What Boots to Use: Alpine vs. AT

I just took up backcountry skiing this season. When I was buying my equipment, I really didn't ponder the question of whether to use my alpine boots (Solomon X-Screams) or to buy a pair of AT specific boots. With all the climbing involved, I knew that I wanted boots that were much lighter than my alpine boots.

I've realized that for most people, the question of what type of boot to use is not so clear. A number friends who have been talking about taking up AT have said they want to use their downhill boots. They figure that if they are going to expend so much energy going up a mountain, they don't want to be limited by their boots while going down.

I can understand where they're coming from. If I had asked that question in January (after my first time out with my new Garmont G-Rides), I probably would have said that alpine boots were the way to go. My trip to Sequoia over MLK weekend was my first time out in those boots. Going up hill in them great. They were warm, fit well, and I really liked how much the boot flexed in the walk mode. However, going downhill those first few times was a completely different story. I was used to big, stiff boots. So after I pointed my skis downhill and my AT boots started flexing like crazy, I didn't know what to do. I was either too far forward or too far back on my skis and the skis just didn't want to turn (or at least not when I wanted them to). I fell as many times that first day as I normally do in a year. So at the end of that first day, I was asking myself if I made a mistake buying AT boots.

But since that first day, the boots have really grown on me. Just because the boots are softer does not mean that you can't ski aggressive terrain with them. It just requires you to be softer and subtler in initiating your turns. You have to pay more attention to staying centered on your skis rather than leaning forward. When I used to hear people say that you don’t need stiff boots to ski powder, I never really believed them. After all, I had stiff boots and they were great in powder. But I understand what they mean now.

Getting back to the original question about whether to even buy AT boots, I see a couple of big questions that need to go into the decision. First, how far do you have to skin before you can ski downhill? If you have to skin for 2 hours before you even begin going uphill, the lighter AT boots are hands-down better. On the other hand, if the parking lot is at the base of the mountain, then the added comfort of AT boots going uphill wouldn't be so important. Secondly, how steep of terrain are you talking about skiing? The way I see it, unless you're going to be hucking big 30 footers, a good pair of high performance AT boots (like the G-Rides) should be able to handle anything. I've skied a couple of 35-degree chutes with them and they were great. So like all complicated questions, I guess it depends. But I'm plenty happy with my G-Rides.

If you have an opinion on this subject, I’d love to hear what you have to say.

Note: If you do end up buying AT boots, contrary to what I did, I'd recommend taking them out for a few days of lift serviced skiing before heading out into the backcountry. There will be an adjustment period. The last place you want to go through that painful adjustment is on a beautiful powder filled bowl that you just spent 2 hours climbing up.