Question about first ski setup (one set for both backcountry and resort)

I'm a noob learning how to ski and trying to build up my skill level to be competent enough for backcountry stuff and eventually hitting up some couloirs in the Sierras where I do most of my climbing (tired of my friends skiing past me while I glissade).

So, I'm putting together my first ski setup and was wondering what people think of using the same set for both resort and touring riding. I seem some boots (like K2 mindbender) that are both gripwalk and AT compatible. I also see that Salomon sells their Shift MNC bindings that I could use in the resort via griwalk as well as touring when needed.

I figured I'll be doing most of my riding for the next few months in resorts but want to try and transition as soon as possible. Should I buy two entirely different setups or would something like I mentioned above be worthwhile? Would love to hear opinions from anyone who has used these pieces of gear before if possible. Thanks.

You're not the first clever person to think of it :-)

I would buy a no-compromise downhill setup to learn on. Worry about the backcountry piece later. 

jdejace wrote: I would buy a no-compromise downhill setup to learn on. Worry about the backcountry piece later. 

especially true since you can get a quality used resort setup for <$500.  

what's up santa monica! 

So, this is my first season.  Never skied in my adult like before this last November.  I moved to a place where it was cold and steep-ish cause I wanted to learn how to ice climb and ski.

I ended up getting a season pass and renting skis.  It was, like, $650 for the pass and $300 for the skis.  I've skied 29 days so far this year.

I think that renting them has worked out well and I'd do that again.

Thanks for the info everyone! I'm going to stick with building two setups. First the alpine setup for resort skiing while I keep an eye out for deals on AT stuff... Actually just won a bid on ebay for Volkl M5 skis and look pivot 14 bindings which I'm stoked to try out.

brian burke wrote:

especially true since you can get a quality used resort setup for <$500.  

what's up santa monica! 

What's up! Lots of snow on Baldy this week. You ever ski up on Gorgonio or Baldy bowl?

This is my first winter skiing too and I gone out numerous times in the backcountry but mostly in areas where I know others frequently ski and on gradual slopes.  I would recommend going with someone with experience in the backcountry and to avoid any steep slopes, especially when solo.  Skiing down snowmobile tracks and icy slopes have been the biggest challenges for me.

Matt G wrote: Thanks for the info everyone! I'm going to stick with building two setups. First the alpine setup for resort skiing while I keep an eye out for deals on AT stuff... Actually just won a bid on ebay for Volkl M5 skis and look pivot 14 bindings which I'm stoked to try out.

Those will not suck :-) Have fun. 

jdejace wrote: You're not the first clever person to think of it :-)

I would buy a no-compromise downhill setup to learn on. Worry about the backcountry piece later. 

Good advice here.  

I would forget about the backcountry gear for now.  Get an alpine setup and learn to ski.  When you have the chops to ski in the backcountry you'll appreciate a lighter setup that is dedicated to touring.  Salomon Shifts are nice for a travel ski or if you do a lot of sidecountry skiing or sled skiing, but they're way too heavy IMO for dedicated touring.  Most eastern Sierra tours have decent approaches and vert, so you'll appreciate lighter gear for touring.  

Dedicated alpine gear is more durable, cheaper, and has better release characteristics while you're learning to ski (at least compared to most tech bindings).  

On a separate note, I think it's important to really become a solid skier before venturing too far into the backcountry.  The consequences of falling and flailing are higher.  You'll also ski a lot of shit snow in the backcountry and it pays to be at least a competent skier in these conditions so you can survive it.  Sure, short tours in great pow are always awesome and don't require a high level of ability, but if you want to ski couloirs I'd focus on my skiing first.  

Enjoy, it's a ton of fun.

Matt G wrote: Thanks for the info everyone! I'm going to stick with building two setups. First the alpine setup for resort skiing while I keep an eye out for deals on AT stuff... Actually just won a bid on ebay for Volkl M5 skis and look pivot 14 bindings which I'm stoked to try out.

Shit I missed that, good call.  M5 Mantra is my all mountain ski currently.  It rips.  

 

Hey Matt G.  Here's why I went with just one set of gear.  I studied the gear choices, and thanks to some experienced friends, think I have come up with a pretty good, all-round setup.  Here's my story:

For years I only skied free-heel, but never well.  I've gone from the skinniest gear steadily up to wider, and higher performance.  Unless you can master the tele turns a lot faster than I, you may want to jump ahead of all the suffering I've done attempting to ski down steep passes with heavy packs, on leather boots and three-pin or tele bindings.  In the middle photo you see where I finally ended up just this year in my hopes of making better time, and actually enjoying the steep downhill parts of my travels.  (You see, I use the skis to get into the mountains, not the other way around.)  So I finally decided that I should try locking heels down with AT gear.

