FT 62

[ᚠᚨᚱ ᚾᛟᚱᚦ ᛊᚲᛁᛖᚱ]

I'm skiing Gold Cord Basin to High Grade Mine and maybe loop up to Cross Hill and down tomorrow. There should be inches of new snow over a hard windpacked frozen base. I'll be taking the Skog with mohair. these conditions are fine on S112 or FT62 but its a fairly slow on the approach...not much k&g. The Skog should be faster and the ride down will undoubtedly be more controlled and better as the skis are stiffer and able to handle any bare spots of crusty tracked out and rutted frozen base. Will green wax on the grip zone and bring 3 sets of X-skins (30mm mohair, 40mm mohair, 45mm nylon) as I'm unsure of the grip. There are 2 short steeper sections that I hope to be able to do with just wax. as long as the wind stays calm, it should be a good day tomorrow...20F.

will let you know how it goes.

Yeah let me know how it goes. I'm hoping to hit Baldy trailhead tomorrow (not the Baldy in eagle river).

[jyw5]

I used the 185cm Skog and 169cm S112 on Saturday and the 172cm FT62 and S112 today. My wife is on her 169cm S112. We switched off both days.

Saturday was a better day. The temp was 18F and warmed up 28F. flat light. We skiied from the parking lot of Independence Mine to High Grade Mine. The Skog did ok in the variable snow. There was about 4-6 inches of fresh powder. The skis did amazingly well on the trail. Off track skiing was more difficult as there was easily 4+ ft of soft snow (poles sink all the way in). I had a hard time coming down steep and deep snow in flat light...most of it is because my Skog is 185cm...too long to make quick turns in deep snow...I would catch the tail edge and crash. They do well for me on packed moderate trails as expected. I think the FT62 would have done well on Saturday. The S112 was slower on the flat and going down, as expected, lateral stability was lacking.

Sunday, today, was not good. light was flat. it warmed up to 32+. It was 38F when we drove home. We skiied from the Independence mine parking lot to the base of Microdot. There is not enough snow right now to ski Microdot saddle/summit. The coverage was thin in many spots and very deep in others. typical Alaska crap. The snow was mash potato soft and heavy. Up high, some aspects were hard as a rock and others breakable crust. The FT62 performed ok going up but terribly going down. The S112 did reasonably ok. I was able to do some parallel turns coming down the non windcrusted aspects. But on the FT62, I had to kick turn down...it was not possible for me to make parallel turns as I would sink deep into the snow and there was no way to go fast today as you couldnt even tell which way was up.

Overall, the S112 outperforms either Asnes ski in crappy conditions (which I already know). The FT62 does very well when conditions are good....very easy to turn. The Skog does better than either pair when the snow is hard and when the angle is gentle to moderate (might do better with a shorter length at 175cm or 180cm).

I am now wondering how the Nosi 76 would have done this wkend. I think Asnes makes a great ski and I have a feeling the Nosi would do better than the S112 and would have been ideal for both days...I would get them short at 164cm for better turning ability down steep slopes and sacrifice some floatation. ( If its that steep and deep, I would use my AT setup with 110cm waist.)

Overall, this was a tough weekend for skiing. The visibility was absolutely dogsh*t. The snow was great Saturday and was ruined by a 10+ degree warming overnight. Hatcher Pass is supposed to get hammered tonight with 8inches (probably much more up high). If the storm is done by morning, we will go again and I will get another chance to ski the FT62 on fresh snow.

[jyw5]

Used the 172 cm FT62 on 8inch of fresh snow today. They were great off trail. Packed rutted snowmachine trail was a bit squirrelly but I managed just fine.

[Inspiredcapers]

Mine just showed up today so went for a short trip up n’ down a local logging road I’ve skied before. The initial impression is VERY favourable. A few inches of fresh powder on consolidated snow. Lots of sled and occasional snowshoe tracks to add a bit of challenge. The grade varies from 4 to 15 degrees. I was able to scoot up with minimal backsliding on Swix Red using a kick zone starting at the xskin holes/ending at the heel so no chance to try out the Xskin.

This ‘weird’ ski is a hell of a lot of fun. Felt quite controlled coming down (Alpina 3 pin) and was surprised at how stable I felt when I did a couple of jumps off snowdrifts.

I’ve done this same road on my Alpina 80s- waaaay more control and manoeuvrability with the Asnes FT62. They’re quite playful, extremely light, really great flex...hoping to find some deeper powder to play in next days off.

[lilcliffy]

A few inches of fresh powder on consolidated snow.

