Great turns Eric H!
We here, all know we can and are doing it (ie. downhill on x-country gear, in one form or another), but it's nice when a prominent publication shares with the world that it's possible. Hopefully, it inspires more people to check it out.
Yes, of course, backcountry skiing isn't just one thing. It can be really gratifying to use different gear in different ways. Occasionally I tear myself away from backcountry skiing, to do some track or skate skiing. It's a thrill to move up and along the trails quickly, with continuous forward momentum and flow...JeffXCD wrote: ↑Sat Jul 01, 2023 9:50 am...Why would someone make their life harder? And noting that for sure there'd be more crashes. Well... sliding out in the snow or even high-siding while using light gear is no big deal, it's part of skiing, often part of turns. Who cares. And as for making it harder, I've been trying to get comfy with modern tele gear recently, then took a visit back to my old-time gear and it wasn't harder at all! It flowed easier! It's so light! ...Like one commenter here said: the flexy stuff is easily conformed to whatever you need it to do. A friend warned me before my retro revisit that I was going to confirm that old stuff sucked. That didn't happen! I just started smiling. It was like re-meeting an old friend! ...So there's that...
...and while the most efficient downhill turning is some parallel and nordic step turning...
...it's a hoot to manage some tele turns too, although kind of challenging...
JohnSKepler wrote: ↑Tue Aug 01, 2023 5:23 pm
..."... I don't fully understand why you wouldn't just opt for a proper backcountry setup if you plan on doing some downhill skiing. You don't win anything for making your life harder." Going up or flat is at least half of back country skiing and I simply hate that part in BC gear. Any BC skier who hasn't tried proper XC BC gear just doesn't know what they are missing.
Light & fast is cool. Why aren't we all on skate skis and NNN in the backcountry?! From what I've seen, and certainly this site attests to it, most skiers that are oriented to exploring off-piste skiing end up at least trying a range of light to heavier gear through their skiing "careers". What people commit to - aesthetically or athletically - is usually quite personal.
I'm finding that with the gear that I currently enjoy the most - Altai Kom (98mm UF), hardwires and Excursion/t3/t4 - I am probably getting 2mph and I love it! What I "aspire to", is not to go faster but to just do more, every chance I get.
Plodding along, keeping the sweat down, while taking in and savouring every view, deep breath, chickadee chirp, and Zen moment on the flats and uphills...
Meanwhile, this "heavier" gear allows for discovering every bit of micro-terrain available and squeezing floaty turns out of features and snow conditions that would be virtually impossible to do on lighter/skinnier gear:
Absolutely. It's nice when we can maintain an environment here where everyone can feel comfortable sharing, if they like, what they do.
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