arbusch
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I finally got to get out on my new backcountry setup. Here are my initial thoughts on the Moment Bella Tour in 172 cm in length and the ATK Crest 10 binding-
First, my stats and background - 5'5'' about 118-120lbs, an aggressive skier who skis everything in the backcountry depending on conditions (chutes, mellow glades, steeps, trees, open bowls, etc.). I prefer a playful setup that charges and can handle all types of conditions - powder, mank, breakable crust, wind board, etc. I have been backcountry skiing since 2005 and have seen the gear evolve over the years and options increase for women. I ski in the very remote part of NE Oregon. In the way past, I preferred a slightly heavier ski because I found touring specific skis way too light and chattery and not fun for the down in any condition. I have been using dynafit speed tours since I started backcountry skiing. I liked the simplicity of the binding. My powder backcountry boards (atomic millenniums) were starting to delaminate and were 10 years old and realized it was time to upgrade. My interest in a fully featured binding that was lighter than the speed tours picked my interest.
Snow conditions - Over the last 4 days about a foot to about a foot and a half of new snow had fallen. It had also stayed cold and overcast so the sun hadn't affected the snowpack yet. The winds had picked up overnight and changed direction so our original objective of hitting the alpine had changed to find more sheltered tree skiing and toning down our exposure due to the conditions. The snow ended up being that perfect hero powder snow that was fast but deep.
Moment Bella Tour & ATK Crest - First reaction picking them up from my friend who mounted them - Geez these are so freaking light! I went home and practiced putting on my skins and taking them off on the carpet. I take my skins off by keeping my skis on. Monkey with the brake on the crest was something new since in the past I went brakeless and used leashes. I realized since I cross the skis in front of me (in a figure 4 stretch style) that taking off the right skin the push button for the brake was on the outside (not on the inside like on the left) and not as seamless motion of pulling skins, clicking the release button for the brake, and turning the heal. This could be a slight learning curve or a clumsy move in the backcountry which proved to be a bit clunky the next day. Still working out the kinks on the right side. I usually go to our local hill to practice before taking any new gear in the backcountry but the conditions were too good to not take advantage so I took a risk and went out with my new setup.
These climbed like a dream. My legs did not get as tired as soon due to the light setup. Kick turns were even easier due to the weight and the length was not even an issue. This is the longest ski I have had in the backcountry. Breaking trail with these was a lot easier too due to the weight and wide front shovel.
The moment of truth came when I was all clicked in and went to make that first turn. My first reaction was these are so solid and ski just like my Moment Sierras. With that, I pushed them a bit harder. I hit some old frozen tracks and the skis stayed solid and didn't get bucked around at all just kind of felt like a mild bump. Man did I feel like I was flying. Again the snow was perfect. All day and every run I just felt like I was flying (wait, did I already say that?!!). I felt so confident all day even after our fifth lap and over 4300' of climbing and my legs were finally starting to get tired. They also turned when I wanted them to even in the very tight trees and could easily slash my speed if needed which happened when I needed to squeeze through a tight tree spot. By the end of the day, I was in love!
Even on our track out that can get super tracked out feel like a ski resort back to the car and I usually have to tell myself "game on" and "ski strong" with tired legs, the ski felt solid and didn't get bucked around and the track didn't feel as bad.
Since it was cold, I had on my neoprene boot gloves. I get really cold feet and some days need to even tour with boot gloves which makes it harder to see my toe pieces to click into tech bindings. The ATK crest just clicked in the first time every time. I didn't even have to do the one-pin roll to the other pin like I have to do on my dynafits. I also loved the "hot lap" feature of flipping over the middle raiser over the pins when lapping something which is what we were doing. No need to rotate the heal piece at all.
Little other things that were bonuses, the top sheets didn't really collect snow. Yet again, that could have been from the cold snow. My friend's skis definitely had more snow sticking to them than mine.
Summary - so far for powder conditions, these skis shine both on the up and down. The atk crest 10 bindings helped make it a lightweight setup and prefer their toe piece over dynafits. I am so happy with the setup and can't wait to see how it does in not-so-perfect conditions. And, can't wait to feel that sensation again of flying down the mountain with these skis. Fingers crossed for more ski days in April!
