Get Your Gear Ready for Winter

By Kurt Repanshek

You don’t have to be a Boy Scout to “Be prepared.” Get your gear ready for the winter season now.

You’re ready to do some shredding, but is your gear? While you were exploring the backcountry or working some new routes on the big walls in Zion National Park this past summer, what were your skis and snowboards doing? Gathering a little rust, or worse, perhaps? And what about those other prerequisites, like your boots and avalanche gear? Grabbing your boards on the way out the door after the season’s first big dump, only to discover rust and cobwebs and a dead battery in your avalanche beacon—if you can even find your beacon—is not the best way to start the season.

If you haven’t already, now is the time to sort through things to ensure your gear is as ready for winter as you are. And it needn’t be an ordeal.

“It seems like every year in the beginning of the season you go through the same trial-and-error of using your gear, packing, and deciding what to bring,” says Sage Cattabriga-Alosa, who finds his powder stashes at Alta and Snowbird in Utah’s fabled Little Cottonwood Canyon. “I start out with a simple once-over of my gear. Make sure bindings are adjusted properly. Sometimes by the end of the year I turn my bindings’ DIN setting up a bit, and it’s a good idea to start the season with a little lower setting.”

Just as important for Cattabriga-Alosa is giving his pack a once-over, checking straps and clips, before turning to the “essentials”—avalanche probe, beacon with fresh batteries, shovel, some water, and an extra layer for when the weather turns.

“On big days I like to have lots of spare stuff, like an extra pair of gloves, extra hat, and extra goggles,” he says. “One thing that is super-essential at times is a balaclava. It’s light, packs to nothing, and can be a huge help to stay warm throughout the day, or on the way back to the car late in the afternoon.”

Ingrid Backstrom, who usually can be found making her turns at Squaw Valley when she’s not off in the Sierra backcountry, often makes gear adjustments on the slopes. “Usually I get out there a few times to see how everything is feeling and then make the necessary adjustments from there,” she says.

She also finds it’s a good idea to get a simple wax and tune on her skis, “just to get the rust and dust off.”

“I take mine to a local shop, because I have several friends that work in shops and they do a really good job. But if you don't live near a shop, it could be good to invest in a flat iron that you only use for wax—trying to switch back and forth between clothing and skis guarantees you'll ruin a nice shirt,” Backstrom jokes. “And, a basic edge file, diamond stone, a beveling device and a few clamps would set you up just fine to do basic edge tuning and buffing.”

But even before that first trek, Backstrom inspects her backcountry kit to make sure everything she might need on the slopes—inbounds or out—is there and working.

Many of the folks who ski and ride in and around Park City, Utah, head to one of the Cole Sport ski shops to get their skis and boards prepped. Unfortunately, according to Scott Dudevoir, who manages the chain’s Park City Mountain Resort store, many folks don’t give that a thought until the last minute.

“It’s usually the first day it snows that people generally show up, looking for a tune,” Dudevoir said in between fitting boots for members of both the U.S. Ski Team and the Chinese National Aerial Team.

Resort skiers and boarders should give their edges some attention, at least for removing rust and burrs, if not also for some sharpening and a beveling to make turning even easier. That’s not quite as important for those heading into the backcountry, he says.

“Edges are less important, to a certain extent” because of the backcountry powder, Dudevoir explains. “If there’s severe edge damage you’re not going to glide as easy, but it’s still powder.” That said, a well-tuned pair of skis will perform better under any conditions. “Edges become more important in the backcountry when the conditions are more variable” and you suddenly encounter some wind-scoured crust in between powder stashes.

Base preparation is important, for both inbounds and out-of-bounds skiers and boarders, to reduce drag and ensure good gliding. Proper wax selection is key. When weather turns bitingly cold and the snow is dry, a fine base structure is called for, says Dudevoir, while in warmer, moister conditions a coarser structure helps channel moisture off the base.

Dave Short, who rides the slopes of British Columbia’s Coastal and Kootenay ranges, to name just two of his haunts, likes to lay down two or three coats of wax on his snowboard before riding. Also important is a binding check.

“Bindings are always evolving for me. I don’t think I’ve ridden a complete pair of bindings in years. I’m always switching parts in and out as they break or wear out,” he says. “I tend to update the straps with new binding straps fairly often. I also strap a complete single binding to the back of my snowmobile, because you never know when you’ll have to draw on it for parts or the entire binding out in the field.

“Nothing worse than blowing out a strap way out in the backcountry and not having a backup plan,” says Short.

Another good preseason suggestion for skiers is to let their feet know what’s coming. Summer months spent in hiking boots and Tevas will guarantee that your feet are not going to be happy to return to your boots.

“If you haven’t worn your boots in a while, it’s good to just put them on and walk around the house in them for a bit, watch a movie with them on or something—I find that after running or doing different sports for a few months, my feet change and my boots fit a little differently,” says Backstrom.

So spend a little time on your gear now, and you could save yourself a little pain later.

Writer Kurt Repanshek lives in Park City, Utah.

Posted on December XX, 2007

Email to a friend.