1. WildSnow Dream Package, Cripple Creek Backcountry. DPS Wailer 99 Pure seasoned with G3 ION LT, stirred using Dynafit TLT 6 and spiced with Pomoca. Just add snow.
Wildsnow Powder Dream Package, did we pick it because of the colors or the performance? Answer: both.
2. Arctic Cat 2016 M 6000 SE snowmobile. Please don’t hate me. You have to admit it’s radical!
3. Canadian powder dreams. Book a catered stay at Valhalla Mountain Touring. Price: Quoted per number of participants/days. We like Valhalla because they combine wonderfully varied terrain with snowcat access to their lodge. Unlike helicopter access, baggage weight is not an issue and good (snowy) weather won’t cancel your joy.
4. The tried and true North American made avalanche airbag backpack is the BCA Float 32. Refined mechanicals, excellent durability and carefully tuned weight vs features, we keep trying other avalanche airbag backpacks and somehow the BCA units end up on our backs more than any others. Is it an American bias? Perhaps. But they work. This year’s rigs have a very nice adjustment for your height. In our opinion, many of the airbag packs out there feel too “short” on your back — especially with more weight. Easily adjust the Float. The air cylinders are refillable. That’s a plus as well, though we’d recommend not going whole hog on the DIY and getting your refills done at a certified refill center (see BCA website). I just checked availability and price, Float is ON SALE!
5. We’ve concluded that the most radical puffy for most sub-arctic ski touring is a “one pound” down hoody stuffed with high loft “water resistant” down. You can find a number of such jackets, one we’d recommend is the Mountain Equipment Lumin, at a good price from Backcountry.com.
6. This blog post can’t go by without us including a Dynafit RADICAL binding. In many ways, the Radical (version 1) FT model is in our opinion the proven standard. Some of these bindings were flawed and we hesitated recommending them, but that’s taken care of now and you’re good to go. Key is once you get the binding, compare to information in our blog post here and make sure you have the upgraded version. If not, return immediately. Otherwise, enjoy! Get a deal here. Also know that the latest Radical — 2.0 — has a completely redesigned heel unit as well as the new rotating toe. We feel these are probably a player, but due to past experiences with virtually all brands of ski touring bindings, we hesitate to include the 2.0 in a shopping guide until it’s had a good round of consumer testing.
7. The absolute best ski tuning vise out there: Eggbar.
8. Ardbeg 23 Year Old 1991 (cask 10274) scotch. From the “small remote Scottish island of Islay (pronounced ‘eye-lah’) where Celtic monks found refuge from raiding Norsemen and early distillers smuggled their illicit…” Wow your mates when you casually pour this $609.00 scotch into your hot cocoa.
9. We’ve got a paper copy of Skialper magazine Gear Guide kicking around HQ. Online versions cost much less and are indeed useful, but the thick paper version is super cool. Expensive (due to shipping from Italy), but what a neat gift for the ski touring fanatic in your life. Can be consulted all winter, then kept in the family library for years of comparo shopping used gear. Shopping info here.
10. One of the latest Canon Rebel cameras will give you just about anything you could ask from an SLR, only in a very small package. I’ve used quite a few of the Canon Rebel series as well as their G series. While the G series is incredible, for what’s pretty much a point-and-shoot they’re rather heavy and klunky. For really only a few ounces more and the effort to figure out a carrying system, you can upgrade to a Rebel and be much more enabled for things like serious ski photography and creative work. Caveats: The battery life on the new Rebels is said to be limited, and in our experience the menu systems are overly complex. But they do work. A spare battery and tweaking a few camera settings is probably all it takes to handle the power issues.
WildSnow.com publisher emeritus and founder Lou (Louis Dawson) has a 50+ years career in climbing, backcountry skiing and ski mountaineering. He was the first person in history to ski down all 54 Colorado 14,000-foot peaks, has authored numerous books about about backcountry skiing, and has skied from the summit of Denali in Alaska, North America’s highest mountain.
