Ski Review: 2019 Åsnes Gamme 54 BC

Real reviews by real skiers. What a concept! Add your own today. Reviews only please, questions can be posted as replies but new threads looking for opinions should be posted to the main Telemark Talk Forum.
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lilcliffy
Posts: 4112
Joined: Thu Jan 01, 2015 6:20 pm
Location: Stanley, New Brunswick, Canada
Ski style: backcountry Nordic ski touring
Favorite Skis: Asnes Ingstad, Combat Nato, Amundsen, Rabb 68; Altai Kom
Favorite boots: Alpina Alaska BC; Lundhags Expedition; Alfa Skaget XP; Scarpa T4
Occupation: Forestry Professional
Instructor at Maritime College of Forest Technology
Husband, father, farmer and logger

Re: Ski Review: 2019 Åsnes Gamme 54 BC

Post by lilcliffy » Tue Mar 30, 2021 12:17 pm

This season I have been on the Gamme 54 more than any other Nordic touring ski- largely due to less-than-usual snowpack restricting me to trail skiing for most of the season (i.e. there is usually at least 4 months when the snow is so deep that I can ski anywhere and up and down most anything).

I have used the first-gen and current-gen Gamme 54 about equally as I have often had a ski partner that wanted to try the current model.

I love both models of this ski.
There is actually something I like more about the first-gen model- I can't quite describe it...
What I continue to like more about the current model is the how light it feels in steep and tight places.
Cross-country AND down-hill skiing in the backcountry.
Unashamed to be a "cross-country type" and love skiing down-hill.

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CwmRaider
Posts: 594
Joined: Wed May 15, 2019 6:33 am
Location: Subarctic Scandinavian Taiga
Ski style: XC-(D) tinkerer
Favorite Skis: Åsnes FT62 XP, Børge Ousland
Occupation: Very precise measurements of very small quantities.

Re: Ski Review: 2019 Åsnes Gamme 54 BC

Post by CwmRaider » Tue Mar 30, 2021 12:33 pm

lilcliffy wrote:
Tue Mar 30, 2021 7:22 am
fisheater wrote:
Mon Mar 29, 2021 8:24 am
From the photos I see, Norway may just be an XCD touring paradise! I don’t see the thick woods of eastern North America.
Fennoscandia is amazingly far North- further North than Labrador!!!
Norway is mountainous- one wouldn't have to climb very high to get above treeline.
Yes Norway is nearly completely mountainous and spans the same lattitude as Alaska. Only 3% of the surface area is flat enough with enough soil to be farmable. The largest flat areas are mountain plateaux (Hardangervidda, Finnmarksvidda) with rock and arctic tundra. Below the treeline is mainly boreal forest / taiga on a very thin soil cover, and bogs. The treeline is at sea level in the far North, and close to sea level all around the coast. Further from the coast the treeline is a bit higher. Where I live along the fjord it is around 500m. I do like skiing on paths and hiking in the forest though, it is often windy above the treeline.
It also takes forever to go anywhere, as the roads are always curvy. It takes about the same amount of time to drive from Stavanger to Kirkenes as it does from New York to Los Angeles (unless you cross into the flatter terrain of Sweden).
Another fun fact: Norway is the country with the second longest coastline in the world, after Canada...
Sorry for this off topic post, I got a bit excited :) The landscape and nature are the main reasons I moved here in addition to having a job opportunity.



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Stephen
Posts: 1451
Joined: Thu Aug 06, 2020 12:49 am
Location: PNW USA
Ski style: Aspirational Hack
Favorite Skis: Armada Tracer 118 (195), Gamme (210), Ingstad (205), Objective BC (178), Nordica Enforcer 94
Favorite boots: Alfa Guard Advance, Scarpa TX Pro
Occupation: Beyond
6’3” / 191cm — 172# / 78kg, size 47 / 30 mondo

Re: Ski Review: 2019 Åsnes Gamme 54 BC

Post by Stephen » Tue Mar 30, 2021 1:41 pm

Roelant wrote:
Tue Mar 30, 2021 12:33 pm
Sorry for this off topic post, I got a bit excited :) The landscape and nature are the main reasons I moved here...
EDIT
I hope it is ok to say that I don’t think you are really sorry — and you shouldn’t be! :oops:

I don’t think you should be sorry at all.
It’s the passion we have that makes things interesting.
I was happy to learn all you posted, and if someone isn’t interested, they needn’t waste their time reading.

I was fortunate enough to have a two week visit for a sailing championship to Norway and Sweden at 16, and am looking forward to more.
It’s just too bad there’s a 90 day limit for the EU. Would love to spend the winter someplace in the Scandinavian countries.



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jyw5
Posts: 489
Joined: Tue Nov 19, 2019 12:52 am

Re: Ski Review: 2019 Åsnes Gamme 54 BC

Post by jyw5 » Sat Apr 24, 2021 12:21 pm

You guys talked me into getting a Gamme for next season...but I really hope they change the graphics... Gamme looks like a friggin Hobbit. sorry.



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Woodserson
Posts: 2967
Joined: Wed Feb 11, 2015 10:25 am
Location: New Hampshire
Ski style: Bumps, trees, steeps and long woodsy XC tours
Occupation: Confused Turn Farmer

Re: Ski Review: 2019 Åsnes Gamme 54 BC

Post by Woodserson » Sat Apr 24, 2021 6:17 pm

jyw5 wrote:
Sat Apr 24, 2021 12:21 pm
You guys talked me into getting a Gamme for next season...but I really hope they change the graphics... Gamme looks like a friggin Hobbit. sorry.
It's so bad. I can't do it.

