What I Bring Backcountry Skiing

This is an overview of what I bring backcountry skiing. It might be interesting to alpine skiers who have never skied in the backcountry before.

Skis - K2 Work Stinx 174 cm
Bindings - Voile Switchback

Climbing Skins - Black Diamond GlideLite

Boots - Garmont Syner-G (mid-height cuff, three buckle, lighter weight and better for touring than four buckle boots)

Poles - Black Diamond Traverse poles

Ski Crampons - Voile (I like these "fixed" crampons versus the hinged, "floating" variety. When I need a ski crampon underfoot I much prefer them to be fully engaged at all times.)

Ice Axe (carried during ski mountaineering season) - Black Diamond Raven Pro 65 cm

Crampons (carried during ski mountaineering season) - Black Diamond Sabretooth (?)

Ski crampon detail

Avalanche equipment

Avalanche beacon - Pieps DSP

Shovel - Voile, METAL (no plastic shovels!), full size, "D" handle for mitten compliance

Avalanche probe - Voile Tourlight, 260 cm, aluminum

Upper body layers (I guess I have a thing for blue Patagonia stuff)

On my upper body, I wear a Patagonia Capilene 2 base layer (not pictured, not blue) under a Patagonia R1 Pullover (left). If it's very cold at the trailhead I wear a Patagonia Micro Puff Vest (middle) under a Patagonia Ready Mix jacket (right). Otherwise, the vest remains in my pack as spare insulation.

Backup insulation

At the bottom of my pack lives my Patagonia Micro Puff Hoody. I almost never wear it while moving (high altitude suffer-fests might require this hoody). It sees occasional use during extended lunch breaks and lengthy snow pit sessions.

Lower body layers

On my lower body I wear a Patagonia Capilene 2 base layer (not pictured) under a pair of Mammut soft shell pants I got for free several years ago (left, not washed in hundreds of miles). I keep a lightweight pair of fleece gloves in the front left pocket, a fleece hat (if not on my head) in the front right pocket, and a balaclava (if not on my head) in the right knee pocket. Almost always in the winter I wear a pair of Montbell hard shell pants over the soft shells. They are windproof (the soft shells are not) and have gaiters for keeping snow out of my boots and full length zippers for ventilation/access to the pockets in my soft shells. I rarely wear these pants during ski mountaineering season.

Glove system

I carry three pairs of gloves when venturing outdoors in the winter. A thin pair of fleece gloves live in my front left pocket. The gloves I most often wear are the Black Diamond Kingpin goat leather gloves (middle). They provide adequate warmth and breath reasonably well. I also always carry a pair of super warm mittens in case it's super cold or I'm standing around for a long time.

Almost everything else

I attempted to capture "almost everything else" in this picture. My red fleece hat is usually on my head, although I can easily regulate my body temperature on the fly by taking off my hat and putting it in my front right pocket without stopping or futzing around with my pack. I prefer to climb in sunglasses instead of goggles unless it is really windy, so the goggles usually stay in my pack. I wear a Suunto Vector altimeter watch to keep track of time and elevation. There is always a bar of Black Diamond Glop Stopper skin wax in my pack (it's a rub-on wax that helps prevent snow/ice accumulation on climbing skins). In the winter I carry two 0.5L thermoses - one for hot soup (exclusively Campbell's Chunky Grilled Chicken & Sausage Gumbo) and one for hot tea (whatever I have in the pantry). I can not stress enough how important/delicious Campbell's Chunky Grilled Chicken & Sausage Gumbo is when I'm out backcountry skiing. I also stash a widemouth 1L Nalgene (the same one I've owned since September 2001, which qualifies as the oldest piece of gear in my collection) filled with water deep in my pack to prevent freezing. As for "lunch," I prefer to eat lots of snacks throughout the day, and stuff that I can eat on the move is even better. Doing this means I don't have to sit around (on cold snow) for an extended break and get cold or be forced to pull out my hoody to stay warm. Most anything will do, although fatty food is delicious and packed with calories. Examples include cold pizza, "Reese's Bar" (600 calories of crazy deliciousness), Cadbury Dairy Milk, Little Debbie Fudge Brownies, etc. There is really no such thing as too much chocolate. I also always carry a compass with clinometer (for measuring slope angles, not pictured), camera (Canon Powershot S95, front left pocket), chapstick (front left pocket), sunscreen, a headlamp, a small first aid kit and a small repair kit (not pictured). If I expect to be spending a significant amount of time digging snow pits and performing snow stability tests I will throw a snow saw into my pack as well.

All of this somehow fits in my pockets and my BCA Stash BC pack!

Rangerdog usually tags along and there is almost always cold beer waiting back at the truck...