Alpina Crossterains offer great Backcountry on Mt. Bachelor
 Alpina Cross Terain Skis in Action |
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April 2006
Well I’m back. And after almost 12 weeks of lying around with a busted foot I’m hungry.
I finally got a chance to try out my new backcountry ski setup (Alpina crossterain skis, voyle 3-pin binders with heel cables and traditional leather upper boots). I had chosen this arrangement for its versatility in both touring and telemarking. Not perfect for either, but good at both. I chose to try an ascent of Mt. Bachelor as my first outing. I reasoned that since I had not telemarked in several years that this would allow me to practice a bit on groomed trails.
As it turned out this is a great little spring afternoon ascent. The ski area closes at 1:00 in the afternoon in late spring and I had the whole place to myself. I chose a route starting at the Sunrise Lodge and contouring around the southeast shoulder of the mountain. Eventually I came to a large ridge almost due south that slopes down toward Kwohle Butte. At this point one could turn south and complete an ascent and descent of Kwohle. I instead opted to turn and climb Mt. Bachelor. The Aplina Crossterain skis with scaled waxless bases climb like champs. Granted there were a few pitches where I had to angle out of the fall line, but generally these babies would climb straight up. I took a short photo break about midway (see the gallery).
As fun as the ascent was, the descent was much better. These skis with the heel cable make great telly turns. The snow was fairly slushy, but quite skiable. I hardly even noticed the waxless bases as the skis glided easily from turn to turn. The dramatic sidecut and full length metal edges really carve well.
All in all this was an excellent outing on two levels. First, GREAT ski setup. Second, I discovered an easy access backcountry experience right on Mt. Bachelor. I highly recommend it.
Total Ascent Time: 1hr 45min – 2 hr
Alpina Crossterains offer great Backcountry on Mt. Bachelor Photos
- Eric Davis
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Eric Davis