Ski Theory

Coast Range Skiing Rocks!

2012-01-17T18:27:00.000-08:00

With avalanche conditions getting better, but not disappearing, high pressure has suckered us out to ski as much as possible. The block of skiing started with skiing one day, teaching an avalanche course throughout the weekend, and then continuing on to more skiing. And more. Then some more. Until it all came to a unhappy ending.

Jeff Van Driel and I spent a day firing around the Spearhead area looking for snow that didn't have significant wind effect on it. We found ourselves over on the Chisel Chute, edging in the shallow bony entrance, being stopped by a rappel with nothing but faceted weak snow, loose rocks, and other poor anchor material, forcing us to skin back. We still managed to blast some uber long glacier runs in, before finding some sweet pockets of south facing snow. (Photo Left: Jeff Van Driel skinning up the Decker Glacier heading to the Chisel)

Paul Cordy and I managed a sweet day up in the Joffre area, firing up Tzil skiing the North Glacier, then Taylor skiing the West Face spine lines, then exiting via Heart Strings, in time for an early luxurious exit at 3pm. Although my GoPro recorded nothing due to the cold, ski quality was excellent!

Then came the girls. Christina Lusti and Kate Devine from Revelstoke, came out to get some skiing on the Coast. So, naturally pushing as much vert touring was an essential choice! We skied one day on South Facing lame trees, deciding to go for an ultra classic 9th hole spine descent, and then another day running over to Fissile and skiing the Banana Chute before heading out to work. The ski quality was pretty wind-packed this week, but being able to get out see peaks, and ski really fun terrain is always worth the sacrifice. Check out the video below Christina made.

The Coast Time! from Christina Lusti on Vimeo.
So stoked on Skiing, ready for a day off, then off for a big multi-day mission on the Duffey with Christina and Kate the unexpected happened. Driving home on a one way Southbound portion of highway, a group of idiotic girls heading to Whistler to party decided to go Northbound to avoid slow moving traffic in there lane, and ended up destroying my car. Now beaten up, still alive, there won't be too much skiing for the next few weeks. Sorry Ski Theory readers, gotta get better to go out and crush it in the future, so it's off to Physio. Moral of the story, tourists have no brains while driving on highways, don't have snow tires, and driving home is the most dangerous part of your day. I'll take fall you die exposure, rock hazard, avalanches, and crevasses any day.

In the meantime, expect some gear info, and other cool articles to keep the winter stoke high!

Cadence Training - Secrets Kept

2012-01-04T23:03:00.000-08:00

This year avalanches have very much made steep skiing lines a question mark of whether they will be really all that possible, with the exception of one random day later in the season, turning my attention back to some enchainments and speed traverses. Last year, while skimo racing, my coach Jen Segger at Challenge By Choice and I came up with a very specific way of training to go faster. Yes, this is, and has been a 'secret weapon'. I didn't even want to reveal this, but for training and supporting the sport, here it is.

Cadence training, which has been mentioned on this blog numerous times, and getting your legs to turn over faster is vital and just as important as lung power in skimo racing. If a racer takes more steps per minute than another (even if the other has a longer stride) the racer with the higher cadence wins. Specific training, lightening each external limb's weight with lighter gear, all combine to make a racer faster. (Photo Below: Malene Haurcøy (NOR) firing up the Relay Boot Pack in Claut, Italy)

Gear wise, we speculated while racing in the World Cup that 100g could take a minute or so off time on an individual course, with the time increasing at a significant weight loss for racers who were just learning and getting into the sport on a recreational level. Mind you, this is speculation, but times are minor at a higher level as most racers are within a couple hundred grams between each other.

So if the latest and greatest isn't an option as an upgrade, and more importantly, training sits up front as the most important and best way of getting faster (gear doesn't make you faster, training does). As I had mentioned before training cadence can be done in a number of ways. One, doing intervals on FLAT terrain on a groomed cat track, or pre-set skin track (not powder as this slows cadence down) allows the legs to turn over at a maximal pace for a specific amount of time. This helps build a much faster cadence as it builds faster muscle fibers that allow the legs to increase their natural cadence while at race pace. Training on the flats last year really helped.

But here's what really, really helped. Cadence training uphill, with a specific cadence to maintain. It started when I raced along with the likes of Florent Perrier (120 Steps Per Minute in video above) and Kilian Journet's pace in the Individual Race in the Andorra World Championships. They maintained a high cadence, even on the steeper uphills, requiring fast leg turn over, muscle power, and lung power to match. So, I averaged out how many strides per minute and if they shortened their stride (which stayed fairly consistent). Taking the average of a few different top racers, over a few different courses, I had a number of paces to try out. But to just count out specific pacing over an entire morning was near impossible, and to hard to work out when to stride. The solution? A metrenome.

I headed out to the music store in town and purchased a small adjustable metronome. After that, I dialed in the pace of the top 3 and gave it a try on the regular route I would train. Immediately destroyed, due to the higher angle of certain areas, I toned it down. Jen and I set it up, so that I would train with the metrenome at a specific pace on certain days when I was out for awhile training, and be forced to maintain a pace even over fluctuating skin track grades/angles. The pace was just slightly faster than my regular race pace, and we turned up the metronomes pace as the training schedule evolved throughout the season. (Photo Below: Javier Martin pumping up the cadence at the Vertical World Championships Race in Claut, Italy)

Overall, how did this work for a year's worth of training? Great, I've continued using it, although funny to watch me skin by with a beat pounding out of the metronome, but the pace really improved and when the time came to push the pace, I was much more comfortable pushing to a faster cadence and maintaining it than I had before in final sprint sections. Combining cadence with stride dynamics and quality training really goes a long way. Cadence can be trained year round, and is part of your base work, race pace, and interval pacing and may be just as important as rest.

Any Thoughts?

Palau Bikini Liners - Lightweight Exotica

2011-12-29T11:51:00.000-08:00

With the influx of lightweight race gear on the market, some stuff stands out, other stuff is still following old trends. A great example of this is liners with walk modes, usually a neoprene cutout on the back that allows the liner to flex backwards, allowing the user to fully engage the large range of motion most race walk modes provide. Boots without this feature, race boots or even freeride, have dropped the ball and in my eyes reduce proper and efficient skinning technique.

Enter the Palau Bikini Liner (pictured above), an ultralight racing liner that takes the neoprene cutout, and blows it out of the water. Palau Liners have designed this liner specifically for the Pierre Gignoux XP444, the Bikini Liner is actually a two piece liner, which allows the full and unrestricted movement of the ankle inside the boot. It is designed for absolutely the most natural and freeing walking characteristics without taking the shell out of the equation. Weighing in at 120g, opposed to the regular XP444 liner at 140g, it weighs practically nothing and shaves a fraction more weight.

Having the luxury of a convection oven at my disposal, these liners were cooked up as soon as they showed up, to see how they would work. Although a bit tricky to get into the shell (but anyone arguing ease at this point isn't looking for the utmost high performance speed exotica), it sits very comfortably and feels nice and snug even out of the box. The way the liner is built is very similar to the original (pictured right). It has the same style tongue covering the instep of the foot, and slight wrap that the Bikini has as well, however, I did feel that the lower did fit more snug than the original. (Photo Right: Original XP444 Liner)

The skinning performance is unreal. Imagine skinning with a cross country boot, rather than a plastic ski mountaineering boot, the change in feel and experience is exceptional. The cuff is far more free to move back than with a regular liner, and really allows the user to extend the foot farther forward gaining more range of motion, which translates over to more speed over a race course or speed traverse.

Skiing in them is very similiar to the stock XP444 liner, with a bit more snugness in the cuff due to the upper portion of the liner rapping around. The chief difference is the gap between where the two pieces of the liners connect, giving the user a slightly "breezy" feel. This slight breeze is easily avoided by wearing you're race suit over your boots with the ankles tucked in to the lower buckle, or most softshell pants will cover the gap. Pierre Gignoux even offers a gaiter for the XP444, which helps solve this problem, but for such performance does this really matter? (Photo Left: Notice the slight gap between the two liner pieces)

Although designed for the XP444, I managed to give it a shot in my Dynafit Dy.N.A's as well, to see about translate it's benefit's over to one of my ski mountaineering setups. Because the Dy.N.A's shell last is narrower than the XP444, the bikini liner is definitely a tad bit tight, but with the right foot and/or bootfitting skill set it could work. I would expect it to work really well with a Scarpa F1 (Race, or Carbon as well).

With such an interesting piece of equipment, more testing will be conducted, so expect an update later this winter, and expect some boot fitting adjustments to Dy.N.A's and other boots. Check them out on the Pierre Gignoux site if you want a pair, here.

Canadian Ski Mountaineering Race Calendar

2011-11-17T19:27:00.000-08:00

Winter's here, most people have been outside playing in the snow, and training their faces off for some great Ski Mountaineering Racing. Here's what you've waited for, should be another great season!

Vert 180 - COP, Calgary, AB
Date: Dec 3rd, 2011
Format: Maximum Vertical
Website: http://vert180.blogspot.com/

ISMF North American Championships - Crested Butte, Colorado, USA
Date: Jan 28th, 2012
Format: Individual
Website: http://www.ussma.org/race/cosmic/2012-01-27/2012-north-american-championships

Dogtooth Dash - Kicking Horse Resort, Golden, BC
Date: Feb 11,12 2012
Format: Individual and Relay
Website: http://www.kickinghorseresort.com/resort/events
http://goldenskimo.wordpress.com/dogtooth-dash/

ROAM Randonee Rally - Whitewater, Nelson, BC
Date: Feb 25th, 2012
Format: Individual
Website: www.coldsmokepowderfest.com

Ken Jones Classic - Lake Louise, AB
Date: March 24th, 2012
Format: Individual
Website: www.skilouise.com/things-to-do/events
http://www.alpineclubofcanada.ca/ccc/ismc/

Photo Above: Sunshine 5000 Individual Race Start, Date TBA, Photo Lynn Martel

TBA
Red Mountain, Sunshine 5000, & more USSMA schedule.

Note: Some dates may be added and changed in the near future.

Winter's Here

2011-11-11T18:45:00.000-08:00

For most of us in the ski mountaineering world, racing, steep skiing, or otherwise, training is a means to get to our goal for the year. It's the way we focus our energy, to accomplish what we desire, and is sometimes concentrated on so hard we forget that our end goal isn't nearly worth as much as the time spent working towards it. Focus is key, but fun is essential to stay on point, in order to continue your motivation. (Photo Below: Stano Faban, taking a minute to scope out some of Arcalis, Andorra's insanely cool terrain during the 2010 Skimo World Championships)

The start of the season is here. The snow is falling, training is ramping up more and more, it's time to get out there. This year, explore more new terrain, go train places you've never trained before, don't train in the same spot each day, use different skis and boots, ski different conditions, and most importantly make a point to learn. Ski Mountaineering is amazing, it's a lifestyle we live, and can take you anywhere you want if you give it the chance. See you in the hills this season.

The Truths About Backcountry Skiing

2011-08-27T11:31:00.000-07:00

Any others you can think of?

Best Couloirs In The Sea To Sky

2011-08-14T15:40:00.000-07:00

There are a lot of superb lines to ski in the Sea To Sky area. Big open steep faces, billy goat lines, exposed spines, fall away ridges, but nothing as memorable as skiing really big couloirs. Couloirs are the same to skiers as getting tubed is to surfers. That feeling of being inside and part of the mountain, as the sound of your turns echo off the walls, and only one way to get out. Funny enough, there are some lines that are considered couloirs, when really they are merely chutes or gullies. A true couloir must be long dropping a good amount of elevation, aesthetically obvious with large walls dominating the sides of the corridor, and at least steep enough to need to turn. These are just some of the ones that standout in my mind, all of which are toured to, and not heli dropped.

Birkenstock Couloir, Microwave Ridge Birkenhead Peak, D'Arcy
Alright I know this really isn't exactly Sea To Sky, but it is really close to the road, making it within perfect day tripping range. First climbed by Drew Brayshaw in Sept 1998, this 700m 45-55deg couloir is gorgeous, and begs to be skied when looking at it. The straightforward approach, climb, and atmosphere of the couloir makes it an instant classic to add to anybodies bucket list. Full Photo Here.

(Video Made By Chris Christie)

Aussie and Central Couloir, Mt Joffre, Duffey Lake Road

The Aussie (Australian) Couloir is an utmost classic for budding ski mountaineers to cut their teeth on. It's long 400m elevation loss while skiing a cool 45 degree slope is a treat to ski. However, it's south facing nature does make it prone to sucking in the sun's rays, which makes decision making crucial, if you don't want to get washed out while climbing it. That being said, it is a fantastic ski, and worth the trip up Cerise Creek. Paul Cordy and myself skied in it the moonlight a few years ago, while bailing off another objective, which incidentally proved to be one of the most nostalgic couloir experiences I've experienced. (Photo Left: Aussie Couloir (Left), Kiwi Couloir (Right), photo courtesy of Lee Lau)

Central Couloir, is Joffre's crowning jewel alongside the Twisting Couloir, which didn't make it on to the list, as it is more of a ski mountaineering line rather than a pure couloir. The Central is pretty much the most dominant couloir, that demands respect, and won't allow anyone to ski it. Most parties climb it first and ski down their tracks, however, this cuts the crux of the entire couloir off. Skiing it from the summit is difficult, but allows you to rap in and ski the beautiful 55 degree ramp with bouts of 60 degrees, before rapping again off a 30m (100ft) cliff mid couloir. The couloir itself is steep, imposing, and requires a "no-fall" attitude. Beautiful from top to bottom, with an additional mega luxurious glacial descent through seracs, crevasses, and rolling terrain. One of my personal favorites. (Photo Right: Central Couloir, Mt Joffre, BC)

Supercouloir and Camel Toe Couloir, Spire Peaks, Squamish

Another two rarely skied gems, hidden away in the basin of Spire Peak, just off the Garibaldi Neve. The Supercouloir (left) skied a handful of times, and the Camel Toe (right) only once, are worthy of the list specifically from their gorgeous aesthetic nature. Hands down probably the most perfect couloirs in the area, and up there with those in the province. Make no mistake, a long hard road with fantastic conditions is required to ski them, but to those who put in the time they are most memorable. (Photo Left: Spire Peak Couloirs)

The Supercouloir, featured in a Doglotion article, got this couloirs notoriety out there. Just shy of 1000m long (3200 ft) of couloir skiing, with a beautiful easy going slope angle, this is what dreams are made of. It's neighbor the Camel Toe, is a bit more full on, boasting over 1000m of skiing through it's doglegging and twisting walls make this a bit more of an undertaking than it's neighbor. Expect a short 70cm squeeze near the top just below it's steepest 50 degree chockstone which may or may not hold snow (depending on the snow year). While skiing either of the two couloirs, expect a very long approach and exit, and ensure you get your timing right otherwise it will be all for nothing. (Photo Below: Trevor Hunt mid Supercouloir, Trevor Hunt Collection)

Siberian Express, Mt Atwell, Squamish

Ah the cream of the crop. This beautiful, big, hairy couloir doesn't see a lot of descents, but if you can nab it it's one of the coolest you'll ski in your life. The Siberian Express is situated off Mt Atwell's West Face, but is guarded by either a heinous approach with a scary climb up the guts of it, or coming around the back of it and dropping into the unknown conditions of it. Both ways require the utmost care in decision making, as some parties have encountered surprising "walls of ice" that are unskiable, requiring more than just simple ski skills to get around. Train hard, skiing this won't be a walk in the park. (Photo Left: Siberian Express (red line), Photo By: Trevor Hunt)

Notable Mentions
Mt Matier - Twin One Couloir
Mt Wedge - NW Couloir
Mt Currie - Pencil, Diagonal, Y Couloirs
Mt Rethel - N Couloir

Any others you can think of?

DPS Wailer 112 RP Ski Review

2011-08-12T11:02:00.000-07:00

Summer has been going on for a while. Most people are out enjoying the sun, biking, climbing, running, and getting after it. But there have been a lot of comments about winter lately. The building stoke for the season to come. People are swinging by the shop researching ski shapes, and deciding on what models to buy. There are a lot of models of skis out there, some poorly designed but well marketed, and others extremely well thought out, built to perform, and marketed a touch less.

(Photo Above: Posted earlier in the year, Zack Wasson on his Wailer's enjoying some blower pow)
The DPS Wailer 112RP ski was the one ski that made me feel brand new again. I've skied on a lot of skis from ski tests to demos, to nabbing friend’s skis. Last winter was no exception. I got on the Wailer 112RP, skiing it as much as possible, and desperately trying to find its weaknesses holding off on a review. Skiing the 190cm in blower powder, corn, ice, chunder, breakable crust, groomers, and sastrugi, this 112mm waist ski is seriously fun. (Photo Below: Holding The Wailer 112RP, photo by: Tobias Van Veen)

Maneuverability
Whenever I read reviews in magazines about how this ski turns on a dime, and so on, I roll my eyes as it seems every year someone else is pulling this generic saying out. But it this case, it truly does. The 112 starts, holds, and finishes its turn exactly when you want it to. Great so it turns….. But here’s the difference between all other skis. With the 112, you can straight-line your run getting up to an incredible speed, and simply throw the Wailer sideways and start wiggling through the trees with ease and control. All other skis out there would most likely double eject you into a tree well for trying to push them so hard.

The past few years, people around town have been praising the Rossi S7. My friend Matty Richard has noted the amount and scale of terrain people have now been able to get into, due to its quick easy turning, massive float, and ease of use. The Wailer 112 is no different in the sense that it can get a less advanced and experienced skier into rowdy terrain, but that with a slight shaping change, it performs better for the advanced and elite skier while giving the less experienced skier far more for/aft stability. The biggest difference is in the tail.

(Wailer 112RP Tail above)

The tail of the 112 is less rockered that the S7. This provides the skier with more control and power in his or her turn. It also makes stomping landings off cliff’s or pillows far more simple and the worry of having your skis take off from under you, or flipping back because you don’t have enough tail is gone. Those skiers who like a powerful tail, and release from their turns, will be delighted with the difference the Wailer provides. More for/aft stability, more control at higher speeds, sounds like a better design to me. This leads us to talking more about Rocker.

Rocker
If you haven’t heard about, or understand Rocker in skis yet, welcome to the future. It’s pretty much the difference between getting punched in the face and eating ice cream on the beach. So I’ll explain it for those who still may be rubbing their cheek after that last experience. Rocker is essentially, and in the most basic way, extending the arc of the skis shovel (tip) and tail farther down the running length of the ski, creating a monster shovel and tail and effectively reducing the skis length of camber. If I have already lost you please refer to the diagram below. What is does is keeps the skis tips above the snow, allows a 190cm ski to turn more like a 170cm ski, while still feeling stable and in control. Turning, pivoting, hucking, slashing, straight-lining, is all effortless and far more enjoyable; *please see eating ice cream on the beach.

(Rocker measurement from 190cm ski)

The 112 is well balanced and importantly not overly rockered. It is incredibly stable and solid under food, due to the rocker being perfectly aligned. To be honest, I found skiing it in conditions I wouldn't exactly call stellar (read breakable crust), it made the poor conditions fun. I know, who could have thought breakable crust could ski well?

One key feature to my breakable crust experience, and which translates to better tracking of the ski, is it’s narrowing of the tip. Where the ski comes of the ground (effectively where the rocker starts) and where the ski is it’s widest (450mm from the tip) the ski begins to narrow again. This really helps the ski track because when the ski is put on edge, the tip and edges still maintain some rise, stopping the tip from catching on crust or the rapidly moving soft surface, which would cause you to “catch an edge.”

Construction
The Wailer 112RP, comes in two options for the consumer. A Hybrid core: A mix of fiberglass, carbon and bamboo. Typically this is a touch heavier, but has a bit more dampening for in-bounds crowd. I ski on the Pure Construction, which is a Carbon and Nanotech Resin core that is built off a Poplar/X-Wood core. The Pure is much lighter and great for the touring crowd, but also skis in bounds extremely well.

Both the Pure and Hybrid core skis have 2mm edges, and great Austrian World Cup Race Bases. These bases are hard! A few times I have landed hard on a shark fin rock, expecting to have absolutely destroyed my bases, and been prepared for hours in the shop fixing and patch the skis. But to my surprise not even a core shot, only a long scratch, which I didn't even bother about.

Yes, I’m stoked on these skis, but there is a negative. And here it is, the bases are very high end, and I do have to wax my skis on a regular basis, otherwise they can dry out. What a big negative (sarcastic tone). Funny enough, people have complained to me about that, but honestly, for the speed and durability of the base that’s a small price to pay.

Overview
Skiing on these skis is game changing to say the least. I won’t review an obviously flawed or poor product, only the cream of the crop, and these are one of the best products out there. I cannot put into words how well they ski. Any skier, elite to intermediate, will benefit from this ski. DPS has more genius in the works, and those who really love to ski will be smart to take notice. There is even more I can say, but may end up going to far, and overloading the Ski Theory server. You want these skis.

Lengths
168cm, 178cm, 184cm, 190cm
More detailed dimensions here.

Possible First Descent: The Camel Toe Couloir

2011-04-23T22:04:00.000-07:00

Unicorn

Definition: A Fabled Creature, impossible to catch.

From 2007 to 2011, I've been trying to ski a line that has been burned into my memory, and constantly takes over my thought process when stable sunny weather arrives. This line has become my so called "Unicorn," and has thwarted five attempts to ski it, making it even harder to think about. The Camel Toe Couloir, as named by Jaime Bond when the Doglotion crew went out to ski it's neighbor The Supercouloir, is in my mind a crowning jewel of Couloirs in the Coast Range weighing at just over 1000m in length (1km long!). (Photo Below: The Supercouloir (left), The Camel Toe Couloir (right))

The line itself is a quagmire of factors, all which must work together in unison, in order for an attempt to be successful. It's far, requiring either multiple days to get in and out of, or a single fast pace day which will be very long and requires a serious alpine start, during the course of which conditions may deteriorate. The conditions must be stable, as large avalanche paths run all throughout the valley guarding it's entrance and exit, not to mention the paths throughout the entire couloir, never giving you any point where you are fully out of harms way. Temperatures must be cold, as most of the couloir is at a higher altitude, it's neverending length drop it quite low and wet avalanches can create a problem getting to the entrance. Add all these together, and now you have half of the complex equation. You will also be required to ski it in the early morning, before the sun hits the upper slopes of the couloir and surrounding area, so you aren't taken out by avalanches, and cannot ski it later in the evening as there are few places to camp in the evening and snow conditions crust over. And the wildcard? There is a hanging glacier with some creepy seracs hanging over the bottom ski out of the Couloir. (Photo Below: Trevor Hunt breaking trail over Garibaldi Neve)

Trevor Hunt, and myself, headed out early at 4:30am on April 22nd up the Brohm Ridge access road. At 5am, we jumped on sleds and started to head up into the alpine. It's pretty rare that I get on a sled (and my skill to drive one shows), but saving the never-ending skin up logging roads and flat ridges made for a great treat. With the sun just rising, and daylight just cresting over the horizon, we quickly made our way past the Sharks Fin up on the Garibaldi Neve. From there, we could see the top of our line poking out of the morning valley cloud. With an incredibly long rolling descent covering 10km down to the base of the line, we were there by 9:30am. (Photo Below: Trevor Hunt skiing down the moraine to the steep valley to begin our climb)

We put in as many switchbacks on our skins as possible, moving quickly to get out of the way of the hanging glacier seracs above, and racing the sun from destroying the snow. When it got too steep, we began to bootpack and climb, for a long time. The climb up the Couloir, was a wallowing knee deep sufferfest, up probably the longest Couloir I've ever climbed. The crux, a 70cm squeeze through two boulders and some deep rock wells which guard various portions of the Couloir, made for some interesting climbing combined with some hard snow over ice. All in all, we made our way up to enjoy a short 5 minute break on the top before clipping into our skis and skiing down. (Photo: Trevor Hunt, high up on the Camel Toe Couloir)

The first few turns into the Couloir were great quality snow, but quickly turned into hardpack chalk as it steepened to a mellow 50 degree roll before the crux. Trevor managed to make his way through the crux with his skis on, doing some insane ski ballet, making it through unscathed. With no snow leftover in the 70cm tight section, I was forced to downclimb a short 4 foot section but with our footsteps already kicked into the hard snow and ice we were on our way again. Skiing great snow, with some sections of gritty snow, from safe spot to safe spot was enough to make the legs burn. The length of the Couloir just kept going and going, and the experience that much more gratifying. By the bottom, our legs were cooked, and we faced an 11km skin back up to where we left the snowmobiles. (Photo Below: Trevor Hunt shredding the post crux powder)

Skinning back, the heat beat us up pretty hard. We were forced to stop and cool down three times, our feet soaked from the heat and exertion. I ran out of water halfway out, then food, the sleds still far out of sight. After 14 hours of moving, eating snow and pretending not to be hungry, we were back at the sleds. A fast exit, made for a solid 14.5 hour round trip, ready for dinner and bed.

