K2 Skis New for 2010-2011 are K2 integrated climbing skins. Skins are available Pre-Cut for higher end BackSide and Factory Team models and Trim-To-Fit for the rest of the BackSide series. Watch Mike Hattrup demo how the new system works.

2011 K2 Skis NEW Climbing Skins with Mike Hattrup

www.youtube.com

http://www.rateskigear.com/ Mike Hattrup of K2 gives The SkiProphet a quick look at the NEW Climbing Skins for 2011 from K2 at the S.I.A. Snowsports show in Denver, Colorado, January 30, 2010.

THE EVOLUTION OF BACKSIDE ADVENTURE K2

What a long, strange, snowy road trip it’s been. The winter landscape has changed a lot since we launched our original Adventure ski, the Piste Off, and with it infused the wheat grass drinking telemark world with red bull and muscle car flames.  Over almost 15 years, K2 introduced countless innovations to telemark skiing, from deep sidecuts to wide widths, to womens models to inserts to rocker.  One could say we jump started the modern day telemark revolution and helped grow the entire telemark and alpine touring market.

As the market grew with us, we noticed that the distinctions began to blur. Telemark and AT boots and bindings progressively increased in size and power, and the subtleties of the skis gradually diminished. The necessity of a telemark-specific flex for light boots and bindings faded, as skiers embraced more powerful and exhilarating performance.

As more and more people ventured out into the backcountry, their opinions on what makes a good backcountry ski began to broaden as well. Some skiers like Martin Volken or Andrew McLean want a narrow, lightweight ski that’s skins well, and covers long distances efficiently. Others like the Crist brothers and Luke Miller prefer something fat and stable, and willingly pay a weight penalty. There is no wrong answer.
Our passion for the adventure that we created with skis branded “K2 Telemark” and “K2 Alpine Touring” continues just as strongly today with a revolutionary new line that blends the best features of backcountry skis with the powerful alpine characteristics of sidecountry models into one comprehensive collection we call BackSide.

We think the most important determining factors in choosing a ski are your objective and motivation – no longer your method of glisse. Are you touring for days or weeks, or merely an hour or two? Would you rather flash a 2,000’ slope in 6 turns, or milk it with 100? Those are more important questions to answer than what kind of binding you’ll put on the ski.

The common thread that binds this BackSide collection together is that they’re all designed for backcountry. Sure, any manufacturer can make the claim they’re making backcountry skis, but what truly makes them backcountry worthy? The features that set the BackSide collection apart from the pretenders are skin notches, straight tails, and tip and tail holes. These features transform the BackSide collection from simply great skiing skis into functional backcountry tools.

In our “BackSide Resources” section, guides and ski mountaineers from all over the globe will share with you some of the reasons they require these features in the backcountry.  They’ll cover everything from putting skis on in steep terrain, to building ski anchors to constructing an emergency sled with your skis.

Ski touring is all about efficiency, so the more utility you can squeeze from your skis, the more equipment you can leave at home, making you faster and safer, your pack lighter, and your experience more enjoyable.  So choose the BackSide model that fits your style and objective best, throw tele, AT or alpine bindings on them, and get out there.

www.k2skis.com

Hey guys,
Pelle, here is the movie I was talking about. I´ll send a dvd copy if you
want to see it or show it at lodge for public.
Cheers!

VIRNE from Matti Mottonen on Vimeo.

-Arttu

www.vapaalasku.com 

In a moving, denuded gesture made from one ski legend to another, Mike Hattrup baldly tackles McConkey’s, a run recently named in honor of the late Shane McConkey at La Parva, Chile.  Stripped of any attitude, Hattrup’s raw respects are of the completely natural kind.  It’s an unconcealed and unprotected look, presented without a stitch of ego. http://bit.ly/1e0aIu

After one day in Lima due to a national strike we finally made it to Huaraz where we met up with the rest of the crew. After some acclimatisation time we hiked into the Ishinca valley to get ready for our first mission - climbing and skiing down 2 peaks for the Summits4kids project.

After setting up basecamp, dining on Peru´s famous “tucha” (trout) and organizing all our gear we hiked up to moraine camp at 4900m the next day where we enjoyed some incredible sunset in a stunning mountain range.

The next day we got up at 3am and started to hike up Ishinca, after 1 hour of rock scramble we put on our crampons and bootpacked all the way to the top reaching it at 7.30am. After some summit pics we skied down, passing some surprised looking mountaineers.

Once back at the camp we packed our gear and kept on going down to basecamp. Unfortunately the weather was too bad to summit our 2nd peak, Tocllaraju, so we returned back to Huaraz. Now we need to decide what mountain will be next, which is a hard decision as the Cordillera Blanca is full of stunning peaks with a lot of interesting faces to ski.

Unfortunately I cannot upload any pics here so check the blog at the summits4kids website. www.greenski.org/wordpress

 Many young Peruvians have a difficult start to life. To help these kids! We will climb and ski the summits of TOCLLARAJU (6032m), ARTESONRAJU (6025m) and ISHINCA (5530m) in the Cordillera Blanca, the second highest mountain chain in the world. You can help.

For every metre we climb you can make a donation towards our two selected charities. CETA in Cajamarca - an open centre for socially deprived children and adolescents whose lifes are often marked by separation, loss and violence. Casa de Acogida in Cajamarca - at any time of day and night, this centre is a haven to young individuals in emergency situations. We are doing what we do best, so the kids in Peru can be treated like children should be - with care.

Please, let’s all give a little because a little makes a big difference.

www.greenski.org/summits4kids 

 Summits4Kids

Making every meter count!