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Want To Ski In Your Climbing Boots? Alp Control Might Be Ticket.

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Backcountry skiing boot support system, Alp Control.
Anselme Baud showing Colin the Alp Control setup he used on Cho.

Colin Samuels, photographer and all-around denizen of La Grave in France, sent me an email about an interesting innovation that’s now reaching a somewhat mature state of design. Colin is friends with pioneer extreme skier Anselme Baud, who recently returned from a Cho Oyo climb and ski expedition where he used a ski boot device called “Alp Control.”

Alp Control is essentially a brace system that’s supposed to provide skiing ergos while you’re using soft climbing boots. Application is for routes where most of your up travel is without skis, perhaps even with crampon or rock climbing on steep terrain. When you get to the top you strap on the Alp Control and make your way down while still wearing your mountaineering shoes. Perhaps you even carve turns.

Backcountry skiing boot support system, Alp Control.
Baud’s setup, Alp Control on modified Emery Chrono binding.

Backcountry skiing boot support system, Alp Control.
Rossignol sold this lashup in ancient days of soft floppy tele boots — a crystal ball to the present state of telemark monster boots.

Devices like this are not a new idea. Back in the 1970s Rossignol sold a cuff contraption that was intended for somewhat the same purpose, though more for transforming soft nordic boots to something you could use to crank more than simple survival turns.

In its marketed configuration Alp Control has a cord attaching your upper leg to the forebody of the ski, ostensibly to allow for rearward support that substitutes for having a boot cuff behind your leg. In the early 1980s Mike Lowe and Paul Ramer tried to market a similar device they called the “Knee Leash.” According to Ramer, you just “leaned back in the powder, the Leash pulled your tips up, and making turns was unbelievably easy.” You can imagine the ribald humor the term “knee leash” engendered, and as skiing powder isn’t that tough anyway, the “Leash” never caught on. But it no doubt did function and it’s interesting to see that same concept applied to skiing in a boot without rearward support.

Backcountry skiing boot support system, Alp Control.
Photo from the Alp Control website tells an interesting story. What’s with that binding? Looks like a hybrid that includes elements of the Naxo?

Blog not over yet, Colin wanted to mention his work with Black Diamond in managing the BD test center at La Grave. Which begs the question, can we start a WildSnow.com test center over there?

Hi all, Colin Samuels here, I will manage once again the Black Diamond Ski Test Center in La Grave this coming season at the Edelweiss Hotel. We will have all the New 2008 mid sized freeride skis and fatties (including Havocs, Verdicts, Zealots the new Megawatts!) set up with touring, alpine and telemark bindings. We will have women specific skis, and we will also some skis set up with skins so people can test skis while ski touring in the local area. We also will have newest packs (including Avalung packs), shovels and probes for people to test, as well as adjustable poles and Avalungs. The test center is open to all skiers. Interested people need to stop by the Edelweiss Hotel once in La Grave. No reservations are needed. The test is free and we let people try different pairs of skis if they wish; all we ask is that testers give us some written feedback the the gear they try out. All testers will receive a 10% discount off any BD Skis that they buy at the two local La Grave Ski shops (Magasin Twinner and Objective Meije).

Posted by Lou on October 17, 2007 | Filed Under Boot Reviews 

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Comments

13 Responses to “Want To Ski In Your Climbing Boots? Alp Control Might Be Ticket.”

  1. Matt Kinney October 17th, 2007 10:18 am

    thanks lou…good report. Gotta really enjoy the tinkering on those boots. That forward shin bar is real innovative. Hey but if it works on Cho Oyo……….

    The knee leash really worked well as intended by ramer, with a full pack and/or sled on a down-hill run. Huge control gain.

  2. Scott Bower October 17th, 2007 10:52 am

    That looks pretty cool.

    I’ve done a fair amount of skiing into ice climbs with Koflachs and Silretta 500s. As a result I’ve also taken many awkward backward falls with a heavy pack. I finally got tired of this after tweaking my knee and started carrying leather ice boots and wearing AT boots on the approach and egress. Of course, this only works with climbs where you start from and return to a common point.

    This is exactly the type of thing that might tempt me to try again.

  3. Halsted October 17th, 2007 12:24 pm

    Looks like lots of recycled Ramer ideas to me. That is not a comment to put down Paul. He was way ahead of his time (plastic telemark boots, self-arrest grips, climbing plugs, plate AT bindings, etc…). Its interesting to see other reinventing some of Paul’s ideas.

  4. Dostie October 17th, 2007 1:16 pm

    Must echo Halstead’s comment: Paul Ramer was WAY ahead of his time. WAY, WAY, WAY ahead. Anselme Baud’s Alp Control combines, in a slightly different configuration, two of Ramer’s classic ideas that were never accepted by (many) customers…the Motivaider and Knee Leash. Paul’s rolling in his grave, LOL and reminding us, “I told you so!”

  5. Tony October 18th, 2007 11:00 am

    Lou, two questions:

    What material is the brace made of?

    Also, what binding currently on the market do you reccomend for use with mountaineering boots?

  6. Tony October 18th, 2007 11:00 am

    Lou, two questions:

    What material is the brace made of?

    Also, what binding currently on the market do you reccomend for use with mountaineering boots?

  7. Chris Davenport October 18th, 2007 11:15 am

    Hey Lou,
    My friend Colin Haley used a knee strap setup with Sportiva climbing boots and short Trab’s to ski the Orient Express in June. Looked scary to me but he made it work and man, that setup was LIGHT!

  8. Lou October 18th, 2007 11:31 am

    Tony, I’m pretty sure they’re molded out of carbon fiber. As for what’s on the market that works with climbing boots, as far as I know the only thing out there is the Silvretta 500. Used Silvretta 404 is a good bet too.

  9. colin October 19th, 2007 8:39 am

    in response to bindings, i sent some photos of the old emery chrono set up Anselme used, even going so far to reverse the toe piece to give added toe hold on his mountaineering Asolo boots which would pre release otherwise. the light emerys are still commonly scene in the alps for approach skis in addition to the 404’s which are still sold.

  10. palic October 20th, 2007 7:44 am

    :-) It seems, that the binding on the last photo is Nic Impex Evolution Light (Arva), that is not the same as Naxo (also mentioned at http://www.alpcontrol.com/summary.html).

    Anselme Baud is cool to use Emery Chrono at Cho Oyu. In my opinion, this binding is for good just for traversing mountain ranges or some easy ski-touring, but not high altitude skiing or extreme. BTW, do you know, where he had got this Chrono binding? I suppose, that it is not produced for a long time.

  11. Neven February 20th, 2009 8:11 pm

    Hi,

    More and more people in France, Germany and Switzerland have the opportunity to try AlpControl, and once they have tried (which is my case), they are astonished.

    The Army of several european countries have equipped their groups of skiers with AlpControl, and people like Charles Hedric and Anselme Baud keep using it, which is a good sign.

    This year, AlpControl was selected as a finalist at the ISPO in Munchen (Germany).

    The concept is just great, and I wish you to be able to try it soon.

    Neven

  12. Daniell May 4th, 2010 4:22 am

    That looks pretty cool. Thanks lou…good report. Gotta really enjoy the tinkering on those boots. That forward shin bar is real innovative.

  13. Daniell May 5th, 2010 11:03 pm

    That looks pretty cool. Thanks lou…good report. Gotta really enjoy the tinkering on those Boots. That forward shin bar is real innovative.

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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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