UKC

I'm heading out to Alaska in May for the first time. Seems like skis are 100% necessary for getting around on the glacier but unfortunately I don't own my own ski setup.

Is it possible to rent skis out there? I'm not after anything hugely flashy. Does renting make sense or is it cheaper to try and borrow some from a mate and fly them out there?

Any thoughts appreciated!

There are also ski-like snowshoes which people use to approach ice climbs.

A bit shorter and a bit wider than most skis, and with climbing skins permanently attached. Much less expensive.

Better side-bite than snowshoes for traverses across and zig-zags up steeper slopes. A bit of glide in each stride on flat or gentle downhill stretches.

At least two manufacturers - (though the names escape me).

If you don't have lots of practice making downhill turns on skis, using actual skis with a heavy multi-day climbing approach pack on is going to be a dangerous (as in bone-breaking / joint-tearing) or at least non-fun (exhausting getting up from repeated falls) introduction to the sport of ski mountaineering.

Ken

In reply to alexm198: how flat is 'the glacier'?

In reply to alexm198:

I would try the REI in Anchorage. Give them a shout. They have a rental dep. There is also another outdoor shop near the REI. May be renting skins might be a problem, I don't know. But just ask. Fairbanks I doubt if there is anything.

In reply to:

kenr: Interesting, cheers. My climbing partner is a skiing wizard so unfortunately probably wouldn't make sense to have one skier and one snowshoer. I've done a bit of downhill skiing but did have a bit of a rude awakening to the reality of putting in downhill turns with a heavy pack and tired legs in the alps this spring. Can confirm it's very exhausting!

wbo: I think it's pretty gentle.

RR: Good idea, will email them! Would imagine rental for 6 weeks is going to sting the wallet but if it's cheaper than shelling out for skis boots and a transatlantic flight for them it might be worth it.

In reply to alexm198: well I'd ask other people what they'd use, what has worked for them, but maybe this https://www.fischersports.com/au_en/e109-easy-skin-xtralite-20194 - these, or similar, are nice for carrying sacks, pulling sleds on easy terrain. As well as the ski you'd need a binding and boots to match. They are not like downhill or touring ski though

In reply to alexm198:

as it sounds like easy skiing, consider getting bindings you can use with your climbing boots, plus almost any skis plus skins
(note, never been to Alaska)

In reply to alexm198:

It really depends what you mean by "the glacier". Alaska has quite a few...

If you mean the Kahiltna Glacier, for Denali, then skis are not necessary and trying to ski, roped up or not, with a big pack, pulling a sled, will be more dangerous than useful.

But I presume you mean elsewhere, in which case skis might be more useful, as they generally are if you can use them even a little bit, and particularly if your partner is skiing. Snowshoes suck.

So I guess you have Spantiks or the Scarpa equivalent to climb in? Even though Dynafit-type copy bindings are most popular for real ski mountaineering with the suitable boots, you can still find online Silvretta type backcountry bindings (old 404, newer 500 or Pure models) or Fritschi Diamirs that will take a climbing boot. Buy a cheap pair of old-model or used basic skis, nothing fancy, not too heavy, maybe a little shorter than you'd ski on a resort, and get the Silvretta(or Fritschi etc) bindings mounted in a shop.

You can do it yourself at home, I have, but it's best done by a pro. Even better, have it done in Anchorage (or wherever your friend lives, by the ski shop he uses) that way you don't have to lug them $$$ all the way there. You could get a suitable pair of skis for $100 or less, maybe secondhand bindings for around the same, and then get a pair of BD or G3 skins that will fit. If this sounds complicated, plenty of people in the US do it and you could even maybe sources such a setup by asking on MountainProject or similar.

https://www.wildsnow.com/bindings/fritschi-backcountry-skiing/fritschi-diam...
New ones like at: http://blackdiamondequipment.com/en/ski-bindings/fritschi-diamir-scout-w%2F...

https://www.wildsnow.com/1156/silvretta-500-in-the-museum-and-still-availab...

In reply to Damo:

Thanks Damo. Was waiting for you to turn up!

Yes, I mean Kahiltna glacier. Will hopefully be climbing on Hunter and Denali, if all goes to plan. Interesting that you advise against skis - I would've thought it would be a much faster and more efficient way to move around.

Yep I'll be wearing Spantiks. Thanks for the info, sounds like the silvretta bodge-job can be done pretty cheaply. Will look into it. Cheers!

In reply to alexm198:



It is, particularly if you are off the normal routes, certainly on the flat and certainly uphill. It's the getting back down without breaking a leg and ruining your trip is the tricky part. It also might be icy, and unlike a resort, sometimes on a glacier if you fall down, you bust through and keep falling, though I guess you know this. I assumed, maybe wrongly, that as you don't own skis then you don't ski well, but if you're at ease on Blue runs and the odd Red then you should be fine.

Of course, skiing in Spantiks is a whole other story...

The other issue with using skis in places like AK on mountains is if you go up one way and descend another route. At some point if you want your skis back you have to foot it (or use snowshoes, or have very helpful friends) back to get them, and I'd hate to have to do this up the Valley of Death to the Cassin, or certain other places. Depending on the exact situation, there's no easy answer to this one.

In reply to alexm198: a friend has the Silvrettas - they work very well but took some time to find on flea bay so start looking. Mounting them was easy enough.

The Fritschi will take a mountaineering boot? Didn't know that, but will test

In reply to alexm198:

While you're at it, this is an unusually good article on Denali for a mainstream press magazine:

http://www.alaskamagazine.com/articles/featured/denali-the-mountain-great-a...

In reply to wbo:


I have had three different Silvretta models - the 500, Pure and another one I can't remember (blue, lots of plastic). I sold two pairs and just have the Pure now. They are too light for gnarly descents, but I can't do gnarly descents, so they are fine. The Wildsnow site has lots of info on the quality of the different iterations of the Pure, which initially had breakage issues on the first run.

The Fritschi Diamir were quite popular for mountaineering boots, but from my experience they didn't fit all sizes of all boots that well, at least not as easily as the Silvretta 500. But plenty of people loved them. They were heavier and higher than the 500 but could ski much better. I went for light weight, simplicity and fit over ski ability.

Edit: Now most serious climbers using skis just use Dynafit-style bindings as they are much lighter and simpler and the boots are so much better than 10-15 years ago. So this info above is rapidly becoming irrelevant.