What type of equipment

O.k here's the deal. I am an avid, advanced alpine skier. However, I am married with young child and live approximately 2 hours from any decent skiing. So....for those days when I can't take a whole day or weekend, I'm thinking of picking up some skis to use in the woods/biking/hiking/cross-country skiing trails near my home.

Do I want to get a pair of light tele skis or cross-country? (I would eventually like to try to tele ski on alpine trails..thinking of taking an introductory course on that later this winter).

Any thoughts?

No thoughts from anyone?

I'm no expert, but here's what I know. Your basic XC ski is only good for fairly level, groomed XC trails. If you want to tackle some hills, you need something in the "backcountry" ski arena.

I'm primarily an alpine skier, but I telemark about 30% of the time. I've also been XC skiing for several years. If you've never XC skied, you'll be surprised how little control you have on those skinny sticks. "Backcountry" skis are far better, as they often have full metal edges and are shaped for turning (at least some are).

I have a long, straight pair of Fischer 99's. They're longer and wider than most XC skis, and they have full metal edges. They'll go anywhere, but they don't turn. Going down hill on a narrow, twisty trail is pretty scary. Step turns are my only option - not to comfortable at speed. I'm shopping for a new pair, and I'll sacrifice some kick and glide efficiency for better downhill turning capabilities.

It sounds like you want something along the backcountry lines. I'm looking at something like the Atomic Ranier, Karhu XCD series (more sidecut is better), or Fischer S-bound series.

Good luck!

Tom

Thanks for your help, Tom. Some of those seem to be exactly what i'm looking for, especially the Atomics and Karhu's.

In the mean time, I'm able to borrow someone's general xc skis, which have no edges. But those are not really what i'm looking for, but will be my first experience with xc.

...

marcski,
I'll be picking up some "Backcountry" boots (am still deciding over skis & bindings)...mostly for level to rolling terrain. However some, if not all BC/tele bindings can handle some torque for some degree of arcing on the descent...at least I want to explore that scene before Winter's end. That type of setup has the ability to go anywhere, at any pace. 8)