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.