The Ski Tourer's Repair Kit

For a multi day trip or even a very large day, a repair kit is sometimes considered a valuable addition to the pack. Often one will decide to go disaster style, foregoing the R.K and just hope for the best, most of the time that will work but when you truly need a proper fix, some basic pieces are needed. Depending on the nature of the trip, you can add or take away ingredients like a witches brew, ie: Thermarest Repair, extra dynafit toe pieces, stove repair, etc.

Described is the 'backbone' of my kit...(there are many variations!)

A small stuff bag serves as a holder for the kit, I can add and take away pieces and it all fits into this bag, either way.

The backbone: sandpaper, Thermarest repair (hotbond and patches) - This stuff works awesome and very fast!

Thin metal sheet w/ pipe clamps - For ski pole and tent pole splinting

Bailing wire - Super strong thin wire has many uses (making a skin tip, fixing bindings, etc)

Sewing kit - Amazing how often you need a sewing kit

Zip ties, duct tape, safety pins (take a bunch!)

Stove repair kit, mini leatherman, #3 Phillips for binding screws (leatherman has a flathead, file, etc, etc), spare pack buckle 1.5''. spare skin clips, 10m of 3mm cord.

Things that are sometimes in the RK1000 - Spare ski pole basket, whole front piece of a dynafit binding including coils to reset the thing into the ski, epoxy. A whole backup stove pump for long trips.

For day trips I'll remove the stove and thermarest stuff but honestly I almost never bring it on day trips unless its a very very big one in the spring in some remote corner of some zone.

And last but certainly not least, the super amazing 2' voile ski strap. This little thing has saved the day so many times. Like in the above photo, being used on a boot that for a season or two, would eject buckles like cloves from a holiday ham, wrap this guy around the instep and keep skiing all day! If anyone in the group is on a certain type of binding I will always bring one as I have seen the heel pieces have a tendency to explode, never to be seen again - the things get some serious air time! Strap around the bar and over the boot and you can still limp out.


There are a lot of other things you could consider for your trip RK. Depending on type of bindings used, skins used, stove used, etc, etc. I know some people that bring a hand drill for full binding replacement capability. A tube of seam seal is nice if you foresee tent repair, its endless really. Take a good hard look at your team, the gear used, the duration of your trip and trim as much fat as possible.

Happy RK making to everyone!

R

Whats in the pack - Ski Touring.

I have been working towards having the least amount of equipment for a SAFE (prepared) day in the backcountry for a quite a while...

Having run into a few 'snags' over the years (bone breaks, injured skier evacuations and the need to clear timber for a helipad) there are a few things I will never leave at home and a few items I will throw in if the trip is a little more committing, described here is the minimum set up for a day of skiing without glacier travel.

Clockwise:

1) Patagonia Winter Sun Hoody: A warm up jacket is key, even for short trips - The ability to stay warm at tea or sandwich stops, pad or warm up an injured skier or throw on for the descent,  powder trying to find its way into every orifice; I won't leave home without it! Gore Windstopper being used very well in this piece for added weather resistance...

2) FA Kit with SPOT, Radio...more on this on another post..(SPOT has saved the day for my group on one occasion..)

3) Shades - Something polarized is a nice luxury but the wayfarer type with the neon arms are really cool in whistler right now.....your call.

4) Goggles - Key, I like a low light lens...If its bright I ski down with shades, just like Bernie Schiesser.

5) Thermos and bottle w/Insulated sleeve - Hydrate MAN!

6) G3 Alpinist skins - Apologies to my 2 friends that work for other skin manufacturers (that I haven't tried) but I do love these skins, now that the tip doesn't whip off when you do the anti-terrorist skin removal (while standing, very advanced) they are even better! The glide man, its all about the glide, if your slipping back with any skin its TOO steep ;-)

7) GPS, Transciever, Sunscreen, Headlamp - On every trip!

8) Sun hat (I'm a bald man, a very bald man)

9)  Gloves x 3 (warm, medium and leather work glove)

10) BCA Stash 30 pack, Awesome. It came with a bunch of extra straps and gizmos which I cut off...(3 ways to hold skis, helmet holder, etc)

11) Probe, Shovel (You can judge a persons character by their shovel, serious)

12) Volie Ski strap, the LONG one. Always leave the house with one of these babies, I've seen the Fritschi binding explode too many times not to, these will fix that (by strapping the boot to the rail), a broken boot buckle, pack buckle and many other backcountry ailments.

13) Bone Saw - This thing has saved my bacon a few times now so I bring it everywhere, getting the mail included...It can rip a 8" tree apart in 30 seconds and it does wonders for your fore arm training in the off season.