Bring back the Green Man!!!



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Musk Ox
Posts: 507
Joined: Sat Jan 19, 2019 7:53 am
Location: North
Ski style: Bad
Favorite Skis: I am a circumpolar mammal
Favorite boots: Hooves
Occupation: Eating lichen, walking about

Re: Ski Review: 2019 Åsnes Gamme 54 BC

Post by Musk Ox » Sun Apr 25, 2021 2:10 am

Wooderson quoth:
It's so bad. I can't do it.

Bring back the Green Man!!!

I don't give an ermine's minge about wide skis with waxless bases.

I am, however, almost personally offended by teal.



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fisheater
Posts: 2509
Joined: Fri Feb 19, 2016 8:06 pm
Location: Oakland County, MI
Ski style: All my own, and age doesn't help
Favorite Skis: Gamme 54, Falketind 62, I hope to add a third soon
Favorite boots: Alpina Alaska, Alico Ski March
Occupation: Construction Manager

Re: Ski Review: 2019 Åsnes Gamme 54 BC

Post by fisheater » Tue Apr 27, 2021 5:36 pm

I am so glad I have the Green Man model! Teal Man looks like he was painted by the same guy that paints Fabio on the covers of romance novels!



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jyw5
Posts: 489
Joined: Tue Nov 19, 2019 12:52 am

Re: Ski Review: 2019 Åsnes Gamme 54 BC

Post by jyw5 » Tue Apr 27, 2021 10:28 pm

Its really too bad...because Gamme 54 sounds like the ski I am missing in my collection...I would be 1 ski closer to having skis for all conditions. lol.

I skiied some amazing crust yesterday...the time from crust to mash was very long...almost 3hrs...and could have gone longer had I gone higher in elevation, but I was tired. The 185cm Skog was tough on the hard refrozen bumpy snow but nailed it when the crust was perfect and still did very well as the snow softened. I could feel the tails of the ski dragging as I think I went about 10cm too long for my purposes... I was still able to make short jump turns on steep terrain...but nothing like Brother Gamme in that video!! I think a short Gamme 54 (170cm) would have been better (?)... in any case, I can't complain, what a fantastic crust season we are having this yr. We might have another week or so of crust skiing...



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fisheater
Posts: 2509
Joined: Fri Feb 19, 2016 8:06 pm
Location: Oakland County, MI
Ski style: All my own, and age doesn't help
Favorite Skis: Gamme 54, Falketind 62, I hope to add a third soon
Favorite boots: Alpina Alaska, Alico Ski March
Occupation: Construction Manager

Re: Ski Review: 2019 Åsnes Gamme 54 BC

Post by fisheater » Wed Apr 28, 2021 9:06 pm

@jyw5
I really like my Gamme, but I don’t really see you posting about crushing miles in hilly terrain. I can make turns on my Gamme, but it’s a truly double cambered ski. I was pretty good at my best, but I don’t know if I would have wanted a Gamme back then to ski your terrain. I know you’re much lighter than I was even in high school, but what about a Skog, or Nansen 10-15 cm longer than your current ski?
I don’t know how a Nansen bends, but I would bet it would bust crud, and still bend in a turn better than Gamme.
I can make nice Tele turns on the Gamme in ideal conditions, a couple inches of soft on a firm base. On a mountain, I don’t think I would be looking for a Gamme for making turns.
Good luck in whatever ski you choose. While I skied steep terrain on big mountains, I was never a mountaineer like you. I guess the reason for my post is that I’m a big fan of the Gamme. I just don’t see where it fits in the type of skiing you generally write about in your posts.



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jyw5
Posts: 489
Joined: Tue Nov 19, 2019 12:52 am

Re: Ski Review: 2019 Åsnes Gamme 54 BC

Post by jyw5 » Thu Apr 29, 2021 3:17 am

fisheater wrote:
Wed Apr 28, 2021 9:06 pm
@jyw5
I really like my Gamme, but I don’t really see you posting about crushing miles in hilly terrain. I can make turns on my Gamme, but it’s a truly double cambered ski. I was pretty good at my best, but I don’t know if I would have wanted a Gamme back then to ski your terrain. I know you’re much lighter than I was even in high school, but what about a Skog, or Nansen 10-15 cm longer than your current ski?
I don’t know how a Nansen bends, but I would bet it would bust crud, and still bend in a turn better than Gamme.
I can make nice Tele turns on the Gamme in ideal conditions, a couple inches of soft on a firm base. On a mountain, I don’t think I would be looking for a Gamme for making turns.
Good luck in whatever ski you choose. While I skied steep terrain on big mountains, I was never a mountaineer like you. I guess the reason for my post is that I’m a big fan of the Gamme. I just don’t see where it fits in the type of skiing you generally write about in your posts.
Thanks for your response and always value your opinions. I fortunately have at least another yr to decide on a new ski as my wife is not very happy about my growing obsession.


Im going to practice more with the Skog 185cm after reviewing several Gamme and telehiro videos. I think I have gotten lazy with my form in the past yr, I do survival ski moves when terrain gets challenging instead of working through it with Barnett style ski techniques. I also cheat and slip and do p turns when it gets steep/difficult ...at first it was in the name of safety...but what im finding is I am doing less and less teleturns, my haphazard unorthodoxed, wild, undisciplined skiing isn't efficient and probably looks pretty bad on video and is probably why I cannot graduate to superstar pornstash skiing like in The Telemark Movie (1987).

I'm going to ski some mash tomorrow on a moderate slope and practice teleturns for a few hrs or until I am tired of the bruises.



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