"You got old gear, man."

[fisheater]

I used to be pretty good. Then after my son was born, for a lot of reasons I had 10 years off (there was a Great Recession). So then about 2012, I had a little cash and my son was a little bit interested in skiing, he was ten. So I picked up a pair of S-112 , my son and I skied occasionally, he never got bit with the skiing bug like me, and I trailed skied while maximizing whatever downhills are available in my Oakland County Michigan glacial moraine. My local ski hills are 300 vertical feet and they are enhanced. However, ski at my local hill, you can rip anywhere in the country. My buddies and I proved that in my younger years.
Back to the point, since 2012 the heaviest, most active gear I have been on is Voile 3-pin Hardwire and T-4. Well, a skiing life change thing happened to me last season at Midwest Telefest. A gray haired woman, my age, blew by me on Tele gear. Lesson learned, I need to go back to the resort, where I can get as many turns in a day as I get all season in my Michigan backcountry. So, after Telefest, I went to the ski hill once a week. I decided that I wanted an a ski designed for the piste. Voile announced that the Transit would come out this year, and I found a new, old stock, F-1Race. The ski is a Summit Cone Pariah 97. Really a mismatch, backcountry boot, backcountry binding, piste ski. Well, at least the ski will be more damp than my poplar/carbon core BC skis.
The punch line, this new gear rips! Buy new gear, and a season pass to the local bump. @Montana St Alum only thought he could spend your money. I’m adding the season pass, we all need reps!
Not to brag, but I’m back! Not bad for 62!

[Montana St Alum]

A gray haired woman, my age, blew by me on Tele gear. Lesson learned, I need to go back to the resort, where I can get as many turns in a day as I get all season in my Michigan backcountry. So Buy new gear, and a season pass to the local bump. @Montana St Alum only thought he could spend your money. I’m adding the season pass, we all need reps!
Not to brag, but I’m back! Not bad for 62!

Aren't reality checks fun?

[fisheater]

I have much improved. Last week I bumped into an alpine skier, who was pretty good, and we start making laps. As we are riding the chair, we see two Telemarkers, smooth as silk, like demo team skiers. A couple chair rides later we get to the too, and the two instructors recognize me and call me over. In 2002, my last year, they didn’t Telemark. They took it up a year later. Let’s call them Jack and Jill, back in the day Jack could mostly outski me, I help my own on the little 45 degree headwell. Jill was much smoother, but I could out ski her. They were both level 2 PSIA. I was too lazy to get Level 1 certified, and nowhere close to a level 2 skier.
So we talk a little bit, and decide to ski. Jill blew by me like I was a beginner. Yeh, the still both ski 5 days a week, but she’s still 60, and she still blew by me.
I may be back, but there’s still a ways to go. Realty checks are a good thing!

[JB TELE]

The new NTN stuff is better for downhill, but the current boots aren't great for touring. Scarpa is coming out with a new NTN boot next year that's lighter with better range of motion. That combined with the new Voile TTS transit binding should be a good, lightweight backcountry downhill option.

If you are just skiing the resort, NTN is better overall but different. Since it's different, that doesn't mean it's going to make you ski better.

[randoskier]

Age is not very important in skiing until it is- so in the meantime don't sweat it just carry on.

Pic. My wife in Austria back when she was 63.

I meet Norwegians all the time who are in their 70s and are skiing and skiing well.

[telerat]

...
4 or 5 days a season will get you nowhere. You need to get on them 4 or 5 days a week.

1 day a week will help greatly, especially if some extra days/afternoons are mixed in. Ski lessons can also help you if can get them. A realistic schedule is better than some dreamy optimal schedule for maximum improvement. If you can link up with someone and have a fixed appointment to go regardless of conditions, you will get out more and improve faster. It does not have to be free heel either, although that is of course the best. Do not forget to have fun when out.

Continue with 75mm. If your T2 are worn, consider getting a new(er) pair. They will likely last you many years. Much have happened on skis in the last two decades and a more modern all-round ski could be nice, but your current should also work very well in ski areas/resorts. Voile Switchback, either regular or X2, would be my first choice if you are going backcountry skiing too as a free pivot helps greatly there. Bindings with pivot point moved rearwards like Switchback X2, 22designs Vice or Axl and the like will feel more like NTN and increase power into the ski. Not everybody like that, but that is a personal preference. I use both NTN with TX/Meidjo and Switchback with old Terminators, and while they feel and perform differently, both setups are enjoyable. And save your Excursions for the backcountry and softer conditions. Good luck.

[Montana St Alum]

One easy thing to do with older skis (or new, even) to improve hardpack performance is to tune your own skis if you have room to do it. Different manufacturers have different tunes. I think Blizzard is 1 degree bottom and either 2 or 3 degrees for the side bevel. Sharp skis of course make a difference. When I get skis, I have them tuned to 1 degree bottom and then I have them machine tuned to 3 degrees (or 87 degrees) of side bevel. Then, when I tune them, I know what my starting point is. I have a base file preset and a side file also preset. You can use any angle you want based on your preferences.

If you want extra points for being obsessive/compulsive, you can put marker pen ink on the sides of the edges so that, as you file them down, you can judge the amount of metal that is removed.

One problem with tuning yourself is that on the side, there is a lot of plastic that is in line with the metal edge. Sharpening is almost impossible if that's the case, unless you remove the plastic first. For that, there's a tool!

$46 on Amazon:

I wasn't able to get a really good tune until I got this. It works well and once you use it for the first time on the sides, you probably won't have to use it again. It can really breathe new life into old skis.

[wabene]

The OP did mention that they had the Mira's tuned and it helped, but they are wondering if a more modern ski might take it to a new level. Piste seulement.

[Montana St Alum]

The OP did mention that they had the Mira's tuned and it helped, but they are wondering if a more modern ski might take it to a new level.

I think it would make a huge difference. The wood fibers over the years must break down, reducing the torsional stiffness and the amount of energy (pop) they can feed back. If you are mostly powder skiing, I don't think it's a big deal. I have powder skis with hundreds of days on them and they're good as new. I have bump skis that have lasted a single season.

Also, new skis do have improvements in design that allow manufacturers to define characteristics better. They are better at separating torsional from longitudinal flex. I have a nice pair of Work Stinx on the wall. I'm not interested in skiing them again.

[JohnSKepler]

I was a lot like you @godsey when, at 53, I moved to Utah in 2019. I had skied off and on since 1989, probably a total of 20 days spread over those decades.

When I started Telemark I spent a lot of time on this forum. There is real wisdom here. Some of these guys know their stuff and their knowledge bears attention. Y'all know who you are!

I decided last year I was going to go with the latest and greatest: Xplore! I went all in. And Xplore is awesome for light duty XC and XCd. I worked hard to learn the Tele turn on this gear, mostly on the Falketind 62, which is a pretty great ski for tele. I shunned the older gear because I'm old and old things suck. Right?

I expanded this year with some old 3-pin boots. After buying three pairs, all for less than half of one pair of Xplore or NTN boots. Took me three pairs to get a good fit because used stock is limited. The Scarpa T-4 boots I picked up locally for $40 fit the best. And... my tele turns instantly improved just like some of the folks here told me it would. Not only that, they tour great. I haven't given up the Xplore, I just use them on tours where they are more appropriate, where they blow the old 3-pin out of the water.

I'm experimenting with the Transit binding now with some old F1 boots I picked up locally for $60. We'll see how it goes.

But, in the end, the secret to great skiing is really quite simple: perfect conditions. That doesn't mean to only go out in perfect conditions but, man, when things are good it doesn't seem to matter what kind of equipment you are on!