Backcountry Skiing or Ski Mountaineering?

Oh my Gawd! The Crystal Cam looked so sad today (no snow)... So this board is all the skiing I am getting right now... <br><br>Anyway as I considered myself to be a mountaineer before I got interested in BC stuff.... Please add to your consideration of ski mountaineering the idea of doing overnight trips on the slopes. I have spent several nights camped out at 9,500 ft. (You haven't experienced self inflicted misery until you have slept on snow with 50 mph winds beating down your tent.), but didn't have skis with me (which is why I got BC gear). Also, there are issues of glacier travel, ripping up your pant legs with sharp crampons, self arrest and cravasse rescue that a "backcountry skier" may not be concerned with. <br><br>If your are a BC'er, then clip a couple of 'biners on your pack and zaaaap! now you're a ski mountaineer. <br><br>So, has anyone here carried their skis above 10,000 ft.? I haven't, yet. - Rux

So, has anyone here carried their skis above 10,000 ft.?

<br><br>Yeah . . . probably just about everyone who posted in this thread . <br><br>I think the usage of SM may be to an extent geographic specific. Moynier's book describes some pretty crazy stuff in the High Sierra (grab his book and make a road trip Sky!) where you're definitely focused on an objective (ie, an absurdly steep and narrow couloir), yet he rarely uses the term Ski Mountaineering and when he does he's not referring to being focused on an objective but rather the route involving technical climbing and/or a fairly technical descent. <br>

So, has anyone here carried their skis above 10,000 ft.?

 <br><br>The usual suspects: Rainier, Baker, Adams, Shasta, Lassen, Hood.....also, virtually anyplace you'd really want to ski in Colorado, and a great many of those in the Sierra.<br><br>Edit to add: I am not claiming any sort of unusual skill or experience here; in fact, I'm trying to point out that getting above 10k is not terribly difficult, here or elsewhere.<br><br>As far as the original question, I usually claim to be a backcountry skier, but when this causes confusion ("Oh, you mean a cross-country skier!  Hey, I did that once!) I sometimes try to clarify by calling it ski mountaineering. This is usually a mistake, since then they associate me with the sorts of "extreme" pursuits they've seen in ads for giant SUV's and insipid beer.  

Yeah the skiing sucks. Let's hope in a few years they'll be asking us to recall the awful winter of 2005, after we've been spoiled by a string of fat ones.<br><br>In my history project, I defined ski mountaineering as "backcountry skiing in country that demands mountaineering skills and judgment." In an old book (I can't remember which one) the author defined it as skiing above the permanent snowline. In Sunrise to Paradise, Ruth Kirk writes that native people on Mt Rainier ordinarily did not climb above the "invisible spirit line" which roughly coincided with the permanent snowline. I like the sound of that.<br><br>Sky's goal-oriented definition seems pretty good. I'd clarify that you don't have to be talking about a descent. An overland trip can be very goal oriented and can demand lots of ski mountaineering skills.<br><br>In the thread "Games Backcountry Skiers Play" in rec.skiing.backcountry in 1997, I offered the following set of definitions. <br><br>

<br>Backcountry skiing: Muscle and gravity powered skiing outside developed ski areas. This is divided into:<br><br>1. Touring: Overland skiing, emphasizing cross country travel over ascents and descents.<br><br>2. Yo-yoing: Skiing up and down hills, emphasizing vertical gain over cross country travel.<br><br>3. Ski mountaineering: Backcountry skiing in terrain that may require mountaineering skills, for example use of an ice axe.<br><br>3a. Peak skiing: Ascending and descending a summit with the goal of skiing as much of the peak as feasible.<br><br>3b. High route skiing: Touring through ski mountaineering terrain, which may include peak skiing.<br><br>3c. Steep skiing: Seeking the limits of skiable terrain, traditionally called extreme skiing.<br><br>

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How about we now argue about what defines steep/extreme skiing? Is is when you fall, you die?

In the rockies you dont have to carry your skis above 10,000 ', you can ride the lift. Now 14,000' is another matter- and the answer is yes, that's where the best spring skiing is.