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Is Skinning a Thing of the Past? | UNITED STATES, OREGON | 03/17/2009, by awesomepatrol
As the man in the above video has been attempting to prove, jet packs are becoming a reality. All I can say is, it's about f!&king time!! Finally my mild mannered life will actually have purpose!
Well what happens when these personal transports become perfected, widely distributed and priced towards the average consumer? I'll tell you what: A big bunch of enthusiastic riders and skiers and an even bigger bunch of disgruntled resort owners. Even though gondolas, lifts and trams will become obsolete, at least ski resorts will continue to draw customers with their great restaurants and fair prices.....
A lot backcountry skiers claim they love the up just as much as the down. If the Jet Pack were affordable, would those uphill lovers convert? Or would they just give me a smug look as I zip by in route to my 25th lap?
As this commenter mentioned in a previous article, the jet pack would also make a great vessel to escape being caught in an avalanche. How sweet would that be?!!! Oops, the slope just ripped, no worries, let me just fire up those power converters! Goodbye expensive avalanche classes! Who needs knowledge when I've got technology!
The end of overpriced resorts, no more uphills, avalanche danger reduced to zilch, infinite access, even rescue a cat from a tree, sounds like paradise to this writer. Don't get me wrong, I love to get exercise, but the thought of getting in 30 laps a day sounds pretty amazing. I am sold, how about you? Would you solely use the Jet Pack and ditch the skins, or would you stay true to the uphill part of our sport? What other skiing related ways could we use a Jet Pack for? Let us know in the comments!
Today's Prize: Heel fit socks for tagging your own first descent!
All you have to do is leave a comment to be eligible! The commenter with the most entertaining comment will win!
(You can rest assured that we won't publish or sell your mailing address! If you feel uncomfortable leaving it in the comment field, feel free to email it to contact@skiingthebackcountry.com.)
That's Our Opinion. What's Yours?
freeheelgirl wrote on 03/17/09 at 09:21:01 am pst:
Would they let me take my jet pack into the terrain park? ;-)
pdx32 wrote on 03/17/09 at 10:10:57 am pst:
I'm not so sure jetpacks are the "answer", assuming there was ever a question in the first place...surely the author of this article jests, but seriously(sort of), what's the difference between a jetpack and a snowmobile? Besides the obvious, they're both tech-options that get you up the hill faster, and with much less effort. The reason snowmobiles have not supplanted the backcountry skinning experience is because they are not generally sustainable ways to enjoy the backcountry. I'm all for maxmizing my vertical, but once you've spent some time "earning your turns" you develop and appreciation for other aspects of the backcountry experience, like tranquility, just to name one. Anyway, alls I'm sayin is that I'm itching to geet back out into the backcountry, not just so I can bag as much vert as possible, but so I can bag all of the experience that comes along with it.
awesomepatrol wrote on 03/17/09 at 10:39:40 am pst:
Good point pdx32, I think there is something to be said about the journey and overall experience. As cool as a jetpack is, it would definitely be kind of weird to look around and see a bunch of flying skiers crowding up the skies:) Would we even want to ski anymore if we could fly?
Greg wrote on 03/17/09 at 5:10:01 pm pst:
I don't know, the extra weight on the downhill would disrupt my already suspect form:)
freeheelgirl wrote on 03/18/09 at 12:52:56 am pst:
If I had a jetpack, I really doubt I'd be skiing - I'd be playing with my jetpack! :-)
Seriously, though - replace "jetpack" with "helicopter", and what's the difference? You've just ruined your sweet backcountry experience and nice morning exercise with a loud, crappy machine. If you really need a lift up the mountain, why not head for a resort instead of polluting the backcountry? Machinery to get off-piste is kind of like taking a Harley on a mountain-bike ride...why go there?
Perhaps I'm just repeating PDx32, however. Backcountry skiing isn't just about the downhill....
awesomepatrol wrote on 03/29/09 at 5:35:26 pm pst:
And the winner goes to Greg! Sorry for the delay, I forgot we were giving away socks for this post!
