"This is the moment when BC skiing becomes mainstream." Backcountry boom on tap

[kootenayskier]

Backcountry use has been trending upwards for the 35 years I’ve been enjoying it. It’s always had the same rewards, it just gets easier and safer and the barriers to entry lower with every technological innovation. Popular zones at busy times now resemble resorts, which for most novices actually seems comforting. I’m just fortunate to live in a place with a low skier to mountain ratio, where (for now) there is always somewhere that requires a little more skill and/or effort to access, and I can always find an untracked mountain to explore with just a friend or two. I think the backcountry resort concept has a future, as most novices are looking for preset skin tracks and well tested slopes.

[subtle plague]

I think the backcountry resort concept has a future, as most novices are looking for preset skin tracks and well tested slopes.

That is absurd. Why would i pay money to go skitouring? on the other hand.... there are Euro resorts where people actually pay money to hike up the pistes in the evening (even during the day i guess).

Luckily even in the most crowded ski touring spots where i go most people ski the easy way down. Unfortunately, in the last 5 years i've been seeing more and more people who can actuallyl ski and try to ski some more interesting stuff of the easy skintrack. But if you have to put in your own tracks to some cool stuff it's still very relaxed here.

Hell, I've only been skitouring for 10 years now because before that you didn't have to

The good thing about the boom is: Those people who don't come out of some lift assisted charging background will never be able to ski some fun stuff. (There are plenty of "touring only" people here and 99%, except those who have just switched and have become radical leg power only converts, just suck)

Strange new world.

[frorider]

#14 splitboards - guys, nothing to get butthurt about...it’s no different than the light and fat AT gear advances making BC accessible to more people.

I don’t see how the $15 burgers drives the BC trend. I’ve been BC skiing for 30 yrs and have yet to find any freshly cooked burger options at the summit ridge in NA.. But if there were, I’d gladly pay 15 bucks. Last I checked, my sandwich costs at home were unaffected by destination,

[babybear]

We are already there.

This past winter, I toured with Hutash and LBSkier in Teton National Park, and while the name of the zone escapes me, there were so many people out there that it looked like a weekday at some resorts..

to be fair I think I recall you being here MLK w/e? or one of the Ikon blackout holidays when we also had walk-on trams So that particular weekend was reverse of the typical situation bc of the black outs.
(if you guys will be back this yr we can go a bit deeper into the park and get away from the crowds too)

But yea- BC will be going off this yr
Heard from Black Diamond/Pieps that some shops increased their buys by 100%

I do agree that we're going to have a lot of people that use the stuff 0-3 times and then never again, but I think a lot of funds this yr are going to be reallocated from ski passes, vacations to this gear.

Snowmobiles to a certain extent too

Undoubtedly there will be increased injury and death along with the increased usage so time to send a few extra donation bucks to our local search and rescue ops!

[mall walker]

dont' know what the issue is
most people lack any fitness endurance or strength so they will go waddle around in the snow or use all the popular easy access areas or anything that you can shuttle in a car or snowmobile
they will do it a couple times and realize how hard it is and then sell there shit
if the store didn't preorder or only ordered so many units of gear back in the spring they won't have shit to sell stock is pretty limited
I'm selling all bc gear right now on craigslist well used and for more than retail win win

ya. a handful will like it, and that's gonna happen anyway. mostly it's just a flood of cheap new-ish bc gear come march. same with the bike shortage now. I'm gonna sell my extra AT setups on some dumbass facebook group in maybe early december and buy something better for half what I sold these for come spring.

if you don't wanna be around novices don't go lap the first five google results for "safe ski touring in <mountain range>", go earlier or further etc... if you just wanna look CORE by bitching about how other people enjoy this sport that you feel you damn well own, I guess keep on with your bad selves

eta: the hand-wringing by old people about how dangerous it's gonna be this season gets really old though... just shut the fuck up you preachy moralizing wankers. stay home then, if you are so incapable of finding solitude in the wilderness.

