For those unfamiliar with backcountry skiing, the preferred usage of skis fall into two categories:
Touring skis with step-in bindings are lighter:
A pair of Spruce Ospreys custom fitted with Tyrolia Ambition bindings weighs in at 3 kg per skiboard, whereas a plain vanilla touring ski with pin tech bindings come to about 1.5kg per ski. Although one is not lifting the whole ski in every move when efficient gliding technique is applied, one should not ignore physics, as the full ski still has to be moved and something that is heavier will expend more energy.
The weight argument is negated in the case of heavier powder skis with a binding such as the Tyrolia Adrenaline which weights in about 1.2kg per binding. Add the weight of the ski and it exceeds 6kg!
Longer skis provide more downhill glide:
This is one point which I believe is a non-issue. Although it is generally assumed that longer skis can go faster becasue they are narrower and have less friction, it is also well known that in most cases a well experienced skiboarder can glide as fast as need. Flat sections are sometimes a concern for skiboarders due to a lack of poles and the need for skating, however in a backcountry context, poles are always used thus eliminating this argument.
Skiboards have less edge on traverses:
This is more of an issue in areas where icy conditions are common. The problem is that for side slope traverses, a wide ski will hang out more over the edge. In essence this cause more torque on the inside edge. In addition the deeper side cut could result in a lesser part of the ski actually making contact. In icy conditions, even trying to get the ski flat on the angled slope will slide out as the skin will not provide enough grip.
The solution is deemed to be crampons, but more field feedback is required for skiboarding. A typical crampon for a step-in binding will be clipped in behind the toe piece. It will drag on glide, but basically engage when weight is applied. The Ambition binding has a neat slot where the bespoke designed crampon fits in. this all works when ascending a hill, but when traversing the crampon will disengage too early making it very difficult for a natural stride. This is unfortunate as this is currently one of the few options that skiboarders have available. I believe the Salomon Guardian has a similar issue.
Skiboards cannot be used for snow belays:
Very few tourers really get into situations where building belays are required, so this might be a moot point. Let's consider this situation though. The art of building a good snow anchor with skis require a good knowledge of the strength of a snow pack. There is a lot of torque involved when load is applied and the effectiveness will be determined by how deep the ski can be sunk into the snow and where the rope or sling is tied around the skis. A pair of longboards (Ospreys, Mauraders, Sherpas) should have the potential to provide a decent anchors in the correct snow conditions, provided the tie-in point is the around the centre of the ski
Another possibility is the use of a buried skiboard perpendicular to another skiboard which might actually prove as effective as a two-axe belay or a T-trench.
However shorter skiboards should be avoided as they might not provide enough surface resistance.
Skiboards cannot be used for glacier travel:
The scope for glacier travel is getting less nowadays and once again few backcountry tourers really have to deal with crevasses in glaciers. Once again considering this point, I am not sure whether it is valid. Firstly there exists no recommended ski length for glacier crossings. A shorter ski might allow not bridge the full width of a crevasse, but then is that much different from glacier travel without skis. THe argument can be made that a longer ski spreads the widght ot the skier more. Many skiboarders will point out that the wider skiboard can do the same.
There is no conclusive proof that skiboards cannto be used, other than perception. It is better to follow the ski mountaineering safety guidelines and be roped than be concerned about skiboard length.
The challenges facing backcountry skiboards
Let's ignore the market size for now as backcountry skiboarding is a microniche and it does not make sense yet for any manufacture to invest in this area. It does not however prevent smaller companies and enthusiasts to be innovative. For this section focus on the technologies that are available or might be required.
I believe the main reason for taking skiboards into the backcountry is that skiboarders have a snowsliding tool that is proven to deal with snow conditions that are anything other groomed pistes. Skiboard tech have improved so much that there is basically a model available for every kind of riding condition - know the terrain and you can select the skiboard you need. Skiboarders know that skiboards do well in powder, have shorter turning radiuses, so do very well in trees. They know that a rocker-camber skiboard can deal well with variable conditions from icy patches to moguls. Yes, they have good reasons to want to experience the same joy of downhill skiing beyond that of ski resorts.
