Category Archives: Skiing
Lou Dawson Interview
Lou and Ted will have to explain this ritual of post ski breathing technique
Lou Dawson is a legend in the American ski culture. Primarily known as the first person to ski all 54 of Colorado’s 14,000 foot peaks, he is also a pioneer of backcountry skiing, a leader who brought about awareness of ski touring ideas to the US and the daily manager and writer for the tremendously popular WildSnow.com.
We were lucky enough to run into Lou and his great, longtime friend Ted Karasote while we were all on Austria’s Silvretta Tour. Together we enjoyed dinner in the huts and had some time to chat about Euro ski touring vs. the American scene. I asked Lou some questions regarding his thoughts after years of visits to Europe.
Lou (in green hat) enjoys a meal in the Wiesbadener Hut, Silvretta Tour
Lou, what is the first word that comes to mind when you think of Euro ski touring?
FOOD
Would huts like those found throughout Europe make it in the US?
YES, absolutely, they would have to be in just the right places. Eastern Colorado and the Pacific Northwest seem the logical spots. In the US they would have to be far enough in and with only moderate motorized access to keep out the trouble makers. But yes, they would work once people discovered the concept.
What is your ideal day skiing in Europe?
I have had these days where I have skied lower level stuff, not the big mountains or big tours, but smaller stuff which we have run laps on situated above small villages. At the end of the day we dropped back to the valley and stayed in small, local guesthouses where we have all these great experiences with people who belong to the mountain culture here. It is a wonderful way to experience the mountains of Europe.
Lou, you are 58, in the hut there are numerous others of the same age or even much older. In the US, it is not too common to see “older” skiers putting in 2000+ meter days day in and day out. Here it is completely normal. What do you think fosters this? Will America get to this point in it’s mountain sport culture?
We must have our eyes open to the possibilities in the US. Younger people are much more active and the older ones slow way down. In Europe there is a huge range of people involved with alpinism, in Europe it is no big deal, it’s just what you do. For Europeans, mountain sports are just part of the lifestyle, in America it is a “sport”. Americans are more concerned with “speed” and how much “vert”, this comes from our media. In Europe you would have to be like Messner to get noticed. It is the experience vs. the accomplishment idea. Europeans are more about the mountain experience. There are older role models in the European mountain culture, this has not yet come to the American scene with such a great base.
What is the next ski tour you want to do in Europe?
It’s time I do the Haute Route. I am especially interested in the historical component.
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For me it was a great pleasure to meet up with Lou and Ted and spend time laughing about the decadence of the European ski touring scene. His site WildSnow.com is a fantastic source of information for backcountry skiers and now has a full report of the Silvretta Tour for those interested in visiting Austria. Become a regular visitor and encourage Lou to visit the Haute Route for yet another trip report.
The Silvretta Tour, part 1
Probably not your typical ski touring photo
Home. As good as Euro huts are, we still love to be home, and especially home eating a huge, fresh salad. Tomorrow morning’s breakfast will not include dry bread and jam. Those that have been on Euro ski tours will fully understand dry bread and jam. Janine and I fell sick on the last day, spent a feverish night in the Jamtal Hut and promptly descended to the valley first thing in the morning. Time for a quick recovery at home, and tomorrow, Janine’s Birthday will be spent closer to home than in a mountain hut.
6 days on the Silvretta – no bad weather, this is a first. The GPS stayed in the pack the whole time, lovely.
It was all about corn skiing, although thanks to our powder sniffing friend Susie Sutphin, we did manage to find some pockets of north facing fluff up high. Our great Italian friend Andreas Irsara’s quote sums up being on a trip with Susie, “Susie, you make me crazy for skiing.” This while he set out behind her as she kicked steps up yet another steep couloir.
This is part 1 of the Tour Blog, a full account will follow including a trip report for Austria’s Silvretta Tour (my second time on it and likely my favorite in Europe) as well as an interview with Lou Dawson of the famous backcountry ski website Wild Snow. We discovered Lou in the first night’s hut typing (blogging) on the smallest laptop I have ever seen. With Lou was the best selling author Ted Kerasote and together we were all lucky enough to get to spend time drinking beers and laughing about all the decadance of Euro backcountry life.
