SnowSlider - Blogging From the mountains by ise

Waiting for the first snow to fall and getting ready for the upcoming is always fun as it always means a few new pieces of kit. In fact, I’ve been replacing a load of old climbing gear as well and I’d already posted an inventory of that here, primarily that’s just my way of keeping track of what stuff weighs.

First, a pair of Black Diamond Voodoo’s for me. My Stormrider XL’s are starting to get slightly tired and I’m not sure they’ll last the whole season. The XL’s are a little heavy at around 4-4.5 kg so I wanted something a little lighter. For ultra light I’ve a pair of Stormrider PIT Lights with Dynafit TLT Speed bindings which are only around 3.6kg all together so I was looking to save around 1kg on this ski. The XL is a versatile ski at 112-76-102 mm but I’ve decided that fatter skis have improved enough to size up slightly so I’m taking this Voodoo at 124-88-115 mm in the longest 185cm length.

I’d looked at the Black Diamond Havocs as well which are a similar ski but use a few more wood layers to make them stiffer and slightly heavier. I also seriously considerd the Black Diamond Kilowatt but at 127-95-116 mm I think it might be awkward on some of the snow we get at times.

I’ve gone back and forth over what bindings to mount on these, on one hand some dynafits and use my Megarides. On the other hand, Fritschi or Silvretta and have the choice of boots. The reason I’d like to use my Megarides is that they’re 1 kg lighter than my Endorphins and that would extend the range of use for the ski. In the end I’ve opted for the Fritschi option, I’d like to be able to use either the Endorphin or Megaride and I’m familiar with Fritschi as I have some Freeride Plus bindings already.

I did consider going for the Fritschi Explores but when you add a brake they’re barely lighter than the Freerides and I get that higher DIN range for skiing with a pack etc.

In fact these skis haven’t been shipped to me yet so I guess I can still change my mind about the bindings !

The next pair of skis are actually for Julie, we wanted something for an occasional tour and light off-piste as her current Stöckli Laser skis are a FIS masters ski and rather thin underfoot. Looking for something light(ish) with a reasonable footprint we came to the K2 Shuks Anne which is a women’s version of the Shuksan. The Shuksan, developed in conjunction with Swiss Guide and Pro Guiding Service owner Martin Volken, is the staple tour ski now from K2 and this is the first year it’s offered in a women’s version. It’s a nice light ski at 2950g per pair and 122-80-107 mm.

These actually are shipped and they’re right here now with some Diamir Fritschi Explores on them, being lighter than me the DIN range on these is just fine for Julie.

I’ve been looking for a new rucksack for ages. I’ve been having some problems with my back for various reasons and I’ve found I need exactly the right sack to be able to comfortably carry any load at all for a full day. I’m still delighted with my Salewa Inversion but they’ve stopped making them and it’s just too small for some days. I think this is a shame, I still reckon the Inversion is one of the best rucksacks ever made by anyone.

The Inversion weighs 1200g and some bits can be stripped to reduce that further. One of the reasons I like the Inversion and dislike many other sacks is the weight. Some manufacturers are shipping ski, ski tour or off piste sacks that weight a ridiculous amount, over 2kg which is just daft, why do people buy these? Don’t they look at the weight? I presume they’re more concerned if their shovel is visible and makes them look sufficiently “hardcore”.

The Black Diamond Revelation is 42L in capacity which is exactly what I wanted and weighs 1550g, again some bits can be stripped to reduce that more. It’s a single compartment top loading sack which I quite like but I know a lot of people don’t. It’s got all the attachments I want, straps for multiple ice tools, crampon straps, ski carrier etc. In fact the ice axe attaches nicely as you can see in the photo’ neatly tucking the pick out of harms way. So far I’ve used this for a two day hike and climbing on the Mönch and it’s been great.

