My two least favorite concepts in skiing are suffering and conquering.
And when we stand on top of mountains we do not conquer them.
Backcountry ski blades help combat both of those ideas.
Four months ago, I publishedthis piecethat explained why I wanted to try backcountry snowblading.
They are 110 mm wide underfoot, fully rockered, with plenty of tip taper and a swallowtail.
They are 108 cm long.
I dont really care.
The blades I have are 108 cm long.
Make me a wide, rockered pair that is 99 cm long and Id rock those too.
I started out using Frischi Vipec bindings, without brakes, but quickly switched to Moments Voyager binding.
Im sold on these Moment-special ATKs.
Theyre light, easy to use, and so far, bombproof.
In my opinion, these are the gold standard for do-everything tech bindings.
Since then Ive been using Scarpas F1 LT, with great results.
I could probably get away with a full skimo race boot without issue, but those are expensive.
For skins, Im using half an old pair of Big Sky Mountain products Rover skins.
Im sure if enough people asked them, theyd sell blade-length skins.
This is the “Brazilian” skin - perfect for long flat exits and approaches.
Im using snowboard Z-poles.
Z-poles suck and break.
Buy three-piece telescoping poles, Im sad I didnt.
Luckily snowboarders have spent years figuring this one out.
Downhill Capability
This is the question I get asked the most Can you actually ski well on those things?
The answer is Yes!
I can ski them a lot harder than I can lighter skis, like the Salomon MTN Explore 95.
Photo by Scott Davidson, one of the first people who didn’t discriminate against my blades.
I never had a moment where I stopped mid-line and bemoaned my life choices.
Well-designed blades go downhill well.
Inbounds Ive found that on groomers I can ski them almost as fast as I could my regular skis.
However, Im no ex-racer, so that isnt a great comparison.
For chop and pow, I prefer normal skis inbounds.
For slush, the blades rule.
There is literally no other ski in the world I would do that on.
I love how capable blades are.
Weight
Time for some nerd shit.
This is what got me into blading in the first place.
Weights are all for one foot of the setup, so multiply by two for the total weight.
With the blade setup, Im saving 880 g on each foot.
Thats a lot of weight saved.
24 beers, or longer skis?
And to be clear, I have a pretty light backcountry setup.
So its not that my regular setup is portly, that blades are just a lot lighter.
Shorter skins mean less drag each step.
Lighter boots have better walk modes, and tech fittings closer to the ball of my feet.
Its astounding how much quicker the blade setup feels over long days than my regular skis.
Finally, 1300 g a blade isreallyheavy.
They do not need to be this heavy.
Ideally the Full Send Ski Co. blades were working on developing will be around 800 g a foot.
Ease of Use
Blades are easier to use in every scenario.
Kick turns are easier to make, you never tangle your tips or tails.
Theyre just plain easier.
They make dealing with real skis feel like a foolish hassle.
The only downside comes when breaking trail.
Some partners really hate following in trail I break, others dont care.
And with these fully rockered blades, its challenging to break trail on steep, firmer slopes.
Ideally the next iteration, with camber, will fix that.
To which I respond: I already am a terrible skier, how will this make it worse?
I learned to ski as an adult and have no formal training.
Im not a pretty skier or a good skier, but Im a pretty good skier.
I can ski down most things, have jumped off plenty of things, and like doing tricks sometimes.
The blades have changed none of that.
If anything, theyve raised the bar for how I ski real skis.
The blades arent my problem, my crappy fundamentals are.
Effective Edge
The big argument Ive heard against blades in bigger terrain is their lack of effective edge.
My blades are fully rockered, with very tapered tips.
But edges are only as effective as the power it’s possible for you to direct to them.
Heres an example: youre splitting firewood.
You have one maul with a very heavy head, very sharp, great blade shape, etc.
The edge is great, but its not being used to its full potential.
The blades are more like a smaller axe with a comfortable, strong handle.
I have short effective edges on the blades, but theyre very predictable.
I know right where they are, and how they will respond to input.
Im not overpowering my boots and overworking the stabilizing muscles in my legs.
The system is more efficient and powerful than any combo of light boots and skis Ive used.
And with a little camber in version two, that power will only go up.
Are Blades Right for You?
I would never ownjustblades.
I like other aspects of skiing too much.
Living in the Tetons I will always want to own a pair of pow skis with tech bindings.
That said, I dont want to ski big lines on anything but blades.
A prime example is the Skillet.
This line requires a 6-mile flat approach over Jackson Lake, followed by 5700 feet of skinning and booting.
I dont want to carry real skis across that lake, ever.
I want to blade that line every season until global warming makes the ice too thin to skin over.
I never want to ski it on anything longer than 108 cm.
If you’re able to only have one touring setup, buy real skis.
Blades are the ultimate volcano ski.
Lighter blades with camber has been my mantra all winter, and hopefully its coming soon.
Full Send Ski Co is working on blade 2.0 right now.
Ill hopefully get to test them this spring, and then they should be available for preorder this summer.
If they are, theyll be one of the first backcountry-specific blades to hit the commercial market.
I cant wait to see how light it ends up being.
Environmental impact
Blades take roughly half as much material to make as regular skis.
Thats good for the planet.
Half as much wood, half as much composites, half as much epoxy, half as much impact.
Ideally, you could build two pairs of blades at once in an extra-long press.
Two of those side by side and youre pressing four blades at once, upping your capacity.
Less waste, less material used, happier planet.
Accessibility
The bigger argument for more widespread blade use is accessibility.
We keep talking about wanting to make skiing more accessible to everyone, but were short on concrete ideas.
Removing blade stigma is an easy one.
How do I know?
I learned to blade at the same time I was learning how to ski.
Blading has a shorter learning curve before youre linking turns and skiing groomers in control.
For some reason its only cool when already good skiers blade, and we mock beginner skiers on blades.
I havent found it yet, and I think most beginner skiers dont need to worry about that.
Beginner skiers dont need to make skiing worse for more accomplished folks.
Blading would help with this.
A big part of why beginner skiers are demonized is that they are often out of control and dangerous.
And it makes sense.
Rental skis are hard to turn, especially if its your second day out.
Seriously, go ski some rental skis, theyre a pain in the butt.
Forget hockey stopping on them, or navigating lift lines.
We get annoyed at beginners because they run into us, they present a hazard.
Blades make them less of a hazard.
They even fit in your trunk, so Instagram doesnt have to make fun of your sideways roof box.
And they require less precise fitting boots to drive.
My ideal inbounds blade setup would be those Apex snowboard boot binding things, with blades.
All the comfort, none of the hassle.
Is this blasphemous against all the norms of the ski industry?
Maybe, but who cares, what weve been doing so far hasnt been working.
Add to that the rise in inbounds uphill travel.
More folks are skinning up resorts to ski down groomers than ever before.
And it makes sense, its a nice way to get some exercise and get out in the mountains.
But why are these folks hauling real skis up and down the hill?
Blades are the ultimate inbounds skinning setup.
Oh, you skied that sidecountry line?
I bet I can blade it!
Im not impressed, backcountry blading is easier, thats the whole point.
This winter Ive climbed and skied a bunch of fun lines with my snowlerblades.
The climbs were easier, and the descents were funner.
Thats a win in my book.
Give it a shot, you might just fall for blading too.