For a cool $1,350 [F!!]  I got myself Voile Objective Backcountry skis, Scarpa F1 boots, and Atomic tech bindings called "Backland tour"-- and all 3 pieces of gear were discounts--should have cost even more!   Seems like most AT skiers are into it for the fun and challenge of climbing up and skiing back down, where I am just into touring and week-long trips in the backcountry.  So I want one set of gear, that I will one day, hopefully,  feel totally comfortable on.  The Objectives are super light, yet versatile skis, and the Scarpa F1 boots are very lightweight, and have an excellent walk mode, and sole for climbing.  These skis do not track as straight,  maneuver around as well, nor are they as fast for traveling as the longer-narrower 180cm Atomic Rainier hybrid skis in the 1st photo, but in time, I hope they will prove to be way easier to control on the downhill.  The boots are way warmer, and all-around easier than leathers, or my huge Tele boots-- no more of the painful task seen below:

The morning thawing of the frozen, wet leather boots!

So Matt G, I hope you find a great setup, and good luck out there!

Burke posts up great videos and condition reports!

I've had a one ski quiver for resort and backcountry for 3-4 years now. Volkl Nanuk 178 and 95 waist, Dynafit speed turn, and Dynafit Mercury boots. All for around $1000. New but on sale gear. Ive been happy but already knew how to ski. Never had the bindings release but I'm pretty conservative. I'm tempted to get a resort setup now as well.

Good luck!

Don’t buy the Shift binding, which is way too heavy for touring.

Lightweight gear is a huge advantage, when it comes to ski touring/backcountry skiing.

You will have a much quicker and easier time learning to ski in the resort on resort gear, than in the back country with touring gear. Get a seasons pass for a local ski area and put in as many miles as possible.

Check out this article, including the comments, which are very informative:
https://www.wildsnow.com/27603/skiing-inbounds-forget-quiver-one/

2 different set ups if you can afford it. I have a pin setup and my buddy recently converted his Alpine skis to an aframe setup. Depending on how packed the groomers are at the resort,I have to limit how hard I can go with my pin bindings. In the Backcountry, my buddy is miserable lugging the aframe bindings uphill (I personally do not like the pivot point) His skis are probably super heavy though also. So if you can afford it, definitely 2 setups tailored to conditions you would ride most in both settings. Otherwise, 1 can get the job done though you're going to be making sacrifices which may or may not dtract from the experience. 

D R wrote:Otherwise, 1 can get the job done though you're going to be making sacrifices which may or may not dtract from the experience. 

I think 1 set is semi-reasonable for someone who is already an advanced skier and doesn't want to stick their neck out. 

I think a lightweight AT setup will 100% detract from someone who is learning. Modern downhill skis are just so good. My Nordica Enforcers plow through everything. My (very good) midweight AT setup is significantly more challenging to ski, and definitely won't take as much abuse from rocks/roots etc.. from learning to ski in the Spring. 

Mike McL wrote: Good advice here.  

I would forget about the backcountry gear for now.  Get an alpine setup and learn to ski.  When you have the chops to ski in the backcountry you'll appreciate a lighter setup that is dedicated to touring.  Salomon Shifts are nice for a travel ski or if you do a lot of sidecountry skiing or sled skiing, but they're way too heavy IMO for dedicated touring.  Most eastern Sierra tours have decent approaches and vert, so you'll appreciate lighter gear for touring.  

Dedicated alpine gear is more durable, cheaper, and has better release characteristics while you're learning to ski (at least compared to most tech bindings).  

On a separate note, I think it's important to really become a solid skier before venturing too far into the backcountry.  The consequences of falling and flailing are higher.  You'll also ski a lot of shit snow in the backcountry and it pays to be at least a competent skier in these conditions so you can survive it.  Sure, short tours in great pow are always awesome and don't require a high level of ability, but if you want to ski couloirs I'd focus on my skiing first.  

Enjoy, it's a ton of fun.

Completely disagree with this. :)

I was a lame-o snowboarder on the East Coast. Moved to Montana. My local ski hill (Whitefish Mountain Resort) has a fantastic uphill touring policy. For a year I hiked up the hill (no pass) in snowshoes with my snowboard tenuously attached to a backpack, getting passed by folks on AT gear. It was so fun, but so dumb compared to AT.

I had never skied, didn't stop me: I bought a decent alpine touring package, and learned, trial by fire. Ha, my second day ever skiing was actually in the backcountry. It was embarrassing, I crashed, it was so, so fun, I learned. I put in a ton of groomer laps that year and toured in the BC at least twice a month, got my avi ed., etc., and figured it out.

It's all about determination/how much you want it. I really, really wanted it ... 10 years later, I'm touring 50-ish days a year and I haven't bought a pass in five years.

