“I don’t have any women friends who snowboard.” Does this sentence resonate with you? If so, don’t worry, I’ve got you! Hi, my name is Chelsea, I’ve been snowboarding for 27 years, and I’ve lost count of how of many times I’ve heard ladies I’ve chatted with on the chairlift say, “I don’t have any friends that are women to snowboard with.” If I had to guess, I’d seriously wager that I’ve heard it over 100 times from everyone — experts to beginners.
If you are one of the countless women out there who feels like this, just know that you aren’t alone. You are part of a huge demographic within the snowboarding world. Talk about disheartening! So, let’s change this for you right now. Read on for my list of 3 proven ways to find your shred-crew (for free) and never feel alone or isolated on the mountain again!
Four years ago, after hearing this sentiment hundreds of times, I finally decided to do something about it. I decided to make it my personal mission in life to help women connect with other women and make friends inside the world of snowboarding. Currently this means I co-lead a meetup group of over 2000 women in Western Washington called the Shred-it Sisters. Our group stays in contact primarily through Facebook and holds monthly meetups at multiple resorts in Washington state with the goal of making it easy for women to connect, make friends with other shredders, and hopefully, never feel like they have to say that dreaded sentence ever again!
All this being said, my first piece of advice is to seek out and join a group like the Shred-it Sisters and attend a meetup! How do you find a local group? I’d highly suggest using Facebook. Currently there are hundreds of snowboarding groups that use Facebook to connect. These groups seem to fall into a few main categories — Resort-Specific Groups, Pass-Specific Groups, Specialty Groups (like women’s groups, BIPOC groups, etc.), and Gear Trade/Sales Groups.
A Shred-it Sister meetup at Crystal Mountain on an April pow day with a foot of new snow!
My advice for anyone looking to find, for example, women buddies to ride with, would be to join a large women’s snowboarding group on Facebook and create a post asking if anyone knows of any specific regional groups near you. This is how a lot of people find our Shred-it Sisters community — through asking on Facebook groups like Women Who Snowboard, or Girls That Board about who to connect with in Western Washington. Our members see these people reaching out and tag our group, inviting them to join. It’s awesome!
Another thing that has worked for me is to do a Facebook group search to see if there is already a group on Facebook for your home resort. For example, at my home resort, Crystal Mountain, we have the Crystal Mountain Ladies Group. This group always has people actively looking to make friends, create carpools, and meet up for days on the mountain! Resort-specific groups like this are often smaller and great ways to connect to your local community.
A note for lady splitboarders — sometimes you can find women’s meetups at the different splitboard festivals around the country. Pallas posts about these events frequently on our social media profiles so be sure to keep up with our Instagram and/or Facebook stories for specifics throughout the season!
Two years ago, I spent some of my winter shred-time volunteering as a snowboard instructor for an incredible Seattle-based organization called The Service Board (tSB). In their own words, tSB “is committed to increasing diversity in the outdoors and building confidence in youth. In combination with community service projects, adult mentoring, and social and environmental justice education, tSB creates courageous communities of young change-makers, athletes, and future environmentalists.”
Although I was only able to volunteer for one season with tSB due to my job schedule, my short time with the organization was hugely impactful on my life! Why? Because I made so many friends! I volunteered alongside people who shared my values, participated in the teambuilding activities that helped me connect with them more easily, and walked away from the experience with people I absolutely adore and who I still snowboard with today!
There are many nonprofit organizations all over the United States and abroad that exist inside the world of snow sports. To get you started on your volunteering adventures, consider doing some searches for local-to-you nonprofits like I did with the The Service Board. In fact, you could ask the Facebook groups you’ve recently joined if they know any! Another tip is to investigate some national groups like SOS Outreach, SheJumps, the Share Winter Foundation, or the Chill Foundation. There are many, many more than I listed here so, if you are reading this and have an organization to suggest to our viewers, let us know in the comments!
Here’s one I didn’t know about until recently! Did you know that many ski resorts actively need volunteers for events that they hold throughout the year? The trick with this is that many do not advertise these needs on their websites or social media but, that doesn’t mean these opportunities don’t exist. My suggestion is to do some digging and find out who the main contact for your resort’s event team is. Send this person an email (or two) asking them about how to get involved with event volunteer opportunities at the resort.
My pals and I while I was volunteering at Crystal Mountain’s Verde Valle Banked Slalom event last season. We made team jerseys, and all competed in the race together even though I was also volunteering with the event!
If your home resort is anything like mine, it needs a large group of people to help execute fun events like the pond skim, mountain PRIDE, anniversary parties, races, demo days, and whatever else it has planned! This is a fantastic way to make friends who also love snow sports and to network a little on the mountain. You never know who you might meet — from people who work with different partner brands, ambassadors or pros who help market the resort, resort employees from all different departments, and participants in the events who are grateful you are helping make all the fun happen!
If this idea doesn’t exactly line up with how your home-resort does things, consider other volunteer positions that most ski resorts have in one format or another. Look for terms like hosts, ambassadors, and volunteer ski patrol on your favorite resort’s website. Aside from the obvious benefit of making new friends and joining a community of other shredders, another major bonus of resort volunteer programs like these is usually, at the very least, a free season pass!
__
It's my sincerest hope that these 3 ideas have given you some inspiration and help in your endeavor to find a rad shred-crew to ride with this season! In my own life, nothing has increased my snowboarding ability and experience more than finding a group of pals to regularly snowboard with so, I’ll leave you with this: May you gear up, feel brave, reach out, and let the bonds of friendships elevate your mountain experiences to new heights.
Happy shredding!
Although this picture was taken at a women’s snowboarding retreat put on by the Drift Sisters (woo!), I already knew most of the ladies pictured here through the Shred-it Sisters, the Service Board, SheJumps, and just snowboarding in general. I am so grateful for our lives together in the snow!
There is a lot of great information out there about the backcountry and how to properly and safely travel during the winter months. So, why would you pay to take an official avalanche education course? When it comes to avalanche mitigation, I believe reading books like Staying Alive in Avalanche Terrain or watching YouTube videos from backcountry companies and instructors is incredible extra credit. But, the real learning comes from being in the terrain you’re exploring and physically seeing and traveling in the backcountry. So, as a seasoned backcountry instructor, here are my top 3 reasons why I encourage you to sign up for your first avalanche education course or to continue your education with additional courses and refreshers.
Avalanche education is hands on. During your avalanche education course, you are out in the elements and truly participating in all of these observations and practices. It’s hard to decipher avalanche terrain on a flat map, but when you’re in the mountains, it’s easier to see the concept of being connected to steeper slopes or complex terrain vs simple terrain. Even “micro-terrain” (small slopes or sections of terrain that is over 30 degrees or a cliff, exposure, etc..) is simpler to understand when you’re out in it.
