Freeski

Had to go back for seconds up in the Mt. Rose area last weekend. Great snow on the north faces. Small shots, but well worth every step of the hike. Our group of 4 skinned over and up near the top of Incline Peak and enjoyed the views of Lake Tahoe. Heading west we skinned for about a half hour up another ridge, then had some lunch. There was  even a surprise birthday Bran muffin with a “candle” for Tylers birthday. Good times.

After lunch we skied about 800 verticle of boot deep pow in the dark trees. I can’t believe it is still that good up there. The corn faces are good, but nothing like boot deep pow turns. On the way back to the cars we skied the NorthEast face of Incline Peak. Trying to stay in the shade as much as possible. This run is now called Birthday Chuit. Yes, chuit, like suit, only cooler. EPIC!

I gotta share an update on the Black Diamond Factor boots. The left boot fits really nice now. I’ve hiked more than I’ve skied in the boots, so they are getting worked in fairly fast for as much skiing as I do now that I work too much. The right boot is still a little tight. On the pink toe and just behind that, the boot kinda “pinches” my foot. My arch also feels like it’s about to cramp half the time. That’s weird. Is the boot to tight? I think I’m gonna take it to the shop for a little punch here and there.

I am not sure if the BOA system is helping or not. I left it a little loose this past hike, and I think I like it that way a little more. The right liner is still slipping a little. Hiking in them without skis on, you can really feel the ground below the boot. The Factors sole feels a little “thin” under my foot when hiking on rocks and boot packing in hard pack boot steps. Strange…

Next up! Somewhere better I hope… Utah is on the Calendar for Febuary. I hope it pounds before we head out.

This past weekend a couple friends and I went for a hike around the Mt. Rose wilderness. We got some nice sugar on the North faces in the shade and a great corn shot from about 10,000’ near the top of Mt. Rose itself. Over all it was a super great day touring.

The BDEL Factor boots have been perty good so far. They aren’t quite broke in yet I don’t think, so my feet still get a little sore in them. I did have the liners heated up and wore them around after that for about 20 minutes. That helped out for sure. I wear a size 11.5 shoe, so that’s generally a 29 / 29.5 boot, but the Factors 29 was way bigger, so I went with the 28.5 which is quite a bit smaller. Maybe it’s the shell size, I don’t know. My feet are a little tight still. No biggy, they’ll pack out a little and then be perfect.

Getting the Factors on is just as easy as it gets, and the BOA system is cool. It keeps the liner really secure on the foot, so I haven’t gotten any heat anywhere on the ankles or anything. They do have a really tight / aggressive heal pocket. The walk mode was really nice to use, but has been taking me some time to get used to since I have only ever toured in downhill boots. I feel like the liner slips a little in the heal when walking however. I don’t know how to remedy this yet. I have the lower 2 buckles loose when touring by the way.

Dropping in from the top of the first ridge after de-skinning and clicking in the downhill mode was great. The boots can move larger skis no problem. They might need a little more forward lean, but you can fix that really easily with an Allen wrench. The snow was, for the most part, sugary. If you got into any sun it was crusty right away. You could feel your tips wanting to dive towards each other.The boots felt just fine.

Skinning back up, we hiked another pitch just across the valley on Mt. Rose itself, had some lunch and skied some great south facing corn. Any later than 1pm and it would have been soggy in the sun. On the way up I started sliding to my death, but managed to hang on. Self Arrest! Self Arrest! I was hearing from Tyler. Skinning side hill on steep slopes has always made me nervous…

After the ski down we toured back to the car for about 1 hour. It was a mellow up hill slog that made me wish I hiked backcountry more. It is beautiful in the backcountry.

After arriving back at the road, I ran across the highway and began to disrobe and get organized for the drive back. Taking the Black Diamond Factor boots off is a chore. The liners do not stay in place at all. The heal pocket is so aggressive around the Achilles, that the whole liner wants to come out with your foot. You have to use a couple fingers to push it off the heal, back down into the boot while pulling your foot out. I don’t like that. Maybe there’s a trick I haven’t figured out yet, but right now that is my biggest beef with the Factors.

They ski great, are stiff enough, tour well, and are warm. The liner is my only complaint. I’m moving them up to an 8 out of 10 from the 7.5 I gave them earlier. Something has to be fixed with the liner for sure, other than that they ski well.