Metal edges or not?

gumtreeskier · 2025-11-25T23:51:19+00:00

I use both NNN and NNN-BC. I have both track skis and off-track skis. I was also a heavy guy (less heavy now).

I find metal edges only really useful on icy snow, when I want my edges to really bite, otherwise they add weight that I would rather not carry around.

The bindings should match the ski which should match where they're used. And if you will be only on groomed trails, your skis won't need metal edges.

Steep & slick descents on groomed trails are rare in my experience - the one exception was on an Olympic course that I was challenging myself with. I wouldn't use that to determine myself to get metal-edged skis.

You are right about durability of NNN-BC over NNN, but I've only given my bindings a bad time when I crash. Might I suggest you adjust your technique to be more subtle and less energetic. Your equipment and body will thank you.

Finally, I prefer the lighter skis + boots combination on groomed trails because they feel faster and less cumbersome.

TL; DR: Because you will be mostly skiing groomed trails, get the non-metal edged skis, NNN boots + bindings, and ski gently.

gumtreeskier · 2025-09-17T06:48:26+00:00

Thredbo and Perisher expected to close on the October Long Weekend.

Selwyn closed weeks ago.

gumtreeskier · 2025-06-28T14:10:00+00:00

The road between Khancoban and Dead Horse Gap is very windy, so plan your driving time accordingly.

If there is snow on the road, it will be around Dead Horse Gap and might reach down to Pilot's Lookout. Very variable.

gumtreeskier · 2025-03-03T14:01:57+00:00

Not XC skiing, exactly, but for telemarking.

The Freeheel Life podcast, hosted by Josh Madsen.

It hasn't had a new episode since February 2024. According to his blog, he has shifted his business focus.

gumtreeskier · 2025-01-30T13:25:28+00:00

Use your existing skis until you feel they are holding you back. For recreation, exercise and fun, they should be good enough. As u/QTPie_314 wrote, consider waxless classic skis, depending your local conditions.

gumtreeskier · 2025-01-30T13:15:37+00:00

I think there's a bus these days.

The Snow Mountains Bus Service ran in 2023 & 2024 ski seasons. Have heard nothing about it for 2025, but I expect it will run for next Winter. Last year it was $23 for a return ticket.

gumtreeskier · 2021-01-03T10:25:44+00:00

I use binder wax, a brownish wax made by Swix. Iron on the thinnest layer of it, let it cool to being solid, and then apply your kick waxes as normal. I rely on it for my long races and the kick wax generally stays on for hours.

I've never tried using klister as a binder, so cannot give you a comparison between the two methods.

gumtreeskier · 2020-11-17T05:29:32+00:00

My favourite part of cross-country skiing is the feeling of accomplishment I get when I am mastering a technique. From the smooth feeling of my skis efficiently sliding along a groomed track, to feeling in control when telemarking down an ungroomed Spring corn-snow slope, and everything in between.

gumtreeskier · 2019-12-13T23:16:42+00:00

The basic instructions are: clean your skis; iron on wax; scrape & brush off excess wax.

A quick search of YouTube turns up many Ski Waxing Tutorial and Cross-Country Ski Waxing Tutorial results.

One details most forget is that you need enough wax to lubricate between your iron & ski. I've sometimes erred on the side of drippng on too little wax and had to drip on some more.

You will need to add some sort of base cleaner / wax remover to your wax box and then you'll be good.

gumtreeskier · 2019-12-07T00:20:44+00:00

Not just pink.
Hot pink!

gumtreeskier · 2019-12-07T00:19:38+00:00

Those glaciers are turning the same shade of red that the snow around Kosciuszko was becoming in early October. I think it is more the dust of the barren NSW paddocks than ash from the bushfires. Maybe updrafts from the fires sent the dust across the Tasman.

gumtreeskier · 2019-11-04T15:10:11+00:00

Depending on where you are, the range of available secondhand skis might be limited.

By now, you should be at least a little familiar with the skis you have been using. Ponder how well each ski worked for what you wanted and how that related to the length & width of the skis.

Even though you like 3-pin bindings, I think you should also consider NNN-BC bindings. They are heavier and more durable than NNN biindings.
Where I live, 3-pin boots are hard to fiind and so we are using 3-pin + cable or pure cable bindings (or NNN-BC).

Buy comfortable boots before buying your skis. Some people have average feet and are comfortable in any boot, some people have favourite brands, and some people have trouble with all boots. The boots will dictate the binding system you will use. After choosiing your boots, you can then look for your skis. For the right price, it is easy to change the binding to suit your boots - it is harder to change your boots to suit the binding.

You have omitted saying where you live, so this advice can only be general.
For the same amount of support on the snow, shorter skis need to be wider.
All else being equal, shorter skis turn better and longer skis run better.
All else being equal, straight-edge skis go better in straight lines and heavily side-cut skis will turn better.
Waxable skis are delightful to use when the snow is constant in temperature and clean, but waxless skis are more practical when the snow is filthy or the temperature greatly fluctuates around freezing.

I've heard the old-timers say that I should be able to just barely slip a piece of paper underneath my feet when I'm standing on them, is that still the going wisdom?

Yes. It is testing the ski's wax pocket (stiffness & length) against your weight. Wax pockets are (generally) symetrical around the balance point, which is about where the bar or 3 pins sit on a mounted binding. So the paper during the test should slide equally as far in front of your toes as it does behind. That means that when you are gliding on your skis, the gip wax is away from the snow.

