Movin' On Out for XCD 04Feb16

I sucked immensely yesterday on the new XCD (cross country downhill) gear. I knew I needed downhill practice so I went to Keystone to run Schoolmarm and get my tele turns back. Unfortunately the day was 4° and overcast and the groomers were slick - I couldn't find any pow' on slopes I could navigate in my gear. I set off down from the gondola and was pretty sketchy the entire 3.5 miles + 2200 ft. Plus I was cold. My turns sucked and I biffed plenty. It was disappointing that my years of tele skiing didn't just return in a flash... but I hope it was the conditions mainly and the new gear some. Little to no resistance on the binding toe makes driving the ski into the snow a challenge; it feels slippery and hard to center my balance - especially when its cold hardpack. With a tele binding I could've driven the ski much harder. Today was much better - on the trail as I was able to ski out as wanted on broken trail snow and return with some forays into the powder, with turns. I went out from Buffalo Cabin TH and back for just several miles but my phone (and Strava with it) died so no evidence or pics but this starting shot. The weather was great and the gear was a blast this time... whew.