Hi from Alaska and some questions

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lilcliffy
Posts: 4112
Joined: Thu Jan 01, 2015 6:20 pm
Location: Stanley, New Brunswick, Canada
Ski style: backcountry Nordic ski touring
Favorite Skis: Asnes Ingstad, Combat Nato, Amundsen, Rabb 68; Altai Kom
Favorite boots: Alpina Alaska BC; Lundhags Expedition; Alfa Skaget XP; Scarpa T4
Occupation: Forestry Professional
Instructor at Maritime College of Forest Technology
Husband, father, farmer and logger

Re: Hi from Alaska and some questions

Post by lilcliffy » Tue Jan 16, 2018 4:55 pm

Welcome AKjohn!
AKjohn wrote: I found a new looking used set of Madshus Epoch 195's with Voile 3-pin with cable bindings that I picked up for $250. I am 5'7" 175 the skis might be oversized but I figure most of the time it will be overnighters or hunting trips so with gear, it should put me past the min weight recomendation.
I do not think that the 195cm Epoch is too long for distance-oriented Nordic touring- at all.

My family owns multiple pairs of this ski. It is a soft-flexing, single-cambered ski, you will not have ANY trouble flexing and pressuring this ski- even at 195cm.
Boots are something that I have had trouble trying to decide on. The same shop I talked to only carriees the Rossi bcx6 boot for 75mm bindings. In talking to the employee there he said that with my running cold feet the bcx6's might be too cold for me and suggested plastics like the t4 or excursions he thought they would probably work best in the areas I told him I was interested in. In reading some of the threads on here I saw the Alico's mentioned and wondered if those might be a good boot for what I have planned.
The Ski March will not be any warmer than the Rossi BCX6- I own both of these boots- they are both warm enough to keep your feet warm if you are vigorously XC skiing in temperatures as low as -25C (my Alpina Alaskas are warmer).

The BCX6 does not breathe at all, however- I would not recommend it for a multi-day trip in very cold weather- it would be very difficult to keep them dry and warm once you have stopped skiing.

Even in a XC context- not needing the downhill support of a plastic Telemark boot- one of the advantages of the plastic boot- with liner- is the ability to take the liner out and dry it out.
Also wondering if the ski choice sounds good for what I have in mind.
I personally am not a big fan of the Epoch for distance-oriented touring. It does not have enough camber and stiffness for effective XC skiing, and at my weight (185lbs) I don't find it offers enough flotation in truly deep snow. It does have a wonderful flex for deep, soft snow- but I much prefer the wider Annum, as it offers more effective flotation in deep snow. Both the Annum and the Epoch are miserably inefficient on hard/dense snow, nor are they torsionally rigid enough to hold an edge when downhill skiing on hardpack.

What is the snow like? You are lighter than me- you might like the Epoch as a XC ski on soft snow...

The BC90 you were considering is also single-cambered but is stiffer than the Epoch- better XC ski.

The Epoch is a wonderful downhill ski on soft snow, and moderate terrain.
Since it has been so long since I have skied I had noticed that there is a recomendation to ski trails to start with to get used to the motion. My last trip to my parents I picked up my dad's old Lampinen Foam step skis with 3 pin bindings hoping to use the same boot for both.
The BCX6 would work well on both the Epoch and XC track skis.
Cross-country AND down-hill skiing in the backcountry.
Unashamed to be a "cross-country type" and love skiing down-hill.

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AKjohn
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Joined: Mon Jan 15, 2018 1:01 pm

Re: Hi from Alaska and some questions

Post by AKjohn » Wed Jan 17, 2018 2:20 pm

lilcliffy wrote:Welcome AKjohn!

The Ski March will not be any warmer than the Rossi BCX6- I own both of these boots- they are both warm enough to keep your feet warm if you are vigorously XC skiing in temperatures as low as -25C (my Alpina Alaskas are warmer).

The BCX6 does not breathe at all, however- I would not recommend it for a multi-day trip in very cold weather- it would be very difficult to keep them dry and warm once you have stopped skiing.

Even in a XC context- not needing the downhill support of a plastic Telemark boot- one of the advantages of the plastic boot- with liner- is the ability to take the liner out and dry it out.

What is the snow like? You are lighter than me- you might like the Epoch as a XC ski on soft snow...
Thanks for the info on the boots, the more I look the more I am leaning more towards plastics being able to remove the liner and dry it out as well as warmth at two big things I am looking at. A lot of the winter stuff that I do will most likely be in the single digits and sub zero temps. Even with all the winter biking I do I haven't found a great solution yet...

