Fischer steel light wax ski 47-44-46

[MikeK]

I do like that 3/4 metal edge for trackset and skating. I really just like having the edge when I skate, it's so much more positive with each push and taking that edge off the tip makes the ski way less catchy on the packed conditions. It's like detuning it to the max but you still get most of the benefit. That was the one thing I really like with the Voss over the E89.

Obviously, if you were really using the sidecut to turn, you'd lose turn initiation, but I kinda feel like with these super skinny, low sidecut skis that you need to skid them anyway, so it makes them turn even easier.

[lowangle al]

[quote="Mike

Al also said he wouldn't buy another ski unless it had at least tip rocker... so I think he's going to have to go for an E99 or Gamme.[/quote]
That was before I was thinking about a track ski.

I find skis wider than 60mm at 200+ cm length to be annoyingly catchy in set tracks unless the tracks are several days old and have been wallowed out

I was surprised that my 55mm X 210cm skis were binding up in tight turns. The tracks were very hard and there hadn't been much traffic from the classic skiers.

[lilcliffy]

Yep, just checked on my classic race skis(very stiff), and get about the same movement as the MR 48. Difference is that it takes a lot more effort to compress out the first camber on the classic race skis.

This- in my limited experience- is one of the defining characteristics of a ski meant for soft snow versus one designed for dense/compacted/groomed snow.

Double-cambered backcountry skis all have a relatively soft initial camber- double-cambered track skis have a stiff initial camber.

A ski with a stiff initial camber never engages properly with soft snow- if it is long enough for one's weight.

[lowangle al]

I just caught the tail end of a radio interview of two guys who combined ultra light weight touring with extreme technical downhill skiing requiring mountaineering and climbing experience. They didn't talk specifically about gear other than they were skate skiing on skis a little heavier than race skis. I'm thinking it is this type of ski.

On one of their tours they went about 20 miles and climbed over 15,000ft. They only go when conditions are hard, never in powder. Some advantages they have are the snow is predictable (hard). They ski where it is rocky(to steep to hold consistant snow) so they have good visability with less whiteout problems. Less avy danger. More opportunities by being able to ski lines that others might have to wait years for to get the right powder conditions. They also were able to hit lines in one day that the AT folk had to do as an overnighter.

It's not something I want to get into as far as the extreme stuff but I like the gear. I always thought a xc skating boot would be good for telemark turns because of the high stiff cuff. I don't know how they flex, but if they were to stiff you could use a combi boot. Any skate skiers out there to give an opinion on how they think this type ski would work with skating boots.

[anrothar]

Skate boots have some forefoot flex, but not much, and they're not built for forefoot flex, so striding/turning in them is going to break the boots down faster. Combi boots would suit skis narrower than 55ish cm perfectly. People use them on skis up to 65mm, like the Rossi BC65 and EVO 65, but I think that's pushing the boot's ability to overpower the ski on hardpack. Higher end combi boots have more ankle support and torsionally stiffer soles, while still maintaining decent forefoot flex. The weak point will be the toe bar, but if you're not going too far from the road system, that's not really a big issue. People regularly do Arctic to Indian on setups like that.

If you haven't, I would suggest reading Tim Kelley's book Trails That Never End. He's done some pretty big trips, including a lot of off trail, on combi boots and narrow skis.

[anrothar]

I pasted the amazon link in there. Didn't realize it would turn into a spammy banner. Sorry about that.

[lowangle al]

I saw that book advertised on the Ak. Performance Backcountry skiing site, I think it might be his site. There is a lot of good info on that site if anyone is interested. I was looking for some info on the two guys I mentioned above on that site but no luck. I was hoping you knew something about those guys, I'd like to read about some of there trips.

Thanks for the info on the gear. I never thought I would want to invest in skating gear but now knowing you can do it on metal edged skis with sidecut it sounds more appealing.

[anrothar]

If you remembered one of their names, even first name, I might be able to help. Radio program or channel would nail it down as well. People do skate ski on ultra light AT gear. Did they specifically say 'slightly heavier than race cross country touring gear'? Is it possible they just meant not quite race level AT gear? I don't really pay a ton of attention to mountaineering or ski-mo.

[anrothar]

Found it. http://www.alaskapublic.org/2017/02/03/ ... -skiing-2/

The first two guys are on ski-mo/rando race gear, the third one is a nordic skier, but skis mountains on AT gear.

[lowangle al]

Those were the guys, Matt and Brian. I don't know much about skimo gear but they did say there trips would not be possible on AT gear because of the weight. Do they skate on skimo gear?

They do travel fast, whatever gear they're on. They skied Ptarmigan peak in Chugach SP in 2 hours. I climbed it many years ago but we left our skis at the bottom. It's about 9 mile round trip plus a 2000' climb.