Tele or Randonee???

[texplorer]

Tele skiers are the shit on the mountain. When you see a good tele skier you think, "man that dude/chick is a bad ass." But for reasons mentioned above I am a randonee skier.

[gregm]

pretty much what sayjay said. alpine touring is probably more efficient when used as an adjunct to climbing. also, AT gear is not heavier than tele gear, despite what some people will tell you.

 

actually i just wanted to test my new autosig.

[iain]

Probably goes w/o saying but skiing in plastic boots randonee w/ pack flat-out sux at first.

[Poseur]

Why is this in Spray? Are we expecting a little spray action between AT'rs and Tele?

 

I AT and have always heard it's better in the BC than tele because the no resistance pivot of the AT binding doesn't force the tip down into the snow, and a locked heel provides more control for hairy downhills.

 

OTOH, I just bought a tele ski and can't wait to give it a try (and I'm still looking for boots and bindings?).

 

Spray away!!!

[iain]

quote by Zenolith up at broken top:

"the latest tele boots make you look like Sting or something."

 

so there's that drawback too.

[payaso]

Is there a difference in the type of ski you should look for? As far as boots go, I climb

with Scarpa Invernos. Does anyone ski using these boots? Are the advantages to buying a real 'Randonee' boot worth it? I imagine it would be better. From what I understand with the Randonee set-up you can either make normal alpine style turns, or you can free the heel and make tele turns if you ever get good enough to actually do it. Thanks for the info!

[DPS]

I 'skied' for four years using the Scarpa Invernos and AT gear. For approaches it works well. I recently switched to real AT boots and it makes a huge difference. I have heard a number of folks rave about using knee cords with mountaineering boots.

[sayjay]

quote:

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Is there a difference in the type of ski you should look for?

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strictly speaking, yes: if you go AT the skis should be stiffer.

 

quote:

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Are the advantages to buying a real 'Randonee' boot worth it? I imagine it would be better. From what I understand with the Randonee set-up you can either make normal alpine style turns, or you can free the heel and make tele turns if you ever get good enough to actually do it.

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I skied AT in mountaineering boots for a couple of years and managed just fine, but this year I got true AT boots and YES IT'S WORTH IT. I can still wear my mtneering boots when I'm skiing to approach a climb, but if you want to get out and tear it up skiing the AT boots give you much more support through the ankles/lower calf.

And yes, you can make tele turns with AT gear -- I do this at resorts for entertainment and so I actually feel like I've gotten some exercise by the end of the day! -- but it lacks the grace of a true tele turn because you're balancing your rear foot on a pinpoint. Also if you buy AT skis they don't make the tele turn as well at true tele skis...

 

Either way, you'll have lots of fun!!!

[Poseur]

You can go AT with any ski. I would recommend fat ones, especially for BC use. I would get the boots also, they'll make skiing easier, and they don't walk too bad either. My setup, which is used for BC and lifts, Tua 112s, Fristchi Freerides, and Scarpa Lazer (I've got an even softer set of skis for my tele experiment). Check out Telemark Pyrenees for good prices and service.

[Poseur]

sayjay, what AT bindings are you tele'ing in? I heard you can rip em out if you freeheel.

[Figger_Eight]

Depending on how much you weigh and your ability you might find yourself tele'ing on stiffer skis. In fact many good teleskiers are on 'alpine skis' now (Pocket Rockets, Bandit XXX's, I'm on Supermountains). With bigger boots and beefier bindings, it's a heckuva lot more fun with big burly skis.

 

Teleing on AT gear? Yikes

[iain]

I guess I would ask why telemark if you use T1's and Bandit XXX's? You can probably parallel better than most alpine setups I thought the point was to keep things simple, and the weight down, hence telemark gear.

[Figger_Eight]

I started out with a lightweight set-up, but as I got better I wanted beefier stuff. I have Squadras with Thermoliners, so they're just as light as my T-2's. My stuff is still lighter than my friends' AT set-up.

 

Tele turning is more fun anyways.

[Roger]

quote:

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Originally posted by payaso:

The deadline for the cheapest snoqualmie pass seasons pass is the end of this month.

(Heads up if you care!) I think it would be a great place to learn to ski for a season.

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You should definitely try both alpine and tele and see what you like better... BUT, if you've never been on skis and are looking to learn this season at an area, I'd recommend getting your alpine turn down first. Even if you eventually end up on tele skis, it's a good thing to have solid alpine turns in your quiver if/when things get sketchy. At least, that's my view. Welcome to the world of the two-planker wanker...

[payaso]

Ok, so I'm really geeking out by even thinking about this shit on a 90 degree day in July but

I am interested in trying backcountry skiing this upcoming season. I'm currently a snowboarder

but I think they are pretty difficult to work into a mountaineering setting, and the split boards look

pretty dodgy to me. The deadline for the cheapest snoqualmie pass seasons pass is the end of this month.

(Heads up if you care!) I think it would be a great place to learn to ski for a season.

What would people recommend for a set-up? Tele, or Randonee? I want to eventually

be able to use this stuff for mountaineering activities. The differences between the two are

kind of confusing. Any recommendations?

[mikeadam]

Most people adapt to the alpine turn quicker than the tele turn. Randonee gear is universally accepted as more efficient in the alpine environment, but ultimately it boils down to the individuals preferences and skill. I advocate neither and say only to personally try both first.

[sayjay]

I used to be an avid tele skier but had to switch to randonee because my feet got all arthritic on me...

I expected to not be as happy with randonee but have come to appreciate some of the advantages. If you plan on backcountry skiing as a means to approach climbs (especially technical climbs) then randonee is nice because it's one heck of a lot easier to do alpine turns with with weight on your back than it is to do tele turns. Also, you can wear plastic mountaineering boots in AT bindings, setting you up nicely for the ice climbing you're skiing in to. Finally, it's one hell of a lot easier to learn to ski randonee than it is to learn tele.

 

On the other hand, if you're going to backcountry ski mostly on day trips or with a lighter pack tele IS a lot more dynamic and fun. Not to mention more impressive when done well!