New rant... Backcountry/wide skis and telemarkers

[MSU Alum]

I never skied anything so firm. Same week every year, the week that spanned February into March.

Thanks. Yeah, we had a couple of winters without big powder days....right after I bought big powder skis! Figures.

[twopass]

Paul Parker once wrote nobody needed anything wider than 80mm at the waist for any conditions or some such thing.

I got some almost new CR 112's 80 waist I thinkin' will make great resort boards. amiright?

[lowangle al]

That's about the width I'd be looking to use for resort groomers, especially with my T4s. I'm looking forward to skiing a more narrow ski at the resort but I'm still happy with wide ones for the bc.

[jyw5]

oh yeah, I remember one of my best friends rocking the neon-pink Authiers back in the day.....you make a good point about hopes & dreams - people are buying the skis they would use if they were skiing big faces in Alaska, not groomers & bumps at the local hill

It's a blizzard outside, so I will resurrect this discussion.

I have the Rossignol S7 with 110mm underfoot. Im only 5ft8in at no more than 150lbs with clothes/gear. I ski like a champ on these. If you watch me on my Nansen, you would think I just started skiing yesterday.

Fat skis have their place.

It's a tale of two skiiers. I see alot of people on skis not less than 95mm. I also see alot of skiiers on skis not more than 60mm. Not too many are in between.

My Rossi S7 powers through all that crud and I can ski steep lines through trees, couloirs, and hop spring icy hard pack moguls. But as I miserably found out a few yrs ago, they failed badly on a wind and suncrusted Alaskan glacier. I had to take the skis off and walk...and get yelled at by my friend who flew me in.

There's nothing wrong with fat skis if you are willing to carry the weight. Also, when its been dumping bottomless dry powder and getting windloaded by 60mph winds (like today in Alaska), fat skis and splitboards just work.

At a ski resort, fat skis work great all over the mountain -- just as advertised. I like to warm up on a few groomers then have a 2hr champagne and white wine lunches or a few beers with my wife and friends then slide down effortlessly on a few double blacks in the afternoon. Can't even begin to do that on any other setup. And honestly, 99% of skiiers would never be able to even cover 10% of a ski resort if you forced them to ski on 54mm Asnes skis!! They made these skis for the masses. I don't like that ski resorts and the backcountry have gotten so crowded because of this advanced technology...but I also cannot be that upset because the same tech has allowed me to climb and ski mountains that were limited to experts 50yrs ago.

If you have been reading my posts, you already know, I have like 7 pairs of skinny light weight skis. I would love to use a few of them at a ski resort...but the experience on those skis are entirely different than the S7. I embrace skis of all shapes and sizes.

[Woodserson]

I've got skis 110 under. For sure there's a place.

But look at the DPS Pagoda... 105? 110? It's a stiff as a 4*4. The flex is tuned for skiing groomers but on a powder chassis, meaning pasty-faced-office-dad will feel core with these on his feet but they will do him little service on either the groomed or in the powder. It's crazy making.

[jyw5]

I've got skis 110 under. For sure there's a place.

But look at the DPS Pagoda... 105? 110? It's a stiff as a 4*4. The flex is tuned for skiing groomers but on a powder chassis, meaning pasty-faced-office-dad will feel core with these on his feet but they will do him little service on either the groomed or in the powder. It's crazy making.

wow. i didnt know that. i haven't looked at wide skis in 5 yrs. There are admitting a shitload of posers out there. SMH every friggin day. lol

[Stephen]

But look at the DPS Pagoda... 105?

But they’re expensive, so they gotta be good, right?

[Woodserson]

But look at the DPS Pagoda... 105?

But they’re expensive, so they gotta be good, right?

The mind boggles at the price tag. Boggles.

[Stephen]

.
I should be doing something productive….

[riel]

But look at the DPS Pagoda... 105?

But they’re expensive, so they gotta be good, right?

The mind boggles at the price tag. Boggles.

It's like their sole purpose in life is making our Asnes skis look cheap.