Backcountry skiing, sktouring and skimountaineering

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the backcountry | history | backcountry gear

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The Backcountry Skier?

The term backcountry refers in general to a geographical region that is isolated, remote, undeveloped and difficult to access. The term particularly applies to mountain regions that are often close to urban areas but are difficult to access by road and are not frequently visited by humans. The backcountry skier is visiting these areas in the winter or snow season under his own power utilizing skiing equipment or similar. There are several different levels of backcountry skiing, the simplest form might be cross country skiing. Cross country skiing involves walking on skis over long distances but gliding down slopes and linking turns is not a typical part of it. The classic backcountry skier uses skis to climb up mountain slopes in order to ski them down after reaching a high point or summit. Hiking for turns is the goal of a classic backcountry skiing trip. Ski touring is the alternative term for this kind of skiing usually approaching a mountain without any additional technical climbing. Ski mountaineering is the most difficult and advanced variation of backcountry skiing. It is a combination of mountaineering and skiing by bringing the ski equipment along a climbing trip to utilize it's advantages in snow covered areas. It could be a long approach on snow similar to ski touring, but to reach the summit of a mountain, for example the last few hundred feet involves climbing over a rocky ridge using climbing equipment like a rope and other safety equipment.

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Skiing off the grid - find your own way into the backcountry.

Backcountry skiing is my favorite way to explore the mountains in the winter time, and sometimes if the snow is permitting I like to bring skis in the summer month as well for the most efficient and funniest descent.

Places I've hiked in the summer month look different with a blanket of fresh fallen snow in the winter month. Returning from the mountain is now instant fun on a pair of skis and the scenery is just flying by. The long hike down the valley from the summer trip is history and it becomes the objective for every trip.

No matter where the playground is, the flats or rolling hills or the rugged mountain range with bowls, couloirs and granite needles. There is no excuse not to explore the snow on skis. Different skis for different styles of adventure. Snowshoes are an alternative to skis but you will miss the fun off gliding and sliding and believe it or not even the flatland offers some enjoyful glides.

I have skied many places - some flat ones like a table top and the steep ones, uneventful and scary ones, cool places and hot spots, mostly on snow one time on sand. On the destination pages above, you will find my impressions about areas I've skied either on cross country gear or beefy touring equipment either on a day trip or on an overnight venture. Below are some links providing some information on Backcountry skiing places.

The Alps | Southern Appalachians | Cascade Mountains

Before you venture into the Backcountry make yourself knowledgeable about the dangers you might face. Weather can change rapidly and you are stuck in a life threatening blizzard. One of the most underestimated dangers are avalanches. Find some information about basic safety in the backcountry by clicking on the link below.

[backcountry safety]

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History about modern skiing.

Someone can choose between several different methods to venture into the backcountry on skis. Alpine ski equipment or Nordic ski equipment as well as Splitboard equipment which is a special designed snowboard. Read more about the roots and the initiators of today's two major skiing styles as well as the origin for the both in the paragraph below.

Recreational skiing has it's historical roots in Norway and in particular in the Telemark region in Northern Europe. Back in the days recreational skiing was a combination of walking and gliding in mellow terrain with rolling hills. Read more about Sondre Norheim and how he developed a distinctive skiing style in the late 1800's, today known as the Telemark turn. The Telemark skiing style is a Nordic skiing technique.

About a decade later Mathias Zdarsky, an Austrian skier, tailored the at this time common Nordic skiing equipment to the specific needs for skiing the Alpine mountain region in Austria. Zdarsky was not satisfied with the performance of the imported Nordic skiing equipment from Norway. The bindings at this time made from a natural growing material, flexible willow twigs, did not provide any stability between boot and ski. It was difficult with that equipment to master the steep slopes in Austria. Zdarsky started to develop something different to connect the boot with the ski and used different materials to achieve the best possible performance. The European Alps, Zdarsky called his home, are the namesake for this particular skiing style known as Alpine skiing today and the first ski binding made from metal parts.

Sondre Norheim | Mathias Zdarsky

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Backcountry Gear.

There are two different essentials between Nordic Telemark gear and an Alpine set-up. The ski itself might be very similar or even the same, but the connection between boot and ski and the boot itself are very different. The Telemark setup connects only with the toe piece of the ski boot employing a simple binding to the ski. The heel remains completely free and it lift's of the ski while turning. It also allows to climb uphill without any modifications.

Alpine skiing boots are connected at the toe and the heel to the ski as a rigid unit. A special Alpine Touring Binding (AT or Randoné) for backcountry skiing is necessary. In order to walk uphill a mechanism allows to unlock the heel and a hinge in the front of the binding allows to pivot the entire unit. It has a downhill and a walking mode.

The most recent innovation of backcountry gear is the development of the splitboard. It is basically a Snowboard, cut in half along the length axis. Special hardware allows to split the board for the ascent and assemble it at the final destination for the downhill. Splitboarding at the moment is still a very little nitch in the backcountry corner, but in California there is an interesting community forming and they have created a comprehensive website with lots of background information about their sport. Click on the link below to learn more about splitboarding.

telemark gear | alpine touring gear | splitboard.com