Bomber Traverse - Part Deux
Monday, April 13, 2015 at 03:41PM 
Speeding through elegant ski traverses here in Alaska is a fun distraction for those of us prone to such shenanigans. When I lived in Jackson, I was an avid skimo racer and spent most of the fall and winter preparing for and competing in races all over the west. I had lots of friends who did the same. It produced a type of momentum in our approach to the mountains that's unique to those that do it.
There's no such scene in AK. No Spandex, no skinny skis, no one in a hurry. The closest thing is a type of mountaineering/adventure masochism practiced by a select few that pits skiers against huge swaths of Alaskan wilderness for sometimes weeks on end. Luc Mehl is the point man on this insanity and he's done some crazy ass shit. My level of interest in what he does is high but only as an observer from the audience of his slideshows. I simply like sleeping in my own bed too much and I hate hacking through alders with my skis on for miles on end. But Luc loves it like nobody else and often incorporates pack rafts in his mad outings. He also has a crew of equally derranged friends to join him in his antics. Lots of fun on his website here.
Anyway, like Luc, I like covering lots of ground and seeing beautiful landscapes. I just see a lot less than he does. But it works for me. My goal is to stuff as much mountain terrain under my feet as I can in less than a day. Usually a lot less. I shoot for fixed terrain in less time or as much terrain in the available day light/energy level. The Bomber Traverse provides the challenge of the former. As you read in the last post, I gave it a fair go while traveling through some unfamiliar terrain for me. I didn't have the optimal gear for giving it my best effort. So, the weather cooporated last weekend and I had another go, this time with no excuses. I was rewarded by cleaving 40 minutes off my first time and enjoying a mostly seamless trip through some incredible Alaskan mountains.
Happy Dogs
A recent boot liner upgrade to my Scarpa Alien 1.0 race boots made the carbon fiber cuff overlap misbehave. They didn't like the wider diameter and got all unruly when I threw the heel lever to lock the cuff. A niffty boot modification involving Lexan, rivets and a heat gun solved the problem elegantly. 
This allowed me to drop boot weight from a modest 1231 grams for my old Dynafit TLT 5 Performance without tongues or powerstrap to fairly svelte 891 grams for the Alien with new Palau PDG liner upgrade and Lexan wrap retrofit. Plus, the added ankle articulation of the race boot seriously improves skinning performance. With my race boots back on line I was able to enlist my Hagan X-Race Tour Professional race skis with Plum 145 Race binders. I fitted those with super fast and well worn Hagan mohair skins. Dropped weight = 340 grams.
Weight Matters
For you non-geeks out there you might as well just look away because I'm about to break it down for those who care. Ever since I started this blog, I've preached the "every ounce counts" gospel when it comes to efficient travel in the mountains. You want to go faster, farther or easier on your ski days? Pay attention to EVERYTHING. So, without further adieu, here's what the scale says about the difference between my modest Bomber effort and likely my best Bomber effort.
Clothing
This is probably the last thing most skiers think about when they try to lighten up. Skis, boots, bindings and packs are the low hanging fruit when it comes to dropping weight. But the clothes on your back matter just as much and are easy pickings if you take the time to chose appropriately.
It's no secret that I like Euro style touring clothes. Tight is right. There's a reason why Nordic skiers and cyclists wear garments made of stretchy fabrics. For sure, this stuff isn't for sitting around waiting out nasty weather or even taking a sit break to mow down a hummus and sprout sandwich before smoking a bowl before the next powder lap. Nope. This is strictly for the "gotta keep moving" crowd hell bent and more vert and more kilometers before dark because that means more fun to them. For better or worse, this is where I live. If this concept makes you snicker and roll your eyes, just stop reading here.
On my first go a couple of weeks ago, I wore a top (Montura) and bottom (Dynafit Movement pant) that are certainly light and tight but not race ready. Pants = 465 grams, top = 347 grams, total = 812 grams. Sunday I decided to go full skimo and wore my Crazy Idea skimo suit at 575 grams. Dropped weight = 237 grams.
Hardware
My friend Sam had a go on the traverse the day before I went so I had good conditions beta. He told me to leave the ice axe (215 grams) and crampons (650 grams) behind. Dropped weight = 865 grams.
