Cross Country Skiing

[mudmucker]

Since the winter is zipping along.......white stuff we've been blessed with in the past couple weeks.

YES we have been blessed. And it's quality snow too.

I liken our xcountry skiing to corn on the cob in our parts. Sweet and delicious, but the season is so darn short it's over in the blink of an eye.

I'm thinking of the 3 pin setup as well because I know it'll give me the versatility and experience that I'm looking for. Which means more cash for another set of boots and binding. Cripes I already have 4 different pairs of skis for various kinds of skiing and conditions. It's like bike math. N+1= more better

I am sick of everyone else complaining about it.

Just let it be. It's all part of the New England spirit. We'll complain about too much snow. We'll complain about not enough snow. We'll complain that the snow isn't good enough. We'll complain that there's too much snow on the roads, snow banks are too high, too much shoveling. Too cold. Not cold enough. Then we'll start complaining that it's too hot, too much rain, too cloudy, too humid. Then we'll complain that it's getting too dark earlier. Rinse and repeat.

[Cataboo]

I've got alpina cross terrain bcs & 3 pin bindings. And really, I mostly just take myself into the woods or up the ridge nearby and play. They're my first cross country skis and bindings, and I figured that set up would be the most versatile since i probably will not ever drive myself to a track.

I've been pretty happy with them, but I'm not going to say I actually know what I'm doing

[Crankin]

Yea, Mudmucker, I'm a native New Englander, so I understand the "complaining" psyche. But, I still am sick of it. I think it's more the reaction I get when I say I love the snow, for the very reason you stated... the season is so short here and I get to ski for about 5-8 weeks.
I guess I also have the perspective of someone who has lived in 2 other places where there was no winter. Believe me, endless summer does not solve all of one's problems, as most New Englanders believe.
All of this talk of back country skis is making me want to get some different skis! I ski at groomed areas, but sometimes I do go out in conservation land. While my skis have edges, they are pretty skinny and I don't find it that fun to ski in the woods. DH has the back country boots, but I still have the softer Rossignol ones, because when I tried the bc ones, my feet just got chopped up... serious blisters, cuts, and bloody feet. I really tried to make them work, but I took them back to REI.
This might start to be like cycling; how many pairs of skis can I have?

[Kubla]

Yea, Mudmucker, I'm a native New Englander, so I understand the "complaining" psyche. But, I still am sick of it...... All of this talk of back country skis is making me want to get some different skis!..... This might start to be like cycling; how many pairs of skis can I have?

I hear you on the issue of constant weather complaints. I'd much rather live in New England, where each change of season has something interesting to offer. With no offense intended to other areas of the country-I wouldn't want to live where I'd have to worry about finding a 10 foot Burmese python, giant rat or alligator on my back step in the morning. Forget long periods of humidity, too.

As a "late-blooming enthusiast", I'm realizing that having my own gear often blooms into a variety of equipment. Renting is a great option at first, but once on board with a sport, there is nothing like having your own "stuff" that works and fits correctly.

If someone had told me I'd ever need more than one bike, I wouldn't have been able to fathom the idea. But here I am with 4 (count 'em!)...and all are used during the season, depending on the ride.

I have one kayak for ocean paddling and another for flatwater. Like bicycles (and skis) the design dictates the best function; it's impossible to find one that does it all. Thankfully, I'm content with owning just one horse. (Not that I don't look wistfully at horses that have been placed in rescue due to the economy-and wish that I could save them all.)

As interests evolve, our goals often change-why not experience them to the max? Go get yourself some backcountry skis and enjoy...the end-of-season deals are pretty good right now!

[Cataboo]

I actually have boots & bindings for another 2 pairs of skis - one nnn boots & bindings, one nnn-bc boots & bindings... I'm somewhat waiting to find a great deal on some skis sufficiently different from my alpinas for them.

I do have a couple sets of sns-bc bindings that are new in box if anyone's interested. I'd bought them because they were labelled nnn-bc which was wrong.

[mudgirl]

DH has the back country boots, but I still have the softer Rossignol ones, because when I tried the bc ones, my feet just got chopped up... serious blisters, cuts, and bloody feet.

Crankin,
Are the they BCX 2 or 3s? Everyone I know who has these boots hates them. I think they give anyone who wears them blisters, and mine, literally, kept falling apart at the seams, and I had to keep sewing them back up. I suffered with a pair for 3 seasons, and I finally went down to the ski shop earlier this winter and bought a pair of Fischer BCX3s. Oh my gosh, WHAT a difference!!!

Now, I have some friends who have the top-of-the-line Rossi BC boots who are very happy with them, so I think it's just their bottom-of-the-line boots that are like this. But, there are other boots out there for the same price that are much, MUCH better.

[Crankin]

I have no idea what brand of boots chopped my feet up. It was five years ago; DH and I both had a terrible experience. We got new skis at the end of last winter. He was able to find a pair of bc/stiff boots (I think they are either Fischer or Alpina) that are fine and I decided to stay with the softer Rossignol touring boots, as I have a bunion that seems to get annoyed with harder boots, especially when I wear my hiking shoes to go snow shoeing. Since I have touring skis with edges, it's fine.
Though, I am not opposed to buying a second pair of bc skis and boots as others here have done.

[Crankin]

Went to Windblown today, for what looks to be the last time until we get more snow. It's supposed to get up to nearly 60 between Wed. and Friday, so there is going to be significant melting, even with a 30 inch base. Hopefully, it will snow again, after it cools down. Conditions were slick, and a little icy in a few spots, but still, I have been there when it's worse. And they had a dusting last night, so there was powder in the open fields.
Didn't get there until noon, skied until 1:30, had some awesome butternut squash/apple soup in the lodge and went back out until about 3:30. DH had issues climbing after lunch; the ball of his foot and knee were hurting and he couldn't turn his ankle in to herringbone on one steep hill. We figured out he had hurt it snow shoeing yesterday, when the conditions were kind of difficult because of the icy layer on top the deep snow.
While I am looking forward to riding at the end of the week, it better snow more. We have tentative pans to go to Stowe, the first weekend in March and I am hoping to get out to western MA in between. After that, it's cycling season...

[Cataboo]

I got out to White Grass in West VA to cross country ski a couple days this weekend.

I was pleasantly surprised by the snow for this area of the country and had a lot of fun. Lots of climbing and descending. I was fairly pleased with my ski/boot setup. The technician guy told me what a good pair of skis they were when he was waxing them for me. He also told me that REI had mounted the heel plate on my 3 pin bindings upside down and that REI stood for "really expensive injury"

I seem to have the rossignol bcx boots that were being complained about above. I don't find them terribly comfortable, but I spent $20 on them, so I'm not complaining. I haven't gotten any blisters or anything like that, they're just small in the toe box and a narrow boot in general.