Recommendation for XCd ski for central Alberta foothills

[Genoah77]

Hi everyone,

I'm new here, and I'm very thankful for the expertise, detail, and passion of all of you posters!

I am looking for ski recommendations. I do feel quite lost in all the options, so perhaps you could help me out!

I'm looking to mostly ski off trail on level or gently sloping ground, but occasionally do some hills if necessary, and some occasional track skiing with the family (basically a jack of all trades ski, which seems to make sense for the first ski). As far as I know the snow here is quite dry except for spring skiing (and our recent blizzard dump this weekend. Went on an awesome snowy hike, felt like it was December already!)

I weigh 160 lbs and am 5'10. Also I might occasionally bring a 10-20 lbs backpack or so.

I also just graduated from university and the budget is tight, so it seems that Madshus would be a good pick. I saw lilcliffy mention that Madshus seems to have discontinued the Annum, and when I looked on their website I couldn't find the Eon nor the Epoch either! I guess they're being replaced?

I might go down to the Norseman in Calgary, but I'm not sure that my budget can handle it. Anyways, any suggestions are welcome

[lilcliffy]

Welcome, Genoah77!

Let us see if we can help you out- and hopefully not overwhelm you!

I am looking for ski recommendations. I do feel quite lost in all the options, so perhaps you could help me out!

The Nordic touring spectrum is incredibly wide and deep- from high-performance groomed-track skiing- to big mtn downhill skiing- and everyhting in between!

I'm looking to mostly ski off trail on level or gently sloping ground, but occasionally do some hills if necessary, and some occasional track skiing with the family (basically a jack of all trades ski, which seems to make sense for the first ski). As far as I know the snow here is quite dry except for spring skiing (and our recent blizzard dump this weekend. Went on an awesome snowy hike, felt like it was December already!)

1) Cold dry snow= grip/kick wax wonderland.
2) If you want a ski that will fit in a groomed track then it needs to be less than 70mm. Theoretically skis like the Gamme 54 and the Amundsen "fit" in a track, but reports suggest that at 67-68mm at the tip their stiff, metal edges catch- annoyingly- on the edges of the track.
- The Fischer E99 Tour is 66mm at the tip- has a very soft tip, without a full-wrap steel edge.
- The Asnes Borge Ousland BC is 66mm at the tip as well.

Skis in this class are the classic versatile distance-oriented backcountry Nordic touring ski.

*****If you are on a budget you should be able to find super deals on second-hand skis in this class.

I also just graduated from university and the budget is tight, so it seems that Madshus would be a good pick. I saw lilcliffy mention that Madshus seems to have discontinued the Annum, and when I looked on their website I couldn't find the Eon nor the Epoch either! I guess they're being replaced?

The new Madshus "Panorama" ski has the same sidecut profile as the Eon/XCD GT- though it sounds like it is less cambered with an "alpine" camber. Even this ski is much too wide to fit in a groomed track.
There seems to be a number of other options in the Madshus line that would fit in the track.

[Genoah77]

From what I've seen skis that are less than 70 mm won't do well in deep snow. Is that correct?

So if that's the case, fitting in the track is not so much of a concern.

[greatgt]

E99's used to have a waist of 55....they kill powder you just have to ski in a different way... New E 99's don't have full wrap?????? Bummer will seek out some used to make sure I don't run out....Genoah sounds like your gonna cruise a lot..99's are the best selling ski of all time....Slightly used ones are seriously cheap with pins attached....get good on them and any ski you purchase afterwards is gonna be EASY....TM

[Nitram Tocrut]

From what I've seen skis that are less than 70 mm won't do well in deep snow. Is that correct?

So if that's the case, fitting in the track is not so much of a concern.

An old pair of E99 have been the only backcountry skis I had for over 20 years before I got the Åsnes fevar

I skied them in all conditions with light leather boots from groomed tracks to 1-2 foot of fresh snow, on crust, etc. and they always got the job done. The only thing was that they were really slow in groomed track so I bought a pit of very skinny Salomon (44 mm at the tip) for when I wanted to workout and go fast.

There must be a lot of used ones on the market, I bought 3 used pairs over the years when I was a student, and I would probably buy more if I see one .

You can’t go wrong with those, well for the older model for sure because they must be different then more recent ones.

Welcome aboard and be warned that frequenting this forum will surely lead to compulsive buying of skis!!!

You have been earned

[Nitram Tocrut]

From what I've seen skis that are less than 70 mm won't do well in deep snow. Is that correct?

So if that's the case, fitting in the track is not so much of a concern.
[/quot
You have been earned

I meant to write « you have been warned... » I hate those keyboard thinking for us

[lilcliffy]

From what I've seen skis that are less than 70 mm won't do well in deep snow. Is that correct?

So if that's the case, fitting in the track is not so much of a concern.

Sorry- I misunderstood your OP- thought you wanted to be able to use this ski on the track.

What do you mean by a ski not doing "well" in deep snow? Flotation? Stability? Downhill performance? XC performance?
There are lots of BC skis less than 70mm underfoot that are very stable in deep snow.

[Genoah77]

Haha thanks for the warning Nitram, I will do my best to resist

I see, so the older E99 (pre Xtralite?) is the better ski?

Is the new E99 still passable?

[Genoah77]

Well, I am wanting to ski some track because I think I can only get my family to go for that type of outing. But what I found out is that a local guy has some old style wooden XC skis for a great deal, so I might use those for track skiing and buy another set for backcountry outings. I will try to find out what kind of wood ski they are and perhaps you can advise me on their quality!

As for narrow skis not doing well in deep snow, I gleaned from the forums that they have less flotation. But I think I saw that some skis make up for that with good stability and tracking under the snow?

[lilcliffy]

Haha thanks for the warning Nitram, I will do my best to resist

I see, so the older E99 (pre Xtralite?) is the better ski?

Is the new E99 still passable?

I have the current E99 Xtralite- I think it is an excellent ski- and is much more versatile and stable than its wider sibling the E109 Xtralite. The current E109 is definitely easier to turn than the E99, but the E99 is actually more stable in deep snow than the E109- despite the E109 being wider.