SLC Samurai: Wackcountry Tour

This week my training focus was on high volume. I did two interval sessions, logged 15 hrs, about 19k vertical, and about 35 miles, which is a lot for a working, family guy. Probably 10 of those hrs were at "endurance" pace, or under 140 bpm.

On Saturday, I logged 6 hrs and about 8k vertical doing the Wackcountry Tour, which starts at Snowbird, ascends to Hidden Peak, descends Mineral Basin, ascends the same to Alta, descends Alta, ascends Grizzly Gulch to Twin Lakes Pass, crosses Highway to Heaven to Solitude, descends into Brighton, ascends Guardsman's Pass, and descends into Park City. Our route, if you include the forced detours, ended up being about 18 miles and 8k vertical, and not a whole lot of great powder skiing. Still, it was safe, fun, and a bit wacky.

The Stats:
- Time: 6 hrs
- Distance: 18 miles
- Vert: 8k
- Put in: Snowbird viz a viz UTA Bus
- Take out: Park City viz a viz Rosie (Thanks!)
- Accomplices: Bart and Alex -- Note to self: make sure you start skiing in October so that you can keep up with these guys.
- Equipment: Alex, Voile Insanes, Dynafit Speeds, F3s; Bart, Dynafit ST 7, Dynafit Speeds, F1s; Me, Trab Duo Race w/Low Techs and Pierre Gignoux 444s
- Equipment blowups: 1 -- see below
- Food Consumed: 2 peanut butter and honey sandwiches, 1 coke, and 1 bottle of water. Very hungry at the end.
- Friendly Resorts: Snowbird, Brighton, Solitude
- Not Friendly Resorts: Alta, Park City
- Faceplants: 2 -- me=1, Bart=1
- Entertainment for the Day: Alex

Exhibit A: (As we are skinning up Snowbird after Alex slid down on his back) "Man, I sure could have used some Whippets."

Exhibit B: We're ducking below a ridge, just out of sight of the Alta lady with studs in her face who had just denied us entrance. Our plan is to rip skins, run across the cat track, and disappear down the slope. Time is of the essence because we are sure the Alta lady has called for backup. The problem is that Alex has to first, take off his pack; second, put on his bright fluorescent green jacket; third, take out his special Montana skin savers; fourth, figure out how to rip skins with skis on; fifth, untangle skins that got wrapped around the perimeter rope and his neck; sixth, fold his skins using said special Montana skin savers.

Exhibit C: We are skinning up in the Brighton backcountry and some snowboarders chastise us for going the "wrong" direction. As Alex, a former bro brah himself, tells them, "Duh, we're in the backcountry and I didn't see a sign," the first one stacks it up and the second one piles into him. They are strapped into their boards in a ravine, faces buried in the snow. Stuck. The second one gets up and gives us the finger. We laugh.

Some photos:

Can someone tell me how these binding things work?