Ski leashes

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jmanner
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Re: Ski leashes

Post by jmanner »

One comment about leashes: they suck if you’re doing a lot of laps. You’ll end up just leashing the ski to itself so you can more easily transition.

A friend one time lost a ski in the Russian Couloir and had the leash on his ski, which prevented him from having a real bad day.
A man has got to know his limitations.-Dr. Jonathan Hemlock or Harry Callahan or something F' it: http://youtu.be/lpzqQst-Sg8

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jmanner
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Re: Ski leashes

Post by jmanner »

Vincopotamus wrote: Tue Feb 23, 2021 10:19 am Several years ago I was at Wolf Creek on a big pow day, using a brakeless setup with dynafit leashes. The snow was great so I was feeling sendy, but being an inept skier as usual, and I came out of my ski(s) over a half dozen times and was able to escape any self inflicted wounds from my 178 cm knives. Probably just lucky.

Also notable, another day I was riding the same setup at Loveland, leashes hooked to the lowest buckle on my boots like always. I lost a ski, and much to my dismay it came untethered from my boot and missiled several hundred vertical feet down into the trees. Fortunately, it didn’t hit anyone and I was miraculously able to find it quickly. That’s the only time they’ve come loose in 6 years but they do make me nervous now.
What are you doing to lose your skis?! I’ve literally released once out of dynafits in the last five or six years.
A man has got to know his limitations.-Dr. Jonathan Hemlock or Harry Callahan or something F' it: http://youtu.be/lpzqQst-Sg8

'Life is too short to ski groomers'

"That man's only desire was to stand, once only, on the summit of that glorious wedge of rock...I think anyone who loves the mountains as much as that can claim to be a mountaineer, too."-Hermann Buhl, Nanga Parbat Pilgrimage
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Vincopotamus
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Re: Ski leashes

Post by Vincopotamus »

jmanner wrote: Tue Feb 23, 2021 2:12 pm
Vincopotamus wrote: Tue Feb 23, 2021 10:19 am Several years ago I was at Wolf Creek on a big pow day, using a brakeless setup with dynafit leashes. The snow was great so I was feeling sendy, but being an inept skier as usual, and I came out of my ski(s) over a half dozen times and was able to escape any self inflicted wounds from my 178 cm knives. Probably just lucky.

Also notable, another day I was riding the same setup at Loveland, leashes hooked to the lowest buckle on my boots like always. I lost a ski, and much to my dismay it came untethered from my boot and missiled several hundred vertical feet down into the trees. Fortunately, it didn’t hit anyone and I was miraculously able to find it quickly. That’s the only time they’ve come loose in 6 years but they do make me nervous now.
What are you doing to lose your skis?! I’ve literally released once out of dynafits in the last five or six years.
I don't ski with the toe locked, and there has only been once or twice when it came off when I'd prefer it wouldn't have. 99% of my days are inbounds or on super low consequence terrain, so it's never been a big issue.

And I'm not just being humble when I say I'm an inept skier ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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Re: Ski leashes

Post by lodgling »

I always ski with leashes inbounds because it is required for brakeless skis. I experimented with various means of making the leashes "breakaway" for BC, but I have settled on just going without unless riding lifts. But I haven't had a ski come off in at least a decade and not for lack of trying. :-D Not a great recipe for surviving a ride in an avi but oh well. On the other hand, I have wasted at least 4 hours of heli time searching for others' lost skis in deep snow. I don't know how you guys with releasable bindings can relax without some sort of leash.

I think the scariest part is at the top -- I keep my skis tied into my pack unless (1) they still have skins on them or (2) are are on my feet. There are some 14er summits (El Diente and the Needle come to mind) where you want to know where your partners are so that they don't knock your brakeless skis down the wrong side of the mountain or really any side of the mountain.

Back in the day when the tele bindings were much flimsier and often got ripped off, I found that I most often took the skis in the back of the head and was an early adopter of a ski helmet ('96). Never took a ski in the face during likely 100s of yard sales, so that sample size is pretty good. And this isn't an exaggeration, on powder days in the 90s I would carry enough extra binding parts in my jacket pocket to do two full binding repairs without having to go home. So...yeah, I wouldn't give too much thought to losing teeth, but wear a helmet.

