One Day Backcountry Skiing Gear List

For one-day tours in the Chugach, Talkeetna and Kenai Mountains

 

Comments

Think light and count ounces. This is the easiest way to make your trip more enjoyable. Don’t bring unnecessary items such as a thermos when it’s warm or heavy cameras. This list should be closely followed when deciding on equipment. Please contact me if you have questions.

 

I Provide

• Guide services
• Transportation from Anchorage or Girdwood to the trailhead and return 
• Navigation, first aid and repair kits
• Available for rent: beacon, shovel, probe, backpack

Ski Gear  

􀀀 Skis. 93 mm minimum at waist. For bindings, bring Dynafit or free-pivot telemark. Fritschi, Naxo or Marker bindings will work, but are heavy and will reduce the distance we can travel and our number of turns.

 

􀀀 Ski Boots. Alpine touring boots (Dynafit compatible) or plastic telemark boots.

 

􀀀 Skins. Cut to fit the skis while leaving the metal edges exposed. Must have tail clip.

 

􀀀 Poles. Lightweight, adjustable are ideal.

 

􀀀 Avalanche Beacon. Backcountry Access Tracker is the simplest and safest.

 

􀀀 Shovel. Metal only.

 

􀀀 Probe. Carbon fiber probes are lightest.

 

􀀀 Ski Crampons. Recommended for tours in March-June. www.bndskigear.com sells ski crampons for odd combinations of bindings and ski widths.  

 

Clothing   

􀀀 Lightweight Underwear. Tops and bottoms.

 

􀀀 Schoeller Pants. Like the Patagonia Guide Pants.

 

􀀀 Insulated Wind Breaker. Such as the Marmot Driclime.

 

􀀀 Windshirt.Nice but not required. Like the Patagonia Houdinini.

 

􀀀 Insulated Jacket. With hood like the Patagonia DAS parka.

 

􀀀 Gore-Tex Jacket and Pants. To stop wind, snow and rain. Since this is a shell, and not an insulating layer, get lightweight versions. The pants must have full-length side zips.

 

􀀀 Gaiters. Required if your pants don’t have tight elastic that stays fixed around the cuff. Shorty gaiters are okay as long as they protect your boots.

 

􀀀 Warm Socks. Wool or synthetic.

 

􀀀 Liner Socks. Slows down blisters.

 

􀀀 Warm hat. That covers your ears.

 

􀀀 Balaclava.

 

􀀀 Sun hat.

 

􀀀 Liner Gloves. These slide inside your mitts during super-cold conditions.

 

􀀀 Work Gloves. These will be your main gloves. Durable leather such as the BD Patrol glove.

 

􀀀 Mittens. For very cold conditions.

 

Personal Equipment   

􀀀 Backpack. 28-45 liters. Keep it simple and light, such as the Osprey Talon 33.

 

􀀀 Trail Food.You provide your own lunches and snacks. Aim for high fat, high calorie food, which provides the most calories for the weight. Bring about 2,000 calories per day in trail food. We suggest bars, gorp, bread, cheese and salami. Also bring a few caffeinated energy gels per day. When ski touring, lunch starts right after breakfast and continues up to dinner.

 

􀀀 Headlamp. Small and lightweight for early starts and late exits. Bring extra batteries.

 

􀀀 Small Personal First-Aid Kit. Simple and light including Ibuprofen, moleskin, molefoam, athletic tape, Band-Aids, personal medications, etc. The guides will have extensive first-aid kits, so leave anything extra behind. Please indicate medical issues on the application and let your guide know about any medical issues before the climb.

 

􀀀 Glacier Glasses. With side covers or wrap-around. Regular sunglasses are not sufficient.

 

􀀀 Sunscreen. SPF 30 or better, 1 small 1 oz tube. We recommend Dermatone Z-cote.

 

􀀀 Lipscreen. SPF 30 or better. Dermatone Z-cote Lips n Face works well.

 

􀀀 Water Bottles. Two one-liter wide-mouth bottles. No water bags or bladder systems, which freeze and are hard to fill. A thermos is nice for temperatures 15° F or below.

 

􀀀 Toilet Paper. In a zip-loc with a lighter.

 

􀀀 Compass. With sighting mirror and declination adjuster such as the Silva Ranger.

 

􀀀 Knife. Medium sized. No heavy multi-tools please.

 

􀀀 Camera. Optional. Small point and shoot. Please do not bring large SLR cameras with extra lenses. Simple and light.

 

􀀀 Car Duffle. Leave a small bag in the car while skiing with a thermos of hot drink, snacks such as chips and fruit and a change of clothes if you want.

 

Extra Gear for Ski Mountaineering Trips (eg. day touring at Thompson Pass) 

􀀀 Ice Axe. Have a light general mountaineering axe such as the BD Raven Pro, Grivel Air Tech Racing or Camp Corsa. All aluminum axes work well also. Too short (50 cm is best) is preferable to too long. No leashes or rubberized grips.

􀀀 Crampons. Aluminum ultra light crampons without anti-ball plates such as the BD Neve or Camp XLC 390 are best for ski mountaineering. Crampon bags and spike protectors work well for travel, but are too heavy for the backcountry. 

􀀀 Prussiks. Bring your familiar prussiks, or one continuous 40-foot piece of 6 mm Perlon accessory cord. Have at least two prussik  loops. 

􀀀 1 Cordelette. 18-foot length of 5-6 mm Perlon accessory cord tied with an in-line overhand. For anchors and rescue.

􀀀 Harness. Lightweight, such as the BD Couloir, BD Alpine Bod or Camp ALP 95.

􀀀 4 Locking Biners. At least one Munter (pear-shaped) biner such as the Petzl Attache, for belaying and rappelling with a Munter hitch. The other lockers can be regular screw-gates like the BD Positron.

􀀀 5 Non-Locking Biners. BD Oz or Neutrinos are light and functional.