The Snowscape 9 Skin skis I used are a little shorter and sportier than traditional skis, so they're fairly easy and stable underfoot, and offer good maneuverability and control on the narrow portions of the Trail (most of it). They use an integrated strip of skin underfoot so I didn't need kick wax or fish scales. Even after almost 300 miles on the trail, the strip showed little wear. (On Anchorage's icy and dirty trails, I seldom got anywhere near that mileage on the skin strips). The XXL size that I used is only 175cm long with stiff flex--that's a good foot shorter than what I'd use in a conventional ski, but I found their performance to be great. Their width is 49-45-47mm and for bindings I used low-cost Rottefella NNN auto bindings which performed reasonably well. I did get a little binding freeze periodically, which I easily fixed by applying some spray-on skin wax to the frozen spots.
For poles I used Fischer BCX Variolight Adjustable Ski Poles (95-160CM). They had nice large baskets, comfortable straps, and could be shortened and used as trekking poles when skiing wasn't possible.
The Fischer Comfort Pro boots I wore were just wide enough to add 5/8" hex head screws to their perimeter for traction. This meant that when crossing non-skiable glare ice I could easily walk in the boots without slipping. I also used sorbothane insoles to increase comfort on long days. The boots are made with a breathable membrane and under them I wore winter drymax socks. With this combination my feet were warm and dry at the end of each day. "Trail Toes" lubricant applied liberally to my toes and the ball of my feet prevented any significant blistering. During training, I managed a few 20 mile walks in this setup with no discomfort. During the race, I didn't need boot covers or warmers at any temperature down to about -35*F although at colder temperatures chemical warmers were needed--obviously your results may differ.
Grip and Glide: The Solomon grip-skins held up very well and provided great grip throughout the race. For glide, I started out with a thick coat of ironed-in cold-weather wax and during the race I applied liquid cold-weather wax to the entire ski (including the skins) every 20-30 miles. I had glide for most conditions and temperatures.
Backpack. I am not a good skier and one of the key elements for me that made a finish possible was carrying a pack instead of a sled. It made the hills so much easier. Overall, I think the weight was about as low as I feel safe carrying.
Not bringing a stove is controversial, but I am confident that I can do it safely. I try to keep my layers at a low enough level that I don't perspire much. So I normally only need about 2 liters of water per day--one camelbak of water (plus whatever I get at the checkpoints). For segments that could potentially take two days, I just bring an extra two liters in my sled. The only place that I have ever run out of water is the Rohn to Nikolai segment, but there is a creek about 20 miles out of Nikolai called Sullivan Creek that has potable water. If it's your first time doing the race I would recommend bringing a stove.
Overflow is always a risk, but since I wear studded shoes (or studded ski boots) waders are not an option. For short overflow sections, I'll take off my shoes, put on my nighttime booties and put the compactor bags over them. That way if the bags get torn, my regular footwear will still be dry and warm. For longer overflow sections (which normally only occur in warmer conditions), I'll put the bags inside my regular foot wear but over my socks. That'll result in wet boots, but I'll keep my socks dry by replacing the trash bags with smaller heavy duty sandwich bags after the crossing. Over time the skiing action will dry my footwear naturally, but until then, if I get cold I can put hand warmers inside the bags--I have tested this and there is just enough air to allow them to work. I have tested various components of this system, but in generally I haven't encountered much overflow during the race so I am not certain how well it will work in a real-world situation.
Food and Drop Bags. In general, I figure on about 2.5 pounds of food per day--high calorie stuff like nuts, dried fruit, crushed potato chips, chocolate, cheese, etc. That's a little too much at the start and a little light at the end, but it's always worked out okay for me. Plus a lot of the bikers don't even open their drop bags so there is usually plenty extra food at Finger Lake and Rohn. In addition to food, I put 6 hand warmers and 6 AA batteries in each drop bag.
If I were going to Nome I think additions would be a stove, foam pad, and spare glove liners. Ouch, not sure I could get all that plus even more food on my back. Maybe carry less water and melt more?
So with that preamble here is what I took on my ski to McGrath:
In my pack:
Weight (lbs): Item:
| 2.2 | Granite Gear Crown2 60L Backpack |
| 0.88 | Absolute Zero Mitts (XL); |
| 0.22 | Hood Ruff US Army Surplus |
| 4.5 | Food |
| 5.5 | 2.5 qts H2O in a 3 liter water bladder |
| 0.25 | Titanium 16 oz. Cup |
| 0.35 | Personal bag (lots of medicine, tooth brush, etc) |
| 1 | Red ground cloth |
| 0.39 | 2 drymax pairs w 6 heavy duty bread bags |
| 5 | Marmot -40 CWM bag |
| 1.46 | Parka |
| 1.32 | Air Mattress (Recharge Sleeping Pad, Ultralight,) |
| 0.11 | NeoAir Mini Pump |
| 0.2 | TPaper |
| 1 | Mild, Mid, Cold, and skin liquid waxes from Vauhti, Scraper (for ice buildup) |
| 0.65 | Down Booties (XL) |
| 0.25 | Tools and repair items |
| 0.3 | 2*Flashing red lights (blackburn LOCAL 20 REAR LIGHT, 2*AA battery each) |
| 0.44 | 4 pr. Hand warmers (@ 50 grams ea) |
| 1 | Patagonia DAS Insulated Pant - Men's |
| 0.07 | 4 Trash compactor bags w/ draw strings |
| 0.1 | 1*500ml empty flask |
Weight (lbs): Item:
2.21 |
Fischer Comfort Pro Boots |
| 0.3 | Head Lamp: 2 * Modoking CREE-XPG 140 Lumens |
| 0.17 | Thin balaclava |
| 0.93 | 4ucycling pants (xxxl) |
| 1.2 | Wool base layer and briefs |
| 0.17 | SockGuy Arm Warmers Lycra |
| 0.41 | Sam's club down vest (lightweight) |
| 0.10 | MP3 player |
| 0.15 | Thin gloves |
| 0.11 | Ear Band |
| 0.4 | Nose Hat |
| 0.22 | Drymax socks |
| 0.31 | Garmin Trex 20 |
| 0.22 | 4 X AA -- Lithium |
| 2.2 | Salomon Snowscape 9 Skin Skis XXL |
| 1.2 | Fischer BCX Variolight Adjustable Ski Poles (95-160CM) |
| 2.2 | Condor Summit Zero Jacket (L) |
| 0.1 | $200 Cash, 2 credit cards, and driver's license. |
| 0.44 | 4pr * hand warmers; |
| 1.1 | 1/2 liter water flask full |
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