Converting skis into a temporary seat

[rich d2]

Hi guys, this has been bugging me and thought the collective wisdom of the Bushcraft collective might be able to help.
I'm sure you used to be able to buy a seat that went between your skis (planted into the snow) for when you were taking a break, to keep you away from the ground. However my google fu isn't having any joy, anyone else remember or know what I'm talking about?
Cheers Rich
(PS have been a member for a while but mainly lurked but have lost access to my old emails so have had to start a new account)

 

[Janne]

Sit on the skis. They will insulate well. If you require more insulation, get a square of insulating material, like closed cell underlay, or even better, a piece of reindeer skin.
Size depends on how well fed you are, 35 x 35 cm should be fine for most!

Saves you carrying anything bulky and heavy!


I vaguely remember those ski seats, I think. I think dad had one in the early 70's. Us kids sat on our insulated skis while ha sat on a high chair!

There is also a way to use the ski poles to make a type of frame to sit on, together with the skis.

 

[Herman30]

There are backpacks that have integrated stools built into them.

Place it on top of the skiis so it wont sink in the snow.
But I fail to see why one would need to sit when taking a breather on a ski trip. Unless it is a stop for cooking a meal.

 

[Janne]

It is nicer to enjoy a cigarette while sitting!

That backpack stool I recognize, I had a older version. Haglofs. The seat fabric broke away from the stool tubes.

 

[rich d2]

But I fail to see why one would need to sit when taking a breather on a ski trip. Unless it is a stop for cooking a meal.

So you can have a cup of coffee (with a shot in it) and a bite to eat, with the kids - without having to pay the prices in the 3 valleys. Plus when off piste would be handy whilst having Lunch. I can’t find the seats anywhere - not even what they’re called they seem to have completely disappeared. Suggests they weren’t very good.

 

[Janne]

I vaguely recall the seat was of plastic, with the frame and side prongs Aluminium covered in some rubbery plastic..

I think they were originally designed for hunters. That is what dad had it for primarily.

you mention 'of piste', so I assume downhill skiing?

Personally I think that would be a bit risky? Risk for spinal column damage?

Dad used them only when we cross country skied. Which we did a lot of in those days. Lots and lots and lots of snow!

 

[Robson Valley]

They are called "trail chairs" in this day and time. Quite a selection at Recreation Equipment Inc., in Seattle, WA.
You put your skiis down and the chair goes on that.
You Heliski for $10,000+ per week here. Good week and you will get 100,000 vertical feet of 6-10' pure powder.
Damn difficult to sit in that for any reason. Are you as fit for powder skiing as you thought you were?

Mark & Regina Aubrey run Crescent Spur Heliski, about 40 miles from my place.
Sorry I don't have a link. Quick Google and you can get the idea of resting once in a while!

 

[Herman30]

I went on a few, one week long, guided hikes in finnish lapland when I was younger.
When the week was at it´s end there was two things I craved for. First was a cold beer after drinking natural water from creeks and lakes. Second was to sit in a chair after sitting on the ground for a week.

 

[Janne]

What about a healthy dose of Kossu?

 

[rich d2]

Thanks trail chair - genius.
Yep downhill - don’t understand the spinal column risk? And yes there’s not always anywhere to sit when you’re off piste especially in fresh pow (hopefully)

 

[Janne]

If you carry something on your back that is hard and have a fall, that object can damage a vertebrae, ot vorse.

Soft stuff is ok, it is only hard stuff that can damage.

 

[Robson Valley]

I can't see how you can take a trail chair with you when you are wearing an AvBag air pack.
The guides have all that plus probes and a shovel. Everybody wears 3-channel Pieps beacons.

You are never "on piste" when you are heliskiing here. The powder is chest deep in many places.
There are no packed and groomed ski runs whatsoever. Nothing.
The company will supply the specialty powder skiis for your visit.
The helicopter. You. The mountain. Snow. Nothing hard to fall on.
Just the very act of trying to stand up takes some effort!
Maybe, we need chairs after all.

