Paragon Guides

Paragon’s Rental Ski Program has the:

adjustable wrist straps.

It’s been snowing here in the high country of Colorado and that’s a great thing.  But we take safety for both getting-to and being-in the backcountry very seriously.  Here are some thoughts on getting here and the next blog entry  on being ‘out there’.

Karen @ PG

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Just getting here can be a adventure.  Often I have said that I would rather be skiing the trails in a snow storm than driving Interstate 70 over Vail Pass.

PARAGON GUIDES THOUGHTS ON AVALANCHES

Over-use and abuse of National Forest Service areas have taken their toll on many trails and backcountry routes. The USFS strives to protect these areas and manage their use in such a way that still leaves these public lands of ours beautiful and accessible for all of us.

Be prepared to get back to the backcountry

Vail Valley skiing: First order of business is organizing your gear

VAIL VALLEY, Colorado — After months of anticipation, I finally believe that ski season is here in Colorado’s Vail Valley. Although I might get out a few days in November (often one of Colorado’s snowiest months), if you’re like me, December means skiing.

With a new season afoot and energies sparked by the latest round of ski movies and magazine gear reviews, it’s time to prepare for a return to backcountry powder adventures.

The first order of business is organizing your gear. I’ll assume you have your skis tuned, your boots fit and skins ready. But what about your pack? Need an upgrade? If so, second only to comfort is storage capacity.

I recommend always going bigger than you think you need and then carefully select what you put in your pack. I’m always amazed when I see small packs that look like a Christmas tree with so many things hanging off of it. Go big. A good target is 2,400 cubic inches. Black Diamond and Back Country Access make durable, well-fitting backcountry packs that easily stow shovels and probes and include hydration systems that know how to with-stand freezing temperatures.

How much food, water and extra clothing you carry in your pack depends on personal preference, but there are four items you should always have: first aid and repair kits, a probe and a shovel. Prepare for the worst. This means that I have several sizes of both first aid and repair kits, depending on the size of party and adventure. Key components to my repair kit include a multi-tool, small compression strap, steel wool, extra screws, and matches.

First-aid kits are available in many sizes. At the very least, make sure you can treat blisters, cold hands and feet, headaches, and bloody noses.

Now that you’re organized, you’re ready to make some turns. For those of you who are relatively new to backcountry skiing, first you have to learn to enjoy the climbing as much as the turning. In the guided trips I lead, helping people enjoy the climbing starts with making sure they’re wearing a comfortable and proper layering system. Find what works best for you.

Remember, regulating your body temperature in the backcountry is critical to preventing hypothermia. You can save energy and maintain your body temperature better if you keep moving. So start out a little cold. I guarantee that in no time you will be warm. If you start to overheat, or even get cold, take the time to adjust your layers.

You won’t be caught off guard for on your first outing if you put some prior thought to what you will need. The backcountry is no place to find yourself unprepared. And, with the new season, don’t forget to change out the batteries in your beacons. I also like to do a few practice beacon searches with my core touring partners. If you’re new to the area and haven’t taken a Level I Avalanche course, don’t delay. Safe backcountry travel requires knowledge and experience.

Lastly, consult the Colorado Avalanche Information Center for daily weather and snow conditions:http://avalanche.state.co.us. Make a small donation and they’ll send you daily e-mail reports.

But, don’t let the report tell you everything. Use your judgment when approaching avalanche terrain, and remember winter is long. We have been spoiled the last two seasons with lots of early snow. So keep your eye on the weather and prep you gear, for the best is yet to come.

The time between late Fall and Winter keeps me guessing. Will I be skiing good snow by Thanksgiving, or will I be searching for areas filled in by the wind or protected from the sun because the snow storms have been too small or too few for good accumulation? Do I wait patiently or carry a little anxiety on my shoulders as well as a pack? We choose our mindset, but not so with the snow. Some years we are blessed with early storms, good touring, maybe some turns on the appropriate slope. Other years we do what we can with what we have knowing that one good storm cycle can change everything.

