Satchel’s Neophyte Nordic Backcountry Adventure Thread

[Desmo]

Great photos man! Wish I could ski before work, but I leave at 5:30 am. I do ski a bit after work on occasion, so it's all good.

Just keep skiing.... you'll get better every time!

Enjoy!



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[Young Satchel]

Great photos man! Wish I could ski before work, but I leave at 5:30 am. I do ski a bit after work on occasion, so it's all good.

Just keep skiing.... you'll get better every time!

Enjoy!



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Thanks man!

Yeah that’s one of the benefits of my schedule is that I tend not to start work until 10AM most days. Up at 5/5:30, get boyos to daycare by 7:30, and on skis by 8! gives me a decent run before I head in.

But now the raIn is coming again to wash away my precious snow :-/


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[lilcliffy]

My 4.5 year old has an extremely rare incurable genetic disorder that causes blindness and eventual renal failure. As if that weren’t enough, at age 2 he was diagnosed with ASD and is currently non-verbal and extremely sensory sensitive. Both these things are amplified by his visual impairment. Because of this, Access portals as a parent are super limited, but when he’s happy it is a fucking joy to behold we hold on to those moments as I’m sure you do to.

Thank you for sharing this. Takes real guts to talk about it.

While skiing isn’t literally “out my back door”, I live in a semi-rural area and am fortunate to have an array of excellent nature preserves within a five-to-fifteen minute drive of our home. This includes three areas within a stones throw of my boys’ daycare center, and these have become my regular training grounds as a trail runner and will be the same as a budding Nordic Skier .

Having access to this can save your life.

As far as my Initial report, I don’t want you—or anyone else—to get the impression that I’m overly frustrated already.

No- I didn't take it that you were frustrated at all. I have just read a ton of reports from skiers that just bought XC skis and think they should be able to rip turns downhill immediately, or expect their skis to respond like their downhill skis do at the groomed resort!

I’m just the type that likes to learn to do things WELL, and I hold myself to a high standard in any discipline I practice.

This also resonates- sounds familiar...

[Young Satchel]

So I was able to get out for another Tiny Tour[emoji769]️ yesterday before work. Very happy. [emoji3]

Same preserve, but a very different stretch with far more up-and-down, and more narrow and technical singletrack. I kept the phone away for most of it to focus on form and technique so I have just a few pictures to show for it.



Temps were same as the day prior (10-15F, low wind) and Snow was generally ok, though a bit heavier and slightly more “grainy” then my first tour. Still learning to understand and talk about conditions and snow “type” so haven’t found all the lingo yet. Another major difference is that coverage was a little bit spottier on the forest floor, and this was amplified by the larger number of roots and rocks on this particular trail. All-in-all, I would rate this stretch a good deal more challenging than that of the day prior.

This brings up a question that came to mind several times thought the tour. Namely...how sturdy are these skis, what is the “expected lifespan”, and how concerned should I be about damaging them? It seems like a pair of BCXC skis should be able to take some abuse, but every time I heard them scrape over a root I kinda winced. Guess we’ll how they look at season’s end lol.

Because of the Terrain it was a bit slower going, but I paid a lot of attention to how I weighted the skis as I made my way down the trail taking advantage of the few longer flats to attempt some better gliding than the day prior. Still kinda rough going, but felt a bit better. There were some ascents that I felt like I could have used the quick skins for. Got by with herringboning (I think?) and some pole support and that was mostly ok. There were also some reaaaaally tricky downhills that had me on my ass a couple times. Jus super narrow and turny + roots and rocks lurking. There were a couple times I was actually doing nicely on the descent only to have one ski graze a root below the surface and throw me off kilter. Working on recognizing the pale shadow lines of these obstacles better so that I can prepare and unweight the ski a bit. I made it to my favorite large tree before it was time to turn back towards work



As I mentioned briefly in another reply, these boots are not the best fit. No discomfort, and no blisters, but there is significantly more play than I would like. The toebox is perfect, but the rest of the boot it a bit too wide/High-volume for me. Any insole or Extra-thick Wool Sock recs are appreciated.

