Breakable crust *XC

[anrothar]

What ski features decrease the misery of breaking trail when there's a breakable crust on top?

This past weekend, the GF and I took a flat ski tour to a USFWS cabin. We did the same trip last year and had a bomber crust almost the entire way. This year, we got a late start, had a partially buried snowmobile track to follow for the first 4.5 river miles, then broke trail the rest of the way in the swamps. We encountered a 1 inch thick, breakable crust over about 18 inches of sugary powder mixed in with grasses, tussocks and low bushes. Breaking trail was a slog. Ski tips would not stay on top of the snow, and it was impossible to make forward progress with my skis submerged the entire time, as they would get too tangled up in the grass/brush. I ended up having to kick up/forward 2-5 times with each stride to get my ski to break up through the crust from below. Took 5 hours to cover the final 4 miles to the cabin. About 2.5 miles of that took 3.5 hours where it was really bad.

I was on Atomic Sierra skis, which are sintered base versions of the Rossignol BC 70. Stiff, compact, 70/60/65 profile. Chris was on Glittertinds and had most of the same issue.

What distance oriented skis(not including big fat powder skis), if any, would have worked? Something like the Asnes USGI? That tall, pointy tip might have busted through the crust a little better? Worst case scenario I could have tied some cord to the grommets in the tips and run it to my pole grips so that I could pull up on the tips with each stride I suppose.

[MikeK]

I've only skied that type of miserable snow with my Eons, and they were worse than you describe. I could barely move and going up even small hills was near impossible - the crust and lack of grip kept pushing me back down.

Honestly, you may think them silly, but your 98s might have handled it a bit better. IMO they are actually pretty good trail breakers.

I've honestly never encountered snow as bad as I think you are describing again, but if I do, I hope I have the 98s nearby... I'd surely try them, even for a long tour.

[anrothar]

Damn. I was thinking the soft flex of the Eons might have made them a better choice.

[MikeK]

No - the flex is what made them so bad I think. They were literally turning into bananas - the tips hanging up on the crust and the middle sinking down to the sugar below.

Amundsen maybe?

[anrothar]

No - the flex is what made them so bad I think. They were literally turning into bananas - the tips hanging up on the crust and the middle sinking down to the sugar below.

Amundsen maybe?

The tips were staying up though? So maybe Eons(or a narrower ski with a similarly soft flexing tip like the Mountain Race 48) with a kicker skin to get a little grip on the sugar? Grip wasn't a factor for me, as the crust and brush kept me from slipping back for the most part. The biggest struggle was getting the tips back up above the crust. A few times I got tired of kicking up with each stride and started poking holes in the crust above my ski with my pole to get the ski up.

I felt like the stiffness of the Sierras was working against me.

[MikeK]

Could be a different situation but your said your GF was having the same issue with the Glittertinds, no?

I almost feel you want a stiff ski, but you need something a bit wider to hold you up on the sugar. My situation was worse I think... it was almost like I was perpetually skiing uphill.

[anrothar]

Her tips were rising up a little bit better, but not enough to justify putting her in front. She was still getting stuck under the crust. Being heavier/stronger/more tolerant of suffering, I did almost all the trail breaking in the difficult stuff. She handled navigation, which was it's own struggle as it got dark right about the time it got crappy. We had GPS, but even that didn't keep us from making a bunch of unnecessary zig zags. It was pretty funny on the return trip to see how much our track wandered when it should have gone straight.

[lowangle al]

If your tails sank deep and under the crust and your tips stayed on top I think your skis would be at such a steep angle that you wouldn't be able to make forward progress. What happened when your skis were under the crust, did they dive? Or would that have made you break the crust with your shins. If I was in that situation and I had skins with me I think I would have tried them. You don't have a lot going for you in that situation so you may as well go for traction and just bust trough it with the least slipping back as possible.

[anrothar]

If your tails sank deep and under the crust and your tips stayed on top I think your skis would be at such a steep angle that you wouldn't be able to make forward progress. What happened when your skis were under the crust, did they dive? Or would that have made you break the crust with your shins. If I was in that situation and I had skins with me I think I would have tried them. You don't have a lot going for you in that situation so you may as well go for traction and just bust trough it with the least slipping back as possible.

Skis dove and got tangled in the grass and low swamp bushes mixed in with the powder. Forward progress was impossible with the tips below the crust, I tried. It wasn't even a matter of shin bashing. Most difficult conditions I've tried to ski in. less than 1 mph on flat ground came with a really high effort level. I was crushed when I got to the cabin, sore ribs kind of effort. I hadn't brought skins(even kickers) because the route is flat, maybe 140 feet of elevation gain over 8.5 miles. Starting to look like this was just one of the worst case scenario snow conditions, and no different equipment choices would have made it easier. Hard to know without trying a variety of skis in similar conditions, but I kind of hope I never get the opportunity.

This was in the north section of Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. We were able to essentially skate ski to/from this cabin last year around this time.

*edited to reflect google earth's opinion on the elevation gain

[lowangle al]

That may have been a situation calling for snowshoes, sometimes it just plain sucks and turns into a character builder.