VT woods setup?

[lowangle al]

Those boots are not only worn out but they don't look like they were a heavy duty model to begin with. I don't think you will be skiing any tight trees with them.

I wouldn't invest too much in skis until you decide on a new boot.

What AT ski are you using to ski trees with currently? If you want to ski them the same way with tele gear, you're going to want a similar ski and light plastic boot.

[greatgt]

As skinny as you can go....As long as you can go.....As doubled cambered as you can go....Going down on that stuff is IN the snow not surfatizing on the top....A very different experience and a different way of Doing the Nordic turn....many of us here rarely head to an Alpine area as the goods are so sweet in the bush.....With this kind of equipment you are mostly heading down with longer head them down arcs.....It's different but wicked good....The feeeel is out of this world.....At my age it's about being out there in the gonz and getting a few arcs that leave you breathless and a huge grin on your face.......TM

[wrsamuels]

That was my fear re: the boot. I am pretty aware of the relationship between boots and skis when it comes to control. I think I need to get more specific with the direction I want to go in.

My AT setup is dynafit hoji free boot, so hard-charging. Marker alpinist with Volkl blaze, so a turny, ripping ski. Very light setup (for AT), but built for the hard-charging down. I could easily use this set-up to accomplish what I am looking for, but it is overkill. I am also not looking to ski the same with tele/xcd gear. The goal would be to make the same terrain a different experience/challenge.

I also think it is important to recognize the snow that we get here in New England - we don't get much and we don't get it often, so conditions are often not soft or deep. The vast majority of the time, the snow is going to be crap. Also given my typical windows of time, I am likely going to be just stopping around the woods - not necessarily skiing a specific objective or aiming for a specific downhill. Part of my issue is that I am biased towards the downhill, so have found myself in this exploration process continually hedging for stiffer, more sidecut, and shorter.

I think my original vision is a bit romantic - I am imagining gaiters, wool pants (not really) and cartwheels in the snow. My dad used to ski these leather boots with a pair of 205 waxable, metal edge Rossi's when we were kids - on the ice of New England mountains. Maybe I just use his old setup and learn a little waxing...

I guess I am thinking I need to be in between the two above scenarios - I do not want to replicate my AT gear, but I also don't think my dad's old rossi's are the ticket (mainly because of wax). In this case, we are likely talking about the skis most of you have mentioned - ingstad, S-bound, annum, etc. I think if I needed to retire the old, beat Asolo leather boots, I would hedge toward an Alaska 75 vs. going plastic...

Do any of you east coast folks, have a similar kick-around-the-woods setup? Is it similar to what I am homing in on?

Those boots are not only worn out but they don't look like they were a heavy duty model to begin with. I don't think you will be skiing any tight trees with them.

I wouldn't invest too much in skis until you decide on a new boot.

What AT ski are you using to ski trees with currently? If you want to ski them the same way with tele gear, you're going to want a similar ski and light plastic boot.

[riel]

I guess I am thinking I need to be in between the two above scenarios - I do not want to replicate my AT gear, but I also don't think my dad's old rossi's are the ticket (mainly because of wax). In this case, we are likely talking about the skis most of you have mentioned - ingstad, S-bound, annum, etc. I think if I needed to retire the old, beat Asolo leather boots, I would hedge toward an Alaska 75 vs. going plastic...

Do any of you east coast folks, have a similar kick-around-the-woods setup? Is it similar to what I am homing in on?

It all depends on the skiing. I'm over in NH, and in many places the trees are so close together the best option is to ski on (low angle) hiking trails, like the trail out from Zealand Hut:



For the low angle woods skiing around here, I would probably use my Ingstads, Storetinds, or Altai Hoks. If I did steeper terrain, I would probably have either Altai Kom or Voile V6 BC skis for that...

[corlay]

like the trail out from Zealand Hut:

riel: nice video!

Im in central NY, and the skiing depicted in this vid is very much like the skiing I do, also.
Only exception is the trails I frequent are a lot less traveled, and thus not quite as tracked/consolidated as in your video.

My ski choices for this, are:
Gamme/Transnordic (E99) when snow is less deep/more consolidated.
Traverse when snow is more deep/less consolidated.
Madshus Birke Beiner when terrain is mostly open/rolling (think golf courses, railroad grades, etc.)

And thinking real hard about picking up a *long* (250-270cm) "forest ski" this season for that occasional dumping of snow, before any trails are tracked. (I think they will be a hoot!)

Note: All the skiis above prioritize kick-and-glide efficiency over downhill turns.

[turnfarmer]

I’m pretty sure that is an Asolo Snowfield boot. A Snowfield was my first Tele boot. Bumping up to an Extreme immediately made me a much better skier.

[jalp]

There are a lot of good ski recommendations in this thread. However, hearing that you expect more variable/hard packed/icy conditions, I'd probably avoid a few of them.

I'm in the mountain west and so I can usually count on soft powder or at least moveable snow conditions for most of the winter. For variable/ice/hard, I'll recommend avoiding 2 of my personal favorite skis: 10th mountain/Epoch and also the V6. My opinions below apply mostly to downhill turns.

