Shawnee 1/3/25

[toast21602]

First time on the snow for me this year after getting the okay from PT to give it a go. I decided to take the new sticks out for some uphill laps and a little workout. The uphill felt fine but the lateral pressure on my hip on the downhills was pretty painful so I'll have to really ease back into it. Enough about that.

As always, Shawnee was quite enjoyable. Seems like they had most open but I usually stick to the perimeter of the place while going uphill to avoid people. First two laps were up Kittatinny to the shack and down Arrowhead, second was up Kittatinny to the shack and down Delaware, and third was up Kittatinny to Bennekill, and back down Kittatinny. 

The new setup was infinitely light compared to what I used before and it made it a lot more enjoyable. Still need to get some more time taking them downhill and skiing bindings like that. Anywho, here are some photos. Hope to see some of you soon.

Cheers.

[Barb]

Glad you were able to ski! It always feels so good getting back to activity after an injury. Are you hot uphilling in a puffy?

[toast21602]

3 minutes ago, Barb said:

Glad you were able to ski! It always feels so good getting back to activity after an injury. Are you hot uphilling in a puffy?

Terribly hot 😂 It came off seconds after I took that picture about 200m into the skin.

[Mixilplix]

What bindings did you get with them?

Edited January 7 by Mixilplix

[toast21602]

2 hours ago, Mixilplix said:

What bindings did you get with them?

Marker Alpinist 12

https://k2snow.com/en-us/p/marker-alpinist-12-2025?Size=No+Brake&tw_source=google&tw_adid=713516796432&tw_campaign=1588581268&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAADPqCd0BPTKIgCk3HE1G2m1H9MlIw&gclid=CjwKCAiAm-67BhBlEiwAEVftNpeuZ3vah2OmWiKkOOjEhaUjWe4XGQdoE4sxVAVPPV_5xIgbDuJVyxoCtl8QAvD_BwE

Edited January 7 by toast21602

[Barb]

These look good!  Very similar to my dynafit radical bindings.  No brake on them?  Guess you have to be super careful on the transitions that they don’t get away from you. 

Edited January 7 by Barb

[Schif]

@skiincy has a very similar pair of bindings and yes you need to keep a good hold on them at all times. One got away from her and took off like a rocket last year. I had to track it like I was watching a golf ball. Ended up running through an orange fence and getting caught up in some brush against a wooden snow fence a few hundred yards downhill. 

They have little retractable carabiners that you can get to put on your boot buckles that will clip to the bindings and prevent worst case scenarios, kind of like an old school snowboard leash. 

[mbike-ski]

hmm never really thought about it, do most touring bindings not have brakes?

[Barb]

Mine have brakes.  Would assume it’s a weight saving measure 

Edited January 7 by Barb

[toast21602]

4 hours ago, Barb said:

Mine have brakes.  Would assume it’s a weight saving measure 

Yep. These things are super light! 

[mbike-ski]

19 hours ago, Barb said:

Mine have brakes.  Would assume it’s a weight saving measure 

yea and I'm sure the mechanism required to keep the brake disengaged in tour mode while your lifting your boot would be somewhat fiddly. Now youve got me curious, I'll have to check out those radicals

Most tele binding don't have brakes either except for a few and some NTN's for the same reason.

edit: don't need brakes if your bindings don't release lol

Edited January 8 by mbike-ski

[Barb]

My bindings work as follows; in tour mode, you hold down the back piece while turning the “tower” part that has the pins. One turn to the right.  The pins are now not aligned with back of your boot, so can’t lock in. Brakes also held up by this. Then when transition, turn pins back so you can click in boot. 
 

 I am sure I am in the minority, but I never feel great going downhill in my touring setup. Touring boots def do not feel as structured, and the pin bindings do not feel as secure. Not as much power transfer from boot movement. I always ski more cautiously and my turns are not as clean. But that is probably just fear on my part. Also, my legs usually feel like spaghetti after a long uphill slog, so that may play a part as well. 
 

demo starts about 54 seconds

 

Edited January 8 by Barb

[AirheadD8]

7 hours ago, Barb said:

My bindings work as follows; in tour mode, you hold down the back piece while turning the “tower” part that has the pins. One turn to the right.  The pins are now not aligned with back of your boot, so can’t lock in. Brakes also held up by this. Then when transition, turn pins back so you can click in boot. 
 

 I am sure I am in the minority, but I never feel great going downhill in my touring setup. Touring boots def do not feel as structured, and the pin bindings do not feel as secure. Not as much power transfer from boot movement. I always ski more cautiously and my turns are not as clean. But that is probably just fear on my part. Also, my legs usually feel like spaghetti after a long uphill slog, so that may play a part as well. 
 

demo starts about 54 seconds

 

I have Radicals as well, two things I don’t like is getting the toe pins lined up while stepping in. I thought about using a sharpie and making a vertical line/ guide to help see where the female fitting is on the boot. 

The other issue is snow getting compacted under the toe pice springs and not allowing the toe pins to engage fully. I carry a small screwdriver to keep it clear. 

But overall I haven’t had any release issues and like the weight difference between my old Marker Dukes. 

[Barb]

16 minutes ago, AirheadD8 said:

I have Radicals as well, two things I don’t like is getting the toe pins lined up while stepping in. I thought about using a sharpie and making a vertical line/ guide to help see where the female fitting is on the boot. 

The other issue is snow getting compacted under the toe pice springs and not allowing the toe pins to engage fully. I carry a small screwdriver to keep it clear. 

But overall I haven’t had any release issues and like the weight difference between my old Marker Dukes. 

For the toe piece I find if you turn your pole upside down and smash the springs up and down a few times, open and close, it clears the snow 

[skiincy]

On 1/7/2025 at 12:04 PM, mbike-ski said:

hmm never really thought about it, do most touring bindings not have brakes?

I have 2 pairs of touring bindings. It's the same name as @Barb but maybe I have TLT or slightly diff version because they don't have breaks. They look more similar to these. https://www.dynafit.com/en-us/speed-radical-binding-08-0000048948

My speed radical bindings don't have breaks but it has a little clip/lease that attaches to my boot. I only had 1 issue with it so far. While in France, my ski did ski fly away and went down the hill through a fence ... but we were walking down a hill (because France doesn't close trails), the snow stopped, and we had to cross a mud field. it was "fun".. haha

My other pair is Atomic Shift bindings. They're cool and they feel more traditional. They're more beefy.

What's the process like for touring at Shawnee @toast21602 now? Do you have to check in with ski patrol? Do you have to buy a pass?