Skiing Magazine's 2008-09 Big-Mountain Backcountry Skis (Women's)

You may be the only girl in your group of backcountry skiers. But that doesn't mean you need to buy AT or telemark boards designed for him.

Gear

You huck cliffs, ski thigh-deep powder, charge crud, and go on long out-of-bounds tours. Whether you're on alpine-touring or telemark bindings, these skis have you covered.

Gear

Can one ski do everything well? Climb skin tracks, carve groomers, and tackle big, steep lines? These come pretty close.

Gear

Last March, our two dozen testers hammered laps on Crested Butte’s bony steeps for two days, filling out evaluation cards after each run. The results are listed here. “AT” means the gear was reviewed by alpine-touring skiers. “Tele” means tested by telemark skiers. Some skis were tested by both groups. Our goal: to help you find your perfect backcountry setup.

$435 We love the Marker Baron so much that we borrowed a fleet of them from Marker to mount on all of our backcountry test skis. When the Baron's predecessor, the DIN-16 Duke, debuted in 2007, it was the only alpine-touring binding that truly skied like a real alpine binding. Word spread, and shops literally could not keep it stocked. Marker released the Baron in 2008. It has the same alpine-style performance as the Duke—solid, secure, and confidence-inspiring—but is 150 grams lighter (thanks to the use of nylon instead of magnesium), and $60 less expensive. And with a DIN range of four through 12, it's more of an everyman's binding. If you're skiing the resort most of the time, but want touring capability for occasional side- and backcountry laps, you won't find a better binding.

Gear

Whether you're going on a day-long tour or just heading out the gates, you need a binding that works as well going uphill as it does going down. Here is a collection of some of the best AT and telemark bindings out there.