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Topic Date User

Getting around on skis 6-Mar-2010 At 7:43:31 PM Paulie

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On 3/08/2009 evanbb wrote:
>So, firstly, where's a good place to learn some technique?

Try ski school, you can get lessons at most resort based XC ski schools (Perisher and Falls are great places to learn basic technique with user friendly, well marked trails). Join a XC ski club (Wangaratta Ski Club are awesome) and team up with people who can show you how - exactly same as trad climbing.

>Further, like trad climbing, I could see that this is the highest expression
>of the art of skiing (Hi M9!). Once you've got good telemark skills you
>can pretty much go anywhere.

Absolutely mate! Good tele technique only comes after years of practice - proper technique that is - as today's latest gear makes it pretty damn easy compared to the old 35mm bindings, leather boots and 210cm straight skis that I learnt to tele in back in the day. A good mate of mine can tele-ski double black diamonds on hard pack with his skating gear, then go do the same in knee deep crusted spring snow, so anything is possible - just go to Kicking Horse in BC and see what they do on tele gear over there!

>What's the recommended gear combination for say, skiing 15k in a day,
>with a pack on, then climbing or skiing around some more from a hut? Something
>like flexible plastic boots, with tele bindings? Downhill skiis and skins?
>Huskies and a home made toboggan?

Depends entirely on where you're skiing - ie off or on groomed tracks. If you want to learn technique and turning, then a basic metal edged BCX (back-country) type of ski with a NNN type binding and compatible boot will be fine - though you will find that they lack support for multi-day touring and will be very frustrating to use with a heavy pack on, placcy boots and modern, wider (shorter) skis do make touring with a heavy pack on a much more pleasant experience.

Later on you can progress to something like a Fischer Backcountry Crown with Scarpa T2s and Chili or G3 type bindings, awesome set up but loads of $$ too that you won't appreciate until you can link turns on more basic gear. The great thing about a setup like this is that it crosses over to resort use which means you can get better at your turns by lift access!

Whatever you decide on, DO NOT muck around with stick-wax or klister at this stage, just hire some pattern based skis.

P.S., If you want to take up skate skiing I've got an awesome barely used 'recreational' level setup for sale :-)