10th Mountain Division Skis

[RossiSkier]

Does anybody have a pair of these? There was a pair for sale on EBAY but somebody else won the auction. I kick myself for not getting them. Anybody have a pair of these. If so, what year? What are they made of? How do they ski?

 

[David Metsky]

Several very different skis have been sold under the 10th Mountain label, most have been similar to or rebadged skis from Karhu. They have ranged from backcountry touring skis similar to the XCD GT or Fischer E99 to a wider softer more lift oriented ski like (but inferior to) the Fischer Rebounds or the Karhu Pavo.

Some had double camber, others had camber and a half. I don't know if any single camber skis were sold under that name.

-dave-

 

[beswift]

10th

It's hard to believe that these aren't Govt. surplus skiis. The U.S. wouldn't allow such a brand to sell commercially. I've skied with the 10th. Their skiis have a white topskin, quite generic.

 

[David Metsky]

Re: 10th

It's hard to believe that these aren't Govt. surplus skiis. The U.S. wouldn't allow such a brand to sell commercially. I've skied with the 10th. Their skiis have a white topskin, quite generic.

Completely different skis. This could be what the OP was talking about but he didn't give enough details to be sure.

The old white wooden skis were made by a variety of different ski manufacturers for the military. They are heavy, stiff, don't turn, but look great on a wall. I've skied on them and felt no sense of nostalgia. While they were used by the 10th Mountain Division, I haven't heard them called 10th Mountain Division skis.

Karhu owned the name "10th Mountain Division" for skis for several years, they may still own it. They produced a variety of skis under that name, mainly backcountry models eventually producing a more lift-centered version. These all seemed to be rebadged version of already existing skis.

-dave-

 

[RossiSkier]

10th Mountain Skis

Are these skis alpine downhill skis or telemark? Or are they some sort of hybrid?

 

[David Metsky]

Re: 10th Mountain Skis

Are these skis alpine downhill skis or telemark? Or are they some sort of hybrid?

Yes. (I assume you are referring to the Army skis)

They are big, wide, straight, wooden boards, painted white and used with a variety of bindings. Mostly they are designed for cross country travel and fighting, so they had modified X-C bindings that would accept army issue cold weather boots.

At college we had a whole bunch of them from the Outward Bound organization. On one set we mounted two pairs of 3-pin bindings and attempted to stereo telemark ski on them. It was, um, interesting.

The skis really don't want to turn much, they are stable and heavy and slow. They're not designed for recreation and are a compromise in every way.

-dave-

 

[ctenidae]

You would think the Army would have developed a ski that was light, maneuverable, and versatile.
Oh, wait- lowest bidder. Ever used GI issue equipment for hiking? Friskin' heavy, unweildy, and mostly useless.
Had an Army surplus Vietnam-era pack for a while. Gained more and more respect for soldiers every time I wore it.

 

[David Metsky]

I don't think it was a lowest bidder thing, since the skis were made to spec by several manufacturers. The Army wanted something solid that would stand up to years of abuse and continue to function.

If you go here and click on skis, then go to the second page of skis there is an example near the bottom of these puppies. They're listed as "Unmounted US Military Skis" and at 7' 3" were quite a bit to handle.

 

[ctenidae]

7'3"!

That's crazy. Especially if they're as heavy and stiff as they look.
Perhaps they did double duty as tent poles, too? I imagine a platoon could fence in an area X'ing those in the snow.

 

[beswift]

Army Issue

Yup, those are the skiis these guys were using for training at Stowe. They had a kind of special AT binding. I do believe, however, that they were made by Karhu. I sold a lot of Karhu X-C product. You have to be very careful with it. They put out some real cheap junk. Many foreign mfg.'s dump x-c junk in the U.S. The Canadians can be the worse culprits. However, these 10th Division skiis aren't intended for the entry-level, are they? Back to the Govt. Issue, I really wondered why the 10th was using such cumbersome antiquated equipment. Remember, though, these guys haven't fought in a full-blown on-snow war in 50 years. It is strickly used for training. As I remember their clothing was terrible as well. On top of that they had the usual horrifying stories about the "challenges" of their training.

At college we had a whole bunch of them from the Outward Bound organization. On one set we mounted two pairs of 3-pin bindings and attempted to stereo telemark ski on them. It was, um, interesting.

-dave-

Now, what college might that be? Norwich? I do hope you tried it with a gal.

 

[David Metsky]

Not Norwich, Dartmouth. We referred to them as DOBskis (Dartmouth Outward Bound) which was painted on the tails.

-dave-

 

[beswift]

Not Norwich, Dartmouth. We referred to them as DOBskis (Dartmouth Outward Bound) which was painted on the tails.

-dave-

Are they still there in the basement of Robinson?

 

[David Metsky]

Are they still there in the basement of Robinson?

At this point, there's not much of the basement of Robinson left. Gear is no longer stored there for the Outing Club, except for ski team stuff, and they don't have DOBskis. Actually the DOBskis were always stored with the OB gear, and that wasn't in Robo AFAIK. They're long gone by now.

-dave-

 

[beswift]

Well, I haven't been in Hanover in a few years. Back in my day the ski team had control of one of the frats on West Wheelock which was closest to Robinson. I skied my first two years at the skiway, but got bored with it. Wine, women and song took over after that. Are the skiers in the same frat?

 

[RossiSkier]

KARHU 188 Waxless 10th Mountain Tour Cross Country Skis

There is an acution for a pair of KARHU 188 Waxless 10th Mountain Tour Cross Country Skis. Are these things anything like the real 10th Mt. Div. skis?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=7128735780&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT

 

[David Metsky]

These skis are similar to the original Karhu XCD GTs or Fischer E99. It's a waxless backcountry touring ski, full metal edges, not a bad ski for things like trips across the Pemi. It is not a turning ski as it has little sidecut. Best boots would be a pair of high leathers since turning won't be a big issue. 3-pin or NNN-BC bindings. They are narrow enough to fit in tracks.

They resemble the original 10th Mountain Division army skis in the same way that a Chevy Malibu resembles a Sherman Tank.

 

[RossiSkier]

1943 cover of Saturday Evening Post with 10th Mt. Div soldier

 

[TeleGrrrl]

Cool pic. that almost looks like a one piece Bogner outfit. Nice fur on the hood

 

[RossiSkier]

10th Mountain Division Skis - Sold for $99.00

I am guessing these are from the 40's, but I only base that on the bindings. They could possibly be from the early 50's. The bindings are "FLEX - Swiss Made". They have the older heel/plate/spring cable system (pre-step-in period). They also have an ID plate just in front of the toe piece. It reads: "16150". There is also a military cross above the number (for the medic, perhaps)? I would assume some soldier painted them for some reason. The tips of the skis have metal running along the edge for about 13cm each side (see picture). The tails have metal wraps (see picture). They measure 180cm. The bases of these skis have 3 vertical rudder-like pieces of metal spaced 50cm from each other (along the center of the base). The metal edges of these skis are the screw-in split edge.

 

[TeleGrrrl]

There's not much holding the boot in the binding. No turns with that set up.