I have a "special pair" of Wasatch Overland skis-- old
Fisher Revolutions that are sort of a skate/classic
combo ski with metal edges, about 165cm long. I have
them mounted with Pilot bindings. They are very light
on the way up. I use skins because-- unless you're
John Aalberg-- it's too steep to get up on wax.

And on the way down, especially in a year with old
crusty/icy snow, the metal edges are the difference
between repeated body slams and being able to enjoy
the beer at the end of the race without worrying about
drug interactions with all the ibuprofen you have had
to take to make your quads work again!!

Chris

--- Ken Roberts wrote:
Great to hear about your experience with light gear,
Chris -- and some good
lessons, like keeping skins on for some of the
downhills in mushy snow.

Yes, I remember some photos of the Kings Peak, Utah
trip -- and they're
still up on the web at
www.biochem.utah.edu/~heidi/WMCKingsTour.htm

I imagine some racers put climbing skins on their
skate skis for the Wasatch
Overland -- though the idea of going down Thaynes
Canyon early in the
morning without metal edges still astonished me.

. . . skate skis are generally poor in the
downhill turning department . .
.

Except when compared with classic skis designed for
groomed set tracks.
I've heard some people put grip wax on their skate
skis for backcountry
tours that have hills -- just to avoid the horrible
turning performance of
classic track skis.

Ken








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