Wildly speculative talk about Asnes 21-22 lineup: Otto/FT62

[fisheater]

Thanks, 'fisheater'. Yeah, I'm a bit long in tooth for cranking couloirs. More like blue/single-black-diamond type hills. But it sounds like the Rabb or FT, or the others.

I am hoping the new FT Xplore handles mank better than the older FT. While I skied the older FT at the resort with my son for about 3 seasons, I don’t recommend unless conditions are ideal. The Rabb would probably serve you better, although I have never handled one.

[エイダン.シダル]

What do I call you? I don’t read Japanese characters.

Let's not Romanize 'エイダン.シダル', because I'm a (minor) public servant. I like my privacy. People be crazy.

We'll see about the mohair X-skins I got for my Gammes. An experiment, and for climbs. I've got full-length nylons from another ski, so this is for comparison.

[lilcliffy]

@lilcliffy A 210 cm Amundsen??? Did it come with wings too? I hope the snow falls fast, (for all of us) you have lots of ski reviews to write this season!

(I know that this thread is not about the really old man- you know the dude that found the South Pole on skis...)
Not sure about wings- but definitely afterburners!

The Amundsen is magnificent- I am as excited about lighting the hills on fire with the old man as I am about any ski I have ever flexed!

Man- do they ever look and feel fast and stable!

I ordered both a 201 and a 208 on clearance- was very unsure on length...
I am keeping the 208- selling the 201.

[lilcliffy]

Here is another photo-
20211205_120314.jpg

Do you have to look these Men in the eyes,
and apologize to those you havent selected for that day’s tur? lol

Nice Collection!

The elders and the fashion model assure me that- although they are emotionally-intelligent and sensitive dudes- their feelings are not easily hurt!

I am certain I will use and keep Roald-

Fridjof and Otto are my winter's splurge and experiment-
If the Nansen WL works out- it will stop my wife and I from fighting over the 78- and I will retire my E109 Crown...
If the Sverdrup works out- it will probably trade-off with the Gamme as my everday driver.
The 205 Sverdrup may prove to be too long for me for steep terrain though...
(i.e. I may end up needing to test a shorter length before I can conclude whether it is a good fit! )

[fisheater]

@lilcliffy A 210 cm Amundsen??? Did it come with wings too? I hope the snow falls fast, (for all of us) you have lots of ski reviews to write this season!

(I know that this thread is not about the really old man- you know the dude that found the South Pole on skis...)
Not sure about wings- but definitely afterburners!

The Amundsen is magnificent- I am as excited about lighting the hills on fire with the old man as I am about any ski I have ever flexed!

Man- do they ever look and feel fast and stable!

I ordered both a 201 and a 208 on clearance- was very unsure on length...
I am keeping the 208- selling the 201.

I am very excited to hear your reports regarding the Amundsen. Gamme handles my local trail skiing nicely, as I can turn down the trails as fast as Gamme carries me. However the thought about going even faster??? Well let’s just say I turned 60 over the summer but I still haven’t grown up yet!

[jyw5]

So I'm completely overwhelmed by which ski I want now...

I've got idle Alico Snow March boots, and Voile Cable Telemark bindings (I'd put on modest risers). Should I put them on new/old Falketinds/Rabbs if I can get them?
Will the Rabb, or the FT, be the better ski for learning light tele technique?

For what?
- Ontario/PQ hilly trails, and some inbound
- ice, hardpack, and medium density snow the norm, as well as groomed

I'm well set-up already for the lower angle stuff: Gammes and Fischer S Bound Outabound 88s, both on NNN BC.

It seems like @jyw5 has tackled somewhat this problem with shorted (than recommended) narrow, stiffer skies. Don’t remember the specifics, but maybe he will comment?
Definitely not the FT62, and I’m guessing not the Rabb.

I think fisheater's point of view about not recommending shorter skis is a good idea. I think my use is very different from most. In hilly terrain, I would recommend the appropriate length ski as indicated on the Asnes website. I personally feel if I lived in a place with consistent hills and not these steep mtns with long flattish approaches, I would choose either the Nansen or the Sverdrup. Both are very good turnable skis. I don't think I will solve the problem of icy/crusty snow...I am not skilled enough to make good turns with leather boots. I have compensated by leaving the skins on and it works as the extra grip helps. I have also used full length skins on boiler plate and windblown crust which also sort of works. My take on hard icy steep terrain is that you need plastic boots for it or you need to ski like those guys in the ski videos. I'm too late in my ski career to learn that.

I cant comment on the new FT, but the old ones do not do well on icy hardpack snow. I can get them to work but its not fun. maybe your cable bindings will make it better. but on NNN BC, its very difficult. I can manage some jump turns or quick p-turns with pole planting, but it looks like I'm survival skiing.

[jyw5]

And here's a brief update comparing FT62 (2019) and Sverdrup.

