The Mountain Ear, December 2025

"This skin track reeks of Black Diamond," Rick stated in exasperation. The BD crew, notorious for arriving at the trailhead first and setting inefficiently steep tracks, seemed most likely to be the party ahead of us on that cold morning in 2010. The pre-dawn light was just starting to make our headlamps less necessary as we made our way up a snowy flank of the Wasatch Mountains. Our heel lifters were on their highest setting, skins occasionally sliding backwards on a glazed-over skinner. The fresh powder was light, dry, and deep enough that breaking trail was effortful. Yet we still contemplated breaking a new trail rather than following the existing one. Whether it was ignorance on the part of those who put it in or an intentional middle finger to everyone who didn't get up quite as early as they did was immaterial--either way, it wasn't ideal.

Breaking trail is an art form, and it's easy to fall in the trap of a perceived shortcut when the snow is good and we're excited to ski it. If the objective is 1500 feet of pow turns before hurrying off to work, a steep track may not have much consequence to the group setting it, even if it is bad form and inconsiderate to those who might follow. When the objective is an all-day tour--especially when doing multiple laps on the same track--efficiency is needed if you hope to have enough left in your legs to enjoy skiing down.

The wisdom of a lower-angle track becomes apparent when one considers the efficiency we enjoy with modern touring gear. Touring skis with skins are far more efficient than snow shoes because skins glide. Gliding allows us to use the mechanical advantage of an inclined plane and avoid lifting our skis off the surface of the snow. The advantage of an inclined plane is inversely proportional to the slope angle, which means that steeper tracks are less efficient, even though the distance covered by a steeper track is shorter.

A good rule of thumb is that if you are on your high heel risers, your track is too steep. That 84mm high stiletto setting on some bindings may be useful if skinning up a narrow ridge where cutting switchbacks is not possible, but it should otherwise be avoided. Some newer bindings have either done away with the high heel setting altogether or else have a high setting that's a similar height to the mid setting of older designs. Aside from fresher legs throughout the day, another benefit of eschewing the high lifter is less time lost rotating your heel piece.

Skiing is top of mind for me at this time of year, but similar lessons apply to other activities in other seasons. Cyclists climb faster by shifting to a lower gear and maintaining a steady cadence as the incline rises. Rowing a raft with oars that are too long will wear you out a lot more quickly than with oars sized appropriately for the boat. Anyone who has hiked up East St. Mary will attest to how much more enjoyable that trail would be if it had more switchbacks. Consistently saving and investing is a much better retirement plan than buying lottery tickets.

Taking the most direct approach to anything can seem appealing, but playing the long game and doing things more gradually often leads to the best and most satisfying results.

Go outside and be kind.

-Mark

Kite Skiing Across Greenland

On Tuesday, 13 January at 7:00 p.m., Jesse Crocker will present about his experiences skiing across the Greenland ice cap with two teammates in the spring of 2023. Jesse's presentation will describe covering 2000+ kilometers on skis, powered by the wind, in temperatures as low as -40. He will also provide information on the sport of kite skiing, which can be useful on expeditions as well as for recreation here in Montana. The event will take place at Freestone Climbing Center, 1200 Shakespeare St, in their upstairs meeting room. We are excited to hear about Jesse's adventures, and we hope to see you there!

Thank You for Supporting Club Events!

On Tuesday, December 9, Anna Meteyer shared her experience surviving an avalanche with a standing room only audience for our monthly presentation. On November 18, our screening of "Ski", a film about ski mountaineering by Nikolai Schermer, sold out at the Roxy, enabling the club to make a generous donation to the West Central Montana Avalanche Center. The week prior, Lauren Peruffo presented to a packed house about hiking the Triple Crown. We are so grateful to our presenters and volunteers for making these events possible and to all of you for choosing to spend your time engaged with and learning from the real-life adventures of people in our community.

TRM Gear Closet

Our exclusively for members Gear Closet continues to grow. We have some BCA 2-way radios to facilitate communications in the backcountry, as well as beacon, shovel, and probe if you want to experience winter backcountry travel but haven't got the safety gear just yet. We also have ice tools and a four season tent. This gear is for you to use at no charge. If you’d like to check something out of the closet, send an email to Mark.

A complete listing of all the gear we currently have available can be found on our website.

Upcoming Trips and Activities

Monthly Presentation - Tuesday, 13 January - "Skiing Across Greenland"
Monthly Presentations begin at 7:0o p.m., and will continue taking place every second Tuesday of the month until April at Freestone Climbing Center.

Quarterly Business Meeting - Monday, 5 January - Time and Location TBA
Open to all club members. Officers and other interested members meet to review budgets, plan events, and discuss strategy and future initiatives.

Backcountry Ski Outings - Alternating Saturdays - January through April
Every other Saturday, there will be a backcountry ski outing with either a beginner to intermediate focus or an intermediate to advanced focus. Locations will be determined the week of based on current conditions. Reach out to trip leaders for more information--contact details on the website.

Winterfest! - Saturday, 24 January - Lolo Pass
Activities to take place at Lolo Pass and vicinity, after party to be held at Mark's house in Lolo.

Women's/Genderqueer Strength Building Workshop with Esther Smith, DPT - Friday, 13 March - Freestone Climbing Center
Learn to build power on and off the wall through fascial-based strength training!

Please visit our event calendar for details on these events!

TRM Merchandise

We have merchandise available for purchase at our presentations, quarterly business meetings, and special events.  Please contact Elizabeth at heyartemisoutside@gmail.com if you’d like to purchase something for local pickup.

Beanie $25	Pint Glass $10	Keychain $5
T-Shirt $20	Trucker Hat $20	Buff $5

Ongoing Call for Photos and Videos

If you have some photos or videos you'd like to share that we can use for social media, event promotion, sponsor videos and our newsletter please email Elizabeth at heyartemisoutside@gmail.com or upload to this google photo/video link: https://photos.app.goo.gl/173AgLc4wrkYofvWA

Quarterly Business Meeting Minutes from 23 September can be found here.

Club Officers

President- Mark Albrecht
Vice President – Francis Horton
Secretary- Carson Ramsden
Treasurer- Tom Statz
Website- Kyle O'Connor
Archivist- Julie Kahl
Social Media and Video Production – Elizabeth Smith