FREE BACKCOUNTRY SKIING: SKILLS FOR SKI TOURING AND SKI MOUNTAINEERING PDF Martin Volken,Scott Schell,Margaret Wheeler | 228 pages | 30 Nov 2007 | Mountaineers Books | 9781594850387 | English | Seattle, United States Backcountry Skiing - Skills for Ski Touring As always, major thanks to Phil and Tom over at Backcountry UK for help and information on the latest kit developments. The big backcountry brands continue to expand their lightweight freeride and ski touring offerings this winter, with Marker for instance producing a new lighter version of the Kingpin binding and Fritschi a new light weight touring binding. Boots are another major area of development, with several lightweight freeride touring boots being launched — models such as the new Dynafit Hoji Free, Dalbello Lupo Air and Technica Zero G Tour all weigh in at just 3kg or less and offer very high levels of downhill performance. Finally, the Dynastar Mythic 87 Pro Ski 2. Moving up to the mm width range — the following lightweight touring skis offer more float in softer conditions or for bigger skiers! The new, lightened up Black Crows Camox Freebird 2. If in doubt, its best to size up, due to the long tip rocker. Zag Ubac 95 Ski 2. Salomon MTN 95 Ski 3. Dynastar Mythic 97 Pro Ski 2. A minefield this one! The great news is that there are now numerous excellent skis in this category for both men and women, so plenty of choice — here are our recommendations:. Elan Ripstick 88 Ski 3. This makes the skis Left-Right specific, but results Backcountry Skiing: Skills for Ski Touring and Ski Mountaineering brilliant performance both in resort and out and they are great value too — add that to very Backcountry Skiing: Skills for Ski Touring and Ski Mountaineering weights and you have superb all rounders for resort and touring use. Scott Slight 93 Ski 3. Three more fantastic on and off piste resort skis from Scott, that are also very light, making them a good choice for crossover resort and touring use — the modern day Missions! Head Kore 93 Ski 3. Two very versatile choices for a mix of resort skiing holidays and an annual touring trip, these are a good option faster skiers who like to charge and heavier skiers looking for a strong and stable platform. Zag Ubac Ski 3. Atomic Backland Ski 3. Black Crows Corvus Freebird Ski 3. Black Crows Ferox Freebird Ski 3. Elan Ripstick Ski 3. First up, Marker have developed a new, lighter version of their well known Kingpin binding: the Marker Kingpin M-Werks Binding combines the lightweight toepiece off their Alpinist binding launched last year, with an updated version of the Kingpin heel unit. The result is a g weight saving over the original Kingpin, whilst maintaining the Backcountry Skiing: Skills for Ski Touring and Ski Mountaineering features and performance, plus a few upgrades. On the superlight pin binding front, Fritschi have also produced a new very Backcountry Skiing: Skills for Ski Touring and Ski Mountaineering pin binding this season:. The Fritschi Xenic Backcountry Skiing: Skills for Ski Touring and Ski Mountaineering touring bindingweighs just g a pair with brakes. In a new departure for Fritschi, this model has lateral release at the heel like most other pin bindings, rather than at the toe like their other binding models. The toepiece features a new, innovative design and we expect further feedback as more pairs hit the snow this winter. With several new patented features, this is the lightest binding available with fully adjustable vertical and lateral release settings and brakes. Dynafit TLT Superlight 2. The Dynafit Rotation ST 1. NB I can confirm that these bindings still release very smoothly at lower din settings both my kids ski on them! This season, the gripwalk sole unit standard has now become established as the industry norm, which should make boot-binding compatibility much easier going forward. Dalbello Lupo Air 2. This new version features a proper toe lug, making it compatible with a wider range of bindings and crampons! Lightweight Ski Mountaineering Boots — race derived lightweight touring boots have been developed for keen tourers wanting to save as much weight as possible. The Atomic Backland Carbon has received a complete overhaul this year — with a Backcountry Skiing: Skills for Ski Touring and Ski Mountaineering boa buckle design, narrower last and improved liner. Weighing just 2. This is a supportive race boot, beefed up for fast and light ski mountaineering. Finally, the Scott Orbit is molded on the same last as their popular Cosmos boots, making this a useful higher volume option if you Backcountry Skiing: Skills for Ski Touring and Ski Mountaineering looking for some good, lightweight touring boots. Avalanche airbag rucsacs are now very popular amongst off piste and freeride skiers, but fewer ski tourers use them to