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

[Rainbow Jenny]

Please report back on your AST 1 experience!

Multiple gloves, Just Wednesday I brought light uphill, alpine gloves, and mittens. Used all of them.

I like @James tip of changing the binding setting from hike to ski to release brake early. I also have sure to set my tails securely wedged in snow with the tips slightly in the air. Embarrassingly had a runaway touring ski in Niseko in January, hard lesson learned.

Learn to stand on your other ski when transitioning. The snow was more than crotch deep despite making my platform and jumping on it several times. So while putting on skin on one ski, I had to stand with both feet on the same ski.

Pack your favorite snack, be sure to eat and drink frequently.

Learn to love the uphill experience of snow observation, track laying, and sightseeing. My attitude is I’m enjoying the day out no matter what the downhill is like.

Backpack weight really makes a big impact on your downhill skiing. I haven’t quite reconcile how to not be in my backseat with a big back on my back… would love some advice from @jmeb @markojp and @SBrown.

My brother, nephew, and niece all took AST 1 on split boards at Niseko before Christmas and they really enjoyed it although none had any touring experience. Just really great learning overall, including on managing hazards we see inbound too.

 

[Yepow]

Wow, finished AST1 and it was quite the experience!

• seems difficult to be properly dress for a morning of standing around and cooler temperatures and then an afternoon of actually walking a couple hundred meters uphill. Of course I layered, and removed some stuff, but often a little late, and there was no removing my too-warm midlayer pants. Had we been touring just ourselves I might have tried but there just isn't time to hold up a whole group to try and remove midlayer pants. Might have been cold just standing around, but definitely by the time we started ascending was tooooo much. It was hard to know from the description how much walking there would be and when--I might have called in and asked about it.
• I wish I had taken the time to actually dial the straps in on the backpack. I borrowed a backpack and it didn't fit well on the right shoulder and that grew more annoying as the day went on.
• The walking uphill was hard! We started at 2000m and went from there. I found my muscles were not really used to this motion and found some of the trudging uphill type-II fun for sure. Was great in retrospect but didn't enjoy some of it when just going at the group pace. We really only gained 200m, and we stopped several times to talk about avi features. If our actual touring tomorrow is similarly steep but just way more walking I will be knackered. I am sure some is technique, some is recovering from my first time being sick in 3 years over the last few days... but yeah.
• The rental skis, bindings, and skins worked surprisingly well!
• We brought too much water for the trip between us I think. My son and I given that we were really only out there 9:30-3:30 could have made do with 1.5L between us, with drinking lots before and then after. Carrying it around sucked.
• Individual costco sized packs of nuts are your friend!
• We had perfect weather, really, and that was good, given our poor discipline with mitts and putting stuff on the ground.
• When we took off skis to do a close search I had the same "immediately drop crotch deep into very soft snow."
• Yes, your phone and smartwatch actually DO interfere with your beacon and the search. It's not like "not putting your phone in airplane mode might crash this 747."
• Sunglasses and a tuque seem better than helmet and goggles for the up. Trap too much heat and it's also easy for the goggles to fog as you sweat in them.
• There's a lot to avalanche risk management. It was good to hear the instructor weigh in on some sketchy lines from above that I certainly wouldn't have considered much of anything before learning lots.
• AST1 just scratches the surface. You need a lot of experience!
• We just skinned down rather than transitioning due to the terrain and the fact some were on snowshoes, etc. My years of backseat skiing came in handy riding down on the heels while in walk mode

 

[Yepow]

 

[Yepow]

Tomorrow we actually tour on our plus day. The forecast is for snow and are high/high/mod in Banff so we shall see where the very experience guide takes us

 

[Yepow]

So today we actually went touring!

We did a couple of laps of a firewall cut near the BC/AB border. It involved a trek in beside a creek (a little sketchy) and then some concerted effort up. Accumulated about 500m of backcountry vert today. We had about 15cm of fresh powder, which the guide noted was very rare since this was a popular backcountry place--we were in the right place at the right time and got mostly untouched Strangely there was no one there today.