For the skis from everything that I had read they were jack of all trades skis not really masters of anything which with just getting into fits for the most part what I am looking for. I won't start out on long tours and realize as I get dialed in I will probably wind up honing in exactly what I want in a ski.

The snow I would say is variable. :D How's that for an answer? Around this time of year in the places I am looking at I would expect a light crust with sugar snow underneath it from the temps sucking the moisture out of it. Up higher wind blown snow concrete that you can't tell snowshoes have been over and its 50/50 whether or not a bare boot will posthole.



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Chisana
Posts: 166
Joined: Fri Jan 27, 2017 12:13 am
Location: Alaska
Ski style: Sliding on snow
Favorite Skis: EMS Woodies
Favorite boots: Merrell ultras
Occupation: Fisherman

Re: Hi from Alaska and some questions

Post by Chisana » Wed Jan 17, 2018 10:56 pm

Guessing you are in anchorage. I have some gently used excursions, heavily used merrel ultras and a brand new pair of merrel ultras in size 11 here on the kenai if you get down this way.The merrels are leather.



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AKjohn
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Re: Hi from Alaska and some questions

Post by AKjohn » Thu Jan 18, 2018 2:50 am

Chisana wrote:Guessing you are in anchorage. I have some gently used excursions, heavily used merrel ultras and a brand new pair of merrel ultras in size 11 here on the kenai if you get down this way.The merrels are leather.
I am in Palmer. Thanks for the offer to check out your boots I typically wear a 10.5. I don't get down your way to often unless work takes me down there. If I do wind up down there I will give you a shout



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lilcliffy
Posts: 4112
Joined: Thu Jan 01, 2015 6:20 pm
Location: Stanley, New Brunswick, Canada
Ski style: backcountry Nordic ski touring
Favorite Skis: Asnes Ingstad, Combat Nato, Amundsen, Rabb 68; Altai Kom
Favorite boots: Alpina Alaska BC; Lundhags Expedition; Alfa Skaget XP; Scarpa T4
Occupation: Forestry Professional
Instructor at Maritime College of Forest Technology
Husband, father, farmer and logger

Re: Hi from Alaska and some questions

Post by lilcliffy » Thu Jan 18, 2018 10:52 am

AKjohn wrote: The snow I would say is variable. :D How's that for an answer? Around this time of year in the places I am looking at I would expect a light crust with sugar snow underneath it from the temps sucking the moisture out of it. Up higher wind blown snow concrete that you can't tell snowshoes have been over and its 50/50 whether or not a bare boot will posthole.
Well- I will be interested in what you think of the Epoch on snow like you describe- doesn't sound like the Epoch would be much fun in those conditions to be honest. You are definitely going to need more grip than the waxless scales can provide. I would apply grip wax on the tip of that ski, and also consider a set of kicker skins.

The Epoch is going to feel dead and slide all over the place on that windswept, hard, cold snow. A stiffer touring ski with more camber and a track groove would work much better- heck I wouldn't be surprised to find that your track XC skis perform better!

That light crust- with sugar snow underneath- and cold temperature- again the Omintracks scales are going to slip. And if that crust is thick enough, the very soft, wide tip of the Epoch is going to float on top of the crust, while the narrower, stiffer waist is going to break through the crust- yuck.

But- who knows- can't hurt to try them!

(An Asnes Combat Nato, or USGI Combat would shred the shit out of those conditions...)

Gareth
Cross-country AND down-hill skiing in the backcountry.
Unashamed to be a "cross-country type" and love skiing down-hill.



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lowangle al
Posts: 2732
Joined: Sat Jan 11, 2014 3:36 pm
Location: Pocono Mts / Chugach Mts
Ski style: BC with focus on downhill perfection
Favorite Skis: powder skis
Favorite boots: Scarpa T4
Occupation: Retired cement mason. Current job is to take my recreation as serious as I did my past employment.

Re: Hi from Alaska and some questions

Post by lowangle al » Thu Jan 18, 2018 11:40 am

AKjohn wrote:
Chisana wrote:Guessing you are in anchorage. I have some gently used excursions, heavily used merrel ultras and a brand new pair of merrel ultras in size 11 here on the kenai if you get down this way.The merrels are leather.
I am in Palmer. Thanks for the offer to check out your boots I typically wear a 10.5. I don't get down your way to often unless work takes me down there. If I do wind up down there I will give you a shout
Hey John, I don't know how much Chisana wants for those new Merrils but if they fit you would have a boot to last a lifetime. They would pair well with narrow double camber skis and also work well with old tele skis that aren't too fat (<80mm) and are easy to find and are cheap at Play it Again Sports.

