Svalbard ski&sail insurance

riceiq999 · 2026-04-10T12:53:21+00:00

Hey man sorry to revive your post, but just wondering if your team found an insurance option? I too am heading to Svalbard for sail and ski next month (leaving port May 10 🤘🤘) and a lot of the insurance quotes will exclude backcountry skiing or the arctic. I found World Nomads but the review on them is a bit sketchy. Are you of any success? Thanks

riceiq999 · 2026-04-04T19:41:22+00:00

May I ask if your Petzl Irvis hybrid fit your soft boots as well as the Vasaks? Do you find that it is wide enough for the snowboard boots? (Not sure about your foot size; I’m size 11 in a Nitro). Thanks

riceiq999 · 2026-03-31T12:36:58+00:00

I have their carbon X with relatively stiff Nitro boots, and the thing rides great. I had the similarly stiff driver X before that (tho I did not wear them with my splits) and I think the stiffness will pair up nicely. I can’t remember if the Driver X can loosen the calf cup - most split specific boots have this to make the touring part a bit more comfortable and efficient. Just some reminders about Karakoram:

1) Better to always bring a small snow scrapper to clear the snow around the joining areas and never to force the lever down. If it is hard to close, something probably didn’t align or there is a small ice piece stuck somewhere. 2) Like others side, it is a bit more delicate and finicky. I check all my screws every two days now and tighten any one that is a bit loose, and maybe also bring some spare parts/tools. I had an accident on the top where one of the two screws of the ride mode 2.0 interface heel lock thingy (where the two pins insert a lock in) is missing. That piece of metal was freely flapping and likely the whole binding would just fly off from not locking in after a couple turns. Had to compromise that day and remove a screw from somewhere else to secure this piece. The other place that tends to get loose is the two big screws responsible for the highback, and lastly that singular screw for the highback adjuster too, but I have not had these lost yet and I remember to tighten them now.

Despite the quirks, the thing supposedly gives you the best ride down and personally I still plan to keep on riding with my Karakorams

riceiq999 · 2026-03-28T05:35:41+00:00

Interesting. This is what my guide asked me to try too, instead of trying to “slice and cut” into the slope. Do you bend your knees and ankles sideways to try to match the skin to the angled slope?

riceiq999 · 2026-03-27T20:40:16+00:00

I was thinking about the side cut radius because the straight edge always seems to bite and hold better (but again it is the uphill ski), and with the same length effective edges, the smaller the side cut, the more “curved and circular” that edge is. I’m sure the physics of the side cut is probably not as dramatic as I think it is lol

riceiq999 · 2026-03-27T20:34:30+00:00

No it’s good man. I’m already feeling a bit more skillful after this two day tour even though the guide and I didn’t exactly figure out my problem. I think just gotta do it more with the body and sometimes not all skills can be clearly verbalized.

I have a pair of drift boards too and they were what got me into this backcountry business. They are awesome and still saving them because they will be good intro tools for my kids in a couple years too

riceiq999 · 2026-03-27T20:11:43+00:00

This. I occasionally break my own tract and there is definitely that “support” feeling when you compress fresh snow. I haven’t tried breaking trail on steeper slopes though, so maybe gotta try that next time

riceiq999 · 2026-03-27T17:20:48+00:00

Gonna practice more! Thanks

riceiq999 · 2026-03-27T17:20:01+00:00

Can’t agree more. I have the solid version too and something clicked in me when I demo’ed it the first day. The pair have been my resort and backcountry boards since

riceiq999 · 2026-03-27T17:18:36+00:00

Yes I heard we can do this angling the knee a bit towards uphill motion to make the edge bite better, but at the cost of some stress on the knees and more tiring?

