I need skis advice

I have never skied in my life before and I know absolutely nothing about skis and bindings. I am looking to learn how to ski simply to get rid of the snowshoes and do the approaches and descents with the skis. What set of skis would you recommend? Please keep in mind that I am not going to ski at resorts, only in the backcountry.

Thanks in advance for any help and advice.

depends a bit on what you are descending/ascending. Also, how much gear are you going to be packing.

I ask because, you could go with a great touring setup, something similar to off trail nordic skis for some rolling hills fun, or you might need a bit more serious alpine touring (AT) gear for better grip, steeper ascents, and control on the descent.

Ok you might not want to ski at resorts but you will end up doing so if you wish to learn to ski.

this is a simple fact unless you like to spend most of your time
climbing to practice your turns.And taking 10 times as long to learn to ski

You will have to get some training from a ski instructor or friend

You will NOT be skiing well enough your first or poss second year to ski the steep n deap changing snow conditions found in the backcountry
there are many places you wont want to fall and if you cant master your turns your in deep shit.

My best advice to you is to find a ski area that has AT or Telly gear for rent, purchase a beginners lesson/rental and get started than ask as many questions as you can think of and decide for yourself what type of ski setup you want .You will learn quicker and have way more fun .

Sergio,

I taught myself to ski a few years ago. I started on a tele setup and was lucky to pick it up rather quick (i used to play a lot of hockey).

I found that the resort was pretty crucial for getting comfortable on skis. I skied by myself a lot which meant I wasn't holding anyone else up and no one was holding me up. This really helped me improve. This year I won't be skiing at the resort and I see it as a right of passage from all of the hours I logged in at the resort.

At least go to the resort after storms when the avy danger is bad.

As for gear I recommend alpine touring bindings. Good luck.

Ted

I had similar confusion and a pretty good thread came out of it: mountainproject.com/v/mount…

You can also check this thread.

If your return does not require any steep or minimal amount of steep descent, a BC nordic setup would get you going the fastest. You could use your skins on the descent for the steeper sections.

At this point in time, technology in AT equipment is such that there is no real advantage I can see to choosing tele over AT. There is a distinct reason (mechanical advantage) the heel was eventually attached to the ski. It used to be a trade off to the better skiing offered by alpine vs the lightweight and comfort touring with tele, but the differences now are minimal. Stick with alpine.

You will need to go to a resort and learn to ski. I taught/coached sking for 15 years and can totally back up Ted, hockey player ( and XC skiers ) pick up skiing very easily.

You want the Hagan Nanook ski/binding combo

amazon.com/Hagan-Nanook-Bac…

hagan-ski.com/hagan2009/hea…

I could see that as a great starting point! Looks like it might work with mountaineering boots.

Do you have these Kai? What's word? Like a mini review.

Rick Blair wrote:I could see that as a great starting point! Looks like it might work with mountaineering boots. Do you have these Kai? What's word? Like a mini review.

I don't have that exact set-up, but I've used Hagan 130cm skis coupled with various bindings (Silvretta and Petzl ULM) to access ice climbs in the Alps and in Colorado. Have even used the skis to "carry over" on occasion, strapping them to my pack for the climb when we planned on descending the other side.

You get more control on the descent with AT boots, for sure, but I've survival skied down some reasonably steep slopes in leather climbing boots. It's definitely more fun on wide, open slopes where you can make bigger radius turns than it is on narrow, winding trails.

I think you could probably go with any used ski, somewhere around 90 mm at the waist, and pick up a pair of used skins for pretty cheap. If you can find some silveretta bindings, they work with ice boots. Skiing in ice boots isn't good for big descents, but awesome for approach's and can handle a little downhill.

Sergio Colombo wrote:I have never skied in my life before and I know absolutely nothing about skis and bindings. I am looking to learn how to ski simply to get rid of the snowshoes and do the approaches and descents with the skis. What set of skis would you recommend? Please keep in mind that I am not going to ski at resorts, only in the backcountry. Thanks in advance for any help and advice.

Downhill Performance

Ice Climbing Performance

Lightweight

Pick any two.

dev

Light weight and a fair price...
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