With Hatcher Pass right up the road from you there will be lots of opportunities to use a variety of gear and the Merrils will facilitate that. They are also a heavy enough boot that I would consider taking on an overnighter. The T4 may also be a good choice but they are 399.00 and not as good for narrow skis and covering distance.



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AKjohn
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Joined: Mon Jan 15, 2018 1:01 pm

Re: Hi from Alaska and some questions

Post by AKjohn » Thu Jan 18, 2018 3:02 pm

lilcliffy wrote:
Well- I will be interested in what you think of the Epoch on snow like you describe- doesn't sound like the Epoch would be much fun in those conditions to be honest. You are definitely going to need more grip than the waxless scales can provide. I would apply grip wax on the tip of that ski, and also consider a set of kicker skins.

The Epoch is going to feel dead and slide all over the place on that windswept, hard, cold snow. A stiffer touring ski with more camber and a track groove would work much better- heck I wouldn't be surprised to find that your track XC skis perform better!

That light crust- with sugar snow underneath- and cold temperature- again the Omintracks scales are going to slip. And if that crust is thick enough, the very soft, wide tip of the Epoch is going to float on top of the crust, while the narrower, stiffer waist is going to break through the crust- yuck.

But- who knows- can't hurt to try them!

(An Asnes Combat Nato, or USGI Combat would shred the shit out of those conditions...)

Gareth
I could be wrong on the snow too. The last few years has been pretty weird compared to years past. We have gotten low snow and high temps. Right now there is more grass than snow in my yard and the temps were closer to 50 than 40.

The windblown stuff I talked about might be the exception rather than the norm. A week prior it was all blizzard conditionsfollowed by a windstorm. So it was probably a timing thing.

It's going to be a learning experience as a lot of these places I haven't had access too before. Figuring out what works might not be the most fun but it is bound to be more fun than sitting at home. These skis will be a lot lighter to carry than my bike if conditions make it so I have to walk.

I have used the USGI skis in ROTC back in college not enough to really mention though, it was only about a 1k loop I was wearing the regulars full leather in insulated army boots. It was cold on my toes.

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User avatar
lilcliffy
Posts: 4112
Joined: Thu Jan 01, 2015 6:20 pm
Location: Stanley, New Brunswick, Canada
Ski style: backcountry Nordic ski touring
Favorite Skis: Asnes Ingstad, Combat Nato, Amundsen, Rabb 68; Altai Kom
Favorite boots: Alpina Alaska BC; Lundhags Expedition; Alfa Skaget XP; Scarpa T4
Occupation: Forestry Professional
Instructor at Maritime College of Forest Technology
Husband, father, farmer and logger

Re: Hi from Alaska and some questions

Post by lilcliffy » Fri Jan 19, 2018 8:08 am

Well- no matter what- please let us know how you make out!
Cross-country AND down-hill skiing in the backcountry.
Unashamed to be a "cross-country type" and love skiing down-hill.



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t-$
Posts: 272
Joined: Sat Dec 02, 2017 7:29 am

Re: Hi from Alaska and some questions

Post by t-$ » Fri Jan 19, 2018 8:50 am

sweet, sounds like you have a full load of exploring on your plate! up hatcher pass i bet would be pretty frackin sweet...no pun intended.

in the whites we had a lot of similar problems to the windblown crusty stuff. down in the trees things would be super cold, soft dust (or completely destroyed by snowmachines), but on top it was nearly impossible to get any sort of grip. there is no waxing for that situation. just grit your teeth and slide across hoping the wind doesn't blow you too far off trail. it just felt like it was eating my skis though, and i hated having to do those short traverses above treeline. but, whatever, it was still fun!

knowing about the usgi's now, i probably would have loved those ski's up there. they are a bit more versatile than the old wax track skis i was on, and they make real nice work of the ultra-crust snowshoe and dog trails i ski most often now. but post up on if you get those merrills, i'd bet they would be awesome too!



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AKjohn
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Joined: Mon Jan 15, 2018 1:01 pm

Re: Hi from Alaska and some questions

Post by AKjohn » Tue Jan 30, 2018 8:02 pm

Well I have a pair of boots, I stopped by a thrift store and they had a newish looking pair of boots that actually fit me. They are the Rossi BC X11's. For $25 they might not be the end all boot for me but they will get me on the skis. Now all I have to do is wait for this wind to die down. 30-50 mph winds are a little more than I want to contend with.Image

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