Good luck is all I can say! =)

Yer really tackling this new NorCal lifestyle arent you? ;)

I owe you a loooooong email and an apology for the delay. Perhaps over the holidays.

BTW... picked something up in Boulder but am already looking at pinging you with lots of questions on my next step.

Good luck with the back country stuff.

Oh yeah... one more thing.... last year was the year of FTP.... this year is the year of run run run run run run run..... 6+ hours last week.... 2.5 at over 8500 feet. =) The swim and bike will be what they are.... let's see what this run can do!

Talk with you soon.

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36 kona qualifiers 2006-'23 - 3 Kona Podiums - 4 OA IM AG wins - 5 IM AG wins - 18 70.3 AG wins
I ka nana no a 'ike -- by observing, one learns | Kulia i ka nu'u -- strive for excellence
Garmin Glycogen Use App | Garmin Fat Use App

I've never tried the Dynafit system but I've read that they aren't meant for the groomed stuff at resorts or hardcore BC skiing (small cliffs, fallen trees, etc.). Rather, they are made ultra lightweight for heavy-duty multi-day touring and racing. Also, not all boots fit the Dynafit binding. This may not be a concern for you.

Based on what you've said about the type of skiing you'll be doing, I would recommend the Fritschi Freeride. I've owned these and the Naxo; both are excellent quality and constrcuted to take whatever you throw at them. They really aren't that heavy (well, they are compared to the Dyna) and will fit almost any boot.

Which skis are you going with? I love ski talk!

The Dynafit is lighter and less robust than the Fritschi. But, it's almost a pound per foot lighter. Given that I won't be doing the gnarly steep stuff, I put the priority on uphill and flats performance. That said, people ride Dynafit on some nasty terrain. They make a beefed-up model for those folks. It does, of course, lock me into a smaller set of available boots.

I'm looking at the Dynafit Carbon 10 and a Karhu XCD Guide skis. The Carbon 10 is a lightweight, wide ski. The Guide is a cross between a backcountry ski and a crosscountry ski. It has the scaled middle base section of a XC ski, but is wide, with good sidecuts for real downhill skiing. I'm leaning to the Guide right now since it means less fiddling with skins on long rolling traverses and fire road tours. It would chatter on fast downhill, but I don't go down fast anyway.

who the crap steered you away from tele? one pair of boots (scarpa t2s for me) one pair or skis and one pair of bindings and you can do anything you want.

www.telemarktips.com

watch "the best day ever"

Dan
www.aiatriathlon.com

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http://www.aiatriathlon.com

I guess my point was, that unless you're planning to do some heavy duty skinning, the binding weight might not be a factor. It isn't for me and I have heavier boots -- older Lowa Strukturas.

Have you read anything about how well the Dynafits work at the resort? I don't know that I've ever seen anyone using them. If I'm not mistaken, the Dynafits now have a heel lift, right? This is killer feature that I wouldn't go without.

I think you should get some nice fatties. I recently traded in my BD Ethics for some ultra fat 183 Volkl Gotamas. These thing float on the powder. With the exception of snowboarding, there is nothing that describe the way these boards ski.

Dan might be right based on what you've described. If your doing mostly flats and not lots of downhill shredding (not that you couldn't with a telemark setup), telemark could be ideal for you.

Mostly, the people who've seen me at my telemark lesson. ;-)

The ASI (Donner Pass) guys teach a lot of people to tele. After an all-day class, the instructors gave a few of us a heart-to-heart talk: Come up here your usual 6-8 times per winter; practice your tele turns all day. After a few years, you'll be good enough to come on some of our more challenging traverse tours. Or, get some AT gear and you can come with us right now.

I still have the one boot, one binding and one ski setup. I'm just opting for a lighter-duty ski. I also get one boot that I can use for mountaineering, snowshoeing and snowboarding.

As P-Bull said, the Dynafit setup isn't the best thing for resort skiing, but I hate resort skiing. I'll only go there to follow my boys around and watch them snowboard. (Yes -- the Dynafit Comfort binding has three heel lift settings.)

I really did go into this intending to get tele gear (I've got a bit of a purist steak in me), but the ASI guides and the guys at the shop (Marmot in Berkeley) talked me out of it. And -- they're all telemark guys. I do think they're being honest with me and I'm taking their advice to heart.

Ashburn,

I'm guessing that you'll do your touring in Tahoe? And are you going to do more touring or backcountry skiing (eg climbing then skiing)? If so consider mounting up a midfat alpine ski. I hike with a Fritschi binding on a Salomon Pocket Rocket (wider than a midfat). Throw skins on them and they kick ass in Tahoe's show, which has a higher moisture content than just about anywhere else in North America. On pow or spring corn days you'll appreciate a little extra width.

I thought wide skis were a trend until I tried some. There is definately a reason skis have been getting fatter over the last several years. I think they've about reached their practical limit though. Try some out. Rent some 90 or wider skis for a day and make sure you hit some POW. You'll be amazed at how far skiing has come in the last 10 years.

