I always ski alone, far from civilization. I really enjoy the woods and the solitude. I like to contemplate the meditative silence of nature. I always say that for me, XCD is half skiing and half mediation. Sure, I do it for the downhill part, but the other half is just for being outside and enjoying God's gift. But yeah, sometimes, I feel like I could use a friend. The thought of having Cecilie skiing with me by my side everywhere really got me into Asnes skis. Very good marketing guys!
I was already looking for a good waxable skinny ski with edges. While I really enjoyed skiing the Glittertinds everywhere on the mountain, the camber is just a bit too stiff for ultimate downhill fun. So I started looking for a waxable version of the Glitts, but with a softer camber and a stiff flex. I knew Asnes was making a red version of the Skogs, but when I saw this year's orange model, I was sold. Alpina Alaskas and Asnes Skogs. Orangies and orangies. Me and Cecilie...
Asnes skis are really hard to find here in North America. And the Cecilie model is pretty much impossible to order or import. I was told by the Canadian distributor in Calgary that they can only order a limited amount of skis, and only once at the beginning of the season. They cannot order anything else after the initial order. Only two places in Canada are selling Asnes skis, none of them had the new Cecilies. Thanks to my friend MikeK, he was able to deal on the phone with Neptune to try to find me a pair. Despite his scientific worldview, he is quite a cool guy. I can't thank him enough. The thing is I didn't want the red 2014-2015 model. I'm very, very picky when it comes to skiing, especially when I drop 400$ on a pair of skis. I wanted the 2015-2015 orange model, with the orange P-Tex (not the black one) and the Cecilie Signature underneath the ski. Here I am, the only guy with Cecilie Skogs Orangies in Canada... (read: the luckiest guy... ; ) Thank you Mike!!!
The skis are *beautiful*. While almost all skis today are made in China, Asnes skis are still made in Norway. I tried to keep that out of my mind, being as neutral as possible, but when you hold Asnes skis in your hands, you realize what is a real high-quality ski. I don't have the right words, but the construction itself is impressive. Even the edges come already razor-sharp, something I have never seen before in a new pair of skis.
Yep, it's a girl ski. And it's a good thing, because I like girls, and I like skis:
Cecilie BC was developed in collaboration with the adventurer and ambassador Cecilie Skog. The sidecut and width makes the ski easy to turn and secures good flow abilities. It has solid steel edges and a moderate wax pocket adapted for girls. Optimized back country ski for girls who are fond of hiking or nordic touring, and it is delivered with Åsnes patented skinlock.
I skied them everywhere. Groomed tracks, bottomless powder, steep BC, even on the steeps and the moguls at the downhill ski resort. Always on NNN-BC and Alaskas of course. They are definitely becoming my to-go ski. They are very easy to turn, much easier than the Glittertinds. They really grip on hard pack and groomers, I can almost carve them, and at the same time, they have a nice flex for deep powder. Did I mention they are beautiful? Me and Cecilie, I think it's forever.
I don't know if my waxing skills got really good after all these years, but gosh, those skis are FAST!!! Maybe the bases were structured to match the cold Norwegian snow, but they are definitely the fastest skis I ever tried. Maybe at 160lbs, they just have the perfect K&G camber for me. I bought the longest available model at 190cm. I could use another 10-15cm if they were available.
Oh, I have to admit something else too. After playing with Fischer's EasySkins, I somehow got back into the skin thing. With my old kicker skins, you would still have to mess around with a strap to fix the skin around your skis. But it's so easy with integrated skins that I find it almost fun, almost worth carrying them around. Asnes SkinLock integrated skin system looks even better. Unfortunately, I didn't buy the skins, but surprisingly, I'm pretty sure I will before the end of the season.
10/10, Perfect score. Seriously, how could a XCD setup possibly be sexier than this?
