Gear Review: Backcountry Boot Comparison Chart

Ismelda Marcos had a closet that looked like this.

You're ready to jump into the backcountry, but not sure where your investment in gear should begin.  Chances are that you already have downhill alpine gear including the boots, poles, skis and bindings.

You can always throw those skis and bindings on your back and hike to the top of the mountain on your daddy's old snow shoes.  Alpine boots, however, aren't designed for walking from the car to the ticket counter, much less to the top of Mt. Cardigan.  More importantly, your feet are usually the first part of your body to get cold if not properly cared for.  They are also your most important body part, and asset, when you're more than ten miles from your car.  Frozen or blistery feet = slow or no movement = searchers find your body in June.

The Gear List: What to bring for a night on the mountain.

Home is where the -20 bag is.

What should you pack on an overnight backcountry ski trip?  Over the years I've learned some hard lessons and developed a list to survive (and even enjoy) a long winter's night on the mountain.  Some items are necessities, while others (down booties) are comfort items that I'm willing to sacrifice some space and weight to bring along.

See for yourself why I have back problem by springtime.

Gear Review: Karhu XCD GT/ Silvretta 500 (a.k.a. "The GT's")

Every ski quiver needs a long distance horse:  a go-to ski for a long tour on rolling terrain.

The Maine Huts, the Pemi-Traverse, the Long Trail and a trip to the Arlington Heights water tower need the right tool.  When I've got miles of rolling terrain to cover, I break out the GT's.

-Trip Report- Mt. Cardigan: A Backcountry Mountain with Training Wheels (March 2008)

I dare you to paint a picture with those shades of blue.  You'll be laughed at.

At some point in my life I'm going to be diagnosed with skin cancer.  I've resigned myself to this fate due to my Casper-esque complexion combined with an uncanny ability to forget sunscreen on the worst possible occasions. Someday they'll be burning a lesion off of my face, and I'll be dreaming of one such occasion: my first backcountry ski trip to Mt. Cardigan in New Hampshire.

AMC's Favorite Ski Tours

AMC (the mountain club, not the theater chain) just sent out their November/ December issue of Outdoors and included a feature article on their four favorite spots for backcountry skiing in New England.  There's even a video for you kids who don't read too good.

The video, narrated by David Goodman, explains some of his favorite spots.

I'm not sure if I agree with AMC's list, but it provides a nice variety of steeps as well as rolling tours.

This begs the question: Which locales would I list as my favorites? 

After many minutes of contemplation and a vision quest involving NyQuil and a stationary bike, I've summoned the following list:

4. Mt. Cardigan, NH
3. Mt. Hunger, VT
2. South Baldface, NH
1. Gulf of Slides, Mt. Washington, NH

Which would you list?

Storm Alert! (UPDATED 11/3/10)

Don't let the clear skies fool you over the next couple of days.  Those of you who have been following the "Precipitation threats" link to the left have probably noticed that NOAA says we're in for a storm at the end of the week.

From what I can tell, it looks like it will be a mixed bag of mostly rain at the lower elevations, but with snow currently forecast for the higher elevations from Thursday through Saturday night from the 'Dacks all the way to the Whites. 

Keep your ears open and get your yardwork done this week!



Update:  Earlier in the week NOAA had north central New England in the bullseye for a significant precipitation event, but they've since changed their minds.  They're now showing the storm passing closer to the coast, with most of the precipitation falling as rain in eastern portions of MA, NH and ME. 

There's a good detailed description of the forecast (as usual) from the Famous Internet Skiers, who are holding out hope (like most of us) that the storm may still get pulled further West.