CROSS COUNTRY


There’s nothing like cruising the crust under the Throne of the Mountain King PHOTOS BY DALE DRENNAN


CRUST CRUISIN’:


AH, THE EXPERIENCE OF EXTREME SKATE SKIING By Dale Drennan


’m reluctant to write this article because I don’t want to give away my extreme skate skiing secret. Most people don’t know that extreme skate skiing is even an option, they think skate skiing belongs on


I


the groomed runs of a cross country ski area. But skate skiing can go off-piste on


snow conditions created by nature – a firm crust with about one inch of softer corn snow on top is perfect for getting extreme. By “extreme” I don’t mean racing – I mean skiing where you never thought you would or could go on skinny little skate skis. I mean embarking on a backcountry adventure at 11,000 feet elevation through a spectacular glacial valley hemmed in by high alpine crags that cradle avalanche chutes. I mean skiing up 1,500 vertical feet while your eyes are rewarded by jagged mountains slicing the deep, bright cobalt Colorado sky. I mean breathing rhythmically and using any technique you can muster: V2 alternate, V2, V1, or diagonal skate, then slowing to a herringbone, and ultimately


a forward


side step as the slope gets steeper and you can‘t move forward another inch. Ten a rest, a chat, a drink of water. On this particular journey, we eventually ascend to heaven, the highest glacial cirque of the valley headed by the mountain


100 | 32 DEGREES • FALL 2015


called Trone of the Mountain King. We marvel at the King and relax, being there for as long as possible.


TIPS FOR EXTREME SKINNY SKIING Te five miles up is an extreme workout; the five miles down is extreme downhill skinny skiing that definitely requires technique, along with a little reckless abandon. We consider the way down and try to determine what the snow conditions are and where the fall line might lie. While we skied up on solid crust covered with corn/spring snow on top, we’re skiing down in heavier, deeper snow. Some slopes have breakable crust in spots, a very difficult condition in which skate skis have a tendency to sink and not turn without considerable knee twisting. In short, it is very tough to control these skis in heavy, deep snow. Our plan of attack is to make wild


traverses that end in runaway-skier-ramps up side hills to slow us down. My ski buddies go first, and I watch them flying back and forth across the slope like they are rounding up a herd of stray cattle; I


call it cowboy skiing. I join them, starting my descent with a long traverse across the slope to my left at what feels like breakneck speed, then slow to a stop as I will my skis to go uphill. I change directions with a kick turn, followed immediately by another high speed, bouncy traverse. Yee-haw! I remind myself to keep centered on


my skis as much as possible. As I begin to understand the snow, I progress to making wedge turns, then stem christies, then parallel turns and eventually a few old- school telemark turns. It is so much fun to link a few together! As we descend, we cross a frozen stream;


then we slide in and out of small trees; then glide back out into the open where V2 alternate is possible and easy to do now since we are going slightly downhill. Suddenly we are at our cars – a total of four hours roundtrip. It was a magnificent day, enjoying this minimalist experience – unencumbered by heavy gear, we could move so much faster and freer. We rejoice in our shared experience with so many highs on so many levels. We agree to do it again tomorrow.


Dale Drennan is member of both the Rocky Mountain and Western Divisions of PSIA-AASI. She is an advanced aross country educator for PSIA-AASI RM and a nordic tech team member PSIA-AASI W. She is a Level III cross country, Level III telemark, Level II alpine, and Level II snowboard instructor.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104  |  Page 105  |  Page 106  |  Page 107  |  Page 108  |  Page 109  |  Page 110  |  Page 111  |  Page 112  |  Page 113  |  Page 114  |  Page 115  |  Page 116  |  Page 117  |  Page 118  |  Page 119  |  Page 120  |  Page 121  |  Page 122  |  Page 123  |  Page 124