Advice on Backcountry Skis

I hope they work for you (they work for me). For many years years I attended a FYAO (freeze your arse off) week-end on Presidents' Day in the Adirondacks and plastics were the way to go. They worked for winter mountaineering in the Dacks, skis, snowshoes, crampons. I hope the system works well for you.

Doug (the other Doug).

Raven said:

Thanks for all the thoughts, advice, comments, etc. on backcountry ski gear. I'm learning the basics. So, I've looked at some of the suggested bindings online to see what they are like, done some research, checked out some of the suggested websites, and found some old threads here.

Here's what I am thinking for the moment. I'd appreciate hearing the pros and cons if people have opinions.

Sylvretta 500 bindings
Koflach Artis Expe plastic boots (I own them, I wouldn't pick them first as a ski boot)
Madshus Annum skis (or others if these will not work with bindings or based on cost)
Skins TBD.

Reasoning: I already own the boots. I can get the bindings for under $300. This would allow for some versatility (crampons and skis would work with the boot).

It seems that since this system is so versatile, I must pay a price somewhere else (the boot?)

Thanks again! And thanks Gremlin for the idea.

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FWIW, the Arctis Expe was a popular choice for this among SAR types I knew in Alaska. You will probably find (if you haven't already) quite a few online references to the Guide (Annum)/Silvretta combination.

Might not truly need the skins with those skis, but that depends greatly on your routes.

The will work.

But, if your intent is to climb in order to have fun skiing down things like you saw at Hale, I think you'll be generally disappointed in the boots.

Thanks Sardog, Gremlin, Dave, et. al. again for the comments.

David Metsky said:

The will work.

But, if your intent is to climb in order to have fun skiing down things like you saw at Hale, I think you'll be generally disappointed in the boots.

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Yes, this was my guess as to the trade off I would make with this set up. My assumption is my feet will feel a little flat in Koflachs and that actual AT ski boots would have my heel up and foot forward a bit more.

So an actual AT ski boot and binding is going to be better for skiiing but not as versatile in a combination as the Sylvretta/Koflachs. I'm reminded of the earlier comment in the thread on committing to either skiing or hiking. I suppose at this point, I should be considering the trips I want to take and if I'm not going to be doing longer trips with mixed terrain, I may want to commit to the ski boot/binding combo and pick days to simply ski and stay low.

I'm not likely going for Pressie Traverses and multiday alpine excursions in these, although there is something romantic about the idea of climbing Ammo Ravine in crampons, switching over to skis, and skiiing off into the rime.

So for days in which I might want to climb up Sherburne and ski down once or twice, my thought is I would be much happier in the ski boot.

This is all good - I'm starting to understand what I'm looking for here. More research and I'll be back with questions.

I had a bomber AT set-up and I don't think you can really do both well with one outfit. My AT outfit was composed of G3 (www.genuineguidegear.com) all mountain skis, Dynafit bindings (G3 came out with their bindings after mine were already on, but I'd go with G3 now), Dynafit 4 buckle AT boots and Gabel 2 section poles. Because of a serious neck condition and shattered knees (30 years of rugby) downhill/glade is now out of the question. I sent the package to my daughter on the West Coast where it is well suited.

A tip about adjustable poles: always store them loosened. This is counter-intuitive to people like us (buckles buckled, zips zipped), but when you take them from a warm house and put them in the trunk or in the ski box the tubes constrict and thre threads on the plastic expansion plugs will strip when you try toloosen them.

Gremlin said:

A tip about adjustable poles: always store them loosened. This is counter-intuitive to people like us (buckles buckled, zips zipped), but when you take them from a warm house and put them in the trunk or in the ski box the tubes constrict and thre threads on the plastic expansion plugs will strip when you try toloosen them.

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A tiny dab of silicone grease or vaseline on the threads will be a big help. (Make sure you don't get any on the outside of the expansion plug...) I adjust my poles at any temp and have had no problems. The lubrication also makes it easy to tighten the plugs enough so that they don't slip.

Making sure the insides of the poles are dry before storing and an occasional cleaning (of the insides) can also be a big help.

Doug