Skijorers sound off! Asnes Finnmark 54 or Mountain Race?

[Severianin]

Hello!

I'm currently training my malamute in anticipation of a long season of skijoring in interior Alaska. I am considering the Asnes Finnmark 54 or the Mountain Race skis, which have the 3/4 metal edge.

Does anyone have experience with either ski? I currently ski the green Asnes Gamme 54 and love them. I was leaning toward the Finnmark because it is reported to be an almost identical ski. However, being connected to a young malamute without at least some metal edge gives me pause though I think I could make it work without the edges.

Word on the street that my local ski shop in Fairbanks will be getting some Asnes skis in this year, but I will believe when I see it.

Cheers,
Tyler

[fisheater]

What about detuning the entire edge with a gummy stone? It’s still a steel edge, it’s harder than ice. However it would not be wicked sharp, as Asnes skis come out of the box.
I had a pair of skis that were manufactured with really thin edges, so thin I never dared to touch them with a file. They seemed to get really detuned, dull, dull, dull! I’ll tell you what, they still held an edge much better than a ski with out an edge!
I lost my gummy stone, I just use a Scotch-Brite pad for detuning now. It works just fine.

[fisheater]

Although I have never even seen a Nansen in real life, why wouldn’t you be looking at a more turn oriented ski for skijorring?
The minute my skis hit a certain speed, I want to drop a knee!
Good luck, I look forward to your reports.

[lilcliffy]

Hey Tyler!
Great to hear from you!

Crister (x Asnes pro) claimed that the redesigned Gamme 54 was made because of how much they loved the flex and balance swing weight of the Finnmark.

Never even seen a MR48- don't know how the flex and camber compares to the Finnmark/Gamme 54.

I would want the Finnmark for skijoring over the MR- unless for some reason you think you need steel edges on this ski?

Theoretically the MR48 should work better in a classic groomed track than the Finnmark-
but I bet the Finnmark is better than a Gamme in a groomed track- I bet the steel-free tip of the Finnmark is better on the classic track than the very stiff tip of the Gamme...

I ski regularly with my herding dogs and do not worry about steel edges- but I am not tied to them.

I would want a steel-free edge if I was skijoring.
Finnmark for me.
Or Breidablikk-
Or Kongsvold

[Musk Ox]

Hello!

I'm currently training my malamute in anticipation of a long season of skijoring in interior Alaska. I am considering the Asnes Finnmark 54 or the Mountain Race skis, which have the 3/4 metal edge.

Does anyone have experience with either ski? I currently ski the green Asnes Gamme 54 and love them. I was leaning toward the Finnmark because it is reported to be an almost identical ski. However, being connected to a young malamute without at least some metal edge gives me pause though I think I could make it work without the edges.

Word on the street that my local ski shop in Fairbanks will be getting some Asnes skis in this year, but I will believe when I see it.

Cheers,
Tyler

Hi Tyler!

We frequently see people up here go out with harnessed dogs on prepared tracks with edgeless track skis. We have a friend with the Åsnes Kongsvold skis, which are also edgeless. He uses them on prepared tracks (edit: down the middle, and I'm sure in the wilds too). Er... hopefully this is helpful even if tangentially!

Edit: I really like fisheater's idea of detuning the edges... it strikes me you could get some very versatile skis that way which you could use without your dogs, too.

[Chisana]

Although I have limited skijoring experience, I did dabble in it 20 years ago. I woouldn't even consider using medal edged skis for skijoring. You Will overtake your dog on a downhill at times. Much better to hit the dirt(snow), to brake if necessary than to take a chance on slicing your pal's tendons. Just my 2cents worth.

[Severianin]

Thank you everyone for your advice! I really appreciate it. I'm not sure I want to detune my Gamme 54s, but I get what your setting down. I'm leaning toward a set of the Finnmarks. I thought about the MR48s a potentially a fun snappy ski and that maybe I could get by with the 3/4 metal edge. I've spoken with others in town here who say don't skijor with any edge ever - even strong malamutes such as mine.

I really appreciate all of the knowledge on this board! Thanks!

Tyler

[trite]

Just curious if anyone has tips on detuning for dogs? I'll be travelling to a place where I will only have access to Åsnes skis with metal edges and I'll be skijoring with my dog. I won't be able to bring skis without metal edges. It'll be mostly flat lakes. If I filed the edges down so they're super dull, is there any disadvantage to that over true edgeless skis? Is dull steel still a problem?

[trite]

Rounding off the steel edges for dogs sounds somewhat common based on this thread: https://www.kammeret.no/topic/53666-run ... ellskiene/