What are these equipment for?

I got for Xmas:

Atomic TM:X skis

Atomic TM:22 skis

Dynafit TLT Comfort bindings (2 pairs)

Garmont Mega Ride boots

Are all these equipment compatible?

Exactly what kind of skiing are they suitable for?

What is a good place to use this equipment? I'm in Texas.

What kind of poles do I need?



This is not a joke. I'm an experienced cross-country skier and an OK alpine
skier as well. This stuff seems like a cross between the two. Right?

Thanks for enlightening me!



PS. No, I cannot return or sell them but I can exchange or supplement the
equipment. Please don't ask why... :-)

"Peter Steppe" wrote in message
...
I got for Xmas:

Atomic TM:X skis

Atomic TM:22 skis

Dynafit TLT Comfort bindings (2 pairs)

Garmont Mega Ride boots

Are all these equipment compatible?

Exactly what kind of skiing are they suitable for?

What is a good place to use this equipment? I'm in Texas.

What kind of poles do I need?



This is not a joke. I'm an experienced cross-country skier and an OK
alpine skier as well. This stuff seems like a cross between the two.
Right?

Thanks for enlightening me!



PS. No, I cannot return or sell them but I can exchange or supplement the
equipment. Please don't ask why... :-)


This alpine touring gear. Sometimes called randonee gear. It is used for
backcountry skiing away from lift served areas and track-set/groomed Nordic
areas. It's useless in Texas. Send it to me.

BobT

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In article ,
Peter Steppe wrote:
I got for Xmas:

Atomic TM:X skis

Atomic TM:22 skis

Dynafit TLT Comfort bindings (2 pairs)

Garmont Mega Ride boots

Are all these equipment compatible?

_ Yes, somebody likes you a lot.... Those are all very nice
bits of gear. You can learm more about all of them here

http://www.telemarkski.com/html/rvw_gar01_G1703203.html


Exactly what kind of skiing are they suitable for?


_ Climb up a mountain and ski down it. You can use them
as resort skis if you want, in particular that would be
a good setup for places where you hike or climb beyond
the lifts. If you don't bash moguls or huck off cliffs
Dynafits can be a reasonable resort binding.

What is a good place to use this equipment? I'm in Texas.


_ Closest is probably Upper New Mexico, anywhere in the
mountains of Colorado or Utah would be fine as well.

What kind of poles do I need?


_ Regular alpine poles will work fine.


This is not a joke. I'm an experienced cross-country skier and an OK alpine
skier as well. This stuff seems like a cross between the two. Right?


- -Exactly. I'd suggest you check out

http://www.couloirmag.com/resources/faq.htm
http://www.wildsnow.com/
http://www.telemarktips.com/

There's a lot more you need to learn before you can
really use that gear effectively and safely.

_ Booker C. Bense



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"Booker C. Bense"
bbense+rec.skiing.backcountry.Jan.06.05@telemark. slac.stanford.edu wrote
in message ...
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_ Yes, somebody likes you a lot.... Those are all very nice
bits of gear. You can learm more about all of them here

http://www.telemarkski.com/html/rvw_gar01_G1703203.html


Somebody needs company. :-)

_ Climb up a mountain and ski down it. You can use them
as resort skis if you want, in particular that would be
a good setup for places where you hike or climb beyond
the lifts. If you don't bash moguls or huck off cliffs
Dynafits can be a reasonable resort binding.


Are they also intended for backcountry touring where there is deep snow and
no tracks?

What is a good place to use this equipment? I'm in Texas.


_ Closest is probably Upper New Mexico, anywhere in the
mountains of Colorado or Utah would be fine as well.


Close enough for me.

_ Regular alpine poles will work fine.


- -Exactly. I'd suggest you check out

http://www.couloirmag.com/resources/faq.htm
http://www.wildsnow.com/
http://www.telemarktips.com/

There's a lot more you need to learn before you can
really use that gear effectively and safely.


Thanks a million Booker! Where do I start learning? Any ski schools around
for this stuff? Are you talking about the dangers of mountain skiing in
general or is there something tricky about this particular kind of
equipment/style of skiing? I was also thinking about taking a pair with me
when I go trekking to Saariselkä in finnish Lappland in March.

http://www.saariselka.fi/eng/

Thanks again.

"Peter Steppe" wrote in message
...


Thanks a million Booker! Where do I start learning? Any ski schools around
for this stuff? Are you talking about the dangers of mountain skiing in
general or is there something tricky about this particular kind of
equipment/style of skiing? I was also thinking about taking a pair with me
when I go trekking to Saariselkä in finnish Lappland in March.

http://www.saariselka.fi/eng/

Lappland looks pretty flat -- lots of rolling hills. You could get by with
skinny XC skis on trails (and I bet there are a lot of set tracks up there),
maybe wider touring skis in unbroken snow. The skis you got are probably
too heavy and inflexible for touring in Lappland, if you care to keep up
with anybody. Check with a resort up there -- they may be able to rent you
all the stuff you need.

