Ski Advice Dovrefjell

[Jurassic]

Hello Experts!

I'm looking to buy a set of skis for a pulka trek from hut to hut in Dovrefjell, Norway with some friends. 5 to 8 hours daily hikes, covering 10-30 km every day in sometimes hilly terrain. We will avoid too steep slopes or too difficult terrain since we are not experienced XC or XCD skiers. We did something like this before (In Rondane (Norway) and Urho-Kekkonen (Finland)), at that time I rented Madshus Glittertind skis, which were ok I guess.

I'm looking to buy my own gear now and am thinking about an Asnes Nansen (too much sidecut?) or Amundsen (too straight?). (Fischer skis TN66 or 82 are all sold out where I live in Europe by the way; the Asnes brand is more expensive and hence more available it seems). Does any one among you have any advice for a ski fitting the terrain I am talking about? Its moderately hilly (if you avoid the bigger mountain routes, of course), and we will be going at relaxed walking pace (last time we hiked with full length skins on our skis without ever taking them off, which will probably be blasphemy to most of you connoisseurs , but it helped with the pulka-pulling ).

My criteria for the ski:
-Easy to steer. I'm an alpine skier but suck at telemark turning and turning in general with narrow xc skis. Preferably not too long because of this.
- Acceptable for a beginner, taking some XC lessons but not good at downhill (and not really too interested in that except to get down safely). Good stamina from long distance running though, so that's not a problem.
-Compatible with the hilly Dovrefjell terrain (If you guys know what it looks like?), or compatible with a broad range of snow conditions in general and mountain touring (multi-day hikes).
-Good for pulka pulling
-Waxless (yes, yes I know . But for now I'm sticking to scales).
-preferably something I can use in the French / Swiss pre-alps or Jura mountains too

Thank you in advance for your expert advice, and thanks for all your work on this forum. It's very interesting and inspiring! Whenever I read a post, I feel like jumping on a plane towards some frozen wasteland

[Woodserson]

Having your weight and height will help.

It sounds like you already know what you want, and would agree to go for a Fischer ski, due to the very nice scales, since you want a waxless ski. Traverse 78, Excursion 88, would be good to check out, and wider and shorter than the Transnordic 66 or 82 as well. The wider ski would help you when going down hills like in the pre-Alps, Chablais, Jura. The Glittertind and the Transnordic 66 are somewhat similar skis, for your reference. Madshus maybe? But I have no experience with their scaled skis.

As much as I love Asnes, their waxless zone tends to be shorter and requires slightly extra skill to get moving. If, however, you are on a smaller ski the waxless zone will be larger proportionally to the ski, so it might not be too bad-- but again, having your weight and height will help.

Full length skins are totally fine pulka pulling.

Ou es-tu dans le Jura? Je suis Vaudois par naissance/Valaisan de coeur et vie... mais en exil!

[Jurassic]

Je suis à Bienne, en Suisse! I hope your exile is not towards too horrible a place Thank you for your advice. I'm 67 kg, 175 cm. I guess I will be on a smaller type of ski, so the scales will be more proportional then?

Full length skins are totally fine pulka pulling.

Good, I don't feel like a total amateur now:)

[CwmRaider]

Genevois. Now settled in Norway.

This is what Dovrefjell looks like in the mid summer through the eyes of an 8 month old. It was nearly snowing and there were musk oxen and reindeer wandering around. Snøhetta is shrouded in the clouds.

In the winter it is almost always windy, so the snow is often crusty. I assume you'll be there around Easter? Usually weather will be a bit more forgiving. I also assume that you wont be climbing snøhetta with a pulk.

An alternative waxless option to the skis mentioned by Woodserson could be Alpina Discovery 80 if you cannot locate Fischer E88, T78 or tn66 crown.. While pulling a pulk otherwise, skins will be very useful and even short skins could offer more grip than even the best waxless pattern in certain snow conditions.

[randoskier]

Hello Experts!

I'm looking to buy a set of skis for a pulka trek from hut to hut in Dovrefjell, Norway with some friends. 5 to 8 hours daily hikes, covering 10-30 km every day in sometimes hilly terrain. We will avoid too steep slopes or too difficult terrain since we are not experienced XC or XCD skiers. We did something like this before (In Rondane (Norway) and Urho-Kekkonen (Finland)), at that time I rented Madshus Glittertind skis, which were ok I guess.

I'm looking to buy my own gear now and am thinking about an Asnes Nansen (too much sidecut?) or Amundsen (too straight?). (Fischer skis TN66 or 82 are all sold out where I live in Europe by the way; the Asnes brand is more expensive and hence more available it seems). Does any one among you have any advice for a ski fitting the terrain I am talking about? Its moderately hilly (if you avoid the bigger mountain routes, of course), and we will be going at relaxed walking pace (last time we hiked with full length skins on our skis without ever taking them off, which will probably be blasphemy to most of you connoisseurs , but it helped with the pulka-pulling ).

My criteria for the ski:
-Easy to steer. I'm an alpine skier but suck at telemark turning and turning in general with narrow xc skis. Preferably not too long because of this.
- Acceptable for a beginner, taking some XC lessons but not good at downhill (and not really too interested in that except to get down safely). Good stamina from long distance running though, so that's not a problem.
-Compatible with the hilly Dovrefjell terrain (If you guys know what it looks like?), or compatible with a broad range of snow conditions in general and mountain touring (multi-day hikes).
-Good for pulka pulling
-Waxless (yes, yes I know . But for now I'm sticking to scales).
-preferably something I can use in the French / Swiss pre-alps or Jura mountains too

Thank you in advance for your expert advice, and thanks for all your work on this forum. It's very interesting and inspiring! Whenever I read a post, I feel like jumping on a plane towards some frozen wasteland

Telemark Pyrenees who deliver all over Europe has the TN66 in 205cm and the TN82 in both 186cm and 196 cm, They are in stock. Where in Europe are you? What length ski are you looking for?

