Calling all AT experts... gear questions.

[MountaingirlBC]

Dropped my gear off at MEC the other day to have my bindings mounted. Well... turns out that the bindings (Silveretta 404s) are too big for my Lasers but will probably work with my mountaineering boots. Soooo the question is... do I tell them to go ahead and mount them for my mountaineering boots and then keep an eye out for smaller bindings and then swap them out when and if I ever find small, cheap bindings? Or do I wait, and do it right the first time? The guy at MEC has put the fear of god in me with regard to busting up my knees when the bindings don't release. I'm an intermediate skier on groomed runs but have only backcountry skied once. So I'm not going to be doing anything very interesting in the foreseeable future.

[Tony_Bentley]

Lasers are Dynafit compatible. Dynafits are your best bet for getting the right fit and having a light AT setup.

 

There isn't much reason to have skis that fit your classic mountaineering boots now that you have AT. You can climb in your Lasers from now on if you want.

 

As far as releasable; remember that almost every Telemark skier on this planet does not have a releasable binding.

 

Buck up and buy Dynafit and all of your problems will be over.

 

They are on sale at The Mountaineer

Here

[sweatinoutliquor]

Don't mount them up. Are they new? If so keep 'em as new. Try to sell em and get something that fits right. The more holes you drill into the ski the more flexible they get, plus it can make future binding mounting difficult when they have to drill new holes and potentally offset them up or down the ski, which can mess with your skiing a bit. Just my opinion. Unless the sole purpose is as a mountaineering ski where you will wear your mountain boots all the time, I would try to wait till you score the right bindings.

[counterfeitfake]

I am not an expert but have been using dynafits since the beginning of the season. I like them a lot, they are light and work for both backcountry and resort. My friend has lasers/dynafits, and he likes his setup too. Dynafits do come up on ebay and craigslist periodically.

[fear_and_greed]

I used to use Silvrettas and Koflachs and the lack of control I experienced was astounding. There were OK for level ground touring but any degree of incline or deep snow was dangerous. I thought that I'd forgotten how to ski. Since I went the Dynafit/Scarpa F1 route I can ski anywhere and climbing is not to bad either.

[PaulB]

As far as releasable; remember that almost every Telemark skier on this planet does not have a releasable binding.

Not quite true anymore, but in any case, a free heel is a lot more forgiving on the knees in a cartwheeling yardsale than a non-releasing fixed heel would be. The 404s have a laterally releasing heel, but not a releasable toe.

 

My advice would be to not mount the 404s, and keep an eye out for a used pair of modern AT bindings, preferrrably Dynafits. If you don't find any in the next month or so, you will definitely find some in the fall.

[kioti]

Having a boot that just barely fits into a binding puts some strain on the binding. Think of when you are touring with the climbing wires up. Every time you step down, you'll be stressing the rails of the 404. I would opt for a smaller binding (What size is the silvretta? I believe they came in K,N, and U) You should sell the 404s, or at least find someone that might want to trade you. 404's are a good binding, albeit an antiquity. If you are fearful of hurting yourself, go with a naxo, as they have the safest release of all AT bindings. If you are wanting to save weight, go with the dynafits. I have both, and both are great at what they do.

[ashw_justin]

What skis are they? What is their primary function? What kind of mountaineering boots?

[MountaingirlBC]

thx so much for the input everyone... I asked the mec tech to see what would happen if he went ahead and mounted the 404's and then I swapped them out for smaller bindings next season. So he tape marked on the skis where the bindings would go and tried on a bunch of other bindings and none of the smaller sizes would create a hole pattern problem so I told him to just go ahead and mount them. At least I can get a few days of glorified cross country skiing this year. I'll stay off the fun stuff. The skis are beginner skis and I scored them for $100 so it's not like I'm mucking up expensive skis I'm planning to use for a long time. So now the question becomes which bindings? Going to look into your suggestions. MEC dude also recommended Silveretta Pures and 500's.

 

These are my skis: http://www.backcountry.com/store/ATO0127/c1/s3/Atomic-MX7-Telemark-Ski.html

 

My mountaineering boots are Asolo 103's.

 

My ski boots are Scarpa Lasers size 6 mens.

 

The bindings I have now are Silveretta 404's size N.

[ashw_justin]

Yeah the Lasers probably won't climb exactly like your mountaineering boots do, but they will definitely ski better. It's too bad that there isn't a binding that will accept both.

 

You will just have to decide what the skis are for. If they're just a snowshoe-substitute for early-season climbing, go with the mountaineering boot/wire binding setup. If you actually want to ski with any speed and control, like you can riding lifts, climb in the Lasers and get real AT bindings like Fritschi or Dynafit.

