Tales from the Hinterlands 2024/25

[Peter Minde]

Looks like a good time!

 

[Warp daddy]

Awesome sauce SBR !!!!

 

[Sick Bird Rider]

Telemark Dave (remember him? He says hello and misses you folks), Moira the dog and I visited the Limberlost Forest for a ski this morning. We've had a little more snow, so it was worth having a look. In the end, we opted for a good old-fashioned ski tour, as the glades were still a little sharky-looking for us conservative old guys.

Having a dog involved just adds to the inevitable delays of getting ready to ski. Who's in a rush?

TD made some unusual equipment choices and was rather over-booted. He skied the whole time with just the toe buckle done up.

We skied up the "uptrack" to the Top O' the World Cabin (yes, that's what it is called).

After look at the glades, we opted to ski the super-fun and old-school Ascension Trail. I've skied some trails built by Jackrabbit Johannsen in Quebec, and this trail reminds me of them. Up, down, lots of curves and even a few spots to make a couple of Tele turns.

We looped back to the car by skiing up most of Buck Lake, avoiding skiing on the road. Lake conditions were perfect, no slush, and nice powder to glide through. Even skiing pow on a flat surface is fun! Yes, Moira is on a long rope, she is not entirely trustworthy off-leash (see Dog Thread).

Back at the HRV, the dog is ready for more. A fine morning!

Gear bomb went off. There is a dog in there somewhere.

 

[Ripitz]

Is Dave on the Vagabonds? 97 or 88? How does he like them?

 

[Sick Bird Rider]

Is Dave on the Vagabonds? 97 or 88? How does he like them?

Vagabond BC 97. He has a love/hate relationship with those skis. They are quite stiff overall, especially in the tip, so tend to dive downwards in deep snow when skied with stiffer boots and active tele bindings that create more tip pressure. He says they are great for a firm base with a bit of fresh op top (say, when poaching at a resort). Now that he has put the least active binding possible (Voile Mountaineer 3-pin) on them, and skis with loose boots, he thinks they are a great ski for schwacking explorations, like a modern version of the good old Karhu Catamounts we loved back in the day. They climb very well without skins, though like all fishscales, there is a limit to how steep you can climb.

 

[Warp daddy]

Telemark Dave (remember him? He says hello and misses you folks), Moira the dog and I visited the Limberlost Forest for a ski this morning. We've had a little more snow, so it was worth having a look. In the end, we opted for a good old-fashioned ski tour, as the glades were still a little sharky-looking for us conservative old guys.

Having a dog involved just adds to the inevitable delays of getting ready to ski. Who's in a rush?

View attachment 27166

TD made some unusual equipment choices and was rather over-booted. He skied the whole time with just the toe buckle done up.

View attachment 27167

We skied up the "uptrack" to the Top O' the World Cabin (yes, that's what it is called).

View attachment 27168

After look at the glades, we opted to ski the super-fun and old-school Ascension Trail. I've skied some trails built by Jackrabbit Johannsen in Quebec, and this trail reminds me of them. Up, down, lots of curves and even a few spots to make a couple of Tele turns.

View attachment 27169

We looped back to the car by skiing up most of Buck Lake, avoiding skiing on the road. Lake conditions were perfect, no slush, and nice powder to glide through. Even skiing pow on a flat surface is fun! Yes, Moira is on a long rope, she is not entirely trustworthy off-leash (see Dog Thread).

View attachment 27170

Back at the HRV, the dog is ready for more. A fine morning!

View attachment 27171

Gear bomb went off. There is a dog in there somewhere.

View attachment 27172

Happy for you guys looks like a true Hinterlandian adventure

 

[Ripitz]

Vagabond BC 97. He has a love/hate relationship with those skis. They are quite stiff overall, especially in the tip, so tend to dive downwards in deep snow when skied with stiffer boots and active tele bindings that create more tip pressure. He says they are great for a firm base with a bit of fresh op top (say, when poaching at a resort). Now that he has put the least active binding possible (Voile Mountaineer 3-pin) on them, and skis with loose boots, he thinks they are a great ski for schwacking explorations, like a modern version of the good old Karhu Catamounts we loved back in the day. They climb very well without skins, though like all fishscales, there is a limit to how steep you can climb.

Thanks for this info SBR. The 88s are new this year and that’s what I’m interested in. Thinking about putting the Xplore binding on them and driving them with the Crispi Futura Pro for skiing hiking trails and general shwacking. Eric Fey is coming to the Catskills next week for two demo days (Plattekill on Friday 24 and Belleayre on Saturday 25 for anyone curious) so I hope to get on them.

I used to ski a lot with my dog Roscoe and had good luck with a retractable leash. He had a harness and I would simply pass the buckle of my pack waist belt through the handle of the leash. I would lock it out for pulling or let it yo-yo for mismatched speeds. I found this was the best way to avoid entanglements. Not saying you’re doing it wrong because you guys look pro but that’s what worked for me. Love seeing the dogs out there.

The Hinterlands are looking fluffy.

 

[Tjf1967]

My dog stays near enough he can always catch up. Figured it out in his own. My partner had to use a shock collar to get hers to pay attention. They learned pretty fast.

 

[Sick Bird Rider]

Thanks for this info SBR. The 88s are new this year and that’s what I’m interested in. Thinking about putting the Xplore binding on them and driving them with the Crispi Futura Pro for skiing hiking trails and general shwacking. Eric Fey is coming to the Catskills next week for two demo days (Plattekill on Friday 24 and Belleayre on Saturday 25 for anyone curious) so I hope to get on them.

I used to ski a lot with my dog Roscoe and had good luck with a retractable leash. He had a harness and I would simply pass the buckle of my pack waist belt through the handle of the leash. I would lock it out for pulling or let it yo-yo for mismatched speeds. I found this was the best way to avoid entanglements. Not saying you’re doing it wrong because you guys look pro but that’s what worked for me. Love seeing the dogs out there.

The Hinterlands are looking fluffy.

The 88 would likely be a great ski for the Xplore setup.

I tried a retractable leash (Flexi brand) early on but it was a big tangle problem in thicker forest. With the rope, I can just let her go and pick up the other end as it goes by. Or yell. "hey Dave, catch the dog!"

 

[Brownski]

When I was a horse wrangler, they would some times do that when one of them started being hard to catch. They would leave a halter and a long lead rope on, so it would drag behind them in the pasture. I never liked it for safety reasons but it worked