It was fantastic to get out, with all the conditions and external factors of work, transportation, fitness, rest, etc, lining up to get to go push the body into this great Couloir. A huge weight has been lifted, and another lesson in the mountains learned: Failing time after time, it's the perseverance to continue trying which ends up breeding triumph. Next mission....

Note: We believe this is the First Descent, as we have researched quite a bit, so speak up if you know of anyone who has skied it, as we don't want to call first descent if it's not warranted! We will call it "Possible" until otherwise.

A Brief History Of Ski Mountaineering Racing

2011-04-12T13:39:00.000-07:00

A lot of people think Ski Mountaineering Racing is a fairly new sport, but just because you may not have seen it on TV on the highlight reel everyday, doesn't mean it doesn't have deep routes. Ski Mountaineering Racing dates way back to the 1920's and 1930's. Since the 1850's people have been pushing themselves on skis in the mountains, and when people find challenges and begin to overcome them, competition quickly evolves as more people get into the sport and thus Skimo Racing surfaced in around 1910-1915 in small military circles. (Photo Below: Military Patrol Shooting Component)

The military used Skimo Racing primarily as a training opportunity, to ensure a strong group of soldiers would be able to patrol the high mountains passes quickly and efficiently to help protect the people, and fell under the guise of "Military Patrols" hence the names of such large races such as the Patrouilles Des Glaciers in Switzerland (Glaciers Patrol). As these races were usually military exercises, they were run much like the Biathlon in Cross Country skiing, with shooting involved in specific areas and transitions. Now predating these in the late 1770's, Norwegian's held these Patrol races, however they were based with cross country skiing mostly until they evolved and were discovered by countries with high mountains that required a military presence. These Patrols were even popular enough, and were recognized for the amount of skill and fitness required, to make it into the 1924 Winter Olympic Games in Chamonix, France. (Photo Below: Athletes Ceremony and Swearing In, Chamonix 1924)

As great as it was to have Ski Mountaineering Racing in Chamonix's Olympic Games, it was only designated as a demonstration event, but continued throughout the 1924, 1928, 1936, and 1948 games. The Chamonix Race was run as a four man Teams race, with Czechoslovakia, France, Italy, Poland, Finland, and Switzerland competing. In the end, Switzerland took the gold, with Finland in second, France in third, Italy in fourth, and the other Teams withdrawing due to poor conditions and weather. The course itself was 30km in distance and approx 500-1200m of elevation gain. There was a stop halfway through the race to take 18 shots at a target 250m away, with a 30 second penalty if the target was missed and if hit 30 seconds deducted as a reward from their overall ski time.

With the military having fun, and spectators loving the sport, it was time for citizens and the public to begin trying their hand at the sport. In the 1920's civilians began organizing their first few races. The more popular races were in Gosau, Austria - the Mairennen (May Race), and the Geierlauf (Vulture Run) in Wattentaler Lizum Austria. Wattentaler Lizum, remains a military training area that focuses on skimo training and snow exercises for the military today, and two camps sit at 1410m and 1995m respectively. There were more races popping up all over Europe, and more people taking up the sport.

In the 1930's racing really began to take off. In 1933 a group of friends who wanted to remember and celebrate a fallen comrade organized the Trofeo Mezzalama race, in memory of Ottorino Mezzalama (Photo Left: wikideep). It ran from 1933 to 1938 and was designated as a Men's Race, until 1935 when Paula Wiesinger took over for Guisto Gervasutti, wearing his uniform, until she was discovered at a transition and checkpoint mid race. The 1935 race was even filmed, and titled "Maratona Bianca" or "White Marathon." The race orginizing slowed from 1938 on, with the local Ski Club Torino running it in 1940 under a different name the Marcia Nazionale Ottorino Mezzalama. It was not until 1971 until it resurfaced, and run intermittently through 1973, 1975, and again in 1978, but finally run regularly every other year in 1997. (Video Below: In Italian, but footage from the 1935 race)

It was in 1975, at the Trofeo Mezzalama, where the first Ski Mountaineering World Championships occured. 33 Civilian Teams competed alongside 12 Mountain Guide Teams and 11 Military Teams. 1975 was also the first time a Female Team competed officially. (Photo Below: Mezzalama Racers Today, courtesy of ferrino.it)

Beside the Trofeo Mezzalama, another famous race began to come into play, as the Mezzalama took it's break. The Patrouilles Des Glaciers, another originally military run race, was started in April 1943 to test the abilities of Switzerlands soldiers. 18 Teams of 3 competed that year, with a large jump in popularity 44 Teams of 3 raced in 1944. Sadly, the race was put on hold due to World War II, but was restarted soon after on April 10th, 1949 and from their on continued its struggle to survive. During the race in 1949, a Team from a small town in Switzerland skied into a crevasse and lost their lives while racing, forcing the Federal Military Departmentto ban the race until 1984. Now running bi-annually (every 2 years), the Patrouilles Des Glaciers remains under Military Control, but is open to all racers and not just the Military.

Alongside these two large giant races is the crowning jewel of Ski Mountaineering Racing, Pierra Menta. It was started in 1985, and designed as a four day stage race with 10,000m of elevation gain during the four days. Pierra Menta, along with the Patrouilles Des Glaciers and the Trofeo Mezzalama are combined into the "Grand Three" races, and are the most popular and renowned races out there to this day.

Alongside all these races, there are literally hundreds more, from Night Races at local ski clubs, to larger hard courses such as the Dachstein Extreme. From 1990 onwards, racing really saw it's largest increase with small events starting locally, and ski clubs building stronger athletes. Athletes who benefited from these smaller races and ski clubs are now elite members of National Teams and are out dominating the World Cup today. However, now independant races are now offering large and high end awards for the winners, which has become not only an incentive to build and train stronger athletes, but has also begun to split the sport.

On one side racers competing in the World Cup are competing for their countries, still having some difficulty getting by and affording to race professionally or semi-professionally, and others who may have the speed to dominate the World Cup circuit but are interested in the prize bursaries to sustain themselves financially. This growth mimics that of Running Races, Adventure Races, and Triathlon/Ironman in that with a growing field of athletes and races, a divide and personal adjenda greatly affects which athletes will compete where.

Races continue to pop up everywhere, from China, Japan, South America, New Zealand, and of course North America. North America's Ski Mountaineering Circuit is growing extremely quickly, especially with large classic races being organized such as the 5 Peaks race and the Power Of Four race in Colorado. And why not, to see the growth of the sport with heavy old gear in the 1920's in Europe, the same is going on today but with ultra light and beautifully engineered gear. People are excited to get out, push themselves, and see how fast they can go in the mountains.

Trip Planning With Some More Skiing

2011-04-11T11:30:00.000-07:00

Winter is still here, and snow is continuing to fall, so the wait for spring conditions has been pushed back. The ever growing Whistler backcountry base has transformed the terrain where cliffs have become rolls, and different variations are getting fun to play on. In preparation for spring touring, we've been heading out training, and keeping fit for when the sun decides to show it's face for more than a day. That being said, the day's we've had skiing in the sun have been terrific. (Photo Left: Heidi Savage training on the Stairmaster Couloir)

Quick mornings, or getting out at the crack of noon to avoid the white-out snow squalls, has been name of the game. The main goal has been to continue training, right up until the conditions firm up, with a good melt-freeze cycle to solidify the snowpack and make fast travel. The main goals this year will be a big speed traverse, as well as a new enchainment here in the Coast Range.

Organizing and planning for a big single push effort is much like getting ready for a multi-week trip, but planned down to perfection. There is no guess work, no rest, your pace is always quickly moving forward, and to focus on your main concern which is keeping your body functioning on a high level for a long period of time. So to make sure everything is set, and to check the conditions, and crux's of just a sliver of one of the routes I headed out with Heidi to do the Triple Threat Enchainment. (Photo Below: Heidi Savage coming of Mt Pattisons Shoulder, after skiing Trorey's East Face)

The Triple Threat is just a quick afternoon enchainment, which links Mt Pattison, Mt Trorey, and Mt Decker in the Spearhead Range. It also provides fantastic views of the Spearhead, and has some great skiing. The Coast Range's glaciers have filled in extremely well this year, making it a great season for people to get out for a long spring multi-week trip or just a quick Spearhead Traverse. I won't ramble on, but when the weather clears, this should be a great spring. Don't put those skis away yet! (Photo Below: Back of the Spearhead Range)

Dogtooth Dash Race Report

2011-03-28T12:34:00.000-07:00

It was the Dogtooth Dash ski mountaineering race this past weekend, the Canadian Championships, at Kicking Horse Resort in Golden BC. On Saturday the Individual race, hosting 14.3km and 1560m of climbing, all throughout Kicking Horse's high peaks was the main event. However, this year a second Relay Race was added as a fun race to cap it all off. (Photo Below, Start of the Dogtooth Dash Individual, courtesy of Goldenskimo)

The race course was really well designed and set, yet again thanks to Ian Gale (goldenskimo), and brought tons of strong competitors to the event. The race started off with a bang, with all the competitors racing around the Eagle Eye restaurant at the top of the mountain, in a Le Mans style start (running skis in hand). Coming out of the transition to the downhill I pulled out front into the lead with the rest of the Canadian Team hot on my heels. Battling down the downhill with Melanie Bernier and Andrew McNab we transitioned quickly and started climbing. The race had started well, but at the top of the first climb my first set of skins began to fail, and balancing on top of them was essential to finishing the first climb. Down the second descent, James Minifie's binding disintegrated forcing him to quit after a nasty bail, and coming into the transition it was just Mel, Ian, McNab, and Reiner.

To my dismay, at only the second uphill transition, my secondary skin was failing before even using it once. Halfway through it required a change, and so the pattern of skin changing multiple times on the course began. Trying to hold onto third place, then just fourth, then maybe top five, then even trying to at least finish was a challenge. My skins were totally and utterly finished, but managed to at least finish thanks to Steve Sellers handing off a pair so I could finish. Problems from one issue led to others, with a bail mid course, screaming barfies from hands being covered in snow and wet from skin issues, and finally a pole to the knee making bootpacking painful. It was a devastating race. (Photo Below: Melanie Bernier racing hard, courtesy of Goldenskimo)

That being said, Ski Mountaineering Racing is the hardest sport on earth, as there is no recovery, so many aspects to master (gear, technique, transitions, skinning, fitness, strategy, etc....) that when one thing goes wrong it's hard to pull it all together. So learning from your mistakes and mishaps is vital to progressing in this sport, and yes you too will have problems somewhere down the line, as all racers do.

Problem found, and Lesson Learned: Colder weather wax will stay on your skis longer and does not get run off the same as a softer warmer wax. When waxing your skis for skimo racing, make sure you only use a soft warm wax which can be run off to the point where your skis are almost dry again, but still provide the glide and snow repulsion they need to perform properly. Cold weather wax takes too long to come off the ski, and the plastics injected into it don't allow the glue from your skins to grip to it properly, causing them to un-peal and get contaminated with snow - skin failure.

Overall, fitness was feeling strong which is what is important, and I will be even more ready for the next race and get some redemption. Congrats to Reiner Thoni (1st), Andrew McNab (2nd) and Ian Gale (3rd), along with the ladies Melanie Bernier (1st), Julie Matteau (2nd), and Billie Velisek (3rd). Full Results Here. (Photo Above: Podiums For The Individual)

(Photo Above: Relay Course Day 2) Second day, the Relay, was a blast. A race to go out, go hard, and have fun which was not for SMCC points. A fair amount of people where out, dressed in race suits and flower lays, blazers, cowboy hats, and hilarious race team names. Pro Tele skier and Faction ski rider Martha Burley and I teamed up as Team Fubar, and got out to put in some fast laps. The relay was a true Canadian Relay, as it was off-piste, and up the side of a steep ridge opposed to the buff World Cup Relays we've been racing on in Europe. Great fun, and a fantastic event, if you didn't make it this year make it next year!

The White Room

2011-03-15T11:34:00.000-07:00

Patrol lunch run, DOA (Dead On Arrival) Couloir, Blackcomb

As of March 15th in Whistler, there has been 1310cm or 516" of snow this season, it's been a deep year. Over 80 days so far of backcountry blower, breaking trail, and big elevation gain and loss. The constant challenge of trying to blindly make our way through the white-out, navigating through crevasse-bands, and through big avalanche terrain is interesting especially when you can't tell the ground from the sky. (Photo Below: Matt Francis getting a "break" in the weather, Flute, Whistler)

But there is an end in sight. There is finally sun in the forecast. Most people may think this is crazy to be stoked for the snow to stop snowing (just for a while), but being able to climb a large peak, ski steep lines, and generally getting after it has been on hold while Mother Nature delivers the goods.

So which do you prefer, deep blower tree skiing, or steep ski mountaineering? I guess for me, it's just what I haven't skied in a while.

Inside The Pain Cave: Politics and Finding Coaches

2011-03-09T12:26:00.000-08:00

(Photo Above: William Bon Mardion in the Relay during the World Championships 2011) This article on Inside The Pain Cave, I had the chance to Interview Jean Phillipe Biechy, a Skimo specific coach from France, while racing the World Championships in Italy. What followed from the rest of the week, while talking to coaches, officials, and other racers was discovering more background information on how the rest of the Ski Mountaineering Racing community operates on an International level. A note, this is a long article, with a lot of info and does cover a very small portion of the politics and reasoning behind secretive training information.

* * *

Ski Mountaineering Racing is becoming a strong and rapidly building sport, with a large amount of amateur enthousiasts, as well as National Federations consisting of elite athletes participating in the sport. Overall, on the International stage, there is a push for an even more professional and scientific way for countries to improve their ranking on the World Cup. Every athlete is looking for that "edge," but also each country is looking for it as well. That being said, information is closely guarded, and secretive (as it can be with any sport). The information exchange does have its problems when it comes to countries who do not have the sport specific coaching it requires to step up into the top five, and we continue to see the same countries dominating the top of the world cup (Italy, Switzerland, France, Spain, Germany).

While researching and interviewing people, for another "Inside The Pain Cave" article, I discovered more about this problem and the politics that surround it. To understand some of the reasoning behind the close guarding and secrecy of information, further information about the Olympics is required.

The International Ski Mountaineering Federation (ISMF) is working, in conjunction with the International Olympic Committee (IOC), to set Skimo racing as an Olympic Sport. Currently, on the World Cup Circuit, the top three favourites are Italy, France, and Switzerland (Spain being another contendor to take note of). These countries are very aware of the situation, and are preparing as if this is a definite Olympic sport, thus keeping their training plans hidden away from rival countries, which if given the amount of time away to potential Olympic plans (2018) could be serious contendors for the Olympic Medals not to mention the World Cup podiums between now and then. (Photo Below: Women's Senior Vertical Race, World Championships 2011 Italy)

This secrecy and guarding of information is available, but financially, hard to access. Since Skimo's popularity has risen, seing International countries competing from Europe, North America, South America, New Zealand, Asia, Russia, etc, there has been coaches and research developing for years. Those who have been extremely passionate about the sport have gotten more and more into improving results, developing sport specific speed training models, and that of not only individual athletes but Countries.

Junior programs, much like downhill alpine racing and cross country skiing, have been created in Italy, Spain, Switzerland, etc to ensure faster and high end athletes for future racing generations on the World Cup stage and potential Olympic platforms. The bar has been getting higher and higher every year. So the real question is, how are countries who don't have Junior programs and sport specific coaching able contend with these giants?

This is where sponsorship and outside funding is requried, to fuel these teams, as now teams are able to hire Skimo specific coaches. Their training loads, in relation to work as well, greatly vary creating a more complex model to coach from as well. I recently have been in contact in Jean Phillipe Biechy, a Skimo specialist coach, out of France. Jean Phillipe is a driving force behind finding what works and what doesn't, and has some fantastic points and ways of thinking about training, which are needed in the competive setting Skimo racing is in.

While racing in the Ski Mountaineering World Championships, I got a chance to ask him some questions on coaching, and what he has to offer. Like any coach Jean Phillipe does charge a price, but he is devoted to coaching Skimo racers only, and is excited to see North American's and other countries stepping up to bat against the Italians, French and Swiss. What we are now seeing, and what Jean Phillipe is offering, is a way to contend the same way the current leaders of the Skimo world are and to take the level of racing higher for when the Olympics do come into the picture. Coaches offering specific training at this level, are few and far between, but are essential. They are appearing all over Europe, and are something we as racers need to look into, to shift the podiums placements on the World Cup Stage.

However, we as racers spend most of our money travelling race to race, pay race fees, food, accomodation, gear, and have to work to support ourselves and families. Fees for Skimo specific coaching are pricey, and can be difficult to afford while taking federation and racing fees into mind. So with all these external factors, how are racers able to afford such a high cost? The answer is within the National Skimo Federations of each country in order to cover the cost. However, if looking deeper into the problem, there are usually two options for programming athletes can choose from. The first is a 32 week program that has a 3 week buffer period allowing for life, sickness/recovery, and other things to get in the way allowing for adjustments. Or, a second option a 22 week program that has no buffer, and must be done perfectly, if not the podium is lost. As you can guess the 22 week program costs less, which is exactly what National Federations prefer to pay for.

Federations do have another option in order to bring down costs, allow for more time, and get results; hire your own National Coach. This works really well, we see it on the International Cross Country Skiing circuit, as well as Downhill skiing. However, some problems can occur with the process. Coaches can be paid extra based on athletes results, that can cause them to push their athletes too hard and blow up, but can be replaced by the larger talent pool the Junior prorgams provide. Essentially this is a lineup of disposable athletes, to provide podiums for whichever Nation who decides to employ this method. Smaller Nations, with a smaller talent pool, do have the advantage of a smarter and more dialed training program to ensure athletes don't blow up. Not every Federation has this problem, but it does exist, in the world of professional sports.

(Photo Above: United States Skimo Team, World Championships Italy, courtesy of La Sportiva)

But what about Federation's with minimal funding? These problems aren't even an issue, as Coaches aren't paid, and individual athletes tend to pay for their own coaching. Countries like Canada and the United States, both have a governing body, but no leadership on the same level as many of the European teams. Coaching is required to take these teams to a higher level, and give them an edge over the competition, which requires funding. Only then will these countries be able to pay for Coach's, research, training camps, etc.

Funding can come from two sources. A private investor, a company or person who would be interested in supporting a Team, with a fair amount of capital to allow racers some time off work and/or the ability to cover the growing list of costs racing provides. The second is government funding. Government funding first requires three things, before it can be allocated to a National Federation, and those are: Licensed Racers/Coaches, Results, and for it to be an Olympic Sport. Here's where the catch 22 cycle continues.

How are National Federations able to provide high end results against Teams which do have proper funding allowing them more time to train, coaching, camps, and a specific program to help build athletes? Countries with a smaller talent pool, who are promising (even contendors for podium placements with training) but don't have these resources, grow really slowly and have the potential for athletes giving up on the sport as they cannot afford paying for all the associated capital that racing costs. At which point when racers can't afford to pay for their passion, they are forced to either quit the sport, or downgrade their investment and time to it. This affects not only their individual results but their countries overall ranking and involvment in the sport. Now since skimo racing is to become an Olympic sport, how can it be considered an International sport when only a few countries are so dedicated to it, and others need a few years to catch up (and only if their National Federations would help with the costs).

Is there a solution, that will help the progress of the sport both in development to an Olympic level and athletically? The answer is yes. Countries that do have well-developed ski mountaineering programs, and are leading the top five, need to share their knowledge in both training and federation development to countries which don't have such knowledge now. This does create some competition for them, but it is necessary for the growth of the sport to reach an Olympic level, but also to ensure those developing Nations are still their when the International Olympic Commity make their final decision. That competition also allows the sport to grow as a whole, creating stronger and faster athletes, internationally as well as on a National level.

Another factor which must be looked at is funding. Funding is always difficult, as every country deserves an equal share for one reason or another. But developing Nations need a boost to help their athletes get to races, train, and build as a country. With results, and increasing popularity, they will find it much easier to find funding for their Federation both privately and from government sources. The ISMF, can help provide that small boost. However, the constant shift of money can be difficult for other programs, races and countries, so it's allocation of resources is hard for anyone to think about without affecting other aspects.

The growth of the sport is complex, requiring many different sources of capital, and different levels of involvment. No sport is perfect, nor is it's programming, but for those who truly love the sport changes need to be made. For North American's, training hard, and dedication is paramount in order to acheive results and gain recognition to help fund the Canadian and United States Federations. Racers are literally racing for the sport's growth, and for the Federations.

* * *

The path which racers and coaches are headed as a result of growth in the sports training specificity can be seen with Jean Phillipe Biechy. If Federations gain funding, the sport grows, allowing for coache's to be hired there are many benefits. Jean Phillipe Biechy, is a skimo specific coach. He only trains ski mountaineering racers, no one else. What he can offer is something that can build athletes to a high end level, and really see results, a benefit for the countries supporting said athlete and more.

I had a chance to ask him some questions while in Italy, and found not only good training advice, but useful information in regards to the sports development and the path which coaches and racers are headed.

Full Name

I'm Jean Philippe Biechy, I'm 44 years old, I am French, I live 75 kms east of Paris and works at INSEP PARIS (Institut National du Sport, Expertise and Performance) as a trainer in charge of training elite athletes. (Photo Right: Yannick Buffet (FR) and Coach Jean Philippe Biechy)

Jean-Phillipe, how did you get into coaching?

It was a long path, so I am enclosing my background experience and training (Physical and mental preparation). So you can see my graduation and experience in top level sport as a coach and mental preparation.

I am a former elite athlete from Escalade. In the 1990s I was in the French Top 10 (The French National Ski Mountaineering Team) and ranked around 38th place worldwide.

I started climbing 8a from 17/18 years and at that time there was no method, and no writing, on training existed on climbing. So we immediately thought about climbing with a friend on training from other disciplines. The "Training Manual" by Yurgens Weineck quickly became my favorite book (It's still intact and still, even after 22 years, of use as my "holy book", not kidding! But it's still an excellent book!).

