[Polite Request: Please put any tips about backcountry safety and associated gear elsewhere. Thanks in advance.]
Hoping to get out on more touring outings this winter. So many constraints on lift-serviced skiing - I expect to be dialing back on chair rides. I have a few pieces of gear but not a complete rig. Trying to figure out how to proceed in a way that's in-budget and appropriate for my use cases.
For the sake of simplicity, let's say that a typical day will be an up-and-back on Wildcat, from Carter Notch. If you're not familiar with this well-used route, there is a lot of climbing on the way up, but it's mostly not crazy steep. The lowermost sections are actually part of the Jackson touring center, and are groomed for skate and classic. Higher up, the trail is narrower and steeper, but all along the way there are sections of flat and even slight downhills: the trail was designed for touring, not downhill. Nevertheless there are pitches on the descent that are very much "downhill."
Pieces of gear I already own: adjustable poles; G3 cable tele bindings with lifter plate, Scarpa T2 tele boots. The poles and bindings are known-functional. The boots were a freebie that I haven't actually used, so am iffy on sizing. (They may be a size too big. And the velcro on the sewn-in power strap is shot.) I have used that model of boot before, as a rental. I don't have touring skis, but I am considering turning my Kastle FX 85s into touring boards, if I decide to go for a more all-up then all-down setup. They're not super light, but they are good in mixed ungroomed snow and they do have a tail notch. I do not own any skins.
If the boots were a sure thing, then I would say I was definitely going with a tele rig. Just in case I decide the boots are not going to fly, though, humor me and tell me why I should consider an AT setup rather than tele. I understand the one obvious "pro," which is that I'd be better able to handle and enjoy any serious downhill pitches, since I'm far better at alpine technique than at tele. I guess a companion upside is that if I wanted to ski a lift-service area under my own steam I'd be all set to do that with only minor loss of gear performance on the descents.
What I don't understand, not ever having used AT gear, is how trying to "ski" on flats and uphills in rigid-soled boots could be remotely as comfortable as doing it in boots that bend under the forefoot. As a life-long xc skier this just seems crazy. A different way, maybe, to say this is that I have a feeling that if I go with a configuration that's full skins on smooth bases, with no wax pocket in the camber design - i.e., all up, then all down - I'm going to get really frustrated on the flats and the intervening downhills during ascents. Reverse that for the descents, when there are sections of flat or up. In those sections I'm going to want some glide on the way up, or grip on the way down, respectively.
For this reason I'm considering skis in the general category of the Fischer SBound 98 or 112, that have either fishscales (yuck) or a camber pocket for grip wax. Some of these also have special accommodation for applying proprietary skins when climbs get too steep for the fishscales. I'm aware that skis like this are not well suited to descents on groomed snow at lift-serve areas, but honestly I think if I were going to brave a lift-serve area at all, it would be on a slow weekday and I'd just ride the lift with my regular alpine kit.
When it comes to boots, can people name some models that would be a good fit with this kind of skiing? Obviously fit is personal, so naming ONE model is kind of a dart throw, but if I can get a handle on the weight / stiffness range that knowledgeable people think is appropriate that would be helpful.
While I'm a bit of a gearhead when it comes to "regular" alpine, I'm obviously not well educated in this area, with its continuum of uphill-flat-downhill focus, so all suggestions & leading queries welcome.
Hoping to get out on more touring outings this winter. So many constraints on lift-serviced skiing - I expect to be dialing back on chair rides. I have a few pieces of gear but not a complete rig. Trying to figure out how to proceed in a way that's in-budget and appropriate for my use cases.
For the sake of simplicity, let's say that a typical day will be an up-and-back on Wildcat, from Carter Notch. If you're not familiar with this well-used route, there is a lot of climbing on the way up, but it's mostly not crazy steep. The lowermost sections are actually part of the Jackson touring center, and are groomed for skate and classic. Higher up, the trail is narrower and steeper, but all along the way there are sections of flat and even slight downhills: the trail was designed for touring, not downhill. Nevertheless there are pitches on the descent that are very much "downhill."
Pieces of gear I already own: adjustable poles; G3 cable tele bindings with lifter plate, Scarpa T2 tele boots. The poles and bindings are known-functional. The boots were a freebie that I haven't actually used, so am iffy on sizing. (They may be a size too big. And the velcro on the sewn-in power strap is shot.) I have used that model of boot before, as a rental. I don't have touring skis, but I am considering turning my Kastle FX 85s into touring boards, if I decide to go for a more all-up then all-down setup. They're not super light, but they are good in mixed ungroomed snow and they do have a tail notch. I do not own any skins.
If the boots were a sure thing, then I would say I was definitely going with a tele rig. Just in case I decide the boots are not going to fly, though, humor me and tell me why I should consider an AT setup rather than tele. I understand the one obvious "pro," which is that I'd be better able to handle and enjoy any serious downhill pitches, since I'm far better at alpine technique than at tele. I guess a companion upside is that if I wanted to ski a lift-service area under my own steam I'd be all set to do that with only minor loss of gear performance on the descents.
What I don't understand, not ever having used AT gear, is how trying to "ski" on flats and uphills in rigid-soled boots could be remotely as comfortable as doing it in boots that bend under the forefoot. As a life-long xc skier this just seems crazy. A different way, maybe, to say this is that I have a feeling that if I go with a configuration that's full skins on smooth bases, with no wax pocket in the camber design - i.e., all up, then all down - I'm going to get really frustrated on the flats and the intervening downhills during ascents. Reverse that for the descents, when there are sections of flat or up. In those sections I'm going to want some glide on the way up, or grip on the way down, respectively.
For this reason I'm considering skis in the general category of the Fischer SBound 98 or 112, that have either fishscales (yuck) or a camber pocket for grip wax. Some of these also have special accommodation for applying proprietary skins when climbs get too steep for the fishscales. I'm aware that skis like this are not well suited to descents on groomed snow at lift-serve areas, but honestly I think if I were going to brave a lift-serve area at all, it would be on a slow weekday and I'd just ride the lift with my regular alpine kit.
When it comes to boots, can people name some models that would be a good fit with this kind of skiing? Obviously fit is personal, so naming ONE model is kind of a dart throw, but if I can get a handle on the weight / stiffness range that knowledgeable people think is appropriate that would be helpful.
While I'm a bit of a gearhead when it comes to "regular" alpine, I'm obviously not well educated in this area, with its continuum of uphill-flat-downhill focus, so all suggestions & leading queries welcome.
. No input here, but anxiously awaiting the answer to your essential boot-binding question Tony. I'm interested in the same general concept.
