Your First Ski de Randonnées: A Practical Guide

Last time we introduced "Your First Ski de Randonnées: A Guide to the Essentials," and now it's time to put it into practice.

The appeal of backcountry skiing is that there are few people and you can climb up and down in nature.

In this article, we will introduce the model of skiing in a relatively safe area where there is little avalanche danger, no glaciers, and no use of crampons or beacons.

Binding settings for WALK and SKI

First of all, if you are not familiar with the bindings, please make sure that you can properly set up the bindings for SKI and WALK. There are many models of bindings available, so it is difficult to make a blanket statement, but I would like to use the model I use for this explanation.

For WALK

As you can see from the photo above, my type of binding is simple.

First, there are metal holes in the toe of the ski boot at the thumb and pinky toe, and there is a metal fitting in front of the ski binding to fit in this area. If you look at the heel of the binding, you will notice that the stopper is on the same line as the ski board.

When climbing, make sure this stopper is raised.

Basically, when this part is up, the mode is for walk, and when the stopper is down, it is for ski.

My type has a model that can be switched by turning the binding part at the back clockwise.

Don't forget to raise the front binding part as well, for WALK.

It is also used for climbing on boots. There is a string attached to the heel of the boot, which can be raised up to allow more range of motion of the boot. This is for WALK.

Boots also do not need to be buckled tight when climbing, so leave them loose.

walkTime is.

When walking, the foot does not leave the ground as it normally does, but rather glides along.

When the slope gets a little steeper, raise one of the back bindings. Most of them have two levels, so when the slope gets steeper, raise both together.

kick turn

If you cannot climb perpendicular to the slope, you must walk zigzag.

In doing so, the c-shape is widened so that it is reversed and the face opens in a frontal direction toward the slope.

In alpine skiing, when you do a kick turn, you turn in the direction of the downhill, but in SR, your heel is free, so you turn in the opposite direction.

The steeper it gets, the more you need to step on the axis foot properly before opening, so practice on a flat surface.

When climbing, always be careful to keep your body at 90° to the slope. When the slope gets steeper, you will get scared and lean forward, and if the angle is out of 90°, your skis will slide backwards. The trick is to always keep your upper body chest up.

climbing to the summitwhen finished with

When you arrive at your destination, change immediately if you are sweating. Since you will be skiing, be careful not to get cold.

Once the skis are removed, turn the skis runway side up or lower the stoppers.

Be aware that if you do not do this, the skis will slide off on their own!

After changing clothes, remove the stickers; if there are two of you, one can remove the stickers and the other can put them on, etc. If you work together, it will take less time.

skiactive mode

Now we will go into the SKI use from here.

First, change the binding for SKI. Press hard on the lower part of the heel of the boot and turn the binding clockwise to make it suitable for SKI. When putting on the binding, put on the previous binding, then put on the heel stopper with the protrusion so that it aligns with the ski boot. Push a little harder and it will snap into place.

Also, when taking them off, push the front stopper with the stockings. Unlike alpine skis, when you remove it, it is in front.

The method of removal is the same for WALK mode and SKI mode.

Boots are similarly blocked by pulling down the laces at the heel, which had been raised, and bending the knee forward or vice versa to extend the heel, which is then clicked into place.

glide

Now, it's time to ski! One of the fun things about SR is that you can ski on unpressurized snowfields with your own traces.

Depending on the snow conditions, the skier will take a slightly more backward position than in alpine skiing and make a turn.

SR boots are lighter and the angle of the shin is more right-angled than alpine boots, making it more difficult to put weight forward due to the boot's structure. The boards are similarly lightweight.

The trick is to ski down the slopes on the small side rather than the large side, since the slopes are not pressurized.

summary

This time, we told you about the practical side of the sport: SR is a sport that requires preparation and physical strength, including preparation of tools and a plan of action.

With lighter equipment, the sport has become more accessible to everyone, but aren't you worried about starting out on your own?

ESS Villars also teaches backcountry skiing in private lessons.

Please feel free to contact us for consultation.

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