Light Touring Gear Reviewed

A final note: Waxless skis work best in powder less deep than what we had. And they shine in wetter snow—consider them corn snow cohorts, Sierra sneakers. I really got the point a few years ago when I skied the same areas and lines in the Sierra that I’d skied 15 years earlier. Only I wasn’t ripping and reattaching hides with the maddening frequency that I had before. Paired with light Garmont AT boots and Silvretta Pure bindings, waxless Karhu Guides were a joy. Think of this as a premlinary test. Check the BCM website; we’ll be updating. And more models are on the way.

Light Touring Gear Review Photo Gallery

Many thanks to my fellow Trappazoid testers—all of us associated with the Trapp Family Lodge Ski Touring Center—Charlie Yerrick, Bill Henchey, Tim Griffin and Sam von Trapp, along with testers Holly Howard and Carrie Cook. And a big mahalo to my neighbors for favors great and small: Doug Cross, Brian Cote, Tom Cote and John Monett, the latter for some deft plowing that let us stash gear-laden cars. —JD