[heckacali]

Want to get a lot of legit BC time this year? Volunteer for your local SAR team.

[schindlerpiste]

It has already begun. Yesterday, on eBay, a guy was selling new TX90 with new Dynafit Demo clamps for $400, and new TX98 188 for just a bit more.

[Hacksaw]

I had no idea you moved to Avon. When did that happen?

A couple of years ago.

[Bobcat Sig]

True that most skier won't take up earning their turns as it is just too much work, but that is not really the problem. Much of the BC (at least easy access BC) is already nearly over run. Add just a handful more and it will be down right crowded, and there are plenty of fit people to make up that handful.

BYW Ryan, we skied Wimpy's. While great, we did have to cross a fair number of tracks. My biggest concern will be they lack of BC etiquette and avi awareness, so yeah, watch out for who drops in on top of you.

Ahh, yes. Thank you. I kept thinking 25 Short, but I think we opted not to due to snowpack and aspect. Nonetheless, that descent was all-time.

to be fair I think I recall you being here MLK w/e? or one of the Ikon blackout holidays when we also had walk-on trams So that particular weekend was reverse of the typical situation bc of the black outs.
(if you guys will be back this yr we can go a bit deeper into the park and get away from the crowds too)

But yea- BC will be going off this yr
Heard from Black Diamond/Pieps that some shops increased their buys by 100%

I do agree that we're going to have a lot of people that use the stuff 0-3 times and then never again, but I think a lot of funds this yr are going to be reallocated from ski passes, vacations to this gear.

Snowmobiles to a certain extent too

Undoubtedly there will be increased injury and death along with the increased usage so time to send a few extra donation bucks to our local search and rescue ops!

Yup, you're correct. The other guys didn't have the full pass so we had to ski the park with the rest of the peasants.

All joking aside, I was surprised at the amount of traffic - holiday weekend or not. Even in years prior, when down in the Tetons on a non-holiday weekend, the number of skiers in the backcountry. So it goes these, right?

Nonetheless, I'd love to take you up on your offer for a ski deeper in the park. Even when the conditions are sub-optimal, it's still a beautiful tour. A few years ago, LBSkier and I had poor conditions, but it was still a great time.

[hutash]

Any ski day that ends there like that is a good, nah, a great ski day.

I hope we make it back this season, COVIDs permitting. I have more art to see.

[thefortrees]

That's the real hidden secret of skiing in the park. Don't tell a damn person about my apres beer stash or mega nacho platter please.

[waxman]

As long as people just ski their pin bindings in the backcountry and real alpine bindings at the resort I'll be happy.

[fastfred]

ya. a handful will like it, and that's gonna happen anyway. mostly it's just a flood of cheap new-ish bc gear come march. same with the bike shortage now. I'm gonna sell my extra AT setups on some dumbass facebook group in maybe early december and buy something better for half what I sold these for come spring.

if you don't wanna be around novices don't go lap the first five google results for "safe ski touring in <mountain range>", go earlier or further etc... if you just wanna look CORE by bitching about how other people enjoy this sport that you feel you damn well own, I guess keep on with your bad selves

eta: the hand-wringing by old people about how dangerous it's gonna be this season gets really old though... just shut the fuck up you preachy moralizing wankers. stay home then, if you are so incapable of finding solitude in the wilderness.

yup

a couple years ago I was out at one of my favorite middle of nowhere bc ski places you almost rejoice when you see that someone else has been out there to keep the ski track in place
well sure enough someone else was out there one day we both looked at each other said nothing we were both miffed someone else was there it was kinda funny

[Boissal]

ya. a handful will like it, and that's gonna happen anyway. mostly it's just a flood of cheap new-ish bc gear come march. same with the bike shortage now. I'm gonna sell my extra AT setups on some dumbass facebook group in maybe early december and buy something better for half what I sold these for come spring.

if you don't wanna be around novices don't go lap the first five google results for "safe ski touring in <mountain range>", go earlier or further etc... if you just wanna look CORE by bitching about how other people enjoy this sport that you feel you damn well own, I guess keep on with your bad selves

eta: the hand-wringing by old people about how dangerous it's gonna be this season gets really old though... just shut the fuck up you preachy moralizing wankers. stay home then, if you are so incapable of finding solitude in the wilderness.

