Tales from the Hinterland: 2019/2020 edition

Once again, TFTH rises from its summer slumber and appears to entertain the NYSB with the adventures of your more northern brethren. And, once again, Telemark Dave went skiing on a golf course today, so I figured I'd better fire up the old thread to get things going for this season. Personally, I'm waiting for the next dump. Getting fussy about snow depth in my old age.

Here is the snow chair this morning. Some nice snow on top of a crusty layer on top of somewhat frozen ground:



And, once again, if you are new here, and are saying WTF, this story has been going for a while. Here is your opportunity to catch up:

2010/11: Tales-from-the-Hinterland-an-ongoing-saga
2011/12: lost for a few years, this season was recently rediscovered: Tales-from-the-Hinterland-winter-of-2011-2012
And, if I may, call your attention to a few separate and fun TRs from that season:
the Dog Day Ski Adventure
The Tour de Valley
and, SBR Has an Epiphany
2012/13: Tales-from-the-Hinterland-2012-13-edition
Special TR from March 2013: A Dream Comes True, Sort Of.
2013/14: Tales-from-the-Hinterland-2013-2014-edition
2014/15: Tales-from-the-Hinterland-2014-2015-edition

2015/16: Tales-from-the-Hinterland-2015-2016-edition
2016/17: Tales-from-the-Hinterland-2016-2017-edition
2017/18: Tales-from-the-Hinterland-2017-2018-edition
2018/19: Tales from the Hinterland: 2019/2020 edition

Yes!

The ten year anniversary!

So ya, today was day uno for me, and again like last year I chose to meadowskip on the local golf course just down the street.  I was joined by my family tribe, or, actually, I joined them as it was their day three.   I got to try out my DIY meadowskipping skin skis - I added the old skins off of Bonnie’s track set classic skis (look up skin ski) to a old pair of 60 mm wide touring skis I scored for $25 at a swap years ago.  I’m giving them two thumbs up - they rocked for type of skiing we did!  
FYI, there was a solid 3-4” of consolidated snow over fast grass base; and another 4-5” of fresh on top.  

My DIY bc-extralight skin skis!

raisingarizona wrote

Yes!

The ten year anniversary!

Ooooh, that puts some pressure on us.

TD: nice report, those skinny skin skis look like da bomb.

Sick Bird Rider wrote

raisingarizona wrote

Yes!

The ten year anniversary!

Ooooh, that puts some pressure on us.

TD: nice report, those skinny skin skis look like da bomb.

They’re actually a mid fat skinny skin ski...  

Telemark Dave wrote

Sick Bird Rider wrote

raisingarizona wrote

Yes!

The ten year anniversary!

Ooooh, that puts some pressure on us.

TD: nice report, those skinny skin skis look like da bomb.

They’re actually a mid fat skinny skin ski...  

(What’s TFTH without some friendly banter and haranguing!)

Welcome back Hinterlandians! I look forward to your many future adventures

Sick Bird Rider wrote

Some nice snow on top of a crusty layer on top of somewhat frozen ground

Sounds AWESOME to a southerner like me.

Lookin good TD!

Go gettem you crazy canuks!! You guys got it going on. Thanks for taking the time to share!! Can't wait to see that chair buried.

All is ok with the world. TFTH has started and we have meat hanging.

campgottagopee wrote

All is ok with the world. TFTH has started and we have meat hanging.

Life is good!

We are lined up for a pretty good system this week now. I guess it’s time to shift gears.

skiing in pa 11/16, warren miller movie and TFTH!?!?!?

It's officially ski season - keep 'em coming!

For my first snow-sliding experience of the season, I tried out a pair of Altai Hoks, in the longest size,  145 cm. I chose the term snow-sliding on purpose, since the Hoks fall somewhere between a ski and snow shoe. The 145s are definitely more ski-like but still don't have the glide of a ski due to the permanently mounted skin. For the low tide conditions of today, the Hoks were ideal. While short, they are reasonably fat, at 124/110/122.

