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#1
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AT Gear
I'm a 6'2" 250 lb alpine skier, who's been trying like hell to get the swing
of tele gear. I have a few pairs of used tele skis with Voiles and G3 bindings, and I'll keep working at it- Although it ain't pretty, I can handle easy slopes on piste and fairly mellow off piste woods. Plus, I like to trek through the woods with rolling terrain in the Adirondacks. However, last year I wanted to ski the Thunderbolt trail on Mt Greylock. So a buddy and I hauled our alpine gear (steeper then I can handle with tele's) on our backs as we snowshoed up. What a pain in the ass- too much crap with me. So now I'm thinking of an easier way, and that is to invest in AT gear. One pair of boots, ditch the shoes, and use the skis to hike up- with skins or fishscales. Here's where I can use some advice- Skis- Prob single camber fishscales, although for where I want to use them, (steeper woods skiing, such as the Thunderbolt, or some slides in the ADK's) skins will prob be needed anyway. Any suggestions? Bindings- I had heard that AT gear may not be tough enough to stand up to a guy my size. So I'm looking for the burliest toughest bindings out there. A few ounces isn't going to make much difference to me. What is out there, and what other options should I look at? Boots- No idea what my options are- Any ski shops in the Upstate NY area that deal with this gear? Thanks for the assistance ! Flip B. |
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#2
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Flip Buttling wrote:
Skis- Prob single camber fishscales, although for where I want to use them, (steeper woods skiing, such as the Thunderbolt, or some slides in the ADK's) skins will prob be needed anyway. Any suggestions? If you'll be using skins anyway then note that fishscales do make a dent in turning ability to some extent. Anything too steep for you to come down on tele gear would probably warrant skins going up. Also fishscales tend to mainly exist on ski models designed for long lines on rolling ground. Steep woods I'd want something turnier than stuff I've seen in fishscales. For the longer, flatter journeys I'd stick with lighter tele gear as the kick 'n stick really helps there. Bindings- I had heard that AT gear may not be tough enough to stand up to a guy my size. There's AT gear and there's AT gear. Dynafits aren't as tough is Fritschi Diamirs, but then OTOH they weigh a whole lot less too. Bearing in mind that things like Diamirs are used on seriously daft descents I don't think your weight should really be a problem if you're doing the sort of thing where fishscales skis are a serious consideration. Boots- No idea what my options are- If you want the lighter, comfy end then the Scarpa F1 might be the thing, assuming you happen to fit Scarpa boots well. Trying things on is the way to find good fit, and beyond that note that boots are available for a range of things, from light but not too technical to heavy but very capable. By example, from Tourlites to Denalis. But whatever you get, try them on first. Pete. -- Peter Clinch University of Dundee Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Medical Physics, Ninewells Hospital Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK net http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/ |
#3
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-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
In article , Peter Clinch wrote: Flip Buttling wrote: Skis- Prob single camber fishscales, although for where I want to use them, (steeper woods skiing, such as the Thunderbolt, or some slides in the ADK's) skins will prob be needed anyway. Any suggestions? _ Depending on how serious you are, you might just start off with a relatively lightweight pair of alpine skis or one of your old pairs of tele boards. For New England, I would shoot for something in the low 70's underfoot and relatively stiff. If you'll be using skins anyway then note that fishscales do make a dent in turning ability to some extent. Anything too steep for you to come down on tele gear would probably warrant skins going up. _ Depends a lot on how good you tele and how many trees there are. You might not be able to go straight up, but I think a really agressive pattern like the Alpina Xterrain might work for most New England trails. Add a pair of kicker skins and ski crampons and you're set. Fishscales have a bad rep for turning because they're most often found on skis with a double camber, it's the camber not the fishscales that makes turning difficult. Also fishscales tend to mainly exist on ski models designed for long lines on rolling ground. Steep woods I'd want something turnier than stuff I've seen in fishscales. For the longer, flatter journeys I'd stick with lighter tele gear as the kick 'n stick really helps there. _ There are a couple exceptions to this rule. The Alpina Xterrain, Fischer's Boundless Crown and I think Atomics Raniers would also fit in this category, but they may be a bit thin for someone that big. If you want to go waxless, I would definitely search out the Alpina Xterrain. That ski is stiff enough to turn well for the beefier skier. I think in general though, if you're focused on making turns that you won't be happy the available waxless skis other than maybe the Xterrain. The Fischer Boundless is a great ski, but it has a soft tele flex than could easily be overpowered by a heavy alpine skier. _ Personally, I think a relatively shallow negative pattern like that on the Fischer Boundless crown should be an option on ANY backcountry ski. IMHO, it has little or no effect on turning and in climates where kick waxing is not feasible, it's an incredible advantage to just be able to climb something when you need to and not mess around with skins. Waxless can't replace skins for the really steep stuff, but I'm definitely considering experimenting with retro grinding a waxless pattern in some of my older skis. Bindings- I had heard that AT gear may not be tough enough to stand up to a guy my size. There's AT gear and there's AT gear. Dynafits aren't as tough is Fritschi Diamirs, but then OTOH they weigh a whole lot less too. Bearing in mind that things like Diamirs are used on seriously daft descents I don't think your weight should really be a problem if you're doing the sort of thing where fishscales skis are a serious consideration. _ If you're the kind of person that breaks stuff, you'll break any AT binding. I think the breakage rate has more to do with how you ski than how much you weigh. I think the problem with Dynafits is not that they break, but that they prerelease when you huck on them. You may also want to consider that most AT bindings have relatively low release levels. If you need more than 8-9 din on your alpine skis then you really only have two choices in the USA, The Fritschi FreeRide or the Naxo. Boots- No idea what my options are- If you want the lighter, comfy end then the Scarpa F1 might be the thing, assuming you happen to fit Scarpa boots well. Trying things on is the way to find good fit, and beyond that note that boots are available for a range of things, from light but not too technical to heavy but very capable. By example, from Tourlites to Denalis. But whatever you get, try them on first. _ Fit, FIT, FIT... These days you can get AT boots in the range from stupid light to beefier than all but the stiffest race Alpine boots. Try and find a shop that carries several different manufacturers so that you can compare. Getting boots that fit is by far the most important thing you can do for BC skiing. In general the quality of all boot manufacturers is pretty high, get the brand that fits you the best. The only boot I would be cautious about is the Rossignol Enduro. I've not heard good things about the whole "soft boot" alpine concept. _ Booker C. Bense -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.2 iQCVAwUBP/7jJmTWTAjn5N/lAQFP/wP/WyhSLPIlZVJB66nulj8xy/Pz1KZHzTzN vqQTtxWtm/xTwgG74GJOKEkO/RFOzE9kBnTHTZL4hzGciFiyIxhXxolVJUFdx4tj Y/v5J5WgtSvXmGN2YIzS8ambca6Vt5yKVwfDn5AVDMqE8yMp8zV9 15pbJGEsrHpI iuYUEASwNWc= =EPU5 -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- |
#4
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Another approach you could consider is to replace whatever bindings
you have on your alpine skis with the Naxo AT binding, get some skins, unbuckle the top two buckles of your downhill boot and skin up with that setup. I was very impressed with the natural stride the Naxo gives you in climbing mode and just toured with a guy who was in alpine boots and claimed they were totally comfortable on long hikes on the skis... |
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