So, my advice: Go out and find a decent three- or four-buckle boot, buy some pin-tech bindings (DO NOT skimp and get frame bindings, you'll regret it, I promise), get a 100-ish underfoot ski, and some skins. But only if you really, really want it. :)

Also, another good reason to get an AT set up now: If you live near a hill that has an uphill policy, go take advantage, get in shape -- be prepared! Something I'm seeing more and more of is people buying AT set ups, getting the avi ed., refusing to ski up groomer laps because it's "lame" ... and then getting into the backcountry completely out of shape and being totally wasted after climbing 2,000 ft. and then having to ski out incredibly tired/sloppy = dangerously. Don't be that BC skier. :)

I agree with Mills 100%. Prior to moving to Alaska, I skied 2 or 3 times in my life, all at a resort (if you want to consider Paoli peaks in Indiana a resort). Moved to Alaska, splurged on a lightweightish AT setup and had a mentor for a season and took my avy 1 course. Moved back to California for a season and now live in Colorado. Since purchasing my setup in 2016?, I've bought lift tickets maybe 3 times. I spend about 10 or so days in the Backcountry each season and a day or 2 skinning at the resort (unfortunately that's about all I can squeeze out as of late). It's a very different experience skiing groomers vs powder vs crust etc, and no matter what it's going to take practice. So I would say get an AT setup if that's where you think you'll be spending most of your time and you can still go to resorts (uphilling for free) and work on technique or whatever. And if you are going to the Backcountry, get an avy course first and foremost. Find yourself a 25 degree hill and do laps (again, avy course first so you don't get yourself in over your head, literally and figuratively). Not only will you start getting your technique down and more comfortable on the skis, youll get a lot of practice managing your gear and switching between skinning and downhill.

I have two suggestions.
1.Buy a used setup with frame bindings  it'll be cheaper and honestly I don't find them that inefficient on single day tours and you can use them at the resort and practice touring around. Don't get anything too wide >100mm And once you get confident in your skiing and touring move to a tech setup.
But invest in a good pair of boots chocie, lupos, etc if you arent hiking or scrambling alot you don't really need a a full rubber sole as your first pair of boots.
2. Work part time as a ski instructor you usually only have to work a few days out of the season they help develop your skiing ( you don't have to be good at skiing to apply) and you get free advance clinics to make yourself a better skier. A season of this will really help develop your skiing. And take a basic avy course.

Given your stated goals, don't spend the money on backcountry gear. Buy good downhill boots, a middle of the road resort ski and binding set-up, and spend the rest of the money on lessons and resort passes. Downhill reps matter, and you can't ski enough backcountry vertical to learn how to ski well and with confidence. Once you're skiing black/double-black inbounds terrain with confidence, then consider buying a pair of touring boots and renting some skis while you learn that skill set.

Similar advice here: https://www.mountainproject.com/forum/topic/113513455/ski-advice#ForumMessage-113516565 

Before the skis, get good boots. Go to a good boot fitter (usually only found in ski towns) and spend good money there. Your boots are the most important part of the equation IMO. Fit is key for both performance and comfort. They will outlast your skis, especially as you’re figuring out what you like  

Difficult decision: alpine boots are usually different from touring boots. There are some that have interchangeable toes and heels, but those are the minority. 

I replied to this thread the season-before-last, which was my first season skiing.

My strategy was to do a season rental for resort-oriented alpine skis, and then see how I felt before laying out for AT gear.  Here is a bit of perspective after a second season.

I did that, and ended up with a really nice setup.

One thing that I wish I'd have know was that it's now possible to get a "switch" binding, which is more or less all the goodness of an alpine (resort-style) binding that has a plate which releases to prevent knee injuries AND also has a switch to convert it to pin-style touring bindings.

That binding is lighter than the frame binding and mounts in two spots so (and this is what I am told, I've never skied a frame binding) the ski flexes more like an AT binding.

[Edited.... ths apparently is incorrect:]Another thing that I wish I had known was that gripwalk AT boots work just fine with alpine bindings.  While these are a lot more expensive than non-AT boots, they are often lighter and have a walk mode, both of which I appreciated. [end of edit]

I was lucky and had money for whatever I wanted, so I just bought a whole setup at once, but if that wasn't a thing I could do, I would have gone with the boots and gotten some cheaper used skis/bindings... I also had them fitted and bought from my local shop, plus was using some footbeds they recommended.... it wasn't even in the same class as last year.  So much more comfortable, and thus easier to ride on.

I did around 35 days out last year (only one in the backcountry) but at this point my skiing is good enough to feel like I can keep up with folks on easy black territory... I'm very much looking forward to a longer season that will include a lot of backcountry next year.