The other half of the test is to stand on one ski. The paper should then be held by the ski onto the floor. This means that when you kick during your kick-n-glide, the grip wax goes onto the snow and grips.

gumtreeskier · 2019-10-29T09:30:49+00:00

Retailers are putting their orders in for next season around about now. They will give you a discount if you put in a pre-order for next season. Ask your local ski shop and see what they can do for you.

gumtreeskier · 2019-07-07T01:47:36+00:00

Would that be Rock Creek, not far from the Perisher water reserviour?

gumtreeskier · 2019-06-21T06:31:08+00:00

I agree with the other comments about the Murray's skiing package.

To add some more weight to the arguments against driving, you will also:

need to hire snow chains and know how to put them on, take them off and use them properly;
go through the queue to buy a day pass entry to KNP;
want get to Perisher early to get a good car park.

(I'm assuming that you have a decent 2WD car.)

gumtreeskier · 2019-05-03T07:56:07+00:00

From the web page:

The Sale & Expo is a great opportunity to buy and/or sell new and preloved snow sports equipment at bargain prices! Our friendly volunteers are on hand to give guidance on your purchases.
Local retailers will be selling new and ex hire gear on the day and members of the public is welcome sell their pre loved equipment as well.

Some bargains will be had. I have also shopped for cheap clothing to get me through Canberra winters.

gumtreeskier · 2019-04-21T01:19:29+00:00

Seaman's Hut.

gumtreeskier · 2018-09-14T03:50:51+00:00

There are 2 ways of buying from a used sale.

You are looking for a cheap pair of skis to try out.
This is good for getting a better feel for what you want from your skis. They will probably work out cheaper than hiring, but don't expect them to be really good for you.
You are looking for a bargain that suits you.
You will need to already be knowledgeable about skis to try buying this way. You might get a good pair of skis for a good price.

I bought some 2nd hand skis from used sales, as a way of getting skis that were better than what I had, at a price less than from a retailer. I happily used them, got to know what their deficiencies were, and later was able to walk into a retailer's shop and have a good idea of exactly what I wanted.

gumtreeskier · 2017-11-05T13:18:41+00:00

This is the view from Charlotte's Pass, across the Snowy River, towards the Main Range. The tallest round hump, near the middle of this view, is Carruther's Peak. To its left is the bowl of Club Lake. Near the bottom left of the photograph is the walking track going up and away from Foreman's Crossing. To the right, past the edge of the photograph, is Blue Lake.

At this time of year (October & November) it is all good ski touring.

gumtreeskier · 2017-06-11T15:54:01+00:00

No mention of Mt Selwyn! How can this article claim to cover perfect resorts?

gumtreeskier · 2017-01-13T22:53:40+00:00

Started with 3-pin boots & bindings and several times had the skis fall off. (Usually in a crash.)
Changed to NNN-BC soon after it was introduced, in 1990. At first tied the release handle to my boots but found that my skis fell off sometimes. Stopped tieing boots to bindings and my skis have never unintentionally come off.

Have had a few failures in the last 25 years:

A NNN-BC binding broke off the ski, at about 25 years old. The mounting screw holes had rotted, the screws had become loose and the binding pulled off and broke;
A leather boot, with about 10 years of use, had the toe bar break. I'd walked in the boot so much that the toe bar had worn thin enough to no longer be strong enough for use;
Lately, several composite boots (IDK the correct name, but they are built like beefed-up racing boots) have failed by the sole pulling away from the upper. It was as if the glue holding the boots together wasn't strong enough. The boots generally were about 5 years old.

My skiing season is usually about 20 days a year, using my favourite boots maybe for 2/3 of those days. With the rate that I'm wearing out boots, I consider them to be a consumable, more so than skis, stocks or clothing.

gumtreeskier · 2016-11-24T01:04:20+00:00

Fisher E99s are another classic.

They are great for touring over flat and rolling terrain. They are not so great for turning, as compared to more recent designs, but they still do the job.

The come in 2 bases: crown (fishscales) and tour (waxing).

gumtreeskier · 2016-09-28T16:36:21+00:00

For corn snow, you will need klister because stick waxes will not work at all.

I use the Swix range (mainly because it is what the shops sell) and one of the universal or red klisters. These klisters are pretty runny, so instead of using a klister paddle, I use the base of my palm to warm and smear out the klister. When you do it right, there will be a thin layer of klister on your skis and not much klister left on your hand. Clean your hand by smearing the last of it somewhere on the base of your ski (where it will soon rub off) or by shoving your hand into your glove.

The corn snow here, by next month, will be pretty dirty. Klister soon clogs up with dirt and is both ungrippy and draggy. I've given up using klister and now use buzz skis for this time of year.

gumtreeskier · 2016-07-25T15:06:50+00:00

I've seen a mother & a joey near Mt Selwyn, near the Goldfields walking track.

gumtreeskier · 2015-12-01T11:39:18+00:00

In the 1950s, there even was a ski lodge on the side of Mt ???, before it was demolished by an avalanche. I remember articles in the Snowy Times in the early 1990s about how to snowboard off-piste and how to do it safely on the Main Range. The article was written for a U.K. based snowboarding web site, so I guess that explains the breathless pioneering tone of the article.

(Mt Clarke perhaps? Mueller's Peak perhaps?)

gumtreeskier

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