We were cursed/blessed with warmer temps (20F) with as much as 6inches of new snow on top of all that deep bottomless powder and still snowing...wind was blowing and visibility was poor.

I used the 172cm FT62 today (thats the Asnes recommended length for me). My suspicions were correct, the tips of the FT62 plows through all that deep powder much better than the Sverdrup. But as soon as the snow was variable or packed, I noticed I would get tossed around...losing quite a bit of stability. The Sverdrup is more stable and turns better on packed snow and especially in the skin and skiier tracks. FT62 breaks trail way better in deep snow than the Sverdrup. With snow this deep, I recommend snowboarding. lol.

I only did 2250ft for 4.6miles. late start, skins failed, and high winds, zero viz, and avy danger up high on the ridge...so turned around 400ft from the top.

As you know, I don't describe my experiences technically (rocker, camber, flex, etc). This may help some of you who don't understand the technical stuff decide what may work for you.

I'm going out again tomorrow. if we get hit with a blizzard, I will do the nearby flattish trails with my MT51 or Skog, depending on how much snow we get overnight. If for some miraculous reason the weather becomes nice overnight, I will go back up there and use an AT setup, wide alpine skis, plastic boots. The snow is just too deep for leather and skinnies.

[エイダン.シダル]

Åsnes has new video up, some even in English: a comparison of the new FT and Rabb.

[jyw5]

Not really aesthetics. Very practical. If you’re on hilly terrain or in-bounds, you wan to be able to turn. Longer skis are going to be more challenging. Longer skis are good for speed and distance, and support in deeper snow. A narrower ski is going to edge better on icy, hard snow than a wider ski, like the FT62 or Rabb. Not arguing with you, just offering an opinion…

Understood, and taken in the right spirit.

The terrain that jyw5 is real mountainous terrain, not hills. I strongly recommend a ski that is made to turn, a ski that you can bend. A cross country oriented ski isn’t really made to bend, consequently while you can ski it a little short and bend it to a degree, you still cannot bend it evenly. It will perform in a sub par manner in certain conditions. I have done just this thing with a 200 cm USGI ski. I skied a season at the ski hill with my son, utilizing that USGI ski. I could link turns, and handicapping myself made the skiing interesting, but the deficiencies of this type of ski downhill was readily apparent. If you are a good skier, and have a plan, go for it. I was a ski instructor, I know a bit about teaching people how to turn. I think suggesting a short XC ski to learn to make Telemark turns is high on the list of terrible suggestions.
So onto turnable skis. If you are on a budget look for what comes on the market used, Madshus Annum and Epoch, Fischer S-98 and 112, absolutely Falketind 62, i’m sure that Rossignol 110 would be fine as well.
What can you handle with the Ski March boot? I can handle any of the skis listed above with my Ski March boot. It is a powerful boot. I ski my Tindan 86 in Powder with my Ski March boot. There are a lot of guys that would ski any of the above skis with NNN-BC. While it is reasonable to suggest a plastic boot for an S-112. That has more to do with the ability of the skier. I can easily overpower an S-112 with a Ski March boot. I certainly understand why skiers mount those skis NNN-BC. Any of those skis, with a 3 pin cable would make a fine turning rig. No riser is necessary, but wouldn’t be harmful either.

I totally agree with you. I have very specific goals for using xc skis + nnn bc leather boots. My feet hate heavy plastic boots even with expensive intuition heat molded liners. It isn't practical for flattish 2+ mile approaches to a single black equiv or borderline double black equiv slope...especially if the conditions are great. A light setup also saves energy and allows me to go farther and ski for longer. And I can carry them and hike in the summer for greater distances.

The shorter lengths work for me also because I have relatively short arms and legs and my legs are not strong. 5cm short helps me make better turns in steeper terrain. I only use long skis when the trail is flat...and in those cases, I use my old classic nnn skis.

Ultimately, selecting proper length depends on your needs, conditions, and the terrain...and also on the ski profile/shape/geometry/weight. It has taken me a few yrs to figure it out.

My 169cm S112, NNN BC has been a very ubiquitous ski but also has been frustratingly slow on the flats and extremely slippery, sometimes unusable on hard icy snow. S112 excels on steep corn and mash potato snow in the summer. It is fair to poor on all other terrain.
I have learned to live with all of its faults.

I bought Asnes skis to try and solve the problems of icy slopes. Skog (Nansen) does ok. Sverdrup -- havent skiied it enough to decide for sure, but seems promising. FT62 (2019 version) is horrible on ice. Skog with skins on works on boiler plate, wind/sun crust. Also works very well for crust skiing in the spring. I think either of these can easily handle blue square icy runs of the northeast.

[fisheater]

Jyw5, you cannot do the trips you do without strong legs. What you do is certainly unique, and skiing constantly exposed snow is a great challenge. There aren’t trees where you ski protecting the snow from wind and sun.