At that time, I immediately questioned the training load, why does one exercise for a particular time and why must 2 sessions of strength be at seperate times instead of one large session etc. I also reflected on the aspects of mental preparation and I am directed to Sophrology very quickly. Anyway, all sort of questions arise when one wants a return and results from training, so as not to waste time and therefore his/her motivation.

When I finished high level climbing, I converted the ½ Ironman and Ironman triathlon, where I had some results in honorable master category (age group) winning a 3rd place France championship in my class, then a 15th World Championship Long Distance. This experience has reinforced my thinking on this idea driving my thought process, because the volume of triathlon training can quickly become time consuming, inhumane, and ineffective and therefore not challenging. Many triathletes, like other endurance athletes, calculate their training load on the number of hours spent or the number of kilometers traveled. Upon reflection, I realized this does absolutely nothing, in fact the same 180 km bike would not be similar to one with a headwind or back for example, same as with temperatures in July around 20 degrees or 40 degrees.

So I reflected on different models for quantifying the training load and arrived at a training protocol to achieve its maximum potential on Race-Day (which was used to achieve some results in my Triathlon but mainly to get the results of international climbers skiers I coach) without risk of being over-trained.

There are 4/5 years I have reviewed as the National Technical Director of my federation (Federation of French Mountaineering and Climbing) and the latter was interested in my research on the type of training disciplines "endurance" and on my protocol for the quantification of training load. He then offered to lead some athletes from the Ski Mountaineering Team in France, I accepted. My status in my federation is "Physical and Mental Preparation Coach," I do not hold my position, but am an outside consultant (so I can work for any other athletes) and I'm not the French National Team Coach. My job is to manage the physical and mental programming from February to May, for the athletes of the French team and after the season.

Any Coaching/Career highlights ?
As physical and mental preparation of certain team skiers from France Ski Mountaineering I got fairly quickly, thanks ork done by my players and our mutual trade, a number of national and international victories.
My athletes have achieved the last 4 seasons championships in France:
- 6 Degrees of France Champion
- 5 Silver medals
- 2 Bronze Medals

International level:
- 2 Gold medals at the European Championships 2009: Yannick Buffet is 1st and 1st to the individual and combined.
- A Silver medal at the European Championships 2009: Tony Sbalbi is 2nd:Vertical Race
- A Bronze medal at the European Championships 2009: Yannick Buffet is 3rd: Vertical race.
- A Silver Medal in the World Championships 2011: Yannick Buffet is 2nd: Vertical Race.
- A Bronze Medal in the World Championships 2011: Yannick Buffet is 3nd: Individual Race.

(Photo Left: Yannick Buffet, European Championships 2009) These results come from individual workouts for each of my athletes. My path as a coach directs me to prioritize work on the overall analysis of the sport. During the development of different capabilities, corresponding to the determinants of performance, the individual monitoring of the athlete is to be taken into account. You need to have an analytical approach but eventually encompassing all aspects.

What do you think is the most important aspect of uphill training athletes should concentrate on?
The athletes in ski mountaineering racing are top athletes, and are amateur professionals. I mean, they are true professionals in terms of their physical preparation in terms of time to train but they are amateurs because they are not participating in their sport for a living. Most of them have a job to fill the family pot and make a living. For some, this work is very penalizing in terms of their training load due to very physically jobs such as ski instructors, mountain guides, lift mechanics, etc. We must therefore constantly regulate the balance between their internal training load and external load such as their schedules and obligations (work, family, etc..). The challenge now is to insert their performance sport goals into their life goals. In my opinion the management of this balance in perpetual imbalance is the key to their successful performance. This requires a highly personalized coach who is available, and ready to make a large time investment in training, especially with the small number of athletes. I think that without taking into account the overall balance of the athlete no training whatsoever can be effective. The athlete must be at the center of his own performance.

It is here where you see the value of having reliable and operative tools to accurately measure the burden of their training. The direct impact of the latter on the body of the athlete, is then measured, and thus allows to control the imbalance desired (training stimuli) addressing how best to possible identify the capacity of adaptability the human body has so that overtraining is avoided.

Otherwise in terms of training methodology, the important points are:
1. Technical Aspects: Transitions (uphill/downhill, bootpack, crampons), and descent techniques.
2. Training Load is one thing we need to look at. This is the specific information we collect from physical training in nature, such as uneven/uncertain terrain, different competition environments (course, track, ascents, snow conditions, weather, etc), and how athletes react to training off-track or in a non-controled environment.

The majority of training racers should concentrate on is aerobic training. Strategy and experimenting with sprinting, is also important, to concentrate on.

What kind of strength training do you program for your athletes?
Very regularly, if not all the time, I change their training 2 to 3 times per week the same week. This change is focused on training loads to achieve in the week. It is the same for the annual planning where constant changes are made. Nothing is frozen in my programming, everything is questioned based on monitoring of individual athletes, their feelings and availability of training. Once again I take into account the entire system's performance and drive, training the core of the athlete, the rest revolves around and adapts to the demands of the core. This follow-up (almost daily) with ergonomic changes (ease of scheduling and individual coaching) required, seems unrealistic, but high-level performance requires this, regardless of the discipline.

In North America, there is a lot of interest in programs such as Crossfit, and strength programs, how important do you think these are to Skimo racers? Is there a downside, or any pitfalls that skimo athletes can run into with these programs?
To be honest I don't know these training programs, as based on endurance, and the strength offered in this style. I find it very interesting because they use a circuit training method very similiar to one that I use regularly according to the athletes ability to access gyms with the right equiment.

Developing different muscle groups in a diverse way, but also different training load capacities in this form of "military" work can be positive for several reasons:
1. No risk of imbalance in the body-muscle, the body is developed in a whole manner which avoids any risk of injury. So there is no scarring to the body later in life, and something to draw from both physically and mentally after that phase in the athletes life is done and he/she moves on to something else.
2. It helps maintain motivation, and therefore the investment, by the variety of exercises to be done, with sessions continuously changing.
3. Strength training as a group or team can help keep the session fun.
4. Ability to work with various training loads depending on the intensity ratio given, in terms of exercise time and recovery time or in terms of weight/power to achieve the ratio.
5. A strong mental approach which I find interesting, although it will cause a fairly significant mental fatigue, which eventually may harm the drive to train.

I think we must be very attentive to the practice of this type of training because some risks are:
1. Very high stress training loads due to the type of target intensity. Which may cause the training loads to be be very difficult to measure. So the danger is not to allowing enough recovery time, which is important to the body, between sessions of crossfit.
2. Too much stress for an unprepared athlete. It seems that the "ladder" exercise intensities takes on its meaning, escalating harder and harder. The overhead can quickly become traumatic and not provide for the purpose of training sought.
3. It is the same type exercises in powerlifting where learning proper movements are required (technical gestures such as "squat" into "clean and jerk, bench press, etc.). If not learned to do so properly, injury is for sure!
4. You need a coach to manage and/or stop an athlete putting himself in danger of exceeding oneself too much. High intensity or all out efforts should be kept for big events and in some workouts and not daily!
5. The strong mental demands required by the high intensities may lead the athlete to a mental fatigue resulting in a loss of motivation and a state of overtraining. So there is a substantial risk of physical and mental overtraining if Crossfit is not programmed and controlled properly.

I share the idea of development of certain physical, mental, technical support like training with a wide variety of sports, especially in a discipline such as downhill skiing (activity where the body and mind must adapt to external natural constraints, which requires great flexibility on the part of the athlete). We must therefore look for a specific kind of versatility.

In your opinion, what can be the difficulties athletes face with training, and what do you like your athletes to do in order to recover properly?
It is clear that today the struggles with training, is the availability of training athletes, regardless of the disciplines concerned with top performance.

The main problem lies in the fact that our Ski Mountaineering athletes do not have enough time to devote to training and recovery models. More often the main problem is that human and material resources are far from optimum. A few athletes have opportunities to utilize various training resources (gym, swimming pool, track and field, mountains, etc) for the simple reason that they live in remote valleys of each others and must sometimes make long journeys to use proper training equipment. Added to this is their work and family obligations, which for many of them are quite restrictive in terms of time (time consuming) or general fatigue.

What is needed is an approach to training taking into account these external factors. For this reason, my thinking is based on continuous training load to be applied to each of my athletes. This charge is determined using binding constraints and impaired recovery from each. Training loads and are individualized daily.

At the end of the season, I make sure my athletes take a full rest (no training) from 15 days to 1 month depending on the individual, to plan for the next coming season. The purpose of this rest is to allow the body to recover as a whole, and recharge the 'mental batteries,' after a competitive season that lasts more than five months (December to April). They will the resume training slowly, with more free (flexible) training sessions, which are built more through early summer when the preperation for the real goals such as the European and World Championships begins. The progressive development of their training and scheduling is then plannedd and carried out over the weeks of training, for a 32 week performance program.

To ensure a gradual preperation to these events, I plan my schedule spreading it out over 7-8 months before major championships, to account for things such as work, family obligations, illness, and injuries. As the season progresses I plan to get more specific over the coming weeks. By mid-November and late-November, depending on weather, I make sure to have athletes on their skis as soon as there is snow.
For athletes with a large amount of potential, and restraints, the first problem to manage is recovery. Recovery management must take into account the recovery time between sessions, active or passive recovery, mulitple days of regenerative recovery, and accounting for the efforts made while working (eg, mountain guiding, physical labour, etc.). Given the level of performances being achieved, we will have coaches that are able to control rapid recovery models, as well as the development of physical skills such as technique coaches.

While racing in the World Championships, we talked to athletes from many different National Teams about their training regimes, some did a large portion of intervals, some did more steeper vertical. What, in your opinion, is the best training for speed?
Although I conducted a study on the training load analysis of the Individual, Team, and Vertical Race's, I can not, alas, out of respect for my athlets, disclose such information. What I can tell you is that Interval training is a very good support for speed. The difficulty, once again, lies in the strength training loads of these intervals: time and intensity effort, recovery time, active or passive recovery, recovery time between sessions, etc..

What are some of the technique drills which you think are the most important for racers to practice?
The current level of ski mountaineering racing is very high, and the performance between top-level athletes will increase more and more. In fact, I find that there is some similarities with triathlon where the level of performance has improved enormously over the past five years.

We must develop all the determining aspects of performance, one of them is using gear, but not forgetting to use strategy decided on before the event and tactics strategy changed during the event. In terms of pure technique it seems to me that the following are needed:
- Transitions in poor conditions (snow, ice, heavy snow, weather, etc.) when changing hardware (crampons, skins, attaching skis to your back for bootpacks, etc..) is to optimize the image of those made in triathlon. Indeed, a gain or loss of significant time is in the transitions. For example at the last championships in France, there were 14 transitions, if an athlete loses 5 seconds on every transition, in the end he loses 1mn10 total, which will be difficult to recover on a climb or descent.
- All the techniques and skills associated with downhill skiing (proprioception and equilibration). Athletes today, compete on the ascent (large aerobic capacity), but also and more so on the downhill portion of the courses. Racers who do not have a descent technique enabling major risk-taking moves, can choose to move towards events such as the Vertical Race and Sprint.

(Video Above: Tony Sbalbi, Yannick Buffet in the European Championship Vertical Race) Although our discipline is dominated by training loads is necessary not to forget the technical and tactical aspects. It is probably in these areas that will be played in tomorrow's victories.

What are some of the mistakes athletes are making while training, and or planning their training schedules ?
Mistakes are inevitable, that's why we are human and for which we find an interest in practicing a sport. Nothing is settled in advance. The role of the athlete and the coach is to minimize the number of errors to maximize the potential of sport, and to finally exploit them during the competition. That being said, some of them can be avoided.

The first is the very culture of discipline, based on having fun and enjoying yourself. The notion of pleasure is strongly rooted in our sport and that's good. But today the level of performance is so high, that it requires a certain rigor, in the approach to training. So the first risk is not to train with this notion, as athletes who love the sport, may eventually train with the same feeling of going to work and the negative connotation that it represents. So the first mistake is to forget that the pleasure of training should be present all the time, to keep motivation high.

The second mistake is to train alone without being accompanied with someone to overlook programming. All athletes who believe they are "immortal" by thinking, "I am superior to others since I'm here to beat them so I have to cash training loads much higher." So the lack of an objective viewpoint made by a coach may bring one athlete training at an end. This is an irreversible error: wrong choice of training development, the training load, organization and scheduling of performance development, etc..
In my opinion the main errors athletes have are:
- Believe they "immortal" in regards to training loads.
- Risk of overtraining
- Loss of motivation loss of pleasure to the skis for training
- Lack an objective viewpoint in regards to training

The top level training management in ski mountaineering is a must if you want to get high performance to meet the expectations of the IOC.

If athletes are on a tighter schedule and don't have as much time to train as they would like, what should they be concentrating on?
Currently there are two major schools of thought. The first is that large volumes of training is needed, making long trips and many hours of training (In the vicinity of 35 hours of training per week). Whereas the second school of thought, is quality, where the training is more refined and specific (between 15 and 20 hours per week).

The choice is dictated by the requirements of the athlete. If he/she works 35 to 40 hours per week on a professional level, he/she can hardly train more hours per week than 15/20. In this case, quality finds its place without thinking. Athletes who have little training time due to work , train primarily with quality. My personal focus is qualitative work.

But the concern of the Ski Mountaineering today is that some nations are organized in such a way that they allow their athletes to have training as their priority. This will therefore cause problems for other nations that have different means for their athletes (eg funding, job aids, etc.) and cannot focus solely on training as their priority.

These issues must be organized quickly to provide solutions in terms of availability of training time for their athletes. Otherwise, I fear that some nations will find it difficult to make up the delay in aid, and funding.

World Championships 2011, Relay Race

2011-02-27T06:38:00.000-08:00

The Relay Race, the last race of the World Championships, but one of the most fun all around. Racers were ready to put the hammer down on this short course format. The course itself is longer that the Sprint Race, not nearly as long as the Individual Race, but short enough to really hurt. It had two uphill sections, the first being 150m of vertical gain, and the second being another 150m of gain but with a bootpack. The descents were marked out with super slalom style gates (turns which were too tight to be a giant slalom), and finished with small skate ski sections. (Photo Below: Switzerland's Nathalie Etzensperger's run)

The start of the Men's Race was insanely fast, probably one of the fastest starts I have yet to witness, with the top athletes from each country leading out of the gate. Canada's Reiner Thoni held his own arriving at the first transition with time to spare, a great start, as the coach's from North America were betting on each others Teams to add to the competition. Yannick Ecoeur of Switzerland held the fastest time of 6:11, which only a few other racers even managed to get close to. In the end, the Italian's won, and rightfully so as they stacked their Team with the fastest and most specialized, putting in all around fast times. (Photo Below: David Albos Cavaliere of Andorra on the final climb)

Canada did not have enough women competing this year with Kylee Toth and Billie Velisek unable to attend, however, the USA did have a strong finish. Nina Silitch, Jari Kirkland, and Janelle Smiley teamed up coming in 7th, with Switzerland taking the gold. One notable performance was from Laetitia Roux (FR) who finished both laps in only 7:26, the next fastest women's time being Mereia Miro (ESP) at 7:58. Now with the World Championships over, it's back to Canada to train and get ready for the Canadian Championships, before re-starting the whole process and beginning to train for next year's racing circuit!

Full Results Here.

World Championships 2011, Individual Race

2011-02-26T09:45:00.000-08:00

It's been a long hard week of racing and focusing on going fast, but the main event was worth it; the Individual Race. Hosted in Claut, the Individual course consists of 1450m of climbing, and 1750m of descending. The Course has two bootpacks, one with a down-climb and Via Ferrata section, and finishes with a leg burning 1350m descent. (Photo Below: Men's Senior Individual Race Start, courtesy of press.areaphoto.it)

The day started out as it usual has this trip, with being shuttled around by local Polizia and Militia/Army personnel to the start areas, except today we were forced to have a 300m warm up climb to the start area (which ended up being perfect). Everyone was ready for the first of three climbs, which gained around 450m, followed by a short descent. As the start gun went off the sprint start quickly got going, with one lead racer having a similar gear issue as my Teams race, and three others breaking their poles off the start line. North American's hung in strong, with no gear failures (other than broken carbon skis, which were still skiable). (Photo Below: Men's Final Bootpack, courtesy of press.areaphoto.it)

Keeping a more conservative approach to the race, after the Teams, the pace was still going strong. Pulling in matching Pete Swenson (USA) who took 2nd in the Patrouilles Des Glaciers last year, lungs were feeling pretty good (even with tasting blood all week from going hard). North American's were all fairly close, pulling in and doing battle with European racers the whole way through. Pete got the best of myself and James Minifie on the final descent, but everyone finished really close together. (Photo Below: Men's Final Transition, courtesy of press.areaphoto.it)

Melanie Bernier made a notable 10th place finish in the women's (which unfortunately had a smaller course). Overall even with a slightly smaller course, racers could put their foot on the gas and use up the tank a bit faster, which made the course that much more fun. Now with a fun and good race behind me, finally getting the mental aspect of racing back, it's on for the Canadian Championship in Golden, the Dogtooth Dash!

Full Results Here.

World Championships 2011, Sprint Race

2011-02-25T04:26:00.000-08:00

Another race done for the Ski Mountaineering World Championships 2011, the Sprint Race. The Sprint is a fairly new event in Skimo racing, but really encompasses every skill into one lung busting 120m climb, with a fast downhill and skate ski section. (Photo Below: Josef Rottmoser during his insanely fast sprint race)

The course start with a 40m climb that is fairly low angle, to a 20m switchback section, into a 20m bootpack, then another 20m climb, transition and downhill into a slightly uphill skate ski. Transitions, racing, and descending times are always expected at around 3-4 minutes. The more technical a racer can be the more time he/she can shave off of this short course, but don't forget the mega power endurance that comes from training for specificly for an event like this. (Video Below: Sprint Downhill Transition)

The race starts with racers being sent off every 30 seconds, running solo on the course, and trying to hit their top speed for a cutoff for a quarter final round, semi final, and final round devised of six heats. The best way to describe it would be to do some long intervals, that would have bootpacking, switchbacks and transitions, at your best pace or until you taste blood. (Photo Below: Melanie Bernier (CAD) in the Final Heat)

The fastest times were unbelievably fast, as the long distance enduro athletes North America produces, wasn't up to par with the Sprint Specialists that Switzerland, Germany, France, and Spain brought. That being said, Canada's Melanie Bernier was the exception (again). Mel, came blasting out of the start gate, making it into the Semi Finals right off the bat. In the Semi's she then led out of the start, resting slightly on the bootpack, but then tearing by the rest of the women in the transition gaining three positions putting her into the Final Heat. In the Final heat, she started out strong, but when the Women who had been training specifically for this event put on the gas she just missed a high level finish. Coming in at 5th, is the best result for North America at a World Championships ever (which was recently broken yesterday at the Vertical by Janelle Smiley placing 7th). A strong race for Mel, and another step up for North America!

Full Results Here.

World Championships 2011, Vertical Race

2011-02-22T09:36:00.000-08:00

Today was the Vertical Race, here in Italy, which was held in the Piacavello ski area. Every Country that was attending was out going after the highest position possible, and North American's were no different. Both the Canadian and US Team dropped the hammer to wreck themselves on what was possibly one of the most technical Vertical races I've seen. (Photo Below: Junior Females start)

The course itself starts off in a nice flat area, the hill it runs up slowly get steeper and steeper until it tops out in the clouds. In the center of the course, there is a technical skinning section full of switchbacks that would require good strategy, and also a bootpack which racers were forced to transition at the bottom and top of. The bootpack is what made and broke some racers, but everyone wasn't expecting how fast they would top out, as the course was a mere 540m of elevation gain. Typically, a World Cup sanctioned Vertical race would be somewhere in the range of 1100m, but today was a bit different due to poor weather conditions. (Photo Left: Junior Women's Leader Axelle Mollaret (FR) on the bootpack)

The Senior Women's race started off hard, with Canada's Melanie Bernier leading the entire course for the first section of the climb. A neck and neck race overall, but in the end Meira Miro (ESP) pulled up front and put a big gap on the others, with Laetitia Roux (FR) on her heals. The gap was fairly large up front, but after third position came the battle was on. A huge congradulations to Janelle Smiley from the USA placing 7th, Melanie Bernier finishing 15th, and Julie Matteau finishing 23rd. (Photo Right: Melanie Bernier (CAD) finishing the last 100m stretch)

The Senior Men's race was extremely intense. Yannick Buffet (FR) led the race nearly the entire way, with Killian Jornet Burgada (ESP) on his heels, until the top where Killian hit the gas just edging out Buffet at the end. An incredibly high paced race, the Canadian's finished with Reiner Thoni 34th, Andrew McNabb 41st, Stano Faban 53rd, and Steve Sellers 61st. The USA's ringer to the vertical race was Greg Ruckman finishing an incredible race at 14th, congrats Greg! (Photo Below: Canada's Reiner Thoni on the last 100m of the Vertical Race)

Overall, the race was a huge success, although the visibility could have been better (all part of ski mountaineering). While looking back on last year's performances, the overall consensus, is that North America is quickly catching up to the European's, and we are quickly building a strong contigency to wage war on the World Cup. Tommorrow will be the Sprint race, a new format to the Ski Mountaineering World Cup.

Full Results Here.

World Championships Teams Race Recap - The Hurt

2011-02-21T05:33:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, on the 20th of February, was the Teams race for the World Championships. Feeling good, and ready, everyone was ready for a strong performance against the best of the best. What came is a large expansion of the pain box, extending it further than I have personally ever gone, and continued to feel even after the race was over. The race was a realization of the high's racing can provide, and the deep low's, that make the high's worth the pain, the suffering, and hard experiences worth the sacrifice. (Photo Right: Teams Profile)
We all lined up at the start line, I pulled in behind Stano Faban (CAD), with my partner James Minifie right behind me. The course profile was around 2250m of elevation gain, and approximately 30km long, up through horrendous logging roads, bootpacks through cliffs bands, and finally into the subalpine with bottomless snow and large deep dark holes to fall into. Overall it had 16 transitions, including bootpacks, and some running (skis in hand) through some funny terrain and through downtown Claut to the finish line the town square. (Photo Below: Teams Start, photo courtesy of skimo.org by: Gerard Bethoud)

The gun went off, and the usual sprint start began, except here's where it all went wrong. 5 seconds in, a racer who started beside me smashed his pole into my gear, knocking my ski off. Immediately stopping and popping the ski back on, I was unaware of the damage inflected, as I sprinted hard to catch the still sprinting Peleton, it came off again. Again and again, this happened. Stop ski on, sprint hard, stop ski on, sprint hard. Anaerobic again and again, running high heart rate sprint intervals spending everything to make it work, until my race setup was done. The ski was broken, and we were forced to stop. The end of our competitive race was here.

However, James (hero of the day), was lucky enough to figure out a way to solve the problem, and after ten minutes of fiddling around we could move again. Ten minutes, in a World Cup race, after going anaerobic over and over 150m into a 2250m course is pretty much a death sentence. But gaining points for Canada's overall placing was paramount. Pretty fried from the intervals, we clipped on the tow line, and began chasing. The tow line allowed me to keep a high pace, but recover enough to drop it and go hard later.