I know the Dovrefjell, but I have walked there not skied it- if you have some extra time take the Rauma railroad from Dombås to Andalsnes, one of the most scenic train journeys in the world.

Also check the weather on yr.no (pronounced ear dot no) just put in- Dovrefjell. I just looked, a lot of rain mixed in with the snow in the forecast right now. If skiing south or the arctic circle it si always good to have a plan B.

We are planning on sking a 10-day route in Trondelag next month but if it is rain in the forecast we will take the train from Trondheim north to Lønsdal and ski up there (raining in Trondelag right now). This winter seems to be very warm everywhere in Europe, terrible warm here in Italy and Mishkin says its the same in Slovakia. Lets hope it gets about 5 degrees C colder.

[Musk Ox]

We spent three days (two nights) hiking Dovre this summer... we climbed Snøhetta and pitched our tent not far from the Reinheimen huts. We saw literally dozens of muskox (it is always good to commune with your people). It got below freezing at night in late July.

I have a kind of reasonable idea about the terrain but I haven't skied there. Although we've been thinking about it in slightly more than abstract terms as a plan...

You ask about Nansens... I wouldn't hesitate for one second to take my Nansens and a bunch of skins with a pulk. The skins would just stay on from first to last. It seems pretty tailor made for that set up, if there's wind and firmer stuff and the threat of deeper snow. I've never been on a pair of waxless Nansens so I don't know about the Åsnes scales. I know someone who's been to Dovre with Åsnes Ingstads and that seems pretty sensible. Those are the kinds of skis I'd think of.

I think the Fischer Transnordic 88s would be pretty perfect. Maybe even Fischer Transnordic 66 or Gammes or Ouslands if you have the nous and you're thinking of motoring along the frozen rivers and valley bottoms?

I'd prefer to have the Nansens, specifically, because if you don't know 100% what's coming, they're very reassuring. They're easy to control on the steep bits and they're fine for distance and all that.

Musk ox! You might have to zoom in to see them. Snøhetta in the background, about 30km away



Pitch at the foot of Snøhetta



View from the summit

[Woodserson]

My criteria for the ski:
-Easy to steer. I'm an alpine skier but suck at telemark turning and turning in general with narrow xc skis. Preferably not too long because of this.
- Acceptable for a beginner, taking some XC lessons but not good at downhill (and not really too interested in that except to get down safely). Good stamina from long distance running though, so that's not a problem.
-Compatible with the hilly Dovrefjell terrain (If you guys know what it looks like?), or compatible with a broad range of snow conditions in general and mountain touring (multi-day hikes).
-Good for pulka pulling
-Waxless (yes, yes I know . But for now I'm sticking to scales).
-preferably something I can use in the French / Swiss pre-alps or Jura mountains too

I'm 67 kg, 175 cm.

So this eliminates the TN82 which does not have scales.

I would stay short, and wide, with scales, and ability to add a shorter skin if you don't want the full length (steep climbs on a day trip in the pre-Alps, for instance.) So if you get Fischer, buy the EZSkin, buy the X-Skin if you go Asnes. It's worth it!

Like Musk Ox, I like the Fischer Excursion 88 in a 179 or the Traverse 78 in a 176, and I would go for the 88. Slightly wider, slightly more stable. Speed isn't your thing anyway pulling a pulk or going up hills. Skiing in CH during your non-Norway time will favor shorter and wider. A Nansen WL in a 180 could also be a good fit and similar to the Traverse 78, but will the scales be as good? Tough to say. Also-- it may not exist? The weight chart on Asnes only shows 3 WL sizes, there has been confusion about this with no clear answer.

Roelant mentioned the Discovery 80 and that could be another good choice, but no integrated kicker-skin system.

Lots of options. Keep it in the 170-180cm range and 60-70mm underfoot and you should be good.

[Woodserson]

Genevois. Now settled in Norway.

This is what Dovrefjell looks like in the mid summer through the eyes of an 8 month old. It was nearly snowing and there were musk oxen and reindeer wandering around. Snøhetta is shrouded in the clouds.
20210802_103214.jpg

In the winter it is almost always windy, so the snow is often crusty. I assume you'll be there around Easter? Usually weather will be a bit more forgiving. I also assume that you wont be climbing snøhetta with a pulk.

An alternative waxless option to the skis mentioned by Woodserson could be Alpina Discovery 80 if you cannot locate Fischer E88, T78 or tn66 crown.. While pulling a pulk otherwise, skins will be very useful and even short skins could offer more grip than even the best waxless pattern in certain snow conditions.

What a great picture!!!

[randoskier]

You might want to try the Rossignol Positrack 80, it has a notch for full length skins and reportedly decent scales. They are are reasonably priced. Aventure Nordique in Grenoble sells them and they ship skis to Suisse for 20 EUR. They have both the 176 and 186 cm.

Asnes is expensive for one reason- they used to be made in Norway and therefore were expensive to make. Norway is a super-rich country with sky-high labor rates- when they moved their manufacturing to Czech, a lower wage country, they kept their pricing structure and pocketed higher profits. They can do this partly because Norwegians buy most of their output and Norwegian people in my experience don't mind paying high prices for gear and don't fuss much about shopping around. Look at the price of the Fischer Traverse and Excursion in Norway- almost 2x what it costs in France, same ski. Tax does not explain it- VAT (TVA) in France is 20%, it is 25% in Norway. I see last years model Excursion selling for the equivalent of 450 EUR up there. Get your skis before you leave lol.

[Jurassic]

Thanks for all your great advice! It's really helpful. I'll be going end of februari, I'll send a small report and some pictures.