During your course, you will be in your own snowpit and getting your eyes and hands on the various layers in the snowpack. You can literally FEEL the weak and strong layers of snow and make educated decisions based on this information.
My favorite part is practicing with your rescue equipment. It’s awesome and necessary to carry your transceiver, shovel and probe! Maybe you even have an airbag. But what is the point of this equipment if you don’t know how to or not comfortable using it? This is a practice you never want to use, but you need to be the most proficient at. Using these important pieces even have their own single day course: Companion Rescue. This is something avalanche professionals suggest taking every two years because practice makes perfect. You can check out these courses with outfitters like VNTRbirds that are women + femme specific outdoor educators.
It’s just not enough to go out with friends who have taken courses or lots of experience, because they can make mistakes too. If an accident did occur, would you be able to step up?
When you register for a course, even if you sign up with a friend, there are a lot of other students there you may have never met before. This is a great opportunity to exercise your backcountry voice. Now, I don’t mean the ability of shouting loudly to your group, but to be able to speak up about terrain choices, planned routes and when conditions are just not meeting expectations. It’s important to be able to listen to the voice inside your head and then relay that to your group whether you have the most or least experience. Your voice still matters and it only takes one “no” from your group to not go into a specific zone. A course gives you the confidence to have harder conversations with your backcountry group when you are talking about risk management.
It’s also a great opportunity to practice your pace while traveling with a group. Your pace depends on your backcountry partners. If you all tour quickly, then you’re going to be setting a faster pace, but you should always match with the slowest partner in the group so no one is ever out of eye or ear shot. I always suggest setting a pace where you can still hold a conversation without being overly exacerbated by talking. This also makes sure you aren’t sweating a bunch and then getting cold by the top of the tour.
When you’re taking any avalanche course you have the guidance and knowledge of an avalanche professional that is there to support you through your backcountry journey. The instructor creates the space for you to voice your concerns, for you to be wrong and then learn why. It is the platform to bring more people into the backcountry with proper knowledge, confidence and self-reliance. When taking a course with VNTRbirds, you gain backcountry mentors for life!
We are here to help you invest in new gear (like the Pallas Epiphany splitboard), create your own maps while planning routes, learn tips about how to get your bindings locked in easier or that one piece of gear we will never leave the house without (ski straps and duct tape for me) and any other questions that come up as you continue to explore the backcountry.
Sometimes the hardest part of getting into the backcountry (or a new sport in general) is finding good backcountry partners. By taking an avalanche course, there are a dozen new backcountry goers waiting to go out with you. You also discover what makes a “good backcountry partner” over just a backcountry partner with a lot of experience.
Once you’ve completed your avalanche course you will "speak the same language" as the professionals in the community. You will have the tools to create a tour, the skills to recognize red flags and the communication skills to stay safe. As well as a certification to show for all your work and effort. Taking a course gives you the opportunity for repetition while learning. You will gain extra tips and tricks from your instructors and fellow backcountry users. It truly makes a huge difference in your confidence and your decision making to have been navigating terrain and creating group educated choices after an avalanche educational course.
]]>Happy January! It seems like winter has finally arrived and the cold days are here too. These are actually my favorite days of winter. The snow stays good, blower pow and less people! I love the coldest days of winter! And I wanted to share some of my tips for staying warm in the backcountry on these days.
Photo: Patrick Pfister
I almost always bring a hot drink, having a hot beverage to sip on is so nice. I usually have tea with honey or sugar. Most recently I’ve been experimenting with a bone broth hot chocolate. I like having some calories in my drink and the bone broth offers a little protein as well. If you don’t already bring a hot drink I would recommend adding it to your bag, especially on cold days.
Tuck in your layers. I generally tour with my layers un-tucked because I tend to run hot while touring. In the resort and on cold days I keep them tucked in. Tucking your base layers in can give you a couple extra degrees of warmth. My layer system for pretty much all touring days in a thin base layer with a shell over, occasionally I will tour with a puffy over. I do like more insulation and thicker layers for resort riding days.
Keep your hand and feet out of the snow as much as possible. I try to keep my on my board or skis as much as possible while converting. And get your feet back in your board as quickly as possible. I find a little mindfulness can go a long way
Feet and hand warmers. I love hand warmers on cold days. Last year I found the insole style toe warmers. I use these a little more for resort riding but amazing to have on the coldest days. I keep a pair in my pack and have added them mid-tour before. I know people love boot heaters also. I think I probably use the hot insoles about 6 days a season. Happy feet, happy shredding!
Stay ahead of the cold. Take action when you start getting cold rather than once you're frozen. I’ve made this mistake a fair amount of times when the peak is right there and you don’t really want to stop. But, just stop and add your layer, hand warmers, toe warmers or whatever you need. You might move faster if you're not cold and uncomfortable.
Extra layers. Be careful with this one. It’s easy to think the temp is really cold I am going to wear an extra layer and then end up sweaty and then cold. Don’t let yourself get sweaty. I like to bring the extra layer in my bag and add it if I need it.
I hope this helps you feel warm and cozy on those cold mid-winter touring days. I think these days are magical, I hope you get to enjoy them. Happy winter! XO, Rose
]]>Pallas Snowboards & Phantom Snow Industries Team Rider
ACMG Guide
It was an early mid March morning. My two friends and I stretched and untangled ourselves from our sleeping bags. We had left Kamloops BC in the late evening and arrived in the wee hours at the Cayoosh parking area, on the Duffey Lake Road.
We hadn’t really made much of a plan, or at least all that had been communicated to me was, let's go stay at a cabin for three nights on the Duffey.
My partners have a shared history in the mountains together. They had ticked off numerous days in the summers climbing, and tackling ice-falls and ski touring throughout the winters. They were long legged, fit and confident. I was already worried about my janky split set-up and how my height is all in my torso.
One of these friends and I had just completed our Operations Level 1 avalanche course through the Canadian Avalanche Association. The prerequisites for this course require you to have an AST 1 certification or equivalent, and experience in multiple burial companion rescue, which you are tested on day one of the course.
The CAA OPPS 1 course is the first in a series of professional-level training courses for those seeking employment with avalanche risk management operations within Canada. To me the major take away from the CAA OPPS 1 course is that it teaches you how to be a proficient observer and data collector, and then communicate your findings to others in a consistent way.
My friend and I were now considered certified snow nerds. Speaking to my experience at this time, certification meant I held the badge but had little under the belt. I had spent time out touring with others, following behind as decisions were made, often not fast enough to be there when they were. I tried to absorb as much as I could through osmosis and proximity. I didn’t believe I knew enough to contribute; and many of the core skills I had now just learned were new concepts to me.
