Originally Posted by
Seattle Forrest
I went up and down Ambilis Mountain on Saturday. It was 15.5 miles and about 3,000 feet of elevation gain. There were 5 miles of uninterrupted descent, plenty of turns and switchbacks along the way. I'm getting better and becoming more and more confident in my skills.
I'm also taking to skis like a fish to water.
What's the next step? I've tried downhill skiing at Snoqualmie, the boots feel like a cast, I hate wearing them. I've heard telemark is basically free-heel alpine skiing, is this true? I'd ultimately like to ski in wild mountains. They do heli-skiing in the North Cascades, it's less expensive than you'd think, and I'd love to one day. Obviously not on my skinny skis. Do I want BC Nordic skis as a next step? That would open a lot of west side terrain up, roads like the Mountain Loop, etc. Will it help me get where I want to be?
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I've skied on Alpine skis since I was a kid, so when I went BC, I went light AT. I never learned to ski anything difficult with tele turns on my XC skis. Having a little BC experience and watching other people and their equipment, I like this article:
The Right Backcountry Ski Gear for YOU:Telemark, Randonnee (AT), Cross-Country and Snowboard Compared | Ultraskier
All that said, if you're starting skiing from zero, heavy XC gear could be what you're looking for. With AT gear, you don't go uphill at all without skins, same with BC tele gear, which is a PITA unless you plan on climbing up something and then skiing down.
And that said, the person in your photo is probably using AT gear. Tele gear in the mountains is a bit rare and XC gear non-existent IME. Note the short poles. Most AT and BC tele folks use adjustable poles and cut the straps off.
If you're planning on BC skiing, join the Mountaineers and take their avy and BC classes. People die out there every winter. It's serious business.
I bought all my AT gear second hand, only the safety equipment new.