I’ve always had a kind of bipolar perspective on lightweight backcountry ski gear, but lately I’ve been slightly more even-keeled with regards to ski selection. The Crested Butte backcountry is an area that hosts many longish 100% human powered ski tours (Crested Butte Mountain Resort is very much a closed boundary ski area) often with long flat sections on either end of the terrain.

The Mustagh Ata SL in the Elk Mountains

In recent years my preference in backcountry skis has varied between featherweight SkiTrab models all the way up to the >10cm underfoot rockered modern-day behemoths. Both have their distinct advantages, but really CB is “quiver of one” terrain. Enter the Dynafit Mustagh Ata Superlight.

With similar dimensions and heft as a former lightweight tool of mine, the K2 Mt. Baker Superlight, the Mustagh Ata SL has achieved what many feel to be impossible in the lightweight category: a smooth ride without that lightweight twitchy carbon feeling. The specs below are directly from the Dynafit website, I find it helpful to read about how Dynafit perceives their own product:
“The Mustagh Ata Superlight represents the next phase of development for the successful Mustagh Ata model. It is the lightest ski in its class. It is equipped with patented Dynafit Insert technology and sports a modern waist curve. Its 88 mm width at mid-ski and its balanced core structure provide maximum skiing pleasure under all snow conditions. The ski adds very little weight when climbing, making it great for long high mountain tours and expeditions”
Summary
I like to think of this ski as the little brother of the extremely popular Dynafit Manaslu only better suited to more vertical and lending themselves to shorter radius turns. Remember that this is a lightweight ski and will certainly have it’s limitations when compared to large wood core skis that seem to be dominating the market these days. In most conditions, I find the ski to be perfectly suited for consistency like many of the lighter weight skis out there. I appreciate that this ski is on the stiffer side, especially in the tail, and find it to be quite lively and maneuverable. When skiing breakable crust, this ski responds well to aggressive edge release: which is easily accomplished with the low swing weight and responsive feel.

Other skis in this category include  K2’s Wayback (basically the Baker SL) or Black Diamond’s upcoming Aspect, which all have distinctly larger shovels.
Testing Notes
In the 25 days that I have skied the Mustagh Ata Superlights I’ve encountered backcountry snow that has ranged from glorious easy skiing powder to variable crust, crud and mank. Ascents with and without ski crampons. Conditions that I have yet to test: boilerplate ice and spring corn.
The Verdict
Pros: Leightweight, appropriate stiffer flex in tail, ski beautifully in soft snow. As with any light ski, will chatter some.

Cons: weaker skiers may find the skis get pushed around easily/don’t handle variable snow. Could be an effect of a somewhat narrow shovel.

The Mustagh Ata Superlight seems to be a perfect option for those looking for a do-all spring ski mountaineering ski. I’d recommend this ski for anyone looking for a lightweight setup for longer tours and/or spring conditions. Just remember, this lightweight mid-fat platform excelles at shorter radius turns and won’t provide the crud busting prowess of a ski with more mass. Remember to pair such a nicely engineered ski with the best touring binding on the market: the Dynafit ST.

While I was away last weekend teaching Colorado Mountain College’s Level 2 avalanche course, between two and five feet of snow fell in the Crested Butte Backcountry. Today was a brilliant bluebird morning, so we went up to have a look at all this new snow and maybe do a little bit of skiing. Below are some observations and photos of our findings.

Wx: 1435 @ 12000ft. Sky:OVC Precip: S-1 Wind: M,W Temp: -14.5C. Temps dropped dramatically later in the afternoon.

Avalanche Activity: Observed many natural avalanches in the area with most occurring on solar aspects. The most notable of which were in the upper Red Lady Basin. We triggered HS-AC-R2-D2-O dropping a large (town bus sized!) and very tender cornice from the summit: crown was between 4 and 6 ft tall and ran roughly 1000′. Completed a fracture line profile of HS-N-R2-D3-O: a natural avalanche of over 800ft wide and running 1200′ with a crown of up to six feet tall and P+ hardness. Overall depth and distribution of snow near ridgetop indicated very strong and sustained N wind.

HS-AC-R2-D2-O and HS-N-R2-D3-OSpx: Descended the bed surface into the basin to examine debris that was easily over 10ft deep in places. Settled and wind stiffened snow and experienced some minor cracking on rolls steeper than 30 degrees.

click image for profile
While we didn’t end up skiing all that much, we certainly did get a good solid wind-blasting up on the top of Mt. Emmons and spent plenty of time dorking out on snow getting Chris psyched for his upcoming AIARE Level III course. Not too many folks out playing on this elevated danger day, but what a treat to be out ski touring (as always!) and learning about our local snowpack.

Detailed weather and avalanche information for the Crested Butte Backcountry can be found at the Crested Butte Avalanche Center or by calling (970) 349-4022. Please remember to submit your weather and snowpack observations as they are critical in maintaining an accurate avalanche forecast and a healthy backcountry community.

MB