Karakoram SL Bindings

Of the splitboard specific bindings on the market today, the Karakoram SL’s, made by the Kloster brothers of Karakoram in Washington state, are my preferred choice. Top of the line materials including carbon fiber, titanium and high strength aluminum alloy combine to make this binding ultra lightweight, strong and responsive. Additionally, the Karakoram ride interface allows for a very secure attachment of the bindings to the board, while the touring mode interface eases transition time and provides for smooth secure skinning. The SL’s are not inexpensive, but you get what you pay for, which in this case not only includes quality components but the interface as well. This is my third season on the SL’s and I’ve been loving ’em on every tour.

Karakoram SL's with South Sister and Broken Top
Karakoram SL’s with South Sister and Broken Top

General Impressions: The bindings are noticeably lighter and stiffer than Karakoram’s other binding, the Split 30’s. The Ride stride forward lean feature on the carbon fiber highback allows for quick highback adjustments between ride and tour mode, while the interface system provides for reduced time between changeovers from riding to touring. The binding straps and buckles are lightweight and built with quality materials, and the binding itself has adjustment features to accommodate different boot types and preferences.

Interface: The Karakoram interface is a different setup than the standard Voile interface. There are five solid points where the binding attaches to the interface, including three heel stay pins which really lock the binding to the board. Occasional snow and ice build up on the interface needs to be cleared prior to attaching the bindings, but I haven’t found this to be a problem requiring any more or less attention than the Voile interface. One limitation of the interface is that stance options are limited to 1 inch increments, which seems to be an issue for some, though I haven’t noticed any issues, since my stance is always within 1/2 inch of my preferred width.

On the Skin Track: The Karakoram tour mode interface is easy to use, allows for quicker transition times from board mode to skin mode (in fact you don’t have to remove the binding from your foot to go to skin mode) and operates without pins. The binding and tour axle system allows for minimal friction, which pays off on longer tours, and minimizes “slop” compared to traditional setups.

In Ride Mode: In ride mode, the SL’s feel and perform as good or better than my favorite resort setup. The aluminum alloy heelcup is durable and strong, while the carbon fiber highback provides excellent responsiveness. I’m not a fan of a flimsy highback, and the carbon fiber definitely provides the stiffness and responsiveness I’m looking for. After testing these bindings in the backcountry and at the resort in a variety of conditions, I have no qualms saying they work well in all conditions.

Bottom Line: If you’re a soft booter and want a lightweight, responsive and bomber splitboard binding, the Karakoram SL is the ticket.

More Info: More information about Karakoram SL bindings can be found at the Karakoram website

January 17, 2013 – Mt St Helens, Worm Flows

For the first time in three and a half years, in the never ending search for optimal snow conditions, I found myself venturing outside the state of Oregon looking for corn snow in the middle of January. I’d been eyeballing the weather forecast all week, and conditions appeared right to try and tackle the Worm Flows on the south side of Mt St Helens.

I woke up just before my alarm at 3:30, and was on the road by 4:00, heading north on Interstate 5 towards Portland to pickup Ron. After a brief stop to pickup a climbing permit in Cougar, we pulled into the Marble Mountain trailhead a few minutes before 7:30 and found Joe, who’d spent the night there and was planning on skiing with us for the day. After donning ski boots and packs, we started skinning through the snow covered forest roads towards the mountain over an incredible mid-January base of 72 inches at 2600 feet. Soon, we popped out near the treeline and the mountain was in full view in the sunshine. Remarkably, the temperature was pushing 50 degrees – a stark contrast to the valley fog and freezing temperatures at home. Stripped down to nothing but my base layer, I still found myself sweating as we started climbing the steeper pitches of the 5500 vertical foot climb to the summit rim.

Skinning on St Helens
Joe booting up St Helens
Joe booting up St Helens

I was digging the traction provided by my nylon/mohair mix Black Diamond skins I received as a Christmas gift, but was happier with the glide, which allowed me to keep up with the skiers with less effort than normal. After a quick break for lunch around 6000 feet, Ron and I resumed skinning while Joe booted.

Joe enjoying a quick rest
Ron on the approach

The views from the upper mountain were excellent, with Mt Adams looming large to the west and Mt Hood visible to the south. The snow was starting to corn nicely, and a couple of splitboarders descended down from above us around 11:30. Their turns looked good, but I figured another couple of hours would be primo. For the last 1000 feet, both Ron and I switched to crampons and booted the final pitch to the summit rim.

Looking into the crater from the summit rim
Looking into the crater from the summit rim
Mt Rainer from the summit rim

From the summit rim, the views were incredible. Not a wisp of wind was detectable on the summit, and looking down into the steaming crater was such a treat. Spirit Lake was incredibly blue, and looking north Mt Rainier dominated the skyline, with Goat Rocks and the Olympics also in full view. We crept up to the edge of the cornice on the rim as close as we dared and snapped several photos. Below is a picture of Ron looking to the east with the summit rim and Mt Adams in the background….

Ron with Mt Adams
Ron with Mt Adams
Enjoying the rim views

Travel time to the summit rim from the parking lot took about 5 hours, so we lounged around a bit soaking in the sun’s rays and enjoying the views. Looking down into the massive crater, I could only imagine how much destruction took place back in 1980 when the mountain erupted. The amount of material moved in a matter of minutes was ridiculous….

Looking downs into St Helen's crater
Looking downs into St Helen’s crater
Zoomed view of Ron with Mt Adams
Zoomed view of Ron with Mt Adams

A few minutes before 2:00, conditions looked prime to begin making turns. After putting the split back in board mode. and repacking our gear, it was time to ride. We elected to drop the main bowl off the summit rim with the thought of riding Swift Creek all the way down if conditions looked good in the canyon. I dropped in first, and the snow was excellent. I could tell after several turns that it was going to be one long ride back to the car! Ron and Joe followed, and I snapped a few photos as they cruised down.