Things I learned today:

• my goretex shell is insulated and I was warm on the way up for sure when it was -5C out. Even with all my vents open and a light base layer, I was warm/sweating. I think a non-insulated shell would be good to have
• buffs,hats count as insulation that you can take off. Can even be half unzipped, your hood catches a lot of the snow.
• don't have the wrist straps which just dangle and catch snow. Hold between your knees or on your poles.
• how you set up your pack straps matters a TON. I went from a terrible setup with a borrowed pack to actually very comfortable. The shoulder straps need to be pulled correctly. Need the right amount of tension at the waist and chest.
• I brought too much clothing and the like for such a warm day. I was stripping down and down and down, and certainly didn't need more layers. It was so much stuff to carry
• 1.5L of water was just right for me and my son to share (750mL each) for a 9-3:30 expedition with 1 sandwich each and snacks.
• take off your skins and hold the head between your knees, fold approximately in half at your thumb
• If you are getting some friction burn or annoyance, fix it early. I used a piece of duct tape on my left shin before it got annoying and turned into broken skin/blister.
• At transition, stomp down a pad, then change only one ski (deskin, walk mode) at a time! otherwise you will go waist deep in snow and waste a bunch of energy. Can put light pressure on the other ski. Take your pack off, put it uphill, put both your folded skins on top of your pack, get into both skis ready for downhill, THEN attend to putting away your skins and getting your helmet/etc
• Get a pair of sunglasses for the up. Goggles just fog up on the way up and you want some UV protection.
• Wear your hood, with a hat if cold, without a hat if you need to bleed off some heat.
• Easier to trap your heat when a little bit warm than it is to get all your heat back once you get cold.
• be sure your boots are in ski mode before you ski!
• At the bottom transition back to skins, undo your boots and go back to walk mode on your boots first, because that will make the rest of transition easier.
• 30-34L pack with a separate zippable rescue pouch for probe/shovel would be better than either the 24L that my son had or the 50L monstrosity I had full of clothes and socks and C++ programming primers from 2001.

 

[crgildart]

Helicopter. bring a helicopter!

I'll show myself out now...

 

[dbostedo]

monstrosity II had full of clothes and socks and C++ programming primers from 2001.

But what if your feet get wet or cold? Or you need to lend someone a layer? Or you need to write an object-oriented algorithm for calculating the shortest skin track over a ridge that's np-complete and compile-able for an embedded OS?

 

[Yepow]

But what if your feet get wet or cold? Or you need to lend someone a layer? Or you need to write an object-oriented algorithm for calculating the shortest skin track over a ridge that's np-complete and compile-able for an embedded OS?

Earlier in my career maybe, but now there are people on my team who handle that stuff for me capably Ideally for all 3

 

[crgildart]

But what if your feet get wet or cold? Or you need to lend someone a layer? Or you need to write an object-oriented algorithm for calculating the shortest skin track over a ridge that's np-complete and compile-able for an embedded OS?

They used sliderules to navigate back from the moon..

 

[Lvovsky /Pasha/Pavel]

Great trip report.

One of these days I’ll try skinning up the hill. This thread is nudging me in that direction.

 

[jmeb]

But what if your feet get wet or cold? Or you need to lend someone a layer? Or you need to write an object-oriented algorithm for calculating the shortest skin track over a ridge that's np-complete and compile-able for an embedded OS?

This is why I like touring with my wife. She taught CS before becoming a FANNG engineer so she can do all the algos.

And touring with a woman in your group statistically reduces your likelihood of ending up in a fatal avalanche more than any training.
Great trip report. Sounds like a great time.

 

[Yepow]

This is why I like touring with my wife. She taught CS before becoming a FANNG engineer so she can do all the algos.

And touring with a woman in your group statistically reduces your likelihood of ending up in a fatal avalanche more than any training.
Great trip report. Sounds like a great time.

Honestly? I think my son and I will both remember this forever. Can't say that about everything

 

[CraigBro]

Bandanna or other absorbent cloth inside goggles when not wearing them keeps them clear

put a warm layer on hands and torso at top when transitioning, Keep the heat.

Forget “Earn your turns”, the uphill is as important as downhill. Skinning up and along wooded ridges and they the falling snow is as rewarding to me as a downhill run in untouched powder.

check your transition area for dropped items before you take off

slow and steady uphill, chest up and open, breathe deep, enjoy it, you are blessed to be there

if you are transitioning multiple times, stuff skins in your jacket on the way down, it will melt snow that has stuck to the glue.

transition ski binding first before removing skin, so the brake is active when you inevitably drop the ski trying to get the skin off.

slide the ski, don’t lift it

a pack with a separate compartment for avy or wet gear is best.

a dry layer of socks and shirt in the car or in your pack is divine when you are done for the day

baseball cap and sunglasses for uphill

if you do sweat thru a mid layer, it can be better to take it off and get a dry layer on when transitioning off on peak and exposed.

cheap mechanic gloves are great for uphill and warmer days can be your only glove. dexterity and warmth and tough against edges and brush

really plant your foot and shift your hips over the ski when skinning on a traverse or steep or packed and icy track.

short steps, chest and head up, weight even from front to back of your foot when steep or icy track.