Cayoosh summit viewed from the west
When you complete this certification you are warned that statistically people who have just taken an avalanche course are more likely to get into trouble. With the new perceived knowledge, you need to strive to slowly gain experience instead of over confidently stepping out. Fostering a process that relies on information gathering and rules based decision making to keep you on track is encouraged, while you continue to gain experience.
I’m sure I glanced at the weather, and took a quick look at the avalanche bulletin, but honestly I should have done more. I allowed my unquantified feelings of being the least experienced in the group, keep me from contributing, or expressing my concerns and instead just went with the flow despite my misgivings.
What resulted was the closest-call-I-have-had-in-the-mountains-with-an-avalanche-the-size-of-which-I-hope-to-never-be-near-again. This was my wake up call. If I wanted to play in these environments, I couldn’t just tag-a-long.
For starters we had no pre-plan, which means we were not aware of what had been happening in the area in regard to weather and snowpack; and we were making our plan up on the fly, with little map or GPS consultation.
This resulted in sometimes comical, inefficient travel, as we searched for the best routes by trial and error. Fighting up steep treed terrain when there was easier travel 100 m left, or going up the wrong ridge on a summit attempt.
Our lack of preparation left us exposed to worse dangers, however. Despite making observations throughout our days we lacked the historical knowledge to realize there was a lurking Persistent Weak Layer (PWL), which was particularly devious where it sat over a crust.
Wind slab triggered while skiing from the summit of Cayoosh
The day of our near-miss was fantastic. We crossed a glacier, summited a peak, had a killer run down a north facing 500 m couloir and the snow was all time. We also kicked off a size one windslab, and observed several natural size 1 to 1.5 avalanches that had run in the storm overnight.
By this point I was pretty tired and ready to call it a day. I was also feeling uneasy given the amount of natural activity we had seen, and not too keen on the SW slope that was proposed. But I bit my tongue. My friends were eager for one more run.
When I think of this day I am often surprised that we saw nobody else. It was mid week, but we were in a popular touring area and there was at least 30 cm of new snow from the past few days.
Most of the day had been overcast, however as we toured up for another run, the clouds were clearing. I was lagging behind, but remember voicing that I was not comfortable going for the bigger lines. I wanted to stay in the smaller terrain and out of the gullies.
We agreed and continued with the sun on our backs and on the slope.
When we reached our highpoint the boys wanted me to go first. Feeling nervous I asked them to keep space and started down feeling certain we were going to trigger something. I brushed it off as just a feeling.
As the terrain steepened my body was on high alert and I stopped about 10 m back from a rollover. When my friend pulled up behind me we heard a whumph and watched as the slope in front of us released. It was moving slowly and went surprisingly wide and deep.
Crown-line and upper path of the avalanche we triggered
Feeling like we were still in a position where we could safely continue on, we carefully slipped our way down following the avalanche to the valley floor.
At this point we were not so worried about the slope we were on, but were increasingly aware of the heat on the slopes above our exit. Realization was setting in. We had put ourselves in a terrible place. We sat at the head of a valley lined with overhead hazard and large west facing avalanche paths.
The only saving grace was we knew it was a downhill slide out to safety, albeit, several kilometres long; but we were able to keep gliding as we made our escape.
Back at the cabin we counted ourselves lucky but didn’t quite grasp our mistakes. One friend decided he was going to make a quick trip back to the car to grab a few more beers, as it is not very far from the cabin. When he returned he told us of his strange encounter with two guys in the parking lot. The only other people any of us had seen in two days. He said they looked pretty spooked but didn’t want to talk about it.
The next morning we headed up for our last tour. As we climbed we looked across the valley to where we had set off our avalanche. From our position it was bigger than we had initially thought, a healthy size 2.5. As we scanned the ridge down the valley we quickly realized that another larger path had avalanched. Shocked, we could see there were two ski tracks that had dropped from the summit.
Slowly we connected the dots. It must have been those other people from the parking lot. They must have also trigged the slope, but this was far larger than what we had initiated. It had propagated across the entire slope and ran full path, forcing up the other side of the valley. And holy shit! It must have happened within an hour of us crossing under those slopes as we escaped the valley. There would have been no chance for survival.
Anger flashed through me, how could we have been so stupid.
I am not sure in the end what my friends took away from that day, but there were so many take-aways. The biggest for me was it highlighted how my lack of preparation left me totally unprepared in the field. The size of this avalanche was not on my radar, and my lack of experience needed some guidelines to help navigate the conditions as well as the human factors at play.
These days pre-trip planning is an essential part of my backcountry kit. It not only helps me understand the terrain, snow and weather conditions I am headed into. It also gives me time to pre-plan some of the difficult decisions I might need to make in the field, such as which slopes to avoid, or when to rope up on the glacier. I can assess where the holes in my knowledge lie, and then gather more information to make better decisions while on the move.
For a breakdown of what goes into a pre-trip plan see below. Then check out Phantom team rider, Joey Vosburgh’s guide to Making and Interpreting Snowpack Observations once you are in the field.
The crown-lines are outlined from our near-miss. Lookers left is the avalanche we set off, lookers right is what came down shortly after we had crossed under its path.
Are there certain avalanche paths that frequently run in the area?
Do the forecasts align, or is there variability?
Consider the human factors that could come into play within you group and how to manage them.
You get home from a ripping pow day of snowboarding at the resort or doing laps splitboarding in your favorite backcountry zone and just want to plop on the couch and retire for the rest of the night. Knowing the snow is still going to be good tomorrow, you are hoping to feel strong the next morning, but leave that up to fate. Good news is, there is a little more to it than fate, and there are many different strategies you can take to be proactive both in the moment and in your overall lifestyle. We may not have biohacking totally dialed yet, but there are many helpful strategies that will aid in improved recovery for snowboarding. So why are we talking about recovery and not training (click here for training blog)? Well, one could argue, without recovery, what is the point of training. First, let’s think about exercise as a stressor. Say you have a big test or work project coming up and you have been grinding for a few days to get the work done. Afterwards, you will probably take some time to decompress from this with something other than work or school. Same thing goes with exercise. Exercise also sets off your alarm system when you can exercise with physiological, neuromuscular, or metabolic changes. Over time with chronic stress, you will start to experience training adaptations; you can hike further, ride longer, or become stronger. BUT without recovery this will all blow up eventually. So, how do you get stronger or faster at splitboarding? First apply a training stimulus which provokes fatigue and will induce all sorts of physiological processes, then recover. So, how do you know when and how much to recover? This can be tricky, and in large is listening to your body. You will recover faster from endurance training than strength training. The more intense the session, the longer the recovery. Now I am sure you are wondering, what are these wonderful recovery strategies for snowboarding and splitboarding…
Let’s start with sleep. The most simple but underutilized recovery method. According to the book Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker also give this a read if you haven’t) “Sleep is the single most effective thing we can do to reset our brain and body health each day.”1 He even goes on to say that “the physical and mental impairments caused by one night of bad sleep dwarf those caused by an equivalent absence of food or exercise.” Sleep is arguably the most important aspect of recovery, yet most of us aren’t getting enough to squeeze more into the day. So, when thinking about where to cut corners in your life, don’t make it with your sleep. In fact, shift the focus to making this your priority and creating a bed-time schedule and routine that allows for optimal sleep for your body (ideally at least 8 hours). Walker goes on to address sports performance and sleep stating that “post-performance sleep accelerated physical recovery from common inflammation, stimulates muscle repair, and helps restock cellular energy in the form of glucose and glycogen.”
