Nathan

Here are my two problems with using fritschi freerides for on-piste: 1. They are not very torsionally stiff. If you look at how the bar beneath the heel piece is fixed to the ski you will see what I mean. As your boot levers the ski over when edging there is not much restraining the bar from rotating in the heel lock down piece. This is especially noticeable when you are skiing fat skis where there is more leverage on the edge while skiing hardpack. 2. There is no forward lean built into the bindings. If you look at most downhill bindings the elevation of the heel piece is probably about 5-10mm higher than the elevation of the toe piece, which tilts your boot forward slighlty on the ski. The diamirs do not have this and leave your boot sitting almost flat (maybe even tilted very slightly backwards). I found that this gives the feel of "riding in the back seat" all the time. Lastly, I'm all for touring in downhill boots, provided they fit well and your priority is skiing. The only thing is that they do suck on flats, and they suck to put on in the morning. I've done tonnes of touring with a diamir/downhill boot setup including a 2 week traverse, and this system works for me.

Does anyone have any information or guesses on how far you can currently drive up the Hurley from the Bralorne side? I phoned the Squamish forest district, and the engineer estimated you could drive to kilometer 18 or 19 from the Lillooet River side. Thanks in advance.

quote: Originally posted by Charlie: [QB]I've been considering getting a split-board myself. I've been told that switching from free-heel to down hill takes no longer than it takes a skier to remove thier skins and lock your heels? I'm kinda having the same delima- I've been snowboarding for 11 years, and don't want to stick to the moderate terrain just to make backcountry more efficient (switching to skiing). QB] If you have some skiing background prior to your snowboarding days, give fat skis a try. Once you go fat you can't go back...

Something on West side of Nesakwatch

If you are really interested in the turning part, you might want to give your downhill boots a shot. I realize that this doesn't seem to work out for 95% of the touring population, but I've toured in my downhill race boots now for about 10 years, and I've never had a single blister. I think the key for me has been a super tight heel pocket so that you can tour with your buckles pretty much fully undone for flexibility without getting any heel/ankle friction. Last May four other friends and I did a 2 week traverse in the Coast Icefields, and I had zero problems with my boots. They all had downhill boots as well, and they only had minor problems. The two things that do suck are putting them on in the morning when they are frozen, and touring flats (frozen lakes, glaciers) because the forward flex locks you in a knee-bent position. I did at one point buy a pair of Nordica TR9's, which I sold because they had too much volume so I got blisters and the downhill performance sucked by comparison. Thought I'd express an opinion I hadn't heard here yet. Race boots forever!

quote: Originally posted by iain: Perhaps you folks can identify something for me in the Canadian Rockies. This is looking east from the Adamants across the Columbia. What peak is that in the distance? Probably something really well-known and popular but I have not been in that area. I think it might be the N face of Alberta. The north face of Bryce is snow/ice right to the summit whereas this picture shows alot of rock, and looking at the N face of Columbia the left skyline (E ridge) is much more mellow than the one in the picture.