get out in the backcountry immediately without having to learn how to do telemark turns. AT is easier on the knees than tele. AT bindings usually release the skis in a fall or avalanche (i.e. safer). Telemark ‘Tele’ Bindings Tele bindings are connected at the front of the boot, but there is no mechanism to lock the heel. A special technique (“telemark turns”) is required for skiing downhill with a free heel. This technique can take several seasons to learn, and most people find it harder to master than normal downhill ski technique. ACC Calgary Section – BITS Program 2011- 3 2012 There are several types of tele binding. Cable bindings are the most common type nowadays. These have a cable behind the heel that is fixed to the ski at the front of the boot. Another tele binding is the 3 pin system, which requires a particular type of 3 pin compatible boot. Any telemark binding requires telemark type boots, which are different from AT boots in that they have a flexible section at the front of the foot to allow the foot to flex when doing telemark turns. Tele and AT boots are not interchangeable. Advantages of Tele over AT bindings: Tele bindings are usually lighter than AT (with the exception of the AT Dynafit bindings). Used tele gear is more readily available and cheaper than AT. Snowboards and Split Boards Most ACC backcountry trips are not suitable for snowboards. A few trips (particularly yoyo type ski trips – see below) may be done by snowboarders using snow shoes for the ascent. Split boards can be used on some trips and are most suitable for yoyo skiing. Many touring trips cover large distances over gentle rolling terrain and the split boarder will need to change his/her board into ski mode to be able to keep up with the group.