Got Food for the Skiing the Backcountry!

This one’s for you Harpo!

Food and nutrition are always hot topics and the focus of many emails I receive. My eating habits tend to vary a bit from winter to summer, and depend greatly on the activity I’m partaking in. Most of the time though, I tend to mix and match “real food” with supplements…eating the “real food” during breaks or transitions, and inhaling the supplements while on the go.

As one can tell, I’m way into ProBars and I consider them “real food” because they are in fact…made out of all organic, whole foods. They pack a punch as far as calories go, most over 350, and with the addition of the recent new flavors, the variety keeps things interesting. As for now, my favorites are Whole Berry Blast, Maple Walnut and Cocoa Pistachio. A couple other flavors are right there and the number 2 and 3 spots tend to rotate, but the Wild Berry remains my number one pick. As with most energy bars, ProBars are a little easier to eat when warm.

I have some friends that like to take sandwiches into the mountains, but for me, all that bread can be hard to swallow. Cutting to the chase, jerky or salami, and a wad of cheese tend to do the job for me. Alternate bites and you’ve got you’re sandwich without all the dryness that makes swallowing difficult…especially if you’re not really hungry. Often, when I’m getting ready to boot up a couloir or go for another lap on Wimpys, these “real foods” are followed by a RedBull, for the extra kick to the top.

On the go, my favorite energy gels are GU and Hammer Gel, with the limey and berry flavors being my picks. I tend to like the berry flavors over the chocolate/vanilla ones because I feel they tend to have a bit more twang or zing to them…getting you fired up a little. And of course, it’s all about the maltodextrin with energy gels, IMHO, as opposed to those made with corn syrup.

Though I used to enjoy the newer, chewy style of products like Clif Shot Bloks, I’ve kind of gotten away from them because chewing and breathing out of your mouth can be difficult and take time. When I’m on the go, I want to suck down calories and keep going, not suck wind while chewing on something. I (along with my dentist) also don’t like the way they stick to my teeth and often I’m have to stick my finger in my mouth to remove them. I also like to keep snack sized Snickers handy in a waist belt pocket, because sometimes you just can’t beat a good old fashioned candy bar.

Water of course is huge, and most of the time I carry 100oz, except when doing a short lap on Teton Pass. I tend to have a hard time drinking, so I usually make a dilute solution of some sort of electrolyte drink. Right now I really like the CamelBak Elixir product and only use one tablet for the whole 100oz. It’s not really about the electrolytes, but more about just giving the water some flavor which will hopefully make me drink more. A bit of Gatorade substitutes in nicely.

Anyway, that’s the stuff I typically like to eat during longer ski trips. As always, your comments are welcome and we all want to know what others are into. Ciao for now!