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In article ,
Peter Steppe wrote:


Are they also intended for backcountry touring where there is deep snow and
no tracks?


_ Yes, you can use them for that although the boots anyway are
a bit on the heavy side. Basically, with backcountry skiing
you have to make compromises in gear between going up, across
and down. That gear is really good for going down, reasonable for
up and marginal for across.

_ Or more explictly and very roughly, light and short works best
for climbing up, long and skinny works best for covering ground
and fat and heavy works best for making turns on the way down.

_ You'd need either climbing skins or kick wax and if you're used
to XC gear, it's very slow and heavy for traveling across
the country. It's way more fun on the downhills though,
basically those are Alpine skis that allow you to release
the heel for walking around with.


- -Exactly. I'd suggest you check out

http://www.couloirmag.com/resources/faq.htm
http://www.wildsnow.com/
http://www.telemarktips.com/

There's a lot more you need to learn before you can
really use that gear effectively and safely.


Thanks a million Booker! Where do I start learning? Any ski schools around
for this stuff?

_ Generally, the best place to start would be some kind of
backcountry skiing festival. Most mountain guide services
will offer classes in backcountry skiing. I'm not very familiar
with what's available in Colorado, but I'm sure there are some.
Contact Neptune Mountaineering in Boulder, CO to find out more.
If you're heading anywhere in the Rockies with that gear it
is imperative to get some avalanche education first.

Here's a link I found to the kind of classes you should
consider:

http://www.cmschool.com/avi_skimtn.asp

_ I have no experience with that guiding service, but
the list is very typical of the kinds of classes offered.

_ Another way to started would be to head to somewhere like
Taos that has a lot of hike to ski terrain and seeing if
you like that kind of thing is a relatively controlled
environment.

Are you talking about the dangers of mountain skiing in
general or is there something tricky about this particular kind of
equipment/style of skiing?

_ A little of both, mostly a lot of the first. Between the
couloir FAQ and www.wildsnow.com, I think most of the basics
are covered.

I was also thinking about taking a pair with me
when I go trekking to Saariselkä in finnish Lappland in March.


_ It really depends on the terrain. There is a lot of variablity
in the weight/stiffness of boots and the MegaRides are on the
stiff/heavy end of the scale. Really good for making turns, but
not so good for covering ground. The TM 22 is a great all round
ski and the TM X a good crud/powder ski. Dynafits are the
lightest AT binding available.

_ Booker C. Bense


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"H.W. Stockman" wrote in message
nk.net...
http://www.saariselka.fi/eng/

Lappland looks pretty flat -- lots of rolling hills. You could get by
with
skinny XC skis on trails (and I bet there are a lot of set tracks up
there),
maybe wider touring skis in unbroken snow. The skis you got are probably
too heavy and inflexible for touring in Lappland, if you care to keep up
with anybody. Check with a resort up there -- they may be able to rent
you
all the stuff you need.

In fact, follow your own link to he
http://www.saariselka.fi/eng/skiing.html
http://www.saariselka.fi/eng/skiingtips.html

The terrain is one of gentle rolling hills. The resort has something like
200 km of XC trails, at least 98 with set tracks. There is some downhill,
so you'll have to decide what you want to do (enough to make the Finns
ski-jumping champs). Many of the tracks are illuminated.

I'm sure there is a service to tell you if you can rent gear; I'd be damn
surprised if there were not.

Take a cell phone, and check if you can get coverage on your service;
Finland (Nokia!) has ~ 98% coverage.

[ Booker C. Bense ]

In article ,
Peter Steppe wrote:
What kind of poles do I need?

_ Regular alpine poles will work fine.

In loose snow you want bigger baskets, though, so that the pole
doesn't just go straight through the snow. I really like leather
baskets, but they can be hard to find. Swix makes some that fits on
Gipron poles with a bit of persuation, I was delighted to find a few
weeks ago. You might also want to consider adjustable poles so that
you can hike up with long poles and ski down with short. I hike with
1.35-1.40 m (or more) poles (I XC ski with 1.50), and ski down with
1.23.

But you don't _need_ anything other than your regular alpine poles for
the first few tests of your new gear. :-)


Martin
--
"An ideal world is left as an exercise to the reader."
-Paul Graham, On Lisp

I think I got it. :-)

Looks like this is physically challenging compared to most other forms of
skiing and I can't wait to get started.

YEEEEEHAAAAA!!!

I use Black Diamond telescoping poles with whippets, which are mini ice-axes
built into the grips so you can self arrest if you start sliding on steep
hard snow or ice. Coming from a mountaineering background, these are a huge
psychological belay, as well as effective. www.bdel.com

FWIW, my poles are shorter on the ascent, longer skiing... but everyone
works that out for him.herself

Scott