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Journalists tour the Powder Keg ski mountaineering race course.
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Spent a nice day taking a tour of the Powder Keg randonnee backcountry skiing race course, (in general connecting Alta and Brighton ski areas). We didn’t do the whole pro course — instead took enough short cuts to not make a huge day, but have some fun looking at the places where the amazing Euro racers show their stuff, including Hidden Couloir in Solitude ski areas’s Honeycomb Canyon.
The trip was organized by Backbone Media (they do marketing for outfits such as Black Diamond), and led by none other than “Thrill Daddy” Andrew McLean.
After the tour, we got to check out the new Dynafit Titanium bindings. All I can say is the things are jaw droppers. I “hefted” a pair of race skis with the binding, and I swear, they weighted LESS than my light wooden 3-pin gear from the early 1970s, and that stuff was light (I used to have the broken skis to prove it.)
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| The Dynafit Titanium heel lacks the riser post — most serious racers don’t use them. Majority of metal parts in the toe unit are made of titanium as well. |
Other new Dynafit product is cool as well, including boot fittings with a locating system that might actually make stepping into the binding easier, and eliminate the issue of getting the toe jaws to close on your boots when you’re tired or in deep powder. They are also showing a beautiful line of skis, from skinny randonnee racing sticks all the way up to some carbon fiber fatties.
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.
