Many of us started out as traditional alpine skiers as kids, then moved to telemarking in our twenties, and now are moving towards Alpine Touring. If you don't drop the knee in the backcountry, why not lock it down? Alpine Touring is a rapidly growing industry right now, and the gear is getting lighter and better every year. We've listed our favorite skis for the different AT categories
below. Don't see your favorite there? Feel free to mail
us and tell us why we should have included it.
We've also included what staff members here have chosen to buy in
Our Alpine Touring Gear.
All-around - Yes, this is a broad category. All-around
skis should be wide enough to float in the soft stuff,
light enough to carry uphill comfortably, and stable enough
to get you back down in any type of snow. Intermediate
through expert skiers who want one pair of skis to do
it all will probably get one of these. Most of these skis
are appropriate for either Dynafit or step in AT bindings,
and are happy with both mid-size and bigger boots.
-Our picks: K2
Shuksan, K2 Shuks Anne, BD
Havoc , BD Lyric , Dynafit Mustagh ATA, G3 Ace, Karhu Betty, and the Volkl T-Rock.
Powder - Not everyone will agree on the best type
of ski in this category. Clearly, fat, soft-flexing skis
perform the best in powder. But no matter what the skis
are made of, the fatter you go the heavier they get.
If you don't want to carry the weight of a fat ski, consider
choosing one from the all-around category. A popular compromise
here is to choose a fat ski and mount it with a lightweight
Dynafit binding.
-Our picks: Dynafit
FR 10.0 Carbon ,, BD
Verdict, Karhu
Jak BC100,K2
Mount Baker, K2 Miss Baker, G3 Reverend, Karhu Jil, and the Volkl M-Rock, BD Kilowatt, and BD Joule.
We'll include Freeride boards in this category - These skis are generally a little
wider than an all-around ski, and stiffer
than a powder ski. They are designed to handle any type
of snow and terrain you might encounter and are best
suited to the advanced or expert skier with a step-in
binding (Fritschi or Naxo) and a big boot. This is definitely not the lightest
setup out there, but it's a great choice for the adventurous
or cross-over area skier.
-Our picks:Atomic
Janak Bro, BD Zealot, Volkl Mantra, Karhu Bertha, G3 El Hombre.
Here we get into a catergory that is slowly making its way across the ocean from Europe. People in the states are finally getting on the Randonee bandwagon, and for the workout crowd, there's nothing like hiking straight up a mountain in winter to get you in top shape. The emphasis here is on the uphill--incredibly lighweight skis that make it a little easier to get one foot in front of the other up a 40 degree+ pitch. Also, people who enjoy going for long circuitous tours are more into a ski that's in it for the journey, not just the turns. For these purposes, we suggest the following: Ski Trab FreeRando, Ski Trab Stelvio FreeRide, Volkl Snow Wolf, Dynafit Se7en Summits, Dynafit Mustagh ATA, and the BD Cult.
Want to narrow your choice down further? See how the skis
stack up next to eachother - compare
AT skis
OK, you've picked out the skis you like, but what length
should you buy? Check out the Telemarkski.com ski
sizing page.
As always, we're here to help and will be happy to answer
any questions or offer our advice. Give us a call or send
us an email at info@telemarkski.com.
If you'd prefer, fill out the form on our ski
finder page and we'll help you out by choosing the skis
that we think would be best for you.
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