Figger_Eight

Good one

Did you have the orthotics in your thermoliners when you molded them?

If you run out of tp you can wipe your ass with it.

Ya gotta make sure your boots are compatible with Dynafit though.

Working hard and sweating makes you dehydrated. Water in any form (frozen or liquid) is only good. If you're overheating, eating snow is also a good way to cool down. That's my story and I'm sticking with it.

Word.

That's wierd...my mom used to say, "Drag your sorry little punk ass over here before I smack it to tomorrow!"

At Crystal they control within their ski area boundary. The 'backcountry' you refer to is actually a gate accessed part of the inbounds area called North and South Country. Just because it's ungroomed doesn't make it backcountry - you're still in the area. Outside of the ski area boundary, no control or patrol work is done. At Alpental you are actually considered "out of bounds" if you go past the backcountry gate - you have officially left the ski area. There's technically no "inbounds backcountry" there, unless you're counting an ungrooomed slope.

Absolutely the devil is in the details. Just because a run has a name doesn't mean it's "in area". Accessing the Great Scott Traverse to get up-valley, you have to go through a gate which allows you to LEAVE the ski area boundary without losing your lift priviledges. That's all a gate means. No control work is done in the backcountry, nor are there patrollers stationed out there. If the backcountry is closed to in-area skiers, I can still skin up there and go skiing. I understand what you're saying about what is commonly referred to as the ski area's "backcountry", but it's that way simply because of the amount of traffic based on the ease of return to the lifts. Is it lift served backcountry? Sure...but so is the west side if I choose to slap some skins on and walk all the way back around. Is there a difference between a "ski area's backcountry" and "real backcountry"? The risks are all the same, except that you get a ton more traffic at one simply based on geography. If it's a geographical issue...well whatever, but if it's because you think an area's backcountry is safer - well it's not...not really at least.

Crap... Remember - there are them crazy Cougars up at Mt. Si, too!

That's about as backcountry as it gets. What are you talking about?

I stuck Intuition liners in my Exped's and those worked fine, but did so because the original liners were packed out. The Exped's and the Degre's shells are quite similar in materials HOWEVER the Exped's are sized for more volume to accomodate the liner expanding at altitude. If you have Degre's that are sized snug for good frontpointing and alpine climbing, you might run into that problem. If you have to buy new boots, the stock liner in the Exped's will be fine if you stick an overboot over them for up high. My .02 cents at least.

ummmm...huh? Sometimes when I'm out screwing around I like to dig hasty pits just to see what kinds of layers are under there, that's all. If you're out skiing and you want to examine a slope you need to cross or you want to make tracks on, then you sometimes have to poke around on an avy prone slope. All I'm saying is if yer digging a pit just to dig a pit, you don't need to go to avy slopes to do it. You'll be able to see different layers of snow in the trees or on tops of ridges just the same.

I can't believe I just read this entire thread from the beginning. That's 10 minutes of my life I'll never get back.

Yup. The idea with a good pit is to find a representative slope and aspect. Sometimes finding the ideal place to dig a pit puts you in harms way. If you're just doing it for shits and giggles, stay high and in the trees.

I just throw mine in the back. If you strap them together (base to base), that'll help keep the bases from getting scratched.

We finally got some turns in up at Stevens yesterday. Those were the best conditions I've seen in awhile up there We even ran into Specialed at the bar. Wish you coulda made it Minx!

I retracted my first statement this morning because I thought I was being too hard on Scott. After reading the rest of this crap, I should have left it up. He was skiing in-bounds with downhill gear on and took a wrong turn - simple as that. He grew up skiing there and knew the terrain quite well - apparently he often skied on his own, which a lot of people do and is not that unusual. After reading your Mountie safety rule bullshit from high on your soapbox, I think not skiing with anyone here is a foregone conclusion. And you might think twice about what being a guide is about if you're unwilling to take new climbers and skiers outside.

Quite a bit of snow fell between Thursday and Saturday, and the cold weather kept it pretty light. Travel in the backcountry was pretty tough - many times when I had my skis on I was up to my thighs, and at one time when I had them off I was wallowing around up to my stomach. If you dropped down the wrong chute or entered the wrong gully, climbing out would've been nearly impossible, not to mention in downhill boots. I don't imagine he could've gone very far each day considering his condition. He knew the area pretty well - I'm guessing he was trying to make the highway.

...forget it.

CBS: you're a prick.

