East coast boy heading to BC, gonna need some help with a touring set up. +K!

Canuker

Canuker

Active member
I live in Ottawa Ontario and just finished applying to some BC schools. Two programs I applied for are adventure and mountain related programs. I am REQUIRED by the program to have a touring set up for our expeditions (yes id be getting a degree for this, hard to believe i know)

Anyway, school is expensive enough as it is and im not looking to break the bank on this set up, that being said i want something that is going to do me well.

I know little to nothing about alpine touring and backcountry skiing and would love some help to get me set up to go shred some (long awaited) powder.

Im 5'5" 140lbs

advanced skier

will be skiing at places like kicking horse and fernie

Along with skis bindings boots and skins...what other equipment should i be getting for touring and back country skiing? (besides probes beacons and shovels)
 
is it going to be a dedicated touring set up where you are going to be touring for more than one day at a time, or is it more one where u tour for a couple of hours?
 
Both, some tours i think will be just a few hours. But eventually i think we go on backcountry expeditions where we'd set up camp and what not.
 
If I were you the first thing I would do is get fitted for a good touring boot. Something light with a good walk mode. Since you are going to be on overnight trips you will want to sacrifice some downhill performance for functionality. Your skis should be light and easy to maneuver. There are a ton of options for skis but usually the lighter the better. I would also look at a good pack. Something light and big enough to carry a sleeping bag and all your gear. The best pack I have ever seen/used is a Dynafit. I also think a good tech binding is worth the investment. Plums or Dynafits are the best in that category. However they are super expensive so another option is finding old Fritschi bindings which I have done week long trips on and have had no complaints. Overall you will want the lightest set up on your feet without sacrificing any reliability. Also get a snow saw, inclinometer, and a roll of duct tape to keep in your pack. Its probably going to cost some money, but it will be worth it in the long run.
 
Would those touring bindings be good for inbounds pow days too?

Coming from the east i dont have any pow skis, I also dont have much money right now.

Id need this setup to be my one ski quiver for touring aswell as boot pack and in bound pow.

What waist width should i look for in a touring ski?
 
I forgot to mention that I currently ride rossi s5's (95mm) center mounted with FKS 12's.

So id be using those as a park ski/ in bounds day to day ski.

I basically just need a ski to compliment those as my pow/ touring set up.
 
They wouldn't be ideal for an inbounds powder day, but they would be doable. Fritschis would be better, or even Barons (but they suck taking for longer tours). I would look at a ski that is 95-105 mm in the waist. Something that can easily handle a skin track, but will still let you have fun on the way down.
 
really that narrow eh? shit maybe i should have bought two pairs of s5's in that case lol.

Is rocker bad for skinning?

btw i have you at 10/10 because youve already been a big help
 
Avalung, either the backpack or just itself.

Suffocating scares the shit out of me, and an avalung can keep you breathing long enough for help to dig you out.

But the most important stuff is your outerwear. The shell pants and jacket that you get will go a LONG way in how much you enjoy the touring. dont skimp, get some "made for touring" 3L Goretex stuff. reinforced shoulders etc. You are going to be doing this a lot right?
 
rocker doesnt really matter for skinning(i think) i have heard it helps in less defined skin tracks or if your making your own track because of the tip not being under the snow, and you dont want a wider ski because it makes the set up MUCH heavier
 
check out quiver killers: quiverkillers.com

that way you can use your FKS on your pow skis for inboun pow days but still have your touring bindings for when you tour.
 
Yeah I was considering this but ive heard so many mixed things about QK's and BF's that I cant decide if I want to get them or not.

Would something like the marker Baron be a good choice for something that can ski well in bounds but also tour well? (yes i know they are heavier than plums and dynafit)
 
Im not too too worried about weight. I know ive nevr toured before but im always in and out of the gym. Ive done alot of weightlifting/ personal training for football and lacrosse so Im a fairly fit guy and have pretty strong legs. Not much of a weight wheeny.

