New Ski Setup for the Grand Traverse!

This spring, my brother and I will compete in the 13th annual Elk Mountains Grand Traverse (5th time for each of us). About this time of year, I start to think about which skis and equipment I will use. In the last 2-3 years, there has been somewhat a shift in strategy, transitioning from primarily light cross country touring/racing skis to randonee racing gear - a paradigm shift, if you will. At the start line of the 2007 GT, my brother and I noticed the team comprised of Bryan Wickenhauser and Eric Sullivan were standing out, geared up with relatively heavy AT boots and randonee skis/bindings. This strong team was doing well until Richmond Hill, when the teams on traditional nordic skis passed them before the descent down Aspen Mountain. However, Wick/Sulli ended up in 6th place. Surprisingly, this "fad" caught on, and in 2008 the top 3 teams (among others) finished wearing rando skis. The trend continued, and last year it was rare to be using traditional nordic skis, although the first place team of Kloser/Henry skied on lightweight nordic gear and in the top 10 there were 3-4 teams wearing nordic skis. Interestingly, however, is the fact that races for 5th and 7th places were narrowly (under 30 seconds) won by rando teams quickly racing down Aspen Mountain, scooping the nordic teams out of those respective places. This demonstrates the far superior performance of rando skis over nordic skis when descending to the finish. My brother and I were in this spot last year on nordic gear as the team of John Brown/Brian Smith eyed us from the top of Aspen Mountain and hunted us down, like falcons swooping down on their prey. All we could do was watch as those nice shiny edges carved up the corderoy and we were cheated out of our hard-earned 7th place!

Ultimately, the nordic vs. rando dilemma will depend upon race-day conditions. To prepare oneself for the rigors of the GT, it is best, therefore, to be flexible. My brother and I are registered under the team name of "Edges are for Pansies", mostly based on our bitter disdain for randonee equipment and the high costs associated. However, both of us are now thinking that having rando equipment in our quiver might be prudent. However, I am still hesitant to kick down a bunch of money for rando skis (although I have purchased Scarpa F1s and some nice dynafit bindings) and I am a big believer in the power of wax and kick-and-glide if the conditions warrant. Therefore, I am using a setup that uses beefy AT boots and bindings combined with a sweet 3/4-length metal edge ski with a double camber, perfect for both descending icy crust and corderoy as well as kicking and gliding using wax. The ski I am using is a circa 2003 Asnes Marka ski that I used in the 2005 Grand Traverse - this pair of skis has had SNS Profile, NNN-BC, and now dynafits mounted on them - hope that doesn't come back to haunt me 'cause of all the screw holes!

The development of my new ski setuphas not been without difficulty. Two weeks ago, while kicking and gliding up to the Ben Eisman Hut, one of my AT bindings popped off of the ski, presumably due to too much beef for the relatively light Asnes Marka touring skis. However, I have hopefully fixed the problem by adding an 8-inch long aluminum plate to the bottom of the toe piece. This will eliminate torque on the screws holding the toe piece to the ski and is also why, as I surmised later, traditional nordic bindings come as a single long piece, not just a toe piece. I just can't seem to learn that the binding-ski interface can be the weak link in the system - during my first GT back in 2001, I had a telemark binding mounted to some touring skis and the beefy plastic telemark boot popped off the binding of one ski at Star Pass, the halfway point of the race!! Suffice it to say, it was a long ski/hobble to the finish...

Attaching the toe piece to the custom aluminum plate (thanks to Stefan Griebel for use of his equipment!).

Affixing the plate/toe piece combo to the ski.

Making sure the heel lines up with the heel piece before screwing/epoxying!

UPDATE (3/11/10) - After weeks of testing out this setup, I have had ZERO technical or mechanical problems, even breaking trail through a foot or so of snow. If anything, tightening up the top buckle of the boots makes this setup feel a bit awkward. Furthermore, locking down the heel for the downhill feels really strange and unnatural, so even on the downhill I prefer to be in touring mode. During an 8-hour ski tour around Vail Pass a few weekends ago I didn't lock down the heel once! The heel piece does make climbing a little easier, but the extra weight of the heel piece tends to weight down the back of the ski and makes it difficult to skate in since the ski tips go up into the air. When the top buckle is left unbuckled, this setup skis downhill slightly better than skate or classic skis; but when the top buckle is clamped down it is quite stable! Will be perfect for the dreaded descent of Star Pass!! In addition, I was able to find some dynafit climbing crampons on ebay.com for only $15 that hook into the binding behind the toe piece. I'm hoping that this might be the secret weapon for Richmond Hill this year!! Due to the extra weight of the heels and the fact that I don't use them much, I have decided to jetison them and fill the holes with epoxy. This is the final setup I'll be using for the GT (see below). Wish me luck!