Mont Logan, Chic-Chocs (Easter 2016)

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MikeK

Re: Mont Logan, Chic-Chocs (Easter 2016)

Post by MikeK » Mon Apr 04, 2016 11:08 am

bgregoire wrote:Ok, I'm now seeing what you are getting at more clearly. I do know all this already though. I'm working hard from the inside too. No need to be concerned yoda.
Not trying to be Yoda, but see the last post. You and I are at very similar skill level but with perhaps very different trips in mind, and skiing in very different terrains.

We had this convo before and I totally understand you switching to pins on your skinnies and looking for a tourable, stout leather boot.

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bgregoire
Posts: 1511
Joined: Fri Aug 22, 2014 9:31 am
Ski style: Nordic backcountry touring with lots of turns
Favorite Skis: Fisher E99 & Boundless (98), Åsnes Ingstad, K2 Wayback 88
Favorite boots: Crispi Sydpolen, Alico Teletour & Alfa Polar

Re: Mont Logan, Chic-Chocs (Easter 2016)

Post by bgregoire » Mon Apr 04, 2016 11:18 am

MikeK wrote: And I would ski that slope you showed in the video with 200cm skis and my NNN Alaskas. And I guarantee I wouldn't fall.
No disrespect, but I seriously doubt that. You would eventually fall playing, going harder, pushing the limits. If not, sound boring to me.
MikeK wrote: I'll also be very honest and say it would be more FUN (for me) with 185cm skis with some sidecut, and perhaps with some boots with some good ankle support... but I might not want to ski those on the flats for 5 days, so I might compromise.
...which is exactly what i did! ;)

When you're out on a multiday trip, especially in an alpine environment. You've got to gear up for a mixed variety of snow conditions. Those vids are of the sweetest stuff we found. But its wise to have a setup you can ski on much worse. And your talking about flats. The rest was not flat. K&G yes, but far more flat. So your hauling a decent sized pack, and your following trails up and down....and the focus IS those 2 days of XCD up above (but you still want to have fun and feel light on your way up there). I've done that tour a few times on E99s. 200cm. Its great. But I had more fun overall on my 188cms 84-68-78s this time around.
I live for the Telemark arc....The feeeeeeel.....I ski miles to get to a place where there is guaranteed snow to do the deal....TM



MikeK

Re: Mont Logan, Chic-Chocs (Easter 2016)

Post by MikeK » Mon Apr 04, 2016 11:58 am

Maybe so - it's tough to tell from vids but conditions and pitch looked doable to me. As far as other sketch conditions, I'm fine with bailing out if it's beyond my ability and looking for something else. If I'm in trees I definitely get a lot more sketched on long skinnies, but it's doable... just ask your buddy Teleman ;)

Flats, yeah I mean K+G. You know I'm OK going a little slower for having grip and descent ability. But like you I'm not really down with plastic for long K+G. Leather is much more comfy for me.

So again, I can see going to a mid-stiff leather and pins to try to maintain some decent dh control and not be completely horrible for K+G.

I actually don't mind K+G with pins, but some of the really stiff boots can make it uncomfortable for me. Again, compromise.

I know this is probably not your preference, but I might actually look at using something like my Svartisen NNN with perhaps mid-width XCD ski (Epoch/S98 range) if I was going to do trips like that. That boot has a surprising amount of ability and I'm pretty sure my foot could tolerate it for a long time with NNN. To me, the ski provides a lot of the dh fun as long as you have enough boot to control it. If I were to tour for a long time with a boot that stiff with pins I don't know that my feet would like me much. Of course even with NNN, that boot is right on the edge of being a comfy tourer.



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Cannatonic
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Re: Mont Logan, Chic-Chocs (Easter 2016)

Post by Cannatonic » Mon Apr 04, 2016 12:06 pm

nice pictures - top of the world. Quebec is like being out west! I have to get up there next winter. very cool. I noticed the lack of backpacks, what a great idea. hell, I'd probably have 3 pairs of boots and a snowboard with me if I could!

If you find the Alico Tours giving you a good fit, the Alico Double could be a great boot for these tours. It's a big purchase at around $300 but they'd last forever. At least as stiff as Excursion and you can walk around in the inner boots while camping. I'm not sure I'd want to trust my usual Antarctic-type leathers to stay dry on a multi-day trip.