We started picking up a few teams, along the way, discussing strategy and how to race as well as our overall feeling with everything for the rest of the week. On the second climb's bootpack section, my crampons didn't want to work, but after some violence towards them they decided to give in and work. Further and further into the race course, nutrition and hydration began to fail, and time tested systems stopped working and I had bonked. Bonked and trying to step it up, after being anaerobic, nothing working and although feeling like death we did begin to catch and pull in Canadians Stano Faban and Steve Sellers.

It was on our 1350m descent to the valley where we finally passed them, but it cost every last electrolyte and calorie I think I had. Dizzy, and falling asleep on the skin tracks, hoping this course would end soon was wishful thinking. We still had a number of transitions left with running, bootpacks, and muddy skinning to the finishline ahead. Leg started to cramp, on the 3rd last climb, but there was nothing that could be done but keep moving. Skate skiing and transitioning didn't help either, nor did the course official who told us that the finish line was one climb away, and "it will take longer to transition than to climb and reach it," two climbs and 20 minutes away from it in reality. We managed to keep our lead on the other Canadians, but at a high price for me. (Photo Above: Finish Line, courtesy of claut2011.org)

Crossing the finish line, my body was broken. Not just tired, or exhausted, but shutting down. Legs didn't want to walk properly, brain dizzy and wandering, emotionally not bothered (and expected it from the start) but body felt and showed the opposite physically. Never have I been in the hole so deep, not after speed traverses, not after other races, never. It was a truely mind expanding experience, with the body quitting, and the mind quitting, something kept saying go. Lactic acid, prevented me from moving my head and shoulders, and the rest of my body just hurt. It was safe to say, the pain box was expanded, and a new level was found today.

Overall, even with the race a disaster, something out of my control; I feel good about the dismal result. As it's not the result, but I know the training has paid off, and that when my gear doesn't get smashed by another competitor by accident (what happened was one in a million) that my body is able to push hard and the speed is there. Now focusing on recovery, I have two days before the Sprint race, and am really looking forward to redemption on the Individual course. The Teams race was all about learning, even if it came at a price, and during a World Cup competition.

"Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorius triumphs, even though checkered by failure... than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat." - Theodore Roosevelt

With our situation aside, a great finish for top Canadians (Reiner Thoni and Andrew McNabb), taking some of the American Teams (one team having a similiar gear malfunction and being forced to withdraw), and awesome to see the level of Ski Mountaineering Racing from North American's taking bit steps forward. Congrats also go to the Canadian Women's Team Melanie Bernier and Julie Matteau.

Full Results Here

First Few Days at SkiMo World Championships 2011, Claut Italy

2011-02-20T11:41:00.000-08:00

After driving, flying, transfers, more flying, and more driving I finally reached our hotel which would be the HQ for the Canadian, USA, and Swiss Teams in Barcis Italy. Just down the road from Claut, Barcis is a very small rustic town, with nearly nothing in the way of technology but with a lot of traditional Italian life. (Photo Below: Barcis, Italy)

The first few days of the trip, once arriving, the Canadian Team (along with the Americans) has been to get a lay of the land and courses while keeping fresh for the upcoming races. The Dolomites have not had a large amount of snow this year, and as a result the course setters have been especially challenged when setting a course, even with a good snowfall on our arrival. As we explored, and found the areas where the races are being held, the race officials have juggled the dates of the schedule around making it hard to judge when to train and rest.

The weather (now sunny), which has improved considerably since our arrival, has been giving us a great view of the surrounding mountainside. Huge vertical alpine faces, with major relief, surround the small towns in the bottom of tight little valleys. The major difference that Claut has from all other venues, is that races start at a low elevation (usually around 410m) and climb through the trees for a long period of time, before reaching the alpine which has some serious terrain. While racing Pierra Menta last year, I thought we raced through some serious terrain, but after seeing this place; the potential is huge for truly outrageous race courses. (Photo Below: The "little" mountains outside Claut)

Now equipped with new race suits, backpacks, and headbands from Crazy Idea {hyperlink} everyone on the Canadian Team is stoked to get after some racing. First race is the Teams race on Sunday Feb 20th, 2011. Men's Teams will be 1. Reiner Thoni and Andrew McNabb, 2. James Minifie and Alex Wigley, 3. Stano Faban and Steve Sellers. The Women's Team will be Melanie Bernier and Julie Matteau. But before racing the Opening Ceremonies, a parade and ice show, followed by lots of speaches from various sports presidents and officials. (Photo Below: Team Canada in their slot during the Opening Ceremonies)

Sunshine 5000 Ski Mountaineering Race

2011-02-06T18:52:00.000-08:00

Another Ski Mountaineering Competition Canada Race done, the Sunshine 5000 (Banff, AB), and one more race closer to the World Championships in Italy this month. So after a long drive, a lot of coffee, and a large amount of snow on the roads; I found myself at the start-line along with the rest of the Canadian Skimo Team, and a number of other ready to suffer racers.

This year the course was a bit longer (pictured above), actually making it a bit more like the Sunshine 6000, but with great weather and perfect conditions everyone was up for it all. The course starts with a long but flat ascent, to burn the legs, and maintain a high cadence. Overall, the course had four ascents, and four descents including a downhill finish.

Blasting out of the start gate, the usual sprint to setup and position yourself, was fun (Photo Above, courtesy of Lynn Martel). Everyone slipped into a tight peloton, leading was Reiner Thoni, and the rest of the Canadian Team chomping at the bit behind him. Within the first 5 minutes, there was a breakaway from the peloton of skimo racers, five of us managed to put the gas on and slip ahead. We battled for position moving forward and back with everyone feeling strong. I nudged into 3rd slot and the breakaway started to spread out. That was until the first descent. With a poorly marked descent Ian Gale (Goldenskimo), James Minifie, and myself headed off course luckily regaining the course but were caught up with by Stano Faban (skintrack.com).

On the battle went, a short climb, and another transition. This time I was the unlucky one to ski far off course, losing my 3rd place position, and watching Ian and James take over while heading the totally opposite direction. Frantically, polling through the deep snow, finally regaining the transition point after going fully anaerobic working to get back I managed to transition fast enough to regain pursuit. Slowly realing them in, working hard to regain my time, I caught up. But without a moment to lose, the attacks on the course came, and there was no rest to be had. (Photo Left: Andrew McNabb and chase behind him. Courtesy of Lynn Martel)

By the last lap, with considerable back and forth battling, James, Ian, Stano, and I had begun closing the gap between us and Andrew McNabb who was currently in second. The battle continued through the switchbacks, and bootpack, with a painful skin to the transition line. Stripping skins quickly, and straightlining some chutes, down the mountain we all arrived within a very short amount of time. Dissapointed with the two detours which cost a fair amount of time, I still thought, that this was the most fun I have had racing in Canada. (Photo Below: Ian Gale, Alex Wigley, and James Minifie at the last transition down, a close race and 50 second spread! Photo courtesy of Lynn Martel)

Other great performances came from Melanie Bernier (CAD Team), the first place finisher in the female category, blazing across the course unbelievably fast as usual. Brad Schalles also giving current Canadian Team members someone else to look out for, finishing with a great time as well. Times were fast this year, for everyone. Really fast. It was a great turn out, with lots of serious racers, as well as many giving it a shot to test their limits. We couldn't have asked for better weather and snow conditions. A great day of racing behind us, back to Golden for a quick post-race dinner and get-together, everyone is stoked for more. (Photo Above Right: (L to R) Alex Wigley 4th, Andrew McNabb 2nd, Reiner Thoni 1st, and James Minifie 3rd, Below Right: (L to R) Martha Burley 4th, Julie Matteau 2nd, Melanie Bernier 1st, and Billie Velisek 3rd)

Full Results HERE.

Behind The Ski Mountaineering Photoshoot

2011-01-27T08:36:00.000-08:00

With the main part of the season going, and being at the point that we are feeling fit enough to start getting after some real objectives, a quick break in the training schedule is nice. So with a bit of stability and the morning off, I decided to head out with photographer Vince Shuley for a quick ski mountaineering photoshoot. The goal was to shoot some photos climbing couloirs, as the light was far too flat for skiing photography; tight couloirs gave definition and contrast to the photos. Along with us came Zack Wasson, to climb with me, and Tom Rourke to help assist Vince while shooting. (Photo Below: Zack Wasson climbing through the squeeze at the bottom the Couloir we were shooting.)

We pointed out sites up Blackcomb, heading up the East Col, and down the Spearhead Glacier to Phalanx Peak. Phalanx was perfect for the morning, it was close, had a number of couloirs with variations which were not skied as often, and better lighting as we climbed on eastern aspects. To get the shot we needed, we planned on splitting up, and climbing two seperate couloirs to reach the top. Tom and Vince headed up the Stairmaster Couloir, and Zack and I headed up a twisting diagonal couloir which probably doesn't get much traffic if any at all. Our line finishes in a dead end cliff, with a bit of exposure and rocky bench to climb through, perfect for what Vince was shooting.

Climbing through great snow to sugary snow covering rocks, we got to our position, and stayed where we were to climb up from in order to give Vince and Tom a chance to setup. The shot wasn't easy to get, as Tom had to lower Vince over a large granite cliff, standing on the edge leaning over and shooting down. Although this wasn't a large ski mountaineering objective, it still had all the elements. Standing on an awkard perch with exposure, while you wait for your partner to finish climbing a pitch, and shivering from the spindrift blowing in your face. (Photo Left: Vince above on belay shooting Zack finishing the rocky section of the Couloir.)

Finishing up at the top of Phalanx, Zack and I dropped in on our Couloir, skiing down to a spine where we could all re-group. Vince even managed to shoot some photos of Tom skiing down the Couloir they took down. A productive day, and stoked to have gotten the shots we needed, we split as I needed to be at work for the evening.

Vince's Photography Site: www.vinceshuley.com

The Finished Product (Photo: Vince Shuley, Skiers: Alex Wigley (right), Zack Wasson (left))

Plum Guide Binding Overview

2011-01-20T17:46:00.000-08:00

Stoked! The Plum Guide is here in North America, and it's insanely nice! Plum, a CNC company out of France, who create cutting edge designs in the ski mountaineering binding game. Having already cornered the market on the super light race bindings, the Race 135's, 145's, and 185's, now have a binding for the burly ski mountaineers looking for a higher DIN.

Enter the Plum Guides, a meticulously designed ultralight binding that has been designed for hardcore users. Weighing in at only 335g per foot the Guide takes the edge over it's competition, the Dynafit FT12, weighing 530g per foot. It's beautifully CNC'd design, not only makes the binding more robust, but by far more stiff and rigid to ski. This advantage will translate down to the skis, allowing them to hold a better edge on steep exposed ice, and ski even more like a downhill binding. On a closer look they have even more to offer than just any 'tech' system.

(Photo Above: Integrated Crampon Slot)

The toe's are designed with a full metal locking lever for the toe, also a big advantage, as I have seen many plastic levers broken in the cold or due to crashing into rocks, alder, or other skiers. It is also one single piece, opposed to other competition models, which are two separate pieces and are made with one part plastic. The toes have the same beautiful engineering as all their race bindings, and also have a crampon insert directly molded in with the overall frame of the toe.

The heel is pretty cool looking. It's only plastic piece, the main body and housing for the springs, is actually made from aerospace polymer to ensure the bindings stay light. Like the polymer, the aluminum and steel, on the heel and toe are also aerospace grade. What skiers may find is that the volcano, or climbing aid, is much easier to turn and less likely to break as it has also been CNC'd out of metal. Yep, no more pesky climbing aid breaks in the backcountry!

The heel does not have a rearward adjustment screw, like it's competition, but a wider sliding platform that adjusts and screws in on a track (pictured on the right). Having been modifying and trying to find the widest and most stable options, for many high end freeskiers wanting to huck more, I am happy to see the slightly wider metal platform. As a result it will stand up to hucking, skiing high speed through debris, and generally poor snow conditions far better. The track itself has 30mm of adjustment in it, so you can swap multiple models of boots, and sizes without having to re-drill your skis. The DIN is set at 12, for both the lateral and forward release settings. Steep skiers will be happy to know the rear pins are quite long allowing for a great deal of negative flex of the ski in awkward conditions, and barely any chance of popping out unexpectedly.

Although the bindings do not yet have brakes, do not fear, Plum is already designing one for the Guide which should be out shortly. That being said, brakes are just more weight! One cool feature, which also sets these bindings apart is they have been TUV certified, making them the only TUV certified tech system on the market.

Overall, these bindings have a lot going for them. Expect to see even more fantastic designs and models in the very near future from Plum. Having been sworn to secrecy, I can honestly only say, this is only the tip of the iceberg. Ski Mountaineers, Racers, and hard skiing Freeskiers should take note of these designs as this the path I see ski gear trending towards. If you want to get a pair, The Escape Route, in Whistler has them here. Plum also has multiple different models, with lower climbing aids, and lower DIN's so check them out here.

Soloing - A Reminder For What's Out There

2011-01-03T10:33:00.000-08:00

Recently, just on a whim, I had the chance to get out in the mountains before work to solo the Banana Chute on Mt Fissile (Pictured And Marked Above). Banana Chute is an aesthetic line I've skied numerous times, but never solo. After skiing weeks of powder due to avalanche conditions, I believe the season is starting and objectives are now available to get done, in regards to stability. Fissile woke up that mental process of thinking about ski mountaineering, even though it is not a major checklist in my mind, the very real possibility of dying is there if care is not taken and respect must be paid.

(Photo Above: A group of four, headed to Fissile, on my way out)

However, being on my own, on a mountain that has nearly killed a few of my friends, I can remember what lies ahead. The big mountains, bigger ranges, and the thought of going far. I don't want to think of the mountains in a singular fashion, but in a grander, larger scale. Hopefully, you can decipher the ideas to which I am hinting at, but just know that the little light is on for this seasons list of goals. I'll leave it at that, to think about what is out there, and get stoked. (Total Time: 3.5 hours with return)

Bluebird Powder Days

2010-12-30T21:41:00.000-08:00

After a long December with very little sun, flat light, and a huge amount of snow we can see! Another year, another bunch of layers in the snowpack keeping us on our toes, and forcing us to take a step back. Earlier this year, after a cold snap, we had a layer of facets buried underneath more and more snow. They are currently buried 2.5-3m deep, but are still being triggered by skiers and lighter loads in shallow rocky snowpack areas. So with stability not really on our side we had to settle for some stellar powder skiing, rather than ski mountaineering. Darn. (Photo Left: Zack Wasson bagging face shot after face shot)

On Thursday, Dave Booth, Zack Wasson, Tom Rourke, and myself headed out on the Musical Bumps. Climbing up Flute, the first ascent of the day, we were beaten up by 90km/h winds and serious blowing snow hampering our original ideas of some steeper chutes. Changing our plan, to suit the conditions at hand, we headed over to the Apostles on the back side of Oboe. First lap dropping down perfectly spaced trees sheltered from the wind, we found such deep snow, skiing another lap down another Apostle was mandatory. This area truly has been one of the most consistently good areas to ski while dealing with less stable snow.

(Photo Above: Dave Booth Gettin' Some on the Apostles)

Cowboy Ridge across the way was next on our list after farming the Apostles. It seemed like the wind hadn't hit it hard, and we even noticed another group setting a skin track up it. Our group was strong, already skiing two laps two peaks back in the Whistler Backcountry and breaking deep trail, we caught up and passed the group setting the skin track up Cowboy. Since they had done most of the trail breaking, we allowed them to ski down first, luckily not skiing the line we had chosen down the middle of the open slope. Truly hero snow, light, fast, and deep. Another three laps, complete with Super G turns down perfectly spaced trees, and farming the runs to look at from town. Now with the sun was going down, cooked from so much powder, we called it a day skiing out Singing Pass to sleep and eat getting ready for day 2.

Early the next morning Paul Cordy is at my place. We're loading our gear into his vegetable oil powered van for a 100% carbon neutral day of ski touring on the Duffey Lake Pass. Driving up, discussing our various options and formulating a plan on where the best snow would be, we settled on a circum-navigation of the Marriott Basin to Cayoosh. The plan was to start off skinning up the Marriott Basin to the top of a subpeak in the area (near Honey Bronzed and Very Desirable if you know the area) and skiing down the massive vertical relief that the SW avalanche chutes provide and out. (Photo Top Left: Courtesay of Matt Gunn, our line - the large avalanche chutes in the background)

(Photo Above: Paul Cordy dropping into the 700m Rock And Roll Chutes)

After skiing our first lap of high quality snow, even with a mission to get out still and walk back along the road to the car, we opted for another lap. The photo above says it all. Stats for Rock And Roll, 700m descent to the valley, lightly treed, average slope angle is 38 degrees. After walking out and along the road after skiing the final lap in the fading light, it was time to go home and plot the next epic day. Soon the snow will be stable and it will be game on, until then we can survive skiing days like this..... everyday.

Inside The Pain Cave: Javier Martin

2010-12-19T22:40:00.000-08:00

Ski Mountaineering Racing has always been a hard sport to get a large amount of training and racing information and/or advice. For a long time ski mountaineering racers have been forced to look into other well documented sports to gain training insight, and draw conclusions as well as form new ideas to apply towards ski mountaineering racing. Information has been closely guarded, as a way of keeping an 'edge' on the competition. There will be always 'secrets', and different formulas, many similar. However, to shed a bit of light on these secrets, I've contacted various coaches and athletes in the World Cup, to see how they've been training. My focus has been to create an bigger picture of what is being done, and to help provide more skimo specific racing information, to build a more effective training schedule.

So without further adieu Ski Theory presents, Inside The Pain Cave, a series of interviews with athletes and coaches starting with Coach and Athlete; Javier Martin. Javier is a member of the Spanish Ski Mountaineering Team, and Coach of the Junior National Team, as well as Coach of a few other elite athletes. He is a member of the Dynafit International Team, completed the fastest Symphony Traverse on skis, 2nd in the 2010 Patrouille Des Glaciers, and countless Top 5 and 10 finishes in World Cup Races. Check out his racing history here. (Photo Left: Javier Martin racing, courtesay of skimo.org)

AW: How long have you been racing and coaching? Who are some of your top athletes?

JM: I started racing in 1998, first with the team in my region, Madrid. I grew up racing with them, until 2003, when I joined the National Team. By then I was already coaching some of the Madrid Team Juniors, but it was in 2006 when I got really into coaching. I took over the physical preparation of the Junior National Team, and was also responsible for the whole Madrid team. The year after, I became the manager of the Junior National Team focusing most of my work on technical skills.

It´s hard to say who my top athletes are, because I really feel proud of all of them. I've been working with Marc Pinsach for the past 5 years, who is one of our biggest exponents at the moment. In 2007 Mireia Miró asked me to be her coach and since then we´ve been working hard to achieve our goals. Until last year I also coached Miguel Cabellero, a member of the Senior National Team and an active summer racer too.

Now I focus my work as a coach, on the quality, and not in the quantity of racers. Some years I´ve coached up to 20 athletes, but it doesn´t make sense any more, this sport is becoming more and more professional and athletes need a lot of attention. At the moment I coach Marc, Mireia, Álvaro, and junior racers from Madrid.

AW: There are quite a few athletes with different backgrounds and builds out there. We noticed in Andorra that some people had an impossibly fast cadence, where others had an enormous stride, both going approximately the same speed. What are some of the attributes that makes a great ski mountaineering racer?

JM: Ummmmm, not an easy question.

This is something that we are researching at the moment in the High performance sport center of Sierra Nevada. During the last World Champs we recorded the vertical race and since spring we´ve been working on the results. This days we are digitizing all single movements on a stride cycle (see video below, from Spanish Skimo Team Training).

These races are becoming more and more flat, so gliding is becoming one of the most important attributes; therefore long strides seem to be positive but on the other hand when we face a steep slope we need a lot of cadence to be more efficient. I grew up with the concept of cadence, and I try to transfer this concept to my athletes, but always in combination with a great gliding technique. Our races are never on the same conditions like swimming or athletics so we must build our racers with as much versatility as possible.

AW: What types of strength training do you think ski mountaineering racers benefit most from, and how do you incorporate it into the training schedule?

JM: Endurance athletes hate strength training and even more the outdoor ones. I struggle a lot with my athletes to give strength the relevance it deserves.

End of Summer and Fall is for me the perfect time to do strength work-outs. After a long period of endurance training our levels of strength are lowered to the minimum, this is the time to prepare our body for the hard training loads that are coming in the future. Reinforcing joints involved in technique and mostly the ones related to downhill.

I like to work as little as possible in the gym and try to do all the strength sport specific. For example, using downhill skiing for improving our lower body strength, and by downhill skiing I don´t mean going skiing with friends. no sometimes we´ll have to do fast long turns without stopping, other times we´ll have to do 10x1' short turns etc. For the upper body training we will use xc roller-skating or cross-country skiing. Most of the strength work we do in the gym is mostly coordination work.

AW: Your athletes, and yourself, are without a doubt fast. What training do you think has been the most beneficial to improving speed?

JM: Sport specific training for sure. Skiing fast, as much as possible, and trying to do it always on technical terrain.

I can´t imagine Lance Armstrong preparing for the Tour De France by running, so we must be ski-mountaineering as much as possible and be ski-mountaineers.

AW: In your opinion, do you think racers will benefit more from long duration intervals, or shorter faster intervals? And at what intensity or level do you think they should be training?

JM: This depends completely on your goals. If you are preparing for the Individual World Champs you can´t have the same training as you would have for Pierra Menta. It also depends on the timing of the season, we should be doing different intervals at the beginning of the season than on half of it. (Video Below: Javier racing the Patrouille Des Glaciers)

AW: When talking about skimo racing and training, we focus on uphill so much, do you think racers should be focusing equally on the downhill? What can racers do to be more efficient on their downhill portion of the course, and what is your strategy for you and your athletes on the downhill?

JM: In my opinion we must try to ski down as much as possible off-piste and do it fast, this is what will make us efficient. Training downhill speed is also very important which will help us to control our fear for racing. A ski mountaineering racer must be very coordinated and have a lot of technical skills to adapt to the type of downhill terrain the course has. Most of the people can be fast on an open slope, but not everybody is fast in a forest or in a bumpy section.

AW: Ski Mountaineering is fairly low-impact, opposed to running, and also additively fun. Because racers are able to train every day, how much rest do you think is needed to make the most significant gains, and do you think many racers are over training?

JM: I don´t think that there are many racers over training because the level is growing year after year. Not long ago we have had professionals as the Italian army or Swiss border rangers that have full time for training and have to control much better the recovery. In my opinion recovery is the base for training. (Photo Right: Javier racing La Pyramide D'Oz, courtesy of skimo.org)

AW: Talking about over-training, how many hours a week should an international level athlete should be training, and how many hours a week should someone interested in their first year of skimo racing be training?

JM: As many as his or her motivation will allow. top athletes train up to 20h skiing but I guess the average is rounding 15h, and this includes only uphill aerobic training, but there's a lot of more things to train, technique, strength, downhill, and stretching. I´ve never trained more than 10-12h a week, myself, because I have had to balance my training with university and work afterwords.

For a racer beginning to train for skimo racing, it will always depend on his or her training background. If he or she comes from cross country racing I´m sure they can easily manage 12-15h weeks. But for a real beginner, it´s hard to say, but 8h is a good starting point.

AW: This sport has so much emphasis and focus on gear, how much of a difference do you think the right gear will actually make, and what do you think is the heaviest amount of weight (per foot) a racer should have; should he or she want to be successful?