For now we leave you with some fun pics and the reminder that the Silvretta Tour is paradise for the backcountry skier. Lou Dawson also posted info at Wild Snow. Check back in here for a complete report on the tour.
Andreas Irsara and Susie Sutphin
Touring through a serac zone
Headed for the Piz Buin
Skier's Test: Find the line of choice
Susie Sutphin has clearly earned her turns
Topping out for another couloir
Ridge traversing, Silvretta Tour
Tagged Backcountry Skiing, Europe, Ski Tour, Ski Touring
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What is in my pack?
After countless emails asking me about what sort of gear we use, it is time to just go ahead and show it off.
Yes, we are in the mountains 300+ days a year, year in and year out. I field questions daily requesting camera info, clothing, packs, GPS, food, etc… Seems we do know about gear.
So here it is, gear for a 7 day ski tour in the Austrian Alps. No camera gear shown, no pants, wearing them… And we are staying in huts, thus no food.
Why do we love European ski touring? 7 days skiing in alpine terrain, 24lbs/11kg total with camera gear. Note credit card.
7 day ski tour: the gear
Also posted in DolomiteSport, Photography
Tagged Backcountry Skiing, Gear Review, Mountain Sports, Ski Touring
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April Spring Ski Tour Schedule
The Ortler Group
For the 9th straight year, we are about to begin a month long, non-stop ski tour.
Even with a proposal from Janine to head south to Sicily in late April for a few days to tan the body and not just the face, we are still looking forward to at least 30 more days of skiing in the backcountry. This with 70 already on the books, the usual… With the massive amount of snow in the Dolomites and Alps, we have tours planned for May as well, a ski ascent/descent of Mont Blanc and a Berner Oberland Tour to end the season. I guess a few days eating seafood instead of hut food will be appreciated come late April.
And YES it is work… Fun work, but work nevertheless, we (especially “I”) love it. Euro hut living is an odd thing. We travel/ski as a small group of friends but live in these mountain huts dorm style. Often we have massive sleeping rooms where 40 or more skiers are packed in like sardines, many of whom may not have showered in days and ALL of whom have been eating volatile food for dinner. You get my point. Thankfully there are ear plugs, unfortunately there are no nose plugs.
If we are lucky, there is cell and data service at the huts and the iPhone allows our “office” to remain open. But more often than not, I have to go out at night to check in for the American work day, ski up onto
some windswept ridge and wander around looking for data packets. It is absurd, but part of the job. Emails must be kept brief to prevent frostbite.
Dinner is at 6:30 sharp each night, breakfast is served depending on your itinerary, anywhere from 5-7 a.m. We are always at the mercy of the weather.
Our schedule changes daily, we are photographers, we need blue sky and powder. For work, white skies are deadly and make our moods foul. The grass is always greener concept haunts us. Sunny days are treasured and full of action. But for every bluebird day there seems to be a day spent with the GPS in hand, blindly following and praying that the waypoints are accurate and wishing we didn’t have to travel in such horrid and dangerous weather.
All of this fill our memories and our stock library. It’s not just about turns, it is the whole package and it is an odd way to live yet it is my favorite time of the year. I never tire of traveling on skis in massive, glaciated alpine terrain. It is a perfect experience.
And so it begins this week, hut reservations have been made, we check into the Alps fulltime come Friday morning. We’ll do our best to update the blog with fun tales and photos.
Ski touring in the Berner Oberland
Skier beneath the north wall of the Aletschorn, Berner Oberland
Touring
Dan & Janine inside their snowcave for the night
Poor eating conditions make life difficult
Morning departure from the Chanrion Hut, The Haute Route
Janine impressing the Italians with Swiss building skills
Quaint European mountain shelter, the Jamtal Hut
The Ortler Tour
The Pizzini Hut, Ortler Tour
Glacier touring
The impressively situated Vignette Hut, Haute Route
The drying/dining/sleeping room
Also posted in DolomiteSport, Photo Business
Tagged Backcountry Skiing, Mountain Sports, Photography, Ski Touring
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Garmin's Virtual Training Partner
So I got my new Garmin Forerunner 405 the other day. A watch, a GPS, a training tool, a little coach in a watch.