Next up...First Aid and Repair Kits!!

 Happy Skiing!
R

the perfect day of skiing?

How would you describe the perfect day of skiing? Is it a perfect up track? a lone pair of tracks on a perfect sun blessed shot? Does the perfect day even exist? Well? Does it?

For me the perfect day starts and ends with subtlety. The great coffee on the drive into the mountains, conversations with friends, a great lunch, the glow of first light, the wall of an approaching storm, perfect stellars falling onto your gloves, etc etc (you get it). Today on the icefields parkway, everything came together to form one of these days..

Wonderful supportive snow makes for great travel, here Zach enjoys some special time with the fabled snow goose. Both were unharmed.
Excellent travel approaching the alpine. Yes, we get to ski this in a few minutes.
Zach "Shropehawk" Cohen
Zach had to take a collect call from glory, he accepted the charges.

The perfect day is all of those things and so much more. It is a unique set of things for everyone.

When you grow up in a range of mountains they become an important place for your soul, when the conditions are right its borderline overwhelming. Its good to see the rockies coming around.

Thanks to Zach for another good one.

old school ski movies

There is something to be said for old school skiing. Knees together, apres ski schnapps, skinny ski kind of stuff, you know?. For some reason, and it can't be nostalgia because I never lived through these golden days, I just love the atmosphere and feelings you can see in theses old days of skiing. Maybe it was just the 50's through the 70's mentality that made this happen.

Watch this...

A Year In Photos

Looking through photos today made me realize a few things: The importance of friends, the importance of family and the importance of doing things that are good for your soul.

Here are some photos from the last year that help me reflect on the above. I hope that you all can think about important moments from this past year and be grateful in some way, enjoy.

Hayden, my nephew. I have had the chance to spend more time with my family since this little guy was born and it has been wonderful. I love this guy.
Craig and Catherine's wedding.
Drew on the way to Mt. Gimili. This was one of favourite trips of the summer, thanks to the great company and great surroundings and of course, outstanding choice of route.
Zach, North Wapta. Zach has been my best ski partner over the last couple of years, always keen to get out and do whatever is in shape. This trip to the N. Wapta was such a trip, we had intentions on a bigger objective but with a 48 hour window of weather we headed to this familiar place. We skied off the summit of Mt. Collie and had some time to relax in camp in T shirts. This is why I like spring touring so.
The boys on the way to california. G, Jon and I went to Cali on a fantastic road trip. This was one of the best trips I have ever had, we climbed everything we wanted to do and had a lot of fun doing so. We missed our friend Mike immensely and spoke of him a lot.
Erin. We travel, eat wonderful food, have great conversations and laugh for no reason at all.
Mike was my best friend. So long brother.
In the airport in Ottawa after seeing Mike for the last time, we needed to unwind. Jon always has something that will make us all laugh.

Won Ton

wonton soup

Ground Pork

Green onion

Ginger

SoySauce

Wonton Wrappers

Chicken Stock (Pork preferred)

Broccoli

Bok Choy

Carrots

Take the top three ingredients and mix. Take wonton wrapper and wet edges, put a little meatball of pork inside, fold the wrapper. boil for 5 minutes- try one first to make sure.

In a different pot take broth and boil- add broccoli and carrots and toss in cooked wonton at the last minute.

2o minutes from no wonton to wonton.

Put the Halibut into the taco...do it.

The last couple of weeks were spent travelling through the mountains, fields and highways of BC for work. I count myself lucky for having such a great place to work and although the hours spend on the road add up into frighteningly large numbers, I would do nothing else right now. It has taken me to places that I would never travel to on my own accord, a good by-product!

Tofin Wharf. Hours can be spent wandering Wharfs, looking at boats and inter-tidals- wondering how it all works.
Beaver in Tofino- The long standing heavy hitter of the bush plane community. In Alaska, after getting dropped off on a glacier by one of these beauties we watched as a Cessna 180 Power Wagon endoed into a crevasse. With the tail sticking out like legs from a barrel, our pilot and also owner of said crashed plane looked at me and said "Well, we just bought that plane- didn't even pay for a tank of gas yet". I could tell it was not a good day for Paul.
Erin at "Big Daddy's fish fry", amazing soup here and pretty OK halibut wraps. Big Daddy was mysteriously missing this trip but I do remember him from last time I was in Tof, a large man suitable for the name. Instead, momma was manning the stand- all smiles.
A great coffee shop. I have zeroed in on some of the best coffee shops on the coast, this trip I had the pleasure of enjoying many a good cup with my friends.
Behind the Tofitian lies the Tacofina, probably the best taco's I've ever had. I haven't been to mexico for taco's but Erin has...she thought these were pretty damn good taco's. I believe her.
Hayden a few weeks back.

