Simon Akam on procuring equipment for the second half of a project in which he tries to master ski mountaineering after he nearly died undertaking that activity in Russia in 2017
When it comes to buying sporting goods as an adult there is one golden rule to abide by. You need to consider this, as you finger your potential purchase – be that a fishing rod or, in my case, mountain clothing spun from microporous fibres or skis hewn from Paulownia wood.
As in previous columns, I will try to explore the technical and psychological aspects here. Ski mountaineering equipment is an attempt to solve an impossible conundrum. You want skis and boots that are as light as possible for human-powered ascent, but rigid and stiff for downhill. Those opposing requirements are unfeasible to completely reconcile, but the advancement in recent years is astonishing.
For the initial downhill training I was first recommended by the Chandolin ski school to use narrow-waisted piste skis. Given these have limited utility beyond groomed runs, I negotiated instead to a 94mm underfoot freeride ski, a more versatile tool. I equipped them with a Shift binding, a relatively new device that effectively behaves like an alpine binding downhill, but can tour uphill if needed .
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