Fueling
800 calories ready to go.
The rest is water helping with hydrationEver since the Pierra Menta I've come to like keeping all my nutrition for these shorter outings in one place. Putting all my GU in a water bottle and carrying it on my shoulder strap keeps it handy. Fiddling with flasks or worse, individual gel packets is tedious when you're watching the clock. The simplicity cost me 9 grams, although I could likely find a lighter water bottle to use. 4 GU flasks = 77 grams, water bottle = 86 grams. The weight of the 800 calories of GU was the same, obviously.
Hydration
Last time I brought too much fluid. I didn't drink even half of it. I carried it in a bladder with a homemade carrier under my clothes. Bladder with water = 1313 grams, bladder/carrier alone = 288 grams. This time I knew I could get away with less so I simply put a half liter store bought water bottle (510 grams) in my crampon pouch of my pack allowing me to access it without taking the pack off. Dropped weight = 803 grams.
Nothing to sneeze at
Everything else I took remained the same. I brought a puffy, hat, bivy, wind pants/jacket, repair kit, ski crampons and some extra food. I left the phone (173 grams) as I had no intention of taking photos again. This kind of attention to detail was worth 2,418 grams minus the 9 grams I picked up with my fueling set up making for a total dropped weight of 2,409 grams less between the two efforts. That's nearly five and half pounds. Is there anyone out there that thinks that doesn't matter?
Conditions Matter
Once again, I had a perfect day for cruising around in the mountains. Cool temps in the low 20's and nearly no wind. Full sun which, this time of year, had me sweating climbing to Backdoor Gap. With the light suit, I donned a wind jacket before dropping into the refridgerated confines of the Bomber Glacier basin. There was a light snowfall in the Talkeetnas the night before with made for much less scratchy skiing. This time there was no hesitation as I skied down from the pass. The punchy snow was a little trickier in race boots but I made it down to the flats unscathed.
The 5 km skin up to Snowbird Pass went smoothly. A few others had passed the day before so the track was in. The fresh snow off the pass was nice and the track to Reed Lake trailhead, while slower because of the fluff, was much less terrifying. Archangel Road was not frozen or groomed like last time and the soft snow had me skating the whole way but it went well enough. I stopped the watch at 4:26, 40 minutes faster than last time.
It's interesting to see the time split differences at key points along the way.
Begin climb from Little Su to Backdoor Gap 1:46 vs 1:33
Backdoor Gap 2:44 vs 2:24
Skins on transition after Bomber descent 3:32 vs 2:57
Snowbird Pass 4:37 vs 3:52
I think Sunday's effort likely represents my best in terms of conviction and conditions. The Bomber Traverse is a super fun outing and I'll make it an annual spring ritual, hopefully with others along to share the fun. Add a couple of hours to it and a different kind of fun would result. More palatible, for sure.
Those interested in the full GPS, here's the Suunto Movescount file.
Reader Comments (11)
Awesome. Love the effort and the post. Did you think that leaving the phone behind was irresponsible?
Trent,
Well, the question of irresponsibility in the mountains is a long and complicated topic. I've thought a lot about it over the years. Given the fact that there is no phone service over much of the terrain I was in, no, I don't think leaving the phone was a big deal at all. I think the timid could make a better argument that going alone was far more irresponsible. Many climbers and adventurers have been thrown under the bus on that one.
The bigger question is what are one's expectations if something goes sideways. Do you expect a rescue? Do you deserve one? Certainly, having a partner there doesn't change that need except in the most mellow of circumstances. But most immobilizing injuries are going to require outside help. A partner may speed up the notification process but the greater issue of putting others at risk due to some pursuit of your own vanity is the bigger topic.
I have a hard time with the ease that people can summon help, truly needed or not. GPS location devices like the SPOT or EPIRB make it pretty easy, perhaps too easy. But who gets to judge that? I'm not comfortable doing so. On one hand, I've been rescued. It was high angle and about 12 hours long. Many people took chances to get my carcass down. I was head injured and feared a broken spine. In reality, I recovered quickly with no major injuries except my head but that's difficult to quantify. To this day, I feel some guilt. Did I really NEED the rescue? Who's to say?
