Plum Recommending Replacement of Binding Top Plate Screws
I just heard from the Plum ski binding rep for North America. He says there have been some durability problems with the top plate screws (see photos below) in late model 2012/2013 (sold in North America Nov. 1, 2012 to Jan. 10, 2013) Plum bindings. Some of our readers alluded to this in previous Plum blog post comments.
To remedy this, Plum is not doing a recall but rather providing replacement top plate screws free of charge. The replacement process is simple. Read more backcountry skiing
Trab Freedom Backcountry Ski – Quiver Arrow
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I don’t know what they are putting in the water in Bormio, but whatever, Ski Trab should keep using their secret chemical to mix their Kool-Aid. Ski Trab makes skis of unparalleled craftsmanship, excellent weight, high quality materials and polished finish. But mainly they ski downhill incredibly well.
Trab Freedom backcountry ski - 2013-14
I recently spent a couple of days on the Freedom, a new ski for next season. Freedom has traditional camber with dimensions of 125/90/112. Somewhat old school, but still a current sweet-spot for ski mountaineering planks.
My first day involved a quick skin for a few runs in spring corn. My second day consisted of a few laps of touring on the backside of Aspen Mountain with my beautiful wife followed by some runs down the fabled slopes of Ajax. Conditions were 3-4″ of new snow fallen on everything from baby-butt smooth to hard and variable underneath. The conditions changed throughout the day as the clouds parted and the sun and warm temps had their way with the snow. Read more backcountry skiing
Congratulations Carl Dowdy and Matt Kamper, Skiing 54 Fourteeners!
HUGE congratulations to two individuals who recently completed skiing all 54 Colorado 14,000 foot peaks!
Matt Kamper at the summit of Snowmass Mtn, 5/15/2013 his last fourteener ski of the 54. Click images to enlarge.
Vail ER doctor Matt Kamper got done yesterday, with Snowmass as his last hit. He cheated by taking Jordan White with him, but we’ll ignore that since I’ve enjoyed the “Jordan Factor” myself (grin). Besides, Jordan claims Kamper put in most of the booter and left him in the dust. Apparently the guy was pretty motivated, this being the capstone on his multi-year 14er project. Matt is 52 years old, making him the oldest guy to have skied them all. Jordan keeps a better count than I do. He says Matt is the eleventh person to complete the 54. Still a pretty rarefied fraternity. Read more backcountry skiing
What is retarding ‘AT’ Randonee Touring Ski Binding Development?
I wrote this blog post back in December of 2004, the first year of WildSnow.com. Sadly, with a bit of editing it becomes an encore presentation…
One would think that since the departure from cable bindings nearly a half century ago, we’d have backcountry skiing bindings engineered like, say, an iPhone. Bindings such as the tech system really are backcountry skiing marvels (about the same size as in iPhone), and most people figure out how to get many excellent days out of their randonnee bindings (especially compared to the breakage history of earlier telemark bindings that were essentially nordic touring bindings asked to perform as alpine bindings.) Read more backcountry skiing
Dynafit Huascaran – Quiver Arrow of the Week
Dynafit Huascaran backcountry ski has a good surface and width ratio, rocker. They work.
I debated long and hard on what to bring on my recent backcountry ski trip out of Haines, Alaska. One of the harder choices was skis. I knew (or hoped) that all we were likely to find was deep powder. However, I also knew that it was full-on ski mountaineering with steep climbs, descents, and long days. I didn’t think my fat fun powder ski would be quite right, but I also wanted a ski that would be exciting for big lines, fast. Read more backcountry skiing
