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November 8 - 2005
Backcountry Skiing Avalanche Death

A young snowboarder died in an avalanche on Colorado's Berthoud Pass this past Sunday morning.

Samuel Teetzen's day probably started out like many of yours or mine -- excited about fresh powder and adventure with friends. He was found without his avalanche beacon, reports say he left it in his car. One wonders what went through Teetzen's mind as he headed for an avalanche slope with his snowboard, but no avalanche safety gear. Did he know it was an avalanche slope? Did he care?

Reports say Teetzen might have died from trauma, making a beacon less of an issue. But it is an issue. First, other people had to risk their lives during a lengthy search, if he'd had a beacon the search would have taken mere minutes. Second, staying alive in avalanche country is all about attitude. At home or the trailhead, putting your beacon on and testing it becomes a ritual that hopefully switches your brain to "avy mode." It's sad nothing that morning jogged Teetzen's brain into thinking the avalanche slope he planned on riding might actually avalanche.

Teetzen's accident brings another issue to the fore. Accounts state it was difficult to dig him out because of the snowboard still strapped to his feet. Will your gear come off if you get caught in a slide? Something to think about.

Yeah, despite hopes that global warming would bring us a more cohesive Colorado snowpack, that appears to not be the case. Caution is the rule.

article about backcountry skiing snowboarding avalanche accident

More 8000 meter backcountry skiing thoughts
Yesterday, distracted by the issue of meaningless "firsts," I neglected to cover what notable skiing had actually been done on Cho Oyo.

The peak is the easiest 8,0000 meter peak to climb and ski, and is very popular as a climb. By saying "easiest" I don't mean to denigrate the challenge of climbing Cho, as it's still a high, tough mountain -- especially if done without supplemental oxygen or heavy handed guiding.

Cho Oyo was first skied from the summit in 1988, by Italians Flavio Spazzadeschi and Lino Zani. In 2000 Laura Bakos backcountry skied from the summit and became the first North American woman to ski an 8000 meter peak. Laura's firsts pale in comparison to the actual 1988 first descent, but nonetheless have a lot more significance than a first based on what gear the skier used.

Another interesting factoid about Cho is it was the first 8000 meter peak to have a significant (but non-summit) ski descent: In 1964 Fritz Stammberger did the first climb of the the peak done without supplemental oxygen, then skied down from 24,000 feet. More Stammberger backcountry skiing info.

Still up for more mountain skiing firsts? The first ski descent of an 8,000 meter peak from teh summit was probably that of Josef Millenger and Peter Wrogotter, who skied teh NE face of Manaslu in 1981. More info here. After that, anotehr early ski descent of an 8,000 meter peak was done by Sylvain Saudan in 1982, on Hidden Peak (8068 meters).

Up for a bit of Saudan trivia? The guy was talented -- and also known as a somewhat harsh business man who attempted to extract profit from everything possible. He even went so far as to sue Whistler ski resort for "illegal" use of his name when they named a run after him! (The "Couloir Extreme" was originally named for Saudan).

November 7 - 2005
Backcountry Skiing First Descents -- Censorship?

A couple of people pointed me to an amusing thread on Teletips, debating whether backcountry skiing down a mountain without your heels latched down is some kind of significant "first." Along with that, a person contacted me and said they'd been censored on Teletips after dissing one of the tele mob's heroes as to "first tele" descents and such, and a major thread had subsequently been deleted from their forum! And I thought I was supposed to be the "heavy handed over bearing censor" over on the Couloir forums. Bummer someone has stolen my crown (on second thought, playing God isn't all that great anyhow, remember that movie, Bruce Almighty?)!

One such skiing "first" in question is Kasha Rigby's recent free-heel descent of Cho Oyu, the world's sixth highest mountain (in Tibet, 8,201 meters).

While arguably one of the easiest 8,000 meter peaks to climb, and certainly the easiest to backcountry ski, getting up and down ANY 8,000 meter peak is quite an accomplishment. Skiing down is notable. If nothing else, one has to admire the level of commitment this type of alpinism requires. Just rounding up the money for a Himalayan expedition is no small feat, not to mention the logistics needed for a successful trip (that is, assuming you're not sponsored, you organize the shindig yourself, and climb without oxygen.). But is the first free heel skiing of Cho Oyu something we should celebrate in terms of the sport of skiing, and record in the record books?

