Skis vs snowshoes vs splitboard vs just getting helidropped for approaches

Just wanted to hear your guys opinions on the pros and cons of each method. I've used snowshoes before in AK, they weren't particulary fun going uphill, and even less going down. I have no almost no skiing experience although contemplating putting same days in on them. I'm competent on a snowboard, but have never tried split boarding.

Mainly going for NE objectives this season in the whites, dacks, and Katahdin. Rainier might end up on the list for 2016 as well. Larger objectives are hoped for in the future. I'm sure snowshoes would be fine for what I want to do this winter, but just wondering whether I should get a head start on getting my ski or spliboard game up if those are the way to go long term.

AT or tele Skiing would be the fastest way to travel. The only minus would be the time it takes to learn.

I would definitely recommend a split board if you snowboard. I have a Prior Kyber board with Spark R&D bindings. Splits can be tough on rolling terrain if you can't ski well in ski mode. Leave the skins on until get skiing downhill. While not as fast as AT skis split boards are fast enough.

Heli drops are expensive. I've rented private helicopters twice. Once for a guide and I to be dropped off at the top of a run. That was $700. The other time I rented one for the day. My wife wouldn't go heliskiing with a group. She was worried she would slow everyone down. The helicopter and guide were like $5400. Good luck getting the scratch together.

I haven't touched my snowshoes since I started splitboarding.

Do you use your mountaineering boots with your splitboard or two boot it? Ideally I would like a one boot system. Which means either climbing in at boots with skis, skiing in mountaineering boots in silvrettas, snowshoeing or splitboarding with mountaineering boots.

Snowshoes suck ass in deep snow since they don't have much flotation. However, they are much lighter and more compact for strapping to your pack when you get into technical terrain and swap to crampons.

Skis are hands down the way to go if you are going longer distances, and are obviously way faster and more fun on the way down. They kinda get in the way though if you get into technical terrain and have to start climbing.

Another option to consider is a pair of approach skis. Short skis which have bindings to attach to your mountaineering boots. Caveat: I would be careful there since I once toured with a kid who was using MTN Approach skis and they were total crap. We had to stop and wait while he swapped out a broken hinge for a new hinge which took like 20 minutes. He said he always carries spare hinges since they break so often. So yeah don't get the MTN Approach ones.

I run Deluxe spark snowboard boots and a split board. I haven't tried anything too steep with them yet but for stuff like Huntington ravine they work great.

You've got a handful of choices. My top two based on the information given would be AT ski or a splitboard depending on how good you already are at snowboarding and how likely you are to pick up skiing quickly. There's no arguments that AT skis aren't the fastest way to move around in the mountains but fitness makes the biggest difference. AT ski boots climb pretty well too. Dane at Coldthistle has talked a lot about climbing in TLTs.

If you go for a splitboard you can tour and climb pretty well in something like a Spantik or you can go the hard boot route in AT boots. I tour in AT boots but I don't do any technical ice climbing in them (yet). AT boots take crampons well and tour much better than soft boots. The other options are splitboard specific boots like the Fitwells, Deeluxe Spark XVs, Burton Tourist, etc. They'll snowboard better than the rest and some climb pretty well.

The big advantage of skiing over splitboarding is in the widths of the skis that you can tour with. It's nice to tour on something in the 120-130mm range in the middle of the winter in powder but then drop to a ~100mm ski for spring corn and then down to something in the ~88mm range for really light and fast stuff on firmer snow (summer volcano season). This isn't an option on a splitboard so you're always stuck traversing on skis that are twice as wide as the skin track.

Matt.Zia wrote:There's a reason why just about every indigenous culture stopped using snowshoes after they discovered skis. Also a reason why no culture invented the splitboard.

nice

I've spent the last ten years of my life snowboarding and tried skiing for the first time last year with miserable results. I wouldn't say I'm a great snowboarder but an make it down almost anything without falling. From the advice you guys are civing I'm leaning towards splitboard/spantiks. Especially since spantiks will serve me on anything lower than 8000m peaks and I hear they climb rock and ice fairly well too. if splitboards perfo better on the approach than snowshoes I think that might make the most sense.

You mentioned climbing in the daks. In the winter a lot of the trails require some sort of flotation, you'll get a ticket if you don't. I used snowshoes and it sucked walking on the packed trails.

Scott McMahon wrote:I haven't touched my snowshoes since I started splitboarding.

I haven't touched my splitboard since I figured out how much better Alpine Touring skis are for handling such a wide variety of terrain farther from the trailhead -- and a wider range of difficult snow conditions when going in the uphill direction.

Ken

P.S. but Yes, there's no going back to snowshoes.

There is always a bias in this discussion based on what people are good at because they will obviously enjoy it more. I'll go ahead and say I am better at snowboarding than the other options but I have been doing all of them for 20 years this season and I love them all, so here's my attempt at being objective:

Snowshoes: Cheapest and easiest to learn but definitely the worst in most categories.

