Leather boot resort skiing

[Shenanagains]

I have FT 68's, similar to your skis but not the same.

As delivered, they were near impossible to ski on groomed snow even with plastic boots. They would grab near the tips, then the tails, and just oscillate dangerously.

The problem was edge tuning; they were razor sharp from tip to tail... Modern skis generally should be sharp through their cambered length, quite dull where rockered, and with a transition between.

A few minutes with an india stone and my skis now carve or sideslip on demand, with plastic boots or leather. So much better!

So maybe your skis need an edge tune? If you aren't comfortable tuning the edges a downhill ski shop should help, both assessing the current state of tune, as well as correcting them if grossly wrong.

[rhodekill]

That sounds like it might have been part of the issue. I was getting a lot of “vibration” when edging and side slipping was challenging. I think the narrow waist also creates a “learning curve” but maybe if I am able to side slip better I can get past it.

[shikamaroxu]

When it comes to the downhill performance of ski boots, it could be a combination of factors like the narrow waist of the ski and the characteristics of the leather boot.

[greatgt]

Whenever I'm out looking and see Leathers around my size, I get them. Being so ancient i have tried many different skis with leathers but the best feeling ski for me is narrow, double camber and longish. It's so much fun initiating an e99 and waiting for it to come around. Some places that is not a problem of any kind thinking of the Gulf of Slides and Tuckerman's. When in the forest however one has to think differently. First is powder and if its good and powder is almost always good, then I almost always head them down and use the snow and a tweak here and there to slide in between the trees. You initiate the turn but rarely finish it as the skis continue on their slicing journey DOWN. Skinnies coming around in the Bush slow down too much and as long as they are and as deep as the snow is they will not respond well. So even in my dotage heading them down is the ticket. AND it made all the difference. Thanks Frost! TM

[Cannatonic]

I've ridden the lifts a few times with leathers and some basic 3-pin bindings. The Antarctic are really nice leathers, I put many miles on my pair, but to me they're basically a beefy XC boot, they're much softer than the traditional Scarpa, Merrill, Andrews, Alico telemark leathers from the 90's. It's not the skis, it's just the boots are not going to offer enough support for cranking hard turns.

FWIW I've enjoyed lots of tele turns w/ the Antarctic but only on groomed snow or better, nice flat spring corn. Any kind of bumps or cruddy snow and they wouldn't work. Now I actually have a couple pairs of more robust Andrew Shoes boots that hold up better to tougher conditions or bigger skis.

[greatgt]

Sure, would like to get another set of Andrews, a really fine leather boot. destroyed the North Rims and would have gotten anything they made but they kinda faded away. Sad! TM

[fgd135]

I learned to telemark back in the dark ages, with Kastinger leather double tele boots and narrow waisted skis, like Truckers and Kazamas, and so on. Ski width, and ski tuning certainly, have a lot to do with controllability with even stiff leather boots on lift served slopes and everything but very gentle backcountry glissades. The wider your ski, the more torque is required for control and turning, and there's an upper limit to control with a leather boot. This varies with the individual skier, and depends on proper skills in the execution of telemark technique, which is considerably different than the plastic boot tele turn... Paul Parker's tome is the reference for correct technique with leather, btw.
"Perfect practice makes perfect."

[Telerock]

I find on vermont ski area slopes my major issue is “booting out”; when I carve too steep an angle, the 3-pin binding hits the ice or hard snow; I lose the edge, and then the ski slips sideways. One solution is to make gentler turns; a second is to get a ski wider than the binding; a third is to put “lifts” under the binding and boot (I shaped a teflon cutting board to add 5/8” height below the binding and boot).
I ski Asolo Extreme leathers with shaped Razor skis or similar, but ends do vibrate on hard snow and ice.