Thinking of Winter......

[KenC]

I've wanted to get a pair of BC skiis for a while now and have decided now is the time to get going. There have been a number of threads that i've followed, i took notice on the trails this winter, and of course have checked the Mfg sites.

Those of you in the know, am i on the right track with the following??

I'll be using them on hiking trails, off trail, climbing, yea might bump into a track or 2. Don;t want to fiddle with wax, and i don;t have to be the fastest guy. These will be the ONLY skiis i have, i don;t want a quivver full of skiis. And of course i enjoy a good run down. I'm looking for BC, not tele or at in termes of use. I'm thinking Garfield, Twins, all those long ski ins, the Pemi of course Greylock in my backyard here and pleant of others like them.

What i've come up with is the Fisher S Bound Outtabounds! I've located them at a decent price and will match then with a good pair of boots in Sept. Am i on the right track here??

Thank's all...

Ken

 

[David Metsky]

Yup, that's a fine choice, it's what I use (except mine are waxable). If you plan on doing more than just approach mountains like Garfield, ie, ski partway or all the way up, you should definately go with light plastic boots, like the T4 or Excursion. This will make the descent much easier. I also think the boots are much warmer than leather or combo boots, but if you're not going to use them for descents it's pretty hard to justify the weight or expense.

Since you talk about descents, my choice would be Voile removable cable 3-pin bindings with T4 or Excursions.

-dave-

 

[AMF]

What!!! A quiver of 1?? That's unheard of! I'm sure you will get over it in time, but until then it's a good ski. Go with the 3-pin binding recommendation.

 

[KenC]

Thank you both..

I'm definately going with the Voile Bindings, and will do some boot shopping. My feet are a hard fit but may Garmont Flash lightweight boots do fit like a glove!

Hopefully my getting the skis won't put a Snowless Winter Curse on us!!

 

[David Metsky]

Hopefully my getting the skis won't put a Snowless Winter Curse on us!!

Don't even joke about it.



Definately try the Excursions if the Flash works for you. I found the extra support to make a huge difference. I can tele on pretty solid downhill blue trails with the Excursions and Outtabounds, it's a great single ski quiver setup.

-dave-

 

[dave.m]

What i've come up with is the Fisher S Bound Outtabounds! I've located them at a decent price and will match then with a good pair of boots in Sept. Am i on the right track here??

Ken, if you are going to have 1 pair of skis for the kind of skiing you are describing in New England, I think the Outtabounds is an excellent choice.

I call this type of ski a "Classic AT" type of ski. See my thoughts on this ski type here:
http://home.comcast.net/~pinnah/DirtbagPinner/bc-skis.html#AT

Couple of quick notes and caveats...
1) A 90mm-ish tip will not fit into nordic tracks. If fitting into prepared tracks or frozen bc tracks formed by traditional nordic skis (still very common in the Whites) is something you want, you will need to limit your self to tips around 70mm but you will need to give up on downhill/woods performance. If you go this route, I would suggest something along the lines of a Traditional Touring ski like the Madshus Pellestova or an Old School Tele ski like the Glittertind.
http://home.comcast.net/~pinnah/DirtbagPinner/bc-skis.html#TRAD
http://home.comcast.net/~pinnah/DirtbagPinner/bc-skis.html#OLD SCHOOL

2) Of the 8 or so skis in my basement, my Garmont Monshees (similar profile) are by far the most commonly used in the woods. No question.

3) I would suggest plain pins, Voile Tenney Plates (reenforces the pin holes), and a boot like the Garmont Excursion or Crispi CX-T or perhaps the Karhu Sirius (lighter, some fit issues).

Hope this helps,

 

[KenC]

As usual you guys have been a great help!! Thank You!!

The Skis and mounted bindings are on their way. Outta's and the Voile Cable's will get me started. The first pair of T4's were small so i've gotta size up and try the next size. The Scarpa's seem to run small after conversion. So looks like i'm almost set to START!! Now where's the snow!!

I can't wait to get out there! I gave up alpine years ago because i was sick of lift lines, crowds and the bank account dent, and you could only go down!

Quickies... Would this set up work for the beginner NATO workshops? And, Any good must have reading suggestions for technique, safety, and places to ski?

Thanks again
Ken

 

[dave.m]

Quickies... Would this set up work for the beginner NATO workshops?

If you take a NATO workshop, I would suggest renting some beefier telemark gear. First, riding lifts on granular, over-groomed manmade snow will wear on the no-wax patterns. I have had no-wax skis become horribly slow after skiing them on lifts. The abrasion produces trailing "feathers" of plastic on the scales.

Second, most folks find they can get the tele turn faster on taller boots. This will especially be true for somebody coming from an alpine background. I suggest renting big gear for the clinics and then applying the lessons to the lighter gear.

If you find yourself on lifts a lot, grab the softest pair of begginner alpine skis (cheapo ex-rentals are fine) and toss some bindings on them.

And, Any good must have reading suggestions for technique, safety, and places to ski?

You can whet your appetite for nh trips here:
http://home.comcast.net/~pinnah/DirtbagPinner/nh-trips/nh-trips.html

But run, don't walk, and get David Goodman's books for where to ski in NH, VT, ME and NY
Paul Parker's book for info on the tele turn.
Mike and Allen's Telemar book for tele turn tips
Mike and Allen's Backcountry book for bc travel tips
John Dostal and Ned Gillette's "Cross Country Skiing" for the best overall overview of the topic (and the funniest read by far - highly recommended)
Steve Barnett's "Cross-Country Downhill" for an alternative skinny ski point of view that will blow your mind.

My last bit of technique advice gets ignored regularly but here goes. Take a day and go to a cross country touring center. Rent some good (not flimsy) xc gear and take a lesson on kick and glide and survival turns on light nordic gear like the step turn. If you can get tips on skating, so much the better. Nordic backcountry skiing is a combination of 2 extremes. Most folks make the mistake of worring about the downhill bit while ignoring the xc bit.

 

[KenC]

Oddly enough Dave, that's what got me interested in BC skiing. For the past couple of years a business buddy of mine has invited me XC skiing probably twice a season. I had one day of instruction but i may take your advice and get a bit more.

Thanks for the book list. It's probably on your site and i completely forgot to look!

AMF may be right!!!