Winter has gone from zero to sixty in a matter of days here in the west. Avalanche fatalities are in the headlines everywhere. Even inbounds, resort based terrain is getting hit hard with avalanche activity - whistler - jackson - jacksonII - telluride. It is shaping up to be a year of sensative snowpacks accross much of the west including the often relatively predictable Cascade snowpack - newsI - newsII - newsIII

Locally, it would appear that the nearly five inches of water which fell on Mt Hood in the past 24 hours could make for a good "reset" of the snowpack, but not all regions are getting hit with the same warming we are.  

Appropriately, we are in the midst of an avalanche shovel review that is pending for the January 15 issue. It may not be the most glamorous piece of gear we carry with us, but when the time calls for one, there is no substitute for a good shovel.  

I've been getting a lot of requests to load our 0809 ski review on the web. Remember, you can always subscribe and request the October issue, but in the mean time; here is the oft requested 0809 Off-Piste Mag backcountry ski review. Our ski testing is not comprehensive, but we feel we offer a good cross section of the backcountry skis that are available.

2008-09 backcountry ski review

Like Grandma always said, "Don't leave good snow to find good snow".  Following Grandma's advice we headed up the local hills for some more turns.

The snow pack is settling a bit, but the skiing remains remarkable. It is snowing again today . . .

The weather continues to hammer us here in Hood River. I have often said that if the state was just a couple thousand feet higher, there would be so much ski terrain here. Well, the storms this past week have blanketed the entire area with enough snow to open everything to skiing. No sense in driving up to Hood when there is excellent skiing to be had in town. 

Here are some shots from an area better known for its mountain biking, than its skiing . . .

Well, ten days ago we had no snow. Today, we have two to three feet in town depending on where you are. Hood has been hammerd with over five feet in four days. The touring in the high country has not been so great given the amount of new snow. Hazard is high, trail breaking difficult at best.

The return for busting out a good track was minilmal as the terrain that is safe to ski is not steep enough to yield good turns.

However, the local hill skiing rarely gets better than it is right now. No drive and no crowds, pretty sweet.

Forecast shows the weather cylce continuing for another  week or so. . . looks like a white christmas . . .

We just received this note from the good folks at Backbone Media regarding the Hans Saari Memorial Fund. Start planning and get your grant applications in by March.

The Hans Saari Memorial Fund (HSMF), a Bozeman based non-profit, reminds ski mountaineers that the deadline for submitting Ski Exploration Grant applications is March 1, 2009. Information on Grants and the Fund can be found at http://www.hansfund.org.

Old man winter is currently making his presence known around the country. Along with double digit snow totals in the mountains comes news of the season's first avalanche deaths. Sad news at any point in the season, the current reports offer a clear indication of current consitions in parts of the western states. you can read more about the incidents from the following links: snowbird, uac, canyons, aspen, cac, vail

The Pacific Northwest is finally getting the snow that we have been waiting for. I got out to test the conditions yesterday. Skiing was remarkably good considering that seven days ago we had about six old, crusty inches on the ground. Snowpack at five to six thousand feet on Hood varied between about 16 and 36 inches depending on aspect and terrain.

Hopefully the storms keep rolling, the hazard settles out, and folks head their respective avalanche conditions.

The weather is finally beginning to resemble winter around here. If the current storm system tracks as forecasted, we could be skiing any day. The NWAC forecast shows over 2inches of water equivalent in the next two days. We need it, I have boots to test.

I have been tele skiing for about 20 years. Having started in leather boots and experienced the plastic revolution first hand, I have skied just about every plastic tele boot at one time or another over the years.  

Right now, the gear room has four different tele boots: the Garmont Synergy, The Garmont Veloce (a discontinued model), a Scarpa T-1, and the new Black Diamond Seeker. My preference in tele boots is for softer three to four buckle varieties, and I keep the Veloce (two buckles) around for lighter xcd gear and longer go light needs.  The two-buckle plastic boot category appears to be evaporating as both Scarpa and Garmont (and now BD) seem to devote all their attention to bigger stiffer boots. I find this surprising as the XCD ski category (skis like the Karhu Guide) seems to be growing. It makes me wonder what everyone is using on these skis; a boot like the Veloce (2-buckle 1.33kg/boot) or the now discontinued T-4 are ideal.

The Scarpa T-1 has long been a favorite of mine (3-buckle 1.66kg/boot), but as boots have become bigger and stiffer (the T-1 itself has evolved that direction), I have moved the opposite direction and the Synergy (3-buckle 1.57kg/boot) has become my go-to tele touring boot of choice. It is even in its flex, soft enough for good ankle flex, yet stout enough to drive a 90-100mm waisted ski in variable conditions.

Having looked at the new BD tele boot line, we honed in on the Seeker as the comparable boot from BD. It is a three-buckle boot and weighs in at 1.72kg/boot. The bigger four-buckle boots are helpful for driving bigger skis (100mm+ waist) and aggressive resort skiing, but I find them overkill for most of my touring needs. I will not ramble on about our current lack of snow, but given our current snow conditions (although that could change this weekend), I have not yet skied the Seeker. I look forward to getting some on them soon.