Next up, maybe the most fun item on the recovery list! Snacks! But seriously, food as an athlete is a golden ticket to success. This includes both during (especially in endurance sports like backcountry snowboarding and skiing) and after. The current studies are recommending 60-90g of carbs per hour, most of the research being done in cycling thus far. Fueling appropriately during exercise not only improves performance during but is also shown to improve recovery. Additionally, don’t shrug off your post- shred session fuel either. Sure, a beer and french fries sound great after a long day in the mountains, and this isn’t always bad but try to not make this your routine. Think about getting in a balanced meal after snowboarding all day. Timing of post-exercise fuel can be person dependent. Research has shown that females have a much shorter window to get in the recovery fuel than male counterparts. This can be a pre-made snack or a recovery drink to keep it simple.
Photo: Tim Behuniak |
Photo: Erin Storck |
Alright, for some of you rest days are the easiest days and for others it takes a lot of self-discipline to not go out and train or play hard. But either way, the importance in un-paralleled. A good rule of thumb is one rest day per week, and for some athletes up to every 10 days. As mentioned in the intro, this gives your body proper time to rebuild after the constant break down. Rest days can also include active recovery. Active recovery is low intensity exercise used to improve homeostasis in the body and reduce muscle soreness and fatigue. The idea is that light movement can increase blood flow throughout the body and removing cellular waste, aiding in the healing process. Here are a few active recovery techniques. A gentle walk with the dog, hike on an easy trail, light swim or bike ride and yoga are great options for active recovery.
Both modalities have been shown to improve recovery in ways mentioned above. If you have access to a full body massage, it is probably closer to a gold standard. Foam rolling, trigger point, and percussion massage gun are more affordable everyday options.
Photo: Erin Storck
Stress is stress. Whether it is physical stress on your body or mental and emotional, it all has its impact on your physiology. The often un-talked about reality of managing stressors can have a major impact on recovery and reducing injury. Meditation is a great tool for this and there are many apps our there these days to help guide you and keep you accountable.
Immersion cold water therapy (ie. ice baths) has been certainly trending recently. In study in Frontiers of Physiology led by Olivier Dupuy, they found a positive effect of cold-water immersion or contrast baths (ie. ice bath then hot tub) on DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness.) In addition, cold water therapy also showed a decrease in post exercise fatigue. Inflammation was also found to be decreased with cold water therapy. Like all the modalities, each person may have a different experience with this but could be worth a shot (or maybe just go roll around in the snow).
The idea behind these is to increase blood flow and reduce inflammation like many of the other modalities mentioned above. Unfortunately, there is not a lot of research yet behind this. That being said some athletes swear behind them, so I will leave that up to you!
Photo: Dillon Vesper
In conclusion, the big take away is to take care of yourself in order to have the most fun in the snow. Eat well, hydrate, sleep enough, get some rest, and test out some different techniques for faster recovery.
If you have any questions or for customized training plans, feel free to email me at erin.storck@thefrontclimbingclub.com.
]]>
The difference between a snowboard that’s the perfect fit and the wrong fit can make or break your day, your season or your entire outlook on the sport. And the fact is, the gap between the right board and the wrong board is a lot more significant for women than it is for men.
In our opinion, the women’s sports equipment industry has historically lacked thoughtful and practical R&D. “Shrink it and pink it” has long been used by many companies to guide their design process rather than taking the time to assess women’s pain points and develop gear that addresses specific problems or opportunities. We believe that poorly designed snowboard gear has held women back from advancing their skills or even participating in the sport altogether, creating a negative perception of women’s snowboarding. And here at Pallas, that’s not okay with us.
As you start shopping for a new board, we wanted to share our approach on board design and technology in hopes that it helps you make a better decision and have a better time on the mountain. And the more empowered you are with your gear, the more evolution we’ll continue to see with women’s snowboarding.
What is taper?
Everyone at Pallas agrees: WE LOVE TAPER! It’s a non-negotiable for us when designing freeride or powder boards, but what, exactly, does taper do and why should you consider buying a board with it?
First, let’s explain what taper is. The two widest points of a snowboard are at the nose and tail. These are called contact points. When the nose contact point is wider than the tail contact point, the snowboard is considered “tapered.” A measurement of up to 10mm of taper would be considered low taper; 10–20mm would be considered mid-taper; and anything above 20 mm is considered a high-tapered board.
What about zero taper boards? This makes up the majority of freestyle and freeride snowboards on the market. When the nose width is the same as the tail width, you’re on a twin tip snowboard! Twin tip boards don’t have any taper. You’ll see a lot of powder boards labeled as “directional twin tip” snowboards, which isn’t as efficient as taper for riding powder.
In the early days of snowboarding, tapered shapes were common, but during snowboarding’s explosion in the 90s and early 2000s, freestyle took over, and tapered boards went out of style like fleece headbands. In more recent years, riding styles have changed: backcountry riding has grown and snowboarders have returned to the fundamentals of deep pow, hard carves and directional all-mountain shredding. Since Pallas’s earliest days, we have embraced the use of taper to make freeriding a better experience, and it’s a key part of our design approach.
Why use taper?
Tapered boards turn more easily and can hold an edge harder and for longer, which makes them easier to ride more aggressively on firmer snow. (We’re looking at you, East Coast snowboarders!) But where they really shine is in powder and soft snow. A tapered shape allows the nose of the board to “lift” above the snow, which means you float without effort instead of sinking and working hard for every turn. It also enables you to ride deep powder with a natural, centered stance instead of awkwardly balancing on your back leg and getting tired from too much thigh-burn.
