Gear

I've just experimented with snow-blades over last 2 weekends to see if plastic mountaineering boots are OK for skiing in to avoid carrying ski-boots or buying another expensive pair of specialised boots. Blades are also easier to carry.
I spent one day on piste with downhill ski-boots fixed to snow-blades and that was fine. Next day walked up to Cairngorm and attached snow-blades to climbing plastics, skiid down to bottom but fell a few times on easy ground and wasn't too confident.
Yesterday I hired touring snow-blades (Rossignol Free Venture) from Killin Outdoor Sports. Fixed to my plastic climbing boots I skinned up Beinn Heasgarnaich nicely but again dodgy skiing down, falling over on ground I should find very easy.
Has anyone else tried blades with climbing boots? Is there a technique to this? Should I persevere with my experiment or just get touring ski-boots and proper skis????

I've been passed by people using a similar set up to this when out on my snowshoes - I think they were using something similar to what's on this link:

http://www.needlesports.com/acatalog/Mail_Order_Skis_31.html

The snowblades I've seen in shops look pretty similar - can't be much help on the technique to use though.

Cheers, their blurb explains a lot.

If Ben Hedley pops in he'll be able to help - he was trying out some blades when we were in the Alps recently. He has boarding boots which were too bendy for the blades' bindings so he skied in his climbing boots.

I use a pair of Free Ventures and I think they're great. But they are not really made for downhill skiing - they are more of a snowshoe/ski mutant hybrid - if that makes any sense. I was out last week and played with my snowshoes and Free Ventures for the day. The Free Ventures are great for belting along on level ground and not too steeply sloping ground, but mountaineering boots and the bindings on the skis just don't hack it for belting downhill. Annoyingly, the Free Ventures don't fit a lot of mountaineering boots, like my Pro - Thermics, but they do fit my Mantas. The Mantas are too flexible to get the best out of the skis though. Compromise, compromise.

One thing I've noticed is that they are less tiring than snowshoes.

Dunno if any of that helps.

Atleast my boots fitted and being big heavy plastic things they are about as stiff as I would want from a climbing boot.
I think the next step is to go to a ski piste and persevere with technique, maybe adopt a telemark stance to get a more stable fore-aft balance.

I tried blades on my sportive nepals. Well, it works but the lack of support seemed to make edge control difficult.

tho as a boarder maybe it'd help if i learnt to ski first!

I've just looked at the Rossignol Free Venture manual I got when we hired the skis and there is supposed to be a "Soft Kit" to attach walking/snowboard boots, it has a strap and a plastic cuff on the front to give more support.

They are not making any more free ventures and the soft kit is long since sold out I'm afraid. Tried them myself - no luck.

Anyone using these (or the newer STC Snowventure) I bought a pair of Scarpa Invero online but sadly they are too long. Anyone forund a decent mountaineering boot that might work. Perhaps one of the newer single skin boots? Or modified the bindings to fit larger boots? My feet are only 10.5 but the doubles are at least 5cm longer than my Zamberlans