Hunting ski, skin set up?

[Seeknelk]

I'm looking to get some skis for the big terrain here in NW MT.
Use- trapping the high country, wolf, cat hunts, late season hunts possibly, scouting, shooting and overnights possibly on trapline. Probably just single night out and back type stuff with hot tent.

Wants- ability to ski downhill fairly well with or without skins as brakes depending on needs. Stability.
It's be sweet if a mountain boot worked with it but I'm totally prepared to wear a dedicated ski boot and maybe pack mukluks.
Climbing ability is more important since that's the hard part!
Me- 5 foot 10. 250 pounds. Plenty athletic. I can certainly ski although I've mostly snowboarded the resorts. I've cross country skied off and on my whole life. Mostly skate skiing on groomed trails which leads to exciting downhills.
I did try out a buddies split board once on my marten line years ago. The climbing ability was insane! I didn't care for the split board for covering ground on mellow terrain tho. Bindings clanked together occasionally etc. If I recall, it was kinda from having such fat boots and bindings.
Anyway, what's the set up to start with? I may end up getting some for my 12 year old boy even.

 

[Poser]

A splitboard will be impractical for this purpose, unless you want to splitboard for fun and just split-ski the entire time you are running trap lines. Otherwise, too many transitions and I'm going to assume that the terrain will, more often than not, be too mellow for a a splitboard in downhill mode.

Black Diamond makes these light duty skis that you could use with mountain boots -they are closer to being snowshoes than skis, though: https://www.outdoorgearlab.com/revi...kis/black-diamond-glidelite-147-snow-trekkers

and, you won't get the downhill performance as you're not wearing ski boots and these have permanent skins on them which was one of your disqualifies. These would, however, most likely be your cheapest entry point to actually getting on skis and getting around.

 

[cubdriver84d]

Some good info in this thread: https://rokslide.com/forums/threads/bird-hunting-on-skis.291269/

I think the rottefella xplore bindings might be the right balance between stability and weight.

 

[Flatgo]

I have not pulled the trigger yet, but I’m looking at a pair of voile hypervector bc’s with the scale bottom. AT boots and AT bindings. It’ll give more glide on the flats. I would also have skins for steeper terrain.

I have a pair of atlai hoks they work decent depending on what you’re doing, but rather sketchy on any downhills

 

[TaperPin]

Telemark ski setups have been doing what you’re talking about and with climbing skins go up slopes I wouldn’t have expected. I used to hike with a guy who had telemark bindings on downhill skis and we’d hike up big steep snow fields and he’d bomb down them. I can’t remember the advantage of using downhill skis instead of skinnier telemark skis, but it seemed like downhill performance was better and they were essentially acting like snow shoes. Of course downhill skis don’t flex and grab the snow in the same way, but if you have skins on in steep country that doesn’t matter. He could go anywhere we could go with snowshoes.

 

[Marbles]

A 90ish mm waste parabolic BC touring ski and tech binding is what you want.

Tech boots work fine for walking around in. Some people even ice climb in them.

 

[peterk123]

I use my touring gear. It's a light ski, but has 108mm under foot. Lots of float for touring in and skiing out.

 

[Seeknelk]

I use my touring gear. It's a light ski, but has 108mm under foot. Lots of float for touring in and skiing out.

Thanks! What is your touring gear? 108 underfoot, seems I've heard numbers like that before.

 

[Seeknelk]

Some good info in this thread: https://rokslide.com/forums/threads/bird-hunting-on-skis.291269/

I think the rottefella xplore bindings might be the right balance between stability and weight.

Thanks! I'll dig back into that one. I recall it from a while back.

 

[elknut420]

i just put together a cheaper setup. i got used marker shifts, an old pair of k2 shreditors and blackdiamond skins. Only spent a couple hundred bucks. The boots werent cheap tho. I live near jackson hole and the facebook marketplace has insane deals.

 

[mtnbound]

I'm looking to get some skis for the big terrain here in NW MT.
Use- trapping the high country, wolf, cat hunts, late season hunts possibly, scouting, shooting and overnights possibly on trapline. Probably just single night out and back type stuff with hot tent.

Wants- ability to ski downhill fairly well with or without skins as brakes depending on needs. Stability.
It's be sweet if a mountain boot worked with it but I'm totally prepared to wear a dedicated ski boot and maybe pack mukluks.
Climbing ability is more important since that's the hard part!
Me- 5 foot 10. 250 pounds. Plenty athletic. I can certainly ski although I've mostly snowboarded the resorts. I've cross country skied off and on my whole life. Mostly skate skiing on groomed trails which leads to exciting downhills.
I did try out a buddies split board once on my marten line years ago. The climbing ability was insane! I didn't care for the split board for covering ground on mellow terrain tho. Bindings clanked together occasionally etc. If I recall, it was kinda from having such fat boots and bindings.
Anyway, what's the set up to start with? I may end up getting some for my 12 year old boy even.

