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Dave Mann [[log in to unmask]]writes: >I will say that floundering around on my tele stuff on the >steeper stuff (for me) under left gully and chute convinced me that >I need to choose from the following: >a) Do *something* different to increase my tele skills dramatically >b) Invest in AT gear so I can once again ski stuff I used to ski > confidently on alpine gear >c) Just give up on it (not really an option but...) I'd still vote for a) in your case- your fundamentals are more than good enough. The biggest obstacle I see for you in that regard is to find a venue steep enough, safe enough, and close enough to home that you can work it out technically prior to finding yourself suddenly perched on 300' of backcountry snow with rock exposure. But while I can think of several places to do that in central MA, I'm not familiar with any on the S end of Beantown. (There may be something on Mont Bleu, but it requires more and consistent natural snowpack than what is usually found there.) >> Waiting for several minutes in vain >> for a clearing to either take more vertical or get safer look at the >> descent I timed out and donned skis. > >How? Serious question. Did you cut out platform? It was soft enough snow that I could jam the tail into the hill cross-wise, perpendicular to the fall line while holding onto the other ski (jammed vertically in the snow) for stability. Once in the first ski, I reset the tail-jam for optimal angle, then jammed the other (the uphill) ski in parallel next to it. In firmer snow I sometimes have to machete-in a ledge for the first ski, then stomp it in a bit wider for the second after getting the first on. This can be pretty tricky on 45+ degree stuff, but at my turnaround point it was still sub-45 degrees and reasonably soft snow. It was steep enough that I didn't really want to think about slippin' or droppin' a ski though. In times past I've carried a small lanyard to keep the skis tied both to me and each other- safety straps often work well enough, but on this particular set of lightweight 3-pin bindings (Voile 201)they don't make have a safety-strap attachment point, woulda had to rig up something through the bails. I'll probably make up a li'l quick draw with mini-'biners and 6mm rope for just this purpose next time I'm out on something steeper with this setup. >> I gave Dave a bit of a hard time about being a bad-Karma >> skiing partner-every time we head for the Whites together the >> weather turns for the worse and we end up at Plan-B, C, or D, >> skiing the dregs of Tuckerman. > >Oddly, Dana, I always have sunny skies and mild, warm breezes >when I hike in Whites with *other* people. ;^) Yeah, it's _my_ bad Karma, I know... :-) >Actually though, the real reason for this is most other >people have sense enough to stay home when it rains. Which is why it's usually not crowded when I go skiin' in the rain- leaves more for me, sez me! :-) Which is why it was even more surprising that something like a dozen people showed up at Tuckerman on Monday, eh? It was really pissin' at the start! dana _____________ ________ __ __ /________ ________ ___ __( Tele till you drop ___\ ________ ________ __ ____) ______ __________ _ ___/ ______ ___________ _ __( o ____ __________ __ __ \(|\.____ _______ ____ ___`\>/______ ____ ______ ____ \` ______ __ _______ ______`________ _ _______ _______________ __ ______ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - SkiVt-L is brought to you by the University of Vermont. To unsubscribe, visit http://list.uvm.edu/archives/skivt-l.html