Backcountry Skiing: Skills for Ski Touring and Ski Mountaineering »

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     9
Introduction     11
Gear and Equipment
Skis     22
Boots     28
Bindings     32
Skins     39
Poles     47
Boot Crampons     48
Ice Axes     51
Harnesses     52
Clothing     53
Day Packs     60
Overnight Packs     62
Ropes     63
Avalanche Safety Equipment     66
Decision-Making in Avalanche Terrain
The Anatomy of a Decision: The Decision-Making Framework     83
Avalanche 101: Snow Safety, Avalanche Awareness, and Avalanche Terrain     87
The Mountain Snowpack     91
Terrain Selection: Understanding and Identifying Avalanche Terrain     98
Tour Planning     106
Human Factors and Group Dynamics     115
Observations and Awareness for Backcountry Travel     120
Navigation
Navigation Tools     132
Navigation Techniques     134
Uphill Movement
Skinning: The Motion     140
Skinning; Turns     147
Skinning in Difficult Conditions     161
Track Setting     167
Transitions
Transitions fromSkinning to Skiing     183
Transitions from Skiing to Skinning     184
Transitions from Skinning to Booting     185
Transitions from Snow to Glaciated Terrain     187
Transitions from Unroped to Roped Travel in Glaciated Terrain     188
Ski Mountaineering Techniques
Protection in Ski Mountaineering     193
Anchor Basics     194
Anchors on Snow     195
Rock Protection and Anchors     203
Ice Protection and Anchors     207
Seated Belays     212
Roped Travel     217
Prerigging for Glacier Travel     220
Downhill Skiing Techniques
Backcountry vs. Alpine Gear     236
The Front-side Skier     237
Survival Skiing Techniques for the Backcountry     238
Advanced Skiing Techniques: Skiing on Belay     242
Taking Care of Yourself and the Mountains
Staying Dry     248
Staying Warm     249
Planned Shelters     250
Nutrition on a Ski Tour     254
Mountain Ethics     256
The Mountain Environment
Mountain Weather Basics     262
Anatomy of a Glacier     266
Rescue Techniques and Emergency Preparedness
Avalanche Companion Rescue      276
Crevasse Fall: Self-Rescue     287
Crevasse Rescue     291
Emergency Shelters     308
Emergency Sleds     311
First-Aid Kits     317
Repair Kits     320
Emergency Communication Equipment     321
Resources Appendix     324
Glossary     328
Index     336