Trying to figure out which skis to bring with me next week to the Alpes du Nord.

My new K2 Backlash have done well so far on hardback and breakable crust—just the thing for when I get persuaded to try skiing some steep coulour which might have powder ... or might have sections with something else. Or for fun skiing down the pistes after climbing up them for exercise (or because it was the only reasonable way to reach some interesting backcountry snow above).

My ten-year-old Tua Crossride 110s have gotten me thru all kinds of stuff, but not as heavy as my new ones—and in imminent danger of having a whole edge separate from the base—or losing even larger chunks of P-tex than they have already. (What do I do if they fall apart on the second day of my trip?)

Weather forecast for the next 7-10 days looks maybe like:
(a) continuing freeze-thaw-refreeze (to produce more hardpack and crust? What I want to power thru on my K2 Backlash)
(b) just enough new snow to hide the rocks—but not enough to protect my precious new skis from hitting a few of them (while navigating in the overcast flat light).

Thanks for any perspectives + suggestions.

Ken

Not sure about the rock skis but the fresh snow will be a menace in some valleys. You will certainly get some damage if you ski in woods or ski below 1300m on North slopes or 2000m on south facing slopes which are the current snow lines.

davidof - 13 February 2011 09:47 AM

You will certainly get some damage if you ski in woods or ski below 1300m on North slopes or 2000m on south facing slopes which are the current snow lines.

Thanks that helps—now Sharon has already decided to bring her old skis. I’m starting to lean toward taking my chances on my old ones.

I don’t want to feel restrained from getting out and exploring. But I don’t want to try much exploring at high altitude on glaciers, because I’m afraid the crevasses are not very well-blocked. So I better come prepared to enjoy the mid-altitude—which often implies crossing some lower-altitude.

Funny thing is that when one edge started separating on my beloved old skis, I thought it was urgent to buy some new ones (and glad with the result). Then I used the old ones again on some early-season low-cover days this year, and nothing bad happened, and they were still fun. The bindings were replaced recently, so if I see a cheap deal on some less-damaged or close-out skis, I might move the binding to those. Then I’d have a pair of “long-term” rock skis.

Ken

If things really go pear shaped I have some Atomic TG10s we can put your bindings on as a stop gap measure. I’m hoping for 50cm this week, we’ll see.