 Poster: A snowHead
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I'll be living in Grenoble next year so I'm looking to optimize my quiver for Euro skiing. I'm 5'11", 140lbs. Ski everything on a normal mountain but I steer clear of true DFU terrain. Unless conditions are terrible, I'll spend all my time off-piste looking for powder stashes.
My current home mountain, Mammoth in California, gets tracks out in a few hours. However, I've heard places like Les 7 Laux (soon to be home mountain) and La Grave will hold fresh snow for as much as a week after a storm if you look hard enough. My question is whether AT bindings and skins are necessary to get to these stashes (or even necessary in general at these mountains).
My current daily ski is a 186cm PM Gear Lhasa Pow (112mm underfoot). They're mounted with Rossi FKS. I know they're too wide for an everyday Euro ski, so I'll be looking for something around 95-100mm underfoot. I'd like it to be fairly stiff, but still not too much work to take on groomers and use every day. Essentially, I want a ski that can take some speed in crud and variable snow, but still won't beat me up if I'm a little off my game. Does anyone have suggestions for this?
Additionally, I need to decide what bindings to put on what skis. Can I get away with alpine bindings on both skis without sacrificing considerable powder potential at resorts? Alternatively, is it worth throwing AT bindings on both pairs of skis? I feel it might be worth it if 20-60 minute skins are commonplace, but I really don't know what to expect. The last choice is to keep the FKS on the Lhasa Pows and just do AT bindings on the skinnier skis. This could be the choice if the Lhasa Pows will be too wide for certain types of snow 3-7 days after a storm when I'm searching for the last bits of powder.
I really appreciate your advice, especially from people with firsthand knowledge of the necessity of touring bindings at Les 7 Laux, Les eux Alpes, Alpe d'Huez and La Grave.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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brshain, I've been to LG plenty of times.. you can get to plenty of untracked snow without skins - mostly because once you have got off the top lift, there isn't much vertical above you !
But.. the area has some beautiful ski touring, so having AT binders on yout skinnier skis would be a good plan.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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In Alpe d'Huez, there is some beautiful terrain on the back side of the Pic Blanc mountain. AT Bindings are not required to access a lot of it but can be very useful to make the most of it through a skin-out rather than an early traverse back to civilisation. (You can also get a taxi or a heli ride, but somewhat more expensive!)
I only have Barons on my skis nowadays - I find it easier since in the last years, more often than not we've put in a half-hour skin to get to good stuff (but in other resorts than those mentioned).
Hmm, if money (and swiss-cheesing the Lhasa Pows) was no consideration, I'd go AT bindings for both (possibly with inserts). Otherwise, I'd put the AT bindings on the daily driver
FYI, my quiver for the last three years has been Scott Mission (with Naxos) + Kneissl Tankers (with Barons) + High Society FR 187 (with Naxos). Before this season I sold the High Society and bought DPS 112 RP and ON3P Wrenegades, on which I put inserts so they can share a pair of Barons.
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Ah, forgot - a friend was in La Grave two weeks ago - the guide took them on a 1000-meter vertical skin and they then skied superb powder for a 2000 meter vertical. Don't know where though - I was supposed to be on that trip but was staying home nursing my new ACL...
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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take a look at this very good trip report...
http://www.snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=50078&highlight=
skins on show. if that's for you, then that's the way to go!
ps. i have K2 hardside with barons and they ski for me like the kind of ski you may be looking for. worth a demo if you can. there's a lot better and more experienced skiers on here than me though so just a suggestion.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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| horizon wrote: |
| Ah, forgot - a friend was in La Grave two weeks ago - the guide took them on a 1000-meter vertical skin and they then skied superb powder for a 2000 meter vertical. Don't know where though - I was supposed to be on that trip but was staying home nursing my new ACL... |
The route is called Dome du Monetier in Serre Chevalier. You take a lift to the top, ski 50m down the Montagnola (backside of Monetiers pistes), take a hard turn left. Skin or climb 100 vertical meters. Ski down to the lake. Skin 3 hours up the glacier. Ski down the Vallee du Grand Tabuc. Have an orgasm (if the snow is powderish). Go home. It is enough for one day.
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