In reply to planetmarshall:
>> I have little interest in on piste skiing, but I realise I need to start somewhere, so I'm not averse to learning to snowplough. I am fully versed in the art of Googling, but I'm still confused by the bewildering array of skiing equipment and techniques.
> The Ski Tour Scotland website advocates Nordic gear for beginners learning in Scotland, which seems a bit more left field than everything else I've read - but I like the idea of lightweight gear. I have not seen anyone in Scotland used Nordic gear, though. And is "Nordic Gear" the same as cross country skis? Or just alpine skis with nordic bindings? As I say, thoroughly confused. Would be interested to hear from other opinions on this stuff, particularly from anyone who learnt to ski tour without being a competent downhill skier first.
> Andrew.
Some of the posts in this thread are good, & other are getting bogged down in semantics & the various names by which the gear is called!! So I will simplify:-
"X-Country pisted trail style":- generally these are long narrow skis with a camber on them & no metal edges Traditional style is length to wrist of straight arm held above head, with poles to armpit height (skating style is shorter skis & even longer poles). They are usually under 50mm wide underfoot, & they require a grip/propulsion area in the camber under the foot which is in the "kick zone". This can be either a grip wax applied to a smooth base, or a base which is cut like "fish scales" which doe not require a grip wax. When standing evenly on the skis on a hard smooth surface a piece of paper should be able to be pulled out from under your ski when the foot is. Transfer all weight to one ski & the paper should be gripped. That is the point of camber & kick zone to grip when weighted, but not grip & therefore glide when un-weighted. Boots & bindings are very flexible, old style is basic 3 pin & duck bill, most stuff is bar in toe area on sole of boot, & no duckbill. There is no fixing to lock down heel part of boot to ski so "free-heel".
X-Country off-piste/backcountry style:- Same as above but tougher, so skis up to 70mm wide under foot, metal edges on skis, & tougher versions of boots & bindings. Some more traditional 3pin bindings with additional heel cables locating back to the front 3 pin part. There is no fixing to lock down heel part of boot to ski so "free-heel".
Serious Telemark/serious back country:- Bigger & tougher than above. Skis more like downhill (off piste) & many are! No big camber, no kick zone, shorter lengths, wider, basically a downhill ski. As skis are now smooth base only, & no camber for kick zone, removable "ski skins" must be used to provide propulsion on the flat & uphill. Basically a fabric with a one way plush which grips one way & is smooth to glide the other way & has a good tacky adhesive to stick to the ski base, & tip & tail clips to retain on the ski. The boots are usually plastic boots like downhill but with a flex bellows built into the shell to enable front flex for "tele" position & aid walking (advantage over downhill & ski mtm boots). Bindings are usually duck bill fronts with pins removed & heel cables. Also NTN style. Still most have no fixing to lock down heel part of boot to ski so "free-heel". (some new expensive NTN versions have a full TLT/NTN heel setup). Some bindings will also have a ski-mtm style lockable free pivot built into the binding to enable better movement, glide & ascension. They may also have heel lifters which allow the boot to be horizontal when the ski is pointing uphill, to reduce strain on legs when climbing. The NTN set up does away with the duck bill & the boots are easier to walk in & fit crampons to.
Downhill standard:- What you usually see on the slopes, heels & toes locked down, big skis & boots, smooth bases, bindings do nothing apart from clamp the boot entirely to the ski. No way you can do the "telemark turn", or kick & glide etc.
Ski-Mountaineering set-up:- On first inspection it looks like a downhill set-up, mainly because on the downhill part it performs as good as. But this has the advantages of the Serious Telemark set-up also. So we have a toe unit which is either a pincer jaw with a separate rotating heel unit (TLT), or a downhill style with a frame which joins the toe & heel units & the whole lot pivots up from the toe. These bindings provide full lockdown of boot & also "free-heel" mainly for gliding along & ascension, however "telemark" turns can be done, but as the boots have no bellows flex point it is very difficult. Ski skins again are used to go uphill & along, & heel lifters also.
That is a brief "general" starting point on the main differences.
For Scotland, X-country trail gear is usually good for say around loch morlich, forests etc.
Off piste/backcountry stuff can get you into the easy rounded hills/slopes no problems. BUT this will be no steeper than Blue run descents as the camber & length of the ski work against you! (I have done hop telemarks down the Gunbarrel at CG on 210cm long Fischer E99 skis & NNN-BC bindings & hard work!!)
Serious Telemark/serious back country will get you everywhere else, black runs, very steep off piste etc, BUT you have to want to telemark, or be from a X-Country ski background as it will be more natural gear.
Ski-Mountaineering set-up:- This will get you everywhere & is easy to master the parallel turn & you can be taught the downhill side by any good downhill piste skier. You MUST learn the downhill on piste for safety, & most good off-piste skiers usually spend a day at the start of the season on piste to warm up. You will have to learn various versions of the snowplough & parallel turns to be able to ski off-piste. You will also have to learn the basics of X-country eg the kick & glide & the way to ascend.
However in all styles even the best will still revert to a "basic" snowplough if ski-ing on a dodgy snowpack at the end of a day with the rucsac getting heaver!!
I first learnt track trad (langlauf) style 33yrs ago, moved onto skate style (like the biathlons), then moved to the Highlands, and as not as many piste-ed trails here I took up Backcountry style, so still on cambered skis, but with metal edges etc. Then as a winter mountaineer I wanted to ski those nice slopes, so moved straight into serious telemark gear, big Ski Trab skis, big plastic Scarpa boots, big 7TM bindings, BD skins etc etc. The kit weights a ton compared to my X-Country stuff & cost many times more, but I can ski into Coire an t-Sneachda, put ski's on rucsac, fit crampons to boots & using ice axes climb an easy gully or the goattrack upto the plateau & the ski down Lurchers or along to Ben Mac etc...
Personally I would hire some gear from say Mountain Spirit in aviemore, & or book some time with a guide/instructor at G3 in Aviemore.