I’m also not sure about pole length. These (maybe?) feel too long. They are 155s and come a bit below shoulder-height on my 6’3” frame. It may also be that it just feels awkward because it’s a new thing and I don’t quite know what to do with them. Thoughts?

One area I was super excited to see a bit of improvement in was turning. I found a slightly more open “meadow” area on the return trip and was able to make the most graceful (albeit brief) series of linked parallel(ish) turns I have done yet.

Proof [emoji3] . . .



That’s me carving down on the left, I swear!!!! Hahahahaahaha. But in all seriousness that felt great, and made me realize that in addition to logging plenty more Trail time in the preserves, I’d also like to find some more “open meadow” scenarios to practice in. The estate of Hudson River School Painter Fredrick Church is 5 minutes from home and I totally forgot it’s got amazing public grounds open for skiing from dawn to dusk. 5 miles of carriage roads +
Tons of open meadows. Definitely gonna hit that up next snowfall.

Sadly today’s high is near 50 and rain arrives early next week, so further explorations must be put on hold.

Stay tuned! . . .


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[t-$]

nice!

[Young Satchel]

Maybe I'm doing this wrong (which would explain a lot!) but I found when I started out I was using my calves way too much and this caused me to do more of a shuffle than a glide.

I made a conscious effort to focus on driving with my quads and it helped a lot. I also overemphasized a toe point just to practice my balance. Not that this is necessarily a good thing to do, but it forced me to learn to get more comfortable with my skis and boots in a glide position.

This may well be all wrong. If so, I hope someone will chime in and let me know so I can get better!

Keep in mind, I've done this about a half a dozen times.

Great pics!

I think this is pretty solid advice and mirrors some of what I’ve learned as a runner. Though actually—at least running—you want to drive from the glutes rather than using the power of the quads alone to propel you forward.

But in either case, you definitely don’t want to rely to much on the calves. As of today I’m feeling the burn in glutes and front of quads so I think I’m in good shape there.

Will work on the toe point on my next outing!


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[Desmo]

Again....great pics! We're losing all our snow this weekend....hope we get more soon!

I have the same issue with my boots...I have flat feet, so all boots seem like high volume to me. I have to use some type of orthotic insole in darn near every shoe/boot I own. Except for my new Daytona motorcycle boots

I wear Darn Tough wool socks all the time. I wear the full cushion socks in my work boots, and use lighter cushion socks for casual and hiking boots. They also make short ones for running too....I like em, but I seem to prefer Swiftwick socks for running. The Darn Tough socks are made in VT too! They are pricey, but they have a lifetime warranty. I have had no issues returning socks...no hassles, and they send out replacements quickly.

I'm going to try and add some extra velcro to my fischer bcx6 boots so I can get the inner cuff a bit tighter.

[Young Satchel]

Again....great pics! We're losing all our snow this weekend....hope we get more soon!

I have the same issue with my boots...I have flat feet, so all boots seem like high volume to me. I have to use some type of orthotic insole in darn near every shoe/boot I own. Except for my new Daytona motorcycle boots

I wear Darn Tough wool socks all the time. I wear the full cushion socks in my work boots, and use lighter cushion socks for casual and hiking boots. They also make short ones for running too....I like em, but I seem to prefer Swiftwick socks for running. The Darn Tough socks are made in VT too! They are pricey, but they have a lifetime warranty. I have had no issues returning socks...no hassles, and they send out replacements quickly.

I'm going to try and add some extra velcro to my fischer bcx6 boots so I can get the inner cuff a bit tighter.

Have been wearing DTs for about 7 or 8 years now. Love em! Just don’t own any thicker ones. I’ll order a pair and see if they help me fill out the boots along with an orthotic/insole of some sort.


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[lowangle al]

Judging by your photo YS, it sure looks like you got those skis to turn. It is a lot tougher skiing on low snow cover where you can feel the rocks and roots, not to mention it might hurt if you fall.

I recommend to anyone skiing near YS to offer to get out with him to show him some stuff. If you ever want a good photo of yourself skiing go out with a professional photographer. IME

[Young Satchel]

SNOW!!! [emoji33]

Closing work early and off to ski!!!


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