Laying out the rescue sled and discussing anchor transitions. Note the badass Rab hoody/top/baselayer-but-can-be-worn-as-a-light-shell-too piece.
A-Basin doesn’t disappoint in the springtime…which is not to say it disappoints during the rest of the year, but you get my drift. I drove up the hill to meet Tim Brown, IFMGA guide and the CAIC forecaster for the Vail/Summit zones, to practice some transceiver searches and my sled-rescue drill for an American Mountain Guides Association ski course in Valdez, later this month.
During my upcoming course, I’ll be expected to build a rescue sled, dig an anchor, put a patient into the sled, lower him or her one rope length, build another anchor, secure the patient, then lower him/her another rope length, and tow them a short distance on flat ground–all in under 70 minutes. It’s doable–if you nail all the elements and don’t foul a rope, explode your sled, or let your patient fall to his/her death. Yes, death results in immediate failure on the course; imagine that.
The beacon search is a little more urgent: you’re expected to find three beacons in a 100m x 100m area, in under seven minutes. Two of them are typically buried close to one another, while another is further away. A-Basin has a Backcountry Access beacon park, so we spent a couple hours in there, practicing various methods of finding beacons in close proximity to one another. Check out their site for info on these techniques and many others by clicking on the “Education” tab on the top nav bar.
It was good catching up with Tim Brown, as he’s had a busy season forecasting our dismal winter and I haven’t gotten to see much of him. We talked life, snow science, and ski porn–the coolest thing he had to share was a cross section of a mature tree (Doug fir, right, Timmy?) that was knocked down by a big avalanche this winter. Check the pic below and look at the rings…
Every 20 or 30 rings there’s a darkened, thicker section on the “downhill” side. These correspond to avalanches which damaged/stressed the tree, but didn’t kill it. Scott Toepfer, another CAIC forecaster, cut a few sections of the tree just for educational purposes. Pretty cool checking out the age on that thing and all the winters it survived.
I also got to try some new Dynafit “One” boots (empty shell 1166g vs. 943g for a carbon TLT). These are the middle-ground solution to the heavier four-buckle boots we’ve all toured in for years and the new wave of super-light, rando-race-inspired boots (led by Dynafit’s TLT’s). The One features three buckles, Pebax/Grilamid shell material, a relatively short sole compared to most AT boots (304mm in a 27.5 Mondo–versus 297mm for the carbon TLT; and 3mm shorter than my old Spirit 4s, which notably were a shell size smaller, 26.5 Mondo), the “Ultra-lock” top buckling system which puts the boot directly into ski when closing, and a roomier last than the TLT’s.
I plan on a full write-up at some point, but first impressions: the last is definitely roomier than the TLT. Some folks couldn’t get a comfy/warm forefoot in the TLT and the One should solve that. I for one LOVE the TLT last, as I have a low-volume, high-arch foot, but I could certainly see dialing a pair of these in for a colder environment. They’re also insulated in the boot sole–nice touch. I had to crank down the buckles on the One, but truth be told, I’d drop down a shell size in the One were I skiing it long-term (I have a loaner set from the crew at Dyna). It’s definitely a bit more of a charger than the all-plastic TLT and a bit more so than the carbon TLT. Laterally stiffer and forward flex is noticeably more stout.
Perhaps the best thing about it is the tour/walk function–identical to the TLT, which is the industry gold-standard at this point. Some people haven’t bought on to the TLT bandwagon, saying they’re too light for fatter skis and more powerful (fatter?) skiers. The One–and its sibling boots, led by the super-stiff Vulcan (to be available winter 2012-13)–will offer the tourability of the TLT series, but with a slightly longer sole (304mm in a 27.5 versus 297mm in the same sized TLT) and a bit less rocker. I noticed the longer sole and moderated rocker while walking, and the platform does feel a bit more like a traditional alpine boot while skiing–which is to say, “stouter,” if that’s a word.
But–back to training and getting out in the mountains. A-Basin is milking their snowpack for all its worth, so get it while the getting’s good. Mother Nature didn’t cooperate so well this year in Colorado, but the crew at the Basin are still throwing down. We had a blast and I’m hoping to get back up next week for empty lifts, corn, and yes, another big-ass Polish sausage in the sunshine. Right on!