Bindings:
Bindings are the major obstacle.
Currently the only commercial options are to have touring binding direct mounted on
Unfortunately the Tyrolia Ambition binding currently used by Spruce is to long to mount on the standard Riser. Spruce originally designed a flat riser specifically to mount this binding on and which could utilize the 4x10 system. Unfortunately this has had some issues in the field due to the the skiboard touching the metal end of the flat riser. The rubber pads that were added afterwards has resolved some of the issue, but Spruce decided to directly the Tyrolia Ambition. (Even though the direct mount works very well, Spruce still considers this as prototypes and it will only be made available to select test pilots).
Direct mounted bindings also has the potential to affect the flexibility of a skiboard. Whereas with stiffer boards such the Summit Nomad or Summit Marauder it probably is not an issue, something like the Rvl8 Rockered Condor would be badly affected if it was even possible to direct mount a binding onto it.
A secondary problem with the Spruce Riser is the potential stack height. The lift-and-drag action of moving forward could lead to some instability. However in the short term, experimenting with Pin Tech bindings on a Spruce Risers could be an option.
Alternatively Bill, a forum member, has done some good experimental work on a flat riser, on which he mounted Fritschi bindings. If this plate can be adapted to used Pin Tech bindings there might quite a bit of potential for saving weight.
An important point about Pin Tech bindings is that a number of them require fix boot lengths, which is impractical for skibaorders who prefer a binding that is at least adjustable to some degree. Luckily a number of these bindings now come with an adjustable heel rail which has potential..
Ski crampons:
A number of bindings have some integrated crampon capability, but some of those have drawbacks as mentioned earlier. A fixed position crampon such as those from Voile might work, but they have no movement.
Adding a mount for a crampon on top of a Spruce Riser will not work either as the stack height is to high. Therefore a flat riser with space to a Pin Tech-compatible binding will be more suitable, or a dedicated mount hole for something like a Voile or Black Dimaon ski crampon
References
- Narrower skis typically fitted with direct mounted pin bindings. (Specialist versions are typically also used by ski mountaineering racers).
- Fat powder skis usually mounted with a high performance touring binding which is optimised for downhill power skiing.
Touring skis with step-in bindings are lighter:
A pair of Spruce Ospreys custom fitted with Tyrolia Ambition bindings weighs in at 3 kg per skiboard, whereas a plain vanilla touring ski with pin tech bindings come to about 1.5kg per ski. Although one is not lifting the whole ski in every move when efficient gliding technique is applied, one should not ignore physics, as the full ski still has to be moved and something that is heavier will expend more energy.
The weight argument is negated in the case of heavier powder skis with a binding such as the Tyrolia Adrenaline which weights in about 1.2kg per binding. Add the weight of the ski and it exceeds 6kg!
Longer skis provide more downhill glide:
This is one point which I believe is a non-issue. Although it is generally assumed that longer skis can go faster becasue they are narrower and have less friction, it is also well known that in most cases a well experienced skiboarder can glide as fast as need. Flat sections are sometimes a concern for skiboarders due to a lack of poles and the need for skating, however in a backcountry context, poles are always used thus eliminating this argument.
Skiboards have less edge on traverses:
This is more of an issue in areas where icy conditions are common. The problem is that for side slope traverses, a wide ski will hang out more over the edge. In essence this cause more torque on the inside edge. In addition the deeper side cut could result in a lesser part of the ski actually making contact. In icy conditions, even trying to get the ski flat on the angled slope will slide out as the skin will not provide enough grip.
The solution is deemed to be crampons, but more field feedback is required for skiboarding. A typical crampon for a step-in binding will be clipped in behind the toe piece. It will drag on glide, but basically engage when weight is applied. The Ambition binding has a neat slot where the bespoke designed crampon fits in. this all works when ascending a hill, but when traversing the crampon will disengage too early making it very difficult for a natural stride. This is unfortunate as this is currently one of the few options that skiboarders have available. I believe the Salomon Guardian has a similar issue.