A tapered shape is particularly useful for backcountry snowboarding. It allows you to ride a shape that is easy and forgiving in powder and variable snow, while being significantly shorter and lighter than a dedicated backcountry powder board that is typically longer than what you’re used to.
The drawback is that highly tapered boards with big, floaty noses and short, stubby tails are not the best at riding backwards, or “switch.” However, for many snowboarders and almost all splitboarders, riding switch isn’t common and is generally only needed to “falling leaf” your way out of an awkward spot.
What is waist width?
When people talk about how wide or narrow a snowboard is, they’re referring to a board’s waist width — and it’s exactly what it sounds like: the width of the narrowest part of a snowboard.
Board width affects how quickly a board turns from edge to edge, and 1 or 2 mm makes a huge difference in how it performs. This goes to say: waist width is more important than many riders realize.
We’ve seen a disproportionate amount of women’s snowboards that are too narrow, resulting in board designs that hinder progression, speed and skill. From the beginning of Pallas, we set out to design boards that are stable and efficient to ride, which required us to “think wider” than the industry standard for women’s boards.
How to find your width
The width of a board should be sized appropriately for your feet and boot size. On the flip side, too wide of a board and you’ll struggle to get your board on edge and initiate turns on demand — most noticeable when you’re in tight terrain like trees or couloirs.
Let’s say you have a women’s 8.5 boot size. A snowboard with a 24.8 cm waist width will likely result in skittish turns, lack of edge hold, toe drag, “washing out” on jumps and the feeling of over-powering your board — all effects of a board that’s too narrow. However, a board with a 25.8 cm waist width will likely have you struggling to turn and feel scarily slow transitioning from edge to edge.
From the example above, a difference of 1 cm makes a massive difference in how a board will ride, though most snowboarders can ride within a small range of waist widths. Powder boards will generally be wider (helping with float and stability), park boards will be narrower (helping with quicker turns) and all-mountain boards will fall somewhere in the middle (a combination of float and quick turns).
There’s no preset range for what works with every boot size. Understanding YOUR sweet spot requires personal and subjective testing, and the best way to accomplish that is through demoing as many boards as possible. When you demo, think hard about HOW you ride and WHERE you ride and let that inform your board needs. If you’re riding a banked slalom race or charging through the park, a board on the narrow end of your range will give you the best support. But if you’re spending all your time in the trees or in powder, something in the medium to wide end of the range will be a better fit.
Waist width is less of a problem in soft or deep snow, but it’s still a consideration. In general, backcountry boards tend to be a little wider than an aggressive resort board, but should still need to be narrow enough to allow you to turn quickly and comfortably. The backcountry is no place to feel like you don’t have total board control.
As you’re demoing, take note of the waist measurements of the boards. Then compare that to how the board turns. Do you feel stable, secure or quick to engage your turns? If yes, then you’re onto something great! If you’re feeling like you can’t control your board, then it’s time to try a different board. Understanding your “sweet spot” for waist width measurements will make shopping for a board a smoother process.
]]>Of course, there’s a lot of unseen work that goes into snowboard design, but the topsheet artwork is easily the most noticeable. Topsheets are a canvas for expression and an extension of your style, so how our boards look are just as important as how they ride.
Our style has evolved since the release of our first topsheets in 2013 — a natural evolution as we learned about designing, printing, collaborating and, ultimately, what sells snowboards. And while our style has changed, some core ideas have not. 1. We’ve exclusively worked with female artists and designers to invite more women into the manufacturing process. 2. We’ve integrated nature into every Pallas board, symbolizing both the time we spend outside and the wild duality of the human spirit (feminine and masculine).
Those principles first took root when we worked with Brisbane, Australia-based artist Gemma Davis on our first (and second) topsheets. At the time, the 20-year-old illustrator had a common motif of women and nature throughout her work. As she told us years ago, “I’m all about feminism and equality. I want to show people how there is no set mold for women or men. There is a balance of masculine and feminine energy in everyone. We all have our yin and yang.”
"There is a balance of masculine and feminine energy in everyone. We all have our yin and yang." - Gemma Davis. Above and below, Gemma's artwork that set the original Pallas topsheets in motion.
She continued: “I also like to explore our connection with the rest of the world, outside our anthropocentric perception. That’s where the animals come in. I think we have lost our connection with this world, and I’m trying in my own way, to find it again. I think everyone gets something different out of art though, and I like the idea that everyone finds their own interpretation of what I’m trying to say, too.”
Gemma's questions about our missed connections with the world inspired our third collection of topsheets found in our Alpenglow Collection. We connected with Claire Taylor, a local-to-us illustrator in Salt Lake City, Utah who straddles the line between artist and naturalist. The illustrations we used were taken from two larger pieces (“Wapiti Mating Call” and “Thoughts on Existence as Told by Coyote II”) that were created under a grant she received from Friends of Red Butte Creek and the Global Change and Sustainability Center at the University of Utah.
"I'm interested in breaking down the human/animal binary. My work is influenced by the wildlife I encounter, and I consider what makes me an animal or what similarities or familiarities I can find in an animal that might seem alien to me at first." - Claire Taylor. Above, "The Magpies Pink Cemetery Map." Below, "Wapiti Mating Call."
Many of the flora and fauna she sketches and paints are based from personal encounters while observing nature from the foothills of the Wasatch Mountains. The elk, as seen on the Zeitgeist, for instance, was a memorable encounter: “I heard him before I saw him. The elk’s bugle reverberated throughout the canyon. It sounded like Godzilla’s roar mixed with a whistle, a didgeridoo, and the sound of a screaming child. Terrified, I didn’t know it was an elk creating the sound until I reached a clearing and saw him. This piece was also part of my thesis project for my MS in Environmental Humanities. My thesis culminated as an illustrated book titled All of Us Beasts that analyzed my perceptions of wildlife and my perceptions of myself as an animal.”
Our topsheet designer, Lenka Prochazka, and Pallas founder, Steph Nitsch, began to “piece” Claire’s illustrations together into a bigger story, sharing the canvas with other Wasatch themes. Notably: the stellar sunset alpenglow colors that reflect off the mountains we ride and the toxic air quality that’s common in Salt Lake City in the winter. To delve even deeper into a complex theme, we added deep sea creatures and a human hand to symbolize our constant need to meddle in places that we don’t always belong. For Lenka, this project was right up her alley. “I try to approach every project from a unique angle,” she told us. “I often find myself drawn to design that mashes chaos and order. These topsheets were a good example of that.”
