However, the flexible toe, which is the key feature that makes this boot so satisfying to ski in, makes for substandard mountaineering performance. They are also tantalizingly comfortable, especially compared to an alpine touring boot. You can skate ski, classic ski, or boot pack with these bad boys. Though not designed for climbing or mountaineering, it is used by back-country skiers who cover long distances on Nordic skis. Why should we be forced to shuffle along in heavy, cumbersome AT skis and skins on nominally flat terrain in boots that don't even allow you to flex your toes? If you're like me, you've thought "there's got to be a better way."Ĭlimbers, meet the Salomon XADV-6 boot. When the polar vortex weakens or even splits, it allows frigid air to escape and push southward. Adding comfort, cutting weight, and improving the entire experience from approach to summit is what I'm most passionate about. The vortex is strongest during the winter and usually weakens or even disappears in the summer. Thus, my attempts to meld mountaineering and Nordic back-country skiing continue. That’s why our Nootka Jacket is fully seam-sealed for superior waterproof protection. Besides, the approach is part of the experience! However, the wrong gear can often make that experience a nightmare. 106.95 112.95 The Nootka people live in the Northwest where rainy, soggy days are the norm. So many objectives lie five to ten or twenty plus miles away from the highway and are not always accessible by snow-machine or ski plane. The more mountains I climb in Alaska the more I realize that there is often a gray area between the end of the approach and the beginning of the climb. Tailors chalk (or pencil, soluble marker) Sewing machine (or need/thread if hand sewing) Snap tape (we used 1/2" polyester with plastic snaps spaced ~1") We found these types of hoods allowed for more forgiveness in the ruff placement and were generally preferable for adjust-ability.įur ruff (we used 2"x24" coyote fur with grosgrain attached) Later iterations used a Sierra designs puffy (unknown model), Arc'teryx Proton LT, and Arc'teryx Atom LT, all of which have an adjustable hood. This jacket lacks a bungee at the back of the head to adjust the hood fit, so we found the ruff placement needed to be very precise. The first "test" jacket was a Patagonia Nanopuff Hoody. A detachable system also allows the jacket to be interchangeable between multiple jackets.Īfter finding very little in the way of direction online, we came up with our own method (documented below). This presented one obvious obstacle-what happens to the ruff when we wanted to wash the jacket? The solution was just as obvious, make a detachable ruff. Fur ruffs aren't new, but we wanted to attach ours to a lightweight active layer that could be worn while skiing or running. After seeing a friend's solution-a fur ruff-we knew we had the solution. Over the years, we've figured out our gear systems to keep our bodies, hands, and feet warm, but our faces have been a little trickier. We often find ourselves skiing and running at sub-zero temperatures.
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