Education

I’ve been ski touring for only a few seasons now so still consider myself a newcomer to the sport. Unfortunately during my second season I fell in with a bad crowd and was introduced to Joel, one of the dreaded skimo racers. He skins fast and bootpacks faster and was really a poor partner for someone as unfit as me.

When I am not at SkiUphill cutting skins, fitting boots or mounting bindings, I am a physiotherapist at Rocky Mountain Rehab and Sports Medicine in Canmore. Technique and equipment play huge roles in performance, injury prevention and how much you enjoy your time outside backcountry skiing or trail running. Our mission is to put customers on the right equipment for them and to educate them regarding progression, injury prevention, fit, technique or simply on where to go! Here is an article I wrote a little while ago about hip flexors and backcountry skiing.

We’ve talked about how you can use the skills that are familiar to you on the resort to ski in backcountry terrain (Part 1), how do you equip yourself with the knowledge for safe travel in Avalanche Safety Training (AST 1) in Part 2, following the weather for where to ski and what aspects (Part 3) and last week we talked about what gear can make backcountry skiing more efficient and comfortable. Well we are at the point of putting it all together and getting out on the slopes. 

Next up on our Backcountry 101 is following the snow. We all know that backcountry skiing can be dangerous so it’s a good idea to keep tabs on the weather to keep on top of what the snowpack is doing.

Second part of our Backcountry 101 series: Avalanche Training and awareness. Avalanche danger is one of those things that scare people off backcountry skiing or snowboarding the most. While it's impossible to eliminate completely the risk of avalanches, it is certainly possible to mitigate and reduce risks to acceptable levels to most skiers.

There are tons of resources out there to stay up to date on current avalanche conditions...

To many skiers, backcountry skiing sounds intimidating. Going to seldom-visited areas, dodging avalanches, skiing between cliffs and dangerous terrains sounds like quite the daredevil activity, but reality is different in most ways. Backcountry skiing is what you want it to be. It can be a safe and enjoyable activity . Beginners have a point though by saying this is all a bit confusing. What to start with? How to make this all look less overwhelming? The obvious and often heard answer is : Take an AST-1 course. This is a great idea, but there is a lot more to the backcountry skier's skillset. This Backcountry 101 will cover the different aspects of backcountry skiing as well as useful resources.

Partnerships in business can be win-win if you’re willing to work with what you think is your competition. The end goal should be to increase the sport of ski touring and helping to ensure the customers win with strategic partnerships. We have been fortunate to partner with skimo.co for knowledge and advice for boot fitting, mounting and equipment.

A couple of weeks back Joel got a heads up from one Andrew Wexler aka The Best Skier On The Mountain that he should check out Commonwealth Couloir. This was a line I’d put on my ‘never even consider’ list so I was apprehensive to say the least. Still, Joel has a winning smile and it’s hard to say no to the guy so we went up for a look.

After a successful weekend on the Parkway (see previous post) we were riding high. With news that the Whitehorn and Robson had been skied Joel and I had to channel some of that stoke and do something big (for us). We settled on the plan to head up to the recently opened Neil Colgan hut in the Valley of the Ten Peaks for a look at how things were keeping up there.

A high pressure system poked its nose in on the tail end of some snow so the weekend looked like a great time to head up to the Columbia Icefields area and have another go at the Skyladder.

I love mellow skin tracks. I love being able to glide effortlessly up a slope while staying flat on my skis. Each time I went to Utah I found myself cursing about those "in your face straight up" skin tracks. It seemed like I spent my entire time on the highest riser position. Being on a race heel with only 1 riser, I cursed a lot. More efficient or not? I'm not sure there is an answer to that...

"My skins were glopping so bad, I was carrying the entire skintrack uphill."

Spring. Powder in the morning, corn in the afternoon. Leaving before dawn for long epic missions for those lines we think of all winter. Skin failure problems and glopping, which varies greatly depending on brands.