Expand Your Winter Fun on Backcountry Skis

Expand your fun on skis! Try back country skiing! 

As owner of both a Nordic and Alpine store, I am learning that the term ‘back country skiing’ encompasses a huge range of skiing plus ski and boot options.

My background in cross country skiing is primarily skate and classic ski racing. Of course I absolutely love adventure skiing on older no-wax touring skis over non groomed trails, parks and lakes when the snow first falls, but I focus on performance skiing.

However this winter is different! I have this friend … who without preamble said, “we really should sign up for the Grand Traverse in Crested Butte. Registration opens tomorrow and I hear the race closes quickly”.

Desiring to spread my wings as I age and get off man-made snow, I of course signed up! 

Immediately we asked ourselves, WHAT kind of back country skis should we use? What equipment does this 40 mile point to point ski race which climbs over 6800 vertical feet from Crested Butte to Aspen require? 

Figuring out ski needs is not so easy.  Let me explain all the slivers of ‘back country skiing’ and all the gear choices. Even Gear West, which does not specialize in back country gear offers a variety of back country ski choices.

Chat GPT offers an expansive definition of the term backcountry:

“Backcountry skiing requires specialized equipment designed for off-trail, ungroomed and often rugged terrain. All the main ski components vary based on the type of backcountry skiing- whether its light touring, alpine touring or rugged off trial exploration.”

Backcountry is really fun and something that even the most serious cross country skiers should explore. Skiing on non groomed trails can be as simple as grabbing ancient skis from somebody’s collection and a local park.  The activity and gear you should choose totally depends on your fitness, your unique adventure dreams and the terrain.

After one month of research and one day of experimentation of All Terrain (AT) skiing at Mt Bohemia my knowledge of ‘back country’ skiing options and equipment needed is listed below. (Everything I know so far will be subject to change). 

“Walk the dog” touring. The adventure is simple. Pull out your older, waxless touring skis, poles and classic boots to explore your back yard terrain when snow is present. NO fancy gear is needed. Just find skis that you can stomp over streets to traverse from one ski place to another. The quest? To explore nature at a slow speed. Most of these skis can be found in someone’s basement.

Active Adventure Touring. You desire a better workout with a livelier ski.  This ski remains no-wax, with a cut in kick pattern for good grip, yet it fits into a groomed track and will kick and glide on non-groomed snow. The ski is a bit more sophisticated than a cheap garage touring ski. It offers a metal edge for grip on icier conditions or crusty snow and a better engineered wax pocket for improved kick and glide. You will ski with more confidence on lakes and varied terrain. An example is the Fischer Spider 62 and is found in Nordic stores. Regular touring ski boots can be used with standard bindings.

Real Back Country Touring Skis. Your adventures are building. You desire to navigate up and down medium sized hills or explore the boundary waters. These skis do not fit into groomed tracks; their wider tip is designed for float over deep snow.  They offer a full metal edge and a no-wax kick pattern underneath the foot. Widths of a ski like this vary from Fischer 78 Traverse Crown, the Rossignol  BC 80 and the Fischer S-Bound 98. Skins can be purchased for these wider skis and attached to the ski base from tip to tail for greater grip on steeper climbs. Boots for these ‘Nordic’ skis primarily use a wider NNN Rottefella binding or the new Rottefella Explore binding (pinned in front). These beefer boots handle the heavier ski weight and offer ankle support for the skier to better navigate deep snow and irregular skiing conditions. But, the boots are more flexible and are not built with a plastic shell like the alpine All Terrain (AT) boots. Again, this gear can be found in at Gear West.

Back country meets All Terrain or Ski Mountaineering Skis. Now we are moving into lighter more flexible but Alpine-type ski set ups. If you desire to skin (climb up big hills with the use of skins) at downhill ski areas like Buck Hill in the Twin Cities, or aggressive mountain sides in exotic places, then visit an Alpine store (like Gear West Alpine) for AT or Ski Mo Gear. These downhill skis are vastly lighter and shorter than their beefier non-climbing brothers. They are mounted with bindings that allow for the release of the heal when climbing such as the Dynafit Alpine ‘Touring’ Step in binding with a heel release. The boots are lighter than a downhill boot but are designed with a plastic shell, boa buckles and a heal release which allows the boot to flex at the ankle for climbing,

Telemark Gear. I can’t talk about this sliver of alpine skiing because I don’t know how to ski Telemark. For sure I have pretended to Telemark while navigating downhills on my cross country skis but I am not very good. However Telemark skiing is yet ANOTHER sliver of back country skiing and deserves a mention to expand your choices of fun.

So MANY options. The best choice depends on your interests: the terrain, snow conditions and personal skiing style. I am learning and will expand on my adventure and back country knowledge as I prepare for the Grand Traverse race.

For the Grand Traverse race, my partner in adventure, Mara and I have chosen the Nordic-ish back country no-wax, metal edge set up with the Rottefella Explore binding, an over the ankle supportive touring boot and a really cool lightweight Leki touring pole. I am waiting for snow to fall so I can try it all out.

In my mind, I am ready to explore!