The Skintrack Podcast
Backountry Gear Pt4
So you're getting you have your venom lt. What is your opinion during a ski mountaineering? I feel like there's two there's two ways to good it either you're rich and you buy the black diamond whip it or You do what we like to call the poor man to whip it and you take a couple ski straps and tie your ice axe to your ski pole Honestly, I've been the price working at waskin One of the narrator lines on Tampa nukas last year to grunge grunge. I used to ski capture it wasn't awful Like it wasn't great, but it's like honestly Ice axe did anything is just give me more secure to whip it in terms like actual falling and like hardback conditions also My opinion of going like uphill with it always you could be nice if you were trying to go fast and light but I also don't I'm not good at skidding uphill and I'd do rather have I touch all the booting and so you know with it So it's like for now until I get better. I will get whip it someday And I think it's worth the investment like you got the money I would say I would do it with it for sure. That makes sense like it's me a little nicer. I'm not sure like You know to be honest the homie with it brought out I'll help you too much you fall on the grunge anyways if you're ripping a big turn at 55 degree You know ice she doesn't ice it was barely edgeful snow Yeah, it was edgeable we'll put it that way edgeable on a 108 which means it couldn't be too bad exactly But I mean it was also better to as well for my buddy Seamus on the 90 on the award free birds. Yeah. Yeah I'm just a good skier. I guess you know, but yeah, I'm trying to whip it Yes spikey things always essential also ski trampons. Like I said all possible binding you have like Plumb has their own binding like ski trampon 8k genifit and ski travel use the same dean if it's our scepter, but I think you can yeah You can use dean if it a tk a tk and ski trap binding the ski trampons are the exact same These yeah, so I see is basically one sort of lies in the market. They're really strong There's simply not even a dean of hit one, but where our pictures key best so that's also another consideration with bindings is you look at it and you say I'm choosing a binding, but for at least my skinny skis I also need to think do I like this crampon attachment cuz some are you know, nice like plum I've used theirs. I love it. It's just drop in forget about it. Some are more complex I think the only ones are actually really bad would be interesting like see crampon be it the g3 attachment How about say some people like that like right saying guy? Let me just get his crampons out one day. He has me He's like I love this touch like I can't be finicky, but overalls really nice, but I Have her issues in the significant ones like their scepter can snap off really easy Or is it a 2k and ski trampons were built up a little beefier and you've heard that issue before so there's corks I have heard I haven't used myself But the plums key crampons are probably the best one in the market But they are the best if you don't want ski cramp on he wants plum binding I want to worry about that too much like he's what in a ticket by November. I want to worry about it that much be honest like Unless you have certain purposes, right? So yeah, it's my thing is ski crampons So I think we've covered all the spiky stuff at least that we use Much more than that be honest. Yeah, it's like I think it's like technical ice climbing ice group, but yeah What do you want to cover next? Well, I think we have left accessories, right accessories or safety gear Safety gear safety last Now to clarify Owen may believe in that But I do not I am a big fan of billing. I do like being safe, but You got a little you know Disclaimer is I would definitely Not take my advice on out of last train 100% seriously like I would just say that I guess a big disclaimer. I would say is roll Not guides we suck. Yeah Yeah, I wouldn't trust us in that exactly so we skip safety right now. You know, yeah, that's it We're not really extra messed up. I mean, I would say do your research take classes and check the forecast We can't run check before us. Yeah. I would say take classes which will teach you how to check the forecast. Yeah Yeah, that's some more important gear and your education know before you go shout out to Bruce temper read staying alive in avalanche terrain I don't have it with me right now, but I'll tell you what you can find it on Amazon You can find it on skimo co is the best book for avalanche safety. I think that I've ever seen yeah I can agree on that and Bruce temper is a Utah avalanche forecaster or was yeah, he still is he's retired No, yeah, so well accessories. Well, yes. He pulls honestly ski pulls that they work. They work Yes, he pulls my preference are powdered