Skiing our Private Davos Resort–Pischa

Scott went over the top. Snowpack is thin here, sokey is going where other skiers haven’t been. Just so happens the whole resort of Pischa is closed during the week. We toured there a few days go. It was good and pretty much untracked. So yesterday the Scott folks arranged with Pischa to open the tram for 3 runs. We did a bit a skinning, a bit of booting, and some very nice pow turns.

Pischa is known for providing access to some good freeride terrain off the backside that’s not laced with cables. Sadly, they don’t get enough business to stay open during the week unless Scott is in town. Me skiing that classic Euro boot-top pow. City of Davos down below. Quite large.

I tested the new Scott Superguide boots (upgraded Cosmos, stay tuned) and skis. No problem there, nice stuff that did the job on both ice and powder. My boots had their new foot drying Gore-tex liner, which worked. After several tests my feet were much dryer than I’m used to with impermeable thermoform liners. My wool socks were still a bit damp, but overall much more comfortable. The product developer says they’re going to keep working on the dry liner concept, perhaps adding some sort of venting system that moves moisture away from your feet even more readily. I think this passive system is pretty good, though it depends on your feet being warm and creating a vapor pressure that drives moisture through the Gore-tex to the outside of the liner.

Of course the gasthaus is always open. Good place to discuss boot liners with product developer Herve Maneint

Was it a resort or was it backcountry?

A member of the European ski press hard at work. That’s a nice red Alpride airbag backpack.

Davos maps, quite the complex of industrial skiing but you can find some touring as well.