As we planned for the release of the new Solstice topsheet collection this year, we scaled back on the complex themes to reveal a simpler side of recreating in nature. We collaborated with Toronto, Canada painter Mishel Schwartz on an abstract painting that blended the four seasons into one. Her unique alcohol-based techniques naturally “flow” together, perfectly representing the evolution of the seasons...and the human desire to constantly create. “There’s a sense of freedom and organic quality with the ink,” she explained. By experimenting with the ink and textures, she eventually developed a method that “revealed light, depth and details from within the dried ink,” yet even that is subject to change. “It never stays the same. My creativity has taken all different types of roots and stems, but the underlying love and passion is always focusing on nature and light.”
"We all have an innate ability to channel ourselves into a place where we feel completely fucking alive. And once you’re there, you can never go back. I’ll need to be creative for the rest of my life. If i don’t sell another painting, that's okay. But I’ll keep painting every day of my life." - Mishel Schwartz, reflecting on the creativity she unlocked during her collaboration with Pallas
Lenka and Steph once again layered in another story, capturing the simple predator-and-prey cycle of nature and the idea that they’re not mutually exclusive, much like humans ourselves.
We hope you enjoy the new Solstice artwork series and find ways to weave together your own story of the human-and-nature connection; the masculine-and-feminine balance; or the strong-and-soft energy we all carry within ourselves.
]]>
Even though the temps are below freezing and you start off the day with cold digits, there is no doubt you are going to work up a sweat climbing a mountain — even if you don’t feel like you’re actually sweating. Sweat is made up of WAY more than just water, so, equally, it is important to hydrate with more than just water. If you’re going out for more than a 60-90 minute splitboard tour, you might want to consider adding electrolytes to your water to prevent dehydration and energy fatigue.
You’ve certainly heard about electrolytes — the sugary, neon-blue drinks, powders or tabs in the grocery store soda aisle that are hyped up for athletes of all kinds. But before you reach for that processed sports drink or sports-enhancing gummies, consider opting for a few better choices to keep you hydrated (which also have less plastic, a win for us and mama earth).
First, we need to know what our sweat is made of. There are 5 main minerals to be aware of: sodium, chloride, potassium, magnesium and calcium.
Second, we need to learn what these minerals do for our body. Spoiler alert: electrolytes actually conduct electricity (aka ENERGY) when mixed with water. They regulate nerve and muscle function, hydrate the body, balance blood pH, stimulate the heart muscle, AND help rebuild damaged tissue! So, they are kind of important, especially for backcountry activities where you’re far away from the nearest bodega.
Third, we need to consume foods or drinks that put these minerals back in our body by packing snacks and fluids that are rich in these minerals. While salami and cheese are a great option, consider adding homemade, electrolyte-rich choices to your backpack.
My favorite snowboard or splitboard snack to replenish electrolytes is a homemade trail mix. This snack hits all of the bases: protein, carbs, healthy fats, and of course ELECTROLYTES.
My go-to electrolyte drink combines water (duh), Redmond Real Salt (which has all 5 of the electrolytes), real orange juice (for flavor, potassium, & a vitamin C boost), and natural sweetener (you can pick your favorite; mine is maple syrup from my dad’s trees in Minnesota!).
So the next expedition you go on, do yourself a favor and wake up 10 minutes early to prep a yummy electrolyte drink and a snack to get you up that mountain in good health. Cheers!
1 c. toasted coconut flakes
½ c. toasted pepitas salted
1 c. walnuts salted
½ c. goji berries
½ c. dried blueberries
1 c. dried cranberries
Stir and portion out into a reusable snack bag.
Your portion size will depend on a lot of things, activity duration, intensity, weight, metabolism, etc. So trust your body's signals and eat what it requires. I usually take about 1-2 cups with and end up with extra. I like to be over prepared when it comes to food and drinks.
3 c. water
1 orange, juiced
½ tsp. Redmond Real Salt
1 tbsp. maple syrup
Add all ingredients into your water bottle (32 fl. oz). Shake, throw into your pack, and go bag that peak!
]]>It’s that time to start dreaming about face shots and snorkel days. But do you physically feel ready to shred up AND down the mountain? I know many snowboarders who stay active throughout the summer months, whether it be trail running, biking (mountain, road, gravel), or rock climbing. But I know just as many who start the season frustrated because they don’t feel strong for skinning uphill or riding down on powder days. It will never be perfect because the most foolproof way to get ready for snowboard season, like anything else, is snowboarding itself! I do have a few tips to share that will make that transition this year a lot easier.
Splitboard conditioning isn’t just about building leg strength or just about cardio: it’s a combination. It is important to build up your aerobic base for long tours but also have full-body strength to support the climbing, the pack on your back and using your poles. Check out some of my fitness tips to jump-start your splitboard season.
This is your cardio exercises. First let’s define this mysterious aerobic base concept. There is a whole lot of exercise physiology that goes into this, but let's keep it simple. Aerobic means with oxygen. So this is your body’s ability to utilize oxygen and deliver it to your muscles and keep you skinning up that peak. A “bigger” aerobic base means that when your body starts to fatigue and produces lactate, your aerobic systems can eat it up (like a mid-skin track snack!), utilize that lactate to make energy and go faster for longer.
At some point, your lactate will surpass your body’s ability to use it, hence why having a better aerobic base is so beneficial. To accomplish this, it’s best to start training at lower intensity at or below your aerobic threshold.
Additionally, it is important to add in speed training (1x per week to start). This is going to make your stronger and has similar — but different effects to strength training. It will also teach your body what it is like to go fast.
So what are the benefits of different types of cardio training and their effects on backcountry ski conditioning?
Trail running / hiking: This type of conditioning is probably the most direct and simple translation to backcountry ski conditioning. This activity helps to strengthen your heart muscle, it mimics the stride of skinning, and it is weight-bearing just like skinning and snowboarding.
Biking: Biking has been shown by many to also be effective. It does a great job at increasing your aerobic systems and building quad strength. I think the challenging part of biking is that it is not weight-bearing and has a different gait pattern. Different styles of biking are probably going to get stronger for backcountry snowboarding than others. Whether on a road bike, gravel bike or mountain bike, long slow rides to start are going to help with the aerobic base mentioned above and your body’s ability to withstand many hours of exertion. Make sure to incorporate some climbing (not just downhill) and some speed intervals along the way after you start building your foundation.
Combo!! This means splitting your time between running / hiking and biking, and is a winning choice for all you bikers / cyclists who never want to leave the saddle. This is also a great combination for the less experienced runner to build an aerobic base without excess load (aka, running) that your body isn’t accustomed to. No one wants a pre-season injury.
You mean just fast, heavy squats everyday, right? Well…there are other strategies that may translate better to ski and snowboard season. Eccentric muscle contraction can be thought of as the lowering phase of an exercise or when your muscle is lengthening. This is really important for the downhill portion touring, and no one wants to get tired when there are more face shots to be had. For lower body exercises, focus on tempo: think slower on the down and quicker on the up.