Fortunately, I was able to borrow a rental pair from work, as these things are not cheap. First, it was time to decide what boots to use:



The tele boot seemed like overkill and I was concerned that I might rip the binding out of the ski. Since they come standard with inserts, it is possible to install 75 mm bindings on these things, if you are so inclined.

I settled on the hiking boots, which fit the Universal Binding well and have similar support to a well-used old-school leather tele boot.



Then a variety of chemicals were applied.



If you haven't seen these things before, here is a view of the base with skin.



And off I went, without the dog. At the age of 16, my faithful canine Utah has retired from ski touring due to advanced age and deafness. He got to sleep on the couch while I went skiing.

Crossing a deer track:



Eventually I made it to Secret Hill, which was looking very twiggy. The lower glide of the Hoks allows one to take a more direct descent line than you might on, say, the Chargers.



The damn fallen birch has still not rotted away, so I did a little hazard mitigation:



Then I uncovered a hidden hazard in the middle of a turn:



After the sketchy descent, I decided that more touring might be the best choice. Found a deer bed, then toured over to Utah's Rock and the pond view.





To end the afternoon, I trekked over to Bonk Hill, schlepped up it and headed home. A fine start to winter adventures!

Nice!

So what’s your thoughts on that unique set up?

The Hoks have a lot going for them. For skilled skiers, they are a fun addition to the quiver for oddball condiorions or just Hokking around the backbush. They do open up interesting terrain options like super tight trees. For less-skilled skiers, they are a great gateway ski for backcountry exploration. I'm not a hunter but I could also see some application for moving through snowy bush looking for Bambi.

Sick Bird Rider wrote

 

And off I went, without the dog. At the age of 16, my faithful canine Utah has retired from ski touring due to advanced age and deafness. He got to sleep on the couch while I went skiing.
 

Bummer! I'm going through the same with my 13yo Choc Lab. He's deafer than a stump, slowing down, but still damn good looking. My 12yo Yellow Lab, well, she's going strong. I slow her down some because I don't want her to blow a hip/knee or something like that out.

Anyway, cool looking setup you have there. I'm kind of surprised they don't come in a longer length.

campgottagopee wrote

Bummer! I'm going through the same with my 13yo Choc Lab. He's deafer than a stump, slowing down, but still damn good looking. My 12yo Yellow Lab, well, she's going strong. I slow her down some because I don't want her to blow a hip/knee or something like that out.

It is tough when they get really elderly. Utah has good days and bad days, not helped by the fact that he has developed a form of "old dog syndrome," basically a low-grade dementia. He paces sometimes at night, gets weirdly obsessed about getting into dark corners of the house, and occasionally is kind of destructive and chews on the baseboards. Other times he is his normal happy self, just a bit slow slow moving. Today, he sprinted after a deer and barked his head off, so I guess he hasn't completely lost it.

campgottagopee wrote

Anyway, cool looking setup you have there. I'm kind of surprised they don't come in a longer length.

They are not selling these things to skiers, mostly to bored slowshoers and winter hikers. They do make a longer, metal edge fishscaled ski called the Kom, which would be a fun thing to have.

The day after my last report, the Hinterlands experienced the same gully washer that some of you folks did. It was a depressing scene and not worthy of photographic record. Last night and this morning, we downloaded Winter 4.0 and went from near zero to hero. The picnic table was bare yesterday.



I elected to let sleeping dogs lie and go for another run on the Hoks. Yes, he is breathing.



Stepping out side, I found more snow in the driveway. Without skis on, this measured in at 30 cm (almost 12").



Off I went into the woods. There was some wind associated with this snow event:



As usual, I went to Secret Hill.



Fall line wedeln on the Hoks. At a certain point the skins seem to let go and you really pick up speed, so keep your feet moving.



When I got home, the dog was awake, so he went out to check on things.



All in all, an excellent restart to winter. Rumour has it that more is on the way later tonight.

ok, Hoker..

I think that it’s not Utah that’s going senile.. 😥