tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9241860.post6054834311227783464..comments2021-03-09T14:00:28.549-05:00Comments on Explore Cross-Country: Ski the New England Back Countrycafiendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05749761363337659545noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9241860.post-17991879497998814182016-03-14T22:49:56.616-04:002016-03-14T22:49:56.616-04:00Always glad to pick up another reader, Jeff!
Wild...Always glad to pick up another reader, Jeff!<br /><br />Wild snow seldom offers much chance to lay down the repetitive, laboratory-perfect stride developed on the groomies. Not to say it doesn't happen. In some years, especially in late winter and spring, conditions actually allow for bushwhack skiing on skating skis. This is best on easy terrain, because I don't feel like shooting tight gaps at high speed with ridiculously long poles, but in open hardwood forests and on flood plains you can fly. For the most part, though, exploring skills draw more from hiking and mountaineering than from ski racing. The more they improve the equipment for racing the more they need to improve the grooming. Then they refine the equipment some more, to take advantage of the exquisite grooming. It's like a zooty-zoot carbon fiber road bike, a creature of pure smooth pavement, evolved from a light but sturdy steel steed you could ride on a wide variety of road surfaces at an acceptably fast speed.<br /><br />XC skiing in general, and exploratory skiing in particular, has suffered from unreliable winter conditions and a generally unathletic public. The industry has fallen prey to the kind of gimmicky engineering that has made bicycles such expensive, tweaky machines. Solid, simple equipment is hard to find. You can't really blame the ski companies too much, since hardly anyone seems to be buying any of their stuff. They place their bets on stuff that looks "high tech" and modern, in hope that someone will want it. They might be surprised what would happen if they reintroduced a lot of 75mm stuff, though.cafiendhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05749761363337659545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9241860.post-34751907280942777102016-03-06T20:50:54.740-05:002016-03-06T20:50:54.740-05:00Hi! How nice to discover your blog. Finally, someo...Hi! How nice to discover your blog. Finally, someone who cares about Ski Touring! It seems that touring is usually considered a 'beginner' or 'duffer' activity. Many seem to assume that it's naturally mellow and that such skiers all kind of shuffle along. Jeezzz... How often do we read about advanced touring skills? How often is touring gear properly reviewed and compared for the different kinds of performance we need from it? HA HA and HA! ...Never! You're the first I've come across. Well, I've also done this kind of typing, too. I have a website called OutYourBackdoor.com. Lots of articles on advanced ski touring in lower Michigan. We have quite a scene here! I also have quite a few YouTube videos on XC and how-to. I note that most (all?) XC how-to videos are taught by those wearing lycra and teaching race type skills. Racing and groomed skiing are subtle and cool but monochromatic nowadays. And monotonous in its domination of XC. Thanks for supporting the FUN side!JeffOYBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10087632143369804638noreply@blogger.com