Cross country skiing

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Ricky D

Trad climber
Sierra Westside
Dec 18, 2008 - 10:02pm PT
Splits?

I don't think Bluering can use splits unless he has a soul tattoo and a Prana beanie.
Sir loin of leisure...

Trad climber
X
Dec 18, 2008 - 10:04pm PT
walleye,is that really you skiing ?? Gotta be a stunt double...
Ricky D

Trad climber
Sierra Westside
Dec 18, 2008 - 10:10pm PT
Good overview on DIY wax and tune - http://www.skituning101.com/


For supplies, I use these guys - http://tognar.com/
TGT

Social climber
So Cal
Dec 18, 2008 - 10:12pm PT
For Ca all you need is two waxes and two klisters

A cold dry snow wax that you'll carry mostly as wishfull thinking, but it's incredible when it works.

A wet snow wax to use most of the time as a base wax

A silver klister for a kicker most of the time. About a 4-6" patch on the back side of the camber. Get it in the middle of the camber and you might be haulin clods.

A red or universal clear kilister for when the sun comes out.

I never have owned skins and can keep up or stay well ahead of everyone I've ever skied with that had either waxless bases or skins.

Down? that's another story. I suck at it.
Tarbuster

climber
right here, right now
Dec 18, 2008 - 10:16pm PT
When wax is working, it is superior because you don't get kick at the expense of glide.

Short skins are superior to wax when:
 the terrain is steeper (much less herringbone style climbing work)
 the snow temperatures vary enough that waxing becomes problematic

With a short skin you're always sacrificing glide, but you get consistency and predictability, with a surprising degree of glide anyhow.

Forget full-length skins for regular touring.
And I wouldn't use short skins if I were just out in the flats.

(I am never just in the flats, tho, cuz this is about mountains)
Tarbuster

climber
right here, right now
Dec 18, 2008 - 10:39pm PT
As most everyone has been saying,
Proper gear selection is everything.



It is chosen in accordance with the anticipated terrain.
Tarbuster

climber
right here, right now
Dec 18, 2008 - 10:41pm PT
For example:


Artwork by a Ouch!




oops... wrong photograph ..... but you get the idea.
Tarbuster

climber
right here, right now
Dec 18, 2008 - 10:41pm PT
Asnes Nansen 190cm metal edged ski & all-wheel-drive BMW:





Hat by eKat!!!
Maysho

climber
Truckee, CA
Dec 18, 2008 - 10:50pm PT
Sayin hey to fellow and sista nords Walleye, Blinny, Tarstrider!

Just got in from a 2.5 hour skate sessh last hour in the howling blizzard. It is raging here at Donner Summit, supposed to get two feet tonight.

Bluering, as has been said, figure out where you are most likely to go first, and there is not one perfect all terrain setup.

One that comes close however is the Fischer Rebound, or the Salomon 88 (same skis, salomon buys em from fischer and paints them orange.) They are waxless, metal edged and shaped with sidecut, but also ultralight, you ski them short, and you run them with a light backcountry boot and salomon bc binding or nnn bc. You can stride like a racer, and also make decent turns. They do not fit in groomed tracks, but that doesn't sound like your scene anyway. For big mountains or carrying a big pack, go bigger. Though I have taken my Rebounds way out there. My son and I skied Rock Creek to Mammoth in 18 hours with that rig on all types of snow. Often I use kicker skins (as wisely suggested by Roy upthread).

IF you get really into it though, you gotta try a well waxed ski in the track sometime, for that total flyin feelin....


Tarbuster

climber
right here, right now
Dec 18, 2008 - 11:13pm PT
These work perfectly for me: an old Garmont, which makes a nice bridge between floppy leather touring boots and heavier, less forgiving plastic stuff:



 Leather uppers with nice stiff ankles to help with forward tracking in heavy snow and occasional turns,
 A single in-step buckle to prevent heel-lift (blisters)
 Solid rubber toe & heel counters for busting crud
Tarbuster

climber
right here, right now
Dec 18, 2008 - 11:26pm PT
This is what I’d buy if I had to replace the Garmonts above, the Rossignol BCX11,
Light, hybrid plastic/nylon 75mm nordic norm:
(and they don't make your but look big)

dmalloy

Trad climber
eastside
Dec 18, 2008 - 11:38pm PT
sheesh, it took like 47 posts before Maysho actually gave some worthwhile advice out of all this.

Fischer S-Bound series are not the greatest ski ever, but they are nice and work really well for a good price. There is a whole range that span the spectrum from something that is nearly a track/groomer ski to something that with a big sidecut and shape for turning. The Outtabounds Crown is great for meadow and forest cruising, with some technique and good snow you can turn them pretty well.

http://www.fischerskis.com/en/products_nordic_ski.php?parent=40081

Other people make similar skis, there are those out there who swear that Karhu are leagues above Fischer.

