Skiing by the Light of Headlamp

A wet snow had started to fall early in the morning before dawn.  We were alerted to this by the 5 am blast ohone call from the local schools informin us that it was a snow day for the girls. ols informing us that it was a snow day.  I had to be somewhere for work early in the am. The commute was slow with a steady snow falling all morning.  After, I went back to the office for a bit but left at 2:30.  When I arrived home, there was already 6" on the ground of what seemed like a very wet snow. A quick change, skis in the car and I was sliding on feesh snow within 30 minutes.

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Once out there, I realized the snow had this ethereal, cream cheese quality. It was not nearly as heavy or wet as I had predicted. I was hooting and hollering and soon met up with a buddy who was on snowshoes. The snow was deep enough that I was able to ski on some of our more technical mountain bike trails as well as the mellower trails.  My buddy bailed after an hour but I was out there skiing for almost 3 hours. I ended up finishing by skiing about 6 laps on the HS XC track in the woods, most by the light of headlamp!  

When I first turned it on:


As I was finishing up:


It is always good to work from home!!

nice, way to get after it! I'm charging the battery now for an after work ski on the epochs/3 pins!

  way to go Mark !!

Gotta luv those skinny skis , i always kept a pr in my office and  used them instead of doing lunch..

warp daddy wrote

way to go Mark !!

Gotta luv those skinny skis , i always kept a pr in my office and  used them instead of doing lunch..

Thanks, Warp.  Yes, I love the XC skis. I'm on a BC XC skis...65 underfoot with metal edges a three pin binding. They are so great for the local woods.  Adds an entirely new thrill to winter when I get up north to the mountains.

Looks really great. What make/model of 3 pin bindings do you use?

ck1 wrote

Looks really great. What make/model of 3 pin bindings do you use?

Voile 3-pin Tele bindings:



I was out again this morning for 2 hours. Wooo Hooo!  

a few pics from last weeks tour on the local mtb trails - glades berms banks and rollers made for some fun nordic skiercross!

Nice!  Love that last pic Gorgonzola!

Good work on making the effort to get out at night Marcski!  Is not always easy to motivate ones self, but SO worth it.  


 TD

Marcski wrote

ck1 wrote

Looks really great. What make/model of 3 pin bindings do you use?

Voile 3-pin Tele bindings:I was out again this morning for 2 hours. Wooo Hooo!

Good Choice, I use the same on some Karhu Guides.  Bulletproof and simple.  I really don't use the cables (much) - when paired with some Garmont Excursions, the Voiles work great - up, down and all around.
 
TD

Telemark Dave wrote

Marcski wrote

ck1 wrote

Looks really great. What make/model of 3 pin bindings do you use?

Voile 3-pin Tele bindings:I was out again this morning for 2 hours. Wooo Hooo!

Good Choice, I use the same on some Karhu Guides.  Bulletproof and simple.  I really don't use the cables (much) - when paired with some Garmont Excursions, the Voiles work great - up, down and all around.
 
TD

same here on  epochs. dumb cable question... how and when do you use them? I take them off for most tours and rides. actually the only time I've used them is when I take the setup out once in awhile for a few lift served runs to work on my tele/survival turn skilz! I thought I read somewhere folks leaving them on but not fastened on the boot when touring then putting them on for turns but that seems awkward and I think I would need a thicker heel plate?

I've only used the cables when I've worn my beat leather Merrills.  I tried them with the plastic Excursions, there was no discernible difference from not having them on, and it's a hassle to take them on and off as well - as you pointed out - taking a minute or so to toss them in my pack.  They'd flop around on your ski otherwise, I'm not sure either about that idea.. My pins are mounted on g3 base plate, so that doesn't help.  (With the cable issue..)

Td

Here they are on my skis - there's no way to fasten them down if they're not clamped on your boot heel.  No thanks.  



Sorry for the thread drift Marcski..

Td

I've been getting out with my headlamp frequently all winter, at least a dozen times on night patrol. I use my mountain biking headlamp (it's a Magic Shine, somewhere close to 1000 lumens) which is so bright you hardly even think of it as "night" skiing.  I'm on Madshus Epochs (fka Karhu XCD 10th Mountain), which are 68mm underfoot and 99mm at the tip.  Voile 3-pin binders with the cables (which I rarely use).

Last night's tour was typical.  Around 9:45, after the kids are tucked in I do a quick clothing change and grab my headlamp and skis.  The wife always gives me this "you're crazy" look.  To save time, I drive the quarter mile to the trailhead at the end of our block.  I've got a variety of routes that take me over small ponds and wetlands, through the woods and up a small ridge. There are several hundred acres of Saratoga County forest and Nature Conservancy land.  Lately I've been focusing my attention on a loop I've got skied in on top of the ridge, and exploring four or five different descent "glades," some quite steep.  I generally stay out for a little over an hour, maybe 90 minutes.  Except for one night when my wife went with me, I ski solo.

Some pics from this week (last night and Mon night):

Trailhead:


One of the less steep descent routes.  The ridge is 100' to 150' of vert:


Ski track on top of the ridge:


Night patrol selfie:

Awesome headlamp Jeff!!  Where is the battery pack on your setup? And how heavy is it?  

Makes my Petzl Myo XP look like a toy.

 TD

Battery goes in my pack, with a cable to connect it to the lamp.  The battery is just slightly larger and heavier than a D-cell.  Holds a charge on full brightness for 2+ hours, medium and low brightness for much longer.  I've never had it run out on me.  I originally bought it for nighttime mountain biking, but it works great for skiing too.  Everyone should have one.  You can buy the cheap knock-offs (which work just fine) for around $25.  I'll post a link if anyone's interested (there's already a link in one of the mtn biking threads from last summer).

Awesome light, I use the same one. You can't go wrong for $80!

Ditto here, but always have a back-up, when mine goes, it's out no dimming before hand.