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Things you wish someone had told you before your first day in the backcountry

Yepow

Excuse me, I'm an intermediate
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Hey all!

My 17-yo son is very excited to start learning about the backcountry and what's safe out there (he likes exploring and hucking off of things). For his birthday we gave him Avalanche Safety Training 1, coming up this weekend in and around Canmore through a reputable company. There's an option for an add-on day of ski touring on the Monday. Turns out that you need to be 18+ without a parent or guardian, so guess what feckless rube will be joining him in the hinterlands and completing his own AST1 this weekend, followed by a day of guided beginner touring?!

We have the basic gear list... but if you have any words of wisdom for our first couple of days (first day standing around doing the field day of AST1, second day our first ever day of touring, with a guide helping us) please let me know! That way maybe I won't do the *I WISH I HAD* :)

The company is providing probe/shovel/beacon and training on that. We are renting (shudder, rental boots) boots, skis+touring bindings, poles.
 

jmeb

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Good parents -- that's a helluva a bday gift.

It's probably a short book to get the response right. A couple of keys from my own time and teaching others.

- Start cold going uphill. (But keep plenty of layers in your pack.) Otherwise you we be delayering after 10 minutes.
- Practice with your gear before you get to the trailhead. Stepping in/out of your bindings. Applying/removing skins. Even familiarity with another person's gear (since you're renting) will help.
- Eat and drink frequently, but in moderation. You'll use a bunch of energy in a full day of touring.
- Read avalanche.ca forecast for the zone you're touring in. Start now, read it everyday from now until you go. Be aware that Canadian zones are dynamic, so it might be worth reading adjacent zones too if you're near the edge of a region.
- Choose a GPS mapping tool. Get maps downloaded for your zone to your phone ahead of time. Sure, guide will likely direct you, but getting in the habit is good. Im CONUS based but know a few guides up North -- Gaia is popular. Caltopo and OnX are big down here.
- Spending a few hours on Avy Savvy (avysavvy.avalanche.ca). will help ease a large amount of learning in an AST1. If you know the high level stuff you can retain more detailed info and ask clarifying questions.
- Watch your guide closely. They will communicate so many subtle habits in their actions you can learn from that they may not have time to directly teach. How steep is their skin track? Where are the looking when navigating? What's their layering schema? What riser are they on? What is the order of steps they use to transition?

Good skiing is a lucky outcome of touring, not the expected outcome. You should expect to spend time safely in the mountains with people you like. You'll be walking uphill/transitioning 95% of the time. Enjoy it.
 
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Yepow

Yepow

Excuse me, I'm an intermediate
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So so useful! Thank you! Good news is I"m already calibrated on "a few nice days with my son" and any actual skiing we do after this long walk in rental boots will be gravy if it's fun :)
 

dan ross

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So so useful! Thank you! Good news is I"m already calibrated on "a few nice days with my son" and any actual skiing we do after this long walk in rental boots will be gravy if it's fun :)
How cool was that ?-ask a question and get an expert , considered answer. Good job, Dad. :D Have fun.
 

Philpug

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Avi training is worth it, backcountry skiing or inbounds. Good on you.
 

TrueNorth

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Good skiing is a lucky outcome of touring, not the expected outcome. You should expect to spend time safely in the mountains with people you like. You'll be walking uphill/transitioning 95% of the time. Enjoy it.

This is important. Lots of people have a distorted view of backcountry skiing, from countless movies and edits which focus on the highlights -- the 5% of the time spent skiing down on the 5% of days when conditions are great. People who are only focused on the down, not the whole package and the experience of being in the mountains with friends, will probably be disappointed.
 
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Yepow

Yepow

Excuse me, I'm an intermediate
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This is important. Lots of people have a distorted view of backcountry skiing, from countless movies and edits which focus on the highlights -- the 5% of the time spent skiing down on the 5% of days when conditions are great. People who are only focused on the down, not the whole package and the experience of being in the mountains with friends, will probably be disappointed.
We will see about my son's perspective as well. I really like the "being safe in the mountains with people you like" way of putting it. I personally know that right now I like lift service and avalanche control and lots of runs and safety patrol as my regular jam. But this is a different experience, tied together with a strong safety component, and hopefully something we can think about before Delirium Dive and/or any cat skiing we might do.

Good news is he will have the chance to work this into his independent study course at school as well!
 

jmeb

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I personally know that right now I like lift service and avalanche control and lots of runs and safety patrol as my regular jam.

I like it too. My experience is that skiing backcountry made me enjoy inbounds skiing more.