Example circuit (30s each exercise with 10s of rest in between, x3 sets)
Your core is more than a chiseled (or hidden) 6-pack! Don't forget that you are carrying load (aka, your pack) with your avalanche gear and snacks. This makes it all the more important to build up your core strength and stabilize your body, especially for those icy kick turns. Don’t leave out your glutes (butt muscles) as they will really help you on the steep uphill section and booting up couloirs.
Refueling, hydration, stretching and flexibility exercises will help with longevity both for the season and for life. Give your body some love. For most athletes, I recommend 1 day a week as a rest day, but remember to listen to your body. Use that down day to binge on snowboard videos to keep your stoke lit all winter.
Who doesn’t work a little harder when they are with their buddy? Plus, you don't want your backcountry partner slowing you down!
Remember the snow will start falling before you expect it, so don't drag your feet and start today! If you have any more specific questions feel free to reach out at erin.storck@thefrontclimbingclub.com.
Join me for a virtual pre-season conditioning program at The Front Climbing Club in Salt Lake City, Utah, starting October 19, 2020. This program is entirely online and uses the fitness portal called TrueCoach. All your workouts will be uploaded with videos and descriptions. You will also have access me at any time throughout the program. Front Climbing Club membership not required to participate. Plus, sign up by October 19 and receive 15% off the purchase of a new Pallas board. Click here to register or for more details.
##
Erin Storck is a personal trainer at The Front Climbing Club in Salt Lake City, Utah.
]]>Transitioning from riding at the resort into the backcountry can seem like an overwhelming and daunting task. Contrary to popular belief, you do not need to be an expert rider to have an excellent time out-of-bounds. Through good terrain selection, intermediate snowboarders can have a wonderful time riding the untracked paradise.
Having splitboarded for 10 years, here are a few tips I’ve picked up along the way to get you started.
You might be familiar with the actual gear that gets strapped to your feet: splitboard, split-specific bindings, skins (and collapsable poles!). But the most critical backcountry gear is your trio of avalanche tools: beacon, shovel and probe. Consider it a quartet if you include the backpack. Having a pack with a designated avalanche tool pocket and is designed to carry a snowboard in splitboard and solid mode is ideal.
Get to know your beacon. Read the owner’s manual. Watch a YouTube video. Find some friends with beacons and practice together. Go to a beacon park [a dedicated beacon training zone found at many ski resorts] and practice some more. Practice taking your board apart and putting it back together. Practice applying, removing and storing your skins and practice those transitions from start to finish. Then repeat. And repeat again. Do it in the comfort of your living room, before you start up the mountain, so you’re familiar with the process and techniques. Learning these skills when you’re on a cold, windy and snowy skin track isn’t just uncomfortable for you (or your touring partners); it’s inherently dangerous for everyone — especially if there’s an emergency or avalanche involved.
Riding in the backcountry away from the safety of controlled terrain is an incredible experience. It’s also much more dangerous. Get some knowledge. Get lots of knowledge. Don’t ever think you have too much knowledge. Start your backcountry education with a Level 1 course through AAI (American Avalanche Institute) or AIARE (American Institute for Avalanche Rescue and Education) in the United States or doing your AST 1 through Avalanche Canada — all of which are industry-leading organizations that set the baseline for avalanche education in North America.
These organizations provide resources on where to find a local provider, course dates and costs. There are numerous scholarship opportunities available. Apply for them. Avalanche courses are also an incredible way to meet touring partners, especially when you’re new to splitboarding. A Level 1 avalanche course should be the minimum requirement for you and any person you venture into the backcountry with.
Keeping the backcountry fun and safe for everyone involved depends on the strong, active community of its users. Having competent, reliable touring partners — whether they splitboard or ski — is an invaluable part of your backcountry gear list. Find partners that are around your skill and ability levels to practice with. Be intentional about planning tours and setting goals together. Mentors are wonderful for passing along practical knowledge, helping you gain backcountry confidence, and teaching you a new vocabulary, but the right ones are willing to be patient with you.
Social media is also another great way to connect with new people. Join a backcountry group on Facebook and attend an avalanche awareness class together — especially ones that cater to women — before meeting up on snow. In an Covid era, sign up for a virtual avalanche awareness class together, then meet up for a virtual beer after it’s over to discuss what you learned.
Backcountry users are generally a welcoming bunch, so be willing to put yourself out there and make new friends. By nature, however, backcountry touring partners are complex relationships. You’re not just going for a walk with a friend; you’re navigating an untamed mountain together where safety, good judgment and interpersonal dynamics are very important. Finding the right ones can take some time and effort, and it’s okay to be choosey with who you venture into the backcountry with. But stick with it because those friendships are worth it.
Start small. Don’t let your buddies talk you into bigger terrain before you’re ready, and always remember that you have the power to say NO. If something doesn’t jive with you, speak up. That is your second responsibility as a backcountry user. (The first is to get educated.) Great backcountry partners will respect your decision and accommodate your concerns. But do understand that your hesitation could possibly be a result of not having enough knowledge or experience to make an informed decision, so use this opportunity to discuss your fears or hesitations with your touring partner(s). They may be able to explain the terrain choices in a way that changes your understanding or perspective.
Many resorts are adopting uphill policies in a Covid era, if they haven’t already, which is a great place to explore splitboarding in more manageable terrain. Think of it as the climbing gym of the backcountry and a great way hone your skills if resorts allow it.
While communication can be a hard skill to practice and learn, the simple rule is: if a person isn’t communicating well from the beginning of planning a tour and throughout the day, they aren’t the right partner for you. It’s okay to “break up” with touring partners if they’re not the right fit.
Show up to the trailhead on time. Packing your backpack, prepping your snacks, assembling your gear and getting prepared the night before is a great way to free up some time in the morning to eat a good breakfast and get into the flow of a big day. Arrive caffeinated, hydrated, fed, pee’d and ready to rock. Be sure to communicate any time or conflicts that might require you to head back to the car at a certain point. It’s a bummer when you’re not even to the top, and someone needs to head back because of overlapping dinner plans that were never communicated.
Having a sense of the season-long history is invaluable. Many avalanche problems can exist because of older storms or snow layers, and it’s essential to understand which layers are becoming more or less stable over time. Check the avalanche forecast in your local area everyday, starting with the first snow report of the season.
Splitboarding has the potential to become a lifelong love affair when you approach the mountain with the utmost safety and respect. Be patient with the process, forgiving of the weather, and enjoy the journey.
