Trail breaking ski

[dave52]

When you're breaking in a new trail what does your experience look like and with what ski?

I'm seeking some more info to see if I should add another ski for more enjoyable trail breaking. My quiver is quite small: Asnes USGI and Asnes Ingstad WL. When off tracking, it very much feels like snowshoeing, and in softer deep snow can be challenging for long outings. In settled snow or when skiing in areas where others having packed it down (from snowshoeing or anything really) it's a breeze, and I can actually kick and glide.

Is the trail blazing workout just part of the grind, are most people breaking trail to enjoy the ride back? I'm in pretty good shape, and after a few miles it can be tough. I was a little more optimistic to what I was hoping my skis to achieve in terms of covering distance and how much effort. Going deep into the sticks was the biggest appeal of this winter sport, IMO.

As far as skis goes, tried doing some homework on the forum here. Sounds like there's multiple factors in determining a good trail breaking skis and floatation. I've been considering adding a Altai Kom 174cm (124/98/119), I'm 6'2" ~195lbs. I'm curious if this is the right path to go down?

[Krummholz]

Hi Dave!

What part of the country are you in? Are you skiing flat, rolling, or mountainous terrain?

I’m in the CO Rockies, flat meadows, steep glacial valleys and lots of deep sugary powder.
Crust in the sun and lightly packed in the trees.

If I’m on the flats or less than 10 deg climb, I have the 200cm USGI. If it starts to slip on a climb I throw on a tip attached 1/2 skin. It is the most efficient ski I have at breaking trail over a distance. If I’m going to do a steep climb I go with my 145 cm Altai Hoks. Think snowshoe with some glide. Steepest climb straight up was 25 degrees. Most of the trails I’m on are hiking trails.

I think part of breaking trail is learning to push the ski up on to the snow, light downward pressure versus using the ski like a snowshoe, picking your foot up and stepping.

Once a trail is broken I go with my SB 98s.

[corlay]

I don't own the USGI - but I plan to.
Was hoping this ski would serve as "trail-breaker" and "crust-buster"...

But another lust of mine is the Peltonen Metsä Step BC,
which is a "Finnish Forest Ski", zero side-cut, and extremely long at up to 270cm.
The philosophy here is a) fairly wide under foot (~70mm) and b) REALLY long for flotation in deep, soft snow.

I'm of the mindset that id rather "go long" for deep snow trail-breaking vs something extremely wide/short like an Altai product, which won't perform like a nordic ski at all...

[connyro]

Another vote for Asnes USGI for trail-breaking.

[Krummholz]

I don't own the USGI - but I plan to.
Was hoping this ski would serve as "trail-breaker" and "crust-buster"...

What the length of your Traverse? It’s a similar width to the USGI, but don’t know if it has the same stiffness / flex and big crust bustin’ tip.

[timpete]

+1 for Asnes USGI, definitely at your weight in 210 cm. I am about 180 lb and this is what I use BC on flat untracked terrain in northern MN. With these skis I often look behind me and admire the track, it almost looks machine groomed. They have a nice high tip, unlike some modern BC skis, which really helps with trailbreaking.

In my experience, you can get some actual kick and glide trailbreaking in up to 5-10" of powder over some transformed or packed snow. This works well for trails that have been skied in before a recent snowfall or windswept lakes, this is where the USGIs will shine over a hybrid or track ski. But, if you are dealing with 36"+ of untransformed powder in the forest, just about any modern ski is going to feel like snowshoeing (which is ok - it's better than not having skis).

I've wondered if super long traditional wooden skis (250cm+) would work better for these conditions, but I've never tried them, they're all up on cabin walls, dammit!

[lowangle al]

When you're breaking in a new trail what does your experience look like and with what ski?

I'm seeking some more info to see if I should add another ski for more enjoyable trail breaking. My quiver is quite small: Asnes USGI and Asnes Ingstad WL. When off tracking, it very much feels like snowshoeing, and in softer deep snow can be challenging for long outings. In settled snow or when skiing in areas where others having packed it down (from snowshoeing or anything really) it's a breeze, and I can actually kick and glide.

Is the trail blazing workout just part of the grind, are most people breaking trail to enjoy the ride back? I'm in pretty good shape, and after a few miles it can be tough. I was a little more optimistic to what I was hoping my skis to achieve in terms of covering distance and how much effort. Going deep into the sticks was the biggest appeal of this winter sport, IMO.

As far as skis goes, tried doing some homework on the forum here. Sounds like there's multiple factors in determining a good trail breaking skis and floatation. I've been considering adding a Altai Kom 174cm (124/98/119), I'm 6'2" ~195lbs. I'm curious if this is the right path to go down?

How deep is deep Dave? 12 to 15 inches or so, from what others have said, the USGI sounds like a good choice. If the soft snow gets over two feet it will probably turn into a blazing workout and a grind regardless of what ski you are on. That's why it's good to be part of a group on those days so you can share trail breaking duties so nobody gets prematurely worn out. On days like that I'll use my widest skis and pick a tour with the shortest distance to get to a hill steep enough to do laps on and reuse the trail I already broke to get to the top. If turns aren't your thing I suggest breaking a short loop that would be fun doing laps around and add more trail breaking on subsequent days when the snow starts to consolidate.




I'm curious if others have an easy time breaking trail with the USGI or Ingstad in those really deep conditions. If not I'd recommend a Kom type ski, because good K&G ain't going to happen in really deep snow anyway IME.

[corlay]

What the length of your Traverse? It’s a similar width to the USGI, but don’t know if it has the same stiffness / flex and big crust bustin’ tip.

The Traverse 78 is passable as a "trail-breaker".
Mine is the longest available: 196cm.
I am 5'10" 85-90kg.

I don't have the USGI in-hand, yet,
but reviews here portray that ski is much stiffer, longitudinally-stable than the Traverse.
I also want an all-wax base option.
And cant beat the price.

Im learning that the Traverse 78 really shines for climbing.
The Crown base is quite proportionally long, and also with an easy-skin attachment for steeper sustained climbs (< 10%); this ski is very capable with regard to "grip" and just average to even below average for "glide". So far this season, I've used it for: a) fresh, deep snow and b) rained-on softened snow (but not yet re-frozen). It's performed well-enough for those uses. I've skiied my Transnordic 66 a whole lot more, and appreciate it's true double-camber, in contrast, for *most* situations.

PS if you all re-read the OP, He already owns the USGI.

[lowangle al]

I think the OPs question was whether to keep using the USGI or getting something different for deep snow trail breaking.

[dave52]

What part of the country are you in? Are you skiing flat, rolling, or mountainous terrain?

I ski mostly in NW Wisconsin, it's a mix or rolling hills and flats. The snow depth doesn't get too wild, ~70" average per year. Typically no more than 4"-6" in when it comes, occasionally get a dump of about 12". So not really facing lots of depth compared to some backcountry seekers on here!

The USGI's I have are in 210cm. They're great when they're great, lol. I find them really heavy compared to my Ingstad for trailbreaking. Crust busting they seem to handle this quite well, depending on how compact snow is beneath crust layer, if the snow below is soft and sinking it can be a real challenge.

Looks like many favor the USGI's, maybe I'm just impatient and am moving too fast when I'm breaking trail, it would be less draining if I slowed it down but I like to cover some ground. I feel like I'm clown shoeing through the snow if the snow hasn't settled much. The Ingstads, IMO, are more enjoyable for deeper fresh snow.

My hope with Altai Kom's is that I'd be able to K&G more while trailbreaking in untouched 6-8" soft snow, not sure if they'd afford this compared to Ingstads.

Thank you for the replies too, I appreciate the input!