i am 5'9" 165# and i ride the 186... in the new sizing i would go 189, i definitely wouldn't want them shorter, especially for your described application.
but that will probably be too long for your partner, unfortunately.

did my first cold camp this week, in south tahoe bc (between carson pass and big meadow), only about -7C but significantly colder than any thing i've ever slept in. thanks for all the tips-- the snow shelter was especially effective. i was pretty surprised when i crawled in my tent and noticed how m...

I don't know what the guy above is talking about with them being cumbersome at trail breaking, or why an e88 or s98 would be easier to ski in ankle deep snow. yes i've found the wider skis better at breaking trail in deep fresh powder. why wouldn't they be? the 78 still breaks trail just fine, but ...

I have last years t78 in 186 cm. i am 75 kg and 175 cm tall. mounted with xplore. in my experience-- this ski has great tracking and kick and glide in this length. it is not the best turning ski though, in regards to downhill. a ski like the s-bound 98 is better for turns, since it has more sidecut ...

really informative, thank you. a lot of stuff follows my same general hiking ethos. but-- great idea, the hot thermos. and the snow shelter. and yes, i wondered about the loss of insulation from down materials. didn't think of being under a tree. very cool. hoping to do some cold camping here in tah...

@Theme Nice work! Did you heat up your tents with the multifuel stoves? No, we did not. We did not have time to teach this properly to 40 people, and the risk of trouble in such a crowd is quite high as we had varying degrees of winter hiking proficiency in the groups. IMO everybody should first le...

man, I'll never understand the gate keeping nature of the Helmet Klan. After I moved to Tahoe I sent my east coast friend a picture of me skiing, and the very first thing he did was shame me for not having a helmet on. He has been snowboarding his whole life, I only got into skiing a couple of years...

I think, if it's "too much for the flats"... then we can eliminate the grip wax factor-- you've obviously got enough on there to climb. it's likely just skill. when i was first starting i went to a steep hill, and just did repeats-- learning to climb better every time, doing terrible wedge christie ...

Rossi XP-12 could be considered. It's a great boot. Not as good as the Free (I have both now), but a great boot and affordable.

DIG the heels in, weight forward, skis almost pointing up. it takes some learning, and then you'll be surprised what you can climb without skins. the herring bone is important-- it feels like nails on a chalkboard but with some practice you'll get very good at it, and it won't tear your hips and ank...