Still getting all our Denali gear ready. Will it ever end? Having fun though, even if the only time we’ve had for skiing has been some quick uphilling at nearby resorts (real mountains, soon soon). Check out what we’ve been cobbling up.
Louie with his new guns, 174 cm K2 Waybacks, 2010/1011 model with green graphics and K2's rocker configuration that every ski in the Backside line will have. That's his Spirit 3 and Radium, both work with minimal binding adjustment. Spirits are fit for super warmth and will be going to Denali. Radiums are a performance fit.
K2 isn't messing around with rocker geometry. All their Backside skis will be rockered next season. Wayback has 30 cm (as measured from the old style running surface contact point). According to brand manager Mike Hatrup, 'you won't be able to buy a k2 without rocker next year.'
Skiing the Waybacks, Louie says they 'ski as good as my Coombacks.' That's a Cilo Gear 75 Liter Worksack, custom made for our expedition with woven Dyneema, the type of pack every person on our Denali expedition will be using (I have a non-woven Dyneema version in 60 liter). Louie uphills with 50 lbs of water in the pack, then usually dumps it out before the downhill to preserve his knees during workouts. I've been uphilling and downhilling with about 30 lbs, need to ramp that up!
Mounting the Dynafit FT12 bindings. Nothing unusual here, though we did eliminate the cosmetic fiberglass strip between toe and heel.
It's not exaggerating to say the G3 skin cutter does for fitting skins what air tools and socket wrenches do for mechanical work. It is nothing less than an amazing time saver -- with accuracy benefits as well. We used to spend an hour or so cutting our shaped skins, now it takes mere minutes. According to Louie, as always the G3 skins climb great and have good glide. So a thumbs up on those.
We got this nifty little item a while ago and had it on the holding shelf with the G3 skins. It's G3's super nice tail fix system for twintip skis (not needed for the Waybacks, but perfect for any twintip tail. Well thought out, solid, easy -- solves a big problem and is highly recommended if you don't have skis with a regular tail and notch.
Louie Dawson earned his Bachelor Degree in Industrial Design from Western Washington University in 2014. When he’s not skiing Mount Baker or somewhere equally as snowy, he’s thinking about new products to make ski mountaineering more fun and safe.