For more than 30 years we've been hearing claims of "first pins," "first tele," and first "free heel" when describing backcountry skiing descents. Even back when I was telemarking, those qualifiers frequently sounded like desperate cries for recognition (or free jackets) rather than true statements of any notable athletic accomplishments. These days such claims sound the same -- and elicit a big yawn since the burly version of telemark gear is nearly equal to any other ski gear in performance (e.g., tele gear with huge boots, tow truck cable bindings, gigantic skis).

Indeed, after three decades of telemark skiers attempting to gain traction for "first telemark descent" claims, the concept appears to be dead, and needing a do-not-resuscitate order. Instead, what myself and many other backcountry skiers who track this stuff are interested in is who went down something first, on skis, PERIOD.

Witness Kasha Rigby's own website, which is obviously designed to sell sponsorship deals (nothing wrong with that, by the way, but it's important to note -- if "first telemark" was that important, would it not be plastered all over her website? Perhaps that's coming in her next redesign?). Indeed, Kasha's bio mentions a handful of ski descents, but never states what type of gear was used. Can you assume it was all tele? Nope, Kasha also skis with AT gear. I admire Kasha for rising above this issue. More power to her for finding a "hook" and being a heavily sponsored tele icon -- yet not letting her website obsess on what type of gear she uses, as some of her fans appear to do.

Enough. No need to get too serious here, as I'm sure I've already generated plenty of hate mail. For with, a lighthearted look at why a first free-heel descent should be considered different from a first ski descent, with comments in parenthesis from yours truly:

"Telemarking is more fun than fixed heel skiing" (With same logic: driving a Ford is more fun than driving a Chevy, therefore the first drive of a Ford should be a big event. This is true about Jeeps, but not about Fords, or telemarking, or Subarus for that matter.)

"Telemarking is fun" (Okaaaay....repeat after me while skiing free-heel or fixed-heel down 8,000 meter peak gasping for oxygen: this is fun, this is fun, this is fun...)

"Telemarking is the most fun you can have with your cloths on" (nude photos of Kasha posing with skis have many tele-boys believing different.)

"Telemarking is as easy as randonnee skiing" (Perhaps, if your gear weighs a ton, you can't tour with it efficiently, and you're age is under 30 so you're strong enough not to know the difference.)

"Telemarking is harder so it should be considered a first" (So is skiing with your helmet over your face.)

"Telemarking is a sport that should be considered separate from fixed-heel skiing" ( Yep, as is hitting balls in a batting cage.)

"Telemarking is cool" (So is Bode Miller.)

"Alpine skiers look like their feet are stuck in cement" (See above.)

"Telemarking has soul (Sorry, Muddy Waters has soul, skiing has soul, but to say a particular turn has more soul than another? Seems a bit much. After all, Norheim's crowd invented the parallel turn too.)

"I make my living from telemarking" (Money talks!)

"Telemarking helps me meet chicks" (Kasha? Otherwise, shut up.)

"Free your heel, free your mind" (Mind, at 8,000 meters? Hey, look in my pack, are these prayer flags or my jacket? Hey, is this my right foot, or my left -- dang tele bindings?! Hand me that oxygen mask!)

"It's all skiing" (No argument there.)

Teletips thread

November 3 - 2005
Backcountry Skiing Prep in Moab

Yeah, snow has piled up in the Colorado mountains and the backcountry skiing is amazing for this time of year -- but we had to get that last Moab fix. Sitting on the deck at an Internet cafe at the moment, on Moab's main drag. Done with a day of hiking/biking/unicycling/jeeping up on Fins 'n Things trail. What a cool place for a combo trip. Tons of amazing slickrock to play on, scenic, nice driving, etc.

Some guy named Andrew tagged along for unicycle lessons. He seemed to learn fast, and tackled one of the harder obstacles with nary a whimper. He's good at backcountry skiing so that probably helped.

November 2 - 2005
Dynafit Backcountry Skiing Bindings - Mounting

A couple of people have contacted me about the Dynafit mount instructions here at Wildsnow.com. They work okay for most people, but I was placing too much emphasis on how the skis were positioned on the workbench. I did some editing work on the instructions to help with this, but here is more clarification:

Basically, for home mounting Dynafit backcountry skiing bindings without a mechanical jig it helps to have accurate marks on the skis showing the boot-center location and the Dynafit pivot location. These marks work best if they're all the way across the ski (left/right), and square to the skis tip/tail axis. By laying the skis on your workbench parallel to the edge of the bench, it's easy to make these marks with a framing square. That said, it's not necessary to obsess on these marks. If they're accurate in the tip/tail direction, and visibly not crooked, their fine.