You don't need to really get into the high country for most of your hunting. The predators will be around the wintering grounds. If you are going to work a trap line, you need a sled or a tracked machine. There's no way to work a line without one; it just takes too much time on skis.

Can you Tele ski? If so, I would look at the OAC MIL 149. These are short enough to work through trees and still perform well on downhills. They climb okay, but not as well as a full skin. The binding is usable with regular boots. For your loaded weight, you may need the 160s.

MIL Tactical

Reliable. Adaptable. Functional. Our Tactical line products are fit for use in a variety of terrain and snow conditions, so that you can have confidence in your equipment, no matter what. Both skis and bindings are built to last, highly versatile, and field serviceable. When everything is on the...

skinbased.com

You might also look into a pull sled.
https://skipulk.com/?srsltid=AfmBOopzvOwpDep9ym6Pc1mdZiFVIGE8Yk8Nrize3tEPISetUiiWSV4N

 

[Sled]

You could try some fish scales. I've hunted off skis a lot and it's plenty doable. The problem comes when it's time to pack out and you need to get realistic. I've drug animals out, used a SKED, put the in the pack, etc. You need to decide how much of an injury you're willing to risk and if you'll just be carrying out skis and an animal. If you're hunting in flats then there's very little risk.

 

[RS_Non-Res]

Ski touring gear is always going to be a trade off.
Alpine Touring/Randonnee gear is heavier down-hill gear that also can be used up hill. AT boots range from full strength downhill boots to lightweight plastic mountaineering boots that clip into the AT bindings.
Telemark gear is lighter weight cross-country gear that also can be used down hill (once you figure out how to connect a few tele-turns).

If you do decide to go up on the hills be sure to take an avalanche safety class. When I spent a weekend at Silverton Avalanche School they had arranged for genuine severe avalanche conditions out the back door of the classroom building and lots of hands-on learning. We also got to see the difference between a fresh avi dog and one that was ready for retirement.

 

[Blurry1]

If you can find a set of silvretta 500 bindings you and attach a traditional mountaineering boot into them but last time I looked they were rare to find. It will make for challenging down hill skiing with little ankle support but is pretty damn comfortable touring.

 

[Seeknelk]

You don't need to really get into the high country for most of your hunting. The predators will be around the wintering grounds. If you are going to work a trap line, you need a sled or a tracked machine. There's no way to work a line without one; it just takes too much time on skis.

Can you Tele ski? If so, I would look at the OAC MIL 149. These are short enough to work through trees and still perform well on downhills. They climb okay, but not as well as a full skin. The binding is usable with regular boots. For your loaded weight, you may need the 160s.

MIL Tactical

Reliable. Adaptable. Functional. Our Tactical line products are fit for use in a variety of terrain and snow conditions, so that you can have confidence in your equipment, no matter what. Both skis and bindings are built to last, highly versatile, and field serviceable. When everything is on the...

skinbased.com

You might also look into a pull sled.
https://skipulk.com/?srsltid=AfmBOopzvOwpDep9ym6Pc1mdZiFVIGE8Yk8Nrize3tEPISetUiiWSV4N

I've ran traplines for marten before on snowshoe and did well, and machines aren't legal in those areas , and those areas hold a lot more marten. Most of the rideable areas don't hold marten in many numbers. I tried machine trapping a couple years, the machine basically just got me to the edges of habitat. But snowshoeing in 7-9 miles and back out the same way is a time suck obviously but climbing 3k feet over a headwall to come out a different drainage isn't feasible on snowshoes.
A sled works on some mt trails but not always, they often are drifted and angled badly. I'm sure those pulks r much better than what I tried tho.
I'll check out those skis for sure thanks!

 

[peterk123]

Thanks! What is your touring gear? 108 underfoot, seems I've heard numbers like that before.

Dynafit boots and bindings. Line Vision skis. 108 means it is 108mm wide under my feet.

 

[Dust Rider]

Altai Hok.
They work for what you’re looking at. You can wear a hiking boot or pack boot

Altai Skis

altaiskis.com

 

[MTForester]

Altai Hok.
They work for what you’re looking at. You can wear a hiking boot or pack boot

Altai Skis

altaiskis.com

Very little control with hiking boots. Fine for flat terrain but not an effective tool in the mountains.

This is what you are looking for: https://www.voile.com/voile-hypervector-bc-skis.html

Mount with your choice of tech bindings (or tele) and plastic touring boots. Add skins for climbs that are too steep for the scales. Take an avalanche class.

Honestly, unless you are a very competent backcountry skier you probably won’t be effective at hunting/trapping while skiing.

