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Chockstone Forum - Gear Lust / Lost & Found

Rave About Your Rack Please do not post retail SPAM.

Topic Date User

XCountry skis 7-Feb-2007 At 7:47:42 PM andyR

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IMO AT gear doesn't necesarily make skiing any easier and I think some people often see it as an easy option, a fast track to being a ski God! As in climbing, there are no short cuts, these sports truly demand you to work hard to attain a high skill level. Good gear helps, but it is not everything. BC runs aren't groomed and demand more skill than skiing en piste...or when pissed! Beware that if you're going b.c. that's a heap more gear to lug about (with AT that is, espeically if you plan on hiking in or up in your AT boots - and hey that truly sucks big time!) ...it's all about trade-offs. You may think you'll have it over tele skiers when you're carving up the BC runs, but there's a lot of sweat to be shed to get you there! Trust me I know!! And by that time you may be too buggered to ski! Most Oz BC trips demand a lot of you to get there, especially with the crap conditions we've been having of late. Eg. last year I did 2 trips up Bogong via Eskdale Spur: on the first, we didn't put skis on till well above Michell's, and only traversed the last few hundred metres up to Hell Gap. We did get to ski Cairn Gully though, so all was not lost! On the 2nd trip, we didn't put skis on till the TOP of the pole line - where it meets the summit pole line north pf Hell Gap. Now that's a bloody long way to haul your kit, though not as bad as slugging up Staircase! At the end of that 2nd trip, it rained and rained and we carried our gear ALL the way down! So there's a lot to think of when deciding on your weapons of choice, I guess is what I'm saying, it's not just about skiing down the hill going woo hoo! Peace everyone!