JM: The best athletes always have the best gear. When you´re competing on the top level you must have the best of the best. However, on the other hand I think we may be giving the wrong message to our youngsters, who before purchasing the best gear, must improve many other skills that will benefit their performance much more such as the correct technique.

AW: Speed traverses are still fairly new in the ski mountaineering world. You have some great ones already on your resume, what do you think are some of worlds best traverses that have yet to be done, and why?

JM: There are infinite traverses, but I´m sure Alaska and Yukon territory have som really interesting ones.

I think that now-a-days we are facing, not only long traverses, but traverses with very technical terrain and steep skiing.

One example would be Mount Cook in a day. with Dynafit we have also some nice projects that join alpine countries. and of course there are many more mountains to discover with skis. (Photo Above: Javier Martin, Chacellor Hut, NZ, courtesy of Javier's Blog)

AW: What can racers do in the off-season to get ready for the winter best?

JM: First of all relax and recover from the season. Then they could start thinking about doing lots of aerobic work, on the discipline they like most, running, cycling. but I´m sure that roller skiing will become more and more important during the off-season.

If I had to give a tip to ski mountaineering racers I would say that while training, they must always remember:

Goals: They must have very clear goals, long and short term.
Quality: When training they should focus on the work-out and have a very clear idea of what the exercise goal is. This has to do a lot with the Goals I just named. If my goal is to be top 10 in the World Champs, I must accept that I will have to sacrifice a lot of things, and that training will be hard. If my goal is to be fit, and enjoy the races, then I can be more relaxed while training.
Specialized Training: We are ski mountaineers and we must ski as much as possible and we must train as much as possible with a specific pace.

Lots of ski touring for 2011!!!

Pierre Gignoux XP444's

2010-12-17T12:12:00.000-08:00

Pierre Gignoux XP 444's are light. Insanely light. In ski mountaineering racing, lighter is faster, but there is a point where too light can be the downfall of gear. If the boots or skis get too light, they aren't as stiff, or robust. Yet somehow, the XP444's defy this rule, and are one of the few pieces of gear on the market that any racer can benefit from.

The boot itself weighs in at only 444g (no liner) in a 27.0. The incredibly light boot, is made up of high end, pressed carbon fiber which is the main reason it is so light. The original model, the XP 500 weighing in at 520g without a liner, were the start of building such an light boot. Pierre, found a new way of pressing the carbon, to use far less resin and to ensure less air pockets with the XP 444. This new method of pressing carbon, allowed for a 30% stiffer boot, with less flaws in it. The lighter the weight, the more efficiently the racer will be able to stride, and thus a faster cadence can be acheived (more information on this here).

The Gignoux XP 444, fits well, and doesn't require much adjustment. The forefoot is slightly wider than a Dy.N.A, as well as the heel pocket. It does come with a Palau liner, which is thermo moldable, and specifically designed for the 444's volume and shape. Although the liner does tour uphill well, it does lack the neoprene cutout on the back of the calf, which many boots have these days to allow the liner to flex backwards as well. That being said, the liner is a bit more supportive while skiing downhill, so the performance between uphill and downhill is well balanced. The extra liner material on the tongue (pictured on the right), is actually very comfortable while skiing and skinning, as it provides a bit of support on top of the foot and keeps your heel locked down.

This version, which is slightly different than a few XP 444's has been fitted with a shock absorbing rear ski/walk lever, that is easily replacable. Both the solid and shock absorbing levers are designed similar to the Scarpa F1 levers. The design allows the user to lock his/her boot into ski mode while simutaneously tightening the upper cuff, a now regular design slightly differing between different brands of race boots. I have found that these shock absorbing plastic levers do have some flex to them, which doesn't affect the way the boot skis, but can be slightly fiddly to swap back into walk mode if your in too much of a rush. This sticky feel (only with shock absorbing lever) is because the XP444's ski/walk lever sits on a post, opposed to the F1 which sits on a bar. Pierre is still working on perfecting the shock absorbing levers, and still recommends the solid stiffer lever, but both have seemed to be working for me.

The boot skis well, but you definitely feel like you are skiing a lighter boot, compared to skiing the Dynafit Dy.N.A which is till very robust feeling. The weight savings makes the boot a bit more squirlley on the descents, however, still drives the little race sticks quite well. It does take a bit of getting used to being so light while skiing through re-frozen snow, but feels quite comfortable and stable on groomers and powder. The stiffness of the carbon can be felt in the cuff, but racers will notice the lack of a tongue, a minor change of skiing style and you are still able to charge.

My number one recommendation for anyone using this boot, as a racer and ski tech, is to purchase a binding such as the Plum Race 145's with adjustable toe pins. This is important, as the tech fittings on the boots do require a much more custom fit, which ensures a solid 'lock' and feel on the toe piece. Setting the system up and taking the time to do so properly, will be the difference between a light but still strong setup, compared to something which can be jittery on the descents. Although some people may find this to be a big hassle, the boot is well worth the one time adjustment, and committing to a left and right ski. (photo right: Note that the tech inserts on the toes are metal, set in carbon fiber.)

As for how it skins, the best way to describe it would be to click your running shoes into your race skis, and start hammering up the mountain. Because it is so light, but still very stiff, it transfers power to the skis efficiently and quickly. The range of motion the cuff provides is huge and doesn't limit your stride length at all. With the large cutout over the top of the foot, and carbon tongue, the foot is able to move naturally and comfortably (pictured above).

Overall, I'm pretty impressed with the boot. The weight on its own makes it worth while, as skinning becomes even more efficient, and a high cadence is noticeably easier to maintain. The stiffness on the downhill is adequate, and forward lean position allows you the rest on the downhill. I would recommend to anyone who wants such a high end boot to invest in the lightest skis possible, and the right bindings, because matching this boot to them is vital to squeeze every last drop of performance out of it and create an overall 'system' opposed to just throwing different pieces of gear together. Expect to see a few of these exotic boots on the Canadian Circuit this year, as a lot National Team members have jumped on this bandwagon, looking to get every edge they can for going faster!

Plum Race 135, 145, 185 Bindings

2010-12-09T12:52:00.000-08:00

Here in North America we are usually the last to see the latest in greatest gear on the Ski Mountaineering Race side of the sport; but those days have come to an end. Plum Bindings, is now distributing in Canada! I've been watching this brand for a number of years and am really excited to see them here.

Plum has three binding models for the racing and crazy light crowd. The Race 135, Race 145, and the Race 185. To start, the number which the Race bindings are named is simply the weight which they come in at on the scales, per binding. All of them nearly the same, but with a few key differences, setting them apart. The Race 145 is the signature model for the guys out there. The 145 is designed to have a slightly stiffer rear fork, made out of steel that has a forward release setting of about 8.5, and a lateral release of 7.5, which is suited to people over 70kg, tall racers, or more aggressive skiers. The 135 differs as it has a 10g lighter rear fork made of titanium, but has a forward release setting of about 7, and a lateral release of 7.5. Other than that the two are the same, and users can order both steel and titanium forks to replace whichever model Plum Race they have. (Photo Above Left: 2 Race 145 red & orange, and the Race 185 in the back)

One complaint which most ski mountaineering racers have is that they can't adjust these race bindings to different boot sole lengths, in order to use a training boot and race day boot. Enter the Race 185. The Race 185 is essentially a Race 145 binding mounted on a cnc'd adjustable plate. However, the Race 185's heel piece is actually 5mm lower than the 145's in order to accomodate the 5mm cnc'd plate, and making sure not to change the ramp angle of the boot in the binding. (Photo Right: You can see the Race 145 and 185 heel height are virtually identical, so the plate does not disturb skiing ramp angle or skinning heel height)

The real beautiful thing about these models are that the toes (77g no screws) have adjustable pin widths, in order to accomodate boots where the boot inserts are off center, wider, narrower, allowing the binding to be specifically dialed in to any boot toe width, custom or stock. You can see in the photo's where the pins screw in, as I have yet to install them. This can be a huge benefit when it comes to ensuring there is no additional load to the toe's springs, and also helps guard against pre-releases due to systems which have not clicked down properly. The toe also has an automically locking toe piece, ensuring for insanely fast transitions, and shaves even more weight using only 4 front screws versus other brand's 5 screw design. (Photo Below: Toe without pins 'left' and pin insert 'right')

To look a bit deeper into the design, the binding is specifically designed to reduce any calf strain and fatigue, by raising the heel slightly to eliminating muscle fibers from being overstretched while working hard. The binding ensures that a 27.0 (300mm) boot sits at a 7.73 degrees, the height is specifically designed for use on flat rolling terrain as well as steeper skintracks with more switchbacks. Racers should shoot for an angle between 7 and 8 degrees of positive ramp angle while skinning (heel higher than the toe) to find the most efficient skinning position. The toe piece has an optional, screw on or off, crampon attachment for spring skiing use and speed traverses. As there is no plastic on the toe piece, there is no risk of accidentally cracking anything, or breaking off crampon attachments while sliding on and off.

The Plum Race series are beautifully thought out, and engineered for speed, with less chance of user error. These are easily a better choice for anyone who wants an extremely light weight binding, but also a system that holds the boot in during aggressive skiing, and reliability through simplicity in remote mountain ranges. Keep in mind these are well designed race bindings, but the bottom line is that they will hold up to so much more, and I for one am excited to ski these as an everyday ski mountaineering binding as well as on the race course. (Photo Left: The Plum Race 145 heel piece, weighing in a 61g with no screws)

You can buy these online at escaperoute.ca or click here.

Vert 180 Ski Mountaineering Race Report

2010-11-29T21:28:00.000-08:00

The first race of the Canadian Ski Mountaineering Cup, just took place in Calgary Olympic Park in Alberta this past Saturday, The Vert 180. Heading out to Golden, Friday evening, was epic. A snowstorm had crippled BC highways, encounters with rockfall on the Coquihalla highway, fishtailing 18 wheel trucks inside tunnels on Rogers Pass, and getting stopped by the Police made the first day of driving a bit too long. But it was all worth it to get out racing again.

(Photo Above: Start line, ready to drop the hammer, photo: Ian Gale)

Kylee Ohler, of the Canadian Skimo Team, was the driving force behind this race. She did a fantastic job, organizing great prizes, DJ's, the course, and everything to make it a great race. Showing up, we had an idea it was going to be a big turn out, but were suprised when the lines became too big to handle the pre-race registration desk! The Canadian Ski Mountaineering Team was out, taking on the three different categories, Solo, 2 person team, and 3/4 person teams.

I had decided to race in the Men's Solo category, and only having had an hour and a half on my skis a week before, was interested to see where I was starting off the season. Painfully, I learned this lesson, spending the entire 180 minutes living inside my "pain cave." Watching Steve Sellers and Ian Gale, the winning 2 person team, fire out of the gate after each relay and having the chance to rest I pondered my choice of visiting my pain cave. (Photo Left: Racers getting ready for the start, photo: Ian Gale)

Getting into the pacing, and focusing on transitions in the cold weather, was key to keep going. Skins were failing, backups failing, and water froze. Competitors were aching, but still having a great time racing over the lights of Calgary below. In the end, Reiner Thoni took the first place in the Men's Solo, followed by Andrew McNab, then myself. Melanie Bernier, was out giving it everything, and took the Women's Solo title, and even 3rd overall! Everyone was out really pumping out the vert, and we were all pretty pumped to see a good number of juniors getting into the sport, as well as new dedicated racers to the sport.

(Photo Above: The starting group, Photo: Ian Gale)

Now with lots of race data from my Suunto T6d and GPS pod, I am looking forward to adjusting my training to the next race on the schedule. You can check out all that data, here on Movescount. Some racers are going to be racing the Selkirk Classic at Golden Alpine Holidays, but the next National Circuit points race will be the double feature at Kicking Horse Resort in Golden, the Tiki Torch Dash. A big thanks to everyone who's been helping out this year, Plum, Whistler Blackcomb, The Escape Route, and Suunto, stoked for more racing! Full Results Here.

Spearhead Traverse Huts

2010-11-07T21:32:00.000-08:00

Every year I hear more and more comments of how great it would be to have multiple backcountry huts in the Spearhead Traverse area. Well after holding my tongue for the past year and a half, it's time to let everyone know, there will be some huts installed in the very near future. The BCMC, Jayson Faulkner, BC Parks, and SHC (Spearhead Hut Committee) Chair officials are the driving force behind them. (Photo Below: Ty Petrusic pausing at the Ripsaw Glacier, Mt Sir Richard in the background)

The Spearhead Traverse, a beautiful 40km horseshoe starting from Blackcomb Pk to Whistler Mtn, is Canada's solution to the Haute Route in popularity. The biggest difference being that the Spearhead is more remote with only one hut near the end, and less desirable to people who don't want to sleep in the snow, or blast it in a single day (or hours). The Haute Route has multi-level mansions with hut custodians, food, beer, and even running water. Canada on the other hand, with the exception of a very select few huts, are simply shelters to spend a night in out of the elements. (Watch some Spearhead shenanigans from the 09/10 season)

So what's the big deal about these huts? Expect to see water, heat, cooking area's with appliances, waste disposal, and even hut custodians working at peak times in the season. Imagine heading out into the backcountry with an insanely light backpack for multiple days, so you can push your limits, without being weighed down by too much gear. These huts will not only allow new people with less experience to access these large mountains, but also allow the dedicated few to push their limits, and what is possible in the area. (Photo right: The Spearhead Traverse, courtesy of Club Fat Ass)

There will be approximately three new huts built. The current Himmelsback Hut at Mt Fissile and Russet Lake replaced with a more up to date hut and most likely transported elsewhere to continue serving the mountain community the way it has for so many years. One little tidbit of information the public should be aware of is that Whistler Heli-Skiing is currently looking to renew their tenure for heli-skiing in the Spearhead Range, which is currently trying to be stopped, as this hut system would help re-enforce that the Spearhead Range is a by foot access area only. This would ensure no heli-skiers whizzing by skiers and climbers, who have worked so hard to get far back in the range, the chance to snake some hard earned powder and quiet of the range. (Photo below: Matt Francis climbing up Mt Fitzsimmons, with a potential hut placement behind in the Cheakamus Angelo col.)

Possible locations for these huts will be Circle Lake between Mt Decker and Blackcomb Pk; South shoulder of Couloir Ridge (before the climb up Iago Glacier); the Diavolo Glacier near the Cheakamus Angelo col; and many more options such as the Ripsaw, Naden Pass, and Mt Tremor area. There is constantly more and more info being released, so to keep up with the project visit www.spearheadhuts.org for more information and updates. Stay tuned, and who knows maybe there could be huts across the Garibaldi Park Traverse in years to come.

Canadian Ski Mountaineering Race Schedule

2010-10-16T13:28:00.000-07:00

Alright here's the moment you've all been waiting for, the Canadian Ski Mountaineering Race schedule. Racers should note that the Lake Louise and Sun Peaks races have yet to be fully confirmed, and that the dates may change, so stay tuned. Races marked * do not count towards the Canadian Rankings and point system, as they are limited to fewer participants due to their remote setting, and heli-access. (Photo Below: 2010 Canadian Dogtooth Dash Championships, courtesy of goldenskimo)

1. Vert 180 - November 27, 2010
COP, Calgary, AB

2. *Selkirk Classic - December 4-5th, 2010
Golden Alpine Holidays, Golden, BC

3. Tiki Torch Dash - January 15th, 2011
Kicking Horse Resort, Golden, BC

4. Sunshine 5000 - February 5th, 2011
Sunshine, Banff, AB

5. World Championships - February 17-25th, 2011
Claut, Italy

6. ROAM Randonee Rally - February 26th, 2011
Whitewater, Nelson, BC

7. Canadian National Championships "The Dogtooth Dash" - March 26-27th, 2011
Kicking Horse Resort, Golden, BC

8. Sun Peaks Race - April 2nd, 2011
Sun Peaks Resort, Kamloops, BC

9. Lake Louise Race - April 10th, 2011
Lake Louise, Banff, AB

10. *Esplanade Epic - April 16-17th, 2011
Golden Alpine Holidays, Golden, BC

The American Schedule is looking pretty packed as well and can be viewed here. Expect bigger and more diverse races and course styles, this year is going to be a good one, both here at home, continental, and internationally. See you on the start line. Register for the season or any race HERE.

Barry Blanchard Presentation

2010-10-12T15:01:00.000-07:00

I always get really pumped in the fall season, not only will I be skiing soon, but the anticipation of going hard in the mountains is only multiplied by the amount of ski movies, climbing movies, training, and slideshows that are constantly happening. There is the usual meld of unbelievable trips mixed with skiing or climbing, or slideshows which fire up my anticipation of snow even more, but nothing as special as a Barry Blanchard presentation.

Saturday November 13th, 2010, Barry Blanchard will be presenting "My Mountain Life," a slideshow from various climbing trips from the Rockies, to Nuptse, to Everest, and more. The show is at Millenium Place, Whistler BC, at 7:30pm, but show up early at 6pm to schmooze and check out the silent auction to benefit the Brian Ebert Fund. Tickets are $15. So come out and check out a legend, and help support a great fund.

Barry's light and fast climbing style, stories, photo's, and routes have been a fantastic inspiration for not only the climbing community but personally myself as a skier. Skiers should definitely check out this slideshow, as not only climbers will take something away from this show, but anyone who has dedicated their lives to mountain pursuits. Skiing is still evolving, and we see a huge amount of ideas and climbing style being used and drawn directly from the alpine climbing community, so anyone looking at pushing their limits will benefit from this show. Hope to see you all out there! (Photo Right: courtesy of www.vimff.org)

ISMF Ramping Up Skimo Racing Exposure

2010-10-05T14:45:00.000-07:00

The ISMF has just released this video on Ski Mountaineering Racing, with just a touch of history and cool facts. Great footage of lots of World Cup races, Pierra Menta, and more racing action. There is also some great shots of Team Canada, USA, and even Japan as well as the big guns of France and Italy racing in Andorra, Italy, and more countries. Check it out and maybe there are some facts you didn't know, and if your new to the sport, this will be a great flick that will get you pumped for the season. With the upcoming season, there is a lot of room for new racers to try the sport, as well as North American's making their mark on the World Cup circuit.

Vert 180 Ski Mountaineering Race Announced

2010-10-04T13:09:00.000-07:00

First ski mountaineering race of the Canadian Circuit has been announced, and it's brand spanking new to the circuit! The Vert 180 Ski Mountaineering Race is the idea of Team Canada member Kylee Toth. It is taking place at Canada Olympic Park in Calgary Alberta on Saturday November 27, 2010 @ 5:30pm. This means a second night race in Canada, the other being the Tiki Torch Dash in Golden BC, although this one will be spectacularly lit by the night ski light of COP. But this race is a bit different than other skimo races, and mimics the 24 Hours of Sunlight (now 12 hours of sunlight), but in a "sprint" format of 180 minutes (3 hours).

Racers will be pushing their limits extremely hard in this format, as their will be little rest for those who are looking to stack up serious amounts of vert in such a short amount of time, and the name of the game is vertical. Much like 24 Hours of Sunlight, racers can compete Solo, as a 2 person or 4 person team, to squeeze in as much vertical as possible in 180 minutes. This is a great opportunity for people to come out and try racing for the first time, a new or different challenge, off-season training, or to check out the Canadian Team drooling from being anaerobic for too long. So if you want to have a great time, and are interested with how much vert you can pump out in 3 hours, come on out and suffer with the rest of us.

Quick Facts:
Date: November 27, 2010
Time: Race starts @ 5:30pm and finishes @ 8:30pm
Where: COP, Calgary, AB
Format: Solo, 2-person or 4-person Team
Race: Max Vertical Race
Cost: $40.00
Register Here or at the Race.

Rubble Creek Classic Race Report

2010-09-27T22:01:00.000-07:00

6 am, dark still, raining hard, and race day. We had 30mm of rain overnight, and after finishing a quick cup of coffee with breakfast, I jumped in the car to go pick up my neighbour and fellow racer Dave Booth. Driving down the highway to go drop a car off at the finish line of the race, it seemed like we were in for what was to be expected, a day of misery.

Fast forward to 8am, shivering under a tent The Escape Route setup for waiver signing, 70 racers are all awaiting the start. It's my first running race, and not really knowing what I'm doing, my plan was to treat the race like any other ski mountaineering race. The 25km course itself, winds up around 1000m (3200 ft) from Helm Creek in Whistler, across Taylor Meadows under the Black Tusk, and down a knee jarring lactic acid burning 1225m (4019 ft) descent to Rubble Creek. The perfect way to mimic a skimo race course and shake some cobwebs out of the closet before race season.

Taylor Meadows Trail. Photo courtesy of vancouvertrails.com

We start out, Seamus Frew, Mark Bennett, and myself leading up the climb. Two other racers catch up and the battle begins. Back and forth through mud, muck, and foot soaking puddles, we continued up to Taylor Meadows. Through the Taylor Meadows flats, we were forced to cross a knee deep river of snow melt, drenching our shoes and socks. Crossing the river, I cringed at the thought of my brand new Suunto foot pod being submerged and breaking, but was lucky enough to see it still calculating my pace and speed despite being underwater. By now the pack has thinned out, and running alone, I began reeling in Kevin Hodder who had gotten ahead earlier. Unfortunitely, I made the mistake of veering left, when I should have gone right dropping the gap between myself and a chase group. Luckily realising the mistake, I had enough juice to make up the mistake, and pull back in front.

The descent down was painful. Lactic acid began building and building, with the unrelenting pounding downhill, going fast and trying not to slide in the mud. With legs cramping up near the end, and putting the hurt on the keep the gap, I was just fast enough to sneak into 1st place in the Under 30 category, and take 2nd overall with at time of 2 hours 23 minutes, 30 seconds. Mark Bennett had finished 1st overall, with a blistering time of 2 hours 15 minutes, 20 seconds. A few minutes in the icey Rubbly Creek cooling off my legs, and an interview with the newspaper, and a quick bite of food I was stoked to have had a great run where everything lined up. Stoked on racing running now and will definetly have to look into running more trail races like this in the next off-season. Hopefully I can score some pictures soon as well!

AZADI Freedom - A Different Ski Movie

2010-08-28T23:43:00.000-07:00

There are a lot of ski movies out there, MSP, TGR, Poor Boyz, Sweetgrass, and a bunch of others I can't really think of off the top of my head. All of them are full of big lines, and crazy tricks, but personally I find they all meld together at this time of year. A friend of mine, Anthony Bonello of B4apres Media, has put together a ski flick of his own. It's called AZADI: Freedom, which will premier at IF3 in Montreal this year, and is much different than all the other films around. It covers the the violent conflict in Kashmir, but through a skier's point of view, which makes the film far more interesting and easy to relate too. So check it out, there is also a great interview with Anthony on Biglines, and when it comes to town be sure to get some tickets to see it.

"AZADI: Freedom" Official Trailer from b4apres media on Vimeo.

Alpine Trail Run

2010-08-24T13:36:00.000-07:00

Needing a long run for today's training, Tom Rourke and myself, headed out and up Singing Pass from Whistler village this at 7:45am this morning. Our plan was to make our way up Singing Pass, which winds all the way from Whistler village to the top of Oboe summit, and then proceed to follow the Musical Bumps trail through the rest of the Fitzsimmons Range back to the Roundhouse on Whistler mountain. Our estimated time was around 3 hours 30 mins, and wasting no time we kept the pace fairly quick, watching the Suunto T6d's pacing clock to make sure we didn't fall behind. (Photo Above: Tom Rourke running over Oboe's Summit, with Cowboy Ridge and Fissile behind.)

