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    The Bunion Solution — Extreme Mod For Wide Feet

    by Guest Blogger March 8, 2021
    written by Guest Blogger
    The completed bunion retrofit, hole covered with Gear Aid Gore-Tex patch.

    The completed bunion retrofit, hole covered with Gear Aid Gore-Tex patch.

    Written by Ted Kerasote

    When the English writer Eric Newby set out to go mountaineering in Afghanistan, he couldn’t find a pair of boots in all of England that would fit him. He had a pair specially made in Brescia, and upon seeing Newby’s feet, the Italian bootmaker remarked, as Newby relates in A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush, “Sir, these are not the feet of a man, but of a monkey.” When I first read those lines, I thought the bootmaker was speaking of me.

    From an early age my feet were so wide that I had to wear custom shoes. They only got wider. As one orthopedic surgeon diplomatically put it after taking off my left bunion, “You have poor foot architecture.” What he meant was, “You have the feet of a monkey.” My twelve-year-old niece, prone to hyperbole, was more graphic. “Uncle Ted,” she said, “your feet make me want to vomit.”

    None of this stopped me from skiing, of course, and over the years, I stretched, punched out, melted, and otherwise modified more ski boots than could fit in the Wing of Tortured Feet at Chamonix’s Musée Alpin. Matters came to a head this winter after three long ascents of peaks in Grand Teton National Park. My remaining right bunion developed bursitis, swelled to almost the size of a golf ball, and an open blister formed on top of it. The pain was so acute, I couldn’t ski: not uphill, not downhill; I couldn’t even get my foot into my ski boot.

    Continue Reading
    March 8, 2021 7 comments
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  • Using the Avalanche Forecast for Trip Planning

    by Jonathan Cooper March 5, 2021
    by Jonathan Cooper March 5, 2021

    Tips on how to incorporate the avalanche forecast in your trip planning to move safely through avalanche terrain in group setting.

  • Voluntary PIEPS Beacon Recall Issued in Europe, Plans for US

    by Manasseh Franklin March 4, 2021
    by Manasseh Franklin March 4, 2021

    Black Diamond/PIEPS issues a voluntary recall for PIEPS DSP Pro, DSP Sport and DSP Pro Ice avalanche beacons in Europe, Asia, South America and the Pacific.

  • The Gothic Mountain Tour: Not Just a Training Race

    by Manasseh Franklin March 3, 2021
    by Manasseh Franklin March 3, 2021

    Highlights and lessons learned at the Gothic Mountain Tour, a 23.5 mile ski mountaineering race that circumnavigates Gothic Mountain in Crested Butte.

  • How Has Covid Influenced Backcountry Skiing?

    by Manasseh Franklin March 2, 2021
    by Manasseh Franklin March 2, 2021

    Survey from Montana State University, University of Nevada and National Avalanche Center to identify and understand trends between Covid and backcountry skiing.

  • Ski Touring Boots 2021-22 — Upgrades to Past Favs

    by Slator Aplin March 1, 2021
    by Slator Aplin March 1, 2021

    Overview of new touring boots for 2021-22 including upgraded options from Scott, Dynafit, Scarpa, La Sportiva, Tecnica and more.

  • Ski Touring News Review February 2021 — Backcountry.dot.com, Critters, Shark Tank, more

    by Lou Dawson February 26, 2021
    by Lou Dawson February 26, 2021

    Ski touring news and review, backcountry February 2021.

  • Totally Deep Podcast 85 — Serious Powder Talk with Doug & Randy

    by TheEditors OfWildsnow February 25, 2021
    by TheEditors OfWildsnow February 25, 2021

    On Totally Deep Podcast Episode 85, Doug and Randy dig deep into avalanches, powder madness and how we can all contribute to a safer backcountry.

  • Making Turns and Skintracks at Bluebird Backcountry

    by Manasseh Franklin February 24, 2021
    by Manasseh Franklin February 24, 2021

    Visit to Bluebird Backcountry in norther Colorado, the only backcountry ski area in the US that offers ski touring, avalanche safety classes and guiding.

  • Food for Thought: On Slopes Above 25 Degrees, THINK

    by Mike Marolt February 22, 2021
    by Mike Marolt February 22, 2021

    Beyond the halls of formal avalanche education, the most simple way to avoid getting ‘lanched is to pay attention to slope angles.

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Recent Comments

  • VTskier on Voluntary PIEPS Beacon Recall Issued in Europe, Plans for US
  • Tuck on The Bunion Solution — Extreme Mod For Wide Feet
  • mario renzi on Light(ish) & Robust — 2021/22 Fischer Transalp First Look
  • Tom on The Bunion Solution — Extreme Mod For Wide Feet
  • Travis on Ski Touring Boots 2021-22 — Upgrades to Past Favs

Gear Reviews

  • Light(ish) & Robust — 2021/22 Fischer Transalp First Look

    February 18, 2021
  • Skis From the Future — 2021/22 Is All About the Freeride

    February 11, 2021
  • An Education on the Ephemeral Glide — Bases, Wax and DPS Phantom

    February 4, 2021

Trip Reports

  • Making Turns and Skintracks at Bluebird Backcountry

    February 24, 2021
  • Celebrating the Low Danger, Low Angle Ski Tour

    February 16, 2021
  • Cooke City in Photos — Montana Trip Report

    January 29, 2021

Totally Deep Podcast

  • Drinking Beer with the Bench Girls — Totally Deep Podcast 84

    February 12, 2021
  • Griffin Post Stays Home — Totally Deep Podcast 83

    January 10, 2021
  • Risky Business — Zahan Billimoria on Solving for Z

    December 14, 2020

Tips & Tricks

  • Celebrating the Low Danger, Low Angle Ski Tour

    February 16, 2021
  • Warm Toes for Cold Smoke — Tips To Keep Your Feet Toasty

    February 8, 2021
  • The Five Pillars of Skintrack Wisdom

    December 17, 2020

Ski Touring Stories

  • Envisioning a Friendly, Busier Backcountry — Shaun Deutschlander Q&A

    January 18, 2021
  • Giving Myself the Gift of Backcountry

    January 15, 2021
  • Six Who Dared — Elk Mountains Traverse & Richard Compton Tribute

    January 7, 2021

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