Telemark Talk / Telemark Tips Forum

After researching the Gamme, I think it could be exactly what I'm looking for. I'm a strong intermediate skier, 185 cm and 78 kg, somewhere around 84 kg with ski gear on. I mostly ski mellow terrain in Yellowstone and want a fast backcountry ski that excels with kick and glide performance.

Questions:

I own a pair of 199 cm Traverse 78s and really enjoy skiing them. However, I'm looking for a faster ski that hauls in skier-created tracks, firm spring snow, and in my favorite conditions, 3-4 inches of dry powder over a firm base. How different is the Gamme from the Traverse? I'd eventually like to build a 3 ski quiver with little overlap.

If I prioritize speed, should I get the 200 or 210 cm? Asnes chart suggests the 200, but it seems most tend to size up from the chart.

Thanks for the input!

People do size up on them but they also complain the waxless ones have poor kick. Having poor kick is less efficient then having poor glide IMO.

grizz_bait wrote: ↑

Sat Jan 29, 2022 12:53 pm

If I prioritize speed, should I get the 200 or 210 cm? Asnes chart suggests the 200, but it seems most tend to size up from the chart.

Thanks for the input!

I'm your weight and have the 200s and love them.

It's worth bearing in mind that sizing up to the 210s may mean more whizz on the flats but may make climbing somewhat less efficient.

Im in a similar boat: own the TR78 196 and TN66 205, and am considering an Asnes (waxable) ski for next season.

From reviews Ive read here, the Gamme tends to split the difference between the Admudsen (slightly more flats oriented) and the Svedrup (slightly more steeps oriented)?

But prevailing opinion is: get the waxable version.

This ski will definitely overlap with my TN66, but my ‘66 is the Crown Base version, and the waxable Gamme will certainly offer a different experience.

grizz_bait wrote: ↑

Sat Jan 29, 2022 12:53 pm

If I prioritize speed, should I get the 200 or 210 cm? Asnes chart suggests the 200, but it seems most tend to size up from the chart.

Never skied the T78, so can't offer up anything on the overlap.

But I would definitely recommend sticking to Asnes recommended length on these skis. They're stiff enough that going long would be a detriment unless you are on loose snow all the time. Skiing in packed tracks, or even a couple inches of fresh on top of packed base, and I think it would be counter productive for most folks.

corlay wrote: ↑

Sat Jan 29, 2022 2:24 pm

But prevailing opinion is: get the waxable version.

Just to clarify/ be a nerd/ ski-twat, there is no waxless Gamme.

I’m 190 lbs without a pack, but in clothes. I’m firmly in the middle weight range for a 200 cm Gamme. I have a 210 Gamme, and wouldn’t want it shorter. Why, you ask? Because it skis so easily at 210 cm and it’s fast, just ask my Viszla. She is quite amazed how fast an old man can go. I don’t have any problem climbing with them either.
I ski rolling up and down glacially deposited hills in Michigan. Elevation changes aren’t great, but they can be steep. I really don’t take the Gamme out in deep snow, because I’m using different skis looking for turns. However the Gamme is stabile in deep snow. I’ve missed a turn or two over the years. While the woods weren’t filled in enough to safely ski, they were filled in enough to determine Gamme is stabile in deep snow

I was out on 200cm Gammes today: I'm just over 200 in day trip kit. Glide and kick both were no issue. First time on them, and loved them. I could've gone 10cm longer, but I bought what was available, and Åsnes' recommended. 10cm longer is a less than 5% difference.

I am thinking Alpina Alaskas are overkill for these skis, but I'll fix that in future. I have them for Fischer S Bound Outabound 88s, maybe Falketinds in future.

Conditions were perfect (Kolapore Highlands, Southern Ontario). Last night's snow, skier-packed trail, no ice. In fact I had both skis out for the first time (the Fischer's aren't new, but I recently bought them never-used): the Gammes were much faster, up, level, or down. That's the difference between waxless and waxable, and a decent test, because by some miracle I'd grip-waxed both perfectly (Swix Violet on the Gammes, Vauhti Carrot liquid grip over the Fischer's scales).

I'm inclined to trust the Norwegians at Åsnes about their weight recommendations. I feel there's a bit of dick-measuring going on with longer than recommended skis. Apologize if I'm wrong. We sure did skiing alpine in my youth, before those skis got short and wasp-shaped. Anyway, maybe on straight trails with room to carve I'd want the longer, but these are narrow trails between trees, no room to pick your own path.

Right, so á propos of my previous post, what a good, lighter NNN BC boot than the Alaskas, for my Gammes? Similar quality. Alpina even. No plastic-fantastic, if you please. I know somebody's going to say Snowfields...

Gamme?
From reading on this forum, if there is one Asnes people more often stick to the recommended size, it’s Gamme. The reason many people may choose the recommended length is because with it’s camber and a half or double camber, it needs a certain calculated weight shift to get the skis wax pocket down on the snow to grip and kick.

Different people, with different techniques and different terrain and even snow, may benefit with the longer choice….

(On one type of terrain for example) For Me, ascending, at a certain point in steepness, I tend to use a jogging motion which seems to throw weight down onto that wax pocket for propelling & aids in gong up steeper rises where I see tracks of other skiers herringbone up... -That’s where the card under the ski for sizing, when shopping is helpful. You gotta load the skis wax pocket and if the ski is longer than Your ability to load Gamme’s wax pocket, they may not perform optimally. -& when Gamme’s perform, happiness is all You experience.

For Me, with limited experience and only Fischer E99 195cm’s to compare, about 142 lbs with pack etc, on a 180cm, I feel like I have to stay focused to get good consistent grip and kick and if they were longer, I’d be somewhat screwed. I stay aware and they are fantastic skis. I believe they’ve helped make Me a better skier because they reward good technique and good wax decisions. Figuring it out is a lot of fun too.