Åsnes Otto Sverdrup BC- early impressions

[Woodserson]

I'm looking forward to a great but final season in AK (its been 21 yrs). My wife got a job transfer to western ND. She is moving next month. I will be moving this summer.

There will be new experiences to be had in the badlands. My quiver of skis will undoubtedly collect dust and I will most likely get bored and finally get a pair of Gamme to ski the flats of ND and drop down short spring chutes of the buttes.

I've noticed no posts in this forum from anyone about North Dakota. So I will be excited to be the first...and hope no one beats me to it. lol

This is terrible news to those who enjoy your photos and feats of athletic prowess. Or it's really good news, because now you can stop making us feel bad.

[jyw5]

I'm looking forward to a great but final season in AK (its been 21 yrs). My wife got a job transfer to western ND. She is moving next month. I will be moving this summer.

There will be new experiences to be had in the badlands. My quiver of skis will undoubtedly collect dust and I will most likely get bored and finally get a pair of Gamme to ski the flats of ND and drop down short spring chutes of the buttes.

I've noticed no posts in this forum from anyone about North Dakota. So I will be excited to be the first...and hope no one beats me to it. lol

This is terrible news to those who enjoy your photos and feats of athletic prowess. Or it's really good news, because now you can stop making us feel bad.

thanks for your compliments! I will deeply miss skiing the uncooperative and harsh Alaskan mountains...
someday, we hope to settle in Northern NM where the snow and weather are much kinder.

I'm a bit terrified of my new ski-less life that awaits.
may have to get some roller skis. . I'm visiting North Dakota 1st wk in march which is often the most snow of the season and the trails will be full of snowshoers... I'm thinking Sverdrup or Skog...

[Stephen]

someday, we hope to settle in Northern NM where the snow and weather are much kinder.

I'm a bit terrified of my new ski-less life that awaits.
may have to get some roller skis. . I'm visiting North Dakota 1st wk in march which is often the most snow of the season and the trails will be full of snowshoers... I'm thinking Sverdrup or Skog...

@jyw5, I feel your trepidation! I think it’s called “Withdrawal Symptoms.”
NM has been looking good to me. Tired of grey skies.
Snowshoers?
I’m betting snowMOBILERS.
They seem to be everywhere.

[Nitram Tocrut]

Well, I finally decided to mount my Sverdrup after getting a little more snow. I took them out for a pretty short ride but first impressions is really good. When I first flexed those skis in the store I thought they would be pretty fast considering their stiffness and height of the camber and I have not been disappointed. They feel like the energy is better transfered to the skis as opposed to my old Europa or my Ingstad. I took them out around and they hold a lot of promises as a tour for turn ski in our rolling terrain in our farming valley.

@lilcliffy was worried about the 205 being too long for him but finally was not the case… so what I can say is that I would like this ski to be longer! At 6,1 and 215 it really feels like I could handle a 210-215 cm Sverdrup. Their is a prominent rocker that results in the ski feeling a bit short but that is not something that will stop the Sverdrup becoming my go to ski for most of my outings.

[Stephen]

If anyone is interested, have a set of these in 200cm, new, unmounted, for sale:
https://www.telemarktalk.com/viewtopic. ... rup#p46234

[mca80]

someday, we hope to settle in Northern NM where the snow and weather are much kinder.

Kinder may be subjective. I lived in the mountains of southern NM for 5 years. Not sure on the general differences compared to the north, though I have skiied at Taos and backpacked in the Pecos--gorgeous land. But the whole state is in serious megadrought. The sun is brutal at such southern lattitude especially when 10k feet up. In March and April the wind whips 50mph pretty much every day and there may be a whopping inch of precipitation for those two months. Personally I couldn't handle the semi-aridity and constant sun (when monsoon season rolled in late July it was great for 2 months, temps reach 80 at noon then clouds drop it to 70 then rain drops it to 55-60). I drank about 1.5 gallons of water and tea every day in addition to beer and tequila but felt dehydrated all the time. I remember frequently when hiking the front of my body was facing the sun and burning up but my back was shaded and getting blasted by wind and freezing. You can get sunburn and frostbite there simultaneously, haha.

Western ND can be pretty too. The Teddy Roosevelt is a neat spot. Good luck!

[Stephen]

Alaska, New Mexico, PNW, East Coast, ...
Where is the happy medium?
Shangri La is calling...

[jyw5]

Went out today finally after back to back storms...including 2 weekends of windstorms leaving hard crust and dangerous slabs.

after a jump in temps and a refreeze, its back to snowing again...like 10" over 3 days.

Took the Sverdrup out.... terrible in breakable crust. Those rocker tips ride up while your foot sinks into the snow.

The trail was a mess... snowmachine tracks were variable crap and the trail was bumpy and icy with heavy old and new snow. one second its crusty, the next I'm wading in a foot of heavy snow.

It was flat light and whiteout today. I managed to hurt my left previous injured rotator cuff from a face plant at the end of the day...on a hard slippery bumpy snowmachine trail.

I'm beginning to wonder on days like this if there any skis that work. I walked up in skins as wax didnt work at all. And took the skins off and was skiing fast and out of control. Not sure if it was me, the skis, or the snow.

It was incredibly discouraging today...and my shoulder may be permanently injured... last time it took 6 wks to heal.

maybe its time to leave Alaska after all.

I'm switching to biking in North Dakota...

[Cannatonic]

so this ski is sort of like NATO Combat >> Ingstad except Nansen >> Sverdrup? All "modern" & stuff with rocker? Maybe if I lived in Utah I'd appreciate the rocker more.....

[jyw5]

so this ski is sort of like NATO Combat >> Ingstad except Nansen >> Sverdrup? All "modern" & stuff with rocker? Maybe if I lived in Utah I'd appreciate the rocker more.....

the rocker is a bit disappointing on the Sverdrup. So far, my tests of variable snow has shown that the Nansen/Skog might still be the better ski. Sverdrup may be a ski for a narrower set of ski conditions (yet to be fully determined).

The tips of the Sverdrup are in my opinion its greatest weakness. The rocker tip reduces the effective edge, so it is certainly easier to turn with these skis, but it does poorly on uneven surfaces of variable snow. When the trails start to shape up like packed down resort groomers, I will try them again. In the meantime, depending on how my shoulder feels today, I may go out with my Skog on the same trail and compare.

there is a chance the trail is just too terrible for any ski. we will see.

I think as a more seasoned skiier, I want a ski that does well on crusty, icy terrain that can hold an edge and not slide out or bounce around...track straight and have good traction on the icy gravelly surface. turning performance would be secondary as its easier for me to step and turn if needed or stem christie. ... this sounds like the job for the Gamme.