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  • Avalanches
  • Gear Reviews
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      • Marker F10-12 Duke Baron
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Tecnica Zero G Guide Pro Ski Boot — Review

by Lou Dawson April 20, 2016
written by Lou Dawson
The object at hand, Tecnica Zero G Guide.

The object at hand, Tecnica Zero G Guide Pro is the lightest weight version of this boot. Options with a more alpine configured liner will presumably be available.

Let’s get something straight. Any current boot that weighs more than about 1,500 grams in size 28 is not a “ski touring” boot. Despite what PR people and gear review websites would have you believe. More, any boot that doesn’t provide more cuff mobility in walk mode than rearward to around 90 degrees is not a ski touring boot. Things in the industry have changed, fast.

Thus, we give a nod to the Zero G as a “freeride touring” boot — a quite nice one. Yet, this is not the true ski touring shoe we like to float around the mountains with when mechanized means are not involved. So, for those of you who want overlap backcountry ski boots that can double as a ski resort shoe, you know who you are. Read on.

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Lou Dawson

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.

www.loudawson.com
April 20, 2016 107 comments
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Hardboot Splitboard — Follow-up Review — Dynafit TLT6

by Jonathan Cooper April 19, 2016
written by Jonathan Cooper
Into a classic San Juan couloir in Dynafit TLT6’s

Into a classic San Juan couloir with Dynafit TLT6’s.

It’s been almost a full ski season of testing my “hardboot” system for splitboarding, and I’ve been asked countless times, “Well, how does it ride?”

My hardboot rig: Phantom splitboard binding and Dynafit TLT6 Mountain ski boots with Custom Ready (CR) liner.

I put the system through the wringer: everything from resort laps, big ski mountaineering lines, wiggling hippy powder turns, and long up-and-over tours. There are still a couple of months of spring skiing ahead, and I’ll continue testing. Overall, the use of Dynafit TLT6 boots for splitboarding has numerous pros and a few potential drawbacks for both touring and the downhill.

For clarification, this review focuses on the boots for splitboard touring and riding.

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Jonathan Cooper

Jonathan Cooper (“Coop”) grew up in the Pacific Northwest and has been playing in the mountains since he was a teen. This was about the same time he made the fateful decision to strap a snowboard to his feet, which has led to a lifelong pursuit of powdery turns. Professionally speaking, he has been working as a ski guide, avalanche educator, and in emergency medicine for over a decade. During the winter months he can be found chasing snow, and passing on his passion for education and the backcountry through teaching avalanche courses for numerous providers in southwest Colorado, and the Pacific Northwest. Similarly, his passion for wilderness medicine has led him to teach for Desert Mountain Medicine all over the West. If you’re interested, you can find a course through Mountain Trip and Mountain West Rescue. In the end, all of this experience has merely been training for his contributions to the almighty WildSnow.com.

http//wildsnow.com
April 19, 2016 11 comments
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Refreshing a Dynafit TLT5-P Boot with B&D UCP

by Lou Dawson March 24, 2016
written by Lou Dawson
Ready to mod. New life for the old fives.

Ready to mod. New life for the old fives.

I like stiff soled boots for up-and-down ski touring. Dynafit TLT5, on the other hand, is my favorite footwear for flatter slogs as the slight metatarsal flex helps me with some of my ankle and knee problems. They don’t make TLT5 anymore, but tens of thousands of the things are floating around the universe. In the case of the “P” version with carbon cuff, chances are the cuff pivots are worn due to the abrasive nature of the carbon composite. Solution: you can stick some of Bill Bollinger’s Ultimate Cuff Pivots in there to perform a resurrection. If the cuff pivots are super trashed you may not achieve perfect results, but the boots will be functional. In my case the boots had a fairly intact pivot system, so a UCP kit (lightweight version) popped in there like they were made for it. They are. If you want to do your own resurection, check out our previous UCP posts and hop on over to Bill’s website. All our BD pivots are on long-term-loan for durability testing. I’ve got some others in play as well and they simply don’t seem to wear out — but if they get sloppy you can easily pull apart and renew the plastic bushings.

