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BREWSTER CREEK TO SUNADANCE WARDEN CABIN GRAZING AREA

Report Submitted by DEMOCRATIZE AB
(trip) Date: Friday Mar 04, 2022

Submitted: Saturday Mar 05, 2022 at 04:08

Participants:

Mr. Legalize Real Democracy Trail Breaking on 54 mm skis

Discussion:

Healy Creek trail is trackset with several cm's of new snow in the track. The tracset comes and goes in some areas. Excellent skiing. Moderate speed snow. V30 wax worked well today.

The Brewster Creek trail was trackset in the afternoon. I was passed by the tracksetter up by the twin bridges. Excellent skiing. Moderate to moderately fast speed snow. No snowmobile ruts on the hills due to nice soft cold snow. The snowmobilers have done a good job widening the trail. A dusting of cold new snow fell in the evening on the trackset.

I took the horse trail going up to Brewster Creek trail. It is in very good shape. Moderate speed snow. A French skier was coming down the trail when I was going up. Gutsy or nuts on plastic edged skis. His ski tracks showed skiing horror in some areas where his ski track in the fresh snow was 4.5 feet wide in some areas. He must have been clinging on for life in some spots.

I re-broke or broke the trail from Sundance Lodge to a little ways beyond the fence for the Sundance Warden Cabin grazing area. Excellent skiing with 7 cm of new silky snow. I likely skied 400 meters short of the Cabin. I was breaking trail until it got real dark. Ski penetration was up to boot top near the cabin. Moderately difficult trail breaking.

At Sundance Lodge at about midnight, it was clear and minus 7C





10 comment(s) posted

Comments:



2022-03-05 at 08:10 - comment by Cascade

Great reports love your adventures
Quick question
What brand/model of 54mm metal edged skis are you on
Cheers





2022-03-05 at 09:13 - comment by SkierRoger

Thanks Mr. D

Hoping we can get some pictures sometime. Maybe with a flash since your trips usually occur at night.






2022-03-05 at 14:01 - comment by DEMOCRATIZE AB

Howdy Cascade,

I actually meant to say which skis I was on in my report but I was too tired to remember and I could not read my screen as I was typing. That is what happens when one old skier gets home from skiing at 3:20 in the morning.

I am skiing on old Madshus Vidda 662 CAP Mountain Series 2/3 metal edge skis. Width 56-48-52, waxable double camber skis. They are basically similar to typical xc skis but have a metal edge. That makes them really special. This is no dud Rossignol BC59 ski.

I heard these skis were made in Canada under the Madshus name. They are somewhat rare and were sold at the old church Lifesport. This year I stumbled upon 2 used pairs after spending years looking for them. They are the narrowest metal edge xc ski I have found without a skin. They are not super durable but these double camber skis are very fast and light. They are perfect for Alberta trackset trails.

I had bought a new pair earlier in the century but made the mistake of getting rid of them when the base at the back of one of the skis de-laminated. These skis have to be handled carefully. They can not be slammed into hard snow at the lodge or in the parking lot to make them stand up or the base at the tails may de-laminate. I learned the hard way.

I have tried to get ski manufacturers to make similar skis but no manufacturer has the marketing intelligence to do so. Unfortunately Madshus made a newer similar ski but it has a skin on the base and I don't want a skin dragging on the bottom of my skis slowing me down, particularly in hard spring conditions that I enjoy when I rarely even use wax.

Madshus and other ski manufacturers really need to get smart and make narrower double high camber 2/3 metal edge skis with out skins. That is the best wax ski for Alberta spring crust skiers and it is an excellent all around ski for the tracksets.





2022-03-05 at 17:19 - comment by HenryL

Hey Dem, I wonder how the vintage Kastle Trail LW skis compare to the Madshus? I don't recall the profile dimensions of the LW, but the width was about 54mm. They were double camber. I don't recall if the edge was just a 2/3 or full.

Photo shows my pair on the Wapta Icefields. I was stupid enough to use them with Adidas 38mm bindings, if you can believe it, but survived the trip.

Kastle Trail LW skids (on the left) - Wapta Icefields, 1980





2022-03-05 at 17:39 - comment by HenryL

Dem, I should have said that I used the Trail LWs with the 50mm Adidas bindings, not the 38mm.





2022-03-05 at 23:15 - comment by DEMOCRATIZE AB

Howdy Henryl,

You brought up 2 pieces of XC equipment I never heard of. I had no idea Kastle made a narrow metal edge double camber XC ski or that Adidas made bindings and boots. If Kastle seemed to be a good ski they probably were although they were not ideal for thin crust glacier snow or crud. No double camber xc skinny skis are. Thick solid late spring crust is another story where skinny skis are fine and fast for travel.

I take it that the Adidas bindings were not very good judging by your survival comment. What was the problem with them?

Funny thing about Adidas. When I first started XC skiing, I would use a regular pair of Adidas running shoes in my 3 pin bindings. Surprisingly that worked for me. I would not be able to do that with my NNNBC bindings, but I would not want to go back to using them either. They were cold.





2022-03-06 at 17:03 - comment by HenryL

Dem, I'll attach a link to a page that shows the Adidas 50mm 3-pin system. The 38mm didn't use pins, but a tab.
We were experimenting with how light we could go with equipment, but it was stupid to take such a ski boot and binding on an icefields traverse. We exited the Yoho glacier in a whiteout and walked out from Twin Falls (May24). The boots were toast after that.
I'm just lucky they didn't break during the trip.


Old equipment



2022-03-06 at 17:15 - comment by HenryL

Heck Dem, now I'm doubting myself. I could have sworn that It was the Adidas 50mm 3-pin system I used, yet I can only find images of the 38mm system.
I know that it was 3-pins. It was a racing boot, just like used with the 38mm system.
Oh well.





2022-03-06 at 18:02 - comment by HenryL

Gee Dem, it had to be the Adidas 38mm system.

Regarding those lovely red Kastle Trail LWs, Pat Morrow has a great action photo of non other than Alf flying over a snow wall in these skis.





2022-03-16 at 15:09 - comment by Cascade

Back in “76” all the Banff locals had “red rockets”
Kastle trails ..fastest ski by miles
All over 200cc ...lol




Red rockets



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