Quote Originally Posted by Kubla View Post
This afternoon DBF and I took our skis and explored the conservation land behind my house. It was his first outing this year-and my fourth.

Our skis (Rossignol BC 65s) don't do well in in deep snow, but we were lucky enough to find some trails that had been packed down by snowmobiles, so it worked out ok.

We've been looking for backcountry skis that would handle the deep snow more efficiently. Does anyone have experience with the Rossignol BC 90, Alpina Lite Terrain or Madshus Epoch? We don't need anything too aggressive for steep downhill. We'll stick to trails and fairly gentle slopes.
I just saw this. Funny, I've been looking at the same 3 skis over the last 2 weeks. I don't have any personal experience but I've been doing some research and can offer some thoughts. Can see if it matches yours. I think our terrain and goals are similar...100% off trail use on rolling topography. No wilderness. No long gladed descents. No mountain type environment.

I too have a pair of older backcountry skis that have tip and waist similar to your Rossi 65s. I don't seem to want to do as much distance with those skis. And I'd like to better be able to carve out a couple of lazy turns in deeper snow if I want.

I'm looking for more float. Don't want anything too heavy.

I'm leaning towards the Epochs.

I have not seen any of these in person yet. I've called a couple of places to talk with the reps but I hope to go to a shop this weekend. The Alpinas have great float but appear to be more "telemarky" and I don't really have any extended long terrain that would warrant them. They are probably heavy because of it and I think there would be too much comprise of kick and glide.

The Rossi 90s on the other hand seem like they'd be lighter and have some control on the turns, and maybe better kick and glide on the level. But I'm wondering if the dimensions would actually offer that much more float over what I/we already have. Not sure if 26 mm extra of tip and 7 mm extra of waist would make that much of a difference with the deep snow that we have. Our snow usually has moisture and packs well but how comparable would it be? I'm thinking pretty similar.

So I'm leaning towards the Epochs. They have healthy dimension for float. A healthy sidecut for carving on a hill if you want that option. And I think still a fairly soft camber for quick responses for turning and navigating through tight trees for when I want to go through those areas. I have a lot of more open logging roads and access roads though that would probably be my predominant route but it's nice to have the extra option. You'd probably give up some kick and glide but I have fast skis if I want to do that. Can add skins I think if I want to climb something bigger. I don't mind slowing down for the remote and "no one's been through here yet or ever" experience that I'd like to get back to lately.

The verdict is still out for me. I hate to fork over all that money. I don't mind putting out for the skis. I already have an SNS system on my skis with a Salomon backcountry boot. I might be able to get away with that with the Rossi 90s but I probably would have to change out with the Epochs.

Let us know what you decide if you go forward with one of them.