WildSnow Girl, Amy Heuer, gets set up for slaying Alaska's pow.
WildSnow Girl, Amy Heuer, stopped by to pick up the goods on her way to Alaska. Lou fitted her in a new pair of Scarpa Gea RS, so snazzy they sparkle like a hot pink pedicure. And for planks, Amy unwrapped a shiny new pair of K2 SideKicks.
WildSnow Girl, Lisa Dawson, is the luckiest girl in the world. Also known as Mrs. WildSnow.com, she tests whatever gear she wants. She gives the WildSnow family of websites the feminine voice.
Tecnica Cochise Pro Light, overall beautiful construction with plenty of beef.
Tecnica Cochise Pro Light available at our favorite etailer.
Take an alpine boot and make it tour. After testing Tecnica’s freshman Cochise backcountry skiing boot last winter, then getting a first look at this season’s version, I can say yes, they did that. In this case, mass is reduced by pairing the shell with a simple but nicely constructed Palau liner, along with a slightly lighter buckle configuration and a few other things left out of the mix (such as the mostly decorative plastic spoiler on the regular Cochise). As usual, we’ll be testing a limited quiver of boots this winter, and these most certainly will be in there. Check out a first look.
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.
Before the snow really starts to fly, many of us are finishing up our summer/fall projects. Wildsnow Backcountry HQ has seen several new improvements (posts forthcoming) this summer. While things are progressing up at 9500 ft, my footwear after months of backcountry work has seen some serious use and abuse.
Not one to use boots lightly, my footwear needs to stand up to hiking, running, dirt-bike footpegs, repeated stream crossings, rock moving and copious amounts of wood splitting/dragging/burning. Some prefer dedicated trail running shoes, lightweight hut shoes, protective toe wood splitting shoes, mountaineering boots, race mountaineering boots, and so on.
Guess I’ll still be the guy with almost as much footwear as his lady friend.
Garmont and Salewa both have sturdy all-purpose alpine boots to look forward to in 2013. Loud Euro colors will be flying past you at the nearest trailhead come next year.
Joseph Risi was raised on pasta and meatballs in the “backwoods” of Long Island before seeking higher education in the mountains of Vermont. Always looking for adventure, building treehouses, working too many odd jobs around the world he now lives in the Aspen area of Colorado.
Maestrale RS is essentially the same design as former Maestrale with nicer detailing and stiffer plastic. It includes the excellent walk mode flex that the original is known for. It deliversn impressive uphill performance for a backcountry skiing boot that feels this beefy.
Every winter I set up a few test rigs for resort and sidecountry. I like the craftsmanship of the Scarpa Maestrale so that’ll be one of the boot choices. Our previous looks and reviews have covered the RS. Following are a few photos of what caught my recent attention.
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.
Is it a trend? Scarpa will become another backcountry ski boot company to make a product development and PR agreement with a well known freeskier, in this case Chris Davenport. As long-term observers of trends in ski mountaineering, we’re finding this to be a fascinating development.
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.
We think long and hard before re-printing industry press releases. But this one has a spin on Dynafit that’s worth pondering. To wit, Dynafit went ahead and worked out some sort of “contract” with free skier Eric Hjorleifson, to represent the company as well as work on product design. More, they’re saying “The brand’s reputation as uphill oriented is long over.” (Dynafit had a previous arrangement with Eric we reported on last year, so this must be some sort of re-up or extensive contract change.)
It is said Eric had a lot of influence on the design of the Dynafit Vulcan boot, and that he’s going to have similar involvement in binding design. Judging from what happened with the Vulcan boot (one of the most radical stiffness/weight/touring-comfort ratios out there), “Hoji’s” involvement with binding development could yield interesting results. Is this the start of tech binding 2.0 and more? Or will we simply see a massive DIN 25 Dynafit contraption attempting to interface with the same tired boot heel and toe fittings that were designed more than two decades ago for lightweight European uphilling?
As for the brand’s reputation changing from being uphill oriented, words are words. Until they start making bindings used by World Cup downhill racers, I think the jury is still out on that one. To be fair, I’m thinking they’re talking about simply being more well rounded and addressing more segments of the backcountry skiing market. But saying it that way is kind of boring (can you tell why I’m not writing press releases?).
Press release follows, lightly condensed. Your comments, oh esteemed WildSnowers?
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.
