This is a short post yet I hope you will find it valuable.
Novice skimo racers often ask: “What to pack into my backpack for a race?”
The answer is very simple: Pack what is on the required gear list for that specific race, plus one extra energy bar or a gel. You really don’t need much more.
Why the extra bar or a gel? In case you bonk hard, in a skimo race, you can’t just sit on the side of the road to wait for someone to pick you up. You have to get to the finish whether you decide to abandon or continue.
So instead of specifying items that might or might not be on the required gear list for a given race, I created a one page checklist with all essential, plus very useful, things to bring along on your every skimo race trip.
» PDF download or print: Skimo Race Gear Packing Checklist
With gear on our checklist you will be good to go at 99% of races in US, Canada as well as world wide.
skimo race gear
Interview with Cripple Creek BC ski mountaineering store owners Doug Stenclik and Randy Young
Four weeks ago you had a chance to read the very first store owner interview on Skintrack as I spoke to Jason Borro of Skimo.co.
Today, the spotlight is on the two owners of the Cripple Creek BC store and their website – CrippleCreekBC.com. Doug and Randy also choose to specialize on light & fast ski mountaineering gear which means more choice than ever for all North American ski mountaineers.
Q: You are a small store but you sell online as well. Where are you based?
Doug: We are at the foot of the Elk Mountains in Carbondale, Colorado just down valley from Aspen.
Q: For how long have you been open?
Randy: This dream has been about 4 years in the making. Doug and I were in different states and very different jobs and out of frustration with gear selection we decided this sport needed its own dedicated shop.
We were incorporated within the year and after a lot of grunt work we were officially open for business at the start of 12/13 season.
Q: Who are the people behind the store? Do you also rando race or only ski tour?
Doug: We are both avid rando racers. To commemorate the decision to officially go into business we did the Power of Four race as partners. After nearly 12,000 feet and 26 miles of racing we were still friends so it seemed like we’d have a chance in business.
Randy: I would also like to say Doug is a real sweet dude and while starting this business and waiting tables at night he still had the energy to race in nearly every COSMIC event in Colorado as well as the national championship in Jackson Hole. For me, on a good year I take on the Grand Traverse and sometimes even finish it.
Randy: I worked at Surefoot as a boot fitter for a couple of seasons and at an outdoor equipment store in Aspen before we started Cripple Creek.
Doug: I also started at Surefoot and then The Gear Exchange in Burlington, VT and then onto Oregon Mountain Community before moving to Carbondale.
Doug: Last year I helped Pete Swenson set the course for the Heathen Challenge at Sunlight Mountain. This year we’re officially taking the race over and hope to run even more COSMIC events in future years.
Randy: We also want to get new racers that may not know just yet how much they like wearing Lycra. We started a town series race at Sunlight last year, this year upping it to 6 races along with weekly training/recreational group skins.
Q: What gear do you focus on? And what brands do you carry gear from?
Doug: Our passion is taking it real deep. In skiing that means we take it deeper into the backcountry for bigger tours and higher peaks and lightweight gear from brands like La Sportiva, Dynafit, Scarpa, Ski Trab and Hagan are what we like to get us there. We also support other brands that are still on the light end of the spectrum, but appeal to those looking for hard charging equipment.
Q: Do you have gear packages? Thus people can save money.
We work with customers on an individual basis to get them in the best setup for their budget. This is true in our shop in Carbondale and world wide through our website. We have a survey on our site to start the conversation, but we bend over backwards, through trade-ins and wild combinations to get people in lighter gear.
Q: You carry lots of bindings and all are Tech (Dynafit) technology based. Is that on purpose or just a coincidence?
Doug: Randy and I both started on plate bindings and although it got us started on touring it wasted money and time dealing with busted gear. I was so frustrated popping out of my Naxo bindings on kick turns and having them explode on the downhill, I almost never saw a second season. We hope that by strictly carrying tech bindings we can help avoid that rough learning curve.
Randy: We have seriously considered a used car salesman campaign “We pay cash for your plate bindings”, then get them on tech fit and bury the rest at sea.
Q: What are your future goals for Cripple Creek Backcountry?
Doug: We want to take our dedication specialty that we’re able to offer to people locally to the whole country through our website – CrippleCreekBC.com – especially for those that don’t have a gear shop in their hometown.
Are skimo boots too expensive? Brief look at recent history of pricing and performance of the lightest ski mountaineering boots
Since I am currently shopping for new light skimo boots I am developing a severe case of PSC (price sensitivity condition) so today I set out to evaluate how bad it really is.
Now and then
It’s only about five years since there was only one ski mountaineering boot on the market weighing under 900 grams. Pierre Gignoux’s XP500 was about 600g with a liner and almost a pound lighter than its nearest competitor.
By 2010, the big three – La Sportiva, Scarpa and Dynafit – had couple of the top world’s racers testing their prototypes with the hopes of closing the market share gap Pierre Gignoux created.
However, what majority of the racing field hoped for at the time was that this competition would bring prices for the lightest skimo boots down.
Today, on the verge of a new ski season, we have 9 boots from 4 brands that are under 900 grams yet the prices for the 700g models never went down.
The lightest boot 4 years ago, the PG XP500, was about 1200 Euros which was about $1650 US then (and is also now) and you had to order it a couple of months in advance. Today, we can have the boots at our door steps in 2-3 weeks in most cases but the prices are the same or even higher.