I now can choose to go ski untouched, unconsolidated pow when it snows. The first powder backcountry run makes you realize what powder skiing can be. I don't fret about chasing fresh snow inbounds. When it comes it comes. I just enjoy lots of vertical, chalk, wind buff, groomers, bumps.
 

SBrown

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Dial it back. The snow can be funky, there are unmarked hazards, and there is no ski patrol to come scoop you with a sled 5 minutes after you're hurt.

(I was out yesterday, mostly just seeking information, and literally skinned "down" part of the hill after we dug our pit, since it was so junky. No way did I want to ski 5 in. breakable crust over a foot of absolute junky facets.)
 
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Yepow

Yepow

Excuse me, I'm an intermediate
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@jmeb THANK YOU again for the suggestions, including doing AvvySavvy before we take our class today. I've completed it as well as a couple of the other resources, and I even got the 17year old to get most of the way through. I think it's going to make a great foundation for the details of the course over the next couple of days, and the intro to touring day on Monday.
 

Slim

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@Yepow , any chance of flipping that.
ideally you’d do the day of guided touring first, then do the avalanche course.
Basically, you want to get all the kinks of touring (transitions, dressing, eating) figured out first, then do the Avy course and focus on learning.


If that is not an option, at least take out your (rental) AT gear for an afternoon before hand. Somewhere safe, like inbounds, or some golf course or so, and practice skinning and transitions etc.
 

Slim

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As a skinny guy who burns a lot of calories moving, I disagree a little bit with the “be bold, start cold” mantra that @jmeb mentions.

I suggest the following instead:

  1. dress in your ‘action suit’. This is your thin set of clothing for the ascent. (Almost) no insulation needed. Often a wind layer over baselayer.
  2. Then add a medium insulator over that. I love vests for this, easy on and off and packable.
  3. Then, add a big warm jacket over the top of that when you get out of the car. Doesn’t need to be light weight. Keep that on while unloading gear, booting up, discussing plan with the group etc.
  4. At the very last moment, pull that parka off, toss it in the car/lodge/yurt.
  5. Start skinnin/hiking. Once you get warm, but before you sweat, pull that vest/medium jacket off, and stuff it in your pack. This should only take a minute, because it is on top of your action suit, not underneath other layers.
 

Slim

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Hey all!

We are renting (shudder, rental boots) boots

you probabay know this already but I’d bring some stuff to help with boot fit:
  • thin and thick socks
  • ezee fit ankle booties
  • your custom insoles
  • Velcro calf spoilers (from any boots in your house)
And Compeed for during the course.
 

Slim

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Bring food you’ll want to eat.
yes! You probably won’t eat as much as you think you would, just because concentrating on other stuff. So easy to eat, apealing snacks are the way to, along with 1 sandwich or other substantial thing for lunch break.
 

KevinF

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Full disclosure: I have very little experience with ski touring; I have a lot of experience with hiking in various seasons.

Skimming through the responses so far, there's been some debate over layering. Everybody has a different comfort level with going uphill -- i.e., I prefer to start out cold as I warm up quickly. How quickly I warm up though depends on how quickly the "work" begins. A long slog in on a flat to a gentle rise dictates a differing layering system than a steep start right from the beginning. Know before you go, etc.

Warming up a chilled person is fairly easy (i.e, "bust a move"); warming up a cold person is a different story altogether. Keep monitoring yourself. Being sweaty when you're in a sheltered spot is one thing; being sweaty when you're about to break into an exposed area (read: wind) is another, etc. Again, knowing your route is more than just knowing the directions.

One thousand likes to those who mentioned that you need to enjoy the 95% of the time you're slogging. Again, my experience is based on hiking. There are various peak bagging lists here in New England; the enticing views from the various summits cause many to start, the endless miles of slogging to get there cause most to quit. You need to find joy in something other than the summit views or the descents.

Finally: Going up is optional; getting down is mandatory. Summit fever has claimed many and will get many more. If that voice in your head is saying "no" whether that's from the ache in your legs or that cloud in the sky, or whatever you feel -- listen. The mountains will be there tomorrow.
 

SSSdave

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First learn to enjoy skiing easier medium and lower gradient slopes at moderate speeds with your gear before challenging steeper slopes that many advanced bc skiers only have interest in and may pressure others to join them. Just like at resorts, the best snow especially as days pass after snowfalls, is usually about higher elevation north facing exposures with shading wind protecting trees. But such slopes with tree wells and collision trunks are dangerous, thus avoid doing so alone. Protect your skins and their glue from adhering water, snow, ice after each use lest one find themselves unable to attach them in order to climb up routes to get back to one's vehicle.
 

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