The 10th Mt/Epoch are amazing in their element, unfortunately hard pack and icy conditions aren't it. They are pretty soft flexing especially in the tips and tend to flop and chatter wildly on hard pack. In powder over consolidated base or spring conditions they are a blast. Mine at 195 cm, would be a touch long for some tastes in trees, but they do turn easily enough and I can usually make it work. I would, in hard packed conditions much rather be on my Storetinds (180cm) or, on the wider side, G3 Stingers (172cm). Unfortunately, neither of these skis are being made anymore. The 10th and Storetind are mounted with Super Telemark Cable bindings, paired with Alaska 75 boots. My G3 Stingers are mounted with Switchbacks and skied with Excursion boots.

I'm so impressed with the V6 BC, just think turn, and they turn. I've only had them out about 6 times so far. They'd be my first choice for powder turns in trees. Mine are mounted with Switchback X2 and I'm using Garmont Excursions. On hard pack and ice, they ski really short, like super short. With the V6 rocker profile, there's not much running length/edge to work with on hardpack. I did a comparison of these to my KOMs. I was kind of surprised with what I found regarding running length.

Voile V6 BC 173cm: Running length is about 107cm

Altai Kom 162cm: Running length about 112cm

So, wow. The Kom, even at 11cm shorter than my V6, actually has a longer running surface. I personally would prefer the Kom over the V6 for variable conditions and suspect that performance would be even better at a longer length than I have. It could just be my lack of experience combined with shitty technique, but I prefer having more ski and edge on the snow when conditions get firm.

I hope that I'm not totally off base with my conclusions above. I'd hate to be giving bad advice. Those with more experience, please feel free to jump in and debunk my bullshit!

[lowangle al]

My guess is that the Extreme wouldn't have broke down and wore out so bad.




I guess I am thinking I need to be in between the two above scenarios - I do not want to replicate my AT gear, but I also don't think my dad's old rossi's are the ticket (mainly because of wax). In this case, we are likely talking about the skis most of you have mentioned - ingstad, S-bound, annum, etc. I think if I needed to retire the old, beat Asolo leather boots, I would hedge toward an Alaska 75 vs. going plastic...

Do any of you east coast folks, have a similar kick-around-the-woods setup? Is it similar to what I am homing in on?
[/quote]
[/quote]

It may seem that you are replicating your AT setup but the big difference is you will be Nordic skiing not Alpine touring, and that is where the beauty lies. Imagine kicking and gliding enjoying the nordic tour and then charge hard on the downhill with the same capability(almost) as your AT gear. The best of both worlds.

[fisheater]

I also think it is important to recognize the snow that we get here in New England - we don't get much and we don't get it often, so conditions are often not soft or deep. The vast majority of the time, the snow is going to be crap. Also given my typical windows of time, I am likely going to be just stopping around the woods - not necessarily skiing a specific objective or aiming for a specific downhill. Part of my issue is that I am biased towards the downhill, so have found myself in this exploration process continually hedging for stiffer, more sidecut, and shorter.

I think my original vision is a bit romantic - I am imagining gaiters, wool pants (not really) and cartwheels in the snow. My dad used to ski these leather boots with a pair of 205 waxable, metal edge Rossi's when we were kids - on the ice of New England mountains. Maybe I just use his old setup and learn a little waxing...

I guess I am thinking I need to be in between the two above scenarios - I do not want to replicate my AT gear, but I also don't think my dad's old rossi's are the ticket (mainly because of wax). In this case, we are likely talking about the skis most of you have mentioned - ingstad, S-bound, annum, etc. I think if I needed to retire the old, beat Asolo leather boots, I would hedge toward an Alaska 75 vs. going plastic...


Okay, 1rst thing there’s nothing wrong with wool pants! I do a lot of skiing in wool pants, they breath, they’re comfortable, and I can’t remember when I got wet wearing them.
I have 3 pair of 75 mm boots, the Alaska 75 gets probably the most use. The biggest reason it is getting used more is the Rotte ST with cable binding. I purchased the ST to grip the thinner duckbill of the Alaska 75 boot, which it does well. However my initial impression of the ST cable was not favorable. I actually thought about grinding a pair of Voile 3P cables to fit the ST binding. Fortunately I tried the Rotte cables, the difference they made with the Alaska 75 was amazing! The cable itself is laterally stiff, I adjust the spring tension to the absolute minimum. Use of the cable is dictated by the tur. While I think my Alaska BC is actually a more powerful downhill boot than my Alaska 75 bare, that cable makes an immense difference. Quite frankly I am using my heavier leather Alico Ski March surplus boot much less. The Alaska is lighter and more comfortable.
Whatever ski you decide on, if you go Alaska 75, the Rottefella Super Telemark binding will clamp down on that particular duckbill much better than a Voile 3 pin will. Nothing against Voile, different tools for different uses. I recommend the ST cable, it makes a huge difference downhill.

[phoenix]

I'm really fond of my Voile Objective's for just what you're describing. Been here in VTfor 20 years, over in the ADK's for 20 before that, so I've got a fair idea what the skiing's like. I still have a pair of old Karhu XCD GT's, which have been my choice for decades. Still used frequently. But, I think the Objective's are closer to what you want.

I got the waxless version; first and only pair of waxless I've ever purchased. Use the XCD's for my waxables, but I'd love to have the Objective waxables also... be a great combo. The Voile waxless pattern is the best I know of for grip, glide, and being less noisy (I've tried a bunch of others, but not bought any). The Objectives handle quite sweetly, but note: turning them with 3 pins and leather boots is a nice rig, but in anything other than nice snow, it can be a real challenge. As far as length, have a look at the Voile chart recommendations, call and talk to 'em if you have any question. Those guys know their stuff.