I used it for the first time today training ski rando. All worked perfectly until this little window kept rotating through telling me I was behind my virtual partner. It even had a little guy running along, in font of my little guy.
Huh? I was livid, I went faster but no matter what I did, the little icon man stayed off the front. Soon I had sweat dripping off my hair, as I went higher an icicle formed and dangled in front of my eyes, irritating me that much more. I was afraid to slow to deal with my icicle for fear of little icon man disappearing off the screen. Thankfully I was reaping the rewards of an all new playlist, Forza, and rather than bluegrass twanging in my earbuds I had Tool taking root in my pscyhe. I was ready to fight.
And fight I did, by the time I got to the top I had closed in on my little virtual buddy. I thought I would take him on the descent so as if in a race, I stopped, ripped off my skins, threw the downhill lever on my boots, stashed the skins inside my chest pockets and was off. Down I flew on the hard pack ice, no longer able to look at the screen, I hoped for the best in my efforts and stubbornness.
10 minutes later I was finished and like a downhiller made my last turn to stop outside the Kronplatz bar, ever thumping with techno. With my quads screaming in protest of my ridiculous descent, I pulled back my shirtsleeve and with gloved finger hit the pause button. But wait, where is he? No, I had not just paused the little battle, I had stopped it altogether, he was gone, off to the showers. Unless I really read the manual, will I ever know the outcome? Does it really matter? And just what does this say about my personality?
Head Case
Can’t wait to get off this piste, so many skiers, all of them staring at me as I am going up while they are all going down. Hurry up before you get creamed.
Why is he going up? Who skis uphill at a resort? I do.
My right knee hurts and why do my boots feel big today? my heels are slipping up too much. Finally, the trail into the forest, off the piste, alone. Stopwatch, turn it on. 140 heart rate. Warm up a little more, it is cold, -1 celsius in the shade. Knee feels better. Go.
Icey. Slipping so much, do I suck at this or is it really too icey.
181, too high this early. Calm down and focus.
Getting chilled as the sweating starts, all part of the break in to the session.
I wonder which Dirty Harry movie had that line, what was it, about the do you feel lucky bit. That Eastwood was something, way better than Rambo or Terminator. 176, much better. I sure stare at my feet a lot.
Damn, chick song on the iPhone, the hazards of shuffle… I need to do something about the playlists for hard workouts. Can’t be listening to Shannon Whitworth when I need Eminem. Gloves are too thick to hit the next button …Deal.
When I get back I need to post that lightbox for Genny. What was the request anyway?
180. Steeper here, feeling awake now and moving well, knee is good.
What should we have for dinner tonight? Pasta of course but what? Tuna, spice it up a bit with chili pepper in a red sauce. Is there any rucola left?
Maybe I should Blog about my thoughts… all this random dribble going through my head. Athletes will fully get it, others will think it is absurd. I have been having these days, mostly alone, for over twenty years now. 178. It would be an interesting study on athletes, just what is going through everyone’s heads out here. All those photos, people looking all focused and driven when they are really trying to figure out if they remembered to take the compost out.
Two more people ahead of me, get noticed, clear the throat and pass. “Hallo.” Oh good they saw the headphones and didn’t chat. 184, 28:30. Time to move faster, run when you can and use the glide.
Psyched for the next race, but why am I intimidated by this sport? If it were bike racing I wouldn’t feel intimidated, but ski racing is nuts. I know how to bike race. It is the descents that scare me. And the etiquette, what is the etiquette for passing and so on? Screw it, be Dirty Harry.
Something chocolatey sounds good. What did I bring for the top? Hhmmm, really sweaty and the higher I go the colder it gets. 176. I am going to freeze on the descent.
Oh, can’t forget to get coffee the next time at the store. And some broccoli.
………………………..
58:28, 178. Turbo is kicking in on the flatter section. Stride now, glide where you can but try to rest a bit. Breathe. Steep is next.
Ya, M.I.A. Much better. Good timing.
It is gorgeous here, above the treeline I can see forever. So white. Town is tiny now. 184. I wonder what animal pees every 30 meters along the trail. A fox? Why do I always feel better after an hour?
