This is the World Famous TelemarkTalk / TelemarkTips / Telemark Francais Forum, by far the most dynamic telemark and backcountry skiing discussion board on the world wide web since 1998. East, West, North, South, Canada, US or Europe, Backcountry or not.
This is the World Famous TelemarkTalk / TelemarkTips / Telemark Francais Forum, by far the most dynamic telemark and backcountry skiing discussion board on the world wide web since 1998. East, West, North, South, Canada, US or Europe, Backcountry or not.
This is the World Famous TelemarkTalk / TelemarkTips Forum, by far the most dynamic telemark and backcountry skiing discussion board on the world wide web. We have fun here, come on in and be a part of it.
ok, I feel old now. I was a nordic racer during the exact period of time that "skating" became a Thing. Bill Koch was my idle, and he was the skating pioneer. I still remember as a teenager when there was no division between skating and classic. we would agonize over the decision before a race: am I going to apply kick wax or try this skating thing. it was a critical decision, you could glide faster without kick wax, but going uphill or flats...you were all-in without kick-wax. the origins were to leave one ski in the track and skate with the other ski....and ALOT of double poling. obviously things progressed very quickly, but I was there in the beginning....a long time ago...
A legend for sure, Bill Koch. Cross-country skiing used to be a Scandinavian affair. Then the Soviets came and after that, Bill Koch....
In the beginning there was skating with only one leg pushing off. Then it evolved into only glide wax and double skating.
Nowadays, skiers are so strong they can skip grip wax also in Classic events and do double poling up quite steep hills!
I watch as much world cup nordic racing as I can. the organizers caught on a few years ago to the "skip the kick wax and double pole up all the hills". they are usually pretty good now about throwing in steep hills. although some of the city-based sprints remain flat...but those are really designed for spectators...
when I was in high school , as part of training for XC racing, I would go out on these super long roller ski routes. I would chase down people on bicycles and double pole past them...I found that possible mainly into strong headwinds. it was fun
Hyvä Suomi!
While it may seem strange, I can see where you are coming from when you ask about skating with wide skis on frozen lakes. If the situation is right, I will skate with my Fischer E99 Crown.
This was my thought too - backcountry (NNN-BC) bindings and boots are quite good for skating since it seems like that is what most people are using on nordic skates.
I have skated on my E99s as well, to get past a particularly boring section of flat groomed trail, and I can keep it up for 4-5km or so but it is pretty tiring unless the conditions are fast (like in the morning in late March). The issue is not so much the weight of the skis (my old Bonna skate skis are pretty heavy) but the low camber. Skate skis are designed to have minimal surface area on the snow at all times - since there is no kick - and I think the "springiness" of them also helps a lot. BC skis are, obviously, the exact opposite of this.
If you have so little glide that you're skating in offset (what you call "kuokka" in Finland) or even diagonal skate (what we call "canard glissé") on flat ground there is absolutely no benefit to skating versus diagonal stride, unless it's by necessity. Such as during a freezing rain storm when you have no klister
I think it also comes down to boot stiffness at the ankle. I could skate my Dynastar Legends 184 / 128-100-118 a half mile to get from the Pano lift to the back chutes at Mary Jane. I had to shuffle the last bit, cuz after a half mile I was pooped!
Free Heeler - As in Free Spirit and Free Beer. No $700 pass! No plastic boots! And No Fkn Merlot!
