Backcountry Skiing: Skills for Ski Touring and Ski Mountaineering
Ready to explore the serious backcountry terrain but want some help to enable you to do so safely and successfully? This authoritative new guide, written by a team of ski mountaineering experts and illustrated with more than 200 photos, provides instruction on traditional mountaineering skills, such as roped climbing, setting protection anchors, and using ice axes, that you'll need in the technical, high alpine environment. Emphasis is placed on being well-informed and making good decisions...
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The most up-to-date resource available on backcountry ski skills, techniques, and gear For intermediate-to-advanced backcountry skiers Includes safety, navigation, nutrition and fitness information, in addition to techniques Provides advice on how to make well-informed decisions Martin Volken and his co-authors provide skiers with all the tools and knowledge they need to safely and successfully travel in the mountains. The guide features intermediate-to-advanced techniques for ski touring and ski mountaineering, from planning wilderness trips to perfecting turns in rolling terrain and mastering uphill climbing. For those skiers ready for a more technical, high alpine environment, they draw on traditional mountaineering skills, including roped climbing, setting protection anchors, using ice axes, climbing on bare rock, and more. Backcountry Magazine Backcountry Skiing is a brain-dump of some of the most dialed ski mountaineers in the U.S. Intermediate, to the most advanced ski mountaineers will find answers to their burning questions [inside].
Acknowledgments 9Introduction 11Gear and EquipmentSkis 22Boots 28Bindings 32Skins 39Poles 47Boot Crampons 48Ice Axes 51Harnesses 52Clothing 53Day Packs 60Overnight Packs 62Ropes 63Avalanche Safety Equipment 66Decision-Making in Avalanche TerrainThe Anatomy of a Decision: The Decision-Making Framework 83Avalanche 101: Snow Safety, Avalanche Awareness, and Avalanche Terrain 87The Mountain Snowpack 91Terrain Selection: Understanding and Identifying Avalanche Terrain 98Tour Planning 106Human Factors and Group Dynamics 115Observations and Awareness for Backcountry Travel 120NavigationNavigation Tools 132Navigation Techniques 134Uphill MovementSkinning: The Motion 140Skinning; Turns 147Skinning in Difficult Conditions 161Track Setting 167TransitionsTransitions fromSkinning to Skiing 183Transitions from Skiing to Skinning 184Transitions from Skinning to Booting 185Transitions from Snow to Glaciated Terrain 187Transitions from Unroped to Roped Travel in Glaciated Terrain 188Ski Mountaineering TechniquesProtection in Ski Mountaineering 193Anchor Basics 194Anchors on Snow 195Rock Protection and Anchors 203Ice Protection and Anchors 207Seated Belays 212Roped Travel 217Prerigging for Glacier Travel 220Downhill Skiing TechniquesBackcountry vs. Alpine Gear 236The Front-side Skier 237Survival Skiing Techniques for the Backcountry 238Advanced Skiing Techniques: Skiing on Belay 242Taking Care of Yourself and the MountainsStaying Dry 248Staying Warm 249Planned Shelters 250Nutrition on a Ski Tour 254Mountain Ethics 256The Mountain EnvironmentMountain Weather Basics 262Anatomy of a Glacier 266Rescue Techniques and Emergency PreparednessAvalanche Companion Rescue 276Crevasse Fall: Self-Rescue 287Crevasse Rescue 291Emergency Shelters 308Emergency Sleds 311First-Aid Kits 317Repair Kits 320Emergency Communication Equipment 321Resources Appendix 324Glossary 328Index 336
\ Everett WA The HeraldFor those skiers who want to test themselves in the snowy wilds, Backcountry Skiing is just the ticket.\ \ \ \ \ Backcountry MagazineBackcountry Skiing is a brain-dump of some of the most dialed ski mountaineers in the U.S. Intermediate, to the most advanced ski mountaineers will find answers to their burning questions [inside].\ \ \ Off-Piste MagazineBackcountry Skiing is the skier's equivalent of Mountaineering: Freedom of the Hills, and should prove a valueable resource for any skier looking to be well-informed and make good decisions in the mountains\ \ \ \ \ Skiing Magazine[A] backcountry bible.\ \ \ \ \ WildSnow.comVolken's new book Backcountry Skiing (with co-authors Scott Schell and Margaret Wheeler) is indeed a magnum opus. Not only is this one of the most current backcountry skiing how-tos I've ever seen, but it covers an amazing gamut of information . . . [an example is] chapter 2 "Decision-Making in Avalanche Terrain." Again, an incredibly detailed effort that could easily be used as a text book for outdoor education . . . [or] chapter 4, "Uphill Movement," which again gets incredibly detailed. If you're new to the game, I'd say this chapter alone makes the book worth the price . . . If you can't learn something from this book, you're either brain dead or terminally arrogant. Highly recommended. Good gift for a backcountry skier or alpinist of any ability level.\ —Lou Dawson\ \
