St. Helens

This Sunday I plan to ascend to the rim of Mt. St. Helens with a friend of mine. After taking in the view for awhile, I plan to strap on the Snowboard for the descent back down. The weather should be perfect high freezing levels and clear skies. I will be sure to post pictures.

I have climbed Mt. St. Helens many times in the past this will be the first time that I will be bringing a board. Not any board though. This is a split board. Basically take a normal snowboard and cut it in half lengthwise add a special adapter for my bindings that allow it to either be set in the normal snow boarding position or in a parallel position similar to Nordic skiing. The board itself is attached together by tip and tail levers that lock the board together for riding and unhook out of the way when “skinning”.  The “skins” are strip of material that is used on the split board to offer traction during tour mode. Skins have a velvet-like feel that easily slides in one direction (uphill) and grabs in the opposite direction (downhill). If I can get the hang of the Nordic style of skiing technique it should be snap or I will end up booting it.

Check back next week for a trip report.