I think your perception is heavily skewed by your operating hours. You're a lot less likely to run into beaters if you're out from 4 to 8AM...

What you also may be missing is the fact that while the vast majority of noobs won't stray far from Alta and may lose interest after 3 days out, the increase in their number will push slightly less green tourers further out from the super accessible zones. These guys will wander into the real of more experienced bros and displace them deeper into the BC where they'll run into crusty tourers who will flee to obscure areas... and eventually one of them will sluff me out of an truly ridiculous line it took me 5 years to sniff out. Trickle-up ski economics.

Replace distance/remoteness with start time and you may realize that your entire approach to touring may will more complicated once you're not the only one willing to ski InBetween with the first hint of light.

yup
a couple years ago I was out at one of my favorite middle of nowhere bc ski places you almost rejoice when you see that someone else has been out there to keep the ski track in place
well sure enough someone else was out there one day we both looked at each other said nothing we were both miffed someone else was there it was kinda funny

Happened to me a few times these past few seasons. Then I realize I probably share a very close mindset with that person and I get over myself but that first reaction is always a bit negative.

[ChaseBrooklyn]

Some of the drivers of this trend, not in order of importance:

2. Insane cost of lift tickets/passes

5. Social media braggers

8. High speed 6 person ski lifts helping powder get skied out in 2 hours or less

#2: I think you meant to say “insanely cheap cost of lift tickets” that allow just about anyone to be able to afford to ski at the best mountains. Hence the crowds.

#5: The bigger SM braggers are the backcountry skiers. Not to mention how they endlessly try to monetize and promote their extreme skier life just hoping for that northface/ tgr sponsor one day. Truth hurts.

#8: see #2

[total_immortal]

I know a lot of skiers in CO who might spend 80% of their days at a resort and 20% in the backcountry in a given year. This year I think they’ll flip that. Sure it’s not more novices (though there will be plenty of those too), but it’s more people taking risks, and that’s bound to lead to more accidents.

Agree 100%, it's not going to be novices poaching your stash or getting avalanched. It's going to be the people who are good skiers in-bounds and normally spend a few days in the sidecountry every season that decide this is the year to make the move to full time BC. They have some fitness, the ability to get into bigger terrain, but lack the experience to judge the snowpack and bc etiquette.

[beer30]

Ya, I miss that place

That's the real hidden secret of skiing in the park. Don't tell a damn person about my apres beer stash or mega nacho platter please.

[blackalps]

I think this might be the winter I get a snowmobile to hit the further back zones I've found offroading in the summer.

[Lupolicious]

Things have been getting crazy in the BC long before COVID... Colorado has become stupid. Painful to watch "first-timers" from Boulder up at Marble dropping into the gut on high danger. Totally clueless. And that's a normal week day things. Even more pain is being in the Tetons and watching the shitshow. Of course, it's hard to spray in Jackson unless your day was spent OB or in the BC. And of course it was epic on Insta.

I feel bad for all the volunteer SAR guys and gals. Their volunteer jobs are going to turn into full-time unpaid gigs. Get ready!

[The SnowShow]

Wonder if CSP will be patrolling and ticketing vehicles on Loveland and Berthoud and/or CDOT will not be plowing turnouts or parking lots in the pass, to help keep the BC use there low.

[el hefe]

For us locally, this is the biggest barrier to B/C entry.. in that, you require a snowmobile to access 99.99% of our terrain. And few people are willing to front that cost for something they are not fully committed to yet.

Add to that, snowmobiling in technical terrain isnt something you can figure out from an internet forum .... gotta say, we are pretty lucky.

Oh ... and stay away, the skiing sucks here and the covid will probably kill you if the avalanches dont.

Get off my lawn you kook!