On the other hand, I've been on SAR teams before. We love that shit. Yes, there's risk but almost everyone loves the excitement of it. Everyone jumps in with eyes wide open.
When I leave on something like this, I try to let at least one person know where I'm going and my expected time frame. I usually bring enough kit to shiver through the night if need be. It's all a calculated risk. I'm pretty old school when it comes to this stuff. I think much of what people do has become sanitized. By removing the risk, we remove much of what attracts me to the mountains in the first place. For me, there needs to be some uncertainty of outcome somewhere in the mix. The level of this is unique to each individual. I ski alone, climb without a rope and occasionally run with scissors. Does that make me foolish, irresponsible or simply adventurous? Depends upon who you ask.
Okay, maybe we can all agree the running with scissors thing is universally stupid but I like it. Makes me feel REALLY dangerous.
Hey Brian
Thanks for the great blog.
It really helps ease the pain of this non-winter.
I'm no expert but I think the one piece Lycra suit may do more to strengthen your conviction that lighten your load. Either way, super strong effort!
AK may be slow to embrace the skimo scene, but 20 years from now perhaps you'll have a community of strong, like minded, spandex clad skiers helping you break trail at mach loony.
No doubt, Dave. Although Lycra suits are super common in our community of skiers, those folks are found on the trails of Kincaid and the Hillside on really skinny skis. It's funny that we don't see more of it in the mountains or even see those tremendous Nordic athletes using their chops in the skimo world here in AK. But like you said, wearing light clothes or a suit sets the table for something committing, both because of the effort it inspires and the fact that you might have to suffer the arrows of the haters along the way. It's funny, though, I saw not a soul from the car to car.
Here's to hoping our little group of lighter and faster skimo gluttons will continue to expand.
Thanks Bill. It can only get better, right????
You got the spandex and skinny skis, might as well go full nordic. check out this guy for ideas on longer tours. http://www.crust.outlookalaska.com/
KD,
No. That shit that Tim does is a different sport altogether. First, I can barely Nordic ski so that makes me doing what he does pretty much out of the question. I like sidecut, metal edges and supportive boots too much. Obviously, for the "flattish" kind of stuff Tim does, his gear is superior and way fast as long as the conditions behave. But that's the rub, as soon as they don't, the wallowing begins.
The Bomber is about as "flat" as I want to go. And doing the two main descents would be heinous on Nordic gear. I'm sure someone with the skill set that Tim has could manage okay but I bet it wouldn't be pretty and the crashes would be spectacular in breakable. Then you have to deal with the gear durability issue which could lead to some significant heart ache.
The Elk Mountain Grand Traverse in Colorado used to be raced on Nordic gear. But now, all the top finishers are on skimo set ups. So, I think I'll just keep doing it this way. I love Tim's site, though. The dude gets around and has done so for years.
Thanks for such a toughtful response. "Irresponsible" is a loaded word. I didn't mean to imply judgment. I suppose I meant to ask if you worried about not being able to communicate with somebody. Telling people your route and intended return time is a step, but doesn't provide much more than a head start for the rescue. You've thought deeply about all these questions, of course. Perhaps it's best to ask if you might have, in hindsight, brought anything along that you left behind.
Also, how long is the Montura top. I'm looking for a base layer that tucks into pants. R1 hoody length is ideal.
Have you ever thought about doing it the other way (clockwise)? I was looking at the elevation profile from your Suunto, and I think an argument could made that it's faster to go that way, even though it isn't the traditional traverse. The last time I went out to Mint, I was surprised by how far you actually can ski / skate down the Gold Mint valley.
Interesting point, Sam. That valley is long up the Little Su. With a hard freeze you could really move like you said. Much faster than skinning up it for an hour and change. On the other hand, you'd have to slog a bit on the Archangel Road section but the valley trail section to the turn off up to Snowbird would be a lot shorter. The slog up to Bomber pass would be painful and the ski off Backdoor would be tricky in shitty conditions. Might be a wash just thinking about it but only a formal attempt would answer the question. Thanks for putting it out there.