Skiboards cannot be used for snow belays:
Very few tourers really get into situations where building belays are required, so this might be a moot point. Let's consider this situation though. The art of building a good snow anchor with skis require a good knowledge of the strength of a snow pack. There is a lot of torque involved when load is applied and the effectiveness will be determined by how deep the ski can be sunk into the snow and where the rope or sling is tied around the skis. A pair of longboards (Ospreys, Mauraders, Sherpas) should have the potential to provide a decent anchors in the correct snow conditions, provided the tie-in point is the around the centre of the ski
Another possibility is the use of a buried skiboard perpendicular to another skiboard which might actually prove as effective as a two-axe belay or a T-trench.
However shorter skiboards should be avoided as they might not provide enough surface resistance.
Skiboards cannot be used for glacier travel:
The scope for glacier travel is getting less nowadays and once again few backcountry tourers really have to deal with crevasses in glaciers. Once again considering this point, I am not sure whether it is valid. Firstly there exists no recommended ski length for glacier crossings. A shorter ski might allow not bridge the full width of a crevasse, but then is that much different from glacier travel without skis. THe argument can be made that a longer ski spreads the widght ot the skier more. Many skiboarders will point out that the wider skiboard can do the same.
There is no conclusive proof that skiboards cannto be used, other than perception. It is better to follow the ski mountaineering safety guidelines and be roped than be concerned about skiboard length.
The challenges facing backcountry skiboards
Let's ignore the market size for now as backcountry skiboarding is a microniche and it does not make sense yet for any manufacture to invest in this area. It does not however prevent smaller companies and enthusiasts to be innovative. For this section focus on the technologies that are available or might be required.
I believe the main reason for taking skiboards into the backcountry is that skiboarders have a snowsliding tool that is proven to deal with snow conditions that are anything other groomed pistes. Skiboard tech have improved so much that there is basically a model available for every kind of riding condition - know the terrain and you can select the skiboard you need. Skiboarders know that skiboards do well in powder, have shorter turning radiuses, so do very well in trees. They know that a rocker-camber skiboard can deal well with variable conditions from icy patches to moguls. Yes, they have good reasons to want to experience the same joy of downhill skiing beyond that of ski resorts.
Bindings:
Bindings are the major obstacle.
Currently the only commercial options are to have touring binding direct mounted on
- any Summit skiboard
- Spruce Osprey or Sherpa.
- Eman Goat
Unfortunately the Tyrolia Ambition binding currently used by Spruce is to long to mount on the standard Riser. Spruce originally designed a flat riser specifically to mount this binding on and which could utilize the 4x10 system. Unfortunately this has had some issues in the field due to the the skiboard touching the metal end of the flat riser. The rubber pads that were added afterwards has resolved some of the issue, but Spruce decided to directly the Tyrolia Ambition. (Even though the direct mount works very well, Spruce still considers this as prototypes and it will only be made available to select test pilots).
Direct mounted bindings also has the potential to affect the flexibility of a skiboard. Whereas with stiffer boards such the Summit Nomad or Summit Marauder it probably is not an issue, something like the Rvl8 Rockered Condor would be badly affected if it was even possible to direct mount a binding onto it.
A secondary problem with the Spruce Riser is the potential stack height. The lift-and-drag action of moving forward could lead to some instability. However in the short term, experimenting with Pin Tech bindings on a Spruce Risers could be an option.
Alternatively Bill, a forum member, has done some good experimental work on a flat riser, on which he mounted Fritschi bindings. If this plate can be adapted to used Pin Tech bindings there might quite a bit of potential for saving weight.
An important point about Pin Tech bindings is that a number of them require fix boot lengths, which is impractical for skibaorders who prefer a binding that is at least adjustable to some degree. Luckily a number of these bindings now come with an adjustable heel rail which has potential..
Ski crampons:
A number of bindings have some integrated crampon capability, but some of those have drawbacks as mentioned earlier. A fixed position crampon such as those from Voile might work, but they have no movement.
Adding a mount for a crampon on top of a Spruce Riser will not work either as the stack height is to high. Therefore a flat riser with space to a Pin Tech-compatible binding will be more suitable, or a dedicated mount hole for something like a Voile or Black Dimaon ski crampon
References
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