your favourite backcountry ski pack?

[dbconlin]

If you have a large pack you will fill it.

 

I totally disagree! Everyone says so, but if you are a dedicated alpinist and weight matters, you will minimize it no matter what size your pack is. I have carried a 60L pack while my partner carried a 30L, but I bet the difference in weight was negligible (and I had a lot less stuff hanging on the outside). This is on a carry-over route on Rainier and I will admit that when weight is not so crucial, I may pack in a few extras, which I can because my pack is big enough. And when you are backpacking, not carrying your pack 10,000 vertical feet over the top of a huge mountain, it may be worth it to pack those luxuries. That said, skiing with a heavy pack sucks.

[crackers]

Ha ha. But if you are small, you probably weigh a lot less yet still have to carry the same weight of fuel, stove, climbing gear (!), etc. I find that I am usually carrying a higher proportion of my body weight on my back than most people I climb with even though I have my system pretty dialed/lightweight/minimal!

 

That's the same argument Kelly tries to use on me. I don't buy it. You're such a bad ass climber that you don't really need a tent or any of that stuff, right?

 

Unfortunately, I have to admit that it's true. I can carry 120 pounds around for a mile or two without too much effort. I doubt that kelly can as easily...

 

 

As for "filling the pack", come on...I thought you were a disciplined person? I carry one of my 60L's around with the sides closed down all the time. Personally, I sometimes find it nice to have extra room in the pack so I don't have to pack well. I guess I'm just lazy.

[Arc]

Hey Crackers, you set a couple of good points in stone, and I back ya up on them...

 

...except for one.

 

A person of smaller stature needs less energy than one of your proportions.

 

Giving consideration to that; less snow melting = less fuel, and less water at hand.

 

 

The rest is just personal math guys.

[gearup5000]

^^Yeah, certain things have bare minimum weights and lighter wieght ppl have a higher weight to body weight ratio.

Sucks, but that's the way it is!

[Nick]

goldenchild,

sounds like a normal list of stuff to carry in the winter, but maybe the specific items you use are bulkier than what some of us carry. I am average sized, I carry size large garments in winter, but I pick stuff that stuffs small, don't carry duplicates (other than socks and gloves). If I carry a tent it's a very small one. I can get everything in a Granite Gear Virga, a pack that weighs less than 2 pounds but is roomy enough. Sometimes I choose a sturdier pack, or a larger one, but never one that weighs more than 3 or 4 pounds. I don't like skiing with a pack that has a frame.