The XC Skiing thread

[ned]

Finally did my 1st XC race yesterday. 20k skate. Took me 1:09 for a mid pack age group finish. I suffered at least as much as any cx race I've done. I think my fitness is ok but I've A LOT of technique work to do. I might just be hooked.

[lumpy]

Finally did my 1st XC race yesterday. 20k skate. Took me 1:09 for a mid pack age group finish. I suffered at least as much as any cx race I've done. I think my fitness is ok but I've A LOT of technique work to do. I might just be hooked.

Once I'm done schlepping number two son around to alpine races, I really want to do some skate races. I'm gonna get my ass so kicked.

[ned]

Most of the lower elevation (< 6500') are dead. NCAA Nats are on artificial snow this week. At least it's still winter higher up (> 8000').
image.jpg

[caleb]

Lots of warm weather, but the trails are still holding up. Some of the best skiing of the year.

[DoubleButted]

My favorite time of year to ski. With the sun, 14° seems much warmer in mid March than it does in January. (There's something inherently wrong about that statement ) Got out for about 20K yesterday. Good times.

[DCT]

hanging up the skis around here.

[christian]

Don't be sad Darren. I've got my Elpex 610s ready to go in the basement. Double-poling drills on the NCT? Yes!

[DoubleButted]

Don't be sad Darren. I've got my Elpex 610s ready to go in the basement. Double-poling drills on the NCT? Yes!

NCT = North Country Trail? If so, you're at the wrong end of the trail for snow apparently. My pic is from the Noquemenon Trail which follows the NCT for several miles. Last year we had more snow but less cold and they quit grooming on May 1st. so I think we'll be skiing for another month or so. I don't think you'd fare too well with roller skis on this section of the NCT, but I see a lot of them around town in the summer.

[christian]

Sorry - North (Westchester) County Trail. ~60 mile rail trail that follows the grade of the Old Put railroad from NYC to Lake Mahopac in Putnam County, NY.

[ned]

Most everything is melted out around here too. The few trails above 8000' are holding on but skating under chairlifts feels a little desperate.

Any advise on skate roller skis? I don't foresee logging huge miles on them, but I do foresee this being the summer of riding less and mixing it up more.

[rmplum]

Any advise on skate roller skis? I don't foresee logging huge miles on them, but I do foresee this being the summer of riding less and mixing it up more.

I'm kind of thinking this too. A friend who is somewhat keyed in suggested the Marwe 610c. Nordicskater.com out in Vermont has some cheaper ones too, but I can see a nicely constructed unit with proper wheels (in my case big enough to roll over small pebbles without eating asphalt) and some flex being a whole lot more pleasant than a fully rigid platform. The pneumatic models are interesting, but are reportedly heavy and with various reports of wheel reliability.

My last set (some very old Jenex models) seem pretty dated when looking at the current offerings.

[cny rider]

Skied at BREIA today, on the southern Tug Hill plateau.
Nice terrain, deep snowpack still but glacial surface conditions in the morning. Once the afternoon sun was on the snow it got a lot nicer.

[caleb]

Marwe 610c

They're the standard around here. Finn Sisu in St. Paul sells a lot of them.

[ned]

By all accounts today was a powder day at Alta: 14" of Utah blower fell yesterday. I only had time for a quick skate before work. Got my own fresh tracks.
image.jpg

[rmplum]

They're the standard around here. Finn Sisu in St. Paul sells a lot of them.

A local shop has a set of the Jenex V2 Aero 150s (a demo set) for sale at a tempting price. I've read some rave reviews on them, but I know they also raise the complexity/$hit could go wrong factor quite a bit. Our roads suck here. I think I'm between those and the Marwes.

[caleb]

Our trails are still holding up pretty well even after several days in the mid- to upper-40s.




We're supposed to get below freezing tonight and stay there all weekend, so there should be some good skiing this weekend as long as the trails get groomed.

This is turning into a long season.

[lukasz]

So after reading this http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/0...ef=health&_r=0

...I'm questioning my decision to go to 3-pin a little bit. How do I make this safe?

Are these pinless bindings worth a damn? Rottefella Chili Cable Telemark Bindings Voile CRB Plates Black Diamond Risers | eBay

I love the simplicity of what I have but I also love functioning knees.

[christian]

For hardcore tele or bashing about the woods on Karhu XCDs? I think the whole NNN-BC is for the birds so for the latter, I use three-pin rat traps still. My knees are absolutely fine. So are my thneeds.

[lukasz]

That is what I switched to, but I can see falling in such a way that my knee might get jerked around since there is no release mechanism. Mostly bashing around the woods but I've taken most of the weight penalty already so might as well add some safety to the system, eh? I currently don't bother with any cables. Just a rat trap and completely free heel. Digging it except for this one issue.

[ned]

Knock on wood, but I've had some gnarly crashes on big, stiff tele gear with no complaints at the knees. I think there's enough play in the bindings, and crashes tend to be either over the bars or wash outs that don't stress the body too much (as long as you wear a helmet). Seems the desire for a releasable tele binding was driven more by backcountry skiers who want a binding to release if caught in an avalanche.