baskets. Okay, you know, you need powder baskets an extended grip and Adjustable, that's all I really care about. Oh, yeah, basically it's good backcountry ski pool Yeah, don't if you don't want to look like a noob and also have a more fun time get a backcountry specific bowl Please don't use resort. Well, okay. You're saying adjustable one of the times are a battery ski pool seat But that is a preference for me I like it adjustable because it means I can ski it shorter on the downhill Taller on the uphill a lot of times you can ski it with like a hundred or ten years above your hand and you're like Yeah, you're like doing one of those you do like one of those But it's in Venice, right? I like this You have the gondola like push pole thing Perfect it's not preference now. I personally I don't like to love a ton. I think they don't encourage the best Form a ski okay. Well, they encourage schema dad turns they do because it's like They do all thing. Yeah, Jim Ryan a ski on that's sure on so so Like I said, it's not a preference that I would just choose ever like don't worry about that Just choose ever you want I want to do in this when I pulls Person of the polls when I get I might get a lot of polls to match my skis because you know I like matching stuff is kind of fun to do and I don't know I might get black cross pulls or pulls or made a really high quality and it's nice. I think those pulls are nice I do like their pulls Yeah, I don't know so the side. I'm not gonna carbon pulls out and probably never do carbon pulls up Like FKTs. I'll skis. Yeah, I just feel like there's too many times where I like whack a tree with it or Put it in too hard into the snow or something like that Too fair. I have 100 ski with carbon poles and nothing breaks when those are right. It's true I mean my children poles are carbon. So it's like some look what I Have her first up people like they break them in a race and they stab their thigh with like the carbon like mmm Like yeah, it doesn't feel great. Yeah, let's just say that but yeah Well accessories helmet. You gotta have that bold brain bucket. Yeah for sure. So my priority is I Can remove their adjustable. I can remove the ear muffs. Yeah, and they're mips They have to be mips you talking trash my pet soul major Okay, that's a great helmet in its way, but is it a particularly safe helmet? Not necessarily is mine is your goal is to just get hit by rocks. You shouldn't fall your goals to hit by rocks No, you're going to like if a rock comes down. You should be okay But you're not supposed to fall so as far as impact protection. It's only like overhead hazard. Yeah, it's really meant to I mean, I will say I own that helmet. I think it's like a 200 gram mark. I own a resort helmet. I Took the resort helmet out Maybe all the days over twice. Yes, you don't make fun of us But it's what you have and honestly, that's another good point is just if what you have Yeah, exactly out there and do it. You'll learn how to figure out your gear Why don't you do it the better you for money? I'm investing lots of money into it at first and be like, oh, this is all wrong I don't know what I've done. They'd be like start as cheap as you can like reason I actually get a good like so get good gears yourself a good experience, but you don't need to like Mmm five thousand dollars worth of skis five dollars worth of boots like well I mean, I don't know if it's actually going to cheap Yeah, don't go like ten K&S sport and be like actually a love-action scheme Sort of like two grand users were a gear and figure out as you go the only thing not to skimp on is classes Yeah, and I guess beacons, but that's well, I see the bigger thing is a good partner. Yeah, it's like Like I said disclaimer to all of this well, we're sure should talk about this is atmosphere He technically but I took a level one class and it's kind of meant to stare at a lot of trains But we kind of say me too sure if you want to get into it I would recommend taking that level one is still great. It's usually lots of good skills in there, but it's definitely like Here's out of that strain don't go into that much train without more knowledge, which that's reasonable actually I'm even more knowledge, but you took what you took a rest class, right? I took a rescue class and then I also I've done a lot of reading And then I also took basically an air online class That's essentially the equivalent of a level one just without the field base Yeah, so you kind of did our field day for a lot of one was mostly refracts these nerves and a single snow pit So yeah, it's kind of covered it. Yeah, so I Mean just practice your gear practice practice practice get partners who can help mentor you and I hate you safe That's the biggest thing. I was lucky to find a great mentor last year My friend shame is still in