Ski Review: 2019 Åsnes Gamme 54 BC

[lilcliffy]

This season I have been on the Gamme 54 more than any other Nordic touring ski- largely due to less-than-usual snowpack restricting me to trail skiing for most of the season (i.e. there is usually at least 4 months when the snow is so deep that I can ski anywhere and up and down most anything).

I have used the first-gen and current-gen Gamme 54 about equally as I have often had a ski partner that wanted to try the current model.

I love both models of this ski.
There is actually something I like more about the first-gen model- I can't quite describe it...
What I continue to like more about the current model is the how light it feels in steep and tight places.

[CwmRaider]

From the photos I see, Norway may just be an XCD touring paradise! I don’t see the thick woods of eastern North America.

Fennoscandia is amazingly far North- further North than Labrador!!!
Norway is mountainous- one wouldn't have to climb very high to get above treeline.

Yes Norway is nearly completely mountainous and spans the same lattitude as Alaska. Only 3% of the surface area is flat enough with enough soil to be farmable. The largest flat areas are mountain plateaux (Hardangervidda, Finnmarksvidda) with rock and arctic tundra. Below the treeline is mainly boreal forest / taiga on a very thin soil cover, and bogs. The treeline is at sea level in the far North, and close to sea level all around the coast. Further from the coast the treeline is a bit higher. Where I live along the fjord it is around 500m. I do like skiing on paths and hiking in the forest though, it is often windy above the treeline.
It also takes forever to go anywhere, as the roads are always curvy. It takes about the same amount of time to drive from Stavanger to Kirkenes as it does from New York to Los Angeles (unless you cross into the flatter terrain of Sweden).
Another fun fact: Norway is the country with the second longest coastline in the world, after Canada...
Sorry for this off topic post, I got a bit excited The landscape and nature are the main reasons I moved here in addition to having a job opportunity.

[Stephen]

Sorry for this off topic post, I got a bit excited The landscape and nature are the main reasons I moved here...

EDIT
I hope it is ok to say that I don’t think you are really sorry — and you shouldn’t be!

I don’t think you should be sorry at all.
It’s the passion we have that makes things interesting.
I was happy to learn all you posted, and if someone isn’t interested, they needn’t waste their time reading.

I was fortunate enough to have a two week visit for a sailing championship to Norway and Sweden at 16, and am looking forward to more.
It’s just too bad there’s a 90 day limit for the EU. Would love to spend the winter someplace in the Scandinavian countries.

[jyw5]

You guys talked me into getting a Gamme for next season...but I really hope they change the graphics... Gamme looks like a friggin Hobbit. sorry.

[Woodserson]

You guys talked me into getting a Gamme for next season...but I really hope they change the graphics... Gamme looks like a friggin Hobbit. sorry.

It's so bad. I can't do it.

Bring back the Green Man!!!

[Musk Ox]

Wooderson quoth:
It's so bad. I can't do it.

Bring back the Green Man!!!

I don't give an ermine's minge about wide skis with waxless bases.

I am, however, almost personally offended by teal.

[fisheater]

I am so glad I have the Green Man model! Teal Man looks like he was painted by the same guy that paints Fabio on the covers of romance novels!

[jyw5]

Its really too bad...because Gamme 54 sounds like the ski I am missing in my collection...I would be 1 ski closer to having skis for all conditions. lol.

I skiied some amazing crust yesterday...the time from crust to mash was very long...almost 3hrs...and could have gone longer had I gone higher in elevation, but I was tired. The 185cm Skog was tough on the hard refrozen bumpy snow but nailed it when the crust was perfect and still did very well as the snow softened. I could feel the tails of the ski dragging as I think I went about 10cm too long for my purposes... I was still able to make short jump turns on steep terrain...but nothing like Brother Gamme in that video!! I think a short Gamme 54 (170cm) would have been better (?)... in any case, I can't complain, what a fantastic crust season we are having this yr. We might have another week or so of crust skiing...

[fisheater]

@jyw5
I really like my Gamme, but I don’t really see you posting about crushing miles in hilly terrain. I can make turns on my Gamme, but it’s a truly double cambered ski. I was pretty good at my best, but I don’t know if I would have wanted a Gamme back then to ski your terrain. I know you’re much lighter than I was even in high school, but what about a Skog, or Nansen 10-15 cm longer than your current ski?
I don’t know how a Nansen bends, but I would bet it would bust crud, and still bend in a turn better than Gamme.
I can make nice Tele turns on the Gamme in ideal conditions, a couple inches of soft on a firm base. On a mountain, I don’t think I would be looking for a Gamme for making turns.
Good luck in whatever ski you choose. While I skied steep terrain on big mountains, I was never a mountaineer like you. I guess the reason for my post is that I’m a big fan of the Gamme. I just don’t see where it fits in the type of skiing you generally write about in your posts.

[jyw5]

@jyw5
I really like my Gamme, but I don’t really see you posting about crushing miles in hilly terrain. I can make turns on my Gamme, but it’s a truly double cambered ski. I was pretty good at my best, but I don’t know if I would have wanted a Gamme back then to ski your terrain. I know you’re much lighter than I was even in high school, but what about a Skog, or Nansen 10-15 cm longer than your current ski?
I don’t know how a Nansen bends, but I would bet it would bust crud, and still bend in a turn better than Gamme.
I can make nice Tele turns on the Gamme in ideal conditions, a couple inches of soft on a firm base. On a mountain, I don’t think I would be looking for a Gamme for making turns.
Good luck in whatever ski you choose. While I skied steep terrain on big mountains, I was never a mountaineer like you. I guess the reason for my post is that I’m a big fan of the Gamme. I just don’t see where it fits in the type of skiing you generally write about in your posts.

Thanks for your response and always value your opinions. I fortunately have at least another yr to decide on a new ski as my wife is not very happy about my growing obsession.


Im going to practice more with the Skog 185cm after reviewing several Gamme and telehiro videos. I think I have gotten lazy with my form in the past yr, I do survival ski moves when terrain gets challenging instead of working through it with Barnett style ski techniques. I also cheat and slip and do p turns when it gets steep/difficult ...at first it was in the name of safety...but what im finding is I am doing less and less teleturns, my haphazard unorthodoxed, wild, undisciplined skiing isn't efficient and probably looks pretty bad on video and is probably why I cannot graduate to superstar pornstash skiing like in The Telemark Movie (1987).

I'm going to ski some mash tomorrow on a moderate slope and practice teleturns for a few hrs or until I am tired of the bruises.