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Backcountry Skiing: Not Always Extreme
This past week, in addition to nursing an injured knee, I've been running around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to finish up last minute preparations for my fast approaching trip to Kashmir, India (more on this in another post). I needed to blow off a little steam though, so I called my friend Allen and proposed that we go check out an area I'd been curious about for some time.
This particular spot is highly visible on Google Earth, and, from the comfort of our desk chairs, looked very thinned out, and fun to ski. To top it off, it had a north east aspect, and so would have been sheltered from the stiff winds from earlier in the week.
Well, we spent about 2 hours hiking in, and though we found some beautiful terrain, and had a fun exploring, the day was missing one of the key elements of a perfect ski outing: steep terrain.
Allen, trying to make the most of an essentially flat ski tour.
Allen said it best on the way out: "We took a spot on the map with a question mark over it, and turned it into a spot on the map with a big "X" over it". We won't be going back very soon.
Terrain is what you make of it though, and a rugged touring setup (heavy X-country gear) would have made this little outing a lot more interesting. Rugged touring gear, unlike our downhill oreanted Alpine Touring gear, is rooted in the nordic/tele world, and allows for easy movement over rolling terrain. If this is something you're interested in, I'd suggest looking into a ski like the Kahru guide, or Rossingnol BC90, to get a sense of what I'm talking about.
This particular spot is highly visible on Google Earth, and, from the comfort of our desk chairs, looked very thinned out, and fun to ski. To top it off, it had a north east aspect, and so would have been sheltered from the stiff winds from earlier in the week.
Well, we spent about 2 hours hiking in, and though we found some beautiful terrain, and had a fun exploring, the day was missing one of the key elements of a perfect ski outing: steep terrain.
Allen, trying to make the most of an essentially flat ski tour.
Allen said it best on the way out: "We took a spot on the map with a question mark over it, and turned it into a spot on the map with a big "X" over it". We won't be going back very soon.
Terrain is what you make of it though, and a rugged touring setup (heavy X-country gear) would have made this little outing a lot more interesting. Rugged touring gear, unlike our downhill oreanted Alpine Touring gear, is rooted in the nordic/tele world, and allows for easy movement over rolling terrain. If this is something you're interested in, I'd suggest looking into a ski like the Kahru guide, or Rossingnol BC90, to get a sense of what I'm talking about.
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Contributors
Eric Wilbur is a lifelong recreational skier who spends most of his winter and spring in the mountains of New England. He does not ski in jeans. You can read more of Eric's work here.
Heather Burke is an award winning ski journalist with over a decade of ski news coverage. As a former ski instructor and a ski parent, she knows the ski biz from the inside out. She and her family visit New England ski resorts, as well as the West and Canada, to report on the latest trends and their best family finds. Her husband Greg takes all the accompanying photos, and their work can be seen at www.familysktitrips.com and www.luxuryskitrips.com.
Contributors
Eric Wilbur is a lifelong recreational skier who spends most of his winter and spring in the mountains of New England. He does not ski in jeans. You can read more of Eric's work here.
Heather Burke is an award-winning ski journalist with over a decade of ski news coverage. As a former ski instructor and a ski parent, she knows the ski biz from the inside out. She and her family visit New England ski resorts, as well as the West and Canada, to report on the latest trends and their best family finds. Her husband Greg takes all the accompanying photos, and their work can be seen at www.familyskitrips.com and www.luxuryskitrips.com.
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