Here are the usual price tags for four super lightweight models right now:
- $1700 for the white Dynafit Dyna Evo (695g at size 27)
- $1800 for the green Scarpa Alien 1.0 (700g at 27)
- $1900 for the minimalist Pierre Gignoux Morpho 400 (500g at 26)
- $3000 for the very innovative La Sportiva Stratos Cube (545g at 27)
» For all models, see this comparison table with a complete list of lightest skimo boots currently on the market.
Price is not everything
With only few in North America willing to cough up top buck for the lightest boot couple of years ago most of us dreamed of affordability. While that didn’t come something did change – quality and performance.
Seeing the performance evolution of these boots over the years made me realize that ski mountaineers got it better than climbers, mountaineers or cross-country skiers. These things are literally feather weight, climb by themselves thanks to amazing ankle articulation and rockered soles, and can drive much bigger skis than just the specialized skimo race tooth picks.
Durability also improved as well as did the quality of closing mechanisms. And what I see as the greatest benefit is that you can now choose from the different models the one that fits your foot and preferences the most.
The “lesser” models
Another benefit brought to the skimo community as a side effect of more innovation and competition are cheaper models from Dynafit and Scarpa.
Both, the PDG (795g) and Alien (850g) boots weigh still under 850g yet you can buy them at around $800, which is lighter and way cheaper than top models from the two brands 3-4 years back – Dynafit Dyna and Scarpa F1 Carbon boots.
Their walk-ability is on par with the top models if we omit the 100g or so “penalty”. They are softer in downhills than their carbon versions but something has to give if they are to be half-price.
Pay or not to pay?
In line with our human habit of looking for ever cheaper options I am not inspired with prices of most of the light boots. But I have to admit that things aren’t as dark as they may seem.
What do you think, are these light boots too expensive or their prices are justified?
Interview with Skimo.co founder Jason Borro: "Weight is a handicap on freedom"
Stano: First of all, congrats on opening Skimo Co – North America’s first absolutely specialized light skimo gear online store!
Jason: Thanks! I am excited for the season, pray for snow!
Q: You had the grand opening yesterday, October 1st. When did the idea of such a specialized store came to you? Why ski mountaineering gear? Will it be all light gear?
Sometime in the past few years, while hunting for specs on Skintrack or in the comments of WildSnow, it became evident that shopping for ski mountaineering gear was way too hard. I only have the passion to be a gear head when it comes to ski mountaineering; I would do a poor job with bikes or whatever.
Lightness is relative of course, but we aren’t carrying any skis or boots over 1500 grams this season. That was more a practical budgeting decision than any magic number; I imagine it will creep up a bit over time.
But I don’t ever see us with 10lb skis, as that would dilute the focused experience for people who have realized that weight is a handicap on freedom.
Q: Where are you based?
Salt Lake City, Utah, North America.
Q: Oh, so you are in the same town as the online outdoor gear giant Backcountry.com. Why should one shop at your store versus theirs?
I recently read a quote from a BC founder saying how they regretted losing focus on skiing. We won’t make that same mistake. If you want to chat with an expert kayaker while looking at a dated stock photo, check them out. If you want to be helped by a ski mountaineer, or you expect ski shop services like binding mounts and skin trimming, check out Skimo Co.
Q: Are you a ski mountaineer? Do you also race?
I’m one of those people that passes the summer doing any activity just to stay in shape for winter, when (barring injury) I ski 100+ days a season, mostly in the Wasatch backcountry. Peak bagging, powder lapping, technical chuting, I love all of it.
I race recreationally but unfortunately do not have the pedigree to seriously challenge a local Dorais for a podium spot. I need lightweight skimo gear just to keep up with one on a casual tour!
[Here’s an interview with Jason and Andy Dorais if you don’t know who they are. Or even if you know.]
Q: How long did it take to open the store since you really started to work on it?
It started with the hopes of saving me time while looking for gear, but I think it backfired. It’s been more than a full-time job for somewhere around a year. This is after spending my twenties honing software development skills in corporate America and Europe. Hopefully other skiers can benefit from my sacrifice / stupidity.
Q: What kind of gear will you carry? And what brands?
I’ve been convinced of the benefits of lightweight gear for some time, and we are working with great partners who share the same vision. Dynafit, La Sportiva, SCARPA/Trab, and CAMP are leaders in the space, and we also have great items from smaller names (at least in N.A.) like Hagan, Movement, Plum, Millet and more.
I hope we can become a one-stop shop for all things related to light and fast ski mountaineering.
Q: Will you be running any kind of loyalty program?
We were planning on launching with one, but it took a back seat to getting the product experience right. Our experiment with paid reviews (in store credit) is a step in that direction. We are currently more worried about getting gear in stock than getting it out the door. Dealing with fuzzy shipping dates and lost parcels are some of the many challenges we are learning how to overcome.
Q: I see that you have gear packages, that’s great people will save some money. Would you be open to let people customize these in the future?
I think package deals are a good way to get started with a new style of skiing. We put a few together to help guide people into combinations that make sense, but certainly they are not one-size-fits-all. A customizable approach makes a lot of sense if we can safely navigate manufacturer restrictions on pricing.
Q: Anything else you would like to add?
We pledged our first $1000 in sales to avalanche centers and we hope to do more in the future. We can’t thank avalanche professionals enough for making our sport safer. Let’s have a fun and safe season!
Check it out
If you haven’t checked out the new Skimo.co store yet you better do it right now. But you better have some napkins handy, drooling is guaranteed 😉