This early season is like many in the past. Not so good in the backcountry, a couple runs of man-made snow at the ski areas. As for me, I will get out there, not with high expectations, rather with high anticipation for a hidden spot and hopes for future storms. I’ll scratch around mostly on north and east facing slopes testing my wind and sun theories, hoping for a few turns but content with the rhythmic “kick and glide” of “free-heel” ski touring.

All is not lost without deep snow. Even with only inches the whereabouts of resident creatures cannot be hidden. Perhaps my route will be the same as the coyote, mine most likely being more direct. I know my lunch is in my pack while the coyote must be intent on searching all possible lunch locations. What decisions has the snowshoe hare made this early season? Have they turned all white or been betrayed by their own anticipation of early snow. The same for the Ptarmigan, might they be embarrassed being all white when mottled would be the preferred fashion for this early season. Let’s not forget the mouse. His early season betrayal would be the missing snowy roof that should be hiding him from the Owl or Hawk.

There is much to look forward to. I’ll not try to fool you or myself. I will be happiest when all creatures including myself have shrugged off the “what if’s” of early season and our anticipation is only for another wintry day.

Donny Shefchik, Field Director

by Donny Shefchik, Paragon Guides Field Director

Fishing in the Vail area has changed over the years. Many of us must be OK with “urban” fishing or at least a busier fishing hole. The popularity of fly fishing has brought smiles to Fly Shop owners and guides, and occasional frowns from those looking for a more secluded fishing experience. The rivers are fished earlier in the Spring and later in the

Fall and it’s not so unusual to see a bundled up fisherman standing mid-stream in mid-winter patiently casting to open water.

Our local rivers are in good shape considering the impacts of valley wide growth and the consistent parade of fisherman to the rivers edge to try their luck. I still visit these places but tend more often than not to fish these places off-season and off hours. There were places that I thought of as secret, or at least not popular, but these have been discovered or bought by someone who must have had an overstocked inventory of “No Trespassing” signs .

Now I find myself most often leaving the main roads and mainstream, heading for those small places that have not been discovered or purchased. There are plenty of places and I’m not saying that I eliminate all the people, but these places are quite, beautiful, sometimes rugged and many times “fishy”. The Backcountry Small Streams often provide a bit more adventure, your closest competitor most likely the resident mink or eagle.

I have taken many clients to the small streams and seen a variety of reactions. For many the smaller volume of water makes for more pleasant wading, reading the water and casting to a “fishy” spot seems simpler, and the fish albeit smaller, are as wild and beautiful as anywhere. The reward for fooling the biggest fish in the pool is delightful whatever size stream.

The sight of a rising fish, the calculated cast to the cut-bank or the bending of the rod are the immediate rewards for me. Longer lasting are the joys of time spent in wild places chasing wild trout sometimes with no one to celebrate with but me.

On some powder days I see a good snowboarder from the chair and often think how fun it looks, but for the backcountry I will stick with my skis. Recently, I had the opportunity to guide a group of snowboarders adventuring into the backcountry for the first time. The day was beautiful and experience, I hope for both myself and the group of snowboarders was enjoyable.

I was on skis but the group was on snowshoes with their boards on their back (having a backpack made to carry snowboards is recommended), one of the disadvantages of not having a split-board or skis. The hike up to Uneva bowl gave everyone time to adjust to the altitude and take time to look at snow-covered trees. Part of all backcountry winter travel is that you have to learn to enjoy the uphill as much as the down. Although following an old track for a majority of the time I still noticed the snowshoes sinking in further than the ski track I could break for them. However, once the track was in we had a couple of wonderful runs, of untracked powder. Along the way we did not see another person when there were 15,000 skiing at Vail only miles away, another highlight of the day.

