Preparing for Snowboard Descent of Denali
Posted 3 months, 1 week ago by AJ Linnell
So I’m just back from guiding a successful Denali climb with a great friend of mine, recuperating and trying to regain some of the weight that I lost while we were stuck in a storm at high camp for a week. (17,200′) Hanging around in Palmer at the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) base has been wonderful, eating five or six meals a day and catching up with old friends, but it took only about 15 minutes of being here for me to start getting excited about my next “project”. I’m prepping another Denali climb right now, with the intention of heading into the Range with a few friends and trying to ride some lines off of both summits. (Denali has two summits, the Southern being the actual summit and the Northern being a bit lower.) The riding potential in there is mind-blowing, with HUGE couloirs and hanging faces all around, including some first- and second-descents. I get blown away just thinking that I have the opportunity to make this trip happen, and that I have three close friends who can do it with me.
Having made our unavoidable trip to Anchorage yesterday, we spent today packing, repairing worn gear, re-sizing crampons to our ski boots, insulating our ice axes, consuming lots of calories, and generally doing all of the stuff one has to do before a 3-week trip at altitude. In some ways it feels like any other trip that we’ve worked together. Except that this time I get to bring my board, and they get to bring skis, and we get to do it our way. No clients, no students. Mmmm… I’m looking forward so much to traveling on my Wagner Custom approach skis after using snowshoes with my clients last month. And getting to ride lines that I’ve only dreamed about on past trips?! Holy crap!!! I will admit to being a bit disheartened after watching much of the snow on the upper mountain blow away during our high-camp storm, but it’s gotta snow before we arrive up there again, right? And if not, the Messner Couloir and the lines off the North Summit still had snow in them when we left. Just not powder. Any way you slice it, we’re going to have an amazing time, and I’m going to get the opportunity to put my board and approach skis from Wagner Custom through the wringer in the ultimate testing ground. Wahoo.
Cheers,
AJ
Permalink | Filed under Athlete Reports, Skis, Snowboards.
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” we were stuck in a storm at high camp for a week.” - that’s so frustrating…
AJ -
We built you custom approach skis that are 120cm in length, 125mm at the tip, 108mm at the waist, and 121mm at the tail. Can you explain the binding set up that you’re using?
How are the approach skis working for you?
Why approach instead of a split-board setup?
I love the approach skis–I’ve experimented quite a bit with other short skis (skiblades) in the past, so I had pretty specific specs when you built these for me. Yeah, they don’t float as well as full-size skis for breaking trail–so be it. I thought about going wider for better float, but that would sacrifice edge-hold when I’m traversing steep, firm snow. In the end, I can still move at the same pace as my friends on big skis in deep snow and I’m wicked fast at switchbacks!
I ride in alpine touring (AT) ski boots, so I use a Dynafit binding toepiece and a G3 telemark binding heel riser in back, with climbing bars. This is the lightest binding system out there, and the simplicity of it means less parts to break/malfunction.
Having tried splitboards for both extended expeditions and day touring in the past, I really think approach skis are a superior system. My uphill-downhill transition times are significantly quicker and the approach skis aren’t as heavy and clunky underfoot as a split. And there is so much extra hardware on a split that inevitably ends up failing at some point during a trip–the simplicity and nimbleness of approach skis work much better for me. The obvious drawback is having to carry my solid deck (also a SWEET ride from Wagner Custom) on my back on the uphill and the skis on the downhill, but I hardly even notice it anymore.
I could also go into the differences between riding a solid deck vs. a split deck, but perhaps in another post.