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Lou Dawson

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.

www.loudawson.com
March 24, 2016 28 comments
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My Scarpa F1 Dancing Shoes — Review

by Guest Blogger March 22, 2016
written by Guest Blogger

Michael Kennedy

Dance tracks, courtesy Scarpa F1.

Dance tracks, courtesy Scarpa F1 ski touring boots.

When I reported on my first impressions of the new Scarpa F1 in January,I lamented the fact that this promising ski touring boot wouldn’t be available in North America until autumn of 2016. Scarpa North America promised a test pair later in the winter, but patience has never been my strength and I ordered a pair from a European etailer a few days after returning from the Scarpa demo we did out of Park City last winter. I was convinced back then, and subsequent “dancing” around the mountains of Colorado proved the case.

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Guest Blogger

Beyond our regular guest bloggers who have their own profiles, some of our one-timers end up being categorized under this generic profile. Once they do a few posts, we build a category. In any case, we sure appreciate ALL the WildSnow guest bloggers!

wildsnow.com
March 22, 2016 85 comments
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Magical Day In The Uintas — G3 Empire, SCARPA Women’s Freedom SL

by Guest Blogger January 24, 2016
written by Guest Blogger

Julie Kennedy

WildSnow Girl, Julie Kennedy, at work.

WildSnow Girl, Julie Kennedy, at work.

Having been fortunate to be a part of the Outdoor Industry for over 30 years, I’ve experienced many magical days, one of them quite recent.

It all started with a phone call from my dear friend, Lisa Dawson, the queen of the WildSnow chicks.

“Hey Julie, would you be interested in representing WildSnow on a SCARPA/G3 demo trip?”

Of course my response was, “I’m in! Any chance MK can come along?”

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Guest Blogger

Beyond our regular guest bloggers who have their own profiles, some of our one-timers end up being categorized under this generic profile. Once they do a few posts, we build a category. In any case, we sure appreciate ALL the WildSnow guest bloggers!

wildsnow.com
January 24, 2016 0 comment
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It’s Only A Test — G3 FINDr and SCARPA F1

by Guest Blogger January 22, 2016
written by Guest Blogger

Michael Kennedy

Utah's beautiful Uinta range.

Utah’s beautiful Uinta range.

I have to admit it: I love to backcountry ski but I don’t care all that much about ski gear. I generally buy what I need only when the old stuff either wears out or becomes embarrassingly outdated.

I might try on a few different boots in an attempt at finding the elusive “perfect” ski touring model — I’m blessed with a boringly normal foot and a lack of sensitivity to all but the most egregious variations of fit and flex.

When it comes to skis I rely mainly on vaguely informed “research” into weight, width, and performance, the recommendations of friends, some hefting and flexing of a couple that sound good, and guesswork.

Perhaps I’ve just been lucky. I’ve worn the same boots (first generation Scarpa Maestrale) for five years and didn’t test drive any of the half-dozen skis I’ve been on in the last decade. Just bought ‘em, mounted ‘em up, and hoped for the best.

So what, you might ask, was I doing at the top of 1200 feet of mostly great powder, with a few tracks, some chunks from an old avalanche, and the odd bit of windcrust to spice things up, outfitted in a ridiculously comfy pair of lightweight boots (next year’s updated Scarpa F1), a binding I’d never skied on (the G3 Ion), and what appeared to be a wider version of the classic all-around mountaineering ski (next year’s G3 FINDr 102)?

It all sounded good a few weeks ago when Mrs. WildSnow invited my better half to join a Scarpa/G3 demo day in the Uinta Mountains, Utah, with the folks at Park City Powder Cats & Heli-ski showing them the goods. I was reluctant to sign up at first. Who would care what an over-60 skier of middling ability would have to say about the “latest and greatest” ski gear? But I eventually succumbed to the wiles of the ladies.

Continue Reading
Guest Blogger

Beyond our regular guest bloggers who have their own profiles, some of our one-timers end up being categorized under this generic profile. Once they do a few posts, we build a category. In any case, we sure appreciate ALL the WildSnow guest bloggers!

wildsnow.com
January 22, 2016 14 comments
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