So Eddy got me out of bed at 2:30am on Sat. morning to try for another backcountry boarding adventure, we were hoping for a 4:30-5am start. it was closer to 6 by the time he showed up and we got moving. Our friend joined us but we split directions as he went for an ice climb. I love this area and we use it year round!
we started up the forth of july trail and then split to the diamond lake trail.
we took to high of a line and were not able to reach Jasper peak. but we still had a soul cleansing day
here is our track
https://www.google.com/maps/ms?msid=216389344331023168113.0004fb69d4bd85795fa3a&msa=0


the trail started out with snow and dirt


then it was all up hill






that center line of snow is what our friend went up




the section above Jack is where we started our ride


these help a ton on the snow














my magazine shot


back into the trees


back on the trail

here are 2 videos of the day, eddy is still working on his.


thats Eddy taking a longer line down


sorry for the breathing its a bit loud...

till our next adventure, this might have been our last boarding one

Major awe and envy...

Where are the steep black and double black lines that were promised?   

My friend and I ended up doing Square Top Mountain that day because of a time crunch (he had to pick up his kid from school). Not as much snow as I had hoped, but we did get in a good line. I’m pretty certain we took the same line Eddy took, since we only saw one other track in the snow. I think this will be the last time I’m going to haul the board up a mountain this summer, the board to hike ratio was getting too low.

And what exactly are those things on your boots? I figure they are some sort of tracking device, but like none I’ve ever seen before. How are they attached to your boots?

Polar, they were boots that fit over your normal boots. He found them on steep and cheep. Pretty sweet of him to lend me his extra pair. I think we are done with the boarding as well, but hooked to do more next yr!

Oh tell me about it. The freedom, the solitude, the perfect powder, the experience of spending a day in the mountain with your dog(s). After doing backcountry with Polar, I would rarely go back to the resorts anymore.

From your post on skijoring, I thought you more of a skier? Didn’t know you like snowboarding too. You and Eddy started a little late this year so you missed a lot of good snow. I started pretty late too in March, but I was lucky enough to have some really deep powder days. It was heavenly. Once you floated on some untouched backcountry powder, you’ll probably never want to go back to the resorts either. You can’t find powder like that at a resort unless you’re the first one off the chairlift. It’s addictive. So much so I went on Craigslist and bought a powder-specific board just for backcountry use.

Does your Gnu board have a cambered or rocker profile? My first board (Burton Custom) was a traditional cambered board, and the first time I went backcountry, the added weight of a backpack combined with deep powder made a miserable ride. Even with my weight fully on my back leg (oh the burn!) and my stance set back as far as the binding would allow, my board still sank in the snow. It was terrible to have great sugary snow all around me and not been able to enjoy it fully. The powder board I bought (Burton Barracuda) has a S-rocker profile, basically a bit of camber between the bindings, then gentle rocker from the front binding all the way to the nose. I tried it when my friend and I went to Loveland, the difference was night and day. I don’t even have to lean back, and the board still floated beautifully. You may want to think about that if your current board is not very powder friendly and you want to do more backcountry next winter, right now may be a good time to pick up a powder board on Craigslist for cheap.

It’s the middle of the summer, but I’m already scouring the Internet for beta on new potential places to check out next winter! Maybe we can all do some backcountry riding together, if our schedule fits. I’m addicted and I want to do more next winter. My biggest concern though is avalanche, I don’t have any avy training yet, so before any trip I check the avalanche forecast and try to stick to slopes with low avalanche danger. Often that means gentle slopes, no harder than a green run at a resort. Do you or Eddy have any avy training? I’m thinking of taking an avalanche class next winter if my budget allows, but the price of the class plus all that gear can add up quickly, so I may have to stick to really easy terrain for quite a while…

Polar,
the whole reason we waited so long to get out was Av danger, neither of us have training or equipment. We talked about getting some training before next yr. will let you know. Eddy does all the planing, i just show up at the TH for a good day out (i do looking into some info before hand but he dose have the habit of changing things last min on me.)
I have been on the mountain since i was 4, i started skiing and did that till about 8th grade when i started to learn to snowboard, and well, been on a board ever since. i picked up X country about 3yrs ago with the dogs, i have much to still learn with that!
I would love to invest in a split board and get a backpack meant to hold the board so carrying is a bit easier.
my board is part of the B-Nice BTX series and its meant for all conditions and switch riding, it has what they call banana technology -packs plenty of pop and makes for a surfy ride in all conditions.
i just find it harder to ride in my winter hiking boots over my boarding boots but i really do not want to carry them up there, and they are to stiff to hike in.
im not sure how it will hold up with powder and the pack weight, it does great on the resort "BC" areas in powder with just me...
oh and the boots with the spikes were Kahtoola brand

I have the Kahtoola Microspikes. Never seen what you have though, it’s not even on their web site.

I think the banana technology is a twin shaped rocker profile, which would be just fine in powder. Any of the rocker or hybrid rocker profiles should do pretty well in powder, I would just stay far away from cambered board for powder. A split board would be the ultimate set up, but they are so expensive. Even on Craigslist they are rare and pretty pricey. I’m broke, so I just have to stick to my slowshoes and beater Craigslist board. I did buy a new Deuter touring pack from SteepandCheap last year, I love it. It carries my board really well, got plenty of pockets and attachment points to organize gear. The only improvement I wish would be a little forward lean of the board when it’s strapped to the pack, so I don’t kick the tail of my board when I hike downhill. Ideally, I would be on a snowboard going downhill… but on Square Top, that wasn’t an option on part of the trail. I’ve seen deals on quite a few Burton snowboard packs on SteepandCheap recently, but don’t know how well they carry though. Looked a little small to me.

As far as boots goes, I just suck it up and hike in my snowboarding boots. They are certainly stiffer than my hiking boots, but light years better than walking in ski boots when I tried skiing for a little bit two years ago. The only problem I have with my boarding boots is the fact the back of the boots are smooth and rounded, which keep slipping out of the heel straps of my snowshoes, especially in deep snow. This problem is easily solved if the boarding boots have a little ridge in the back that catches the snowshoe strap. I’ve been eyeing pictures of boarding boots on the Internet, but none of them seem to be designed in a way to work with heel straps. When you and Eddy used snowshoes on your last trip, did you run into this problem?

I’d be interested in taking an avy course next winter, but it’s useless if you don’t have the gear. So avy class, $200-$300; transceiver, $200-$300, shovel plus probe, about $100. So I’m looking at dropping $700 to a grand when it’s all said and done (two transceivers, one for me and one for Polar). That’s why I think I may have to stick to backcountry equivalent of bunny hills and cat walks for now, until I saved enough cash for all that.

the first trip out we used SS but again were in our SS boots not boarding boots, just like this last trip out
these are my winter boots
http://www.amazon.com/Merrell-Womens-Whiteout-Waterproof-Leather/dp/B003MP9CJU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1403216947&sr=8-1&keywords=whiteout+8+waterproof
and they work "ok" to board in, just need to watch when im on my toe edge as i lose that support and i come forward to much and crash, it does make going through the trees harder as well, could be the weight of the pack as well but i feel like i can't move as fast with turns as i normally could on a resort run. i will have to look at my board boots, not sure if there is a catch on them or not.
will keep you posted for next yr. and see if you ever have a sat/sun open to go out!