Some 3-pin bindings, Voile makes 'em with heel pieces you can attach for extra turning power if you want that.

Forget leather boots if you want to turn at all or have warm feet in cold weather, get some Scarpa t-3s or whatever the Garmont equivalent is (Excursion?). (Yes, I know you old dads can turn like crazy in those leathers and that plastic boots are like wearing condoms....my grandad started his car with a hand crank every morning, should I do that too? :)

Kicker skins get you up steeper slopes, but that only matters once you are good enough to ski down. The waxless pattern and some switchbacks put me on top of stuff that scares me plenty.

If you are in Mammoth you can demo all this stuff at Mammoth Mountaineering...or find a place in Tahoe that has similar stuff to rent.

Much fun to be had rambling around the hills with a lightweight touring setup like this
bluering

Trad climber
Santa Clara, Ca.
Topic Author's Reply - Dec 19, 2008 - 12:25am PT
I'm definiteley getting the cc skis. way more useful than snowshoes, more versatile...

Jaybro

Social climber
wuz real!
Dec 19, 2008 - 12:36am PT
Was that from the Vail Ski museum, Roy?

There are an amazing amount of specialized ski setups these days, I own several. Though mostly, for me, it comes down to skating, or some sort of Tele rig.

While that is cool, and allow formany, 'unparalleled' activities, there is something to be said for the Seventies, three pin/lignistone combos that we sort of forced to do everything; I don't miss emergency tip replacements, though.

Especially if you are a flatland based, recreational skier in somewhere like california. If, you live in the Mtns you have an idea, when you get up in the morning, what kind of rig will work best for the day. When you load on to I-80 do you take everything that might work?

All of my ski setups are pretty specialized. I don't know what to reccomend Bluering spend his $150 on, though there probably is a good answer out there...
Tarbuster

climber
right here, right now
Dec 19, 2008 - 12:51am PT
Jay:
That picture is one I took while inside the American Mountaineering Museum, Golden Colorado.
http://www.bwamm.org/
Tarbuster

climber
right here, right now
Dec 19, 2008 - 12:55am PT
"I don't know what to reccomend Bluering spend his $150 on"

$150?
May as well get a hooker.
Can't touch a ski package worth kicking around on for that...

10 years ago, here in Boulder, you could still pickup 210cm Fisher Europa 99's for 40 bucks
(mounted, used, & scratched).

And for general mountain touring, NOT touring to turn, that gig still works great.
(And yes next DR will soon be posting up all sorts of references to skiing Dana Couloir & etc on such gear, but... considering how things have progressed for tele gear...)
bluering

Trad climber
Santa Clara, Ca.
Topic Author's Reply - Dec 19, 2008 - 01:04am PT
"I don't know what to reccomend Bluering spend his $150 on"

well, it'll prolly all go to those new cc skis....here I come.
Tarbuster

climber
right here, right now
Dec 19, 2008 - 01:13am PT
Excellent!
Get some gear, get some exercise & and have fun.

No doubt we've significantly confused you and likewise entertained ourselves during this meaningful process of tossing out cheerful advice.
Jaybro

Social climber
wuz real!
Dec 19, 2008 - 01:15am PT
No doubt!

But we meant it in a good way!



Never made it to that Golden Museum...
Doug Robinson

Trad climber
Santa Cruz
Dec 19, 2008 - 02:29am PT
Being "meaningfully entertained" and all, I was going to let this whole discussion slide.

But

Mayfield made me do it. He pointed me onto those Rebound Crowns. I demoed them on groomers with NNN-BC hightops. Cruiser on intermediate runs, and I could get down black diamonds off the cornice, but it wasn't pretty.

Bought em anyway and mounted simple pins. At the same time my favorite leather boots gave out and I was tired of wet feet, so I caved into a pair of Garmont Excursions.

This feels like modern cross country mountain skiing. A ski like a short, classic alpine ski, but lighter, better turning and with fish-scales. They climb anything I can switchback, cuz aerobic is the limit of climbing anyway, not steepness. They ski the black diamond runs about 85% as well as my full-deal K2s, and they'll get down the double diamonds. Bought another pair so I could get my friends to try em too, and now I like the slightly fatter Atomic Chugach better. The waxless base slows em down, sometimes annoying when you want liftoff. I carry skins occasionally, but I haven't mounted them in years. Those boots with the flo-form liners are embarrassingly comfortable. Kick-and-glide 20 miles, no problem. A versatile rig, you can enjoy everything from skating lakes to cutting across ridgelines.

I still like to wax when it's blue hard wax, or better Jack Rabbit Dry. But for the Sierra, where you often get a wide range across soft wax and klister conditions in a single day, I get more skiing done with waxless.
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