Telemark Talk / Telemark Tips Forum

I'm thinking about cutting out this afternoon or tomorrow at lunch and hitting some of the snow still up the local canyon. There's actually a lot but it's getting a bit churned from snowmobiles. I'm wondering, of the skis I own (that make sense), which might be the best for a snowmobile track? I'll probably run up there on a motorcycle and will only be able to carry one pair of skis!

Gamme 54
Falketind 62
Rossi BC65
Voile V6 (joking)

Depends quite a lot on terrain and snow… I refrained from exploring a fresh snowmobile track though a ravine last week because there were steep falls where you would have had to side step, if deciding to turn back. The ravine had 50+ cm powder besides the track, where tails and tips of my XC skis got buried. I would have gone through with Altai Hoks class skis, of maybe 125-150 cm length.

if it's fresh-track (not re-frozen/solid ice) - then, Gamme all day long!

If it is iced-over, I have no advice to offer.

I have not taken the FT X on any refrozen sled tracks. Since I’m assuming there are some good turns to be had, that would be my first choice. I don’t know anything about the Rossi, except one former poster stopped using his when he got a T-78.
So based on what I know it’s a balancing act between turns and tracking. If there aren’t many turns Gamme. If you have a nice descent FT X.
I’m sure you’re out by now, hope you’re having fun!

fisheater wrote: ↑

Thu Mar 27, 2025 3:30 pm

I have not taken the FT X on any refrozen sled tracks. Since I’m assuming there are some good turns to be had, that would be my first choice. I don’t know anything about the Rossi, except one former poster stopped using his when he got a T-78.
So based on what I know it’s a balancing act between turns and tracking. If there aren’t many turns Gamme. If you have a nice descent FT X.
I’m sure you’re out by now, hope you’re having fun!

I rode the FT X on some refrozen tracks last year and it was pretty miserable. This is a pretty flat road and it's warmed up so I was hoping it would be soft enough to just get some miles. But, preparation for a few days back east nixed the whole thing and I reckon it'll be melted out by the time I get back, what with the sunshine we've been having. Hoping we get some snow while I'm away. We're supposed to get something falling from the sky.

If it didn’t have sustained downhills Gamme is fantastic. I ski down twisty steep downhills, but mine are less than 200 feet of vertical. For Utah, you might need a Nansen. I’m in Michigan, I should be able to survive the “death stare”, you can tell you wife I strongly recommend a Nansen, just for safety!

If they’re icy or glazed stay out of them. Broke an ankle several years ago when I had a runaway on a mild slope that had a sudden turn at the bottom. Couldn’t get out of the track due to icy/hard snow at the sides.