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Today we are talking to BLISTER members, Bobak Farzin and Lukas Friedli, who became friends through BLISTER, and recently teamed up to take on the famous Haute Route. We talk about their trip; the gear they used; what gear worked well; what worked less well; and, along the way, they offer some great advice for anyone thinking about doing any multi-day ski touring trip, or anyone interested in the Haute Route itself.
RELATED LINKS:
Get Yourself Covered: BLISTER+
TOPICS & TIMES:
Introductions (2:33)
Background on the Haute Route (10:40)
Ski Selection (19:11)
Ski Boot Selection (23:06)
Bindings Selection (26:21)
Gear Regrets? (29:00)
Packs — and Pack Weight (32:18)
Trickiest Gear Selections? (41:14)
Gear You Were Happiest With (49:54)
The Skiing! (52:20)
Coffee & Coffee Gear (1:00:44)
CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS (click each to learn more):
Good Show fellas. It makes me want to learn and go Ski Touring even more.
A few things:
* Bobak, I know I saw you at the Blister Summit at a few of the panel sessions. I believe you won a few items one night. I hope to get some turn this year with you at the 2026 Summit.
* Moody Coffee is definitely some of the BEST coffee on the planet for sure! Kudos to Jonathan and Hadley for getting the guide together this season. Did you try the Shouka Chocolate Shop as well?
* You both are what skiing is about. Having fun with your friends doing Cool Stuff in the mountains. I hope both of you shared many high 5’s on what seams like an incredible adventure.
Thanks for a great show.
Pete
Let’s go ski Pete! I will be there in 2026!
Great pod, thx Bobak and Lucas. Every couple years I rabbit-hole into the H-R but have never gotten serous about a trip over there. But this got me thinking again!
Would be great for blister to do something similar for NA-style hut trip – ie, you’re packing in your sleep gear and food. Adds a few elements, including a pack for the in/out that also works for a day skiing. Between my friends/partners we certainly have different styles – me very minimalist, others more comfort and better food. A fun debate always.
Good thoughts, Scott!
This was a great episode and I really enjoyed listening to it. Thank you!
One comment to Jonanthan. “Raide” name comes from French and it means steep. So the correct pronounciation would be the French way (whatever that is :D).
Thanks, Stenis! Re: Raide, the founder of Raide Research, Kyle Siegel, definitely pronounces it, “RAY-D” (like “air raid”) … but that’s a good note re: the French word. (Maybe Kyle’s just being nice and dumbing things down for Americans like me who struggle with French pronunciation!)
The French speakers also like to say raide for awesome, extreme, wild, or impressive.
Jonathan, your pronunciations of the french Haute Route and my family name were flawless.
Aie aie aie. The Haute Route pronunciation was cringy. Maybe better to just admit mispronunciation, and get on with it in your own accents. It was a bit too Germanic for French words, even if the Route does end in Wallis. If you are real frenchie there is almost no T or E. I.e, a mumble. I genuinely was like Pig de what near Arolla? Oh, Pigne d’Arolla. More “PINne-d-Rolla”. Not that I can talk, I still have an English accent.
One thing I was wondering gear wise: Socks, or was it a singular pair for the route? The light is better mantra always wins when you have a level of luxury with refuges.
I usually bring 2 pairs of ultra thin merino compression ski socks for 5 or 6 day hut trips, and 1 pair of soft, mid weight wool crew socks for in the hut.
That way:
in the huts, I have dry, clean* socks to change into, nice for me and everyone else, also often I get cold feet in the crocs in the huts.
I have clean ski socks on day 1 and 2, and pretty decent socks on day 3 and 4, and only on day 5 and 6 is it really nasty, but then, that’s the last day of a 5 day trip, so I can deal with it.
*ok, not truly clean after day 1, but with only wearing them in crocs in the evening and mornings, and maybe in bed, and not while hiking, they don’t get wet, so if they are wool they still smell fine by day 5
thank you
I brought a second pair, but wore only one for the whole week. Having the liners drying overnight and not sweating too much in my feet it all worked out well.
Re: socks, I had Le Bent Cody Townsend (1st and 2nd gen). A second pair so that I could have dry ones at the hut or in case of emergency (e.g., the first pair getting soaked due to an accident).
I think, when Bobak talked about the improvement of skiing with your lighter set up, it isn’t just the weight you are noticing, it’s also that Backlands walk so much better than the Langes, with far less resistance, greater range of motion and shorter sole for easier striding.
So, if you have high volume feet, the Backland XTD might be great choice. Sure, they are heavier, but walk just as well, and ski a bit better. I have very narrow feet, so that’s why I got the Backlands, but otherwise, the Backland XTD seems like a better option for this sort of use.
Generally agree. The ROM in the Backland Carbon’s and the XTDs were both far beyond what I would get in the Lange XT3s.
However, for me, the weight and the camber in the MTN 95 had more of an impact. I actually used the Langes with the MTN 95 setup just to see and the ski + binding was a big impact (even with a heavy boot.) Overall it all felt like it was sliding better.
I also would probably go get the XTD now if I had to do it again. It would have required less boot work and would have skied better on the downhill. I was not so sure when I was getting the setup about the extra 100 to 150 grams.
Great episode guys and congrats on the achievement.
As a fellow Swiss I am glad this kind of ski touring trip gets the love it deserves.
Of course the Haute Route is only one of many options in the Alps. As the hut system is well established in all the countries in the Alps, the options are virtually limitless and you can get creative.
On the gear the discussion was very informative as well. I share a lot of the gear for multi day ski touring trips in the mountains.
I disagree on the power bank though. I think bringing a (small) power bank is worth the weight penalty. There have been too many cases where people lost their communication because their phones died (often in a storm and in the cold) with sometimes tragic outcomes.
I will try to elaborate a little there.
Our experience was that charging in the huts was easy and available. We had plenty of outlets for many hours and left fully charged each day.
We brought an inReach for each person and a power bank for each person. In hindsight we probably could have brought just one of each and shared them as needed (and if needed.) to save a bit on weight.
I agree that safety is first and to err on the side of always having power for emergencies it is not the first thing I would have given up.