Paulina Peak - Northwest Chutes

David Ascending into the Maw

Paulina (Paul-eye-nah) Peak is alpinism concentrate. With an approach of around 45 minutes, you can be below some of the most spectacular technical skiing in Oregon. Located in the Newberry Crater, around 45 minutes south of Bend, Paulina Peak is easy to overlook. Unlike most mountains of interest in Oregon, Paulina Peak is not particularly tall or grandiose from far away. From a distance, the mountain is little more than a bump on the horizon. But as you get closer, you will begin to see why Paulina Peak so special.

The NW Chutes on the mountain are steep, tight, and flanked by imposing basalt cliffs. There are numerous skiable chutes on this aspect, ranging from 10 skis to 2 skis wide. Nearly all the chutes open up onto a wide apron. Snowmobilers call the lower area "the playground"...but they don't even know the half of it. 

Mt. Tumalo

After a week and a half of snow, the Oregon Cascades are starting to look like their usual snowy selves. Mt. Bachelor is posting 50 inches of new snow in the past seven days, putting the monthly total for the central Cascades at close to 100 inches. Densities have range from blower to cement, which has lead to "interesting" ski conditions, and an atypical Oregon snowpack. There seems to be significant variation in snow temperatures within the snowpack, and densities are diverse as well. This is adding up to a variable and potentially unstable snowpack. There was even a skier carried in a slide on the NE bowl of Mt. Tumalo last weekend...a stalwart of mellow backcountry ski destinations. 

Well, the lady friend was in town from Denver, and we were wanting to get out and ski something in the backcountry, so despite the variable snowpack, we decided to head up Mt. Tumalo. The plan was to stay on the low-angle west slope, where there is always low risk of avalanches. It rained in the mountains yesterday. Overnight, however, temps dropped, along with four inches of low density snow. One of the beautiful things about the backcountry is it only takes a few inches to totally refresh the snow surfaces. 

Ski Mountaineering, Backcountry Skiing, and Ski Touring: What's in My Pack (Part One)

Powder to the People.
Yes, splitboarders are people too

"I'm going on a ski mountaineering trip this weekend"

"I knew the resorts were going to be packed so I just skied the backcountry this weekend."

"Hey Dude, want to go on a ski tour this weekend?"

It seems the terms Ski Mountaineering, Backcountry Skiing, and Ski Touring are used interchangeably. Some may argue that they mean different things. Some may say they are in fact interchangeable. I don't really care what they mean in the abstract. Really, all I care about is where we're going and what kind of gear I'll need to be safe and have a good time. The purpose of this article is to distinguish between Ski Mountaineering gear and Backcountry Skiing gear, and give some potential buyers some thoughts on what type of terrain and objectives they will face when going on a "tour."

I guess to know the important things, like what gear is appropriate for ski mountaineering versus backcountry skiing, we should delve briefly into the abstract. In my mind, ski mountaineering typically involves a summit, a traverse, or some other specific route or destination. You're going somewhere.  Backcountry skiing on the other hand, is more about the finding interesting terrain and quality snow to ski. Ski touring is kind of a general term that can mean either.

So with those general thoughts in mind, I'm going to go through what gear I bring for a ski mountaineering trip vs. a day of crushing powder snow in the backcountry. I'll draw distinctions between ski mountaineering gear and backcountry skiing gear where I can, but a lot of this comes down to personal preference.