Excursion 88 length

[bgregoire]

That's good enough, you won't find longer any way and those 199s are quite rare actually these days. Enjoy.

[ᚠᚨᚱ ᚾᛟᚱᚦ ᛊᚲᛁᛖᚱ]

FWIW, I am 6'2" and roughly 275. I have both the S98 in 189cm and the Excursion 88 in 199cm. If I'm doing rolling terrain then I'm going to reach for the Excursions all day long. They track so much better than the 98's and the extra length gives me enough float to keep the tips above any crust. That said, they aren't shapely enough to take on a prolonged steep decent so if there's serious hills in the forecast, then the 98's win the draw.. hope this helps....

KP

Thanks. I do have pretty frequent descents (if I want them). Just short and steep. It's really a mixed bag which kind makes the 88 attractive. I know there's no ski that does everything well. You just just end up with a ski that's not particularly good at anything and a bit boring. That said, I really do have everything except steep mountain descents and groomed trails in most of my outings.

[lowangle al]

I should say that perhaps I am being too hasty in giving up on waxable skis. I have a number of issues working against me that I should eliminate first. 1st issue was my Combats are too short. 2nd I was using a ramer military binding that tends to catch on every twig and also drags when the skis sink in soft snow. That being said. LilCliffy suggested the gamme 54 or the e99. What would cause you to pick one over the other (a lot depends on availability of course). The e99 can be had for quite a bit less than the 54 so I would lean that way.

The winters in south central Ak. aren't what they used to be for waxing. Up until about ten years ago we only used to get one or two warm spells that only lasted a couple days. Now we get them all the time and I've been using no wax a lot more often. If the temps are pushing 30 I go no wax, I'll wax whenever it's colder. Don't give up on wax.

[kniepisler]

FWIW, I am 6'2" and roughly 275. I have both the S98 in 189cm and the Excursion 88 in 199cm. If I'm doing rolling terrain then I'm going to reach for the Excursions all day long. They track so much better than the 98's and the extra length gives me enough float to keep the tips above any crust. That said, they aren't shapely enough to take on a prolonged steep decent so if there's serious hills in the forecast, then the 98's win the draw.. hope this helps....

KP

Thanks. I do have pretty frequent descents (if I want them). Just short and steep. It's really a mixed bag which kind makes the 88 attractive. I know there's no ski that does everything well. You just just end up with a ski that's not particularly good at anything and a bit boring. That said, I really do have everything except steep mountain descents and groomed trails in most of my outings.

If you play your cards rights, then you can score them really cheap in the off-season. I got mine at Bergs Ski Shop shipped for free for $263.xx in July... They currently have them in stock for $339. https://www.bergsskishop.com/excursion- ... c2654.html

Laters, KP

[ᚠᚨᚱ ᚾᛟᚱᚦ ᛊᚲᛁᛖᚱ]

FWIW, I am 6'2" and roughly 275. I have both the S98 in 189cm and the Excursion 88 in 199cm. If I'm doing rolling terrain then I'm going to reach for the Excursions all day long. They track so much better than the 98's and the extra length gives me enough float to keep the tips above any crust. That said, they aren't shapely enough to take on a prolonged steep decent so if there's serious hills in the forecast, then the 98's win the draw.. hope this helps....

KP

Thanks. I do have pretty frequent descents (if I want them). Just short and steep. It's really a mixed bag which kind makes the 88 attractive. I know there's no ski that does everything well. You just just end up with a ski that's not particularly good at anything and a bit boring. That said, I really do have everything except steep mountain descents and groomed trails in most of my outings.

If you play your cards rights, then you can score them really cheap in the off-season. I got mine at Bergs Ski Shop shipped for free for $263.xx in July... They currently have them in stock for $339. https://www.bergsskishop.com/excursion- ... c2654.html

Laters, KP

That would be nice. Unfortunately, I have nothing suitable to ski on now and I still have months of dark grey winter ahead of me. Need to get out there or I'll lose it. Happens a lot up here.

[ᚠᚨᚱ ᚾᛟᚱᚦ ᛊᚲᛁᛖᚱ]

That's good enough, you won't find longer any way and those 199s are quite rare actually these days. Enjoy.

I ended up getting them. One of the last 2 pairs for $379. Probably not a smoking deal, but at least I've got skis now.

[jyw5]

I had to respond here as I ski up at Hatcher yr round. especially this yr...put almost 100 days at hatcher. Three pairs of skis is what you need. October to Feb, on variable snow and icy packed trail with kibbles and bits, the Asnes Nansen/Skog has enough stiffness for the road run and gold cord basin to high grade. If we get fresh snow over a good base (which hasnt really happened yet this season), the Falketind 62 is great. And lastly, the S112 has been a good all arounder...I especially like the S112 as I can ski April Bowl, Friendship Pass, Gold Cord peak/couloir and Microdot in the late spring/summer. you can see my videos from June/July on that hard crud...not great but doable. I also took the S112s up Snowbird and skiied Spire Saddle and the ridge above the Nunatak in September. The S112s gives you the most time on the snow in AK. I have NNN BC and flimsy leather boots for most of the season. Only use my Alfa Guard Advance boots when the snow is optimal and cold/dry for steep skiing. The S112 is horribly slow on flat terrain but excels on corn and mash potato snow. And tolerable on hard summer refrozen. I keep the ez skins on almost yr round on the up and down except for archangel rd (unless its icy to the gate).

