Back-country Skis
There is still quite a variety here. The three numbers matter.
In
'the good-old-days', these had little sidecut. I have an old pair
(65.54.58). I finally went in to a ski store and said that I wanted to
see what was available. The salesperson listened to me and walked me
over to the rack and said 'this is what you want' and sold me a 'shaped
pair' with sidecut: 88.60.78. What a difference! The bowl that I
always did traverse - kick turn, I could actually link some turns! But
beware: a few years later, a friend bought the then current skis that
were
even wider and more sidecut - they were great for turning, but slower
on the long, straight distance skis. There are tradeoffs in
everything. You will still see the old, no-sidecut skis in yard sales
and 2nd hand stores. Note that the old backcountry skis have about the
same sidecut as some of the new light touring skis. But the new light
touring skis are made much lighter. New materials and techniques!
Not a particularly good picture, and a little distortion because the
camera was closer to the back end of the skis. But look carefully at
the shape of the two skis. The top is my old ski, the bottom is the
replacement (now close to 20 years old, but oh well...) Also note that
the new ski is shorter and wider - nominally the same area for support,
but easier to turn (and slower).
One should assume metal edges and
'fishscale' no-wax bottoms. Some people go with waxable skis and put
skins on them for uphill - that works well, but is a little more
hard-core than what I do.
But when you are off on the long day tours, make sure that you bring some of the magic goop - see the wax page. It can be a long ski home if the wax is clumping up under your feet.
You will want heavier, stiffer boots - probably the NNN-BC type. Some people still use 3-pin boots with these - your choice.
I
believe that Yeager's has a couple pairs of these for rent. (they also
have a few pairs in the corner in the 'left-overs' that they are
selling - I might ask if there is a cheaper price than what is on the
sticker. Jan. 2021)