The Crater Rim
Ron cruising on the upper mountain
Ron cruising on the upper mountain
Corn turns on St Helens
Corn turns in the sunshine

The snowfields seemed to go on and on, as we linked turn after turn in the warm sunshine. After a few thousand feet or so, we made the decision to cruise into the Swift Creek drainage and made that our descent line down the rest of the mountain. Swift Creek is nice in that you can cruise down into the canyon and then back out to the larger snowfields on the east side pretty easily.

Joe harvesting the corn
Enjoying a mid-winter corn harvest!
Enjoying a mid-winter corn harvest!
Ron and Joe in Swift Creek on St Helens
Ron and Joe in Swift Creek on St Helens

Lower down in Swift Creek, the snow remained firm on the shady east facing side of the canyon wall, but started to turn from corn to mush on the sunnier west facing slopes. I snapped a few photos of Joe cruising through the canyon, including the two shots below. The first image is looking south with Mt Hood in the background and the second is a bit more abstract….

Joe skiing Swift Creek on St Helens
Joe skiing Swift Creek on St Helens
Playing on the canyon wall
Playing on the canyon wall

After about 30minutes, several thousand feet of corn turns and plenty of big grins, we finally exited the canyon at a point back down near the gentler slopes above treeline. At this point, our legs were starting to grow a bit weary after a full day of climbing and riding, so we took a quick break, drank some water, snapped a few photos and continued down for more turns.

Joe and Ron near the bottom of Swift Creek above treeline
Joe and Ron near the bottom of Swift Creek above treeline
Ron looking back at our ski route
Ron looking back at our ski route

The runout from Chocolate Falls to the car was pretty taxing on the legs due to the sticky snow and long day. The upper section was really mushy due to the warm temps while the snow on the lower section on the road below treeline had started to refreeze and was a mixture of skin, snowshoe and foot tracks, requiring us to pay attention or risk taking a digger. We passed a few people on snowshoes on the way out, and were able to ride right to the parking lot without taking the boards off, making for a great descent of nearly 5500 feet on the day! Celebratory brews from Deschutes hit the spot at the parking lot as we changed out of sweat soaked clothes.

Joe and Ron looking on after a great run
Joe and Ron looking on after a great run

Ron and I bid farewell to Joe, who was heading north for a day of lift skiing with family in Washington the next day, and headed south to Portland for a well earned burger and Terminator Stout at McMenamin’s. Portland traffic was congested as usual, but I missed the majority of rush hour at the pub, and was able to make great time back to the southern Willamette Valley. After such a great day, I’m pretty sure it won’t be another three and a half years before I head out of state again in search of good turns…….it may not even be three and a half months! Here’s a parting shot of the mountain from the drive home….

St Helens on the drive home
St Helens on the drive home

Here’s a parting shot from the day….

Matt & Ron on the Summit Rim

 

Sled Training in the Sun

One of the many enjoyable parts of being a ski patroller is the opportunity to run sleds and toboggans around the hill, which takes a fair amount of practice to become proficient at. On Sunday, a group of patrollers, myself included, spent the morning running sleds and preparing for upcoming sled clinics to refresh the patrol. Though it hadn’t snowed in a week, the weather was beautiful and sunny all day, affording awesome views of the surrounding mountains. Riding up on the first chair, I could tell it was going to be an excellent day.

First Chair!
First Chair!

After unloading at the top of EPA, we set out to open runs on the mountain and account for all necessary equipment. Before heading down to open Timburr, which was pretty icy due to the warm weather the day before, I pulled out my camera and snapped several photos of the early morning, including the one of Raleigh below. With early January providing the latest sunrises of the year, the opportunity to catch a few good pictures was too much to pass up….

Ready to open the mountain
Ready to open the mountain

After opening all the runs on the hill, the group of sled trainers met in the patrol room to go over the events of the upcoming clinics. After that, it was time to run some sleds and have a little fun. Most of the morning was spent on Eagles Flight, and I always forget how much work running a loaded sled is! I had the opportunity to run the new Edge sled, which runs much faster than our Cascade 100’s. Running loaded back down to the base of the EPA lift, I was able to cruise pretty quickly in the front handles and glide easily through some of the flatter spots! After a few runs, the group got together for a quick photo at the top of EPA. The sun was still out, but Diamond Peak was hiding behind the clouds…..

The crew
The crew

After a couple more runs, we broke for lunch at the base. When lunch was over, I ran a sled back to the Twilight lift before joining Cyndy, Kevin and Greg to snap a few afternoon pictures while they continued working with the sleds on Timbur. The firm snow of the morning was giving way to softer corn in the afternoon, and made for some fun sledding conditions….

Sled training
Sled training

 

Greg on lower Timbur
Greg pulling the new Edge sled

Back up top, everyone took a few minutes to enjoy the views and catch a breath or two in the warm sunshine. It seemed like a good opportunity to snap a few photos, which I did. One of the shots I captured was of Cyndy, Greg & Kevin, and is shown below….

Cyndy, Greg & Kevin at the top of the Pass
Cyndy, Greg & Kevin at the top of the Pass

I spent one more run shooting photos with the sled runners before sitting bump for the last hour of the day. Sweep went off without a hitch, and I thoroughly enjoyed being the last person sitting atop Eagle Peak watching the sunset over Diamond Peak while the runs were cleared. Eventually I vacated via RTS, and the snow was great even though the moguls were monstrous! Lower mountain sweep went quickly, and soon another patrol day was in the books! Here’s a parting shot of Cyndy reflecting on a great day!

Reflections on a great day of sled training!
Reflections on a great day of sled training!