skiboards, snowblades, super short skis ?

[Chip]

Tom's Sled Thread and the recent talk of boots and bindings got me thinking. Does anyone use super short skis (I'm thinking just a bit larger than my boots) for a hasty descent ? I'd prefer a lower center of gravity, but short, stowable skis would make fast work of many winter trails.

 

[Tom Rankin]

Tom's Sled Thread and the recent talk of boots and bindings got me thinking. Does anyone use super short skis (I'm thinking just a bit larger than my boots) for a hasty descent ? I'd prefer a lower center of gravity, but short, stowable skis would make fast work of many winter trails.

Pete Fish (retired NYS forest ranger) does, but he doesn't post here.

His skis are about 3' long. He said they are perfect for skiing down narrow trails.

 

[bikehikeskifish]

I have a pair somewhere, I think. My wife got them for free at some point. I've never tried them as I believe they require alpine boots... but I am curious how they work... I had this same thought while contemplating upcoming trips to Wildcat and Tecumseh.

Tim

 

[bignslow]

I have a pair of ski blades that I have used off piste and they were pretty terrible (with alpine boots). The main problem is they have very little surface area so they don't float. To keep the tips up I needed to have my weight way back which meant turning ranged from impossible at worst, to sluggish at best. I have rode some groomers at a local ski hill in my koflachs just to try it out, on a wide open green circle trail they performed fine.

My main concern (knowing what hiking trails look like) is that they accelerate nearly as fast as full length skis. This means within the hard packed trenches our trails become you'll be rocketing downhill with no space to even initiate a turn unless you can manage to get the skis out of the trench. On the other hand I'm not a very good alpine skier.

 

[Chip]

This means within the hard packed trenches our trails become you'll be rocketing downhill with no space to even initiate a turn unless you can manage to get the skis out of the trench.

Understood. I was thinking of making really short ones, like 18", with another set of silvretta 404's. The shortest "real" ones I've seen are 75cm, which I think are still too long for hiking trail use.

 

[Quietman]

My blades are 99cm and submarine in anything less than hard pack. Shortest available are 75cm. A shorter ski sounds interesting for descending, but would still probably require an alpine type boot to handle the edging. The trail would really have to be packed hard!

 

[Lawn Sale]

I have some 65cm ones, and they are too short. It's too easy to go over backwards on them so they are very unstable.

I mounted a set of military cable bindings on some 110 cm XC skis, and have used them on various trails with good results. The 19 Mile Brook trail took about 15 minutes from the junction, and what's nice is I can use them with my mountaineering boots with no problem, either in the heel free or heel locked positions. Here is a pic of me in the skis.

I do not, however, recommend them for skiing on an ice covered slope, say Cannon (like on Dec 31, 2009), because it's now going to take me a long time to recover from my broken shoulder.

 

[Paradox]

Take a winter hike up the Long Trail to the summit of Mansfield from Route 108 sometime. You will see legions of angry knuckleheads coming at you. Only one in fifty seems to have the skills necessary to negociate the glades which are quite steep. While I have never glade skied before, it seems to me you had better be pretty darned good at it, to have a chance at having fun and escaping injury. It seems to me, most trails would be just as difficult.

 

[skiguy]

Take a winter hike up the Long Trail to the summit of Mansfield from Route 108 sometime. You will see legions of angry knuckleheads coming at you. Only one in fifty seems to have the skills necessary to negociate the glades which are quite steep. While I have never glade skied before, it seems to me you had better be pretty darned good at it, to have a chance at having fun and escaping injury. It seems to me, most trails would be just as difficult.

Take a ski down the Long Trail and /or Hell Brook to 108 sometime and you will see legions of angry knuckleheads coming at you with and without snowshoes.

In all seriousness I followed cbcbd's advice and got a pair of the Kong Grimpers. They will work with Mountaineering Boots. The trick IMO with these "UTILITY" type skis is when/when not and where /where not to use them.

 

[Brambor]

I have been using skiboards

I have been using skiboards for the past 10 years and I love them for going down the slope where trees are. They mount find on my backpack too. The only downside is that one needs to carry ski boots and that is a pretty hefty size and weight addition. I think if you could find old fashioned leather ski boots that could double up as hiking shoes then it would be perfect. Let me know if you find something like that.

Skiboards in general work better if you have a lot of flex in the boots unlike regular ski's which benefit from pretty stiff plastic boot. I have resolved this by either loosening up the top two buckles or by switching to the one buckle kind boots that I bought cheap second hand.

I still wish I could have hiking boots with a lip and rear groove that would accomodate my skiboard binding.

 

[BobC]

Here's a pair I found on Ebay. The bindings are...interesting.

 

[Brambor]

i would be weary to go any shorter than skiboards. i tried a pair about the length of my skiboots and it is a good way to go ass over teakettle.

 

[Paradox]

Take a ski down the Long Trail and /or Hell Brook to 108 sometime and you will see legions of angry knuckleheads coming at you with and without snowshoes.

Touche, it is just that the whole thing seems to work like a one lane highway. I'm walking up the Long Trail, (you know: the oldest hiking trail in the U.S.) and the skiers get angry at me, because they have lost control and I'm in the way on "their" ski trail.

In all seriousness, a very few of them are first rate and a joy to watch.

 

[Quietman]

Here's a pair I found on Ebay. The bindings are...interesting.

Hey Chip, looks exactly like what you were asking for!

 

[paul ron]

Move the binding up on a regular pair of skis to the length you want and cut the tails off with a hack saw?Heck, they aren't going to be used as skis anyway? Oh but Id need a different binding to fit regular boots??? Make em out of straps screwed to the ski, sotrt of like snowshoes or crampons? ummmm..............

I just may give it try anyway? Nice idea!

 

[Chip]

Here's a pair I found on Ebay. The bindings are...interesting.

Actually my first pair of skis (yard toys, not real skis) were pretty similar. I'm pretty sure I could do better than those, but, as has been alluded to, short skis might be like wearing ice skates on a frozen rapid.

 

[Lawn Sale]

...short skis might be like wearing ice skates on a frozen rapid.

That's what I thought, but I am a decent ice skater and they handed me my butt a number of times. Still, I'm a much better ice skater than skier, so it's probably just my lack of coordination.

 

[David Metsky]

Still, I'm a much better ice skater than skier, so it's probably just my lack of coordination.

Nah, those short skis combined with hiking boots and narrow, snowshoe-trenched trails are a recipe for disaster in many cases. You can build up a lot of speed in short order, and the crashes can be pretty serious.

 

[RickB.]

I've got a pair of Figl's (leftmost in link photo) I'll sell you dirt cheap. Bindings are like step-in crampon bindings and work with plastic mountaineering boots. Fun on open slopes, less so on hiking trails..
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Verschiedene_Firngleiter-_(Figl-)_Modelle.JPG

 

[kaseri]

I've been using Skiboards by a company called Revel8. For more information follow this link -

http://www.revel8skiboards.com/