UtahMountainBiking.com

[mooddude]

Amen - brother, I couldn't agree more. Manage yourself and your terrain and you can tour every single day - without a partner.

Although it is nice to have someone to share the good times with!

[Pharoah]

Won't find the chatroom again 'till spring? Is that when you expect to thaw?

Good luck outsmarting the back country. You must be some kind of expert to assume you don't need safety equipment.

[GrizzlyAdam]

While I understand the point you are making Native, I find it disingenuous that you think anyone who has ever been caught in an avalanche is an idiot who just doesn't know how to use their brain. And that is what you are inferring, whether intended or not. It's also pretty pretentious to think that you will never get into trouble out there simply because you think you are using your brain better than the next guy.

Yes, use your head, of course! Make good judgment calls, be smart, and cautious. Part of doing that is using proper gear, along with route finding, terrain choices and common sense.

I just hope you never come upon a recently buried skier and you decided to play it smart and leave your beacon at home.

[GrizzlyAdam]

[mooddude]

[native]

I've been caught in an avalanche or two(must be an idiot) and done some digging. Ever seen one griz? Ever had a friend die in one? Next time you're standing at the top of a slope capable, turn off your beacon. Would you still ski the slope? Does that beacon keep you safe?
When traveling in avalanche terrain, it's best to have all the tools.
Avalanches happen in cycles, not every day, on every mountainous slope.
Looks to me like the avalanche experts reside on a mountain bike chat forum.
Opinions are like assholes. Everyone has one.
I offered mine in response to a question asked.

[rip]

Well, if native is who I think he is...he is some kind of expert. There are very few people in the Wasatch that have more experience and local knowledge. You guys are bringing a knife to a gun fight.

[Jim Garrett]

[blissfulcycler]

Holly smokes what did I start... First i'm not going to spend $ 200 just so they can find my body, they can wait til the snow melts away. Second I always go with friends. Third I don't know how to go with out my brain, Its stuck in my head I can hear it bouncing around while biking. I can't spend $200 on bacon or a beacon. Cause i have no money not even enough to being common cents. I almost lost interest when i saw how expensive snow shoes have gotten... I don't even want to know how much backcountry skiing stuff will cost. but thanks for all the advice.....

[cachehiker]

My fave setup cost me $450. I took my time and found both the skis and the boots on closeout and picked up the bindings near the end of the season so they gave me a good deal on them too. They're waxless Fischer hybrids with a one and a half camber that work great with kicker skins. They don't handle the really technical stuff but they turn better than my cross country sticks and kick and glide far better than my telemarks.

I'm still without a beacon and boots though so I've spent very little time on telemarks. Last year I spent all of one low avalanche danger day practicing on 20-30º slopes in Bunchgrass Creek, an area that's never been known to slide except in the most extreme conditions. I was up there the day before on my hybrids and they just didn't have enough float so I came back down, rented what I needed, and went back up the next day.

Renting gear is something I highly recommend until you've worked out what you really want to ski and how you want to ski it. I prefer cross country but rarely find myself on anything groomed.

[Cobes]

So it's not Bacon then?

[Not Cool]

native wins the "bacon". He seems to offended some of you. i think he is a very reasonale person.

[blissfulcycler]

Ok update.. I checked out helmets after my buddy smashed his head on Wednesday while snow boarding Briton...Ten staples on a four inch cut. And I bought Wastch tours three volume book set. From REI. So far the first book seems dated. hopefully the rest will be better. I've decided to use snow shoes to climb the mountain and then snow board down. figure its cheaper then buying new back country gear. Now I just have to learn how to snowboard. My buddy and I still debating on get becons......

[SkiBikeJunkie]

[ekimcam]

Thumbs up to SkiBikeJunkie

Buy a beacon and practice using it. Get someone to hide it in you home somewhere and use another beacon to find the first. It's no good having a beacon then try to learn how to use it when your buddy is buried.

[Not Cool]

A safe backcountry skier is also a weather news junkie. Start watching/reading the weather and remember the weather history. Snow is weather and snowpack is weather history. Beacons and probes are only useful after somebody screws up. i'm glad it seems like most of you have an opinion, because that is also an item you need to take with you in the land of sliding snow. You gear-heads out there scare me!

[thefugitive]

So is Native Bob Athey? I'm confused (which is easy to do ). I get Native's point and agree with him but there are limitiations and being a good boyscout I am always prepared. I'm a 50/50 inbounds/ out of bounds skier. Never been caught in a slide or had a friend die in one (but have heard the woomph and seen the shooting cracks , thank god I was in the trees ) . I'm far from the smartest guy out there but I know you can be the smartest guy touring the safest slope and you might not be in danger 99% of the time.... But, there's that 1%. And then there's the party touring the other side of the bowl (you know the part that's been baking in the sun for the last couple hours) who may not be smart and safe like you think you are. You may be the one person watching that snow slide to the floor with them in it but no beacon probe or shovel and what are you gonna do? Pray?

Bring ALL your safety gear into the BC. Brain and common sense included....

Edit to say no offense intended against the wizard, the guy is a LEGEND and hero to many...

[mooddude]

[thefugitive]

[AllenB]

Obviously the basic needs for BC skiing are: Beacon, probe and shovel. But those are worthless if you don't have the knowledge of how to use them. Practicing using your gear, doing beacon tests, digging pits, reading the snow report, gathering info and knowledge about snowpack are very important. Also, having a reliable partner who also knows about all these things is immensely important. Can't forget good judgment. Knowing to walk away from certain terrain even though the pow looks sick is important when certain hazardous factors are there. If you have your mind set to ski a certain slope, that is dangerous. Your game plan must be able to change to suit the safety of the group.

Furthermore, not wearing a beacon puts many others at risk when a burial occurs. Instead of pinpointing the subject from a beacon search, a burial when the subject has no beacon involves a much more elaborate search and rescue. More people will be at risk of secondary slides. Being dumb puts many others at risk. Bottom line: wear a beacon. Have the knowledge. Make sound decisions. Take an avy class.

[Sombeech]

[chigo29]

how come it became the quote of the season?

[Sombeech]