You might notice that my posts of late are void of activity of any kind. Well, after a minor shoulder injury a few months ago I have been laying low, cooking and bike riding. Just enjoying life's simple rewards. Ski season is on the horizon and I want to be tip top for that, I don't mind a little rest sometimes. Listening to good music, having good conversations with friends and drinking some great wine is good too.

Catherine and Craig

A few more shots from Catherine and Craig's wedding last week, I hope you enjoy..

The decisive moment.

Italian Wedding Soup, Albertan Style.

I was just in Edmonton this weekend where I had the opportunity to take photographs at a friend of my sister's wedding celebration. A wonderful gathering culminating in the joining of two seemingly wonderful families in the small hamlet of Villineauve, Alberta. There is just something to be said for small towns and weddings.

Tomorrow I am back for a short time before loading up the car and blasting West once again for the next series of work instalments, mostly for patagonia. I really look forward to travelling through my territory; meeting up with my friends and enjoying the variety of culinary, climbing and cultural adventures that it provides.

Well, here is to family and weddings- The oldest of traditions.

Fall and Times

Well friends it is basically Autumn in the mountains these days, winter in the big peaks and occasionally summer here in the valley bottoms of Canmore. Town is quiet and in the morning the air bites and you know that soon the first storms will arrive and winter will capture the landscape for a few months. This is also one of my favourite times of the year. Nursing a bit of a shoulder injury, I have been taking it easy in the climbing department. I find myself focusing on biking, cooking and preparing for my next trip out to the coast later in the month. Recuperation is on the front burner, hopefully in time for a winter climbing trip to some warm locale.

Yamnuska. THE crown jewell of trad climbing in the Rockies
Skunk Cabbage, Lake Louise.
Eeor (East end of Rundle)

6 Months

It has been 6 months since my very good friend Mike passed away. I usually think of him everyday, sometimes I miss a day or two but most days I think of something he did or said. Mike was a really great person, one of the best I have known. He was a great climbing partner, he would say things like "what a great lead" or "Man, you made that look sooo easy" all the time, even when you looked like a drunk sailor! I remember a trip, recently broken from a rather nasty time in my life where we drove to Yamnuska from Edmonton for a day on our favourite cliff. We started up and I couldn't bring myself to climb, I was too bummed out and I felt terrible about it. Then Mike offered, "Why don't we head down, grab a coffee and go for a drive?". It was exactly what I needed, even though this was Mikes one day all week to climb, we ended up walking, coffee in hand up a creek, Mike playing therapist. It was one of the best days.

Here is to good friends.

A Week In Ventura

This last week was spent on the grounds of Patagonia HQ; Ventura, California. A fast paced week was had with sales meetings, bowling sessions and a weekend in Bishop for some stellar rock climbing with Rob and Regan (our talented customer service rep out of Reno). The Sierra Nevada range as well as the pacific Ocean have their draws and it is great to visit the land of plenty from time to time.


Patagonia flagship store, Ventura.
The Tinshed

Owens Gorge, scene of amazing routes and great times. Evening light.
Rob and Regan, a great group.
Rob bowling a perfect 78 at the Ventura lanes. I don't know why but bowling is the natural thing to so in southern Califonia. It is a great thing when your job becomes something so enjoyable.

Summer

Well its time for me to stop thinking about ski mountaineering and time for me to focus on SUMMER! I finished up the season with 3 great days and I am stoked. As everyone either seems to be still skiing amazing lines or have already made the complete switchover to summer, I'm going to plan a road trip, fire up the BBQ or climb some grey limestone up high somewhere in the sunshine. After 52 "days"* of touring, I am happy, content and ready for a t shirt instead of fleece and layers.

Right now I am sitting in the Victoria Airport, planning a trip to California for work and basically reliving the great season of skiing and how wonderful it is to be in a place where the seasons carry the blessing of many options for our little chance at greatness. Here is to everyone getting out and enjoying themselves.

Godspeed, friends.

photo: Kyle and Me in Cuba- 2009

* Anything from 4 to 12 hours!

Vancouver

Well a few weeks ago I spent 14 days in the Vancouver area for work. Most of which I stayed with my very good friend, Leigh. Just a few shots from the visit and of the area.

Leigh and me goofing off as per usual.
Wonderful baristas live in Vancouver. There are high quality cafe's everywhere. This place was Leigh's favourite and is now mine!
Docked work boat in Nanaimo. I had a few hours between meetings so I grabbed my camera and went for a walk along the harbour looking for an espresso shack. I found neat photo opportunities in these old workboats. What was cool was that these boats get repainted every year or two and the really old boats have a very weathered and "lived" look about them with the many layers of paint.