 

[Macintosh]

Are you already an accomplished skier? Imo that has a lot to do with how much you are “skiing” vs just “being on skis”. Ime anything even close to “just being on skis” its highly questionble whether its any more efficient than snowshoes. Consider both, ie skis for a longer, moderate in/out (especially if pulling a sled), then snowshoes for steeper terrain and dealing once you are in an area.

You mentioned hot tent camping and “high country” in the same thought. That means backpacking loads on skis, in sometimes steeper terrain. Be aware of the old skiers adage: “the best way to ski with a pack on, is to chuck the pack down the hill and ski after it”. Skiing down any significant hills with any terrain, wearing a heavy pack, is VERY difficult. Add less than perfect snow, and its survival skiing at best. Its a totally different ball game than a smaller day pack, especially when you get into any inconsistent snow. If you have images of nimbly linking turns down a steep slope with trees and rocks, etc…unless you’re a super-advanced expert skier (and even then) probably best to just erase that image. Replace it with desperately sliding between trees, frequent stops, falling sideways when the weight of the pack pulls you over, etc.and you’ll be a lot closer to reality for 99.999% of the skiers out there. Skiing with a sled that’s designed to be skied with is much easier, just not always realistic.

AT boots at this point have become much more refined, while telemark has +\- stagnated for 30 years. AT boots in many cases are actually lighter weight and provide more range of motion than telemark boots at this point. Plus the bindings release, bindings are much lighter, it’s much easier to bend and drive a ski, less tiring and less susceptible to the weight of a pack toppling you while carrying weight, etc. If having any “skiing performance” is a requirement, to me unless you already have a lifetime of telemark behind you, thats just dumb. Telemark is dead, and for a reason. (Im saying this in part as a friendly jab to the telemark skiers, but sorry guys, its true. And this is coming from a guy who started telemark skiing in the early 1980’s.) imo the only 2 legit reasons to choose tele gear in the mountains is 1) you are already an experft tele skier and just like it, or 2) you deal with a majority of “smaller” variable terrain that would demand frequently changing between locked/unlocked heels in AT gear.

Silvretta 500’s were AT bindings made to work with a welted mountaineering boot. Super popular among ice climbers. They havent been made for well over a decade, so anything you find at this point is likely pretty thrashed. But could be worth looking for. There are some tricks you can use to make a mountaineering boot ski better too, but this is a long shot to begin with.

 

[mtnbound]

Are you already an accomplished skier? Imo that has a lot to do with how much you are “skiing” vs just “being on skis”. Ime anything even close to “just being on skis” its highly questionble whether its any more efficient than snowshoes. Consider both, ie skis for a longer, moderate in/out (especially if pulling a sled), then snowshoes for steeper terrain and dealing once you are in an area.

You mentioned hot tent camping and “high country” in the same thought. That means backpacking loads on skis, in sometimes steeper terrain. Be aware of the old skiers adage: “the best way to ski with a pack on, is to chuck the pack down the hill and ski after it”. Skiing down any significant hills with any terrain, wearing a heavy pack, is VERY difficult. Add less than perfect snow, and its survival skiing at best. Its a totally different ball game than a smaller day pack, especially when you get into any inconsistent snow. If you have images of nimbly linking turns down a steep slope with trees and rocks, etc…unless you’re a super-advanced expert skier (and even then) probably best to just erase that image. Replace it with desperately sliding between trees, frequent stops, falling sideways when the weight of the pack pulls you over, etc.and you’ll be a lot closer to reality for 99.999% of the skiers out there. Skiing with a sled that’s designed to be skied with is much easier, just not always realistic.

AT boots at this point have become much more refined, while telemark has +\- stagnated for 30 years. AT boots in many cases are actually lighter weight and provide more range of motion than telemark boots at this point. Plus the bindings release, bindings are much lighter, it’s much easier to bend and drive a ski, less tiring and less susceptible to the weight of a pack toppling you while carrying weight, etc. If having any “skiing performance” is a requirement, to me unless you already have a lifetime of telemark behind you, thats just dumb. Telemark is dead, and for a reason. (Im saying this in part as a friendly jab to the telemark skiers, but sorry guys, its true. And this is coming from a guy who started telemark skiing in the early 1980’s.) imo the only 2 legit reasons to choose tele gear in the mountains is 1) you are already an experft tele skier and just like it, or 2) you deal with a majority of “smaller” terrain that would demand frequently changing between locked/unlocked heels in AT gear.

Silvretta 500’s were AT bindings made to work with a welted mountaineering boot. Super popular among ice climbers. They havent been made for well over a decade, so anything you find at this point is likely pretty thrashed. But could be worth looking for. There are some tricks you can use to make a mountaineering boot ski better too, but this is a long shot to begin with.

Love the term “survival skiing”.