I think that all of my new Dynafit skis felt railed…I tuned ‘em.

When I was skiing sidehill forest in icy tree holes on Manaslu I thought about edging the area under my boot and forgot about edging the floppy tips and it went better. That makes sense considering the ski design. That design with the rising tip makes it sweet in tight turns on soft snow and it is nice when skinning.

This afternoon I skied in sunshine a 1500 vert face of 33 to 40ish degree angle in sweet corn on the Seven Summit Superlight and my Zzero3 boot. A super excellent setup! Getting back on an 80 waist in breakable in the woods I had to change my style from Manaslu feet apart back to feet platformed together.

For me, my 88 waist FR10 is moderately stiff and works better with my Zzero4. The Zzero3 turns the soft Manaslu and 80 waist Seven Summit well. My 70 waist Chogoris are turned easily with the soft TLT4 boots. I am thinking that If I get some of the new TLT5 that one boot would do it all.

I am also a bit suspect of the factory “tune” of the Manaslu skis, they railed while skiing on hardpack. That is easy to fix/test.

Thanks,
ed

My experience with the FT12 is all good, but on other Dynafit I have locked the toes to use them. On FT 12, no pre-release of unlocked toes even on a tour that required a couple of miles up and down through 30+ degree sidehill forest with low-snowpack giant icy tree holes! This is significant, I have experienced serious and dangerous pre-release of the toes on Tri Step, Comfort, and Speed. I will never forget my first turn on my FR10 ski and new Zzero4 boot on hardpack piste- just a slight twitch and the wings opened and released the toe! I must to lock those toes. My new ST Pro bindings on my Seven Summit Superlight ski are proven for me in fast and hard skiing firm snow with the toe unlocked.

As far as spring touring on Manaslu, not for me. I skied soft snow and some powder on the above-mentioned tour but the hard refrozen Cascade snow feels very insecure on my Manaslu. I will be using my Seven Summit Superlight now for hard snow, corn snow, spring and summer, volcano skiing. That ski carves and edges powerfully. I continue to prefer the familiar more traditional waisted ski. My moderately stiff 70 waist K2 Chogori ski is easily my favorite for traversing around 30 degree plus Cascade hard refrozen snow. My Seven Summit Superlight is also very nice, stiffer and stronger edging beneath my bulk. Here is an article interview with Seattle area Swiss Guide Martin Volken with comments about ski width- http://www.justgetout.net/Wenatchee/18413

“…width has its limits. In firm snow conditions, anything fatter than the soles/ankles of your boots won’t let you apply as much power to the edges. As a point of reference, World Cup giant slalom skiers are using skis that are 67mm under foot. They’re not skiing on narrower skis because they’re old-school but because that width has proved optimal for transferring power to the edges while minimizing the likelihood of booting-out while on edge. Backcountry skiers have a lot more variable snow conditions to deal with and ski touring is about many more things than maximizing speed or edge hold. Still, there are days in the mountains (steep, icy conditions) where powerful edging equates to safety.”

As far as durability, I see no problems with my Dynafit bindings- never broke one, I broke Fritsches in the backcountry skiing powder. Manaslu has been durable beneath my considerable mass for two seasons now, but no hucking and nothing rough for my old body. They are so easy that my friends are amazed at how I can thread trees skiing powder on Manaslu, I quite enjoy them in soft snow, but not on firm snow.

Time to go now, just waiting for some sun to soften the hard snow around here. Time to go for a skitlour!

I could use some advice on these questions please:

1) I plan on skiing the Manaslu with Dynafit FT12 for a long Sierra tour this spring. Linking the Monarch Divide with the High Route with an unnamed 40 miler back to the Palisades. About 130 miles total length. I am assuming I should bring an entire extra Dynafit binding. Where is best place to by Dynafit parts, instead of a pair of bindings?

2) I am also assuming the Manaslu will be durable enough for such a long tour (although there are some dialogs out there about the inserts blowing out — probably for cliff jumping exploits).

Thanks