Splitboarding in Ultra Cold -- Pro Advice
If you're ever heading our for a quick Splitboard tour in the ultra cold (below -30C), here's some top tips from Splitboard HQ staff member Simon Coward.
Keep Moving and Close to the Vehicle
What are some of the steps to take if you do really want to get out when it's ultra cold? A lot of it is about moving, staying relatively close to the vehicle and building lots of safety margins.
So the first part is to have everything ready -- when you get to the trailhead, you can get moving right away rather than put skins and such on at the trailhead.
Skins are already on and ready to go, so we just get outta the car with all of our warm stuff on and we get moving.
Have Everything Packed Strategically
Another thing here is we've got our bags ready packed. We're going to do simple things that people often don't think about, such as store our water bottles inside our pack, perhaps inside some of these warm layers.
When it's really cold, the water tends to freeze more quickly. You do need water even though it's cold. A wide mouth drink bottle or a thermos style drinking vessel is gonna stop your water freezing, so you're not gonna have any issues with that.
I have all my food packed on me or the outside of my bag so that I don't necessarily have to stop and get into my pack, because we don't tend to want to be stopping for long periods of time.
Extra Items to Stay Warm
Have lots of additional warm stuff, like a group shelter. We're carrying fire lighting stuff in case we need it. Even though we're going out for a short trip, we're gonna keep all of that stuff handy so if something does happen, we've got ways to address it.
Carry Spare Parts
When it is really cold like this, even a simple binding break far from the road can turn pretty catastrophic pretty quickly. So we want to keep all that in mind.
We hope this has provided you with some extra helpful tips for the next time you're out splitboarding in the ultra cold!
Splitboard HQ Contact
Edmonton: (p) 780 463-4892 (e) info@splitboardhq.com
Calgary: (p) 403 288-9283 (e) info@splitboardhq.com