Touring alone/just a dog

IM on my way out the door for a tour with the pooch now. I think its all about terrain choices and your risk tolerance. If something happens it's likely just you around , so keep it smart , go for walk and make some turns.

I'm also about to head out with the dog for solo turns. Risk tolerance indeed. Not sure about down across the border, but in Canada there isn't any laws (yet) saying you can't be alone in the mountains in the winter. Just etiquette and people who take everything in life way too seriously.

done it lots but only ever on slackcountry runs that i can see the ski area the whole way.

Dog stoke from today!

Also , Greg hill once told me " I am not skiing alone, i am skiing with Jesus "

Never alone dude. he is your heart

I tour alone once and a while when I wanna get some exercise or just get out of the house. I keep it pretty mellow, Tons of areas in the whistler backcountry that are relatively safe to ski alone but I always make sure to text or leave a note for my roommates so they know the general location I'm at if I'm overdue or something like that.

I would love to get a pooch to tour with. Someday.

Something to keep in mind if you have your pooch with you...

http://www.rgj.com/story/life/outdoors/recreation/2014/12/30/skiing-safety-dogs-lake-tahoe-backcountry/21069913/

SkierXSomething to keep in mind if you have your pooch with you...

http://www.rgj.com/story/life/outdoors/recreation/2014/12/30/skiing-safety-dogs-lake-tahoe-backcountry/21069913/

That a good writeup/ video of an experience a lot of people might not consider. I have trained my little buddy to sit and wait at the top of the pitch I am skiing and when I stop (in a safe zone) I can call him to me. He gets to shred his own pow line.

I am lucky enough to have a super smart dog. Collies maybe a lot of work but it pays off. She stays well away from my gear. Such a big fear of mine .

My golden is too stubby to run through deep low efficiently so she figured out how easy it's to jog back down the skin/a ski track then meet up. Works well for both of us as long as no one is coming up lol

My dog is a big Malamute mix. While really fast on the hardpack, he's too big and waddles down my track on anything powdery. Because of this he a) only comes out for short days, usually just him and myself - he's too slow on the down and I feel like I hold the group back if I'm with others and b) He doesn't blaze his own trail so he's always behind me.

Sure, he doesn't make for the best proper touring dog, but he loves being in the snow and he's usually in the back when I'm actually making turns so the odds of cutting him are pretty slim. He doesn't try to bit or go in to close to my feet/skis either which is a real bonus. Seen a few days get cut from pretty much diving head first at the ski edges. Some dogs should NOT be out there, that's for sure.





Dogs aside. In my Rossland days I got into the habit (ok, it was more than a habit - I was straight hooked) of doing solo Robbie laps. I'd tell myself that the nature of the mountain made it safe for me to do lap after lap, day after day by myself. I haven't been up Mt. Roberts in two years and damn I miss that mountain, and I will be back on top at least once this year, hopefully by myself!

Theoretically, you should really be making the same stability assessment regardless of how many people there are in your party. The big difference in judgement I see when I go out is in other hazards--flipping into a tree well, breaking a binding, or falling into a creek become a much bigger issue when you're out alone.

As I get older, I have a lot less of a problem with people touring solo--myself included. However, I still raise an eyebrow watching guys solo center-punch slide paths with their airbag packs (not exaggerating, I did see this last year). I find myself doing more overnight and spring trips alone now, albeit with some more conservative decision-making than normal.

AenigmaTheoretically, you should really be making the same stability assessment regardless of how many people there are in your party.

This doesn't take into account that you can make an assessment and screw up, and having others around can help confirm or question your assessment to reduce that possibility.

It also doesn't take into account that you can make your assessment correctly and have something unlikely and unpredictably catastrophic happen. In which case, your chances of survival in a solo touring scenario versus a group or partner scenario grow to some possibility from basically none.

J.D.This doesn't take into account that you can make an assessment and screw up, and having others around can help confirm or question your assessment to reduce that possibility.

It also doesn't take into account that you can make your assessment correctly and have something unlikely and unpredictably catastrophic happen. In which case, your chances of survival in a solo touring scenario versus a group or partner scenario grow to some possibility from basically none.

yah this but it really boils down to how comfortable youre with the risks.