After that, the other mark you need is a tip/tail center line drawn in the binding mount area of your backcountry skis, extending for and aft of the binding position by a few inches. This line is used to center the paper template, and thus must be accurate.

Department of travel: Heading out for a long weekend starting tomorrow, will blog on the road if possible. Back to full pace on Monday. Have new backcountry skiing pack from Backcountry Access to cover, and boot fitting will commence as well as some Dynafit mods. Also have our 1-year blogiversary coming up. Is there a way to celebrate that online? We shall see. Thanks all for visiting -- it's going to be an incredible winter!

November 1 - 2005
Backcountry Skiing Websites? Sort of...

Going crazy here working on my web client's sites that are under development. Interesting stuff, at least to some of us... If you or loved ones have any substance abuse issues, check out http://www.jaywalkerlodge.com because they take their clients backcountry skiing! Or, getting back to backcountry skiing for the masses, check out http://www.huts.org for all your Colorado hutting needs...what else...oh yeah, been gradually amping up photographer Robert Thompson's site, still in development, but coming along, see http://photo-colorado.com And, my favorite of them all: http://www.code4x4.com where they build the trucks of your dreams (or nightmares if you're of the greenie contingent).

Back to backcountry skiing, latest model of Garmont Mega Rides dropped from the sky today. As the sole length is about the same as the Dynafit Aero's blogged yesterday, here are the weights for you fanatics out there:

Dynafit Aero, sole 324, 73.5 ounces per boot
Garmont Mega Ride, sole 330, 64.8 ounces per boot

The Dynafit definitely has more shell volume, and is stiffer. The Garmont might be slightly more comfortable for touring because the shell is a touch softer, and it has a removable tongue. I'll keep blogging these contenders as season progresses.

Previous backcountry skiing blog weblog:
(Dynafit Freeride Aero randonnee boots - First Look)

Welcome to Louis (Lou) Dawson's backcountry skiing information and opinion website. Lou's passion for the past 35 years has been alpinism and back country skiing -- and all manner of outdoor recreation. He has authored numerous books and articles about backcountry skiing and snowboarding, and is well known as the first person to ski down all 54 of Colorado's 14,000-foot peaks, otherwise known as the famous Fourteeners! Books and free back country information here, as well as tons of Randonnee rando telemark backcountry skiing info.

All material on this website is copyrighted. Permission is required for reproduction, electronic or otherwise. That includes publication and display on other websites by whatever means. For more about this, PLEASE SEE OUR COPYRIGHT INFORMATION. Backcountry skiing is a dangerous sport. You may be killed or severely injured if you choose to do all forms of randonnée and randonnée skiing. The information on this website is intended only as general information for a variety of aspects of backcountry skiing and outdoor recreation. While the authors and editors of the information on this website make every effort to present useful information, due to human error the information contained within this website may be inaccurate, false, or out-of-date. By using the information provided on this website, you agree to absolve the owners of WildSnow.com of any liability for injuries or losses incured while using such information.

Always go backcountry skiing with a partner, and learn about avalanche safety before you ski outside of ski and snowboard resorts. The best season for this sport is late winter and spring, when the snowpack compacts and avalanche danger is more predictable. The Colorado wilderness backcountry skiing season reaches its prime in May and June. Maritime snow such as that of the Pacific Northwest may be less avalanche prone than continental snow of that such as Colorado and Wyoming. The California Sierra also provides a relatively reliable snowpack for backcountry skiing, snowboarders, snowmobilers, telemarkers and the like. Backcountry skiing is a wonderful sport, but it can transition in moments from wonder to tragedy. You agree to use any of this website's information, maps, photos, or binding mounting instuctions or templatates at your own risk, and waive Wildsnow.com its owners and contributors of any liability for use of said items.

Keywords: Ski Information, Info, Outdoors, Wilderness Skiing, Randonnée and randonnée, Ski Mountaineering, also Ski Alpinismo and Backcountry Skiing.