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New to AT...Need advice

PostPosted: Mon Nov 12, 2012 2:16 pm
by absinthe52
I am fro CO and have been skiing downhill since i was a kid, mostle bumps/trees. I'm moving to Germany for awhile and would like to get into AT. I am a mountaineer but have always usedsnowshoes...anyways...not sure what ski to get, been looking at dynafit, icelantic, liberty, 4FRNT, bluehouse, Klint, ski trab...too many types and decisions....looking for a light all around ski, but not sure what conditions in germany are like...any advice?

Re: New to AT...Need advice

PostPosted: Mon Nov 12, 2012 5:08 pm
by dskoon
I don't know if you're still in Colorado or not, but, find a good ski shop that sells AT gear, etc, and go in and pick their brains, look at the gear, etc.
Look on REI's website at their AT pg, and read up.

http://www.rei.com/category/4500306/q/Randonee+Skiing

WildSnow is another fine resource for reading up on this stuff:

http://www.wildsnow.com/

All the skis you mentioned, are all good, I'm sure. They mostly all have backcountry skis, but, I would strongly recommend visiting a ski shop(s), so that you can gain some firsthand knowledge, rather than trying to get everyone's opinion about what the best skis are, reading a zillion reviews on the web, etc. Nothing wrong with doing some homework on the web ahead of time, which you can do from the links, etc, but, going into a shop will allow you to talk with a presumably knowledgeable
salesperson, put your hands on the various products, size everything up, etc.


As for conditions in Germany, I can't comment on. But, look for Charles in the forums,(hangs out a bit in Offroute!), and send him a pm. He lives in Germany,
skis backcountry, I believe, and would be a good person and resource for that info.

Good luck! I'm sure you'll get the right stuff and have loads of fun!

Re: New to AT...Need advice

PostPosted: Mon Nov 19, 2012 5:53 pm
by Kai
What's your budget?

If cost is no object, the DPS Wailer 99 is pretty hard to beat as a good touring ski. Lightweight, and does well across all conditions.

https://www.dpsskis.com/ski/wailer99

Mount them with some Dynafit bindings, and you will have a very lightweight, very capable system.

Re: New to AT...Need advice

PostPosted: Fri Nov 23, 2012 1:03 pm
by absinthe52
Those are pricey...is the hybrid as good as the pure carbon?