Finally, I’ve been so impressed with the fit of the new g-fit inners on my Megarides that I’ve had some done for my Endorphins as well. The fit on the Endorphins was already good but this just makes it perfect. After a season usage the padlock liners on the Endorphin showed some wear but nothing too excessive so I’ve now got two shells and three inners which I can mix and match.

I’ve added another review to the review section for this hybrid Alpine / Alpine Touring binding:

Fritschi Diamir Freeride Plus

Name : Fritschi Diamir Freeride Plus

Manufacturer Web site : http://www.fritschi.ch

DIN release range: 4 - 12

Weight: 2040 g

Binding sizes (boot sole length): small 245-300 mm, medium 280-335 mm, large 325-365 mm

Fritschi have updated their Diamir Freeride for 2007 adding the suffix “Plus” to the name. The Freeride Plus aims to offer the possibility of an alpine binding performance in a touring binding, this means a greater DIN range in effect to allow for more dynamic skiing. Compared to the original Diamir Freeride there’s a new Power Transmission Control (PTC) system and a redesigned front hinge. Basically, the upgrades are supposed to improve downhill performance. The new model keeps the same DIN range of 4-12 with the weight slightly up from 1990g to 2040g. The Fritschi Diamir Freeride Plus won the ski binding category at the ISPO European Ski Awards 2006


The basic principle for a touring binding is that heel section of the binding can be released allowing the foot to hinge at the toe mount. The heel part of the binding can then be moved to stop at different heights to control the angle between the sole of the boot and the ski/slope, basically the higher the stop then the steeper angle of the slope to be climbed. The pivot at the toe allows the skier to slide the ski forward until the sole is flat onto the binding, this is a fairly natural movement similar to walking and relatively simple to master. Climbing skins are fixed to the base of the ski, the bristles stop the ski sliding backward but lay flat in the forward or uphill direction.


On steeper or icy ground and on traverses crampons can be attached, I’ve some Diamir Axion 82’s. The clever feature with these crampons is that they can be fitted before needing to be used, fitting crampons too soon is awkward as you get some resistance when ascending but trying to fit crampons at the last minute is dangerous. Here you can see the crampon in deactivated and then activated mode.





For downhill skiing in general use the binding feels just fine, movements feel directly transferred to the ski so the PTC mechanism seems to work. But, modern alpine bindings are clever things and are engineered to provide instant response and feedback for the skier while minimizing some of shocks coming back from the ski. Measured against this type of modern Alpine binding the Diamir Freeride Plus has some issues, in the most vital area of transmitting the skiers movements from the boot to the ski the performance is good and the feedback is sufficient, the problem is that some excess forces are transmitted back from the ski to the skier. This basically means that when moving at speed on hard surfaces, like an icy frozen piste for example, a lot of chatter is transmitted back to the skier which is tiring and takes some strength to absorb. This is more pronounced with very stiff skis of course.

I’ve got two pairs of Freerides and I’ve had them in daily use now for over two seasons. One pair is mounted on some Stöckli Stormrider XL’s and the other on some Black Diamond Voodoo’s. I think they ski just fine, since the Marker Duke came out there’s been various criticisms of the Freerides that they somehow lack in performance, I just don’t find this is the case, I spend most of time skiing off-piste or ski touring and these bindings just work fine for me. At 2040g they’re at the heavy end of touring bindings but that compares well with the Explore, although the Explore is a lighter binding if you add the brake, as most people do, then the weight comes closer. Doing regular ascents with a binding like the Duke that weighs in at 2600g just doesn’t appeal.

I use my Freerides with AT boots all the time, on the Voodoos I use Garmont Megarides, the flex of the ski and boot matches nicely, while on the Stormriders I use a pair of Garmont Endorphins which are quite a bit stiffer. Mostly I like the weight of the Voodoos and Megarides, it’s a couple of kg lighter than the other combination.
The Good : Behaves much like an alpine binding in most conditions.

The Bad : some increased chatter from the ski/binding which can be tiring

Shop for Touring Bindings at Facewest