I'd either lock out your tech bindings or utilize one of the breakaway leashes that will rip off in an avi. If you want to make your own, search up Wildsnow as Lou Dawson has some solutions. When I experimented with it, I used a zip-tie to my boot's leash loop and secured the leash to the zip-tie. The zip ties have weight ratings so you can get an idea of how hard they are to rip thru.

I suppose another option for skiing BC powder are "powder cords," which I haven't seen since the early 90s. A long bright string you bundle up in your pant leg, so when your skinny ski takes off under the snow, instead of search for something 200cm long, you have something much longer than that to find under the snow.
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Re: Ski leashes

Post by jmanner »

So, on high consequence stuff where I’ve ditched my skins I usually leash my skis together so after I take them off my pack hopefully the bindings would drag in the ski enough to prevent a slide off the mountain. To be honest the two times I’ve almost almost lost skis off a summit were with the skis that have the old Radical STs which have breaks. Maybe not having breaks makes me more mindful.

Talking about inbounds tele skis- I saw a tele ski diving down Basins front side at 40-50 mph, while riding the Lawanee lift, and then a few minutes later a one ski’ed tele guy come by looking for it. 🤣
A man has got to know his limitations.-Dr. Jonathan Hemlock or Harry Callahan or something F' it: http://youtu.be/lpzqQst-Sg8

'Life is too short to ski groomers'

"That man's only desire was to stand, once only, on the summit of that glorious wedge of rock...I think anyone who loves the mountains as much as that can claim to be a mountaineer, too."-Hermann Buhl, Nanga Parbat Pilgrimage
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Re: Ski leashes

Post by dsr80304 »

First, I can't find the link or details of the story, but I believe this is true. Before Andrezj Bargiel first skied K2 (absolutely incredible), a few years earlier another had climbed it but one of his skis blew off the summit during his transition. So he downclimbed. Maybe that saved his life.
My set-up for my brake-less skis is clipping the leash to a small gauge zip tie (instead of the boot's metal clip ring)... The rationale being that it would break in an avy (similar to B&D)
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Re: Ski leashes

Post by Jorts »

During Dawes’ recent Head2Head (Arrowhead to Lionshead) I ate it in some grippy, luxurious pow while my toe was locked. Didn’t have leashes but the ski released by ripping out the dimple bar on the boot. Guess that was better than my leg snapping.
D9D638F7-3D82-439E-BB77-8B8C22B9ADED.jpeg
D9D638F7-3D82-439E-BB77-8B8C22B9ADED.jpeg (174.24 KiB) Viewed 3543 times
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Re: Ski leashes

Post by lodgling »

Jorts wrote: Mon Mar 01, 2021 12:57 pm Didn’t have leashes but the ski released by ripping out the dimple bar on the boot.
Wow that must have been some fall!

Your photo jogged my memory banks ... this was a lie:
lodgling wrote: Tue Feb 23, 2021 5:31 pm But I haven't had a ski come off in at least a decade and not for lack of trying.
I completely forgot about Pyramid!
binding blow out.jpg
binding blow out.jpg (74.73 KiB) Viewed 3508 times
I am sure there is some easy PTSD psychoanalysis there.
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Re: Ski leashes

Post by Jorts »

lodgling wrote: Mon Mar 01, 2021 2:30 pm
I completely forgot about Pyramid!

I am sure there is some easy PTSD psychoanalysis there.
Landry!? :shock:
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Re: Ski leashes

Post by climbingcue »

Jorts wrote: Mon Mar 01, 2021 2:53 pm
lodgling wrote: Mon Mar 01, 2021 2:30 pm
I completely forgot about Pyramid!

I am sure there is some easy PTSD psychoanalysis there.
Landry!? :shock:
https://youtu.be/KgDRyil735E
Consecutive months with at least one 13er or 14er, 71 months
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Re: Ski leashes

Post by lodgling »

No no that's Cody Townsend, he's like famous or something


Yes, Landry

Pyramid!

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Re: Ski leashes

Post by Jorts »

lodgling wrote: Mon Mar 01, 2021 6:45 pm
Yes, Landry
Know you've got your rowdy pants on when the double whippets are in play!
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