To ensure that you can make the best of your backcountry snowboarding day, be prepared encounter some differences to snowboarding on the resort. Expert snowboarding skills like, holding speed on flat areas, following a track through trees with controlled speed, and techniques for getting up in deep powder will help you enjoy your day. I commend the group of snowboarders for hiring a guide to teach them about the backcountry, and hopefully more can enjoy the experience of the backcountry

Will Elliott
Senior Guide

Images of untracked powder, Spring corn snow, and beautiful blue skies will give most of us the urge to venture into the Backcountry to find the snow and the day we dream of. Far from the sometime crowded slopes and packed out runs of the ski area, the Backcountry offers the chance for solace and untracked snow. Reaching Backcountry terrain requires time and effort and this sometimes comes as a surprise to those unfamiliar with leaving the slopes and lifts of the mechanized ski world.

The popularity of snowboarding has spilled into the backcountry but I think there may be some perceptions and realities of Backcountry Snowboarding that do not often appear on the pages of popular magazines, TV and internet. Behind many of these images may often be mechanized access. Snow-cats, helicopters, snowmobiles and often “Slackcountry” riding out of bounds from lift access ski areas. Although my experience with riders in the backcountry has been limited I have seen the Delights and Dilemmas firsthand. Perhaps by listing a few observations those who dream of riding in the backcountry can be better prepared for the experience.

To struggle whether you are on skis or a snowboard is easy. To find the right combination of skills, fitness, judgment and knowledge is the hard part. There are few shortcuts. I believe that a guide can make the process safer and far less frustrating, but you must find your place not only on the mountain, but also in yourself. Backcountry skiing or snowboarding must be looked at in its entirety, not its pieces. Enjoying only the downhill piece leaves out other pieces, most importantly the uphill piece, which will take up most of your time and your effort.

Always enjoy the Delights but anticipate and accept the Dilemmas. I, for one, make little distinction.

Backcountry Snowboarding Delights:
** The anticipation when standing at the top of an open slope or glade, then pushing off into untracked snow
** Although I have not done it, I feel it when I watch an accomplished rider arching turns in soft untracked snow
** That weary good feeling of a great day in the backcountry

Backcountry Snowboarding Dilemmas:
** Getting to the untracked snow – There are two common methods for snowboarders to access the backcountry, snowshoes or a “split board”. With snowshoes you earn every inch you travel with them on your feet, both up and down. In some circles a snowshoe track should not pack out an existing ski track so you may find yourself breaking trail sometimes. You either carry the snowshoes or the board on your back. There is a fair amount of preparation whether you are putting the snowshoes on or the snowboard. With a “split board” you use climbing skins as you would with skis. There is a minimal amount of gliding with the skins on and plenty of gliding with the skins off; however, edging and turning are additional skills to learn. Dealing efficiently with the “split board” takes some experience. Putting it together when you are ready for a descent, or taking it apart when the riding is over. Ski poles are recommended.

** Backcountry Riding, the descent – Choosing appropriate terrain is critical for Snowboarding. Backcountry Skiing is often fairly short runs, with a snowboard this can be challenging. All the time spent going up or over to a slope is rewarded with what seems to only be moments of descent. Many areas are not one long steep slope but can have benches or small gullies that need to be crossed or climbed. For a skier this may not present a problem, but for the snowboarder these small obstacles can be much bigger issues.

** Backcountry Snow Conditions – Most of us wish there was great snow all the time in the backcountry. The reality is it is not always so great. We deal with many types of snow and variable snowpacks. Sure there is plenty of powder but you need to know where it is and there may not be any. We are sometimes greeted with windblown snow, crusty snow, icy snow, slushy snow and all combinations imaginable. The snowpack can be shallow so we deal with buried rocks, stumps and fallen trees. The snowpack can be deep, sometimes bottomless, making any movement by walking impossible. In the event of a fall bottomless snow can make getting up very difficult.

** Recommendations – Get out there and give it a try if Backcountry Snowboarding appeals to you, but perhaps start off easy, don’t try to “bite off” too big a piece at first. Perhaps take a class or hire a guide. A guide or teacher can enhance the learning curve and elaborate on the Delights and Dilemmas, probably because they have past experience with both.

Donny Shefchik
Paragon Guides, Field Director