date, not least because they are heavier than a standard pack. There are now several different systems on the market; most use gas canisters to inflate the airbags, but 3 systems now use electric powered fans. Below we suggest 2 new lightweight electric powered models suitable for day touring and 3 of the best options for Backcountry Skiing: Skills for Ski Touring and Ski Mountaineering, or multiday ski tours. For freeride and day touring use, a number of smaller and lighter airbag rucsacs are also available. The following two packs are big enough for off piste and day touring activities and both use electronic inflation systems, which are easier to travel on aircraft with than gas powered systems. Black Diamond have now launched a second pack using this same technology. The Black Backcountry Skiing: Skills for Ski Touring and Ski Mountaineering Jetforce Tour 26 is lighter still, at just 2. Last winter I skied with various people who owned these 2 packs — the BD one looked a little more durable for guiding use, but they are both very similar and either would be a good choice. NB Several gas powered day touring packs are now available that weigh between 2. Instead, Black Diamond have launched an updated modular version of their Jetforce battery powered packs this year. Called Jetforce Pro, the new system uses a base pack unit, with different sized zip on backpacks available. For multiday tours, we recommend the Jetforce Pro 35 Litre version, which weighs 3. Comes with a practice mode, so you can train without deploying the canister each time. Well designed pack, with an interchangeable airbag system, so it can be installed in different packs. Non refillable cartridge, so cannot be taken on flights in North America. Mammut Pro Protection 35L — 2. A refillable cartridge g heavier than the non refillable one is also available, which can be filled up in resort any dive shop or paintball centre can also refill it — ie makes flying with an empty canister possible in North America. Arva Reactor 40L — 2. Well designed pack, with an optional top lid and a good weight for such a large pack. Arva have an interesting new lightweight transceiver out this season — the Arva EVO 5 Avalanche Transceiver is smaller and lighter than other units on the market, but still boasts a full range of modern features to deal with group checks, multiple burials and managing electronic interference etc. We use both of these models ourselves on our trips and training courses. Courtesy of Petzl, we now have a new safety standard for ski touring helmets. Two of their lightweight mountaineering helmets have this new certification, making them suitable marketable? Please note however, that these helmets do not pass the safety test for resort skiing helmets — so if you want a lightweight helmet you can use for resort skiing too, then look at one of the following:. The great news is that there are now numerous excellent skis in this category for both men and women, so plenty of choice — here are our recommendations: Elan Ripstick 88 Ski 3. On the superlight pin binding front, Fritschi have also produced a new very light pin binding this season: The Fritschi Xenic ski touring bindingweighs just g a pair with brakes. Day Touring Airbag Packs The following two packs are big enough for off piste and day touring activities and both use electronic inflation systems, which are easier to travel on aircraft with than gas powered systems. Please enter a valid email address. Click or tap this notice to hide. Sign up for our newsletter for regular updates from Alpine Guides Sign up. The best backcountry skis of | FREESKIER Before leaving the bunk house we will do a gear check and go over beacons, probes and shovels. We then go over our plan for the day. While in the field we will work on skills for climbing steeper terrain on skins, better kick turns, and breaking trail. We will talk about Avalanche safety and awareness. And of course Go Skiing! Uphill Students should be capable of a moderate hike in the white mountains or adirondacks. Note: For ski tours in Tuckerman Ravine, Huntington Ravine and Gulf of Slides we require that you have skied with us in the past and we have been able to assess your ski ability. Most of the required equipment [listed below] - including Avalanche Transceiver, probe and shovel - is available for rent from our affiliate mtnGEAR. We also have Alpine Touring ski set-ups available to rent as well! Along the way, we will help brush up on skills and coach you toward more effective and efficient touring practices. When selecting clothing for your adventure, think layers. Choose synthetic materials, wool, or fleece. The saying is "Cotton Kills. Snow pants will suffice instead of soft shell climbing pants and if you have insulating layers and jackets we recommend that you bring them.