WISDOM FROM THE CREW
Tips from Backcountry Vets
By Louis Dawson
I'm humbled by the creativity of the backcountry glisse community. Year after year, you all keep refining tips and techniques that make the sport safer, more fun, and more efficient. Below is a limited collection of such wisdom. About the only question these folks left me with was which credit card makes a better wax scraper, Visa or AMEX?
Bruce Edgerly from Backcountry Access had the avy beacon beta. "Fine-tune your beeper search technique. Bury two beepers together, deep (don't tell the searchers, of course). Watch the fun as they try to sort out the two signals. For more torture, bury one beacon in a vertical position to the side of search area. Bury another, in the horizontal position, farther down the hill in the middle of the search path. If the searchers don't stick to proper technique they'll blow by the vertical beeper and have to climb back up the hill to get it. To keep things fun include cookies or beer with the 'victims'."
Ace guide Bob Perlmutter gave me a couple of winners. "When you're climbing on skins, pick a point up and ahead of you, like a ridge line or summit. Concentrate on that point instead of your ski tips. By keeping your head tilted up and your shoulders back, this helps you keep your weight rearward and you'll climb with a lot more traction and confidence." Bob also has a trick named after him. When everyone else is fiddling with their packs, skins, gear, and whatnot, there goes Bob...you're left standing there wondering how the guy gets so far ahead without even breathing hard. You've been "perled." Bob's secret? "I just keep all the little essentials handy so I don't have to take my pack off to get them. I've got light and heavy gloves ready to change, a headband to swap for my hat when I warm up, chapstick, a sport bar -- all in my pockets. I don't over dress at the start, and I use my pit zips."
Lou's tip 1: Cell phones. Hateful or cute,
they’re useful tools.
If you want a phone strictly for emergencies, carry a de-activated
rig. You won't pay a monthly charge, and you can still make a 911 or
charge-card call. To make such a phone reliable, get a power cord for
your car, and an AA or AAA battery pack for the trail. Bear in mind
that cell phones are unreliable in the backcountry. You may not get
a connection while you're in a valley, but climb to a high-point
and you often can (with the exception of vast wilderness such as
Alaska or the Yukon ).
Craig Dostie at Couloir Magazine gave his snowflake's
worth: "You know
how everyone thinks they need a tail hook on their skins? The reason
is, each time they take off their skins, most people get their fingers
all over the glue near the tail, end up contaminating it, and that's
why they need the hook. Next time you get a set of skins leave the
tail hook off. Every time you remove your new skins, carefully pry
up the tail section while touching the glue as little as possible.
Soon as you have about 12 inches off your ski, double the tail back
on itself, thus forming a handle. Now you can grab the tail of the
skin and pull all you want without getting your hands on the glue.
I guarantee, if you don't contaminate your tail glue, in most cases
you won't need tail hooks."
Double your water supply with no extra weight?
Canadian guidebook scribe Chic Scott relates his gem of genius. "Carry
a thermos filled with the hottest liquid you can make. Scoop a cup
full of snow before you pour from the thermos. The hot drink melts
the snow. Thus, you've got extra water with no extra weight. You
have easily made up for the weight of your thermos -- and in the
morning when it's cold you've got a hot drink when you need it."
Two tips from the Ruedi: "If you're on one of my trips, and have safety straps or cables on your bindings, I'll ask you to remove the straps for uphill travel. That way you've got one more thing in your favor if you get avalanched. Of course, you have to put the straps back on for each downhill run, but that extra bit of work is worth the added safety. And there is one thing I have to drill into my customers over and over: When we stop at the end of a climb, we take our skins off and switch to downhill mode before we start eating and resting, that way we're not trying to do all that hand work after we get cold."
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Publisher and author Brian Litz related a simple tip I'm ashamed to admit ignorance of. "When your skin glue gets frosted or wet," he says, "plant a ski firmly in the snow, wrap you skin around the ski with the glue towards the base, then drag the skin over an edge, back and forth, like those butt reducers they used to have in health clubs. This scrapes and squeegees off the ice and moisture, and probably warms the glue up a bit. They always stick after this treatment."
Not
hungry but your planks are sticky? Suzy Sutphin relates a culinary
treat: "My skis during my last trip didn't have
any wax, and I was picking up so much snow it was impossible to move.
My friend Dan and I were racking our brains, thinking what
can we put on these things so I can get home. Dan reaches into his
pocket and comes out with an energy bar. We scraped the skis as
best we could with a credit card, rubbed the waxy Balance bar chocolate
on, and I glided home to the car in true MacGyver style!"
Lou's tip 2: Figure out a way to carry your shovel without the shaft sticking up like an antenna. Break it down and carry inside your pack, or strap on the outside with the shaft separate from the blade. The "antenna shaft" catches on tree branches, digs in and jerks you around if you take a beater fall, and plain looks geeky.
Aspen area guide Scott Messina waxed enthusiastic. "Don't
be afraid of nordic wax. Tele or randonnee, if you're skiing a flat
trail put your skins away and wax a kicker under your foot. Keep
the wax thin and don't use anything softer than extra purple. Contrary
to conventional wisdom, an occasional wax job like this won't contaminate
your skins, as the wax wears off quickly while you ski (scrape and
polish any residue before applying your skins). The best way to learn
nordic waxing is to take a seminar from your local nordic center.
You'll be amazed how much energy you can save with this, but it only
works well with colder snow, since the sticky wax you use with warm
snow is tough to apply and remove and will gook up your skins."
From the wife: “My tip is an opportunity
to indulge in every women’s dream,” says Lisa. “Something
involving a man?” queries Lou (ever the stud muffin). “No,
dear, CHOCOLATE! I always fill my pocket with a baggy of chocolate
covered espresso beans. Then, on an alpine start (read anything earlier
than 7:00 AM) I munch a few while I’m starting the climb. Its
a great way to get some pep, especially if you had to leave town
before Starbucks opened. Don't eat too many, or you'll become a specimen
in some biology project."
And
then we have Subpeak, a French guide I met a few years ago, at 1:00
A.M., near the top of the famous Wall of Death near Crested Butte Colorado.
According to Sub: "La haute-route du Mont Rose à skis est un "must" en
matière de ski-alpinisme. Toujours au-dessus de 4000, nous traversons
successivement le Breithorn, le Castor, le Naso del liskam et la Pyramide
Vincent pour culminer le dernier jour à la Punta Gnifetti (4554
m), avec, la cerise sur le gateau, la superbe descente (2 700 m de
denivelé) du Grenzgletscher puis du Gornergletscher jusqu'a
Zermatt."
Okay Sub, but you got any espresso beans?
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