skis

The very foundation of our sport, skis allow randonnée skiers to cover stretches of terrain covered with deep and light snow with remarkable efficiency, not to mention enabling joyous deep powder descents. For ski touring, a ski's desired attributes are somewhat different than for alpine skiing - even though good alpine skis can and often are mounted for touring with randonnée and telemark bindings, ascending on skis places special demands on equipment.

Weight, in particular, becomes of great importance, and experienced ski tourists will often forego some measure of downhill performance in favor of light, short and relatively narrow skis that climb well. A common solution is to pick a mid-fat ski you already are familiar with and like in terms of all-mountain performance, and drop down one size or more for randonnée skiing. In the 88mm-waisted Atomic Kailas, for example, I might use a 185 cm ski for lift-served skiing but would probably go with the next size down, 174 cm, if I were planning on touring much on the skis. Another excellent choice is the Black Diamond Havoc, also with an 88mm waist but with more of a twin-tip (not really desireable for touring, in my opinion, as the extra length in the tail hangs up in uphill kickturns).

The K2 Shuksan, designed by North Bend's Martin Völken, has proven itself to be a popular choice for ski tourists both here and in Europe. Reasonably wide (119-78-105) and reasonably light (3200 grams per pair in 174), this is a great all-around ski for winter/spring use.

For spring and summer tours, when deep fresh snow is less likely, many people use super-light and much narrower skis, usually in a shorter length. Although you give up some performance in new and challenging snow, the energy saved by having less weight on your feet (or your pack, if carrying them) makes long trips much more enjoyable. The Trab Duo Freerando, with dimensions of 110/112-79-96 but weighing only 2580 grams per pair in a 171, and the similarly light Völkl Norbert Joos (102-70-90, 2360 grams/pair in a 170) are good examples of touring skis meant for longer tours or multi-day trips; both are quite light but offer reasonable performance in softer snow. The Dynafit Se7en Summits (as in "7") , at 113-78-100 and 2820 grams/pair in 170 sounds like a contender for a light all-rounder as well.

Even super-light randonnée race skis, such as the Trab Duo Race Aero , the Atomic Tour Race (the successor to the MX:20), or the Dynastar Alti Pro Pierra Menta are often suitable for such use, depending on your level of comfort descending on such light gear.

Many people use true fat skis for touring, which work admirably for powder and heavy crud descents. The extra weight and drag caused by the additional width, though, means you need to be that much fitter to make it through the day - if your companions are fit and expert skiers on lighter gear than you, you may be in for a workout!

Whatever your choice in skis, most experienced backcountry skiers try to match their ski-boot-binding choices in terms of "burliness" - The super-light rando race ski will almost always be teamed with a super-light binding like the Dynafit TLT and a super-light (but also flexible) boot like the Dynafit TLT Race or the Scarpa F1. A beefy powder setup based on a Black Diamond Verdict, on the other hand, will warrant a powerful boot like the Garmont Endorphin or the Scarpa Tornado and a heavier binding like the Fritschi Freeride or NAXO NX21.

Many people have several such "setups" and choose their gear depending on their intended destination and anticipated snow conditions. An expensive solution, perhaps, but think of all the money you're saving by not buying lift tickets . . .

© 2007 Gregory C. Louie