Wicked Wanda & Observation Peak Glaciers

So the last few weeks I have been trying to get outside as much as possible to be around friends, stay active and prepare for a spring ski traverse.

Jon and I on top of Wicked Wanda, first time for me and a great climb/trip into the ghost.
Wicked Wanda
Craig Langford on top of Observation Sub Peak with Cirque Peak int he background. Did a wonderful tour here skiing the back of these peaks where small glaciers reside. Pretty good runs down as far as you want to go.
Craig pushing the snow to the right.
Gaining the Ob sub peak/cirque peak col.

Michael M Pollard

When the phone rang yesterday at 7:34 am I didn't realize then that I would remember that time forever. From the soft, heartbroken and weakened German voice of Mikes girlfriend Barbara, I heard words I didn't think were possible, "He's dead". All I could muster was a prolonged and voice cracking "noooo".

Mike was more to me than a friend, he was a brother, a mentor and my sole guidance through some of the darkest times in my life. I can't believe he is gone.

3 weeks ago we were skiing across the Wapta Icefields together. I was trying to convince him that ski touring is like easy summer mountaineering except you can ski down at the end of the day. We laughed together. As he skied the slope above Bow hut I could see that despite this being perhaps his 1oth day on skis, the discomfort of boots with blown out liners (bought the day before at the consignment store), big skis and a HUGE pack he was having the time of his life. I could see the concentration in his eyes as he reached me and we prepared to keep going. This same enthusiastic mindset was applied to everything from cooking to organic chemistry.

I met Mike in the late nineties while belaying our friend Jon on a cold and windy "bridge" climb in Edmonton. He saw that I was cold and gave me his sweater, we spoke and I knew he was a unique person right away. What followed were the best 5 years I have had as a climber, we succeeded, learned and failed together in the Rockies that we both loved. Leaving Edmonton on Thursday night ( I had Fridays off) we would drive to Jasper or Banff, sleep in the parking lot and climb the next day. We would drive home that night so Mike could finish a chemical reaction in the lab, usually without sleep. We did this almost every week for these five years in Edmonton.

Mike was committed. He worked harder than anyone I know to accomplish what he saw as the right thing. He graduated from Queens University before moving to Edmonton for his Phd in chemistry, something that he knew he could work with and create change in what he saw as the biggest problem we face, the environmental crisis. A cornerstone to Mike was his tremendous desire to effect change and he did. When I moved to Canmore he moved to Holland for his post doctorate, he maintained close ties with his friends in Canada and we planned trips every summer in the Rockies. Upon moving back he got a job as a professor at York University and started to work on the research that he had aspired to since graduating high school.


What is so hard is not just the pseudo selfishness of losing one of my very best friends but also the thought that the people who he would have influenced as a teacher and friend will not have the privilege. I feel a void in my world.

I love you man.

The Moment Accelerate

What a ride its been these last few months! First and probably biggest was my transition from retail man to rep man. After 5 years on the floor as a buyer and manager I took a Job as a sales representative with my friend Rob Owens for a number of focused outdoor companies namely Patagonia, Petzl, Ambler, Sea to summit, orthsoles, Oboz, Julbo and Adventure Medical Kits. So far its been great and the learning is sure to not stop for a long, long time. I have been on the road, coffee and big grimace on hand as of late, here is a glimpse....

Lately I have really gotten the ice bug and every chance I get I have been trying to get out there and swing the tools a bit.

Early Season Louise Falls with Drew "MIB" Henman.

Grotto Mtn, Playground. The very wholesome Jen Olsen putting the rope up for Mike and I.
While in Ventura,CA for patagonia sales meetings I got the chance to head out to the fabled desert scapes that is Joshua Tree. We dodged the sun, climbed a few classics, drank some nice grapes and enjoyed great company in that desert we did. Like all S.cal climbing zones I felt like I was climbing for the first time and It was a blast to get royaly spanked on routes that Royal Robbins probably soloed in 63' with pocketed hands...soo nice!
We did stumble upon quite a scene atop of one of the formations in that O' so glorious mecca of JTree. An annual meet for San Diego climbers was taking place on the summit of intersection rock. There is something to be said for topping out on left ski track only to be met by a rag tag and rather jovial assortment of characters, I am just not sure what it is? Either way I enjoyed the candy that roller girl was handing out even though the general feel of the place gave me a feeling I have not had since all night dance parties when I was 16.

J tree is a special place, full of special people.