Your all-day tour rig?

I tried carrying a rucksack plus a fanny pack today for our attempted
all-day ski tour. I had about 15 lbs of stuff with me. UGH!

I used the fanny pack so I could swing around access to a storage
pocket and also to get at beverages more easily.

I found that the load was weighing me down and making me sweat way
more than usual.

But offhand it seems that my medium fannypack alone won't do it.

I suppose I could really load up my fanny pack---and I was thinking of
attaching suspenders to it as well.

It didn't seem like I brought much but darn it added up.

I'm thinking that containers need to be avoided. Calories in solid/dry
form and then water maybe in bladders is perhaps the lightest way to
go. I had 3 apples and 3 bike water bottles. and and and...

What do you take for all-day tours?

On Feb 17, 3:05 pm, wrote:
I tried carrying a rucksack plus a fanny pack today for our attempted
all-day ski tour. I had about 15 lbs of stuff with me. UGH!

I used the fanny pack so I could swing around access to a storage
pocket and also to get at beverages more easily.

I found that the load was weighing me down and making me sweat way
more than usual.

But offhand it seems that my medium fannypack alone won't do it.

I suppose I could really load up my fanny pack---and I was thinking of
attaching suspenders to it as well.

It didn't seem like I brought much but darn it added up.

I'm thinking that containers need to be avoided. Calories in solid/dry
form and then water maybe in bladders is perhaps the lightest way to
go. I had 3 apples and 3 bike water bottles. and and and...

What do you take for all-day tours?

I take it that when you say all-day tour you are skiing "backcountry"
and not at a touring center. Skiing backcountry means that you are
potentially on your own if you have a problem. The minimum stuff to
take comes down to ansering the question, "Will I be alive if I have
to spend the night and a good part of the next day out on my own?"
That means taking stuff to keep warm and dry and some food and water.
The specific answer is dependent on where you are skiing, terrain and
probable weather.

I've been either lucky or good at not having to spend the night in the
snow, but I have finished ski tours in the dark. It can get very cold
once the sun sets.

Edgar

Edgar wrote:
On Feb 17, 3:05 pm, wrote:
I tried carrying a rucksack plus a fanny pack today for our attempted
all-day ski tour. I had about 15 lbs of stuff with me. UGH!

I used the fanny pack so I could swing around access to a storage
pocket and also to get at beverages more easily.

I found that the load was weighing me down and making me sweat way
more than usual.

But offhand it seems that my medium fannypack alone won't do it.

I suppose I could really load up my fanny pack---and I was thinking of
attaching suspenders to it as well.

It didn't seem like I brought much but darn it added up.

I'm thinking that containers need to be avoided. Calories in solid/dry
form and then water maybe in bladders is perhaps the lightest way to
go. I had 3 apples and 3 bike water bottles. and and and...

What do you take for all-day tours?

I take it that when you say all-day tour you are skiing "backcountry"
and not at a touring center. Skiing backcountry means that you are
potentially on your own if you have a problem. The minimum stuff to
take comes down to ansering the question, "Will I be alive if I have
to spend the night and a good part of the next day out on my own?"
[ ]

That was more extreme than what I meant. Sorry for not being specific
but I meant all day skiing on trails of one kind of another in typical
areas. Where, yes, you're on your own, but are somewhat close to roads
and could walk out, etc. I didn't mean packing for an overnight or
needing to do so in case of emergency. That's a neat mission in its
own right but I just mean a day ski of maybe even 8 hours on trails of
some kind---2 track, hiking, ski, old road, frozen river, whatever---
but not truly remote BC conditions.

So, what do you bring for all-day ski tours where you don't have to
consider the overnight aspect?

--JP

On Feb 18, 12:26 pm, wrote:
Edgar wrote:
On Feb 17, 3:05 pm, wrote:
I tried carrying a rucksack plus a fanny pack today for our attempted
all-day ski tour. I had about 15 lbs of stuff with me. UGH!

I used the fanny pack so I could swing around access to a storage
pocket and also to get at beverages more easily.

I found that the load was weighing me down and making me sweat way
more than usual.

But offhand it seems that my medium fannypack alone won't do it.

I suppose I could really load up my fanny pack---and I was thinking of
attaching suspenders to it as well.

It didn't seem like I brought much but darn it added up.

I'm thinking that containers need to be avoided. Calories in solid/dry
form and then water maybe in bladders is perhaps the lightest way to
go. I had 3 apples and 3 bike water bottles. and and and...

What do you take for all-day tours?

I take it that when you say all-day tour you are skiing "backcountry"
and not at a touring center. Skiing backcountry means that you are
potentially on your own if you have a problem. The minimum stuff to
take comes down to ansering the question, "Will I be alive if I have
to spend the night and a good part of the next day out on my own?"

