Wide backcountry skis

[MarkL]

My 20 year old hybrid (Swallow TR/Alpine) skis started de-laminating late last season. If the acetone, JB Weld® and clamp treatment doesn't do the trick, I'll want another pair of backcountry skis. I saw Ranger Pete Fish with a pair
of wider but shorter skis the first time I climbed Marcy (3/12/96, love that spreadsheet!). I like the idea of the shorter skis for use among many trees, so that's what I'm looking for.
Please let me know if
-you have any experience w/ these wide skis
-you have any other knowledge about them
-you know somewhere I could find a used pair. (E-bay and Ubid don't have any listed, at least at the moment.

I do know about the Karhu Dorado and the Rossignol BC 90, but I get conflicting info as to whether they're
available w/ waxABLE base.
After reading some previous discussions here and checking links, I think that maybe the Dorado is too downhillish for me. Although I can telemark (lift-service) and may want to try Marcy again, I'm looking for a good kick and glide on a 20 mile route with a few steep sections. From what I just read, it sounds like the wider skis don't glide as well. Is that always/sometimes true?
From looking at the categories described at http://home.comcast.net/~pinnah/DirtbagPinner/bc-skis.html
it looks like Compacts, Classic Slalom, Catamount, and Narrow Shaped are the types for me to consider.

Thanks for any info.
Mark

 

[DougPaul]

There are tele/AT ski reviews in the Oct 2005 issue of Backcountry and the Nov 2005 issue of Couloir. If you can't get the magazines, there might be info on their web sites:
http://www.backcountrymagazine.com
http://www.couloirmag.com

edit: looks to me like the lastest reviews are not online. If you can't find them on a newstand, you might be able to order the issues from the websites.

Doug