In anchorage, I skiied last season from prospect heights trailhead to powerline pass alot as we have a condo downtown and I would spend at least 2 wkends per month there. The FT62 was really better for this than the S112s. But I think the Nansen/Skog would be even better (just got the Skog last wk) as most of the time, the trail was bumpy and hard/icy.

I have been using the Skog at GPRA and the Willow-Fishhook road run and offtrack. It has done very well on kibble and bits. The road run is a bloody mess right now and I definitely skiied it better than I ever have.

Both the Skog and FT62 are wax skis. Waxless is great for most of the year... Late feb to October. The waxable is great for right now. If you ski alot and you want better performance, this is the way to go.

If I were to choose just 2 skis for Hatcher/Anchorage....I would choose S112/S98 and Nansen/Skog. As you just got the excursion 88, you should look at the Nansen.

I finished 2020 skiing 122 days in 11 months (didnt ski in August....I was very busy). Good conditions...good dry perfect powder and good visibility are rare....like 1 out of 10 days...unless you plan to ski the very best days, you really need a ski for variable snow. I suspect my new Skog can probably even handle the summer skiing...(you can ski steeper slopes in the summer as the snow can sometimes be more forgiving and no avy danger and more light to see where you are going!)...so the Nansen would be great for your weight/height. Those nasty snowmachine tracks laced with deep footprints on many of our trails are difficult but I am surprisingly able to do jump turns down those trails with the Skog as they are so light and stable.

best of luck and Happy New Year.

[ᚠᚨᚱ ᚾᛟᚱᚦ ᛊᚲᛁᛖᚱ]

I had to respond here as I ski up at Hatcher yr round. especially this yr...put almost 100 days at hatcher. Three pairs of skis is what you need. October to Feb, on variable snow and icy packed trail with kibbles and bits, the Asnes Nansen/Skog has enough stiffness for the road run and gold cord basin to high grade. If we get fresh snow over a good base (which hasnt really happened yet this season), the Falketind 62 is great. And lastly, the S112 has been a good all arounder...I especially like the S112 as I can ski April Bowl, Friendship Pass, Gold Cord peak/couloir and Microdot in the late spring/summer. you can see my videos from June/July on that hard crud...not great but doable. I also took the S112s up Snowbird and skiied Spire Saddle and the ridge above the Nunatak in September. The S112s gives you the most time on the snow in AK. I have NNN BC and flimsy leather boots for most of the season. Only use my Alfa Guard Advance boots when the snow is optimal and cold/dry for steep skiing. The S112 is horribly slow on flat terrain but excels on corn and mash potato snow. And tolerable on hard summer refrozen. I keep the ez skins on almost yr round on the up and down except for archangel rd (unless its icy to the gate).

In anchorage, I skiied last season from prospect heights trailhead to powerline pass alot as we have a condo downtown and I would spend at least 2 wkends per month there. The FT62 was really better for this than the S112s. But I think the Nansen/Skog would be even better (just got the Skog last wk) as most of the time, the trail was bumpy and hard/icy.

I have been using the Skog at GPRA and the Willow-Fishhook road run and offtrack. It has done very well on kibble and bits. The road run is a bloody mess right now and I definitely skiied it better than I ever have.

Both the Skog and FT62 are wax skis. Waxless is great for most of the year... Late feb to October. The waxable is great for right now. If you ski alot and you want better performance, this is the way to go.

If I were to choose just 2 skis for Hatcher/Anchorage....I would choose S112/S98 and Nansen/Skog. As you just got the excursion 88, you should look at the Nansen.

I finished 2020 skiing 122 days in 11 months (didnt ski in August....I was very busy). Good conditions...good dry perfect powder and good visibility are rare....like 1 out of 10 days...unless you plan to ski the very best days, you really need a ski for variable snow. I suspect my new Skog can probably even handle the summer skiing...(you can ski steeper slopes in the summer as the snow can sometimes be more forgiving and no avy danger and more light to see where you are going!)...so the Nansen would be great for your weight/height. Those nasty snowmachine tracks laced with deep footprints on many of our trails are difficult but I am surprisingly able to do jump turns down those trails with the Skog as they are so light and stable.

best of luck and Happy New Year.

Thanks for the info. I've taken an avalanche course up at independence mine and I was provide equipment from my guard unit which was just snowshoes. I've skied the groomed trail at independence mine on my skinny track skies, but that's the limit of my experience. I don't have any real BC experience, mostly just breaking trail through forest on whatever old skis were laying around and middling skill in alpine.

[lowangle al]

If you want to try back country skiing just step off the groomer at HP and you have bc snow. I've done laps all day and never left the perimeter of the groomed area. Safe and fun. The above photo was one of those days. Great low angle snow when high up was windblown.

[ᚠᚨᚱ ᚾᛟᚱᚦ ᛊᚲᛁᛖᚱ]

AlaskaJan2010 047.JPG

If you want to try back country skiing just step off the groomer at HP and you have bc snow. I've done laps all day and never left the perimeter of the groomed area. Safe and fun. The above photo was one of those days. Great low angle snow when high up was windblown.

Beautiful. I was up there on snowshoes for an avalanche class and it is pretty cool that there's terrain for pretty much any skill level right off the groomed track.