Nordic Backcountry Ski Gear
Here in the Northeast USA, we have very little truly alpine terrain, and most of the trails leading through our mountains have long stretches of rolling, up-and-down terrain. Local backcountry skiers often choose a compromise in gear between the downhill skiing performance needed to ski the steep parts and the lightweight, cross country skiing performance needed for long stretches of rolling terrain.
Fortunately for us, there is a small niche segment of the ski market called 'Rugged Touring' which provides us with ski gear that's well suited to our terrain. The type of gear you choose can make a big difference in how much fun you'll have, whether you're skiing hiking trails in the Adirondacks or skiing fire tower trails in the Catskills or Vermont.
There are two flavors of backcountry skiing popular in these parts.
The more popular is what I call Nordic Backcountry skiing. This is essentially cross country skiing but in wilderness terrain, on hiking trails, woods roads or through open woods keeping to gentle slopes. (In Norwegian, these narrower touring skis would be called "Tur og Markasksi" which translates to "trip and field skis.")
Many skiers like to mix some downhill turning in with their cross country skiing, indulging in an activity some call 'touring for turns.' I call this Cross Country/Downhill skiing, or XCD for short. (In Norwegian, these wider skis would be called "Fjellski" which translates to "mountain skis.")
Here's an article I wrote back in 2012, entitled Choosing a Nordic Backcountry Ski Setup (PDF document). It goes into more detail than what I can fit here. The information is a little dated, but the concepts remain the same.
NORDIC BC SKIS
Rossignol BC 65 Positrack
Madshus BC 55 MGV
Fischer Outback 68
Alpina Discovery 68
NORDIC BC SKI BINDINGS
Rotefella NNN-BC (Manual recommended)
Voile HD Mountaineer (3-pin 75mm)
NORDIC BC SKI BOOTS
Fischer BCX 6 (NNN-BC)
Alpina Montana (NNN-BC)
Alpina Alaska (NNN-BC or 75mm)
Rossignol BC X-6 (NNN-BC)
NORDIC BC SKI POLES
Get sturdy ones with large-ish baskets
Hiking poles will break
NORDIC BACKCOUNTRY
Ski Touring Point A to Point B
This is rugged cross country skiing on old woods roads and mellow-angled hiking trails that happen to be well-suited to skiing.
This type of ski (Tur og markaski) is basically a standard cross country ski with metal edges, and usually with a fish-scale kick zone, rather than a smooth base for applying kick wax. These skis are typically about 55 to 60 millimeters width in the waist, and 65 to 70mm at the tip (shovel). This size ski can fit into the groomed tracks at nordic centers, but they'll be noticeably slower than plain-edged cross country touring skis. The steel edges are for better purchase in hard or icy snow, so you can apply a more reliable snowplow or execute a more decisive hockey stop. With a lot of practice and suitable conditions, you might even get the skis into a telemark, if you're good!
The boots and bindings you choose must be compatible with each other! Most skiers choose the Rottefella NNN-BC bindings and compatible boots. These are readily available. If you'll be doing much long-distance backcountry touring on your setup, I strongly recommend choosing the 'Manual' type of this binding, as opposed to the 'Automatic.' The Manual version is easy to open up and clear of any ice or packed snow that can collect inside the housing. The Auto bindings can't be opened up in the field, so it can be a big problem if they ice up (which happens frequently enough). Extended delays on a cold and windy day are best avoided.
The boots are the most important piece of ski gear! The boots must of course be warm and waterproof, and durable too. They must also be comfortable, since you'll be miserable if your feet hurt from ill-fitting boots. As if that's not enough, the boots should also have a good, stiff sole that doesn't flex side-to-side when you apply a hard snowplow or hockey stop maneuver, and there should also be good ankle support to help you apply force to the ski in hard/icy or deep/heavy snow. Oh, and the boots should be flexible in the right places, so you don't expend too much energy flexing the boot with each kick-and-glide. Yes, that is a lot to ask. You can see how the boots are the most critical gear choice you'll make.
Standard cross country ski poles can be used (they should be the correct length for you), or adjustable-length backcountry poles can be used. Avoid trying to press your hiking poles into ski use. They will break. Ask me how I know this.
CROSS COUNTRY DOWNHILL / XCD
Touring for Turns
Now we get to the kind of skiing I like best of all. This type of gear combines the ability to cross country ski (kick-and-glide) with the ability to make turns going downhill. Of course it's the skier who is making the turns or traversing the snow, but the equipment shouldn't prevent you from going where you want to go. Choose the best setup for the kinds of skiing you intend to do, and for the types of terrain you want to ski.
The skis (Fjellski) are typically the size and shape of vintage downhill skis from about 1995, but considerably lighter, and often skied in a shorter length. The classic dimensions for a ski of this type are about 90mm across the tip, 70mm waist, with 80mm across the tail. Some narrower models are more optimized for cross country skiing, while others are wider, optimized more for the downhill. Choose the type of ski best suited to the terrain you intend to ski. If you'll be skiing miles of long flat and rolling stretches then you'll want a longer and narrower (and therefore lighter) ski. If you're into linking turns downhill then you'll want a wider (and therefore heavier) but shorter ski.
