UKC

Touring around Rjukan, skis, skins and grip wax

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 justaddpowder 11 Feb 2020

Hi!

I have an ice climbing trip in Rjukan coming up in March 2020 and I have just recently got into tour skiing from alpine skiing and have taken the plunge and bought an "all mountain" alpine touring / backcountry ski set up: 

Black Crow Chamox Freebirds with a Solomon S/lab Shift binding + skins. 

Scarpa Maestrale RS boots 

I was hoping to use the skis in a few easy day tours in the Rjukan area. 

Three questions:

1) Anyone recommend any good intro ski touring around Rjukan. I have seen Gaustatoppen (walked up it two years ago in winter) and Heddersfjell/Blanipa recommended? 

2) Anyone have any experience/advice on using backcountry / alpine touring skis and skins in the flatter Noway terrain? 

3) After a lot of fruitless googling, I can't see anyone using a combo of grip/kick wax on back country skis for the flats and then using skins on the steep slopes. Is the grip wax and skins compatible? Or do people just plow through using skins on the flats?

I have been ski touring before but it was steep up and down so we just used skins all the time. 

Thanks! 

 Doug 11 Feb 2020
In reply to justaddpowder:

In the past I used XC grip wax on Alpine skis with touring bindings & Koflach Ultras in Scotland on undulating terrain & still occassionally use grip wax on my alpine cambered telemark skis when touring. The wax won't last as long as on nordic cambered skis & the glide isn't as good. I've heard it said that it makes a mess of your skins when you later use them but I've not found that (although I avoid using klister as that seems to make a mess of everything).

 HeMa 11 Feb 2020
In reply to justaddpowder:

Heavier touring rig sucks on flats. 
 

kicker skins, thin skins or crown pattern (a’la Voile BC skis) are the way to go. Option with fat skins is a strip of packing tape in the middle for good glide and only a bit of skin visible for traction. Rip tape off, when stuff gets steeper. 

 wbo2 11 Feb 2020
In reply to justaddpowder: Google topptur rjukan and take it from there for routes


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