Ski Mountaineering January 2008

Right after our first cold winter storm that dropped 8 to 10 inches of new powder. This season of ski mountaineering started off for me at Mt. Cuyamaca, where to my understanding, it started off for this San Diego Ski Club many years ago. It has been a number of years since I have been able to ski from the park entrance to the top of the peak. There are drastic changes due to the Cedar Fire to the lower two thirds of the peak’s forest; however, it was very heartening to see that the top third was untouched and looking as pristine as ever with its fresh blanket of powder.

Hi Paul,

Well, it doesn't take much to get into ski mountaineering and it takes a lot. If you are talking using the skis as basic transportation to terrain good for mountaineering, the gear is pretty simple. You need skis, poles and boots. In SoCal, the best skis are waxless for transportation, because the snow conditions are variable and mostly warm in spring. I like the out of bounds or boundless by Fischer. I always have skins (adhesive backed mohair or other pile which goes one way) for climbing. Boots can be leather (old style), composite (like Rossignol BC-X9), or plastic (Scarpa t-3, t-2 or Garmont Excursion), if you are going telemark. The binding for these boots can be basic 3 pin (Voile, Rotefella) or cable such as old style (Riva Z, Voile basic cable, or Rainey superloop) or newer (G3, Voile Hardwire etc). Other heavier bindings for telemark include Hammerhead or LinKon (not sure on spelling). Norpine is San Diego's only and best backcountry dealer and should be patronized. Jim knows his equipment.

If you are already a good skier on Alpine gear, you may want to skip the telemark gear approach. You can parallel with free heel gear, but it is harder. Alpine touring gear has bindings which allow free heel for upward travel and locked down heel for downhill. Most guides (like SP at Sierra Mountain Center) prefer this type of gear for tough itineraries. The downside to Alpine Touring gear is that it is has been heavier and more expensive than the telemark approach. However, the new Dynafit bindings are proving that the weight can be overcome with money. A friend of mine just switched to the dark side and boots, cheap skis and bindings were pushing $1500.

I have Volkl skis and cable bindings that could be loaned to you (185 cm) to get started. You could get skins at Norpine or check out the Teletournaround on telemarktips.com for used skins. You may already have adjustable poles or can get by with any alpine pole for a while. Boots are always a compromise between weight and power. I like the lighter plastic T-3 or Excursion for backcountry and Scarpa T-2's for the resorts, but like the Rossi BC x-9 for basic transportation. To learn basic cross country technique, join the Sierra Club Cross Country section. We go to San Gregonio frequently. The San Diego Ski Club has a great program for ski mountaineering, through past president Alvin Walters. The Backcountry tab on this website has the link to the Sierra Club, which has a meeting this Thursday night. PM or email me if you want to borrow or purchase the Volkl setup for $20.

John