There used to be a place in NH - Phililps Brook, I think? It was a series of yurts spaced throughout ski touring terrain on a logging property. The yurts were really nice. It's a shame they went out of business. For a few bucks they'd shuttle your beer & stuff to the yurt on a snowmobile.
"All wisdom is to be gained through suffering"
-Will Lange (quoting Inuit chieftan)



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bgregoire
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Joined: Fri Aug 22, 2014 9:31 am
Ski style: Nordic backcountry touring with lots of turns
Favorite Skis: Fisher E99 & Boundless (98), Åsnes Ingstad, K2 Wayback 88
Favorite boots: Crispi Sydpolen, Alico Teletour & Alfa Polar

Re: Mont Logan, Chic-Chocs (Easter 2016)

Post by bgregoire » Mon Apr 04, 2016 12:17 pm

MikeK wrote:I know this is probably not your preference, but I might actually look at using something like my Svartisen NNN with perhaps mid-width XCD ski (Epoch/S98 range) if I was going to do trips like that. That boot has a surprising amount of ability and I'm pretty sure my foot could tolerate it for a long time with NNN. To me, the ski provides a lot of the dh fun as long as you have enough boot to control it. If I were to tour for a long time with a boot that stiff with pins I don't know that my feet would like me much. Of course even with NNN, that boot is right on the edge of being a comfy tourer.
Boots: Sorry, not going to invest more on NNN/BC for multiday moutain outings....unless I'm going back to Laponia for another epic fjall traverse. The Svartisen 75mm has a sole that is too soft for what I'm "looking" for. "Looking" cause really, I found it. A nice norwegian welt with a decent nylon sole insert for stiffness. 1 single buckle at the ankle joint to keep the heel firmly placed inside the heel pocket. mid stiff leather for support and comfort. Alico Teletour. Its old. Its gold. The Andrew Zenith would surely be as good, probably better. But $$$. I'll be using foot stretchers à la Canna for that sweet fit.

Skis: Sure. My partner was on Annums and had a great time too. I feel a ski in the S98 range has too much sidecut for my taste for K&G. Would of been a little better for linking turns, for sure. But that's where the skills come in, how i'm willing to compensate, as you have mentioned before.

And for the first time this winter, I actually wished I had scales. Well, really, I guess cause it was no longer winter, but spring! Long live scales for spring XCDing!
I live for the Telemark arc....The feeeeeeel.....I ski miles to get to a place where there is guaranteed snow to do the deal....TM



User avatar
bgregoire
Posts: 1511
Joined: Fri Aug 22, 2014 9:31 am
Ski style: Nordic backcountry touring with lots of turns
Favorite Skis: Fisher E99 & Boundless (98), Åsnes Ingstad, K2 Wayback 88
Favorite boots: Crispi Sydpolen, Alico Teletour & Alfa Polar

Re: Mont Logan, Chic-Chocs (Easter 2016)

Post by bgregoire » Mon Apr 04, 2016 12:32 pm

Cannatonic wrote:nice pictures - top of the world. Quebec is like being out west! I have to get up there next winter. very cool. I noticed the lack of backpacks, what a great idea. hell, I'd probably have 3 pairs of boots and a snowboard with me if I could!

If you find the Alico Tours giving you a good fit, the Alico Double could be a great boot for these tours. It's a big purchase at around $300 but they'd last forever. At least as stiff as Excursion and you can walk around in the inner boots while camping. I'm not sure I'd want to trust my usual Antarctic-type leathers to stay dry on a multi-day trip.

There used to be a place in NH - Phililps Brook, I think? It was a series of yurts spaced throughout ski touring terrain on a logging property. The yurts were really nice. It's a shame they went out of business. For a few bucks they'd shuttle your beer & stuff to the yurt on a snowmobile.
Hey Canna! Yeah, you can go hut-to-hut without packs at the parc de la gaspesie. At first we avoided it like the plague, but that won't chagce the fact the snowmobiles are running around delivering for others anyway. so you have to make do with them there. Now we mostly just send up a box for the team with the heaviest stuff (beer and food for example, this time, plastic boots). We still carry everything else on our backs though.