[ ]

That was more extreme than what I meant. Sorry for not being specific
but I meant all day skiing on trails of one kind of another in typical
areas. Where, yes, you're on your own, but are somewhat close to roads
and could walk out, etc. I didn't mean packing for an overnight or
needing to do so in case of emergency. That's a neat mission in its
own right but I just mean a day ski of maybe even 8 hours on trails of
some kind---2 track, hiking, ski, old road, frozen river, whatever---
but not truly remote BC conditions.

So, what do you bring for all-day ski tours where you don't have to
consider the overnight aspect?

--JP- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

You need to determine what you must take by assessing your personal
needs. At a minimum you will need enough food and water to keep you
going for the duration the ski tour, especially if you will not be
revisiting your vehicle or a ski hut to renew your supplies. Don't
skimp on food, because the worse thing is to bonk (run out of energy)
several miles from your car and not have anything to eat. You will
also need enough extra clothing to put on to keep warm when taking an
extended break or rest. The amount of clothing needed will depend on
the temperature and weather. To avoid getting overheated be sure not
to overdress while skiing. If you use waxable skis you will need the
appropriate waxing supplies. Don't forget a cell phone for emergency
calls.

As far as the right pack to use, it is amazing the variety of daypacks
and fannypacks available today. Shop around and find one with the
capacity and suspension features that meet your needs.

Jonathan Scheuch

For long tours using cross-country ski techniques on groomed tracks, I like
to keep the weight low down near my hips -- because then I don't have to
lift it every time I recover my shoulders back high after a double-pole
push. And so I don't have to support it "isometrically" with my back muscles
when I'm learning my torso forward for aerodynamics or balance or to get
more over the poles.

I tried using a fanny pack to achieve that, but seemed like I had to fuss
too much with getting the strap length right as I changed clothing during
the tour or took the pack off and on. And on colder days it was hard to fit
the bulk of enough extra clothing into the fanny pack.

So now instead I use a small backpack, and extend the shoulder straps real
long so the weight hangs low down by my hips, and use its light unpadded hip
strap (and sometimes its sternum strap) to keep it from flopping around.
Also works well for long road-skating tours.

Ken

Edgar wrote
I take it that when you say all-day tour you are skiing "backcountry"
and not at a touring center. Skiing backcountry means that you are
potentially on your own if you have a problem. The minimum stuff to
take comes down to ansering the question, "Will I be alive if I have
to spend the night and a good part of the next day out on my own?"

Most experienced backcountry ski tourers I know only consider that question
if it's a long tour -- something like the "all day" mentioned in the subject
line. For a planned 4-hour tour starting at 8:30 in the morning, there's
usually other risks which are more important to consider like, (a) "How are
we (or I) going to find our way back to our car?" and (b) "What are we (or
I) going to do if there's a major equipment failure, or (c) "If somebody
gets seriously hurt?"
Because if you don't have a good answer to those questions, then being able
to survive a night out just postpones your fate. And if you do have good
answers to those questions, then you're unlikely to be spending a night out.
And because weighing the party down with every piece of "politically
correct" equipment tends to cause new problems of its own.

I've been either lucky or good at not having to spend the
night in the snow, but I have finished ski tours in the dark.

Actually keeping on moving in the dark can be key _strategy_ for staying
warm during the night -- without carrying so much weight in extra clothing
(and sleeping bag?) -- even if only walking back and forth on the same
20-meter long path. Provided that I took my pace slow enough during the day.
(There's the story of John Muir staying alive on the summit of Mt Whitney
above 4000 meters by dancing all night.)

It can get very cold once the sun sets.

Yes -- and the coldest time is usually shortly before dawn.
So a useful test of whether I actually have enough clothing to survive the
night by the "keeping moving" strategy is to start my "all-day" long ski
tour at least one hour before dawn, wearing all the clothing I'm carrying.
If I still feels too cold to start the tour that early, that could be a sign
that I need to choose a shorter tour with lower risk of still being out at
night - (or carry more clothing?).

Ken

Edgar wrote
... skiing "backcountry"and not at a touring center ...
means that you are potentially on your own if you
have a problem.

Actually even at a touring center you could be "on your own" for several
hours, or even a whole night out. On weekeday afternoon on one of the more
remote groomed trails at a XC ski center -- If you got hurt so you couldn't
keep skiing, it could be several hours before anybody found you -
(especially with a "hole" in mobile phone coverage).

I know one ski center that specifically denies responsibility to "sweep" all
their trails at the end of the afternoon. Another XC ski center with a large
trail network that refuses to sell ski passes after like 2:00pm.

Ken