Also thats the problem lol. I dont know what skis id most want for skiing that terrain because ive never been there or skied it in my life! All my ski knowledge has to do with park skis and carving/all mountain skis (i work at a ski shop in the east) I know little to nothing about skis over 100mm wide lol.

Keep in mind people that the deepest powder ive ever skied in my life was probably 15cm.... and that was just random stashes here and there,
 
sorry for the trip post but some ski's that im considering as of now are:

Icelantic Nomad

Line SFB

Moment PB&J

Moment Vicik

thoughts?
 
If you're going to be using it as your in bounds pow ski maybe fritschi would be a better option
 
i would look into how important the weight of a ski is for you... if you have pow sticks, you should look into something like a black diamond. They are specifically designed for touring. and light as shit for that very reason.
 
now this set up i am going to recomend is not going to be ideal for touring, but it will give great downhill performance and if you are strong it shouldnt be a problem.

jj's with gaurdians.

i am also from the east coast, and have never skied real powder before hell before a week ago today actually, and my jj's held up fine. i was skiing at a resort so those fresh turns didnt last long and the jj busted threw the crud with ease.

you will want rocker!!! like someone else said, you just spent all that time getting to the top of that line and the last thing you want is for the ski down to be shitty. i would look in the 110-115 range. tail rocker probably isnt going to be a necessity. maybe check out the armada tst?

black diamond has a bunch of nice skis out alos, but, i have never used them so i cant testify to their weight and how they ski.

good luck and be safe, and just some more info, i plan on picking up a pair on3p c and d's and throw gaurdians on them, so it is going to be pretty heavy but i dont plan on going on super long tours.
 
Atomic blog w/ binding freedom inserts (put them in your s5's, too, so you can swap the fks on there) and Dynafits

Dynafits mean you need AT boots with tech inserts, go to a boot fitter for that

If you don't want to buy AT boots, skip the inserts, suck up the weight and get Dukes/Guardians/Trackers

BD ascension skins, BCA tracker 2, voile shovel, any reputable brand probe

there are a lot of nice packs out there, too
 
Im not too worried about weight what so ever.

Ive played football and lacrosse for years, been in the gym alot doing both speed and stregth training, so i do have pretty strong legs.

Im getting a wee bit confused on what width im looking for, some people are saying 95-105, some are saying considerably wider.

Would something 110 be a safe bet...like Line SFB's
 
if you are making it a one ski quiver then yes, i wouldnt go any skinnier then that.

i think sklar bought a pair of those, maybe he could offer some insight as to how he likes them.
 
i got the opus', which are really sweet

they are currently my AT setup, w/ dukes on them, and I have a pair of AT boots. That is a pretty heavy setup. I've done long tours, I put about 20 or 25 miles on them in a weekend /claim, and I survived. It wasn't too bad, but definitely not ideal, at all.

I think that 105-115ish range is a pretty good start
 
yeah i definitely do not want to compromise float when it starts dumping outside so i was leaning towards a ski in that range.

So many choices lol

a large part of my decision will also come down to price. im going to be doing alot of sale hunting.
 
yeah ive been lurking around tgr for the past few days. Mostly in tech talk but im starting to look at gear swap.

bedtime bump
 
Sooner or later everyone that has the finesse to ski 12 din ends up on tech binders. Draggin extra weight uphill is foolishYa you're a strong stud dragginn shit that weighs twice as much uphill specially with little to no skinnin experience is gonna kick your ass hard and no experienced partners gonna want to wait for you.

Plenty of light weight carbon fibered rip shit upon the down skis out there BD, dps, pm gear, movement etc.

they aint cheap but nothin really good is.

fuck quiver killers and purder loader. Jondrums and bindingfreedom.com is the true originator.

I dig the dyna/duke soli/duke plates. I myself can't bring myself to drill 18 holes in a ski mostly cause imo your reasale value is fucked unless someone with the similiar bsl wants a drilled to piss ski.

plums ski and tour great but no brakes is bullshit.

