Black Diamond for everything climbing and skiing.    Dynafit -- Speed Up!    Tracker beacons, Stash packs, shovels, more more more.    Terrific deals on randonnee AT rando backcountry skiing gear.    K2 has the skis that stay true to earning your turns.    Garmont boots -- excellent choice for backcountry skiing.

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 Custom Skis — Clyde Digs In — Part One

By Clyde
Editor’s note: We are excited to have well known gear writer Clyde Soles contributing here, and look forward to his thought provoking takes on a number of topics. This post is the first of a three-part Wildsnow.com exclusive from Clyde. Part one is about designing customs skis, Part Two is on the actual manufacturing, and Part Three is testing and comparison to production skis.

The emergence of handbuilt skis has been a notable trend in the past few seasons. There are now a couple dozen small companies in North America producing a few hundred pairs of skis per year for discriminating skiers. There is even an international trade show in the works for custom ski and snowboard builders to be held in Denver next fall. This growth hearkens back to the roots of skiing, when most skis were made in smaller woodworking factories or even built at home.

Custom backcountry skis.

In the midst of process, creating a pair of custom backcountry skis.

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Posted by Clyde on November 20, 2009 | Filed Under Clyde Soles, Ski Reviews, Your Guest Blogs | 17 Comments 

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 WildSnow Mobile Headqarters — Eagle Cap 711 Pickup Camper

By Lou

We’ve got Wildsnow HQ here in Carbondale. We’ve got WildSnow HQ in Austria. Now, WildSnow mobile HQ will fill in the gaps!

We decided a few weeks ago to do the adventure drive to Alaska and back for our Wildsnow Denali expedition. That’ll make for some great backcountry skiing travel blogging, with perhaps a few ski descents along the way. Problem was, my older 2002 Silverado was getting rather long of the tooth. Plan was to upgrade next summer, so in view of the big AK trip I went ahead and pushed the upgrade up a few months. Replacement is a 2009 Silverado 2500 Duramax (more on that later, when ALL the mods are done).

Camper for backcountry skiing.

This could have been our choice, but it was kinda small. 1947 Teardrip kit camper-trailer is on display down at Centennial RV in Grand Junction, Colorado. If you want to see how Warren Miller lived when he got his start, stop by and check it out.

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Posted by Lou on November 19, 2009 | Filed Under automotive | 26 Comments 

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 Scarpa Skookum — State of Art Tongue Boot

By Lou

Despite all the hype about overlap cuff ski boots, you can’t beat “tongue” style shells for a variety of reasons. While I don’t run a lot of boots each season, I usually play around with a few pair. So another WildSnow foot toy for this winter is a brand new pair of Scarpa Skookum.

First, what’s the advantage of tongue boots?

1. In and out SO much easier. Critical when you’re putting boots on while prone in a tent, at 30 below zero, and you’re not feeling well because of the altitude.
2. For a fairly light weight, you get a stiff feel on the down. That’s of course also the detriment of tongue shells, in that they resist movement while in touring mode unless carefully optimized.
3. Easy flex tuning by swapping tongues. Read more

Posted by Lou on November 18, 2009 | Filed Under Boot Fitting, Boot Reviews | 33 Comments 

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 Early Season Turns – Pine Creek – Aspen

By Tyler

Hi everyone, Tyler here (one of the WildSnow Denali expedition members). We’re trying to give Lou some time to get his camper review kicked out (it’s a cool camper, but doesn’t qualify as “sick” yet because he doesn’t have the speakers installed), so here is a TR from a few days ago.

With a powerful winter storm blowing through the Aspen area last Friday Nick, Colby and I decided there would be enough snow up high for a weekend powder reconnaissance mission in the Elk Mountains of west central Colorado. We decided to head for the Pine Creek drainage, a tributary of Castle Creek above and south of Aspen.

Backcountry skiing Subaru

Our TAV – notice how well the grill works for plowing through snow…4x4? we don’t need to stinkin’ 4x4.

We were able to spin, power slide and generally rally our front wheel drive sleigh (TAV) up to the trailhead. (eat your heart out Lou – 35 mpg and still able to plow through hood deep snow ;) With only a few inches of snow down low we decided to stow our skis and save the early season damage to our skins. After boot packing in snow ranging from ankle to waist deep we switched to skins just before reaching Cathedral Lake. Read more

Posted by Tyler on November 18, 2009 | Filed Under Trip Reports, Your Guest Blogs | 3 Comments 

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 Blogomania

By Lou

Working on the TAV camper blog today, and we got most of our Black Diamond expedition gear so we’re sorting that out. More later, just thought I’d drop a line here for those of you waiting for info on the camper.

Black Diamond gear for Denali.

Denali gear from BD, sharps such as Sabertooth crampons, Whippet poles, and Raven Ultra ice axes, also hats, ski straps, other cool stuff. Reviews of it all in process.

Posted by Lou on November 17, 2009 | Filed Under Backcountry Skiing | 8 Comments 

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 North Face Himalayan Parka First Look

By Nick

I have to admit that when Jordan White asked me if I’d like to come on the Wildsnow Denali trip, my first thought was of the agonizing, bitter cold. I’m a Colorado boy who likes the mild winters and abundant warmth of our state’s hundreds of sunny days a year. Even my east-coast girlfriend told me to quit being a baby when I whined about being soaked and cold when we were in Ushuaia last summer.

Then I put the Himalayan Parka on and I instantly was unafraid of multiple days of negative forty. I was sweating, not from anxiety, but from the most absolute jacket I’ve ever put on. One could almost substitute this parka for a sleeping bag, though you wouldn’t save much space; the included stuff sack actually fits my zero degree bag.

North Face parka for backcountry skiing and ski mountaineering.

Tyler and Colby trying out their lofty parkas inside a Hilleberg Nammatj 3. A little cozy with three guys, but with the GT vestibule, should be fine. We're still trying to get a handle on what our tent setup will be for Denali.

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Posted by Nick on November 16, 2009 | Filed Under Denali McKinley, Misc Gear Reviews | 13 Comments 

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Welcome to Louis (Lou) Dawson's backcountry skiing information and opinion website. Lou's passion for the past forty years has been alpinism, climbing, mountaineering and skiing -- along with all manner of outdoor recreation. He has authored numerous books and articles about backcountry skiing and is well known as the first person to ski down all 54 of Colorado's 14,000-foot peaks, otherwise known as the Fourteeners! Books and free back country information here, and tons of Randonnee rando telemark info.

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Backcountry skiing is a dangerous sport. You may be killed or severely injured if you do any form of randone, randonnee and randonnée skiing. The information on this website is intended only as general information. While the authors and editors of the information on this website make every effort to present useful information, due to human error the information, text and images contained within this website may be inaccurate, false, or out-of-date. By using, reading or viewing the information provided on this website, you agree to absolve the owners of Wild Snow as well as content contributors of any liability for injuries or losses incurred while using such information. Furthermore, you agree to use any of this website's information, maps, photos, or binding mounting instructions or templates at your own risk, and waive Wild Snow its owners and contributors of any liability for use of said items for backcountry skiing or any other use.