There's no doubt that fat is good, particulary for the type of snow Tahoe gets. On the East Coast I'd be on a different ride but for everything out here, sans bumps and the occasional day of hardpack, they rip. Something in the range of a 100 tip and 80 under foot would be a good dimension for alpine sticks. Not sure about the equivalent for nordic.

That's a good thought. Sierra snow is heavy. I have trouble skiing in the deep heavy stuff as it is. Is that Rocket ski the one with the split tail?

I'm still pondering what ski to get. It seems that I should be looking for something at least 88-90 in the waist...? A lot of the tele/AT skis are ~78 wide. I want it light, too. Dynafit's Freeride Carbon 10 is very light and is 88 wide.

Sure, I completely agree. But you know, I'm 46 and I ain't getting any younger. ;-)

OK, here's what Salomon says about the Pocket Rocket:

"It is no longer enough for aggressive riders to drop into a couloir and ski down," explains Ted Wardlaw, alpine product manager for Salomon North America. "They need to throw a backflip, land it, hit off the side for a 180 then ride out backwards. Today's skiers want to do everything and go everywhere, and we're thrilled to have the ski that allows them to do just that."

Err...that ain't me they're talking about. ;-)

I'm the mountain bike guy that doesn't want suspension because, who the hell needs to descend that fast?

These Goode carbon skis are supposed to rock. Yes, these are snow skis.



You'd be the envy of everyone on these:

I've looked at Goode skis (the BC96). They are $400 more than the Dynafit skis, and weigh only 200g less per ski. I don't know if I can swing the extra bucks. I need some $$ left over for gas and lodging. ;-)

Oh fine. I just love to dream when it is somebody else's money. Thanks for bringing me back to earth.

The Rocket is a couple years old although it might still be in production. It's a blue twin tip, and if I recall the dimensions are 122/90/110 or something like that. It's also very light -- at times almost too much as can deflect and be tossed around in heavy crud. Basically, the wider the ski is underfoot the more it will float and provide a stable platform.

You might holla at The Backcountry up in Tahoe www.thebackcountry.net. Those guys know what's up and might be able to help w/ suggestions.

I'll be heading up there to hike Tallac and around Mt. Rose this winter. PM me if you ever want to get in on some of it.

Ashburn,

I just want to remind you that heavy Tele boots and highly tapered skis are not for XC skiing. If you are planing to spend any significant amount of time in "flat" backcountry terrain and occasional downhille use you should be looking for a touring ski like the Atomic Rainer or Atomic Selkirk http://www.telemarkdown.com/...?page=Touring%20Skis. Also if you are mostly into touring I would go for a leather boot.

Touring skis can be used on the groomed runs at the ski resorts, they have a metal edge and enough taper to perform well on hardpack. They will not be as nice in powder or on days with heavy snow though.

That said, I think you should go all in for a pair of proper Tele skis and hard core plastic boots. Then get a pair of sleek touring skis with XC bindings and light touring boots for your XC days. Don't compromise! Would you go for the compromise commuter bike if you were shopping for a bike?


Sindre

Ash-

One development to be aware of before you decide are the new tele bindings coming out. I'm aware of the Rottefella NTN system which has been rumored for years and apparently will actually be out this spring:
http://www.telemarktips.com/Interview10.html

That binding has the flex point and anchor point under the ball of the foot, and may allow a locked-heel mode. No releasable version until next season, if I remember right.

Black Diamond is also coming out with their own new tele binding standard, which is supposedly free-heel only:
http://www.telemarktips.com/TeleNews60.html
http://www.telemarktips.com/TeleNews80.html
That second article is the most recent and discusses the NTN/BD split and BD's split with Scarpa. Apparently it will be an integrated boot/binding system coming out in 2008, and Garmont is on their side.

Lou Dawson has always been a big Randonee proponent. Here are his articles re. the Dynafit:
http://www.wildsnow.com/articles/dynafit_faq/dynafit-binding-faq-index.html

He also mentions the new tele bindings:
http://www.wildsnow.com/?p=106

I've got a tele setup using Scarpa T2s now and am not fully satisfied at the binding level, and would like to do away with the duckbill toe on the boot for climbing.

Let us know which way you go and how it works out.

Actually, I am leaning most strongly to one of the skis on that linked page -- the Karhu Guide. It's the widest of the touring skis, and is built to accept a Dynafit AT binding. The others only work with XC and tele bindings.

Here's where I'm at: If I could have only one bike, and I wanted to cover the most possible uses, I'd get something like what Rivendell sells. Clearance for nice wide cross purpose tires; upright positioning; bar-end shifters; room for racks; etc. I couldn't win a mountain bike or road race on it, and I couldn't clean the gnarliest slickrock trails. But I could ride pretty much anywhere I wanted, and do it in comfort and at reasonable speed. A double century might be a little slow, but I would still have a nice time. Some might call that bike a compromise, but others might call it versatile.

That's the ski setup I'm after. While I might do some flat touring days with my wife, what I'm really after is going to places that are hard to get to -- like the Donner to Squaw traverse. I want the most versatile setup I can get; and one where I won't get caught under-geared in a bad situation.

Excellent tips and links!

Thanks for that, Tom.