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Highcountry Skating (was: For inspiration: a truevikingbreaks a record)



 
 
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  #1  
Old August 7th 03, 03:55 AM
Mark
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Default Highcountry Skating (was: For inspiration: a truevikingbreaks a record)

Andrew,

I'll take a hack at your question. Ken and I have somewhat different,
but both very valid, approaches to backcountry skating. As he says,
his perspective is from the frequent visitor. Mine is from someone who
lives in the Sierra, and thus can to be a bit more "patient" in
getting just the right conditions for a backcountry tour on skating
gear. And as i alluded to in an earlier post, those conditions can
change by the day, so "flexibility" in planning is essential.

One reason the corn snow in the Sierra is so good is that you need:
1) A thick snowpack with a higher than average water content
2) Long, Warm days
3) Cold, clear nights
Without both of those elements, the corn just doesn't form, and the
snow isn't firm enough to skate on. It's pretty simple. One cloudy
night and you can forget the corn for the next day. Another reason
skating works in the Sierra is that is a very "friendly" mountain
range, with steep peaks and all, but lots of gentler terrain in
between them. Trying to do this in the Alps, for instance, just
wouldn't work because of the type of mountains. (That's why they call
it ALPINE skiing).

I don't know enough about the terrain and conditions in your area, but
unless you have all 3 of those elements, you probably aren't going to
get good corn snow for skating on. And like I said earlier, unless
it's really steep, metal edges are just overkill.

As far as your turning preference question, it's really quite simple.
You use what you got. Because of the shortness of the skis we often
use, tele turns are a little problematic - Revolutions parallel turn a
little better. That doesn't mean I can't crank a series of tele's when
the conditions are right. I just find parallel more appropriate. I
have friends who are excellent telemark technique skiers who prefer to
tele when they descend. It's whatever floats your boat.

Hope this helps,

Mark

(Andrew Bolger) wrote in message ...
Thanks for taking the trouble to reply Ken, the Sierras sound a great area
but I'm not planning a trip there; if I ever do I'll take your advice and my
ski-touring gear.
I was more interested in checking out the suitability of this gear/technique
combination for British use. My ski-ing is oppurtunistic straight out the
front door stuff, Scottish day tours or telemarking on Alpine pistes. I tend
to use 3 pin bindings and leather boots but the Scottish ski touring scene
seems to be moving inexorably towards heavier kit: plastic boots beefy cable
bindings wide skis etc. . So I am always on the look out for ways of
lightening up. Short skis, metal edges and skate gear sound like they could
be a fun way to tour the plateaux if we ever get that nice hardpack I
remember from years ago...
As for the telemarking question, I'm not sure if I understand your response.
As I'm sure you know telemarking is a bit of a cult, an end in itself, so I
wondered if the skate tourers were devotees.
cheers
andy b

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  #2  
Old August 7th 03, 02:53 PM
Ken Roberts
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Default Highcountry Skating (was: For inspiration: a truevikingbreaks a record)

Andrew Bolger wrote
Short skis, metal edges and skate gear sound
like they could be a fun way to tour the plateaux


Sounds like a fun thing to be ready for. I am amazed at how many days of
"backcountry" skating I've gotten in New York over the years, in the middle
of the winter. The temperatures switch above and below freezing so often
during the winter that surface crust is frequent (but often not with enough
support for skiing). And it surprises me how effective non-metal-edge skate
skis can be for that.

Since you're accustomed to using ski lifts, you might want to consider
trying out your regular skating skis on some very gentle beginner slopes at
a downhill resort in good snow conditions, and find out what's possible on
them. Then think about what slopes at your downhill resort correspond to
what slopes you might encounter out on the plateau, and how you'd get down
them in various snow conditions. A modern high-end skate boot and binding
provide a lot of edging leverage -- more than most of the NNN-BC boots that
I looked at a few years ago.

As for the telemarking question, I'm not sure if I understand your

response.

Just that I've talked with lots of people contemplating a committing Sierra
backcountry traverse, and parallel vs telemark is not a question that's come
up before. I would hope people had enough experience to already know that
techniques worked best for them in a variety of situations.

As I'm sure you know telemarking is a bit of
a cult, so I wondered if the skate tourers were devotees.


Myself, out in the backcountry I'm a "devotee" of having fun exploring and
getting back safe.

Over the years I have found myself less than happy with my experiences out
in real backcountry snow conditions with telemark "devotees" who needed to
prove that they could make their telemark turn work anywhere. Too much time
spent at the bottom of the slope looking up and wondering if the flailing
telemarkers could get down faster if they just took their skis off and
glissaded (or walked down).

Seems to me that modern skate bindings are designed to apply turning torques
with the heel down. They are not designed to withstand strong torques in
the heel-up position.

Ken



 




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