Telemark Talk / Telemark Tips Forum

I currently have a pair of used Fischer E99 wax base skis that I absolutely enjoy skiing. In fact I used this ski last season way more than my other skis in my quiver (Ingstad 205, Excursion 88 199, and TN 66 205 waxless). The Ingstad is a fun, fast (scary at times) ski that is used in certain conditions. The Excursion 88 is my go to ski in crust and tough conditions. The TN 66 sits in my shed. The E99 is used in most conditions and I feel I have the most control over them.

Eventually the E99's will have to get replaced and I think the right ski is the Asnes Gamme 54 BC in 200 cm. At 180 lbs I think that this size would work for me as I usually carry limited gear when skiing in the local area. 210 cm could work but grip is a concern.

Also considering the Asnes Amundsen instead of the Gamme. It seems that the Amundsen is available for purchase while I have not been able to find the Gamme anywhere. Neptune is not going to carry the Gamme after they sell their last pair in stock (180 cm).

All of my skiing is in the UP of Michigan in hilly terrain.

So far as I know Amundsen has no rocker and greater stiffness than Gamme, coupled with less sidecut means harder to turn. At 180lbs I don't think you would have to worry about grip with any Asnes ski at 210.

Why won't Neptune carry Gamme any longer? They've made some puzzling business decisions the past two years.

I’ve ski’d a pair of Amundsens for the past 13 years. I have the old kind without the ski lock insets. They are mounted with nnnbc bindings. They are a great ski for flat and gentle rolling terrain. They are amazing for pulling a pulk or sled around. I had great fun skiing Kananaskis with these while towing my little boy Liam in his pulk. Alas, those days are gone and he is now a snowboard-obsessed 16 year old. Post pulk days, I do enjoy the Amundsens but while they love to go straight and for long days on the trail, they are difficult to turn on steep slopes. I would go with the Gamme 54 if you can find them. Amundsens are fantastic but I think you will enjoy the Gamme’s more as they are more versatile.

Sport Albert has your Gamme in stock.

https://www.sportalbert.de/åsnes-backco ... 00_p.dpage

This is where I ordered mine from last year. Couldn’t find them anywhere else.

Been a great all around ski for me. I use them with Xplore bindings and Alpina Alaska XP.

YooperXC wrote: ↑

Sun Nov 12, 2023 12:43 pm

Eventually the E99's will have to get replaced and I think the right ski is the Asnes Gamme 54 BC in 200 cm.

Also considering the Asnes Amundsen instead of the Gamme.

The Gamme probably has 90-95% of the efficiency of the Amundsen for going straight, but is 2-3x easier to turn.

In other words, the positives of the Amundsen over the Gamme might not be all that noticeable (except maybe when breaking trail through breakable crus), but the positives of the Gamme over the Amundsen are a night and day difference.

Also, if you're breaking trail through breakable crust, you probably don't want to come down any hills in those conditions with an Amundsen, anyway.

I have both Gamme and old Sondre (from ~20 years ago, when Sondre was Amundsen with less camber) here, and the Gamme basically wins every time, unless I need a rock ski

@YooperXC at 182 pounds and carrying a daypack, water, layers and mittens etc, while on my 200 cm Gammes, I do often think about the 210. I have the earlier model Green Man ski and I did get it used. It does not have nearly even close to the camber of my brand new TN 66 Crown 205's. The TN66 appears to have more Nordic rocker. I haven't even mounted the 66's yet. The Gamme is a great ski as is and I can always shorten the wax pocket and or skin for more speed. The Gamme does seem to drag the pocket some and I do feel 205cm is a good sweet spot for me in a double camber ski. Hope this helps.
Why does your TN 66 Crown sit in the shed?

My suggestion is to weigh gear. Doing it individually invites error… weight scale errors are magnified at the low and high end.

Weigh self in skivvies (base weight). Then wear gear… base, mid, outer layer, socks, boots, gloves, ski pants, gaiters, beanie. Add poles, helmet, goggles. Record results.

Add pack, filling it with hardware normally taken, spare mitts etc. wax, scraper, gps or avi beacon or elt, tent, bag, plus filled water bladders/CamelBak. Record results. (Food varies by mission but anything packaged will include a very accurate indication of weight, allowing you to factor in this weight if you’re brushing up against the top of a BC ski length).

Now you have dry, mid, and full-up weight. Three benchmarks, the heaviest two used for ski selection and interpolation. Can add to these if your base weight changes.

Do this at the beginning of each season. Use it as a gear check day, so examine the condition of equipment before the ski season starts.

I agree with others. I also have green man Gammes, and had 200 cm Ragos, earlier name of Amundsens.

One difference is also that Amundsens should have more float due to a stiffer tip. In the image below, circle size means float, horizontal axle is speed, and up means turnability.

Newer Gammes might be slightly different, they have an even softer tip I think. The image is from ~2014, when Ingstad was like current Combat NATO (model without rocker, not the 2023- one).

Useful chart.

Yes it is. The chart is from a FFTV Fjellskiskolen video (link below). CWMRaider posted and summarized it here earlier.

https://www.fftv.no/fjellskiskolen-ep-3-valg-av-ski


The series has some other good videos, too. A good opportunity to practice Norwegian