This.
I love the FT62 in this context.
I am afraid I am not convinced by this ski otherwise...

hoping to find some deeper powder to play in next days off.

Will be interested in what you think of this ski in deep soft snow...

Don't get me wrong I loooove the FT62- it just seems to have about the narrowest range of snow conditions that it truly thrives in...

[boby13]

A few inches of fresh powder on consolidated snow.

This.
I love the FT62 in this context.
I am afraid I am not convinced by this ski otherwise...

With NNN-BC the FT62 is the only ski in my quiver that is fun and I can truly carve P-turn on GOOD groomed conditions at the resort.

On groomed snow with NNN-BC (no telemark turns, only P-turns):
-Ingstad 205cm, uncarvable, NNN-BC boot is not enough to have good control over skidded P-turns
-Fischer E88 189cm, like the Ingstat but slow and no torsional rigidity
-Voile Objective bc 178cm, painfully slow, too wide, shape of the ski is made for powder, not for east coast resorts
-Fischer e99 200cm, never tried at the resort but I bet they wouldn't be the worse

Last weekend I did a 12 km tour from the top of the Tremblant resort on the ridge and back to the north side. Then I took the chairlift back up and went down on green and blue runs. I had a blast, let the skis loose and made nice long turns down the mountain!

So I think these skis are good:
-to tour on a couple inches of pow over a firm base
-on good groomed conditions
-on deep powder if its steep enough and there isn't to much trail breaking involve

And I think they are bad on any type of refrozen crap,crust, etc.

[lowangle al]

A few inches of fresh powder on consolidated snow.

This.
I love the FT62 in this context.
I am afraid I am not convinced by this ski otherwise...

With NNN-BC the FT62 is the only ski in my quiver that is fun and I can truly carve P-turn on GOOD groomed conditions at the resort.

On groomed snow with NNN-BC (no telemark turns, only P-turns):
-Ingstad 205cm, uncarvable, NNN-BC boot is not enough to have good control over skidded P-turns
-Fischer E88 189cm, like the Ingstat but slow and no torsional rigidity
-Voile Objective bc 178cm, painfully slow, too wide, shape of the ski is made for powder, not for east coast resorts
-Fischer e99 200cm, never tried at the resort but I bet they wouldn't be the worse

Last weekend I did a 12 km tour from the top of the Tremblant resort on the ridge and back to the north side. Then I took the chairlift back up and went down on green and blue runs. I had a blast, let the skis loose and made nice long turns down the mountain!

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So I think these skis are good:
-to tour on a couple inches of pow over a firm base
-on good groomed conditions
-on deep powder if its steep enough and there isn't to much trail breaking involve

And I think they are bad on any type of refrozen crap,crust, etc.
[/quote

Any ski should ski those conditions well, if it doesn't I would get rid of it. If I was going to get the Ft it would be for their light weight, nordic rocker and a more alpine camber under foot, if that is what it has. I think it would be an easy reliable turner that would cover miles.

I think it would be a different experience with a T4 compared to a light boot like the Alpinas when it comes to less than perfect conditions.

[boby13]

[/quote]

Any ski should ski those conditions well, if it doesn't I would get rid of it. If I was going to get the Ft it would be for their light weight, nordic rocker and a more alpine camber under foot, if that is what it has. I think it would be an easy reliable turner that would cover miles.

I think it would be a different experience with a T4 compared to a light boot like the Alpinas when it comes to less than perfect conditions.

Yes, any ski should ski good conditions well. But in my case the weak link is my Alaska NNN-BC boots and bindings. This ski is the only one I know of that has this much sidecut with a narrow 62mm waist. To put on edge a wider ski on hardpack, I would need more ankle support.

And don't get me wrong, I didn't buy my FT62 to ski at the resort. I bought it to cover miles on narrow mountain trails, no flats, only short and steep ups and down.

If I was xcDing with T4's, the FT62 wouldn't be on my list. I would be on anything like Vectors, Objective, Tindan, Nosi or Raab.

But I like light and sketchy setup, it makes me feel like ballet dancer

[lowangle al]

But I like light and sketchy setup, it makes me feel like ballet dancer
[/quote]

I like ballet dancing but for skiing I prefer the watusi.

[fisheater]

Allan nice job on the watusi! The time you post for your tours is pretty impressive. I’m like a little kid, once I’m booted up, check the wax for grip and glide, I go. You would think I could remember to look at the time!
It’s generally accepted when touring with friends, that it’s best to tour on similar gear. I don’t know if that would apply if I ever made it out to PA. It looks like I could handle your terrain on my Falketind, I would probably need the light weight just to keep up with your Pennsylvania lighting pace!