Gear falls short in uphill efficiency

EDITOR'S NOTE: First in a two-part series on a gear field test in Norway's Romsdal Alps in early March.

High above a fjord, on a mountain face battered by wind, my skis cut a subtle line on a blank canvas of white. It's 1 p.m. on Kirketaket, a 4,721-foot peak in Norway's Romsdal Alps, and I'm heading up-mountain on a ski tour.

Our group -- a mix of American and Norwegian skiers -- is halfway through the daylong ascent. My gear arsenal includes alpine-touring skis and boots, prototype wool apparel, new avalanche safety equipment, an altimeter watch, and outerwear to protect against the fickle elements of coastal Norway.

My ski setup -- which I wrote about recently -- includes Black Diamond Kilowatt skis ($539, bdel.com) mounted with Fritschi Diamir Freeride Plus bindings ($425); Black Diamond's Ascension ski skins ($122); and a discontinued pair of adjustable-length poles from Indigo.

On my feet are SCARPA's Spirit 4 boots ($669, scarpa.com), a four-buckle model for serious alpine descents, though with a "walk" mode to add flex while ascending.

Overall, this gear works well, especially going downhill, where the powerful Kilowatt skis slice hard-pack snow and ice. But for the uphill -- which is the meat of the adventure on a peak like Kirketaket -- I am less impressed.

Everything works as promised -- my boots flexing, skins gripping the snow, the bindings pivoting to provide an effective free-heel stride -- though it is a heavy and clunky train of motion. Next time I'll choose lighter gear, banking on a bit less performance heading downhill and more efficiency for going up.

Stowed away in my pack are two pieces of to-be-released safety gear from Backcountry Access (backcountryaccess.com) that I fortunately will never touch on this trip. The Tour shovel -- made for digging fast through snow after an avalanche -- costs just $39 and at 1 pound 2 ounces is among the lightest of its type ever made. Its aluminum shaft and blade come apart for stashing in a pack and measure about 24 inches long when assembled.

The Carbon snow probe ($80) is made up of a foldable, seven-section carbon-fiber tube. It weighs almost nothing -- 7 ounces! -- but clicks together to create a solid, 8-foot-long pole for searches in the snow.

For personal safety, I keep Backcountry Access' Tracker DTS avalanche beacon ($290) strapped to my body. This beacon bleeps out my location at all times via radio signals and has an easy-to-use LED interface enabled during a search.

As a backup parachute, I employ Black Diamond's Covert 32 AvaLung backpack ($270), which is a day-trip-size pack with built-in sleeves, straps and pockets for a shovel, probe and other gear. But what makes this ski pack special is its integrated AvaLung, an air-hose apparatus that can help a skier breathe while buried in a snow slide.

Heading up Kirketaket, I keep the AvaLung's valve extended and ready for use. But the snow is safe on our trip, and we ski up the mountain with few concerns on a long and gorgeous day in the coastal alps of Norway.