 

If you are a true gear addict and go for Dynafit bindings, also consider tracking down some Dynafit MLT4 or TLT4 boots.

[pbelitz]

Justin, the 404 will more definitely accommodate both climbing and rando boots. And I would heartily recommend the laser over either the MLT4 or TLT4; it'll ski much better than either. The MLT4 isn't even a ski boot. Stick with the Lasers (IMHO).

 

Mntgirl, I suspect that you'll ski in the mountain boots once, and never again. If/when you have the cash, get some Dynafits and stick with the Lasers. Rando boots climb everything but rock/mixed quite well. Unless you're skiing a flat approach to some heinous ice/mixed/burlfest, there's no good reason not to use the rando boots.

 

Oh, yeah, the MX7 is a decent ski. Not truly high-end, but certainly a decent all-around backcountry ski, don't thrash them without a second thought. And they'll easily take a second mount, so putting a different binding on them in the future will work just fine.

 

Have fun, skiing is a blast.

[Tony_Bentley]

I had a conversation with an ice climber this winter about approaching in his leathers so he didn't have to carry his leathers to the base of the climb. I've carried climbing boots for easy rock after a ski approach and enjoyed a great ski out. The best of both worlds!

 

Carrying a heavy pack while skiing takes some extra muscles and as much support as you can get from your ski boots. Snowboarding with mountaineering boots on the other hand....

 

And Paul.....I know you will buy Dynafits within the next year or two so POW!

 

Sorry we didn't ski yesterday. Lemme-know if you can go during this week.

 

 

 

[pbelitz]

I own Dynafits. I'm just waiting for the Spirit 4 to come out next year to replace my Denalis. Though I'll be in San Diego by then, so maybe I shouldn't bother.

[Dustin_B]

It's too bad that there isn't a binding that will accept both.

 

My fritschis accept my Lasers and my Scarpa Alphas (same shell size) with out any adjustment at all. So I tried skiing the Alphas inbounds for a morning once and had no edging power at all. It was really weird and difficult. I vowed never to ski bc in the alphas unless it was a completely flat approach.

[ashw_justin]

Justin,

 

STFU SKIER!!

[korup]

Silvrettas are scary, scary, scary. You are smart to just do easy XC touring in them. There are good deals now on the (discontinued) Fritschi Titanal III, and they are a sweet binding ('cause I'm crazy enough to need to DIN of 13 or whatever on the Freerides and Naxos!)

[Jens]

The 404's aren't death traps like you are starting to believe.

I've ridden 404's for over a decade and even done some jumping in them -and lots of extreme skiing. I've had em' release a lot of times and never been hurt.

[MountaingirlBC]

new reality show..... lock 20 climbers/skiers in a room and don't let them out until they can all come to a consensus on something. Keep 'em coming!

[sweatinoutliquor]

This dude is selling some dynafits. I don't know much about dynafit, but apparently they are good ones?

[MountaingirlBC]

thx for the tip. unfortunately I've blown the gear budget for a while so unless i find something under $100 I need to stay on the wagon.

[colt45]

I have been skiing silvretta 404's on all sorts of terrain and snow, and they have been great...the only disadvantages I see are that the toe doesn't release (but as was mentioned tele bindings don't release at the toe either, the 404s do have forward and lateral release at the heel), and they're a bit heavy.

 

Obviously given unlimited money and shopping time it's always nice to have the "ideal" setup...but if the 404s fit your boots, I'd say go with them!

[MountaingirlBC]

They don't fit my AT boots unfortunately... just my mountaineering boots. So if anyone hears of some good small bindings for sale please let me know

[skiing_addict]

You have dynafit-compatable boots, don't let anyone talk you into anything except for dynafits unless you want to drop cliffs

[MountaingirlBC]

Sounds like a lot of votes for dynafits. I'll keep my eyes open. I did ski this past weekend with my mountaineering boots. It was pretty hard to tell anything since we were skiing in wet cement. We were out at Baker. Was very happy to hit the groomed runs on the way down. We decided to mooch a ride up on the chair lift so we could get another run in on the groomed stuff. I think the mountaineering boots make turning a lot more work but then it's been so long since I skied I may just suck. It's so warm and wet out there now it looks like my ski season may be over anyway

[plexus]

Even though I don't own a pair (not compatable with my boots), everybody I talk to says Dynafit. Go for them. I've discovered that skiing in mountaineering boots is like taking a VW Bug on a race track.