Equipment for a Polar Traverse
In this section I’ll try to cover as much as possible about the gear required for a Polar Traverse and in particular an activity in the Baltic region where there are no massive hills to climb and the main challenge is always the low temperatures from a constant wind over the frozen sea.
Traverse is usually using telemark skis and pulling a pulka. Sometimes we use kites to progress if the surface allow and winds are constant. In other instances dogs are used to pull the sleds and pulkas, but I personally prefer traverses done without any mechanical or additional help.
For a winter traverse of 10 days (150 Km) in the Baltic, this is a comprehensive list of gear to pack. The list is based on my own experience and I don’t have any incentive to promote certain products over other.
Skis, bindings, skins and boots
For polar traverses we don’t use alpine touring ski equipment mainly because the low temperatures and the practicalities of moving fast and effectively in a “relatively” flat environments .
For the baltic we are using the following:
SKIS: Salomon X-Adv Free Grip – 202cm
For this activity, the longer the better so we can get better grip. This skis are quite affordable and, if you are not going to do much stuff in the frozen flat surfaces, then worth buying them. If you are looking to do something in Greenland, Artic or Antartic regions, this is not a suitable option because the grip isn’t with skins but a number of flakes in the tables.
Don’t spend a fortune in tables if you are not going to give them a good use. For the baltic something like the Salomon X-Adv is the best option. Light, good edges and the waxless flake grip pattern offers very good kick and a consistent glide. RRP: £140- £150
BOOTS: Crispi Expedition boot (75mm)
Boots are a mix between 8000m expedition and Telemark winter ski boot. There are few options in the market with a 75mm binding option (most of them are NNN New Nordic Norm) and one of the few options in the market are Crispi and Alfa.
I am using the Crispi Top Expedition Boot 75mm for a simple cable binding. Superwarm and confortables but the italian brand doesn’t come cheap at a a RRP: £550
BINDINGS: G3 Targa Telemark binding
Simplicity to the maximum for the bindings. We want something light (the boots are heavy enough) and resistant so I personally like the 75mm cable bindings for any traverse activity. Needless to say they need to fit the boot clipping system (either 75mm or NNN) so for the Crispi’s I am using a Nordic Touring cable 75mm binding. There are thousands of other options out there but if you want simplicity (and quick repairs in extreme conditions) then the cable is the best. Prices for G3 Targa are RRP: £160
