Im an average guy who loves backcountry skiing, climbing, and
mountaineering. Skimo racing got me hooked when it opened my mind to
the possibilities you get when you combine lightweight ski gear and an
endurance-focused fitness regimen with all those skiing and climbing
skills. Its a whole lot of work and
suffering but very rewarding.The reason I created this blog was to fill a gap in the online information available on this small but growing sport with info for the "everyman/woman" or those of us with jobs and families who might be exploring skimo or enjoying it at the recreation or slightly higher level. If you want to refine or improve your skimo performance but have limited time this will hopefully provide some useful information to help out.
If on the other hand, you actually know what you are doing, you may laugh so hard you blow GU through your nose at some of my noob musings. View at your own risk!
For anyone viewing this, its probably best to keep in mind Im nowhere near a professional and all Im really qualified to do is judge the aesthetics of the backsides of real athletes which I routinely get to study as they disappear in the distance on races!
Hello, I have been a backcountry skier for a good number of years now and would like to try skimo. not in a competitive sense at all, just for fun. i enjoy moving light and fast in the BC while covering a lot of distance/elevation and typically ski with TLT6s/TLT radicals on manaslu skis (sometimes BD megawatts) sized in the high 170-low180 range. i have two questions: 1) at 6ft and 190lbs am i too big for the typical 161 sized skimo race ski? 2) i was thinking of using my new skimo set (that I'm looking into buying) year round this winter in the pacNW (i live in seattle)-- how realistic do you think this is? does anyone do this, or do most people just reserve their race set up for races?
ReplyDeletethanks for any advice you can offer!
Hey, motobacon, great question! Ill tell you what my half baked thoughts are but encourage you to get a couple of opinions and demo some stuff if at all possible before committing to anything.
ReplyDeleteBottom line is that skiing on a race setup as your primary or only setup is just fine year round. If I had to own only one setup, something I would gladly do if I could sell my pre skimo Coombacks, Id own a race setup and be VERY happy. I am 6’4” and weigh about 175. I also live in an area known for its deep fluffy powder dumps. I dust off my K2 Coombacks about twice a year but that is only when Im hitting the in bounds skiing with friends and family right after a big dump and know I would hold up the group a little in lower angle terrain with fresh thigh deep powder. When Im on my own I never pull those boat anchors out of the closet.
The race setup is very durable and skis really well. Many avid skimo racers do the same as Ive described above and many of those guys ski harder on an easy day than I can on a hard one!
Id say this strategy might be even truer if you ski in more consolidated snow like I know Ive experienced the few times Ive been in the PNW. It has been my experience that on spring snow or really hard snow, these skis rip.
Also, the skis you know how to use are the ones you can do the most with so time on your boards of choice is important. Im not a huge quiver fan for that reason alone.
All that being said, you may want to think about the following.
If the race thing is not of any interest (and Id encourage you to do some no matter what you may think now and no matter what gear you have- it will make you faster and more efficient!) you could go with a slightly larger ski with little weight sacrifice keeping race or “near race” bindings and a race or “near race” boot. One source of info on this that I keep referring back to is from the excellent Skintrack blog (http://www.skintrack.com/) in an interview with Trevor Hunt (http://www.skintrack.com/people/trevor-hunt-interview-steep-skier/), an amazing skier and author of the motivational Coast Steep Skier blog (http://www.coaststeepskier.com/wphome/).
That perspective as well as my own way less accomplished thought is that you could probably save some money by sticking with the TLT boots and just getting new skis and bindings. My wife has done this for her only AT setup and it is a nice very durable and light rig.
Check out the fattish skis on the market for the last year or two that hover around 1000g (200g or about half a beer heavier than many race planks). These include the Dynafit Cho Oyu or Denali, Ski Trab Altavia and Hagan Cirrus. Skimo.co (skimo.co) and Cripple Creek Backcountry (cripplecreekbc.com) both carry some of these or other similar skis and can offer very good advice on skis like this. With their mounting service and free shipping you can get a much better overall deal than you might get parting out the process through other venues.
Whatever you do, Id still get mohair skins and a pack that lets you transition to boot packs without pack removal. Those two efficiency boosts are low hanging fruit.
Anyway, kind of a lot of thoughts but I hope some of it is helpful. Let me know how it all works out for you!
Thank you so much for your very detailed response. The links you provided have been quite helpful. I am excited get out on my new set up and also get involved in some skimo races at a beginner level!
ReplyDeleteSweet!!!!
ReplyDeleteJesse, just found your site. Never raced skimo, but know of it and want to start. Looks like I've come to the right place to learn.
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the effort.
Kevin
Kevin,
DeleteThanks! Best of luck and I hope you have a great time. I would be totally interested in your experiences and what you think the most important things for a new racer to know are!
-Jesse
Jesse, I think for me it will be the gear. Specifically what to get that will work with a given level of experience. I like your approach to gear - not buying the most expensive stuff - but worry that a set up like the Dynafit PDG boot/ski would not be enough given my relative beginner downhill skills. I've got a friend in the ski industry who thinks it's crazy to go that light (and it's not that light by Skimo standards) and says I'd be much better off with something like the Solomon MTN Lab (approx 2x heavier than the PDG boot). I don't want to end up on stuff I can't handle downhill, but also don't want to drag a bunch of weight up hill either. Anyway, gear, and finding local races (Nor Cal) would be the most important things to be at first.
DeleteKevin
Kevin, interesting conundrum. If Im understanding you correctly you are an entry level to intermediate skier? Id bet there are lots of opinions out there and they all have some goodness to them but mine, for what its worth, is that you will ski the gear you are used to the best. There is nothing about light gear that makes you suck at skiing and it is actually great to ski on. The only consideration Id throw out there as a disadvantage is safety for someone who may wreck from time to time but that is a risk that can be mitigated.
DeleteMy wife who is an intermediate skier skis a near race setup with race skis, near race bindings and near race boots. The only reason she doesnt have race boots is we could not find any that fit her small foot. My son skis race skis, race boots and near race bindings. The binding choice for both of them is a Dynafit Speed Turn and Speed Radical (whatever I got a good deal on at the time- they are basically the same) which both have DIN adjustable releases. Definitely use leashes on these because if you crash, they will pop off your foot! These bindings are very light and you will be able to race or do fast tours just fine.
As for races, you may have to start your own circuit! Could be fun! Or, you can always just skin up some ski slopes and still have a blast.
Hi! Can you please share some information on how you modified your ski trab maestro such that it can handle the race skins? I bought them too but I need to ensure I do my transitions fast enough for the PDG :-) thanks you, Wouter w.r.vandergronden@gmail.com
ReplyDelete