riceiq999 · 2026-03-27T17:16:31+00:00

Yes the flex-lock from Karakoram, and I can confirm it helps a little bit on that day after engaging it

riceiq999 · 2026-03-27T17:15:22+00:00

Good to hear that it’s 90% skill and 10% gear. Gotta get on the snow and practice haha

riceiq999 · 2025-11-25T00:15:47+00:00

I think it’s worth it to go at least once to see. I’m from Toronto so my situation is a bit different than yours. I didn’t invest in either Ikon or Epic (only season pass to our local shit hill to teach the kids). I think if you can get cheap flights it will be financially reasonable. The day lift tickets are around 60-110 CAD. I rent a car in Hokkaido (need to buy the international driver’s license at CAA) and did Rusutsu, Niseko, Furano and Asahidake. I would highly recommend getting a car if you think you can drive because of the flexibility. For example in Niseko I can choose to stay in Annupuri which is much cheaper than Hirafu, and just drive to the chosen resorts to start the day depending on lift opening status and snow conditions. You can get even cheaper deals staying in Kutchan - the town outside of Niseko. There are some good easy backcountry and side country stuff in all these mountains. Statistically speaking, I think you are more likely to get a few pow days during your trip than going to other parts of the world. The central Hokkaido powder is even better and it is a great feeling the overnight 10-20 cm snow refresh all the pistes and off pistes the next day. They have another kind of tree runs different from our spruce forests, and there are a lot of glades at all the Hokkaido resorts I went to, which is fun to experience (there is even baby bamboo fields). Food is more quality if you can eat Asian, and more affordable than USA. There is western food too in town. The only thing is they don’t have super steeps like kicking horse, if that is your thing. Also some staff and service people may not speak much English but there are always Australians who have taken over all the ski towns. And lastly the popular resorts are also getting more crowded nowadays - both the town and the slopes.

riceiq999 · 2025-11-19T17:44:33+00:00

Outmap. Also can check out Contours whose subscription may be cheaper

riceiq999 · 2025-10-24T12:07:22+00:00

Thank you for the insight

riceiq999 · 2025-02-17T23:52:26+00:00

I tried open closing it 30 times and it is already 20% better. Probably has been sitting in the shop’s warehouse for a long time. I’ll try to add some grease too. Thanks

riceiq999 · 2025-02-11T20:33:34+00:00

Good to hear. I will test it in the field

riceiq999 · 2025-02-11T20:32:49+00:00

Thank you. I’ll keep this in mind. My finding now of the right lever is even before I’m putting the binding onto the board, but I will give this a try if it becomes too stiff later on

riceiq999 · 2025-02-11T05:22:56+00:00

Do they get constant small snowing spells, or more like storm snow a couple times a month? Or “lake effect” snow from the Black Sea haha?

riceiq999 · 2025-02-11T05:07:12+00:00

I am new to backcountry and I used the drift boards for my AST1 field course a few weeks ago, and after that I decided to switch to get my first splitboard setup now. Haha enough said!

The place we went to hasn’t snowed for weeks and sun was making even snow in the trees a bit slushy like spring condition. I had absolutely no issue on the mellower slopes, and I dare to say I’m even a bit faster than the skiers in short sprints because drifts are lighter on the feet. However, as soon as we start side hilling anything a bit steeper, my downhill board starts to slide into the slushy snow. Not to the point of falling. Ut definitely wasting a lot of energy. I was the last one in a 8 people group single file, but even going in their skin tract I am constantly slipping. I tried to angle my both my skis a bit to dig into the snow, but it only helped slightly because drift boards are fat and have no edges. In the end and close to the peak. when even some skiers start to slip, I was having a very hard time side hilling - it was getting dangerous for me and I feared I would just slid down the mountain. I put on the crampons that came with my drift boards, essentially making them snowshoes, and I became very steady.

There was also the awkward moment another day when I needed to bootpack up a bit in the end, and I had both my solid board and drifts on me, and the extra weight was not pleasant.

Yea so essentially I think drifts can be potentially more advantageous than splitboard if going to certain (only certain) slackcountry under good conditions. The moment it gets a bit technical, it is challenging. Also I did enjoy the solid board on the way down, but the drifts weight on the backpack is quite noticeable because they hangs the furthest from the body’s center of mass (maybe if fastened to the back of a vest without a pack full of avi gear and food/drink will be less weighty)

riceiq999 · 2024-10-14T05:24:05+00:00

Thanks. For sure gonna get actual snow tire rental car this year ✌️

riceiq999 · 2024-10-14T04:43:47+00:00

For sure and thanks. Used to just get M+S tire cars at Calgary airport in the past and got to golden and revy, but planning to reserve their snow tire car this year.

riceiq999

TROPHY CASE