Quote:
Originally Posted by Andyski
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Originally Posted by zion zig zag
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Andyski
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Originally Posted by zion zig zag
We need to talk about how you will be getting to BC, if you are driving ( assuming you have no felony convictions but thats another thread eh ) its no problemo cuz you will just have your stuff with you,
But if you are flying Air Canada they will lose your shit just for fun.
I'm kidding eh ! Actualy the people's airline are just inept ( which amounts to the same thing ) and so if you made 4 connecting flight from lets say Durango I will bet you a case of brown pops your skis were on the same flight as you mebe once
I picked up some skiers from the airport and AC had left skis off for the Hut and for the cat ski op, the cat skiers were irate at the clerk but the hut skiers were chill, the guide said they had left his skis off the plane so many times in the past he really didn't care cuz they would be delivered to the chopper base in the AM and it just means he didn't have to carry them into the hotel that night, so if you are flying the only thing you can do is not cut it all too close OR plan to ski at an area in BC/Alberta for a day just in case your stuff gets left behind/ lost it will probably show up in a day
and BTW if you fly ... carry on your boots
Now lets say you got all your gear at the heli base, so you gotta make sure your stuff gets on the heli going in/not put back on the heli going out and at the end of trip your gear sent out/not sent back in, this is usually done by tying different colored surveyor's tape to color code gear going in vs gear going out, usually coordinated by the pilot or the guide or whomever does that shit
from the expediting I've done it was enough fun keeping it all straight for 1 hut but at GAH there were 4 huts with I believe 60+ people coming out and 60+ people going in which means gear for 120+ people to get mixed up/ misdirected, you had to remove the color you came in with to use a different color going out ... a real circus eh
usually the chopper bulks out before it weights out, I have seen a B2 pickup and sling an entire Can Dig/tools/ garbage
pack as much food in burnable packaging. cardboard boxes. paper bags, etc (assuming weather is half decent flying in). then after you eat everything, you can burn all the packaging and don't have to fly it out.
Chances are you'll run out of space before you exceed the weight limit.
post edit: don't just leave them in those boxes when you get to the hut though. usually there'll be plastic bins for food storage. they are there for a reason. don't be that person leaving open food laying around.
My first hut trip with a big group was planned by some experienced friends. It was two nights in the hut with some skiing on the afternoon coming in and the morning going out. We all had a blast but 10 people in a small hut creates a lot of friction. Their words of wisdom were that if you stay two nights you remain friends, three nights and things start to get weird. Group dynamics cannot be anticipated.
like most guys I don't piss on my hands and possibly don't always wash them, you DO NOT want to skip hand washing in a big group situ such as this, i've seen illness race thru a group of skiers and paddlers, you want to definatley NOT double dip into anything, definatley wash hands and definatley use hand sanitizer ... take precautions against illness
the local hut would get this happen from time to time when they had walking water (milk pails from the stream dipped out in the kitchen with a big ladle ) when they switched to running water coming out of the tap piped in from behind the morraine that kind of illness went away BUT reappeared the year water froz up and they had to go back to walking water
just in case things do get shitty I recommend carrying some Lomotil or the generic equivelent for traveler's diarrhea, at the first sign that you will be shitting thru the eye of a needle repeatedly for the next day just take a couple and you will be fixed up
in fact I usually carry some when ever I travel cuz its not expensive
Dont worry about two sets of skins but grab a tube of Black Diamond gold label skin glue and take it along. You will be the hut savior if/when someone in the group has skin issues, just dont reapply in the hut the fumes will knock everyone out. +10 on earplugs.
At the very least bring a collection of Voile straps to deal with skin failures in the field. If you're trenching around in pow the friction of a strap holding the skin to the ski is barely noticeable and it will save your day. I swear BD skins become sentient when they cross from the US into Canada and immediately stop working...Quote:
Originally Posted by gtid
3 longest voile straps will strap your boot to the ski to get you out of the BC if a binding breaks
I also carry a couple of 4 1/2 inch hose clamps and ductape
Last week I was suprised how well my buddy was able to Terry Fox it out with one boot strapped to the ski
If you got a couple tubes of 2 part epoxy in yer kit back at the hut you might get it fixed for the next day
Drying your skins means you wana hang them at room temp until dry
hands up who has ruined their glue by hanging/baking them over the wood stove in a hut ??
I find that I get along better with people on hut trips when there's a line to help with dishes until they're done vs people flipping coins for who has to do them. Same goes for other hut chores like chopping wood, etc. If the cook burns something onto the dutch, save that one for the cook though.
its hard to git most bc hut owners to let you go unguided and uncatered prime weeks season any more
a chefs nice we went years without one and we never had much problems
we quit arguing about weight spare skis etc
just show up at the lz now with extra bennys
us ones work great
and fly an extra load in
like bro says if youre gonna bring fng
ours was bill
and bill didn't even manage to make it to the lz with ski boots
and nobody wanted billbo baggins draggin down their day
and the guy who invited him is a go git er
and bill didn't really git what was goin on much
and $95 camp rando comando gloves suck at sub zero climbing out another basin in the dark
id rather pay extra for a smaller group
being a ski tech I always bring extra gear for everybody
some huts have beacon parks
we always manage to put one in
its paid off
A few items I saw for the first time in a BC hut that you may consider bringing:
. deep cycle marine battery to charge electronics (real pain to get up the booter to the hut)
. cordless drill + impact driver (used to remount 2 pairs of skis at the hut)
. boot punching equipment (ball press & IR thermometer)
. 20 sets of fairy wings
. disco ball & strobe light
We flew out more trash than the entire amount of gear/food/bags the group coming in after us came in with. I'd say if you think there's a very small chance you'll use it might as well bring it.
More seriously, for FM specifically I'd recommend downgrading on the suggested sleeping bag rating. Temps never got above 0 F the whole week but we were sweating balls in the hut. Maybe it was the group size (20), maybe we were aggressive with the fire, but I laid on my 40 degree bag and used my 50 degree bag (yes, + 50) as a blanket and was too hot. Bring a sheet /fitted sheet, a light sleeping bag, and a good pillow. Also, a bunch of coat hangers will greatly enhance the gear drying situation.
I bring a pillow case then wrap theirs in a garbage bag and put mine over it so as not to suck up microbes and viri from previous occupant. I like to take 1/2 to 1 advil pm at bedtime to ensure I get 4-5 hrs of REM sleep.