100 degrees Part 3 -Skiboarding self arrest tools

[jjue]

Free ride skiboarding is now entering the "extreme " category . We now have skiboards that are fully capable winter mountaineering tools taking us to places and to situations that are far from the safety of ski areas .
One of my recurring nightmares , is losing an edge on some steep backcountry slope and taking a " slide for life " . This is actually not just a nightmare . It happened to me .. a while back in my long ski days , I was dropping Mt . Tallac the signature backcountry peak towering over Lake tahoe .. took one turn and lost an edge and fell .. a quick self arrest with my whippet pole prevented what could have been a very BAD situation !

I always carry a pole topped with an ice axe device , called a whippet when riding skiboards down steep spring backcountry drops if I am descending with poles but now that I have gotten really into poleless skiboarding I really don't want to carry a pole in both hands , it really disturbs my skiboarding flow , and gets me into bad long ski habits .. but I don't want to ride without a self arrest device in hand .

What is self arrest you might ask .. . here is a very nice you tube vid explaining the ins and outs of self arrest with an ice axe , an essential ski mountaineering skill .

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more to come !

[tyberesk]

mmm interesting stuff

[mahatma]

Thank you

jjue,

Hey, thanks for this thread (parts 1-3 at present). Awesome. You are the searcher incarnate. Hey, I also noticed a little clear orange tab on the back on your Sherpa in one of the pictures. What is that? I really appreciated the video. I'm not a back country type really. Oh, I do a few things here and there but am more an on-piste guy. I always respect people who recognize that training, preparation and proper tools are essential as the envelope gets pushed. I also noticed you did not go alone. jjue is clearly no dummy. I also totally appreciate your desire and willingness to modify your gear. Lastly, take care of that knee. Get to a doctor for an inside look if needed. Take it from a guy whose left knee has been completely reconstructed twice - it only gets worse if something is really wrong. Plus, no one will be able to tell you at what point it will completely blow. "Taking it easy" doesn't appear to be an option for you. If needed, I suggest finding a good sports surgeon. Sports surgeon. No other type. You local college football team will be your best asset. Shamelessly walk on campus, look for the trainer and ask. They'll hook you up.

[jjue]

As skiboarders , like snowboarders ,we like to descend without poles . In a fall , like snowboarders , or skiers for that matter we all try to get our boards below us and edge to stop the fall but some times that is not successful .

For skiers without a self arrest device in hand , a techinique called a ski pole self arrest is taught , this is not very effective in my personal experience .
Here is a vid explaining this technique

http://www.skinet.com/video.jsp?ID=1000005481

In trying to come up with a usable technique for skiboard winter mountaineers. I have turned to the snowboard experience .. I have also thought about getting my son who rides snowboards in the backcountry to carry a self arrest tool . hence this question and very informative thread at splitboards.com . THE backcountry snowboard forum

http://www.splitboard.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t=5024

Some of the snowboarders ride with ice axes on extreme slopes
Look at this page and click on some of the vids of snowboard mountaineering to see snowboard descent with ice axe in hand ,
This certainly is a reasonable approach for skiboarders.
http://www.adventureimagery.com/mountaineering

Others have modified the whippet ski pole I own , Here is the original whippet


The whippet is a two sectional ski pole and is modified by cutting off some of the shaft and attaching a three section bottom to get a stowable three section whippet pole . That is about the size of a long ice axe but can be extended to a full ski pole size .

This is the solution I decided to use for skiboarding . Ski poles are used by backcountry split snowboaders , and skiers, and skiboarders when climbing on skins . A whippet pole is very useful should you slip climbing to arrest your fall . At the top , with a short three sectional whippet pole you can have one of three choices, you can descend with no poles by stowing both your three sectional poles away in your pack , or you can descend with one whippet in hand , or you can descend with one ski pole in each hand depending on the mountaineering situation and degree of difficulty of the slope .

