Winter kit

[SkiwM1A]

I thought I'd share a few tips and gear ideas with all of you here. I travel in the backcountry often in the snow and cold up here in Wyoming and I do very much prefer to know where I'm at and where I'm going.


This is one of my favorite new chingaderas. It is a high speed, low drag version of the time tested ranger bead concept. It is large enough to hang around my neck along with my altimeter and compass. The cord locks stay put and are ergonomically correct for use WITH mittens on. I love it.

[SkiwM1A]

For me to really be accurate navigating I need to be certain of my pacecount or the ranger beads are useless. This is my 100 yard tape measure. I have a pace count of exactly 156 steps per 100 yards on my snowshoes with my pack on.

[SkiwM1A]

If any of you watch you will see that a lot of my kit, summer, spring and fall as well as my winter stuff is on lanyards. More about this later. These are my Silva Ranger compass, made in Finland and my Japanese Sun altimeter. Both are mandatory mountain navigation gear.

[SkiwM1A]

This is one of my Kifaru top zip large "Dock 'n Lock" bags with their accessory strap on it. Anything that cannot freeze like my water, sunscreen, the flask full of olive oil, medical stuff like Neosporin or just about anything else you might need goes into it and stays under my parka. My own body heat keeps all of this from freezing including the tube from my canteen.

[SkiwM1A]

I take real good care of my snowshoes. The buckles shown here are lubed with triflow every time I go out and get a thorough inspection too.


All the nuts and bolts that keep my bindings secure get the threadlock treatment every fall BEFORE I use them. I learned this the hard way!

These are the little electrical zip ties I use on all sorts of gear. They keep the heel straps in place perfectly. The best ones are made by Burndy. Avoid the ones sold by Ideal. I learned this the hard way!

The crampons get a thorough inspection and any needed repairs before I go out.
I learned this the hard way!

[SkiwM1A]

This is my avalanche transceiver. I absolutely positively NEVER go out without it. PERIOD!!!!

I've had so many failures and problems with rechargeable and alkaline batteries I just don't even buy them any more. The only ones allowed in the "Wyldmans" kit are the lithium batteries. Their shelf life is nearly indefinite, they work in sub zero temperatures and they far outlast all the others. They are pricey but my life or someone elses may depend on them. If I owned a GPS it would get loaded with them too.
I learned this the hard way.

[SkiwM1A]

Often times I see folks who do not understand the correct way to put their ski pole straps on.

Just put your hand up through the strap.

Then down with the strap between your thumb and forefinger. This way the strap supports your hand with little or no grip. Easy to relax and get the maximum push on your poles.

[SkiwM1A]

You'll notice too I have a good pair of goggles on, all my pockets have mitten friendly zipper pulls on them including my crotch zipper and I am wearing bibs. The fleece is Cabelas polar weight synthetic as well as my hat and you'll also notice some of my clothing is black. If it's really cold out I will be entirely dressed in black as the genuinely does help with passive warming when I'm in the sun.
I learned this the hard way.
Questions???

[AD]

I just went though the same thing this morning with my wife and her Leki Super Makalu hiking poles. Learned this in the late 60's when I learned how to ski.

[Tex]

Is the avalanche transceiver the same thing as the EPIRB that alot of backcountry hikers take incase they get lost?

Brand and size of snowshoes?

Please explain the chingadera and ranger beads in a little more detail please. How exactly are they used?

Thank you very much for this thread, Ski.



Tex

[Sacajawea]

Have you cross-country skied? Is snowshoeing easier?

X-country was a mess for me; I ice skated a lot so my feet just didn't understand ski discipline. I fell sideways a lot from trying find an edge on the skis, lean them and slide them around. Still have a pair, though.

[unseenone]

Probably a hell of a lot less chance of breaking your leg, neck, face on snow shoes in unfamiliar territory as compared to skis.

[george7100]

outstanding info,Ski. thank you for sharing this info. I love the fleece,man cant have too much in the winter,very warm and light for what it does,nd drys quickly as opposed to cotton,

[AD]

The avalanche beacon is not the same as a epirb. The becon work when you ate burried in the snow. Everyones unit is turned to broadcast when skiing, shoeing. If caught by an avalanche, those surviving switch their units to receive and then they cover the slide area listening for the buried becons broadcast. Then you probe with special poles to find the body and start digging.

[SkiwM1A]

My avy transceiver is only to find someone else or myself in the event any of us are buried.
The snowshoes are the Cabelas Alaskan Outfitter, 10" wide by 36" long. They are no longer made.
"Chingadera" is construction worker slang for any unspecified object. The Ranger beads are used to keep track of my pace count. 9 on my right and 5 on my left. I usually count one on the right every 100 yards, after the 9th one is down the final count will be to lift all the right ones back to the top and lower one on the left for 1,000 yards, 3,000 feet or just over 1/2 mile. Many other folks have their own version of this. The Canadians use the metric system so one on the right would be 100 meters with the final count of 9+the one on the left being 1,000 meters or one "Click".