"Getting There Was Most of the Fun." My friend had never been backcountry skiing before. We decided a quick trip to the Olympics would be a fine introduction to a world void of lift lines, crowded parking lots and one-piece Bogner suits. A world where “high-speed quads” are simply strong leg muscles. A world where shovels are for digging pits, not for building kickers. A world where men are men, and the women are beautiful. The forecast over the weekend called for more than a foot of snow in the Olympics and an avy rating of considerable to high. However Hurricane Ridge, just up the hill from Port Angeles, would expose us to almost no avalanche danger as long as we stayed on the ridge and restrained ourselves from dropping off the side (you wouldn’t believe how tempting that was with almost 2 feet of freshiez!). On Saturday, the plan was hatched to catch the first ferry out of Seattle at 6 AM on Sunday, get to Port Angeles by 9 and have a chance to be first up the hill when the gate opens. After an uneventful session of gym climbing Saturday afternoon, we rolled up to El Camino, in Fremont, for “just one Margarita” (we needed to get up by 5 the next morning, so we had to get to bed early). Well…5 hours later and 6 margaritas down we finally staggered into the street. We should’ve known better – if you’re looking for the best drink in town, El Camino’s margaritas are hard to beat. It was at that time I remember thinking, in a tequila induced haze, the 8 o’clock ferry seems like a much better idea. Keeping a long story short, we missed that one too and finally started across the water around 10:30 am. We were both hung over, and my partner was feeling sick. She couldn’t look at water without getting nauseous, so she sat with her jacket over her head slumped like a sack of potatoes in the seat next to me. Ahhh…good times. Poulsbo first, then across the bridge to Sequim, and a few minutes later we rolled into Port Angeles. Turning left at the light we headed up the hill…almost there. “Good afternoon sir, the road is now closed due to icy conditions and a full parking lot. I’m sorry.” “Really…?” “Yes, I’m sorry.” “Shit.” Now what? It was 2 PM and we hadn’t even seen the snow. “Let’s just stay out here and try again tomorrow…” I thought. We were both on vacation, had nowhere to be the next day, and it was supposed to clear up the next day. Trying to save money (we spent a bunch on drinks the night before), we decided to stay in the back of my pickup at a trailhead near the park entrance…it couldn’t get that cold could it? We spent the rest of the afternoon checking out the climbing shops in town, walking the dog out on the spit, going to “happy hour” at Costco (the burrito samples are hard to beat) and catching a not-so-late showing of “The Last Samurai”. I thought it would be a stretch to see Tom Cruise wielding a samurai sword, but it turned out to be one of the best movies I’d seen in awhile. At one point during the movie I nearly had to restrain my friend from smacking the guy in front of us. During one particularly exciting battle scene she was doing her best to “air guitar” the karate action. Unfortunately, despite her best efforts, the people behind may have mistaken her for someone having a seizure. After the movie we headed for trailhead parking lot, but by the time we got there the snow had started to fall in earnest. Since we hadn’t planned on staying the night we didn’t bring any sleeping bags. “No problem,” I thought. I’d slept in cold places before…I’ll just put on all my clothes – because, y’know…how cold could it get? I found out the hard way. The hours…just…crawled…by. I’d wake up shivering every 1/2 hour like clockwork. For some unknown reason, my partner was acting less than agreeable…well actually she was pretty friggin’ cranky. At one time I was told to quit shivering because it was keeping her awake. I couldn’t do much else but laugh In hindsight her manner was attributed to a condition common to women at the end of the month, but I’m gonna quit talking about it now before she springs an attack on me with her patented seizure style karate. Continuing the cycle of shivering and warming up just enough to fall asleep, only to wake up shivering again, we rolled out of the parking lot to find some coffee by 9. One breakfast and one binding problem later, we finally hit the trail by noon. Out of the parking lot the weather absolutely sucked. My lips were blue, my face hurt from the wind, my partner couldn’t warm up, the visibility was horrible and we were both tired from two nights of crappy sleep. She had never skinned before, but the trail was flat and tracks were straight. As we neared Hurricane Hill, the sun finally broke through the clouds and graced us with some of the best views I’d ever seen. We could see across the water to Victoria, and deep into the Olympic mountain range. The skies were the deepest blue, and the new fallen snow was pure and untouched. After the events of the last couple of days, this was a nice way to finish the trip. We stopped short of Hurricane Hill and managed to nurse a few turns on the way back out. We soon returned to the parking lot and the comfort of the heated visitors center. Back to Port Angeles, through Sequim, across the bridge, through Poulsbo and onto the ferry at Kingston. Before I knew it I could see the lights of Seattle appear across the water in front of me. We didn’t set any speed records. We didn’t ski any big slopes, nor did we climb any big peaks. What I got from this trip, though, was a reminder: it’s not the destination that counts, but rather the journey. I’ve climbed some big mountains, but it’s not the summits I remember. I remember the people I was with and the memories we made on the way up. As the year draws to an end I’m going to remember everyone who has blessed me with their friendship and has been a part of my life over the last 12 months. Happy New Year’s CC.com: May the next year only be better than your last., and not as good as the one following.

I still fail to see the big conspiracy against backcountry, non-commercial users here. Let anyone go wherever they want on public land you guys say? Is that realistic in a crowded valley like Alpental? I'm conscious of the trend towards privitization of public lands, but I think in this case it's a matter of doing something in the best interest of all user groups involved. I'm guessing ski patrol had a part in the decision making process, which makes sense. If they can avoid having to respond to skier / snowshoer collisions by redirecting traffic to the summer trail...how is that bad? I'm not even going to comment about people whining about walking 5 extra minutes.

Or they're not interested in sharing it online with a bunch of strangers.

Ummm...yeah...it's a true story. You don't need to suspend any disbelief.