The route is 19km, with 1658m (5,440 ft) of elevation gain, and has some incredible views. It felt good getting back into the terrain we ski so much in the winter, and interesting to see specific features, which usually remain hidden underneath the snow. The alpine running was the best part, as the trail dips and flows really well, but does have some hard grunt ascents in it to mix it up. (Photo Left: The route marked in yellow from the village through the Fitzsimmons Range.)

Getting closer to the end, and the biggest hills yet, the running became much more technical. The Flute descent was fairly steep, but gave us a great view of Cheakamus Lake far below us. Hammering up the last climb into the Harmony area, we could see the end. Stoked on such a great run and feeling great we finished up sitting in the snow cool our legs at the end, re-hydrating at the Roundhouse before heading down on the Gondola. (Photo Below Right: Alex Wigley, passing Flute Summit, Cheakamus Lake behind.)

Alpine running, the perfect ski mountaineering training, and the same feel especially while covering larger amount of mountainous terrain fairly quickly.

Stats:
Distance: 18.98 km
Elevation Gain: 1658m
Elevation Loss: 536m
Time: 3:05:34

2011 Upcoming Racing News

2010-08-16T16:19:00.000-07:00

Well it looks like the 2010/2011 Winter Ski Mountaineering season is shaping up to be a really good one. Here in North America there are an explosion of races being created and organized, and some unique events as well, some beginning to take on more momentum and becoming 'classics'.

On the Canadian side of racing, expect to see a larger National circuit, but you should also know that Golden Alpine Holidays will be returning to host the Esplanade Epic (featured above). The Esplanade, was and is an entirely heli in and out, backcountry ski mountaineering race. Except instead of the mass start, GAH hosts the one and only time trial event, where racers take off alone and against only the clock. The event will be returning this year on April 9th (weather depending). But for those who can't wait to race, GAH will be hosting a second event, the Selkirk Classic Season Opener on December 5th. Both races are $275.00 to enter. Now there are other events, which will be announced shortly for Canada & the US, but expect a busy winter.

February 11-19th is the ISMF World Championships in Claut Italy. Team Canada is currently preparing, with upcoming training camps, for another big step forward in the World Cup results. It will interest people to know that the World Championships have been changed from the 2012 season to the 2011 season to ensure that it does not occur at the same time as the Olympics, gearing up for ski mountaineering to be an Olympic sport in 2018. The entire World Cup schedule can be found here.

Strength And Training

2010-07-15T12:29:00.000-07:00

There are some things to think about while training this summer. Most of us are well into our schedule planned for the year, but sometimes a reminder of why some of these things are important is greatly needed, keeping the fire blazing. I've looked much deeper into strength training this year, and have learned a huge amount, realizing more weaknesses and imbalances my previous years training have lacked.

As skimo athletes, we are not track and field sprinters, running on flat groomed terrain with zero external weight to carry. Travelling primarily uphill, through rolling and/or steep terrain, our focus combines vertical take off with forward momentum (much like running, but with an external load to bear, and while travelling uphill). The external weight we carry limits our bodies natural tendon recoiling ability to reposition our legs as easily as a runner (ie cadence), as the equipment forces more muscular energy to move it, and recoiling energy is dispated by the weight of our equipment. This drastically reduces our cadence, and this must be addressed, and if not we risk watching our peers disappear into the distance leaving us behind. Therefore, in order for cadence to be as truly efficient and as fast as possible, we must train our bodies to move the equipment through a greater range of motion (ie, behind and below, to in front and above on the skintrack), and as fast as possible. (Photo Left: James Minifie and Stano Faban pre-running the Individual course, Andorra)

While you are skinning, and pushing off a stride, you are pushing up and forward. This is the exact moment where vertical take off occurs. During this point, the torso lines up with the leg delivering the power, pitching slightly forward, so that when the upward and forward momentum is delivered the racer gains half a second of rest while travelling a short distance with minimal weight on the skeletal system (gliding). As soon as this split second of travel forward is up, the opposing leg moves forward, and moves into its glide phase which delivers more forward momentum. (This movement can be seen below in a movie the Spanish Team has created to analyze their efficiency and technique).

Without going into an obscene amount of detail on the movement and stride dynamics we're using, there are a few things to focus on during training to get the most out of our stride. And that comes from our strength training. First thing is first, our stride starts with pushing up and forwards. Training using squats, weighted calf lifts, deadlifts, and lifting heavy improves our strength, which in turn allows us to deliver greater ground force while skinning. It was found that elite sprinters all had approximately the same cadence, as it was nearly maxed out due to their tendon recoil only being able to move so quickly, and that their speed came from a stronger stride (greater ground force), which caused them to have more aerial forward distance gained between strides. The same applies for skimo racing, except we don't utilize aerial forward gain, we gain a longer stride through our glide. This greater ground force not only propels us vertically, but increases our glide length, which translates as a longer stride or greater distance gained per step.

The forward momentum and upwards momentum is a quick twitch of our muscles, and off we go. So box jumps, skipping, burpees, and any explosive movements should be trained as well. All this when combined with racing, intervals, and even your long slow distance or base workouts, will translate to large gains in speed. But if you're still thinking sport specific, think again, everything is connected. Train everything, your legs are connected to your core, as are your arms (which makes them connected to your legs). This means that by you having a weaker "blank", you will be slowing down something else.

Strength is important, but don't get carried away with becoming a beefcake. As a skimo racer, is to have the best mass-specific force as possible. For example, if a racer were to weight 200lbs and can put down 300lbs of power behind them, but the 160lbs racer who can put down the same amount of power as the 200lbs person will obviously be much faster and win in a race. So this lifting should be heavy, building strength, not bulk. To learn more about this check out this article on Gym Jones, and here, these guys know strength training! Hopefully, this opens some new doors, or ideas on training for this sport where information is so limited. But through constant study, testing, and time, a higher speed will be found.

Skimo Technique Training

2010-06-08T22:44:00.000-07:00

One thing which can get overlooked in ski mountaineering racing is technique. We focus on our technique with transitions, but less time on the real speed booster (and effort savings) our skinning technique. Reading an article on cross country ski racing a few years ago, the author talked about how the best racers in the world weren't just great athletes, they were great skiers too. This got me to thinking about skimo racing, how can we get faster, spend less energy, and catch our European competitors? The answer was lying there right in front of me, Technique.

(Photo Above: Ian Gale heading out for a light ski before competition, Andorra. Note: Very relaxed and efficient position)

To give you an idea of what I mean, have you ever tried skinning fast with no poles? A difficult task to do without flailing or stepping out of the skin track while using large amounts of energy. But finding that effeciency is not easy, and as with all training, there is no short cut. The first thing to immediately address is core strength and balance. A strong core will not only help every other aspect of your training, but if built over the summer and fall, even a few years, will drastically improve this poleless wobble. Slacklining, or standing on a core ball, while in different positions, doing squats, and playing catch against a wall with a regular core ball (later upgrading to a medicine ball or other exercises) will help strengthen your core, and solidify your balance as seen in the video below. Pardon the music and length, but you get the idea.

When old man winter does show his face, and sport specific training commences, and the off-season training will pay off. You can begin your technique sessions by skinning on a flat surface to improve glide technique. This will help your overall stride effeciency and technique even on steeper angles, by allowing your body to be more relaxed and focus on breathing. Then after you begin to feel more and more comfortable, you can begin to add in skinning on an incline to improve power technique. Your goal during both exercises will be to look and feel as stable as you would feel with poles. When you introduce your poles back into the equation, they will just act as a power boost, allowing you to skin with a massive amount more efficiency. The movie below shows the Spanish Skimo Team training technique on flats this way.

As Skimo Racers many of us put a huge amount of power behind each stride, which is what gives us a faster cadence and therefore speed, but it does come with a cost. The harder we go the harder it is to maintain our balance. Our core begins working hard again, correcting our path, in order to keep us in the skin track. The downward spiral continues from there. So the more practice and technique work Ski Mountaineering Racers can get, the faster they will go, by allowing the body to concentrate on breathing and not balancing.

Mountain Photography - An Overview

2010-06-01T11:46:00.000-07:00

Mountain photography really captures the commitment of the route, the emotion of the climbers and skiers, the beauty of the mountain, and still showcases the talent required to take on such difficult routes. These photos don't just follow a set of how-to rules, but are unique and more captivating than any other kind of photography out there, because of what the photos capture. I've tried to incorporate the way I shoot ski mountaineering and backcountry photos with elements of this, combined with lining up a shot, which emphasizes the mood or feel I want to capture. There are countless styles of shooting, all unique, and beautiful. Photography is not only a great way to document something, but to bring a piece of it back, and to help share the experience with others. The most successful and unique styles do that exactly. Anyone can be a good photographer, however it is important to touch on a few points, which can help define and improve any style. (Photo Left: Lee Lau rapping into Twin One)

Rule Of Thirds
Lining up a shot can be one of the hardest things to actually concentrate on, but once mastered, is as natural and as easy as shooting the photo. One very important rule to follow is the "Rule Of Thirds". Imagine if you were to divide the photo into thirds vertically and horizontally. Along the 4 lines which seperate the "thirds" are going to be points of interest where your viewers eyes will naturally be drawn too. These intersecting lines are usefull spots to line up the focal point or subject of your photo. One thing to note, is that not all great photo's follow this rule to the letter, and experimenting is important to improving your style. (Photo Below: Matt Francis, Whirlwind Pk, BC - Backcountry Magazine Photo Annual 2007)

Light and Shadow
Photographers are always talking about light. Which is very important. But something which can be overlooked is how that light produces shadows, what aspect (North, West, East, South) you are shooting, and how it increases the depth of the photo. Using shadows are just as important as light, if not more important in my mind. Shadows highlight terrain, frame subjects, give mood, depth, and contrast to photos, and also can (if done properly) reveal hidden details. It becomes of even greater importance when shooting black and white.

For the best light conditions, shoot in the morning, or later afternoon. Light at these times is much softer, whereas you can get very strong harsh light in the middle of the day. In my experience, you can compensate by watching your positioning in relation to the slope aspect, and by not shooting into the sun. Days where there is an obvious layer of surface hoar present, you may capture a fantastic shimmering effect when the light hits it, while shooting in black and white as seen in the photo above.

When shooting on shady north facing aspect it can be hard to get the right amount of light on the subject, or also shoot towards the sun and have the subject "backlit." Your goal as a photographer is now to not only be in the right spot to line up the shot, but also be in the spot that captures the best light to give your photo contrast. A difficult obstacle, which sometimes cannot be overcome, especially while steep skiing. (Photo Below: Ty Petrusic skinning out to a hidden stash, early in the morning)

Exposure
Exposure is important and is pretty basic, but even seasoned veterans can even get caught with an under or over exposed photo now and then. It can be difficult when you are trying to move fast, or are in a hard line, or anything where setting up is really hard. But make sure that when you are chosing the right photo out of the hundreds you took that day, that it isn't too light or dark. The way a photo should look is easy on the eyes, and I don't just mean the expression, literally easy on the eyes. It should be inviting to look at and not cause you to squint, or look away. Getting it right, will illuminate every fine detail, and make the photo look unbelievable.

Most digital cameras have either an automatic setting, or will have a warning sensor, or preview. Use this to your advantage. Finding the right shutter speed, and aperture setting is hard sometimes, so shoot multiple photos while experimenting with them. In the digital world we live in, your camera literally is unlimited in the amount of photos it takes, use it because a manual shot will look much better when the light is controlled the way you want it to be.

Photoshop
Photoshop is a useful tool, but be careful to not use it as the means to a great photo. When a photo is over worked in photoshop it shows. Although sometimes that can be the desired effect as seen in the photo below. Use it to accent the already beautiful photo you just shot, not make the shot. (Photo Below: Matt Francis waiting to fly, Tatla Lake)

Improving color is one way to sharpen your image, especially if the color on your camera doesn't come out the way it should. The best way to do this is by using the Channel Mixer feature in photoshop, and by adjusting the various colors individually, as seen here. After adjusting the channels, playing with the exposure by duplicating your photo and blending them by either screen (lighten) or multiply (darken), will probably overdo it either way so reduce the opacity of the layer. Cropping after all the editing is done, is usually the best, as you may discover hidden details. All of this info on photoshop, I don't think I could even scratch the surface with, without starting a separate blog dedicated to just that. So find a tutorial site with some tutorials that have the effects and results you are looking for, and begin experimenting. If anything you will learn new features and gain a better understanding of how this complex program works.

Environmental Obstacles

When you've been around taking photos in the mountains for a long time, you know you're working around the weather, and not the other way around. But it doesn't have to ruin photographs as long as you know how to shoot in the conditions at hand.

Haze: Hazy days can easily wreck a large dramatic backdrop, and immediately render the image unusable, as the background will be washed out and the details will be hard to see. Days which are hazy, shoot micro terrain features or focus on specific terrain features watching that the depth of view keeps the hazy background blurred making the foreground "pop."

Overcast: Overcast days are typically flat light ski days, not only for skiers, but for photographs too. Shooting on these days, you should be careful, as all your photographs will turn out flat as well. I typically shoot in the trees where I can find a lot of color, but if up in the alpine, will switch over the black and white. Black and white photography on overcast days will help give the terrain more contrast and depth, and reveil it's features which the flat light hides. Try to find terrain that has as much contrast as possible; areas with lots of rocks, flutings, anything that will capture light and just as importantly shadow to give the photo depth. These days also do provide darker mooded photos, which, if that's what your going for is great.

Whiteout: Yeah, you can shoot, but its not going to be that great. Be in the trees, shoot portraits, and hope for a break in the weather.

Conclusion

Mountain photography, and capturing ski mountaineering images, is one of the biggest challenges for any photographer. You can shoot thousands of images a season and come out with just a handful of keepers. The best advice is shoot a lot, experiment, play with your manual settings, challenge yourself, and look through your new or old photos for what you think works and what doesn't. Other than that, keep it simple, you're in the mountains pretty much every shot is going to either look cool, or work as a great recon shot. Have fun out there.

Great Links

Vince Shuley's Photo Write Up on Taking The Shot on a ski shoot.

The God of light and shadow, possibly the best BW photos ever - Ansel Adams

Ski Mountaineering Photography

2010-05-24T17:09:00.000-07:00

Near the end of every winter season, I find it hard to let go. Not enough time to get out after the bucket list, attempt that cool line, or anything that stokes a winters fire. Photographer Vince Shuley and I, decided to head out for a photo shoot on Joffre's Australian Couloir, or Matier's North Face. It was another chance of getting some great eye candy shots to keep us going through those hot summer months.

Knowing that the trail into Cerise Creek wasn't exactly all that snowy, we stacked the odds in our favor, by heading out at midnight to catch a 4-5 hour weather window in an otherwise poor forecast. After slogging through muddy trails we reached enough snow to skin on, and continued quickly, finding ourselves lucky enough to reach the "Motel 66" area just as the sun came up. (Photo Above Left: Photographer Vince Shuley capturing a fantastic alpine sunrise at 4:30am)

And here is where the challenges of ski mountaineering photography lie. After we were lucky enough to see this beautiful sunrise, we were now on a race against time and light. For a good photo, you need: an aesthetic line to ski on the right aspect, a position to shoot it from, the right light, the right snow consistency to make the photo pop, and the right position of the skier actually skiing the photo. Easy enough? It gets harder. As the skier, to ski said line for a photo you need: the right snow conditions (the snow's stability may not last the amount of time your photographer may need to wait for good light), not too much wind, and if there are any other hazards which threaten an area you may be in waiting to ski this line. Now combine these together, and you can see the difficulties, of making it all come together (which also doesn't factor in lugging in the right gear, dealing with un-foreseen weather, or technical problems). (Photo Right: Joffre's Australian Couloir, which we waited for, but got shut down due to weather.)

So what is the key? Persistence, plan everything to your favor, and keep coming back to get the right shot. Also know that you can come back if the shot is too dangerous. This exact trip while climbing Mt Matier, we heard the loudest *whump* I've ever heard, with some stability tests that added to this warning, we were off the route right away. However, we did not leave empty handed. We were lucky enough to ski the surprisingly winter like dry snow conditions down to the Joffre/Matier col, and continued down the entire Anniversary Glacier in prime corn conditions. We'll be back for the photo, it's worth trying time after time, especially with rewards like these and so late in the season.

Blackcomb To Black's Cancelled

2010-05-18T19:02:00.000-07:00

Yeah that's right, you read it correctly, the Blackcomb To Black's race will be cancelled for this year. Currently the weather forecast is looking unbelievably poor for the weekend, and to add to this, the snow conditions and temperatures have been working against us. So in the name of safety we will be cancelling this race, but will make sure to make it happen next year. Thanks to all the participants who have signed up, we'll see you out in the mountains in the next few weeks! (Photo Right: Matt Francis Skiing Away from the North Face of Mt Fitzsimmons.)

Attempt #5 On A Unicorn Of A Line

2010-05-17T12:24:00.000-07:00

Unicorn - A fabled un-capturable creature.

There is a line that has continued to elude me, and thwart any attempts I make, here in the coast. Every time, a slew of problems develop from conditions, to stability, to anything really. I found myself driving out into the mountain with Jason Kruk last night, going for what we hoped would be a first descent on this line, at midnight to be on top of it as the sun came up. We started skinning, after only 15 min of hiking through the start of the trail, at around 12:30. Making good time we stopped to check the map to see if our timing was going to work for us. But seeing the elevation profile, became worried about the isothermal snow we were beginning to encounter. After checking and deliberating our options, we were forced to make the call, and head down. (Photo Above: Heading out on Duffey Lake Road)

Ski-Mountaineering can be hard in so many ways. To be persistent and continue picking yourself up again to go on and try again is important to succeeding with these bigger lines. But also to have to patience to wait for the right time, even after traveling one or two days, or like last night leaving at midnight. This has been a three year and counting journey for this line, I hope that one day I'll get a chance to ski it. Until then I'll just keep trying...

Blackcomb To Black's - The Unsanctioned Spearhead Traverse Race

2010-05-05T21:54:00.000-07:00

Every year, a group of skiers get together to go race around the Spearhead Traverse, regardless of the fact that the race has not been sanctioned or sponsored, even really organized by an official body of some sort. The need and want for a race through this amount of unbelievable terrain is so strong, it exists purely out of the enthusiasm and stoke of all those who come and do it. This year is no exception. Saturday, May 22nd, Blackcomb To Black's is back! B2B's has been happening for a long time, and hasn't ever been missed, more than a decade! Always underground, unsanctioned, and a classic backcountry ski bums event. Hopefully one day, we'll see this race become realized and be an ISMF ski mountaineering event.

Pre-Race Meeting is at Christines on Blackcomb, from there the race will begin around 11:00 at the Boundary Gates off the Blackcomb Glacier, and ending at Black's Pub. The race is free, and designed as a fun race, but we do know that records are meant to be broken, and limits are made to be pushed, so its your choice! Please understand that this is a race through real backcountry glaciated terrain, there are serious hazards such as avalanches, cornice fall, crevasses, and cliffs, come prepared with all the mandatory gear. You may race solo, or as a Team with friends, and know that everyone can finish this traverse in a day before heading out!

(Photo Above: The back of the Spearhead Range)

Route and Rule Info
1. The route will follow the standard Spearhead Traverse route shown on John Baldwin's Backcountry Whistler Map, and racers will abide by this route for safety reasons. It does not go down Singing Pass but out to Flute and down Whistler mountain to Black's Pub. Exact route information will be given on race morning
2. Mandatory equipment is mandatory.
3. No short cuts on the route.
4. If a fellow racer/team is in need of help, you must help them.

Mandatory Equipment
Avalanche Gear: A real shovel (no snow claws), probe (min 240cm), Avalanche Beacon
Harness
Down or Insulated Jacket
Food/Water
Headlamp
Firestarter
*Tarp (bivy sack will suffice) - a space blanket will work, but we do encourage something REAL
*Crevasse Rescue Gear and 30m rope
*First Aid
*Communication: Either cellphone, radio, or sat phone
*Map and Compass/GPS
Note: Items with an * can be divided only if racing as a team. If you are missing an item, please rent or borrow, or join up with a team that does, otherwise you cannot come out!'

Please RSVP at the Escape Route, or email alex@escaperoute.ca for your place.

The 3 Most Classic Spearhead Descents

2010-04-26T10:55:00.000-07:00

The Spearhead Traverse gets a lot of exposure, and so does a lot of slackcountry areas as well, but the range itself has so much to offer in the way of great ski descents. Everything is easily done in a day, and with the possibility of two new huts (oops did I let the cat of the bag), skiing even more great descents during a weekend is now right around the corner. So I decided to throw together a view of, not all, but the 3 most classic descents in the area. These three provide the longest descents in the area, are the most popular for good reason, and provide some of the most memorable days.

Mt Fissile

The obvious, and most visible and known mountain in the range, even seen from town, hosts a variety of fantastic lines to ski. Fissile does get skied relatively a lot, due to its proximity to Whistler Mountain, but shouldn't be passed up if you just have the day in the area. The mountain has around 10 named lines but there are 2 main lines which get skied more often than the others (NW Face and Banana Chute).

Main Face Lines
1. North East Face (55 degrees, 540m)
2. Elevator Shaft (55 degrees, 540m)
3. Summit Chute (55 degrees, 540m)
4. Saddle Chute (55 degrees, 540m)
5. North West Face (50 degrees - at the top then mellowing out, 540m)
6. Banana Chute (40 degrees, 440m)
*note* degrees in these lines do change with different snow years.

Mt Macbeth Curtain Glacier

The Curtain Glacier is one of the longer and most interesting lines to ski. Although not steep, it winds down and changes aspect multiple times, so skiing it is all about timing. To add to this, there are some crevasses which you have to weave through, depending on the time of year and how much snow has fallen that season. Make sure you bring a rope, and know how to use it. That being said, the descent drops 1200m from the summit, with a short 45-50 degree roll of the summit to start. Mid winter descents are recommended, but spring trips do get made, of this fantastic ski.

Mt Fitzsimmons

Fitzsimmons North Face may be one of the most classic Coast Range steep ski descents, especially in good snow, and is one absolute must on any skiers to do list. The face is one big 380m or so shot, tipping the scales at 45-50 degrees, but then gives skiers an additional 500m of low angle skiing afterwards. The beauty of this descent is obvious, committing, big, steep, consistent, what more can you ask for while skiing a big face?

These three mountains are all fantastic, and all provide unreal ski descents. That being said, they are all committing, and big (part of the reason why they are great), respect should be paid.

No Support In Ski Boots

2010-04-19T19:47:00.000-07:00

In the running community, lately, there has been a huge amount of talk of the problems which are caused by peoples running shoes. The argument, which was spurred in the book "Born To Run" by Christopher McDougall, is that our footwear is creating all those problematic knee injuries and muscle imbalances. A really important issue to address during the summer and fall cross training season, but what about applying the idea of non supportive footwear to ski mountaineering race boots? This is a quite the taboo subject when it comes to ski boots, but we'll get back to that in a minute.

In his book, McDougall, found that since the invention of modern day running shoes we are seeing even more injuries than we've ever seen before. And to add to this, there is no research that proves that the shoes we are running in currently, are even helping us. The point to take from this is that when we are taking a stride and landing, the pronation control, angulation, cushioning, and corrective design, of the shoe is causing us to land in an unnatural position. So why not run in a non-supportive, simplistic shoe, such as a running sandle or vibram style sock (even barefoot)?