 

[Yepow]

Bandanna or other absorbent cloth inside goggles when not wearing them keeps them clear

put a warm layer on hands and torso at top when transitioning, Keep the heat.

Forget “Earn your turns”, the uphill is as important as downhill. Skinning up and along wooded ridges and they the falling snow is as rewarding to me as a downhill run in untouched powder.

check your transition area for dropped items before you take off

slow and steady uphill, chest up and open, breathe deep, enjoy it, you are blessed to be there

if you are transitioning multiple times, stuff skins in your jacket on the way down, it will melt snow that has stuck to the glue.

transition ski binding first before removing skin, so the brake is active when you inevitably drop the ski trying to get the skin off.

slide the ski, don’t lift it

a pawith a separate compartment for avy or wet gear is best.

a dry layer of socks and shirt in the car or in your pack is divine when you are done for the day

baseball cap and sunglasses for uphill

if you do sweat thru a mid layer, it can be better to take it off and get a dry layer on when transitioning off on peak and exposed.


cheap mechanic gloves are great for uphill and warmer days can be your only glove. dexterity and warmth and tough against edges and brush

really plant your foot and shift your hips over the ski when skinning on a traverse or steep or packed and icy track.

short steps, chest and head up, weight even from front to back of your foot when steep or icy track.

SO useful! So much of this resonates from my first day ! And some tricks I learned here too!

 

[Pequenita]

Sounds like a great learning experience! I would have added for the pre-trip tips:

-- More intuitive for people who use the men's restroom than the ladies' restroom: keep your skis on when you pee, otherwise there is the potential to posthole to the point where it is really inconvenient. Of course, you really only need to try peeing without your skis on in deep snow once to learn this lesson.

-- There are several skin folding techniques/methods - play around and find one that works for you. I fold the ends into the middle by peeling off half the skin (from the tail), folding it back onto itself while the other half is still stuck to the ski, and then peeling off the second half and folding it onto itself. For me, it's a lot more manageable than having to fold up something that is longer than my wingspan all at once.

 

[Slim]

@Pequenita , you are rocking the Big Sticks !

 

[Pequenita]

@Slim This has gone totally over my head

 

[Slim]

@Slim This has gone totally over my head

Sorry.
You said your skins (and therefor skis) are longer than you.
Big Sticks is the term coined by the hosts of that instagram and podcast, because they want to encourage more women to ski big skis, and more broadly, to make the snowsports industry more inclusive.

 

[Pequenita]

@Slim Ah. Well, my skis aren't particularly big -- I just have t-rex arms!

 

[Rod9301]

Please report back on your AST 1 experience!

Multiple gloves, Just Wednesday I brought light uphill, alpine gloves, and mittens. Used all of them.

I like @James tip of changing the binding setting from hike to ski to release brake early. I also have sure to set my tails securely wedged in snow with the tips slightly in the air. Embarrassingly had a runaway touring ski in Niseko in January, hard lesson learned.

Learn to stand on your other ski when transitioning. The snow was more than crotch deep despite making my platform and jumping on it several times. So while putting on skin on one ski, I had to stand with both feet on the same ski.

Pack your favorite snack, be sure to eat and drink frequently.

Learn to love the uphill experience of snow observation, track laying, and sightseeing. My attitude is I’m enjoying the day out no matter what the downhill is like.

Backpack weight really makes a big impact on your downhill skiing. I haven’t quite reconcile how to not be in my backseat with a big back on my back… would love some advice from @jmeb @markojp and @SBrown.

My brother, nephew, and niece all took AST 1 on split boards at Niseko before Christmas and they really enjoyed it although none had any touring experience. Just really great learning overall, including on managing hazards we see inbound too.

You will get used to skiing with a backpack. Mine is always about 20 lbs plus 2 of water, and i don't feel it anymore anymore