Off-Piste Cross-Country Shredding: The Soul of Skiing

Fun with logs and XC skisSure, kick and glide, kick and glide. It's a wonderful feeling. But sometimes it's great to go back to the soul of skiing: simple gear on ungroomed snow and maybe huck a log or two.

Some of my friends think I'm "anti-telemark" because I say if I'm going to put 12 pounds on each foot, I want it to be a releasable alpine binding. They miss the IF. One of my favorite things is to put on some waxless XC skis and take them off trail. This year I even got some super skinny climbing skins for my backcountry skis.

I love the go anywhere aspect to these skis. With a 70mm shovel, they still fit in the tracks. But they're good for fun in the powder to (to a point of course).

On Saturday, I had an amazing lesson with Sean Thomas, a 19 year-old with Down's Syndrome who is in a wheelchair (he can stand a bit with a walker). We did a bi-ski lesson and raced his brothers, did a little tiny bit of off-piste and sang Born to Be Wild at the top of our lungs on the lift and on the slopes.

The work day done, I traded my alpine skis for my cross-countries, shouldered the backpack and schlepped uphill for a couple of hours. Morning dawned with some excellent conditions for some off-piste cross-country skiing.