tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6940163880772720830.post8355368931036249968..comments2024-03-16T10:11:19.302-07:00Comments on Cold Thistle: "The ski project" part 1Danehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08300760603627210620noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6940163880772720830.post-2997757360270475592013-09-07T12:07:28.508-07:002013-09-07T12:07:28.508-07:00Good stuff, thanks. I skied the 112RP (Yellow ver...Good stuff, thanks. I skied the 112RP (Yellow version of the Yvette) for most a season and found I like the 112RPC more. But both great skis. Boot warmers are a nice tip. The added bulk and warmth of a Intuition liner will help as well with any of the the TLT boots new or old.Danehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08300760603627210620noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6940163880772720830.post-66072945861475403632013-09-03T20:35:07.535-07:002013-09-03T20:35:07.535-07:00Great blog Dane!
With all your great insight over...Great blog Dane!<br /><br />With all your great insight over the years, I think it's time for me to give back a little. =)<br /><br />Here's my background...<br /><br />I've been scrambling and snowshoeing for two years and decided to add skiing to my repertoire. Because of snowshoeing, I knew that my goal at the end of the day would be to get to a point where I would be comfortable doing some AT skiing in the backcountry. With this in mind, I dove head first last winter and got a seasons pass at a local ski resort to learn and hone my technique before going into the backcountry.<br /><br />Coming from a snowshoeing/scrambling background, I knew the benefits of travelling light and fast. Also, the fact that I had no ski equipment to start with and I was not tied to any specific system, it made more sense for me to start with AT gear rather than alpine gear. Over the coarse of 6 months, I went from an ultra-light setup using Garmont Masterlite, Plum Guide and Dynafit Manaslu to a slightly heavier but much more fun Dynafit TLT5 Mountain, Plum Guide, DPS Yvette 112 setup.<br /><br />After 25 days on the hill last season, I went from a complete newbie to skiing just about all the black diamond runs at the resort. Looking back, I have no regrets whatsoever with diving head first in AT gear and learning on AT gear. Since everything was new anyways, I had no problems with getting use to using leashes instead of ski brakes on the Plums, and clicking into the AT bindings was surely a lot more quicker than strapping into snowshoes so it didn't feel like I was 'losing' much compared to starting with alpine gear.<br /><br />One note on the user friendliness of using leashes instead of ski brakes and using dynafit style AT bindings is that, yes, it took sometime to get use to but it's really not rocket surgery to learn how to use. It's a matter of getting into the mindset that 'this is how things work'.<br /><br />As for release, I've never had problems where I've fallen and not popped out. I did have some problems with a 11/12 Plum Guide on the Manaslu where I'd pop out for no reason but on my 12/13 model Plum Guides mounted on the DPS Yvette 112, I've never had any unexpected release or problems where the bindings failed release when I needed them. I've adjusted the DIN settings to my appropriate weight/height/ability and the 12/13 Plums have worked well with about 14 days at the resort in all sorts of conditions.<br /><br />If I were to do it all over again, I would have gotten the DPS Yvette to start with (since I'm skiing a lot of soft dry snow in Banff) but there are days where I wish I had some more stable carving sticks. I might eventually get some Volkl Nanutaq or DPS Cassiars but for 85% of the skiing that I do, the DPS Yvette are awesome and super playful.<br /><br />My only complaint about the DPS Yvette 112 and, by extension the Wailer 112 RP, is that at high speed, they tend to get a bit jittery but aside from that, they're quite pleasant to ski with and provides lots of float on powder.<br /><br />The main reason I switched from the Masterlite to the TLT5 Mountain was due to some quality issues with the Masterlite where I had a buckle blow out.<br /><br />The one weakness I found with the TLT5 mountain is that they can get pretty darn cold when it's -20C and below and I've since added some electric boot warmers which makes a huge difference.<br /><br />As for going from the Manaslu to the Yvette 112. I find that the Manaslu doesn't hold as well when it's icy and it's quite a bit stiffer and less forgiving of a ski. The Yvette is just pure fun. The edges hold quite well for icy slopes, they carve amazingly on groomed trails and have tons of float on powder. Yes, I'd still prefer carving skis with better edge hold for icy day or spring conditions but overall, the Yvettes are amazing for most of the year in the Rockies.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com