Alico Doubles. I had a couple pairs of older Andrew Doubles not too long ago. Their inners were horrible to my feet. The outer is very stiff and "low", so they did not cinch up as nicely for telemark as say the teletours do. I did a week traverse (camping) in the Mont Groulx with the Andrew double outers and some Intuition Pro-Tour liners last year. They weigh MORE than my plastic garmont excursions and have almost the same k&g feel minus some ankle support. Given I have some excursions, I just passed the doubles on. If I go back for a traverse I would bring my Alaskas NNNBC with glued supergaiter, thick extra socks and vapor barriers (it was -40C all week, mid february)...cause i have them. Most probably though, if i do return, it would be for SPRING XCD/Tele. We'd set up a camp in the middle of the alpine area and we'd explore the mountain slopes for 3-4 days. I'd take my excursions (and vapor barriers) then and probably sleep with my closed cell liners inside my bag to dry 'em out at night.
I live for the Telemark arc....The feeeeeeel.....I ski miles to get to a place where there is guaranteed snow to do the deal....TM



MikeK

Re: Mont Logan, Chic-Chocs (Easter 2016)

Post by MikeK » Mon Apr 04, 2016 12:42 pm

bgregoire wrote:
Boots: Sorry, not going to invest more on NNN/BC for multiday moutain outings....unless I'm going back to Laponia for another epic fjall traverse. The Svartisen 75mm has a sole that is too soft for what I'm "looking" for. "Looking" cause really, I found it. A nice norwegian welt with a decent nylon sole insert for stiffness. 1 single buckle at the ankle joint to keep the heel firmly placed inside the heel pocket. mid stiff leather for support and comfort. Alico Teletour. Its old. Its gold. The Andrew Zenith would surely be as good, probably better. But $$$. I'll be using foot stretchers à la Canna for that sweet fit.

Skis: Sure. My partner was on Annums and had a great time too. I feel a ski in the S98 range has too much sidecut for my taste for K&G. Would of been a little better for linking turns, for sure. But that's where the skills come in, how i'm willing to compensate, as you have mentioned before.

And for the first time this winter, I actually wished I had scales. Well, really, I guess cause it was no longer winter, but spring! Long live scales for spring XCDing!
I know your preference and I get you with the Svartisen 75 (still a great boot and can rip turns with it no problem except on maybe icy shit).

Was just thinking out loud on my end... I don't expect you to change your path. I'm sure it will work out for you. And I think the other way would too that I was speculating. There are multiple solutions to this problem.



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Cannatonic
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Re: Mont Logan, Chic-Chocs (Easter 2016)

Post by Cannatonic » Mon Apr 04, 2016 12:56 pm

The double boots do look like hell if they don't fit - I think the Alico may be better for tele - they come up high and have really nice support around your ankle/calf. There is no "break" down low between the inner and outer, they both come all the way up to the top. Definitely heavy though. I'm hoping the military surplus boots I got can fill this role. The doubles are no good for me as I can't stretch them to my mutant EEEE width.

whoa, I just looked up Mt. Groulx - damn! it's halfway to Greenland. What's it like up there - is there above-treeline skiing? definitely sounds like a spring trip vs. mid winter, my Boston blood is not as thick as you Quebecois! :lol:
"All wisdom is to be gained through suffering"
-Will Lange (quoting Inuit chieftan)



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bgregoire
Posts: 1511
Joined: Fri Aug 22, 2014 9:31 am
Ski style: Nordic backcountry touring with lots of turns
Favorite Skis: Fisher E99 & Boundless (98), Åsnes Ingstad, K2 Wayback 88
Favorite boots: Crispi Sydpolen, Alico Teletour & Alfa Polar

Re: Mont Logan, Chic-Chocs (Easter 2016)

Post by bgregoire » Mon Apr 04, 2016 5:07 pm

MikeK wrote: Not trying to be Yoda, but see the last post. You and I are at very similar skill level but with perhaps very different trips in mind, and skiing in very different terrains.
Just de be CLEAR. That Yoda things was a joke in reference to your inside/outside comment, foot/boot, skiills/support, the force! Nothing else. :D
I live for the Telemark arc....The feeeeeeel.....I ski miles to get to a place where there is guaranteed snow to do the deal....TM



MikeK

Re: Mont Logan, Chic-Chocs (Easter 2016)

Post by MikeK » Mon Apr 04, 2016 8:49 pm

I knew Yoda was a joke. I didn't want to sound like I was telling you what to do in terms of your skiing. Just trying to give my perspective because we are at very similar points in our ski careers, but obviously have different goals and different thoughts on how to get there.

I'm more like a fellow Jedi trainee than Yoda.



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