Best BC Ski for Randonee

I like to use the BD telemark cable leashes for a strap on my Dynafits for a light attachment. I have a set of the old sliver clips on cable and also a set of the newer spring-loaded "tongs" that I just use in my boot buckles. It is not the most bombproof system (in the buckle), but is just something to catch a ski, and if there is a lot of force I want it to come off, anyway. If one tends to fall while skiing, I would recommend ski brakes. One may also buy the small cable and joining fittings to make a cable leash with a clip.

Light is right if it works. If the weight of a ski made it deflect less, then we would attach weights to skis for skiing crud or deflecting type snow. It is the appropriate application of leverage to the ski that controls deflection for a large part. If the ski is suitably stiff both longitudinally and torsionally and vibration is controlled by materials and construction, then a skier may apply the appropriate leverage through the ski.

I don't fall THAT much, but for ease of operation I will add the brakes. Farkling about with the straps and clips every time you want to mount or dismount from the ski is enough of a hassle that I'll sacrifice the few ounces. The Pash 80 is already light enough that the net saving will still be on my side.

As far as light goes, the Goode is the most incredibly torsionally stiff ski I've ever been on. Lay that sucker on edge and it stays there unless you let up. This was the thing that was the most interesting adjustment to skiing the Goode. There simply ain't no slip.

You certainly do have light skis, oftpiste (nice)! I might have bought some Goode skis but could not elicit or locate enough convincing feedback. Glad to hear the Goode skis work well.

Actually, I used neither brakes or strap/ attachment touring except on Mt. Adams last May and June, and ski toured 3 or 4 days per week from Nov.- April except for the lousy weather week around Christmas. Maybe some day I will regret it, but I like the weight savings and no-fiddling with an attachment.

The tip and tail of the Chogori compare as shown. From my spring skiing I felt that the Chogori had a wider ski feel, while the 70mm waist reduced the lateral torque, thus working well with my light TLT 4 boots.

While the FR 10s were fun in soft seasonal snow, I found that a lot of tiring leverage was produced while skiing granular heavy snow. To overcome that, I would have needed a bigger boot than my nearly (disappointing) 8 lb. 3-buckle Dynafit Aero. Not interested in a bigger boot for touring.

As a result, I decided that I liked the idea of the Chogori 70 mm waist and mid-fat tip and tail, and TLT 4 boots. It seems that K2 made it work. This winter will be the real test of versatility in new seasonal snow.

From the available reviews (i.e., Trab in last yr's Backcountry and K2 in this yr's), the 70mm Chogori sounds pretty good but does not have any more of a "wider ski" feeling than the lightest 73mm Trab, yet the Chogori weighs 30% more than the lightest 73mm Trab (which is what I bought).
I'm not saying the Chogori is a bad choice, and I do applaud K2 for continuing to innovate with relatively light and relatively narrow skis (when so few other companies do so, especially for the U.S. market), plus their China outsourcing seems to keep prices down, but K2's efforts still end up just highlighting Trab's unique performance:weight ratios.

Again, it is impressive Jonathan_S that you know more than I about my skis' performance, that I have skied on about 8 days in spring and summer and you have not skied, and of course, know more about Trab skis' performance, which I have never skied, and you say you have never skied. And are you saying that my personal experience on my skis is not as accurate as what you read in a magazine? Ok. I am not promoting my Chogori skis for anyone other than myself, just sharing my experience.

This intense promotion of Trabs by some is quite interesting. Soon there will be randonnee skiers, telemark skiers, and Trab skiers, all believing in the superiority of their choice.

In all seriousness, I hope that your Trabs are truly that good for you. Trabs sound good, I have been interested since I learned of them in Zermatt 6 yrs ago.

You certainly do have light skis, oftpiste (nice)! I might have bought some Goode skis but could not elicit or locate enough convincing feedback. Glad to hear the Goode skis work well.

Actually, I used neither brakes or strap/ attachment touring except on Mt. Adams last May and June, and ski toured 3 or 4 days per week from Nov.- April except for the lousy weather week around Christmas. Maybe some day I will regret it, but I like the weight savings and no-fiddling with an attachment.

My big worry with the strap/brake question finally came when putting on the skis at the top of Muir in August and I kept thinking, "what if one of these got away from me somehow?" It wasn't the first time this had occurred to me while putting them on my feet in a steep or dicey spot. Without a brake they would have ended up somewhere in Pebble Creek or worse yet embedded in some poor climber's belly. You have a lot more experience in these conditions than I, but it worried me.

As for the weight, I'm a real puss when it comes to climbing and I will do anything possible to make it easier. It's hard enough already for this out of shape old fart. I had a long talk before buying them with Stephan Drake. He's the guy that runs and makes DP skis ( www.dpskis.com/page.php ). I wanted a pair of his Cassiars (virtually/exactly the same ski as the Goode Pash 80 he said) but they were unavailable until this year. He had had a manufacturing agreement with Goode at one time and even though he and Dave Goode had some sort of falling out he had nothing but good things to say about the skis and encouraged me to buy them. After our talk I was convinced he was a real skier and gearhead, and certainly expert in the subject of carbon fiber skis so I went ahead with the purchase. I also did a great deal of reading online and the biggest complaint about the Goodes was quality control and that some of them would come apart under hard use. One item that may be salient here is that, like many others, I'm a ski addict and own many pairs - though only 5 or so are in use these days - so none of my boards get heavy use therefore I think they probably last longer.

I have skied the Goodes in August on Muir, hardpack and powder in Washington in Montana, crud on the pass and under a number of different conditions and they have performed admirably in all cases. That's not to say I wouldn't have preferred a different pair at times, but the Goodes work very well and are an extremely snappy ski if you like that sort of thing which I do. I'm also not a terribly heavy (though tall) individual. Just for the record my very favorite pair after lots of time on all my boards last year was the Scott Santiago Mission. Amazing ski with a very large sidecut (BIG, long shovel - again if you like that sort of thing - which I find that I do) and rippin' stable on hard snow, powerful in heavy snow and wonderfully floaty and responsive in powder. It's the closest thing I've skied yet to a one-ski quiver, though I will always have a bunch o' skis. Though much heavier than the Goodes, they're set up with rando bindings and have been fine for shorter, lift served backcountry hikes at Crystal and Mission and the like.

Haven't seen anything in the new crops that's dropping me dead, but have been intrigued by Zags since discovering them last season. They also have the big, long shovel geometry which seems to be pooh-poohed by many but that I find to be a beautiful thing.

blahblahblah. I love skis, especially ones made by small companies. My favorite website on the planet is: www.exoticskis.com/

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