We have 300km packed and groomed XC trails, warming huts and all.
Much more family-oriented. You might run in to a bunch of ptarmigan hunters some days.
Sometimes there's cat-skiing with rides up some lower mountain slopes in a SnoCat.

 

[Janne]

I have not been able to find that chair thingy online.
Could you post a link?

 

[Robson Valley]

https://www.rei.com/search?q=trail+chair

That ought to get you there. If you or anyone else have any plans to mess around
in my winters, buy all the avalanche gear. Maybe 1K BPS should cover it.
Do Level I and Level II snow reading courses.
The courses are short and they come up every couple of weeks in recent winters.

Today was +4C in the village, clear and sunny. The mountains looked spectacular
after the dumps of snow last week. I could hear the hot sleds, echoing off the mountainsides.
All 3 Tucker Sno Cats will be out grooming main trails tonight = Lucille, Bell & Renshaw.

Have you ever ridden a Sno-Bike?
Like a motorcycle with a front ski and a rear skinny track?
Me neither, but we have rentals here.

 

[Herman30]

@rich d2 When you wrote about skiing I automatically thought you meant crosscountry skiing. I have never done down hill skiing and in my language we call it "slalom".

 

[Tiley]

Chouinard Equipment - now Black Diamond - used to make a 'chair' thing for skis. It had two loops that you hooked over the tips of your skis and a sleeve at the other end through which you threaded a ski pole, which then rested on top of the front bindings of your skis that were plunged, tail first, into the snow. It worked pretty well: it kept you off the snow and, if you got the angle of your skis right and parallel, was reasonably comfortable; however, it was not something you'd want to stay in for long as the ski pole dug into the back of your legs/knees rather painfully! Because it was just a simple piece of nylon, it was incredibly light and did not require anything more than the stuff that you were carrying or using. Problem is, I can't remember what they were called...

 

[rich d2]

Chouinard Equipment - now Black Diamond - used to make a 'chair' thing for skis. It had two loops that you hooked over the tips of your skis and a sleeve at the other end through which you threaded a ski pole, which then rested on top of the front bindings of your skis that were plunged, tail first, into the snow. It worked pretty well: it kept you off the snow and, if you got the angle of your skis right and parallel, was reasonably comfortable; however, it was not something you'd want to stay in for long as the ski pole dug into the back of your legs/knees rather painfully! Because it was just a simple piece of nylon, it was incredibly light and did not require anything more than the stuff that you were carrying or using. Problem is, I can't remember what they were called...

That’s it aTiley thanks, can’t find them anymore at all.

 

[rich d2]

https://alpine-luddites.myshopify.com/products/ski-chair
Not sure about the rules for posting links but that’s the thing I was talking about, thanks Tiley.
Ps I’ve been skiing for years, as well as mountaineering. Know how to asess avalanche risk, when where and which slopes to avoid. Been skiing off piste for years too both touring adnd downhill so have all the gear and some idea

 

[Tiley]

https://alpine-luddites.myshopify.com/products/ski-chair
Not sure about the rules for posting links but that’s the thing I was talking about, thanks Tiley.
Ps I’ve been skiing for years, as well as mountaineering. Know how to asess avalanche risk, when where and which slopes to avoid. Been skiing off piste for years too both touring adnd downhill so have all the gear and some idea

That's the thing! Good to see it updated to accommodate the lardier tipped skis we use nowadays. It brings back largely happy memories; I think I might just 'add to cart' for old times' sake!

 

[john campbell]

That's the thing! Good to see it updated to accommodate the lardier tipped skis we use nowadays. It brings back largely happy memories; I think I might just 'add to cart' for old times' sake!

hi,

I'm the owner of alpine luddites and I do indeed make the ski chair. I have changed it a bit from the original Chouinard version, which I have in the shop, using 8 ounce packcloth instead of the original's lighter weight fabric. the ski tip loops are also much more adjustable to fit any size ski, from metal edge touring skis to the biggest DPS ski. I also added a 16 ounce ballistic nylon corner reinforcement where the tip straps are bartacked in.

Cheers,

JC