Mission: Successful ski traversing without
huts requires ultra-light equipment, as well as attention to
the details of carrying and using functional equipment. Gear
should be multi-purpose when possible. Avoid redundant choices
(e.g., carrying a tent and a bivvy sack, or spare sunglasses
as well as goggles). Try to reduce weight of each item. Shell
pants are notoriously heavy (purchase lighter ones); portion
out all consumables (tooth paste, sunscreen) so you carry only
what you need for planned days out; watch weight of smaller items
such as cups, spoons, gloves and hats; use only lightweight silnyl
stuff sacks; use lithium batteries for all electronic devices
(except beacons) and for spares.
Total pack weight of the gear and clothing
on this list, excluding skis/skins/boots, beacon, and the clothing
you wear while climbing should be no more
than 16 pounds, and you should be able to get it down to 15 pounds
with careful gear selection.
(Weigh pack with empty water bottle and no food, but include
shell gear and extra clothing layers.) Food weight is 1.5 lbs
per day. Group gear (tents/stoves/fuel/rope) should add up to
no more than 4 lbs per person. Goal with food and group gear
is maximum of 29 lbs (without water) for shorter ski traverses.
At the bottom of this page you'll find an online
store for
many of the items we recommend for spring backcountry skiing.
Externals and sleeping
- Pack (must
weigh less than 5 pounds, but must have solid ski or snowboard
lashing system and adequate volume, around 3,600 cubic inches.
(The Granite
Gear Nimbus Ozone is a good example of a pack that
fits the bill. Many packs are too heavy.)
- Ski poles (Any good quality alpine or backcountry
skiing pole.)
- Skis with backcountry bindings (Use shorter/lighter
ski models.)
- Ski lash strap (Long enough for multiple
uses.)
- Climbing skins (Nylon type, with tail fix
that's trouble free.)
- Ski crampons (Optional but usually carried.)
- Sleeping bag (Must be carefully chosen
to work with clothing system so you can sleep warm on colder
nights, down okay unless wet weather is expected, max weight
should be about 3
1/2 pounds.)
- Sleeping pad (Low density foam such as
Ridgerest are lightest weight, trim to narrower width.)
Clothing etc.
- Altimeter/watch
- Avalanche rescue beacon with fresh
alkaline batteries
- Super lightweight waterproof breathable
shell pants (GoLite Shadow is good choice, see online
store at bottom of page.)
- Soft pants (Marmot ATV is
a good medium weight choice.)
- Ski boots (Fit with room for toes, use
before trip to prevent blisters.)
- Socks (No more than one pair spare
socks, or just bring the ones on your feet.)
- Long sleeved sun shirt, nylon
or CoolMax, cotton if you must
- Bill-cap with ear flaps, or larger brimmed
"boonie" hat (Sun protection.)
- Soft shell jacket (Look for simplicity.)
- Insulating layer such as fleece or puff
jacket (Down or synthetic puff jacket.)
- Hard shell jacket (Waterproof/breathable
with hood, minimal design, if you carry a soft shell jacket
make sure your hard shell is super light, should weigh no more
than 12 ounces.)
- Acrylic zip turtleneck long underwear top
(Mountain Hardware's don't stink.)
- Mid-weight knit or fleece ski cap
- Balaclava, lightweight (No need for this
if your soft shell jacket has hood.)
- Lightweight gloves (Thin, with palm
wear protection, for skiing when warm.)
- Ski gloves (High quality, waterproof
breathable, not too heavy.)
- Camp booties (Something to wear so
you can get your feet out of your ski boots while cooking
etcetera, a lightweight nylon "mukluk" that goes
over your ski boot inners works well for this, is a tough
item to find.)
The idea
of the above clothing system is to use minimal upper body foundation
layers, so such layers are functional during warm temperature
travel. For stops and emergencies, you carry
a puff jacket or fleece. In all, the important thing with this
system is that you carry a few ounces less weight in upper body
layers, but actually have potential for more warmth in case of
emergency or bad weather.
In your pack
- Small LED headlamp (W/ spare batteries,
use lithium batteries, BD Ion good choice.)
- Pen + pencil + compass + notebook
- Goggles (Used for storms or if sunglasses
are lost or broken.)
- Sunglasses (Prescription if necessary.)
- Sunscreen (Medium size tube, portion out.)
- Lip balm (Make sure it is a sunblock.)
- Camera (Optional, use a miniature digital
camera, share cameras.)
- Food sack (Use lightweight sil-nyl sacks
for all stuff sacks.)
- Water bottle (1 litter or 1.5 litter size,
plan on multiple stops to replenish water, so no need to carry
large bottle. No hydration bladder. Poly bottle is lighter
then lexan.)
- Cell phone (Optional, small model, if you
bring it make sure it's fully charged. In western U.S. wilderness
you can usually only get cell phone signal on mountain and
ridge tops)
- Personal toiletry items (Includes toilet
paper, optional bandanna or small camp towl, trim weight by
keeping everything minimal and portioning out.)
- Shovel (Smaller lighter models such as
Voile XLM (17.6 oz) are appropriate, larger
groups don't need a shovel for every person, aluminum is best
for spring multi-day as can be used as stove platform and is
best for chopping through frozen corn snow to
make tent platforms etc.)
Personal repair and emergency kit,
including first aid. More extensive items to be included in group
kit.
- Fire starting items (Toilet paper with
lighter/matches, combine with ski wax to start fire.)
- Multipurpose tool or pocket knife (Beware
the huge heavy ones, get a smaller one)
- NSAID drug of choice (Aspirin etc.)
- Athletic tape
- Duct tape (Bring enough, but not a pound.)
- Mole skin for blisters (optional)
- Necessary knee
braces, etc. (Test to be sure they work for extensive hiking.)
 |
| 16 pound ski traverse pack contents.
See key below to identify items. (1)sleeping pad, (2)camp
boots, (3)cell phone and notebook , (4)sun hat, (5)backpack,
(6)small shovel, aluminum is best, (7)repair/firstaid, (8)puff
jacket and lexan cup/spoon, (9)sunscreen & socks,
(10)toothbrush etc. and water bottle, polly bottle is lighter
than lexan one shown, (11)soft shell and hard shell, (12)sleeping
bag, (13)gloves, (14) sunglasses & goggles,
(15)headlamp and balaclava, (16)ski cap, (17)ski strap |
|
|
Wildsnow.com Department Store
Lightweight
Spring Skiing Gear
Batteries.com For
lithium batteries, or buy at WalMart and other discount stores. |
Custom Search