Bindings - Again, the boots and bindings must be compatible with each other! For this type of setup, I'd say that if the ski you choose is 60mm or narrower in the waist, go ahead and use the popular NNN-BC bindings (Manual version, as discussed above), but choose a bigger, heavier boot that will help you control the bigger ski. However, if the skis are up around 70mm in the waist, then you'll definitely want a 3-pin 75mm 'telemark' binding with beefy leather boots to match, or perhaps the brand new Rottefella Xplore binding/boot system. (See it in action.) If you want to optimize the setup for downhill (telemark) skiing, then you'll want plastic 'light telemark' boots like the Scarpa T4, and a fancy hardwire touring binding like the (absolutely fabulous) Voile Switchback to go with them. The classic setup of this type is the Madshus Panorama M78 ski with Voile Switchback or 3-Pin Hardwire bindings and Scarpa T4 boots.
Boots - Again, make sure the boots you choose are comfortable. Don't go for a 'race fit.' For a wilderness ski tour in late March, you may be in your boots and skis for 8 hours or more. It's no fun if your feet are being mangled by boots that don't fit you. If you're going for a lightweight setup that will gobble up the miles, go for a good leather boot that allows for an efficient kick-and-glide. You want torsional rigidity (the sole should be stiff side-to-side) but you want the forward flex to be soft and easy. Solid ankle support helps for hard stops on hardpack or icy snow, or for breaking trail in deep and heavy powder. The Alpina Alaska XP, with a sole for the Rottefella Xplore system, promises to offer good touring flexibility, light weight, and decent torsional stiffness for making downhill turns (requires Xplore bindings on the skis). If you're going for a more specifically downhill-oriented setup, then as previously mentioned, it's hard to beat the Scarpa T4 plastic boots. They don't flex as easily as leather boots, but they're surprisingly flexible in their bellows. They'll even work well with a simple 3-pin 75mm binding like the Voile HD Mountaineer. If you choose a telemark binding with a free-pivot mode like the Voile Switchback you can go bigger and heavier with the boots, to something like the Scarpa T2-eco, which is really a downhill-telemark boot (taller, stiff flex) that's on the lighter end of that type.
Ski Poles - Hiking poles won't cut it. For this type of skiing, I recommend an adjustable-length backcountry ski pole like the Black Diamond Traverse. You can get ultralight adjustable carbon poles, but don't fall on them. They don't bend far before they snap. (Again, ask me how I know this...)
Climbing Skins - These are strips of plush material with a sticky backing that you apply to the base of your skis to climb more steeply than is possible with kick wax or fish-scale bases alone. The plush side of the skins have a directional 'nap,' with fibers that stick out into the snow to get a grip for going uphill, but lay back down to make a smoother surface for gliding downhill on the snow. This allows a slow sort of stride with good grip to push off from, but not as much glide as you'll get from the fish-scale base. For lower-angled touring-for-turns, climbing skins are most useful for getting around in deep, untracked powder snow, where kick wax or fish-scale bases don't give you much grip (and wallowing up to your waist in snow is not an option). Climbing skins become mandatory on sustained uphill climbs such as climbing Mount Marcy or many of the mountains in the Catskills. If the trail you're on has a lot of short ups and downs, then it's best to use the fish-scales. But if the trail climbs relentlessly up for a long way, you'll find it's more efficient to 'skin up' (ski up with the skins on).
XCD SKIS
Madshus Panorama M68 (formerly Epoch, Karhu XCD 10th Mountain)
Madshus Panorama M78 (formerly Annum, Karhu Guide)
Fischer S-Bound 98
Fischer S-Bound 112
Fischer Excursion 88
Alpina Discovery 102
Altai Kom
XCD SKI BINDINGS
Voile HD Mountaineer (good match for leather boots like Crispi Antarctic, Alpina Alaska 75mm)
Rottefella Xplore (must be used with a compatible boot with Xplore sole, like the Alpina Alaska XP or the Alfa Vista Advance GTX)
Voile 3-Pin Cable Traverse (good match for bigger, stiffer leather boots like the Crispi Svartisen and Alpina Alaska 75, but lighter plastic boots like Scarpa T4 also work well with this binding)
Voile 3-Pin Hardwire (good match for lighter plastic boots like Scarpa T4)
Voile Switchback (free-pivot for big, stiff plastic boots like Scarpa T2eco)
XCD SKI BOOTS
Scarpa T4 (plastic, two-buckle, softer flex)
Alpina Alaska (leather, 75mm or Xplore)
Alfa Vista Advance GTX (Xplore)
Crispi Svartisen (leather, 75mm)
Crispi Antarctic (leather, 75mm)
BACKCOUNTRY SKI POLES
Black Diamond Traverse
Leki Vario Speedlock
CLIMBING SKINS
Black Diamond Ascension
Black Diamond GlideLite
G3 Expedition or Alpinist