Member bdub

I drove up in March one year in an 80s station wagon with rear wheel drive and “snow tires” on it, from New York, so it can be done. Just drove up last week from Montana in a forester with studded tires which was way better.

I would recommend finding a friend to help drive, or taking the ferry part way to split up the drive time, but I’m pretty…[Read more]

Chartered with Drake. We were second in line waiting for their whole crew to get dropped (mixed-bag weather) before we could get out.

edit: whoa – just realized I haven’t been on here in almost 2 years.

Here is the mountain he is looking to climb.

The normal route follows the right skyline.

The area is “generally” dry, although you can get some substantial snow dumps on occasion. When I was climbing some peaks nearby I wore Salomon Pro Thermics, a leather boot with a removable liner. They were warm enough, although I did use super gaitors on…[Read more]

If you don’t have any (many) plans on using the adze you could cut it off, or at least dull it. I’ve found the adze a useful tool for self arrest admittedly in more mountaineering type situations.
Could also do what many a mixed climber has done and duct tape tennis balls to the adze.

But honestly if you do take a tumble in a place where an axe…[Read more]

my regular riding partner is about your size and she is on the freeride 166 and loves it. though she sometimes comments that a larger board would be nice. the freeride is a great board and handles all sorts of our terrain great (alaska). i would recommend it for you over the mnt gunn unless you are a really hard charger.

sharp pointy things get checked.
electronics you can carry on.
no problemo.

a. swallowtail
or
b. move your bindings all the way back
or
c. no matter what you need a bigger board
i’m 155# and ride a 171 and 173 (and had problems wallowing recently 😯 …but i had moved my mount forward)

a few more things to remember, particularly running solo.

escape route, if the sh&t hits the fan where are you going to go?
if there is a shoulder or an obvious place for a skin track back up (read: safe(r)) then ride down that area first to assess the snowpack, then you can dig a couple of pits on the way up if necessary.

if it is a drop it…[Read more]

i’m a lot lighter. 5’10” 155#
but i haven’t found a speed limit on this board yet. the more i ride it the better it gets. it has a sweet flex, but powers through everything.

no splitboarding??? why not.

I was in valdez recently and ran into the 3 local splitters who were stoked to find a bretheren, then realized i wasn’t from there.

but seriously, of the half dozen times i’ve been there to ski and ice climb i’ve had good vis maybe 2 days. but i can always hike the pass in the safe(er) areas.

need: big board (this…[Read more]

anyone wearing the T1 ??
I’m looking for a new boot and i like the fact that these actually have laces, so i can do something about it out in the bc if they break. how’s the durability?

From their catalog
the split is based on the 162 ST platform
length 162
nose width 29.2
tail width 28.8
waist 25.8
radius 10.2
nose length 22.8
tail length 16
effective edge 126
stance offset 4.5
camber 1.0

hey bcr,
the more i think about it the more i’m feeling like splitting. i hadn’t thought much about kiting with the board split, i will try it and see if it will work for me. if so…golden!! (oh, were using Ozone kites)

we will take loads of photos, i’m no pro, but occasionally get some good ones and i believe Sierra Designs used some of our…[Read more]

sweet double shot

@Killclimbz wrote:

Speed and keeping up with the tele-kooks would be my only real concern. I guess I would base that decision more on what the group is willing to put up with.

i can keep up, that much i know plus i will have a couple of months skinning practice on them (i’m heading out this weekend).

so if i do take a board which do i…[Read more]

@Ecobrad wrote:

Dude, split! End of story. What else did you expect from this site? While your at it, make sure you wear a sb.com t-shirt while riding all first decents.

i would love to split, but the reality is that splitting and big mountain expedition type trips aren’t exactly a perfect match yet, that’s why i’m asking the breatheren what…[Read more]

NJAB
Random question: which direction were the predominant winds down there??
I heading down over x-mas to do some kiting.

when drying liners, the sleeping bag works…marginally. a better method for your long trips is to also place a heat packet in your boot. thermodynamics will move the moisture from the warm area (inside) to the cold area (outside). if you’r bag is crowded (socks, down, feet, etc.) you can just place your boots in the the tent or vestibule throw a…[Read more]

Zach,
Just curious why you are taking two boards. Why not ride Denali on your split? I figure your going to drop either the Messner Couloir, Japanese Couloir or Rescue Gully, I imagine you’ve dropped steeper lines than those with your split so why not give it a go?
Oh and a tip for dragging your sled (sorry if i’m repeating stuff you know), sling…[Read more]

nomad,
the nabesna are ain summer is pretty warm. down low snow will most likely be gone. some of the mountain areas get really (open) crevassed at that time of year as well, so a week of glacier skiing would need a flyby or some local knowledge to figure out.
the area also offers tons of other fun things to do. i would reccomend a pack raft.
also…[Read more]