He goes on to explain that it is in our history to be runners, and that the human body is designed for endurance. As a matter of fact we are the only animal that is designed for endurance. This point has been proved by centuries of ultra-running efforts of 50 miles and more, multiple days, and more with absolutely no supportive footwear. The basic argument is that our anscesors and these various tribes are landing naturally while running, the way their bodies were intended to land, building muscle and sport-specific skill to protect their bodies from injury (for more detail read the book).

Now lets bring this argument to ski mountaineering. Why should we have footbeds, and orthotics, designed to correct our stance? With downhill ski racing a supportive and corrective stance is important. Footbeds and orthotics provide that. It does add additional support and snugness to the boot, allowing the racer to maximize power transfer, edge better, and ski faster. Combined with a tight/snug fit, this is does limit certain movements in the foot, such as plantar and dorsiflexion, but improves lateral precision and power. These limitations are incredibly bad for ski mountaineering, which requires the most range of motion from the foot as possible. (Photo Right: Jay Neil dropping in full downhill control, Chief Pascal, BC)

During a stride, for those of us who are pronated (and which most footbeds, orthotics, and shoes are trying to align/correct), the foot goes through a few stages of motion to pronate. Pronation is when the arch of the foot flattens, and heel bone angles inward, as the foot first strikes the ground, this creates a shock absorbing effect when the heel hits the ground, and also assists in balance. This is essentially the suspension or shock absorption for our body. Now keeping this in mind, by correcting or re-aligning the foot, we are essential not allowing our bodies to do what needs to be done to cushion each step. As a matter of fact, some studies have shown that people who wear cushioned running shoes actually experience a higher force of impact than those who wear nearly nothing at all.

(Photo Above: James Minifie on the WC 2010 Relay Course, perfect downhill for knee injuries, ruts, depressions, all at high speeds with tiny little skis on.)

So while ski mountaineering, which is still a very low impact sport, if the foot cannot move properly the way it was designed to move, during training we will be opening our knees and joints up to a higher chance of overuse injury. Not only injury, but when skiing off cliffs and landing, jumping, or skiing higher impact terrain, our bodies are less able to absorb this impact as efficiently while using corrective or pronation controlling footwear. Adding to these problems, if our feet are being "corrected" into different angles and positions, we are less able to angle our skis in awkward or steep offcamber skin tracks, make hard rock/mountaineering movements while climbing, and get as much power and efficiency in our glide phase while skinning on the flats.
All of this put together equals minutes over even a short course, and limits range of motion while in the backcountry, exposing yourself by limiting your natural abilities. Having a flat or natural platform to stand on, eliminates all these problems, as the foot can freely adjust inside the boot, and get the most natural bone/muscular motion it needs (even though the boot is still snug). (Photo Below Right: Jeff Van Driel with a full range of motion in his ski boot, climbing on the Misty Icefield.)

This does help us in the field to realize the potential problems. While training, or even everyday life we can train our bodies to be stronger using this theory as well. By wearing a slipper, vibram slipper, or going barefoot we can build the muscles in our knees just by walking around normally. These muscles will translate into running, and you can eventually begin running in this footwear once your body has begun to adapt, which all protects the knee in the long run during hard training in the race season and cross training in the off season. All you are doing is allowing your body to function the way it should, and not the way a brand of footbeds believes you should. This allows your body to develop muscle to protect from injury, give you more power/speed, and spending less chance of being forced to take time off from a beaten up body.

Note: This article is based on various different training and physiological theories. Many people are having a great deal of success with it, but be careful starting out, its not for everyone, and ease into it.

A Short Hot Day Ski Touring

2010-04-15T18:44:00.000-07:00

The past few days we've had absolutely beautiful weather, people have been walking around in shorts and flip flops, but up in the alpine we've been baking while touring. Heading out today to get after the preserved colder snow on some of the Spearheads north facing lines, and ski some corn, was the overall plan. But upon arriving in the alpine, we knew the day was going to be short, in order to not melt. And to not have to worry as much about the solar effect on the snowpack.

We made our way up the East Col on Blackcomb to gain access to Decker. The travel was fast, and the heat already cooking the slopes, made it there in good time. Winding our way up Decker, through to the Decker Trorey Col, we skied some fantastic corn down to the Trorey Glacier. There were a few other groups out as well, most of them looked as if they were heading out for a Spearhead Traverse, one group moving pretty quick until the heat caught up with them mid-day. (Photo Left: Dave Booth melting in the heat)

Getting onto Pattison's South Ridge was fantastic. The breeze immediately helped bring our temperatures down, and even skinned the whole way to Pattison's summit, which is rare as the final few meters are usually bootpacking through rocks and ice. Time for the fun, we skied mediocre snow down the North West face, but found the best snow on the less steep terrain on the glacier.

Feeling drained from the heat, now adding the third layering of sunscreen, we decided to head out and back home through the summit of Decker, and out via 9th hole. A huge chunk of cornice had recently went, down 9th hole, leaving a spooky trail of debris at the bottom, which we avoided by skiing the steeper wind dip back to the glacier before wrapping back around. (Photo Right: Kevin and Dave climbing the Pattison's Shoulder)

Although the day was hot, it was a fantastic way to gauge how efficient our bodies were when dealing with heat, and how quickly we cooled. A noticeable decrease in speed, not only from the heat but conditions, were a great reminder of how important timing and conditions are for spring speed traverses. Now back from the sweltering alpine, its off to the village to relax and recover, with an ice cold drink!

New Haute Route Speed Traverse Record

2010-04-07T17:30:00.000-07:00

Just recently, French skiers Laurent Fabre and Yann Gachet, beat the previous speed traverse record on the Haute Route. The speed traverse route starts in Chamonix and finishes in Zermatt. In 2008 Stephane Brosse and Lionel Bonnel completed the traverse, for the first time in a day, in 21 hours 11 minutes. And now Fabre and Gachet have just taken the new record completing the traverse in 20 hours, 28 minutes, 5 seconds.

Originally three skiers to start, Anthony Frassard abandoned in the afternoon, with Fabre and Gachet continuing. To make the trip harder, they were forced to break trail through large amounts of new snow, and still make it! These race style efforts truly are the sharp end of where ski mountaineering is heading. Light and fast efforts, over vast amounts of terrain, with monstrous amounts of elevation gain and loss. With efforts like these it shows that we haven't yet scratched the surface of what is possible on skis yet. Well done gentleman. (Photo Left: The three at the start in Chamonix Credit: Lindsay Meyer the Examiner news)

For more info check out the Examiner's article here, and skimo.org's here.

Canadian Championships - The Dogtooth Dash Race

2010-04-04T19:33:00.000-07:00

This weekend Kicking Horse Resort, in Golden BC, hosted the 2nd annual Dogtooth Dash Ski Mountaineering race. The last race on the Canadian calendar this year, and the Canadian National Championships, made it the race everyone was looking to do well in. The course itself was almost exactly the same, but did have a 250-300m longer climb, to make sure the times weren't too quick.

The event was a success as usual. Kicking Horse held a pre-race dinner during the race meeting, and also an apres ski during the awards after the race. The Canadian Team was there ready to go, and pumped to race again, since nobody has had the chance to race while being back in North America.

The course started out with a classic Le Mans style start, everyone running around the Eagles Eye Restaurant before clicking into their skis, and blasting down to the first transition. From there, a quick transition, the Canadian Team seperated from everyone else, pulling out front. Reiner Thoni, James Minifie, and myself were out front with Ian Gale and Jeff Colvin right on our heels. At the top of the first climb hitting the transition, everyone arriving nearly at the same time, we dropped down a steep chute with great snow, and held it together to the next ascent.

Melanie Bernier was on fire again this race, up front, and battling it out with James Minifie and myself. We continued winding our way through the 2nd ascent, and down the giant mogul field descent, to our 3rd and longest climb. Hammering up, we discovered the Jeff Colvin had bailed, and was forced to pull out due to a head injury. A good reason to pull out, but we felt bad, as Jeff was passing a lot of people and really moving fast. He is okay now in case your wondering.

(Photo Above: Terminator Peak bootpack)

Arriving at the bootpack, feeling trained up to climb since Pierra Menta, but still feeling the lungs on the climb. We continued up, racing through the start/finish area, to drop back down into Terminator Peaks section of the Course. Moving fast, getting through the flat sections to the switchbacks, we were bootpacking again before long. All the way to Terminator, trying to stay close to the redline, but unsuccesfully, and over it, continued through to the sketchy ridge descent, and into a great little chute.

The last ascent was hard. Retracing the 2nd last we had just done, hitting the bootpack and vearing right to the finish line, the red line and anaerobic threshold well below me, came across the finish line in 4th. A hard race, and yes World Cup races are hard, but this race does live up to it. Reiner and Mel, took the overall Canadian Championships title for the 2010 season, wrapping the Canadian Circuit up. (Photo Left: Reiner and Mel the Canadian Champions)

Now with the racing season over, Team Canada had our end of season BBQ and Team meeting, some people going on to race the Esplanade Epic, and others including myself are concentrating on some ski mountaineering objectives. A great end of season race, and a great way to suffer. (Photo Right: Billie Velisek the BBQ master)

Ski Theory would also like to send Martha Burly, who was out getting her racing gear and strategy sorted at the Dogtooth, good luck in the Patrouille Des Glaciers in Switzerland which will be happening in a few weeks!

Results here.
More video here.

Skimo Cadence Training

2010-03-27T11:24:00.000-07:00

After talking to the rest of the Canadian Skimo Team, individuals from the US, other countries, and trainers from all over, one very prodominent theme has come up. Cadence. Having an insanely fast cadence (foot turnover rate), is what seperates the ridiculously fast people out there and the rest of the pack. If I take 10 strides per minute more than someone else, over a 2 hour course, thats a lot of ground that gets covered. But it's one thing to be able to produce really fast cadence, but a whole other thing to maintain it, especially over steeper terrain where more muscles and systems are recruited to continue moving at this rate. So how is one to train this cadence? Here's what I've found so far. (Photo Right: Kilian Jornet the man with the fastest cadence, on the 2010 Relay World Championships course)

The first thing to begin with, after your base training period, is to start training your legs turnover rate or "cadence" on flat ground. You aren't trying to do this over steeper terrain, purely flat, or a slight uphill. Using intervals of 20 seconds, and extending these as you progress, to train is the first step. By training on flat ground your body is learning how to turn each leg over faster, and by slowly increasing the amount of interval time, to maintain that faster cadence. Flat ground also makes sure you are training this alone, and that other muscles and systems, are not being recruited which may hinder the quality of your workout. On flat ground you are training your forward propulsion, whereas training on hills you are training your vertical propulsion. You must train these separately.

(Photo Above: Jeff Colvin brings vertical and forward momentum into one, 2010 WC Vertical Race)

Since you have to go up in ski mountaineering races, it would be silly to not train your uphill aerobic capacity, so continue doing so. Easy as that. This is your vertical propulsion training. You will not notice an increase in speed right away, training takes time, and remember patience is a virtue. Continuing with these two main training modalities, your cadence will naturally begin to increase, as the flatland training will begin to transfer over to the uphill training.

Now there is a trump card that can factor into this, which may slow some peoples improvement down, and that one thing is powder. Skiing in the backcountry as many of us do, in search of beautiful powder, and bottomless blower does actually limit our training. Yes it does help build power, breaking trail is a lot of hard work, but slows our cadence down. Your body is constantly learning, and breaking trail solely as an aerobic workout, won't stop you from progressing but will slow your progression. The reason is you cannot swing and move your feet as quickly, as if they were in a skintrack. Racing is done in a slightly more artificial ampitheater than backcountry skiing. It is in the backcountry, but there is a skintrack and bootpack put in for you, and although you may find the odd skintrack in the backcountry you are primarily breaking trail. But hey, we can't neglect powder now can we.

Gear is also a large factor when it comes to cadence. Being able to turn your feet over quickly, and efficiently, is hard work. The weight from your skis and boots, are limiting, so having the lightest weight setup as possible allows you to move your feet faster and with less energy. (Photo Below Right: Our room mates boot at Pierra Menta, trying to find more speed with less weight)

Now this is the simplest way you can look at cadence training. There are so many different modalities to speed training, and not just flat. Racing will improve your cadence, as training fast will help you to race fast. A race pace training day is good to throw into the mix as it will sew all the pieces together. Strength training, and cross training will be important as well. Other cadence training workouts can be a 30-40 minute run, and classic cross country skiing. I would recommend that while training with your rando race gear on the flats, that your skins are nicely waxed, so that your glide is trained at the same time. Remember efficiency is the key, and your body is constantly learning, so repeating race day style strides while training will create fast race day strides. If you are turning your stride over faster, but aslo gliding 5 centimeters as well, that equates to a 300m elevation gain over 1000m.

In the end, do what works for you, and monitor your training well. Ski Mountaineering Race training is still developing, and finding new and better ways of training. But to give you an idea on how fast some racers are, top World Cup athletes are climbing at approximately 114 steps per minute (measured from the first ascent of the 2010 WC Individual Course). How many steps are you taking?

Kicking Horse Dogtooth Dash

2010-03-21T21:33:00.000-07:00

I'm back from Europe, and so pumped on racing. Luckily the Canadian Ski Mountaineering Championships, the Dogtooth Dash, is right around the corner. On April 3rd, Kicking Horse Resort, is hosting this fantastic event. One of Canada's most savage and well thought out courses, the Dogtooth is built as a "four leaf clover" type loop, and caters to not only racers but spectators as well.

The course itself starts with a sprint around the Eagle Eye Restaurant, then an insane all out battle downhill to the first transition, all within the first two minutes of the course. This year the course should be longer and hold more elevation gain and loss. After the race, Kicking Horse has a great apres and meal at the Eagle Eye Restaurant. All of this easily worth the race entry fee, so come out to Golden, BC, and check out this amazing race!

Cost - $70.00 for both Race and Recreational Categories
Sign up here!

Pierra Menta Stage 4

2010-03-15T07:27:00.000-07:00

Stage 4 of Pierra Menta, the shortest, but fastest pace one. The past three stages where all just shy of 3000m of elevation gain and loss, Stage 4 was only 1629m, made for going all out and fast on. The course consisted of three climbs. (Photo Right: Stage 4 Start. Credit; Jocelyn Chavy)

The first one, 1153m, which forced everyone to start out as aggressively and as hard as they could in order to have a good position for the bootpack that was only 400m or so ahead. The competition was fierce, with everyone vying for the best position, and really trying to sprint into any space that was long enough to fit a pair of skis in. It continued up, switchbacks, and steep skintracks to Passage Du Dard (2342m). A really fast transition, and a slight recovery from the fast paced long up, down a wide opened bowl full of extremely variable snow.

The second climb, started out steep, then moved into a series of switchbacks to a long bootpack to the top of Pointe Du Dard (2489m). The bootpack was a classic Pierra Menta style ridge, right up a big exposure, with lots of snow to rock, to grass, and a run across the summit to the next transition. Burning as hard as we could, we moved past the transition, gaining a few positions and on to the leg burning descent. The course dropped through big gullies, wind blown and breakable crust sections, and big blind rollovers. (Photo Left: Top of the first ascent. Credit: Jocelyn Chavy)

Nearly finished, we hammered the last ascent, as series of short switchbacks to the transition only 58m up. After a blisteringly fast transition we careened through the forest, full of massive rollers, creek beds, and unbelievably painful leg burning hard turns to an icy access road. Flying down big 180 degree corners with burms on them, we continued pushing, knowing Canadians Melanie Bernier and Andrew McNab were hot on our heels. A photo finish with two other teams, we finished 58th, and the finally out the four days the first Canadian Team across the line.

Team Canada continued to come in fast, and all finished really close together. Overall rankings, were Melanie Bernier/Andrew McNab 67th, Alex Wigley/Stano Faban 76th, Reiner Thoni/Billie Velisek 109th, and Jeff Colvin/Julie Matteau 116th. A big congrats to our Team USA friends Brandon French and Ben Parsons, who finished Stage 4 in 28th, and 36th overall. Kilian Jornet and Florent Troillet took the overall title, and in the womens Francesca Martinelli and Roberta Pedranzini. Everyone has been really happy with the race, the experiences, and everything we learned. Heading back to Canada now, everyone is looking forward to training more, and improving results for next year. The next race around the corner is the Dogtooth Dash, in Golden, April 4th. (Photo Above Right: Stage 4 finish line. Credit: Jocelyn Chavy) Check out Skimo Stoke for a great recap of Stage 2, here.

Pierra Menta Stages 1-3

2010-03-13T12:03:00.000-08:00

I've been unable to find a good time to put up a good post, due to the amount of time recovering between stages, massages, eating, and sleeping, but here we are. Team Canada arrived in Areches Beaufort, France, just a few days ago, almost all of us having an epic trip just getting here. Many of us spent days in the car, and stuck in traffic, others had time in Chamonix, and more planes, trains, and automobile action. (Photo Right: Team Canada's Stano Faban and Alex Wigley at the Finish Line. Credit: Jocelyn Chavy)

Stage 1, the test stage for all of us, was a fairly fast slow day. We used it as a way to figure out, how fast we could go, and how long. The answer? Go hard, go really hard, you'll recover. Stage 1 had around 3000m of elevation gain, a bit more than what was proposed on the races elevation profile, as well as adding our cool down too it as well. Everyone, went out and had a blast, moving through an unbelievable amount of terrain in a very short amount of time. Plus nobody bonked. Our main goal was to slowly build our speed, and learn what we need to do to not blow up, and continue to get faster.

Stage 2, we used as a test stage to see if we really could go really hard, and still recover. It did work. We did start the day at an easier pace, then exploded out of the skintrack, and passed 20 teams breaking trail to a better position in the first climb. Our biggest learning experience from the past few stages was building our strategy of when to pass, and at what terrain allowed us to keep the lead. The course itself was unbelievable again. Through big mountain passes, knife edge ridges, thousands of switchbacks, good skiing, and every racer pushing you harder and harder. The runs through the villages, with the town folk screaming and clanging cowbells, stoked the fire hard as well. This race has been so much fun so far, we almost forgot it hurt. Again climbing around 3000m. (Photo Left: Starting Run through Beaufort. Credit; Jocelyn Chavy)

Stage 3, the most infamous of stages which climbed up Grand Mont (2686m), and through some of the most technical terrain of the race. The courses knife edge ridge, complete with 3rd class climbing, via ferrata, and a few solid rock moves was awe inspiring to see a race course go through. Skimo Racing in North America has a lot to learn and take from the race. (Photo Right: Competitors on Grand Monts knife edge ridge. Spot Canadians Alex Wigley & Stano Faban. Credit: Jocelyn Chavy)

We started off our day with a big 1153m climb, through lots of specators, and yet again hundreds of switchbacks. Pierra Menta is such a big event, that we saw people skinning up the mountain passes at breakfast at 5:30am to get a good spot, Areches even opened the chairlift in the wee hours of the morning to shuttle spectators to the tops. Getting up to the tops of climbs there were hundreds of people, cowbells going off, screaming, mountain tail gate barbeques, and tons of people specatating in race gear too. (Photo Left: Grand Mont crowd. Credit: Jocelyn Chavy)
At the end of Stage 3, we are now at ranked 80th. Canadian Teams Melanie Bernier/Andrew McNab 70th, Billie Velisek/Reiner Thoni 111th, and Jeff Colvin/Julie Matteau 116th. Congrats to Team USA Brandon French/Ben Parsons on their 36th position ranking! Everyone is now preparing for Stage 4, a shorter, but incredibly hard course due to the fact that most people will be sprinting. With the last massages in, big meal, and a good nights sleep we're all stoked to hammer tomorrow and are ready for more!

World Championships 2010 Relay Race

2010-03-06T11:52:00.000-08:00

The Ski Mountaineering World Championships come to a close today, after the last race, the Relay. A really fun event, that was as much fun to watch, as it was for the rest of our team to race. The mens team consisted of Reiner Thoni, James Minifie, Stano Faban, and Andrew McNab. The womens team, was Julie Matteau, Melanie Bernier, and Billie Velisek. (Photo Left: Melanie Bernie showing her anaerobic endurance on the last ascent)

The women raced first, with Mel charging out of the gate, leading the worlds best behind her. Settling into her pace, she charged up the first switchback points, to the transition and down through as set of downhill giant slalom gates. Everyone was going absolutely 100%, maxing out every last ounce of energy, burning the lungs hard. Tagging Julie at the transition, was exciting to watch, as she hammered out of the gate and through the whole course. Julie has truly been the media's favorite this World Cup, as every photographer shot at least a dozen photos as she blew by everyone, and can be found on countless websites now.

Billie Velisek, took the tail end of the Relay, putting her long stride to good use and reeling in the competition. She made a monstrous acceleration on the bootpack of the last ascent, lapping the Japanese Team, and moving even faster through the transition. The girls came in 6th place overall beating out Team Andorra, and USA. Well done ladies! (Photo Right: Billie Velisek blazing by the competition, while Canadian racers and spectators cheer on)

Reiner was the mens team starter. When the gun went off, he stayed outside of the busy track, showing the experience Canada has when skinning without a set trail keeping well out with France, Spain, and the Swiss. James Minifie was the second of the men, and was great to watch, especially as he suffering even harder from a cut that was pouring blood from an accident at a skin transition. Hardcore!

Andrew McNab, reeled in the Americans even more, while we watched in awe. Every time I watch McNab ski, it's like watching a hungry dog run towards a dinner plate, when there is powder and skiing to be had. Nice work McNab! Stano Faban anchored the group today. He put out an amazing performance, looking really well rested and on top of his game. He took a massive, really large, amount of time between us and the Americans. The men came in 11th, well done boys. (Photo Below: Reiner Thoni hammering out of the start)

Other fantastic performances of the day included watching Brandon French battle it out with many different racers, including one unbelievable push with a Norwegian Racer. With the end of the week here, everyone is preparing to relax and enjoy our last night here. It's off to France to race Pierra Menta for many of us, some are heading home, and others to other races across the globe. Stoked on an awesome experience, and ready for more!

World Championships 2010 Teams Race

2010-03-05T13:31:00.000-08:00

Today was the Teams Race for the World Ski Mountaineering Championships. I was originally not going to race this event, but luckily/unluckily, Stano had to pull out as he was sick. We had done a quick recon of the course the week before, and feeling somewhat recovered from the Individual Race, I jumped at the opportunity. James Minifie and myself teamed up. (Photo Right: Last Ascent up Baser Peak (2670m) Credit: Shauna Spears)

After the womens start, cheering Julie Matteau and Melanie Bernier, out we got ready and went through the beacon check to the start zone half an hour after they started. Our plan was to keep the pace in check, making sure to not blow up early in the race, but still kept the pace fairly quick up the first ascent (472m) to Pereguils Peak (2702m). Coming up to the first transition, duking it out with the rest of the Canadian team, we all dropped down the first descent through crud, powder, and icy ruts. At the transition, every Canadian leaving at around the same time, we formed a strong group to power up the second ascent (1033m) to Font Blanca (2903m). (Photo Left: Julie and Mel at the first transition, Credit: Miquel Marin skimo.org)

At the top of the first false summit, where the track turned to more switchbacks, we began making a gap between us and the other Canadian Teams. Trying to get ahead, we pushed it a bit harder into the transition, and skied down the wild ice and powder descent. Leaving the 3rd transition, we tried hard to put as much distance between us and the other teams, catching a team of Spanish Women, and English men. Little did we know the boys were hot on our tails, as McNab and Jeff skied unbelievably fast down the descent.