First, my stats and background - 5'5'' about 118-120lbs, an aggressive skier who skis everything in the backcountry depending on conditions (chutes, mellow glades, steeps, trees, open bowls, etc.). I prefer a playful setup that charges and can handle all types of conditions - powder, mank, breakable crust, wind board, etc. I have been backcountry skiing since 2005 and have seen the gear evolve over the years and options increase for women. I ski in the very remote part of NE Oregon. In the way past, I preferred a slightly heavier ski because I found touring specific skis way too light and chattery and not fun for the down in any condition. I have been using dynafit speed tours since I started backcountry skiing. I liked the simplicity of the binding. My powder backcountry boards (atomic millenniums) were starting to delaminate and were 10 years old and realized it was time to upgrade. My interest in a fully featured binding that was lighter than the speed tours picked my interest.
Snow conditions - Over the last 4 days about a foot to about a foot and a half of new snow had fallen. It had also stayed cold and overcast so the sun hadn't affected the snowpack yet. The winds had picked up overnight and changed direction so our original objective of hitting the alpine had changed to find more sheltered tree skiing and toning down our exposure due to the conditions. The snow ended up being that perfect hero powder snow that was fast but deep.
Moment Bella Tour & ATK Crest - First reaction picking them up from my friend who mounted them - Geez these are so freaking light! I went home and practiced putting on my skins and taking them off on the carpet. I take my skins off by keeping my skis on. Monkey with the brake on the crest was something new since in the past I went brakeless and used leashes. I realized since I cross the skis in front of me (in a figure 4 stretch style) that taking off the right skin the push button for the brake was on the outside (not on the inside like on the left) and not as seamless motion of pulling skins, clicking the release button for the brake, and turning the heal. This could be a slight learning curve or a clumsy move in the backcountry which proved to be a bit clunky the next day. Still working out the kinks on the right side. I usually go to our local hill to practice before taking any new gear in the backcountry but the conditions were too good to not take advantage so I took a risk and went out with my new setup.
These climbed like a dream. My legs did not get as tired as soon due to the light setup. Kick turns were even easier due to the weight and the length was not even an issue. This is the longest ski I have had in the backcountry. Breaking trail with these was a lot easier too due to the weight and wide front shovel.
The moment of truth came when I was all clicked in and went to make that first turn. My first reaction was these are so solid and ski just like my Moment Sierras. With that, I pushed them a bit harder. I hit some old frozen tracks and the skis stayed solid and didn't get bucked around at all just kind of felt like a mild bump. Man did I feel like I was flying. Again the snow was perfect. All day and every run I just felt like I was flying (wait, did I already say that?!!). I felt so confident all day even after our fifth lap and over 4300' of climbing and my legs were finally starting to get tired. They also turned when I wanted them to even in the very tight trees and could easily slash my speed if needed which happened when I needed to squeeze through a tight tree spot. By the end of the day, I was in love!
Even on our track out that can get super tracked out feel like a ski resort back to the car and I usually have to tell myself "game on" and "ski strong" with tired legs, the ski felt solid and didn't get bucked around and the track didn't feel as bad.
Since it was cold, I had on my neoprene boot gloves. I get really cold feet and some days need to even tour with boot gloves which makes it harder to see my toe pieces to click into tech bindings. The ATK crest just clicked in the first time every time. I didn't even have to do the one-pin roll to the other pin like I have to do on my dynafits. I also loved the "hot lap" feature of flipping over the middle raiser over the pins when lapping something which is what we were doing. No need to rotate the heal piece at all.
Little other things that were bonuses, the top sheets didn't really collect snow. Yet again, that could have been from the cold snow. My friend's skis definitely had more snow sticking to them than mine.
Summary - so far for powder conditions, these skis shine both on the up and down. The atk crest 10 bindings helped make it a lightweight setup and prefer their toe piece over dynafits. I am so happy with the setup and can't wait to see how it does in not-so-perfect conditions. And, can't wait to feel that sensation again of flying down the mountain with these skis. Fingers crossed for more ski days in April!