“Hopp, Hopp, Vai, Vai, Dai, Dai” What the… whoa, where did they come from on this trail? a ski intstructor and his group all screaming for me. Love Europe, people applaud and respect the athlete.
Sometimes it is hard to get out, to leave the house when it is cold and the legs are already tired from the day before. But it is always worth it. Why is it always perfect? no matter what. There’s the Magerstein, wow, so much snow on it… we need to go ski it soon. 182. I feel perfect. An hour at my AT with no problems, good sign.
Brrrrr. I hate skinning beneath the gondola line, like I am a loser who can’t afford a lift ticket. Hardly anyone up here. 186. Go.
1:12 is good for the long way and I still have more in me. A tea is sounding really good, lounge time? or lap number two?
Ski Rando Training Photos
Perfection : |pərˈfek sh ən|noun : the condition, state, or quality of being free or as free as possible from all flaws or defects :
• a person or thing perceived as the embodiment of such a condition, state, or quality
Sometimes it envelopes us and we know we are doing what we were meant to do. Sport, in the mountains, free of flaws because we are fit, healthy and can move through the environment with skills derived from training. This is what we live for.
Together with my friend Paolo Pitscheider, we spent an afternoon training for ski randonee racing (sci alpinismo) in the Dolomites. Without clouds, cold, wind, and weight on our backs, we practiced what we love to do on the first warm day of the coming spring but in a big, big winter landscape.
Ski Rando Racing is not about going down, it is about up, and it is about effort. Down is not pretty, the boots are soft, the skis narrow, down is something you hang on and ride out, up is pain you train to endure.
Janine came and made photos of us, her timing also perfection. Just in time to catch two very happy skiers and a beautiful sunset.
Also posted in Dolomites, DolomiteSport, Photography, Random Thoughts
Tagged Backcountry Skiing, Dolomites, Mountain Sports, Ski Rando Race, Ski Touring
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Tour de Sas: A Delightful Spanking
If you enjoy backcountry skiing where you feel as if your being chased, and you are never allowed to stop and rest, I have just the sport for you. Euro ski rando racing.
I have been talking about the Tour de Sas for the last week because I was excited to try this sport and much of my recent training has been focused on surviving what I knew would be a fast and competitive event. It was. Additionally, the race is 20 minutes right up the valley from where we live, so it is a local event.
From the morning start in Alta Badia, where AC/DC’s Highway to Hell was blaring, to four hours later when I crossed the finish line, my heart rate rarely dropped below 170. Charging up the climbs, trying to pass outside the track, frantic transitions (skins on/skins off) and insanely fast descents (confirmed, no turning) all characterize this sport.
It was obvious it was going to be a hard day when, 5 minutes into the race, I checked my heart rate and saw I had already burnt 92 calories. This actually gave me some number crunching to do in anticipation of the post race pasta feed. Just how much pasta is 4000 calories anyway?
Overall, a brilliant experience, to say I loved it is an understatement. I have some new visuals in my head; skiing down from the San Antonio at frightening speed with ridiculously soft ski boots on, out of the corners of my eyes, both sides, I see cartwheeling humans. I was hanging on for dear life as my skis were pointed straight to the bottom and my body was getting tossed around in the chopped up powder. Speaking of which, how very odd to ski great snow and NOT make turns, rather to ski the slop because it is faster.
The finish was a blessing for more than just getting to stop. I was able to seek a new song, other than Highway to Hell, to have in my head. My time, 4 hours, 118th out of 290. I am happy. The winner…? 2:48. Amazing to think of the speed the leaders maintained. So inspiring. I have some serious learning to do.
Many thanks to the organizers; Daniele, Paolo, Andrea and the always wonderful (and our partner) Igor Tavella – for the cushy hotel room and massively tasty calorie packed dinner. And next year I will be back, complete with lycra suit.
Janine was on hand to make some snaps from the event: The 2009 Tour de Sas
Also posted in Dolomites, DolomiteSport, Life in Italy
Tagged Alta Badia, Backcountry Skiing, Dolomites, Sci Alpinismo, Ski Rando Race, Ski Touring
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