Keeping the pain and pressure going on the last ascent, feeling not so great, we powered up past Team USA's Nina Silitch and Yari Kirkland, hoping to catch Julie and Melanie. Reiner and Ian began reeling us in, using the toeing method, which worked unbelievably well. But hitting the bootpack, the change in pace, we felt renewed and accelerated up it. Cresting over the top, we ran the last ridgetop, getting buzzed by the helicopter filming the race, to the final hand over hand rappel/lower to the last transition. Thinking everyone was hot on our tails, we skied as fast as possible down the final descent, through a cool couloir to the finish. (Photo Above Right: James Minifie leading out the last climb, Alex Wigley following. Credit: Shauna Spears)

Florent Perrier and Didier Blanc came in first, and some good battles for the USA, everyone was stoked on the course and the results. Finishing the race, as well as how we raced it, gave us a great idea on how to pace for Pierra Menta in the next week. Overall, the course was 23km in distance, and hosted 2305m of elevation gain and loss. Long courses are the most "fun!" Team Canada was out and after it, and everyone made the day that much more tolerable with great while being uncomfortable for so long. We finished 33rd in the end, with the top Canadian time, but not without the rest of our Team pushing us. Check out the video below of the leaders dropping the hammer!

World Championships 2010 Individual Race

2010-03-03T13:43:00.000-08:00

It was the Individual Race today, in the Andorra Ski Mountaineering World Championships. The race was shortened a bit, due to poor weather, and a dumping of new snow. The race course although shortened, was everything a World Cup race course is expected to be, fast pace and painful. The Canadians dropped the hammer again, but the Spanish and French had an unbelievable pace, that we couldn't match Coming from North America where you will finish in the top ten, or top Tier, you will notice a big gap between the top Tier and you on the Wolrd Cup. A big congratulations goes out to Melanie Bernier again for coming 19th in the Womens division. (Photo Below: Julie Matteau in Transition, photo from Skimo.org)

Top Three Results
Men
1. Florent Troillet (CH)
2. Kilian Jornet (ES)
3. Didier Blanc (FR)

Women
1. Laetita Roux (FR)
2. Roberta Pedranzini (IT)
3. Francesca Martinelli (IT)

In the overall rankings, Canada is ranked at 12th, up a spot now from 13th. The US Team made a strong effort today as well. Pete Swenson, Brandon French, Travis Scheefer and Max Taam had great final results as well. North America is coming in strong! The next race Team Canada will be racing will be the Teams course on the March 5th in Arcalis.

More at Golden Skimo here, and Skimo here.

World Championships 2010 Vertical Race

2010-03-01T12:35:00.000-08:00

The first race day is upon us here in Soldeu Andorra. Team Canada's Reiner Thoni, Ian Gale, Jeff Colvin, Billie Velisek, Julie Matteau, and Melanie Bernier are racing the vertical race in El Tarter (1680m). The course winds up some catracks and groomers to the alpine, 5km and 880m elevation gain, to Collada Cap De Clots (2388m). The course itself is punishing, with lots of flats, and sudden long steep pitches to go anaerobic on. To start, the Cadets category got going really early, followed by the Women, Espoirs, and last the Mens. Spectators were skinning up and down the course, tv cameras, and coaches were speckled across the sidelines waiting for competitors. (Photo Left: Team Canada in the Opening Ceremonies, opening parade)

The first of Team Canada that came blazing though was Melanie Bernier, who finished 19th, with a time of 57:53:00. She led a strong pack of women up the steepest climb, crushing everyones confidence, as she kept the hammer down. Julie Matteau, and Billie Velisek, put down a strong performance with some great battles that ended with the Canadians passing and beating a few other teams. (Photo Right: The Vertical Course from El Tarter. Photo Below: Melanie Bernier Team Canada)

The Men's race, was another high paced, eye opener of an event. Spain's Kilian Jornet Bergada finished the course in a whopping 39:50:8. Canada's Reiner Thoni proved easily that Canada was closing the gap on the World Cup circuit, placing only 8:45:0 off the Spaniard's time, well done Reiner! Ian Gale, and Jeff Colvin, also put in a great effort, and made us all proud yet again. (Photo Below: Jeff Colvin suffering, Andrew McNab (Right) chases and shouts on the sidelines.)

Check Out Golden Skimo for more action here, Skimo Stoke here, and International Skimo site here.

Canillo 2010 Teams Course Pre-Run

2010-02-26T12:26:00.000-08:00

With the last few days of our training left before resting and recovering for the Individual race, we decided to go scout the Teams Course, which James and Stano will be racing later in the week. An epic trip, taking three buses, and hitchhiking the last 14km to Arcalis we didn't have the time to skin the entire course. But we did get a great look at it, as well as got new information from the Andorran Team as to where a potential change in the course may happen. A few racers from the Spanish Team were out exploring the course as well, and seemed really excited to hammer it. (Photo Right: James Minifie on the first climb up to Pereguils Peak)

The first climb winds up from La Coma (2230m), through some winding benches, and up some rocky ridges. The snow coverage here, is considerably better than Soldeu and Grau Roig, and terrain far more dramatic. A potential change to the course will be a bootpack up a rocky rib to the top of Pereguils Peak, rather than the previously planned route skinning up and around the rib. We'll just have to wait and see what the ISMF organizers decide on come race day. (Photo Left: Stano Faban topping out on the possible new bootpack)
After climbing Pereguils Peak, we dropped back down to La Coma, and decided to keep skiing. We skinned up to a small peak across the valley, near Pic D'Arcalis. A quick bootpack across the ridge, and we dropped into an alpine bowl skiing back down, to where we had stashed our shoes. Refueling at the base of the hill, and a quick coffee, we began our bus finding epic back to Soldeu. P.S it was way easier the second time! (Photo Right: Stano Faban checking out the valley below. Photo Below: Teams Race Course from Canillo2010)

Canillo 2010 Individual Course - Pre-Run

2010-02-24T10:42:00.000-08:00

Preparing for the World Championships, we've been consentrating on nutrition, training, recovery, gear, clothing, among other things. However, today we are pre-running the Individual Course, to get better aquainted with it. The goal with pre-running it is to understand various hard parts, recovery spots, and strategic passing points.

So after breakfast, and time to digest, we jumped on the bus and headed down the Andorra Valley to Grau Roig where the race starts. The course starts above the village at 2150m, with the first climb ascending up 630m, to Montmalus summit perched at 2780m. The time we spend here in the mountains is yet another important portion of our preperation, as acclimatizing to the altitude (although not high), will be crucial to racing faster than if we were to be at sea level.

Starting the day skinning up, we got some good beta from Manuel Perez Brunicardi of all people. Mireia Miro, who just came top five in the World Cup in Italy last week, was out checking the course as well. We kept the recovery pace making sure to not get sucked into hammering with the worlds best, and blowing our training/race schedule. (Photo Above: Individual Course elevation profile)

The course starts out low down near the lifts at 2150m, and climbs a low to moderate angle which remains consistent the entire way through the course to the summit of Montmalus Peak. The summit of Montmalus is where the first skin transition will take please, where you drop off the front side down to the flats at 2300m, to the second transition. (Photo Left: James and Stano midway through the first climb to Montmalus Peak)

After the second transition, skinning up there is a quick bootpack to the top of Collada Oest (2700m), transition, and a fast descent down to the Refuge de Muntanya hut. A note for all racers, it's a bit rocky top, and the snow is variable. The bootpack, not pictured, is a straightforward chute, with some rocks peppered throughout it. (Photo Right: Looking down the first descent from the transition)

From the hut a speedy mellow but really fast skin track brings you back to the top of Montmalus, where the 5th skin transition is, dropping down a small alpine bowl to lower treeline. The descent is full of breakable crust, soft slab, and rocks to launch off of unexpectedly, to the 6th skin transition. (Photo Above: Taken from the Refuge de Muntanya hut, where the 4th transition is.)

(Photo Above: Second last descent back to treeline, rocky and lots of breakable crust.)

The last climb winds up the side of a sub ridge of Serra Seca (2730m), which is broken up with a quick rocky bootpack. The bootpack is thin, but feels really fast, especially in the wind-packed snow. Getting to the 7th transition on Serra Seca, we dropped down the last descent ramp, discovering that not only the snow was going to be interesting racing down, but that someone had triggered a hard slab avalanche (sz 1.5, crown approx 70cm, appeared to have failed on depth hoar, steep rocky and shallow start zone) on the course. (Photo Below: Sub ridge and course profile on Serra Saca)

The course is beautifully designed and well thought out. It begins and starts in the same location, and will allow spectators to view most of the course from easily accessible areas, as well as the ski resort base. We're definitely learning the difference between race courses on the World Cup, and North American courses! Stoked to race!

Andorra - The First Post

2010-02-23T03:40:00.000-08:00

Finally here in Andorra, after a long few days of traveling in an area where there is no information, and have taken almost every mode of transportation so far. James Minifie, Stano Faban, and I flew out to Barcelona Spain a few days ago. We stayed in Barcelona, a block away from the jail, but at least in a respectable hotel. Then jumped on a series of buses to Soldeu, Andorra, where the Relay race is going to take place during the 2010 Skimo World Championships. (Photo Left: Flying Over The Andorran Pyrnees)

So after three days of travel, and situating ourselves, we finally get to ski! Heading out, after scoring a free breakfast at our hotel, down the tiny Soldeu Streets to the base of the mountain we tossed our skins on checking out the massive lift network that is Gran Valira. And in classic renegade style, we went up without a lift past, skinning from the base to the alpine. With not nearly the same amount of snow we're used to in Canada, we had to chose our descent very wisely, as only the leeward sides were filled in enough to ski (at least the better steep terrain). Snow depth put aside, we've been so stoked to be out skiing halfway around the world, and found the steeper lines in the resort right off the bat. (Photo Right: James Minifie heading though the tiny streets to get to the mountain)

On our second day of skiing, an interval training day, we headed up in our Canadian Colors to get a feel for the climate and to see if any changes needed to be made for race day. James and myself hammered 3 10x10 intervals to the top, while Stano did 4 7x7's lower down. Everyone's been feeling the jet lag, and isn't yet 100%, but know that we do have the time to recover. Training smart is the big topic of the week. Making sure we are well rested, fueled up, and recover well for the next week is incredibly important. While training, we'll be heading over the Individual course tomorrow, and getting to know the fastest/slowest or easiest/hardest spots to make sure we race as best as possible. Today's small interval session was a small reminder to the punishment in the coming days and weeks. (Photo Left: James Minifie, in classic renegade style skinning up the groomers, between the first 10x10 interval)

The Last Tour.... Before Europe

2010-02-18T21:49:00.000-08:00

I had originally decided to ski all the way through to my flight to Europe, but after skiing today, and realizing how much stuff I had to do I was forced to withdraw from my plans. But the day we had yesterday was fantastic, and full of good training, and skiing. (Photo Right: Paul Cordy slashing some amazing hero snow)

I met up with Craig McGee, Paul Cordy, Jeff Van Driel, and Steve Sellers (Skimo Team Canada) who was visiting from Canmore for the Olympics. We were fairly indecisive with our ideas of what to ski, as we were unsure of stability, and what we could actually do. After skinning up to "Don't Swell," and getting a few test turns in, we were stoked and hammered over to the Chamonix Chutes to ski down. Hero snow and high pressure has been the common theme for this year, something we've been waiting for a few seasons.

After skinning up the Decker glacier, we dropped into 9th hole, and rocked down slashing turns off the big wind lip. While skinning up Photographer Vince Shuley's ski model dropped into a beautifully lit up rib of snow of the side of Decker putting some beautiful turns in, where we snagged some shots as well. (Photo Above: Spot the Sunlit Skier)

Back up just as quick, we headed over to Chisel Chute, a low Chute further down off Decker's North Ridge. The sluff was moving pretty quick, but easily manageable, but made the line so much more fun to ski. Everyone stoked to ski these lines we had no idea would be possible to ski with the surface hoar buried in the new snow. (Photo Left: Paul Cordy skiing down the Chisel)

Burning a long ascent back to the summit of Decker, summiting for the second time. With the day coming to an end, and everyone stoked with the snow, we skied out the "Y" on our way out. The conditions really have been the best they've been in years, and today was just another day proving it.

Now it's off to the airport tomorrow, and will be in Barcelona by Saturday evening, with James Minifie and Stano Faban. Stoked I actually had a minute to pack in between skiing, and traveling. Keep your eyes peeled for lots of crazy racing action, and posts while we're competing in Europe, as well as skiing in our free time!

Dynafit TLT 5 Performance TF - A First Look

2010-02-17T00:57:00.000-08:00

For all those people who have yet to realize that race boots like the Dynafit Dy.N.A, are fully capable of handling steep crazy terrain, the new Dynafit TLT 5 boot may be the answer. Boots such as these, are unbelievably light, stiff, and are better to climb in than conventianal touring boots. They provide the same amount of stiffness as boots such as the Garmont Radium, are half the weight, only weighing in at 1115g with a tongue! The walk mode is easily the most beautiful part of the boot, which extend your stride a massive distant building speed and allowing you to move long distances in a short amount of time.

The TLT 5 is built off the same mold as the Dy.N.A race boot, but with a few changes. To start, the TLT 5 has a "Ski" tongue which is easily field removable, and only requires you to unlock the bottom buckle to slide it out. It even has a post on the shell, with a hole on the tongue, to make sure the tongue does not shift while sitting in the forward tongue triangle. (Photo Right, note the yellow triangle is where the tongue slides into the shell) The idea is to utilize the fantastic range of motion the boot has, without the tongue in, on the way up. Then just simply slide the tongue into place for the way down, which gives the boot a large boost in stiffness. Th shell even has a slightly more built up lower that wraps around your foot slightly differently than the Dy.N.A, which would allow you to easily ski without the "Ski" tongue in place.

The Dy.N.A sole is molded onto the the lower shell in two separate pieces with no rubber in the middle of the boot. The TLT 5 has a slightly thicker rubber sole, than spans the entire length of the boot, and a harder rubber on the toe and heel. The change will be advantageous when climbing rock, ladders in the alps and Himalayas, and awkward ridge tops.

The upper cuff is still made of Carbon Fiber. It still has the genius buckle which doubles as a ski/walk mode latch. And it still has the same fantastic lightweight liner, with neoprene walking cutout, as the Dy.N.A. So what doesn't it have? The lower cutout on the boot which allows the boot to flex 5mm on the sole, giving the boot a more natural stride, is not made of carbon. It is made out of Pebax plastic. Big deal? I think not.

The lightweight tech cord buckle connectors have been replaced with super strong woven metal straps. The slight increase in weight, does make for an incredibly reliable boot, and ensures you don't have to monitor the buckles for wear on a regular basis.

The TLT 5 will retail for less than the $1600 Dy.N.A, but will pack a serious punch for those looking for a hardcore ski mountaineering boot. So next year when you're in the market to buy a new pair of boots, why bother even wasting an ounce of energy on trying on a big heavy clunker that "looks" stiff, when you could get the full package with this boot. The future is here for touring boots, it's up to everyone out there to realize the potential with boots such as these, and get with the program.

Fissile Banana Chute

2010-02-13T00:03:00.000-08:00

With our high pressure system gone, and a new low pressure system on us, we were unable to get out after another larger objective. I headed out with Tyler Petrusic and Dave Booth, to use up the last of our good (but deteriorating) stability on Mt Fissile, as a quick morning tour before having to head into work for the day. We decided to ski Banana Chute as it gave us the simplest line down (and is beautifully aesthetic), and provided a handrail of rocks for us to follow down through the poor visibility. (Photo Left: Mt Fissile with Banana Chute marked in red)

Fissile sees a large amount of traffic in the backcountry, as a result of its close proximity to Whistler Mountain, and it's ease of climbing. There are many different lines which drop off it's summit and ridges, all of which make this mountain "a skiers mountain," and all of which look awesome. A quick bootpack up the South Face gets you to the top of the ridge, where you can drop in to NW Face, Banana Chute, or ski down the ridge a bit more to Psycho Chute. From where you top out on the South Face, you can choose those three lines, or continue onwards to the North Face, Summit, Saddle, Fissile Like A Missile, or the Elevator Shaft Chutes.

With fresh snow and faster travel conditions we got in and out nice and quickly. The snow was deeper than we expected, but still stable, and the Chute remained fairly sheltered from the Southern winds coming in with the new system. At the bottom, we skinned up to the top of Cowboy Ridge for a quick extra lap on the way back to work. Simple, easy but great skiing, and will stop you from grumbling at work later in the day, knowing that you've got your ski fix earlier that day. (Photo Right: Ty Petrusic Shreds Up Banana)

New Race! The Esplanade Epic

2010-02-11T10:17:00.000-08:00

Ski Mountaineering racing in Canada is moving along really well right now. But with the introduction of a new race, The Esplanade Epic, we are seeing a massive upgrade in the quality and variety of racing. The new race is hosted by Golden Alpine Holidays, and takes place on April 10th. What makes this race so beautiful and cool, is that it is 100% backcountry, and is a high mountain alpine traverse in the Northern Selkirks.

Registration is due by March 19, 2010. It is $200.00 CAD, and includes a helicopter ride in/out, 1 nights accommodation, and enough racing terrain to make you see colors. There will be a website which will be announced shortly, and Ian Gale will probably be the first to have information on it. Get stoked!

Contact Info:
1-888-344-6424

Million Dollar Couloir - Cayoosh

2010-02-11T01:17:00.000-08:00

Another beautiful day in the Coast. Great stability, good snow, and friends make for a fantastic day skiing. I headed up the Duffey Lake Road again, the day after skiing Mt Matier, with Lee Lau and Jeff Van Driel. We were on the summit of Cayoosh by 12:15pm, and skied down and out the Million Dollar Couloir, to the car nice and early for a change. Lee has graciously provided a fantastic video, and photo of our route down, enjoy! Also check out Lee's write up here.

Matier Twin One Couloir Variation

2010-02-09T18:47:00.000-08:00

These past few days have been hard to keep posting content, and rightfully so, the Coast has some of the best conditions for ski mountaineering right now! Having a good crew of people to head out with, Lee Lau, James McSkimming, Paul Cordy, and myself headed up the Duffey to ski the Twin One Couloir from the summit of Mt Matier. Having skied the Twin One before I knew what to expect once we were in the Couloir, but was stoked to ski it from the summit, as it truly is a very aesthetic line. The Twin One, is usually skied by climbing up to the last skiable point, but today we wanted to experience the full line. (Photo Left: Paul Cordy on Matier summit ridge)

(Photos Above: James McSkimming On Matier Sub Summit)

We kept the pace steady, with few stops, and were on top of Mt Matier early. With time to spare, we sent James and Paul across to the sub-summit to ski a line into the North Face. Being above all the clouds, and only Mt Wedge and Mt Currie pointing out in the distance we had great visibility. However, as soon as the clouds broke below us, we headed straight for our objective for the day.

Skiing down off the summit, the snow was less than optimal, as it was mostly just Rime. But getting below the ridge into more protected areas, it was just hero snow. Using the ridge as a hand rail as the cloud came back in, and skiing some great snow, we came out on top of the Twin One Couloir. Just as predicted, it required a rappel, and with some rigging we were set to go. (Photo Left: Twin One Couloir Line From The Summit, photo credit: Lee Lau)
(Photo Below Right: James McSkimming on rappel)

Paul rapped in first, followed by Lee, then James, and last myself. Stoked to be in the Couloir, we weren't really ready to ski yet, as the slope below us cliffed out, and required one more rappel. Trying to get it all done before the sun disappeared, we laughed about how much time we had earlier, and the extra skiing we put in as an appetizer before the main course. In the fading light, we clicked in to our binding, and dropped in to more hero snow. Skiing down, and watching the sluff pour off the cliff at the bottom, was great! Super fun skiing, and burning in the legs, all the way down to the valley below.

Needless to say, by the time we hit the bottom, we had our headlamps on. Skiing out in the dark on the Duffey is quite usual, especially when the conditions are so good!
(Photos Below: Alex Wigley skiing the Twin One, and The Line from the Summit. Photo Credit: Lee Lau)

Sunshine 5000 Results

2010-02-06T21:53:00.000-08:00

Having missed the Sunshine 5000 race this week, due to a broken down car and buying a new one, I was forced to relegate myself to some punishing intervals. I watched for the results closely, as I was hoping to see the rest of the Canadian Team hammering strong. In the Men's:
1st: Reiner Thoni (CAN)
2nd: Brandon French (USA
3rd: Stano Faban (CAN)

The Women's:
1st: Melanie Bernier (CAN)
2nd: Billie Velisek (CAN)
3rd: Julie Matteau (CAN)

Great work everyone, looks like Canada is getting faster and faster as the year goes on, and will be strong in the World's this March.

Joffre Central Couloir - Re-Match

2010-02-02T16:23:00.000-08:00

After last weeks encounter with Joffre's Central Couloir, putting a large amount of time into it, and having it not go kept me thinking about it all week. We had to make it happen, and with such stable conditions, there was no way we weren't going to go for it. So we met up really early Monday morning for an alpine start. We took the same route as previous, heading up the Southeast Face Route, to the top of the Couloir. This time the climb was a bit more difficult, as the faceted snow just above the rock slabs, shed every time it was weighted. The rock was hidden under the snow just enough to surprise you every so often. (Photo Left: Paul Cordy digging out a platform to put his skis on)

With some short excavating of our tunnel from the week previous we had our snow bollard dug out, and were rapping in to the Central Couloir. The 60m rope we brought this time, allowed us to skip the insane down climb and to get our skis on the 55 degree slope. Skiing the first 120m on belay, as the snow was less the optimal, we reached the first rappel. Skiing down to it was an interesting 60 degree gully that cliffed out over a 40m cliff or so.

(Photo Above Left: Paul Cordy skiing the upper pitch. Right: Alex Wigley building a rappel anchor)

Digging an anchor out, and rapping down over the big cliff, we found our rope was a hair short, but with some traversing only 3m over we found our way onto the main section of the Couloir. Rappelling just a few feet over would require a 70m rope or leaving your rope behind. If one was climb the couloir to ski it, this would be a near impossible climb in boots, as it is vertical granite, covered in snow. Either way going down, it was a great pitch to ski. Although we were stoked to be through the main crux we continued down.
(Photo Left: Paul Cordy on the second rappel)

The rest of the Couloir was fairly straightforward, with a few rockbands that held some snow, making things a bit more interesting. However, although straightforward, this was no still a no fall zone. (Photo Right: Paul Cordy building a deadman) We continued skiing down, and squeezed through the 2.2m wide choke at the bottom out into the lower glacier. Stoked to be done we continued skiing through the icefall, for a long powder run all the way to the valley. A great experience, and unbelievably long Couloir.

Please Note: If you would like to try this couloir, do so with only with some alpine climbing, and anchor building, skills. This couloir, if skied from the very top, is extremely technical, not only in skiing ability, but rope skills. Not only that, even after skiing the line, you have to maneuver through a glacier, much of which is crevassed and poorly bridged. The line can be climbed from the bottom, but will start at a lower position, and will not require a 30m rappel.

(Photo Below: Paul Cordy skiing through the Icefall afterwards)

Photos by: Alex Wigley & Paul Cordy