##
]]>When we wander out into the backcountry, we want to be prepared for any medical emergencies which may arise. We also don’t want to be weighted down with gear we won’t use, and we don’t want to spend money on frivolous medical kits that claim to “have it all.” As an ER nurse in a regional level 1 trauma hospital, I understand the needs of patients who have suffered accidents or injuries, and as an avid backcountry user, I prioritize an efficient and lightweight system. (I am a smaller gal, too, and winter gear is heavy enough!)
After caring for patients who come in from traumatic accidents, I’m constantly rethinking my gear and “med kit.” The list below is intended to serve as a starting point for a basic med kit and, at the very least, facilitate a conversation about what you are carrying in your pack for safety purposes. The information below is compiled based on my own preferences, the opinion of experts in the field and friends who are both medical professionals and avid backcountry users. Best of all, it fits in a small stuff sack. Check ‘er out!
If duct tape and bungee cords had a baby, it’d be Voile straps. You can never have too many. I’m talkin’ like four or more straps, which can help build a splint, serve as a tourniquet on a bleeding extremity or fix splitboard equipment malfunctions. They are lightweight and have infinite uses, so carry multiple with you.
The MacGyver of tools. A beloved multi tool can fix loose bindings, cut medical tape / clothing / food, saw twigs for a fire, and so much more.
Your dedicated headlamp should not leave your backpack (unless you’re using it, obviously). Epic journeys happen...sometimes unintentionally. Maybe you just stayed out a little too long and need to light your path back to the car. But for serious emergencies that require an evacuation, you can alert EMS or a flight crew to your location if you and your partners have light.
Hypothermia is the biggest concern if someone were to be left in the cold due to injury. Use your trash bag to create a waterproof layer between the snow and your buddy, then wrap them in extra layers to decrease the chances of hypothermia. Sitting on top of two packs can help partners from conductive heat loss. Emergency hand warmers are also lightweight and effective.
Hypoglycemia can be a real issue when we are exerting ourselves in the mountains. Pack extra candy for your ski day and think about items that have a dense calorie to weight ratio. (My favorite are date energy balls that you can make by mixing together whatever ingredients are in your kitchen cabinets. Recommended by my fellow splitter partner, Sophia.)
This can be something fancy, but for the sake of cost, a tarp and ski poles will work in a pinch.
Communication is key in the backcountry, and that becomes even more critical when an emergency is involved. Many backcountry adventures come with no cell service, so phones are not a reliable communication method. Check out Garmin inReach or 2-way radios, like BCA's Link Radios.
In a nutshell, when someone is broken in the backcountry, the best thing you can do is help evacuate them quickly and keep everyone calm. Get the injured person to the nearest hospital for evaluation. If it is an upper extremity issue, you can make a splint, try to make them as comfortable as possible and carry their pack out. However if it is leg or spine related, you might be making a sled or sitting for a while. These items should help you put thought into how you can create a medical kit that can best help you and your team in the backcountry!
##
]]>It’s at the tip of your tongue… but you're never really able to put it into words that wouldn’t regress… never really being able to put into action.
A few years ago, I read an article by Mackenzie Berg that finally put these many thoughts into words. Her article, “The Conversation We Are All Having Lately,” touched on a spectrum of topics, and it has continued to hit home with the central idea that we (as both people and as women), need to start changing how we talk about each other in nature, in sport and as a community.
“Why must so many stories about women taking on a big adventure or a tough route start with fear and uncertainty about whether they were deserving of doing it in the first place?” — Mackenzie Berg
Mackenzie was on it. Why are we, as women, allowing ourselves to be portrayed in this light? Why do we affirm this gender stereotype with our own thinking? And why do we feel that we need someone else to get us there?
As I wade through these questions, more arise: Why am I so quick to trust someone else’s judgment and not so trusting of my own? Or, why am I so quick to critique someone else's decision and not question my own?
I feel that if you are going to have a hands-in-the-air, crushing-it kind of winter, this is a must-have conversation with your friends and really start to investigate the narrative that is being told...both externally and internally.
It is important to challenge these thoughts within ourselves, and as I gear up for this coming winter, it is something I am constantly trying to check in on.
The intention isn’t to put myself down. It’s to look at what I did and what resulted from it. It is easy to have a good day in the backcountry. When nothing goes wrong, you might come home thinking you are pretty good at this avalanche-mitigation thing. And maybe you are. However, I have been taught that even the good days can result from poor decision making. Maybe you just got lucky.
It angers me when I hear someone relate a woman's success to the man she was with, the looks she was born with or the easy road that she had. The narrative is never because she worked her ass off, training, planning and committing to a goal she has set.
When I head out on a backcountry trip there is forethought, practice and, yes, even fear and uncertainty. But it is the preparation that allows me to push through those feelings. And I am not necessarily talking about route planning or pre-season weight training, although that can definitely help. I am talking about that in-your-gut, unknown reason that tells you to turn around. I am talking about experience and how that influences decision making. Sometimes plans happen quickly, and that’s when I find that I rely on my experience to get me through those uncertain moments, to push me up to the next roll and to dive into the unknown.
So how does this relate to changing our perspective about women getting after it in the mountains?
When we can own our experience, we can grow. Every experience we have can be used to inform the next, and this is where confidence grows. If we take a back seat to our adventures, then it will be harder to release ourselves from the idea that we need someone else to navigate us there.
"When we can own our experience, we can grow."
There is a theory that is often used in the avalanche industry which talks about the progression from rules-based decision making to experience/judgement-based decision making. This is the idea that when you are first starting something, you have no experience or foundation to base decisions from, so you must use rules. For example, Avalanche Skills Training (AST) in Canada focuses on terrain and terrain choices as a way to mitigate hazard. By following the rules, we can potentially avoid avalanches if, for instance, we don’t snowboard over convex rolls. At first you may not recognize this feature, and it becomes intimidating to tour around for fear of accidentally rolling over a convex slope. But as you travel with friends and practice the skills, your experience grows and you are easily, without thought, able to navigate the terrain and avoid this hazard.
This progression from rules-based decision making to experience-based also instills confidence. So while you may have previously only followed your friends based on decisions they made, you can now safely lead and set your own beautiful skin track.
As you gain more experience, it is interesting to see how you become more comfortable with unknowns...and to do this you need to reflect. So this fall, I am taking some time to think over my past experiences to see what went well, what didn’t, and how can I improve. This means tackling those fears of not being good enough and instead owning my successes and growing from my failures.
##
Christine Feleki lives in Squamish, BC. She is a splitboard guide in the winter and a hiking guide in the summer, leading guests safely and confidently into the mountains. Christine will be taking her final splitboard guide exam with the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides this winter.
]]>