Dynafits have a solid proven track record in both the boot and binder and next years vulcan is goin to be a game changer boot.

 
i can't believe some people said rocker doesn't make a difference with skinning. common sense would tell you it does, less ski on snow means less skin on snow and therefore less hold. so keep that in mind, im not saying get a traditional camber ski, but be wary of too much rocker, and probably avoid skis with tail rocker as touring bindings aren't really made for switch pow anyway.
 
Looks like a pretty good deal. Unfortunatley at 5'5" 140lbs I think a 183cm pow ski is a little too mcuh ski for me to handle. haha
 
I personally wouldn't go any shorter. I'm 5'10" and ski 185 jj's and I wish they were like a 191 A. Longer ski take some time to get used to but if you have man legs it shouldn't be a problem.
 
at 5'5 183 will be allot of ski for him to hike uphill. Im 5'11 and ride the 184 rocker two which is fine for me.

If your looking for a ski for both inboonds and touring, maybe look at the salomon rocker 115. stick some dynafits on that and it would be awsome. Slightly heavy but not bad. Regarding dynafit bindings I know loads of people in whistler who use them inbounds and they work fine.
 
actually? damn.

So that guy is offering a good set up? The only thing im a little worried about is the waist width of the bents. 123 seems a little wide if im going to be skiing icy chutes while touring
 
Yeah true. Its hard for me to say what im going to be skiing more because ive skied practically nothing but 600ft vert mountains my whole life. So moving out to BC and skiing a mountain range like the selkirks is completely foreign terrain to me.
 
Dam, if i dont go in my program i might think about this one. For the set-up, maybe some salomon rocker 115mm whit guardian ? They look sick
 
on3p billy goats with dynaduke swap plates. that's all you could ever ask for if you want a killer touring/inbounds pow setup
 
What programs are you applying to and where? I'm going be doing the Wilderness Leadership Program next year at Capilano. I was originally going to be applying to the Adventure Guide at TRU but I had to be 19 so I'm doing this instead.
 
I was actually starting to think this.

Rocker2, Guardian 16, Quest 10...?

Or too much salomon for one set up? who knows.
 
not a bad set up at all.

but if you are going to be touring for longer then an hour i would want to kill myself.

 
Sounds like a pretty good set up. Maybe try a stiffer Quest boot, I had the 120s, and I still found them soft. If you're going to be in Golden, you might just want to start is with some slack county first. So a setup like you mentioned would do just fine out there. If you're just starting, I don't think you need to spend all your money on a full touring set up. I'd also recommend 183 Benchetlers with the Atomic Tracker (same as guardian, just Atomic, they both helped develope it)
 
I also see myself buying a set up next year for some light touring and slack country in Golden as well. So we' can go around and ski of you decide to go.
 
Do you have any discount whit a shop or a compagny? If you are doing some short hike, I think you'll be fine whit the salomon set-up. If you have a extra pair of binding maybe some MFD would be good but heavy. A really good touring set-up is not cheap, I wanted to buy one for whistler next sesson and i dont have the money. So im going to buy some rocker2 and guardian ( i have a good deal) try to look on tgr, they might have some in gear swap. Good luck
 
Would that setup be that heavy??

Rudager- Ill definitely take you up on that offer. Ill be down to shred all the time, you can show me around kicking horse haha.

Im hoping I can get some sort of deal through my work with the rocker 2's if i decide to get them Ive also been looking alot on TGR as well as MEC gear swap. Some pretty good deals out there.

I need to hear back from this college before I commit to anything however.
 
Your set up wont be heavy at all, it'll be perfect. Deff get the Rocker 2s (go long, kids have 192s at KH) and the guardian binding
 
perfect slackcountry set up. but from your posts i had assumed you were going on day trips and super long tours.

i am going to be rocking guardians which arent the best uphill binding but they are so damn solid, but i dont planning on going on super long tours.

solomon is coming out with a ton of variations to the rocker line next year and you can probaly find something to better suit your needs of touring.

same with atomic and the tracker line.
 
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