Backcountry/Tele Skiing

The discussion of ski length & width is not just about ease of turning UNLESS your B/C goal id mainly finding fresh pow to carve up.

If, as Dave said, you are winter "backpacking" on skis to tour and not carve a lot of turns then longer, narrower skis will float you and permit easier distance-covering tours.

Also it has been mentioned that ski length is related also to your weight WITH a backpack (not day pack) on your back then you add the pack's weight to your fully-clothed-and-booted weight to determine ski length,

I'm an old school skier and used to 210 cm. skis so I can handle them. Yeah, I could have used 205s but they were not available at the time and 210s were managable for touring, but NOT tree skiing.

So with a nude weight 0f 185 lbs., at 5' 10" I know I'll weight around 250 lbs. clothed & booted and wearing a 40 lb. pack W/five days' food, double wall tent and winter sleep system plus MSR Dragonfly stove. Thus those 210 cm. skis will give me enough flotation.

My Asnes military skis are waxable skis but I have climbing skins if needed and also quick attatch/detach "ski crampons" when the slope is not steep enough or long enough to warrant taking the time to re-skin & de-skin.

Remarkably, to me, is that I'm the only one mentioning release bindings. Does everyone else think they have ACLs and MCLs made of Kevlar cable?

Via Con Dios if you have only fixed toe bindings.

"Does everyone else think they have ACLs and MCLs made of Kevlar cable?"

No, but mine are held down with stainless steel staples. (true)

I wonder if I could get those retrofitted with titanium.

–B.G.–

So I changed my plans a little bit and decided to take a tele clinic at Mad River Glen just to see if it was feasible to start right off the bat with tele gear.

They had me in super stiff 4 buckle boots and 165cm skis. It turned into a private 4 hour lesson since nobody else signed up, so that was nice. I didn't actually execute any proper tele turns but I did learn wedge turns and parallel turns by the end of the day.

One friend gave me a pair of 175cm Karhu tele skis with releasable bindings, and another gave me a pair of 3 buckle boots similar in stiffness to T2's – so I now have a pretty good set-up for lift skiing and backcountry downhill. I've used these for half a day at a local lift served area and felt pretty comfortable with the set up. (On the bunny slopes anyway!)

I've also ordered an old pair of used T3's and got a good deal on some new Switchback bindings so now I just need to find the right skis for this backcountry touring set-up. Maybe something like the 10th Mountain ski? What are some other good skis to consider for New England style backcountry touring? The 10th Mountains seem hard to find at the moment.

I'm thinking with these two set-ups I should be good for a couple of years while I learn.

Glad to see you went Nordic. Might take longer to master but it is sweet. Using T3's I would think 10th mountains or guides are your best bet. As you noticed these two skis have become a hot commodity. I talked to a local dealer and he said both skis will be out again next fall but under a european nordic brand K2 acquired along with now defunct Karhu. I can't remember the name of the company but it should be easy enough to find out. Unfortunately I don't think there will be many off season deals on these skis. Someone else please correct me if I am wrong but I don't think there are any other waxless choices that will match well with a plastic boot. Glad to see you skiing. Enjoy

Good score on the T3s, quite the rare boot these days. Hang on to them. Switchbacks get very good reviews as a solid, reliable up-down binding.

Now the question is, what sort of New England BC are you going to be after on this rig? That boot/binding combo would fit a lot of different skis.

Which T3's did you get, the silvers or the really old burgundy ones? I love those old burgundies!

>>>Now the question is, what sort of New England BC are you going to be after on this rig? That boot/binding combo would fit a lot of different skis.<<<

I'm looking to set this rig up for backcountry touring on the summer hiking trails. Maybe playing around a bit on turns, although my friends are telling eventually I'll want a 3rd pair of skis for powder. (I guess the Karhu Rox they gave me are more suited to groomed/crusty stuff.) For the touring I'm looking at skis like the Guide and 10th Mountain and others I'm investigating are the Alpina X Terrain or Lite Terrain and the Atomic Rainier.

>>>Which T3's did you get, the silvers or the really old burgundy ones? I love those old burgundies!<<<

They're the burgundies. I guess that's good because several people seem to love them. They just arrived last night and they fit really well.

My wife has some burgundy T3s. I have boot envy as a result.

As for skis, again, a tough one. By hiking trails do you mean mostly flat and rolling stuff, or more hilly terrain? I ask because some of the scariest skiing I've ever done has been down narrow singletrack. The hardest fall I've taken this ski season by far, in fact.

As Eric has mentioned, traditionally long skis equal more straight line efficiency and speed. Shorter skis with more side cut equal quicker turning and maneuverability, which you'll want on skinny trails if you need to make turns and/or stop. Trade offs, eh?

Waxless is a good call, especially for refrozen and wet snow (which I imagine you have a lot of in New England). I like my Guides, a lot. They do lots of things pretty well.

Surf over to Telemark Tips.com if you haven't already. Lots of waxless XCD enthusiastics with specific ski feedback.

For this rig, probably a lot of flat and rolling type single track stuff often with crusty NE conditions.

I'm guessing when I'm skinning up steeper stuff I'll either be using the Karhu Rox if I'm headed for spring corn, or a ski to be named later if I'm headed for powder runs in the woods. For both of those rigs I suppose I'll be using the more rigid Garmont boots over the T3s.

Question for you – do you think the Switchback bindings are too beefy for a ski like the Guide or the Alpina X Terrain? One of my friends thinks I should use a lighter binding for whatever ski I choose for the backcountry touring rig and save the Switchback's for my powder ski.

I was thinking the Switchback's would be perfect for touring set-up because it's got the free heal feature and I could crank it down and with the T3s still do some decent turns.

(Good thing my friends are donating so much gear or this skiing stuff would bankrupt me before I get 12 months in!)

I have Voile Mountaineers (burly 3 pins) on my Guides. I like the simplicity.

Having never used a free pivot cable binding, I don't know how the Switchbacks would kick and glide. That'd be the key thing. The SBs would rule for steep days of skinning, so I'd say your friends may well have a point.

I have Atomic Rainers with 3-pin cables on them – pretty much never use the cables – and Garmont Excursions. The Rainiers would be a great ski for the kind of stuff you're talking about. Light, turn well, kick and glide well. Good ski for thrashing the woods, and you can do more on them if you want.
Binding-wise, I'd look at it like this: if it's up, up, up and then down, down, down, the switchback is probably the better choice, as the free pivot most likely offsets the extra weight on long climbs, and when in downhill mode it will give a little more control. But if it's up, down, up, down, around, over and through, then the 3-pin is the way to go, since you'd either be switching modes constantly on the switchback or skiing it in one mode or the other – meaning half the time in the wrong mode.
Trust me, you'll be able to control the ski just fine with 3-pins and T-3's. Should be a fun rig.

I have the black & silver Scarpa T3s and love 'em when I want more control and need warmth. Got 'em on sale in the Cheyenne Sierra Trading Post store 6 years ago, along with my Atomic TM-22 skis. Great deal!

Marmot Mountaineering in Berkeley is the place to go.