Newb Advice

Hey all...

I'm new to TAY, and seeking the advice of sages located herein.  I've been skiing for many a year, and increasingly enjoying some of the hike-to terrain located on the edges of resorts, strapping skis to the back and bootpacking up.  This winter I vowed to buy a set of skins, AT bindings, beacon, etc, and get into the true BC.

I was expecting to spend the entire summer out of the country, and in the Fall get back in.  To my surprise, I'm here.  I still need to buy the requisite gear, but I'm thinking there may be some good opportunities right now.  So the questions:

(a) While I'm looking for and ordering BC gear, are there opportunities in the Washington area that don't really require avy gear/AT bindings?  Anywhere I could easily and safely bootpack up?
(b) Once I get the gear, is June/July just too difficult for someone just getting into BC?  I've spent the last few months studying winter routes, but I don't really know much about what's available here in the summer.

Oh, and if anyone wants to invite me up anything, I have no partners at the moment, and I'm somewhat unexpectedly unemployed for the immediate future.

You can try any of the resorts which are closed. This is about as avy safe as you can get and you can get.
I would also go to some of the great shops in the area to get gear advice. Buy your boots and then demo skis for a few trips as there are so many different types of skis out there.
Also, take an avy class, beacon is only worth so much with out knowledge and the class is a great way to meet skiers.

You could try renting a beacon before you spring the big bucks to buy.  AAI in Bellingham has them, or WWU if you are a student or know someone who is.  I assume similar can be found around Seattle.  Summer is generally safer, which means it's a good time to get used to and practice with a beacon.

There seem to be decent deals on beacons on Craigslist from time to time.  Worth keeping an eye on.

Totally take a class. But, next available are probably in the winter(?).

Baker and vicinity always has snow, no matter what time of year. There is plenty now.

Not a sage but I'd like to share my perspective. Buying the right gear is definitely a good choice; you'll certainly never regret the decision. Touring without the right equipment isn't fun and it's certainly not safe. If you're interested in ski touring as a system for mountain travel then touring gear isn't just skis/boots/bindings; it's fundamental safety equipment. If you want to hike for turns, you need a somewhat different approach to equipment, safety, pacing, travel, route-finding, etc. ( Opinion: Hiking for turns is fine but I think it's an awful way to spend an entire day if you go out with the intention of doing some skiing. ) The Point: Hiking for turns and touring for turns aren't the same thing at all.

If you're on touring gear, you can spend the entire day on skis. Skiing in/up is part of the charm - and for some people it's most of the charm. While you won't spend most of the day going downhill on skis, you still get to ski, and if you're not too tired at the end, you'll enjoy the turns. Plus, you get a wonderful chance to suffer through some mistakes and learn to wear/carry the right clothes, water, food, etc. I'd go touring after you get the right equipment; not before. I'm not qualified to speak about avalanche safety but terrain selection is a great skill if you'd like to get out and have a relatively safe experience. It's also relatively easy to learn enough terrain basics to ( hopefully ) avoid making really serious mistakes. Initially, terrain selection is really a matter of learning to look at terrain and determine if you have the appropriate skill level to travel there or not. If you have any doubt, change the route. Vague thoughts such as "I don't know about that route..." can be reduced to crystal clarity if you understand that "I don't know" really means "I could get injured or killed if I travel there and something goes wrong."

The Mountaineers publishes a wide variety of useful, low-cost books on this subject; these are probably an even better investment than touring equipment. Bring the books with on your first few tours. It's important to get out and "learn" but learning needn't involve serious injury or unnecessary suffering. Some suffering is good and you may even learn to enjoy small doses.

The most helpful thing I didn't learn about touring until I'd actually been touring: when you get out on skis/skins, travel at a consistent rate, even if it's slow or very slow. Travel at a pace that maintains reasonable breathing, reasonable heartrate, and low sweating. Try to go for 15 minutes without stopping, then a half hour, then an hour, adjusting your pace as needed to stay moving - even if you're inch-worming uphill. It's much harder than it sounds! Don't develop the start/exert/stop/start/exert/stop habit - this takes almost all the fun out of touring and the ability to cover ground really amounts to the ability to move consistently, not necessarily quickly. This might be a great series of exercises for your first few tours. ( And if you can travel uphill a fair distance, you will at least get to make some turns on your way back to the car. )

Happy trails.

One good way to use this website to find places to go is to look in the TR achives.  For example, let's say you want to find some ideas for June.  Go to LAST YEAR's TRs, or the ones from the year before, and you're bound to see a lot of interesting tours as well as generalized conditions for some of the more popluar tours that everybody does like Muir, SW Chutes on Adams, CD route on Baker, etc...

Then, just pull out your maps, your guidebooks, get the access info and you're good to go.

As far as gear, you can do quite a few routes hiking with alpine gear, but the first day you use touring gear will likely be the last time you consider using alpine gear again.  If cash is a factor and you can't throw down then yes you may as well hike with your downhill stuff, but I say if that is the case get a second job, sell blood plasma, pick up aluminum cans, or whatever it takes.  You'll want the gear.

Lordhedgie, Like you, I've been skiing for many years and and just started venturing into the backcountry. I started in the fall with a pair of AT bindings, my alpine boots and an older pair of skis to see if I was going to enjoy touring. I took an avy course with AAI and highly recommend it. Like bobs suggested in his post, I've been sticking to the closed resorts this spring while I learn the ropes a bit more and have been having a great time (even bought a pair of AT boots, which has made quite a difference).

Feel free to pass along any invitations for meeting up - I'm also looking for partners that won't mind a "new guy."