great mentor It's about finding someone who's like really take you out there like, you know You know, I guess the thing is find someone who You know, you're not don't be the weak point in the group. So like nothing, you know, make strong to be knowledgeable But find the mentor knows more than you is pretty crucial and also don't be scared to ask because I feel like for most people Their goal is to get other people out there having fun and hands right cuz there doesn't hurt to ask Don't be pushy, but definitely ask because the worst that happens is they say no Yeah, I just really agree with that I thought she needs a really test you saw a subject I don't know much about it like all my decisions are all personal really, you know, or within me and my groups as all different like Those people I push limits and what is safe and what it's not like I will say that I mean some people are like are you pretty conservative, but Kind of the most people I do push it a lot. I mean even just like I'm more conservative Oh, you know, but like we both are firm believers in storm skiing. Yeah, I love that I mean, I may or may not break your traditional lines of what's safe and what's not. I mean I've skied I'm not like trying to like be like, yeah, I've done this and it's like it's all fine, but I have skied a 3000 foot big car in Socked in conditions Snowing pretty heavy fluffing about the walls and it was like I think the forecast is moderate a day And it was considerable of a relation to be skied moving 500 feet up for elevation terrain It's like we skied it and there's but that's for having a strong crew comes in so everyone knows her with me It was more interesting to me and you know, they Five to 15 years back to screen is kind of where to act. So they know a lot more and obviously Nothing you ought to make sure except more I'm not sure if he's hard to talk about new like full disclosure once again I can't stress that enough, but Yeah, it's like this knowledge is a big thing. It's having time out there's a big thing. So yeah, let's say that I'll just put it out there nice I'm looking I'm looking at you across the table. You've got the most expensive Sunglasses on planet earth that aren't like a designer brand They're expensive. Why expensive sunglasses. I like my eyes tight, bro Well, I don't want to get my corny as burned So you have a photochromic lens I Have to be like goggles and glasses I got like a wider lens like mountain biking. I use it for mountain biking ski 20 and trail running It's not fun. I've had three lessons at clear lines. I have like a middle-range lens, and I have a good dark lens ski touring I wear the dark lens The brand is brand is just me sunny typically or I'm just like in bigger conditions I'm not trying to ski big sort of like that if I see storm I have my goggles because it keeps more snow up obviously and it's not as much of a tint as my black one So it's better for like low light and if it's really low light and just like really soft and steam I will wear like a low light lens my goggles, and I did get a pair of glacier Classes, so that's a photochromic goes from class one to class four or five like the highest cluster is so I can tell you like glaciers And my eyes will be safe. I like my eyes tight. I like instead of blindness Not fun. I've been there like having had snow blindness before not full-on like blindness But like super blurry is incredibly painful and you can't ski which is the most important part exactly like it Yeah, so I was a big thing honestly, it's like you don't think go pretty cheap I you make it work, but I mean you have me I have a pair of wide lenses that were free I have a light lens and a dark lens on my goggles. Those were free too The only glasses I've ever bought were like 90 bucks, and they're my um jolbo-sto Like glacier goggles and you can also get glaciers off for cheaper It's a little class like mine's a photochromic. That's more expensive. Those are expensive but they are expensive like glacier is it I can reverse class for a class five lines, but Just not photochromic, photochromic means it changes tint level. So Not like that because it very versatile, but yeah, you got to do finding stuff that doesn't have it But if you ever have a mission doing a glacier or is going on glacier You probably will need it or at least like a very like dark lens like a 10% tint And the nice thing is I feel like also if you're not if you don't Necessarily don't think I need a big name brand. Look at little name brands too because there are photochromic Sunglasses like they're like 60 to 80 bucks. Like that's way less than a $300 But you know like over a hundred but they're pretty sweet and they have a cool. I've seen cheaper ones too from random brands Yeah, but I'm thinking about myself. Yeah, this sort of culture as well. Yeah