As a general rule, unless skis have been protected during the summer with a layer of wax, they will need to have the bases re-prepared. During ski season, skis that are periodically waxed probably do not need any additional care except for waxing.
Archive for the ‘Technique’ Category
BC Techniques: Step-Down Kick Turn
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The uphill snap-kick turn is a super valuable technique to learn, but some folks simply cannot do it because it requires more range of motion in the hips than their body allows. For them let me suggest a move I’m calling the Step-Down kick turn.
Techniques: Kick Turns on Steep Terrain
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One variety, the snap-kick turn is useful in deep snow, and practically essential on steep terrain. Without the snap-kick turn you can be in a rather precarious position when it comes to changing direction on a skin track, especially in glacial terrain where the consequences of a fall might be fatal.
Canadian Study reduces Avalanche Survival Time
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The commonly accepted survival phase for burial in an avalanche is about 18 minutes…This more recent study suggests 10 minutes would be a more appropriate guideline…
Posted in Avalanche, Dostie, Craig, News 
Tags: asphyxia, avalanche, avalanche fatality, survival curves, survival time, trauma 
2 Comments »Time to retire your beacon?
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While testing avalanche transceivers this year it has become more evident that older, analog type beacons should be retired. It isn’t because they don’t work. But the way they work can cause trouble in the dreaded multiple victim scenario. If you have more than one person buried in an avalanche the odds are at least [...]
Posted in Avalanche, Beacons, Dostie, Craig, Ortovox, Pieps Tags: 457 kHz, analog beacon 5 Comments »Going superlight, Tele Lite!
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The world is not clamoring for skinny backcountry skis. But I’m convinced that, at least in the form of the Glittertind + strong system boot, they can form a workable, useful system with some major strengths where AT, heavy tele, or splitboards are weak
Rerun: Buried Alive!
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Very quickly, the ability to move ended. As the snow built up around my torso I squirmed to maintain some sense of mobility, but it was futile. Even the simple act of breathing was becoming a struggle as the snow’s weight bore down on my chest, making it difficult to draw even a breath.
Posted in Avalanche, Avalanche, Black Diamond, Couloir, Dostie, Craig, Ramblings, Vol. XVIII Tags: avalung 2 Comments »Telemarkers Make Better Lovers
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She ate Pit Bulls for breakfast, and spit out Black Diamonds for lunch. By carting those free-heel boards around she was transformed from mere city slag to a goddess of the mountains, a shining alpine succubus, nymph of the glades come to whisk mere mortals away to a whitened fantasy land during their lunch break.
Caught! Avalanche incident
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With cold temperatures and a not so deep snowpack depth hoar forms easily at the ground level, especially in the intermountain ranges like the Wasatch and Rockies. Add to that a fresh dump with a lot of mass and the ever eager skier to trigger it and you have the perfect formula for an avalanche fatality.
Modifying NTN for better touring
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Update (13nov11): Finally managed to get this revision out on snow. See the very end for the results.. First, I would like to thank Jay (tainted meat) and Andrew (Andrew L) and Mike (MD2020) for donating NTN parts for this experiment. It saved me from destroying my own working bindings as the prototypes were made [...]
