Gear Winter Dog Walks - XC/Approach/Snowshoes

[Tony S]

a few to a dozen feet of fresh snow

She is in southern NH. Lucky to get a few to a dozen INCHES of fresh snow. Three inches of refrozen slush with embedded lucky charms of pinecones, rocks, and petrified dog poop is probably more like it.

 

[Slim]

@coskigirl m
you named your dog after RBG? . I assume she doesn’t do what she is told? Goes her own way? Is totally awesome?

 

[cantunamunch]

Three inches of refrozen slush with embedded lucky charms of pinecones, rocks, and petrified dog poop is probably more like it.

As @Slim pointed out upthread, for us that's a winter bonanza

 

[coskigirl]

@coskigirl m
you named your dog after RBG? . I assume she doesn’t do what she is told? Goes her own way? Is totally awesome?

I did! She is sweet and scrappy and totally focused on what she wants and loves people and is a survivor of an infection that should have killed her.

 

[ScottB]

This thread got me thinking about my gear, and if I need new equipment. What else is SkiTalk for?? Its doing its job. Seriously, I did find video's about all these xcountry variations that were really helpful. Here's what I learned and what I came to think (my opinions)

1. Groomed Xcountry ski tracks are 70 mm wide and usually there is a skate lane next to them
2. XC skis for in tracks are usually 50mm +/- wide
3. XC skis for backcountry or out of track are typically made in 62mm and 68mm widths. They call these XC touring skis.
4. XC skis in the BC category start at 70mm and go up to about 120mm (tip width)
5. Track skis have double camber for good glide, Touring and BC can have lesser camber designs
6. BC skis in the 90mm+ tend to be more for turns and downhill, and less for gliding and striding
7. In deep snow, you won't glide much anyway, so width is your friend
8. There are two boot categories from a 10,000 foot viewpoint: classic and BC boots
9. Classic boots will typically use NNN bindings and be for track skiing
10. BC boots have two binding choices: BC NNN and 75mm three pin.
11. 75 mm three pin seem to be the most heavy duty and downhill oriented
12. Within reason you should match your boot to the ski type
13. Most XC touring and BC skis have metal edges, some in the XC touring class do not


I own very old, but light, 60mm XC touring skis, double camber, no metal edges. I have an outdated Salomon SNS Pilot binding and Salomon Combi boot which gives very good control, I suspect better than standard NNN type. I ski on terrain very similar to what @elemmac skis. I occasionally go to an area that has groomed tracks. Lastly I don't go that often, as I live on the north shore coast of Mass. and we have had many more rain storms than snow the last few winters. I am south of the typical rain/snow line that we have had the last few winters.

An ideal modern ski to pair with my 60mm XC touring ski would be the Fischer Traverse OTX 78mm ski. 1.5 camber, with scales and full metal edges, and can take a "shorty" skin. I already have a XC touring ski that works really well in groomed tracks, but just OK in BC terrain, depending on the conditions. A wider ski will work better in the BC, which is the majority of my skiing. I want to use my same boots with a SNS Pilot bindings. So I don't want to go too wide of a BC ski which will need a new BC ski boot. 78mm seems like a good width compromise to be a big improvement in variable off track skiing, but not be so wide as to need to jump to BC NNN bindings and heavier boots.

I have AT touring gear with a 108mm (underfoot) ski (around 135mm tip width) with AT boots and shift bindings and skins for going up a mtn and skiing back down. So I have the wide end covered with that setup. I have used my AT setup around my house and in the woods. It works really well right after a big dump with fresh deep snow. After it packs down and melts, its too much ski and too little glide for my tastes. Here is an old video or two that covers the subject well.

 

[Slim]

@ScottB , you already mentioned it, but I am going to call it out here for emphasis, for those who are not aware:

Alpine (including Alpine Touring/B) skis are named after waist width:
ie: Fischer Ranger 99 (130-97-121 mm)

XC (aka nordic) skis are named after tip width:
ie: Fischer S-Bound 98 (98-68-88mm)

Not a problem when you are comparing like with like, but in discussions like this one, where people are considering a wider range of categories it a problem. Also, if you are looking at the wider Backcountry Nordic and narrow AT categories, where widths overlap:

Atomic Backland UL 65 (93-65-79mm)

Rossignol BC 90 (88-60-78 mm)

There are exceptions:
Madshus names its Backcountry Nordic skis after waist widths:
Panorama M68 (99-68-84 mm)

 

[cantunamunch]

78mm seems like a good width compromise to be a big improvement in variable off track skiing, but not be so wide as to need to jump to BC NNN bindings and heavier boots.

I really like that category of ski - though I'm mostly in Rossi world nowadays.

Don't forget to inspect your boot bars for wear and chew!