AT: Best if you're goal is to travel and not as focused on the downhill runs. Most expensive option.

Splitboard: Good enough for traveling around if you also want to enjoy the ride down. Skiing is a blast but there are few things on this planet better than snowboarding in fresh snow. People say they're worse on rolling terrain but I took them to our local ski resort and by lunch I could ride all over in ski-mode so touring isn't bad.

Footwear: If you want to do technical climbing then a ski boot or stiff snowboard boot or mountaineering boot will have to be a consideration. I don't do technical winter mountaineering I just explore and take runs so I don't know much about this but you can get crampons for anything, including ones that are built into splitboard bindings.

To max out the fun-meter get a snowmobile and a splitboard and you will be in heaven.

Similar background, I'm an expert (resort) snowboarder, that ventured into split boarding. IMO, snowboarding is one of the most fun ways to get down a hill, but touring with the split (plus the changeover) blows.

~7 years ago, I decided I wanted to get serious about learning tele, so I started doing that at my local (500' vert) hills. Back when I picked tele, it was a much better option than AT from the weight and binding standpoint (tech bindings were just coming onto the scene, and your only other option were the big clunky pivoting AT bindings).

If I were just getting into the scene today (and if I were to ever get serious about backcountry skiing), I would go with AT hands down. I think that they're just a better choice for the tight "ski trails" that you're going to find in much of the NE, and other than some of the ravines in the whites, you're not going to find any big bowls to have fun on a snowboard (unless you're an expert in the glades).

Keep your eyes out on here, and sometimes you can find some great deals on the AT gear.

Pay your does!! It's worth it!! Tele all the way!! Harder to learn but talk to someone who can rip them as much as the others. and well!!

Fellow northeasterner here with similar objectives to you.

last year i finally picked up a splitboard and couldnt be happier. I thought about learning to ski, but ive been boarding for about 18 years and dont want to start over when i can basically ride any terrain i want to.

i went with a hardboot setup for the splitboard. it toured well, and climbing in AT boots was surprisingly good. I got a bit of shin bang from step kicking for a few hours up the trap dike though. I left the skins on for some trail descending and managed to stay alive while skiing down narrow trails...i would have been more efficient if i snowboarded down though.

hoping this season brings another great year of conditions, as i have more objectives in the northeast.

axcxnj wrote:Fellow northeasterner here with similar objectives to you. last year i finally picked up a splitboard and couldnt be happier. I thought about learning to ski, but ive been boarding for about 18 years and dont want to start over when i can basically ride any terrain i want to. i went with a hardboot setup for the splitboard. it toured well, and climbing in AT boots was surprisingly good. I got a bit of shin bang from step kicking for a few hours up the trap dike though. I left the skins on for some trail descending and managed to stay alive while skiing down narrow trails...i would have been more efficient if i snowboarded down though. hoping this season brings another great year of conditions, as i have more objectives in the northeast.

Did you end up mounting tech bindings toe pieces directly onto the board for touring mode? I've seen people do that, and it looks pretty sweet (much better than having the hard boots on plates on the normal Voile pivot).

Mike V. wrote: Did you end up mounting tech bindings toe pieces directly onto the board for touring mode? I've seen people do that, and it looks pretty sweet (much better than having the hard boots on plates on the normal Voile pivot).

no..havent done that yet but i plan to once i can find some dirt cheap tech binding toes. even without them, and size 29 boots i really didnt have any difficulty touring with the plates

I have 28.5 boots and my fiance has 24.5 and touring on the tech toes is much better than the plate. We both put in a few tours on the plates before our toe pieces showed up. There's lots of good info over at Splitboard.com too.

Thanks for all the advice, I ended up finding a pair of AT skis with silvrettas for dirt cheap on eBay and bought them. I ended up going the cheapest option. I'm sure I'll have an injury/accident report to update you with...

Jason4Too wrote:then down to something in the ~88mm range for really light and fast stuff on firmer snow (summer volcano season). This isn't an option on a splitboard so you're always stuck traversing on skis that are twice as wide as the skin track.

Honestly by that point when it's firm I find it MUCH faster to just straight up boot it. Even the lightest ski/board is adding many pounds to each foot and of course you can't go straight up steeper sections like you can booting. Two summers ago I ran a test on Adams, just used my approach shoes all day, drug my board/bindings/snowboard boots behind me on some runners like a sled. I beat my friends up to pikers peak by half an hour, they were on uber-light dynafit setups and in good shape. Of course if we were later in the day and I was sinking at all the results would be much different......like last weekend at Baker when I thought it would be icy and left skins behind and then fell in a creek.

Splitboard, Phantom bindings, and TLT6 AT boots. Best of both worlds.