Here is a pic of me with my short whippet pole collapsed which is about the size of long ice axe


Today in less then extreme conditons , I wanted to test out what riding with a short ice axe like whippet was like .. It is not as much fun as riding without any poles, but it is much better feeling than riding with a pole in each hand .. the whippet pole has the added cool feature of being easily extended to regular ski pole size in aid in traversing across a steep slope on the descent , or side stepping up a little hill ecetera ..
Here is a slow motion vid of me riding with a short whippet pole in hand to give you an idea of what this is like ..

[jjue]

Re: Thank you

Originally posted by mahatma
jjue,
Hey, I also noticed a little clear orange tab on the back on your Sherpa in one of the pictures. What is that? Lastly, take care of that knee. Get to a doctor for an inside look if needed. ...

Mahatma , the clear orange tab is the end of the climbing skin , here is an upside down pic of the sherpa , the climbing skin is a cool piece of nylon rug that allows you to climb uphill at insane angles. . this version of climbing skin is cool because it is adjustable for different size skiboards.. I can use the same skin on my Spruce 120 Lacroix or Marauder 125, or my Sherpa 130 by adjusting the metal hook on the orange tab ...

thanks for your concern about my knee !!! ... actually , I myself , am a medical doctor ( family practice ) and I am afraid of taking my knee to another doc because I think all docs are a bunch of quacks!!! seriously though , it really is pretty good now .. I think I have a weak acl ligament and the big brace helps me stabilize the thing for riding and climbing which is nice...

[Manlenium]

Pretty cool stuff. Ive always wanted to do some mountaineering of some kind. Its on my "to do" list.

[mahatma]

Ahh

jjue,

Ah, OK. I've certainly heard of the climbing skins. I seem to be collecting medical people around me recently. This past season I ran into a guy at a resort and as foriegners (in Japan) we all tend to to just sort of walk up to each other and start talking it was clear we had seen each other before. Well, Milton is a general surgeon and lives not far from me. We probably seen each other at the grocery or one of the local malls. We stay in touch. Actually, as a type I diabetic I spend more time around quacks, um doctors, than I would like to admit. Ha ha. Also, with 3 active children there are a couple of doctors with whom I am on a first name basis. I'm that way though, someone sneezes and I make an appointment. Oddly enough, I'm largely against medication. I always ask if it is reasonable to assume something will get better on its' own. But, I always get things checked. A few years ago a neighbor of ours with a little girl (I think 4 at the time) had a fever and they didn't go to a doctor right away - they waited a few days. Now, the beatiful little girl is deaf. I don't how one caused the other but it did. You have a very important job jjue. As for that weak ACL - I've heard it said that doctors are the worst patients. Just take care of you.

[Manlenium]

Re: Re: Thank you

Originally posted by jjue
Mahatma , the clear orange tab is the end of the climbing skin , here is an upside down pic of the sherpa , the climbing skin is a cool piece of nylon rug that allows you to climb uphill at insane angles. . this version of climbing skin is cool because it is adjustable for different size skiboards.. I can use the same skin on my Spruce 120 Lacroix or Marauder 125, or my Sherpa 130 by adjusting the metal hook on the orange tab ...

thanks for your concern about my knee !!! ... actually , I myself , am a medical doctor ( family practice ) and I am afraid of taking my knee to another doc because I think all docs are a bunch of quacks!!! seriously though , it really is pretty good now .. I think I have a weak acl ligament and the big brace helps me stabilize the thing for riding and climbing which is nice...

Thats how he can afford that massive quiver.

[mahatma]

Yes, but

Yea, at least by reputation doctors have a bit more expendable income than the average bear. Being a ginocologist would have made for better jokes, though. Planning on returning to school jjue? After all, laughter is the best medicine, right? You would be performing a huge public service to the skiboarding community and industry as a whole.

[mahatma]

May I also suggest proctology. Oh, yes. You bet your ass. See there - laughing already.

[jjue]

Yeah , but I am lucky .. I am on the bottom of the rung in disposable income as compared to those other dudes ... I spend all my money on fast skiboards .. those dudes get into way big trouble .. spending all their money on fast cars, fast boats , and fast women !!

[mahatma]

But...

jjue,

But, I had it all worked out. You would return to school to become a proctologist, buy a black Hummer and the license plate would read CAN MAN. Proctology-can - get it? That was just the beginning. We were so close. Ha ha