Telemark Talk / Telemark Tips Forum

Hey folks, I’ve been lurking a while and this is my first post. I’ve been riding NTN for a while and have gotten quite competent in the resorts, and I’m looking to play with Norpine to make resorts more fun and also to build skill / test my limits to get ready for the BC on a light setup.

My local is North Lake Tahoe, mostly Sugar Bowl. I’m 45,5’9” and a covid heavy 225 lbs. I was 195 pre covid

I don’t have any Nordic gear. I’m debating between nnn-bc and the new Xplore setup. Likely Alpine Alaska. I’m not looking to tour much, and if I do an odd bc mission it won’t have a long approach.

For skis, I have no clue. I’m guessing short and not too wide with some side cut, and not too stiff longitudinally. I don’t think I’ll be flying down the hills like I do In NTN. What do ya’ll recommend for a setup? I can’t wait to suck and be humbled again, I do love the challenge of learning something new. I really wanna see how much I can do on a light setup.

Hello, I’m not sure if I understand your question. My definition of Norpine is lift served in leather boots and lighter skis. If you are riding chairs Fischer has a new stiff NNN-BC boot the Trans Nordic BC. Initial reports indicate this boot being stiff enough to handle mid eighty underfoot ski. A boot like that definitely pushes previous limits of NNN-BC. The Xplore system has a stiffer boot the Alfa Free. I know the Upper is stiff,(from reports), however for me a stiff sole is more important to driving skis from the center.
So if you are riding chairs I guess shorter skis are okay. I’m older and I think 188 cm is a short ski. I also prefer a little ski in front of me with neutral bindings. However if you are kicking to where you are going short skis would really be inefficient.
If you are going Alaska soft for a boot I would think about being under 70mm underfoot. I only know of two skis the Åsnes Rabb and Falketind. If I were kicking along more I would choose the Falketind.
There is another consideration. If you want to be more careful about picking your days, you could probably kick ski width up to sub 80 mm. That opens up loads of rando skis to the mix. However those skis are generally short as well. I’m 5’9” 190 lbs., most of those rando skis just seem too short to me.
Let us know how you do. You sure have some beautiful country and great terrain!

Yes I definitely want to do lift served on light gear. That will be 95% or more of my days. My kids are learning to ski so I figure this will make blues more fun, and hopefully eventually blacks. I want to learn to shred on light gear

One thought was to go to one of the used gear stores in north lake to find some nnn-bc skis with white flexors and drop $50 or whatever to try em. Maybe in the 170cm to 180cm range? I have no clue. I definitely don’t care about kick and glide efficiency right now and I’ve heard shorter is better to learn on.

That may be a much better idea than dropping $800 on a new setup when I don’t really know what I want. Plus with nnn-bc I can probably try a bunch of stuff on the used market for not too much $$$.

I’ll have to check out that Fischer boot. I might have to leave it up to fate to see what speaks to me on the used market?

So, if you're talking about short BC excursions, why not just use skins with your existing NTN setup? I mean, unless you're going to be doing more traveling and in rolling terrain...in which case F-E's suggestions are very valid.

Good question! I do have skins and tour my NTN setup. Scarpa TX pro’s are great downhill and in the resorts. I can rip double blacks on em. I come from a strong alpine background and I think my telemark would improve by spending some time in light gear. I also love a challenge and I think light gear would make blue runs challenging again. My kids are 6 and 8, and they’re solid blue square skiers. I expect I’m going to spend a lot of time on blue squares this season and I think a light setup would make it challenging and more fun.

Also, the Scarpa TX pros don’t tour particularly well. They’re super heavy and the ankle doesn’t allow much range of motion. I will continue to tour them until I’m confident in my downhill skills on a light setup. I don’t plan to tour them in bc until I know I have the skills to get downhill back to the car.

Finally, I’m curious how far I can push light gear. I really like the challenge of learning, and light gear on lift served terrain should provide lots of challenge for many years.

Someday if I get good on light gear then I’ll likely invest in a touring oriented light setup. For now, I will be skiing almost exclusively lift served in a resort.

I like your plan of going to the opposite end of the spectrum gear wise to improve your skills. You can take light gear anywhere you can take heavy gear. I think you will find that with light gear you will be more limited by conditions then by terrain. I suggest getting a single camber ski for a more familiar feel and to eliminate the need for extreme weighting and unweighting. To get the stability that will be missing you may have to change your body position from what you are used to get better centered. This should be easy and feel more natural because you aren't fighting big boots. The other thing you will want to do is flex your ankles forward for better edging and stability.

Well, OK, buy some lighter gear and go to town! Remember that lighter boots require narrower skis in order to edge on hard terrain since there's less support and torque available compared to the Scarpas you own. Spend more time with boot selection than anything else. And don't go too short on your skis, you'll lose stability in carving turns and on groomers.

Ok thanks for the great info! I think I’ve talked myself into nnn-bc so I can try used gear. I didn’t know about single vs double (Nordic) camber and definitely agree I want single camber for now. I think the guideline of no more than 70mm underfoot makes sense. I totally agree good fit is first priority on the boots.

I’ve got a couple more questions:

1). For folks that have dedicated light setups for lift served, what skis do you like? What model and length do you prefer? For context, I plan to look up these skis to have an idea what might be good choices off the used market near me.

2). Should I worry about learning in too stiff of a boot? Will it be a hard transition to a softer touring boot? I’m guessing that going from scarpa tx pros (NTN) to something like the Fischer trans Nordic nnn-bc will be a lot harder than transitioning from a trans Nordic to an alpina Alaska. Basically, I plan to eventually have a tour for turns focused light setup to use in north Lake Tahoe. For folks that ski resorts in light gear, do you use stiff boots in the resort and a softer boot for touring? Or do you just use the same touring boots in resorts?

I don’t think you need to worry about learning on too stiff of a boot. You are learning on resort snow, which tends to be icier than below tree line backcountry snow. I don’t think the stiff upper of the Trans Nordic is too big of a cheat on the front foot. The reported stiff sole of the Trans Nordic may take some breaking in to get the ball of your foot down on the back ski, however it will be welcome as you will be driving a light ski through some heavy mank from time to time on piste. Skiing on piste at blue speeds will push the limits of light equipment in less than ideal conditions. That really comes into play when boys get into their teens.

Skis?

Sized (length) towards downhill skiiing (and account for rocker and effecive edge (i.e. an Ingstad/Transnordic 82 is going to ski short on the groomer):
- Asnes Nansen
- Asnes Ingstad
- Fischer Transnordic 82
- Fischer Traverse 78
- Madshus M62

Recent post here suggest that even the stiff Gamme 54 is a contender.

I personally would want something stiff, but relatively easy to pressure and edge underfoot- regardless I would be more concerned about camber and stiffness underfoot than longitudinal stiffness. Soft wimpy skis suck on hardpack.

This is a cool idea BTW.

I have been greatly enjoying my Asnes Storetind at my local hill with my young children.

I am very strongly considering a 195 Ingstad or a 185 Nansen...then I would leave my T4s at home...