Tucked in the Elk Mountain range and sitting at 2715m (8907 feet) sits the small, storybook-like town of Crested Butte, Colorado. It’s home to the Montane Grand Traverse Ski, Run, and Bike races, and also home to Montane ultra athlete, Alyssa Wendt. Alyssa has put our Nordes Ski System to the test this winter.
My parents put me in my first pair of ski boots before I could walk, and ever since, skiing has been a constant in my life. So to say I was excited when I first heard word that Montane created their first ski kit, is a bit of an understatement. This past winter, I had a lot of fun testing the Nordes and Niveus Ski kits to see how they would hold up to the various activities and conditions we have here in Colorado, with a couple trips out to the Pacific Northwest in Oregon and Washington. Up first, my thoughts on the Nordes kit!
I spent most of this last winter training for and racing in the USA Ski Mountaineering National circuit which consisted of 3 different disciplines of racing– a 4ish min sprint race, an uphill “all out” Vertical Kilometer race, and an Individual race that typically lasts around 1.5-2 hrs and consist of bootpacking (carrying your skis), downhill skiing, and skinning (skiing uphill with the assist of skins that stick to the bottom of our skis to prevent sliding backwards). To top it off, I wrapped up the season with a much longer teams event, the inaugural Kulshan Randonee— the first 100% backcountry technical ski mountaineering race in the United States.
With the mixed bag of races I had, my training also took a lot of forms– gym time, nordic and ski mountaineering specific workouts, on and off-piste skiing, rehab, pre-hab, etc. I found that during my training and play that the Nordes pants were best suited for skiing at the ski resort (on-piste) and for cooler days in the backcountry (off-piste). The pants are “soft-shells” meaning that they are water resistant but not waterproof. For me, that meant that the soft-shells were great to have on days where I knew there was little chance of weather coming in. The baggier fit of the pants were also nice for adding layers underneath for long, chilly chairlift rides.
When I skied in the backcountry, I would be moving uphill to start and get warm very quickly. With that, I most often wore the Nordes in the backcountry on chillier days.
I’m 5’6’’ and wore the UK12/US8/M pants size. I’m fairly petite but I also don’t love my ski pants fitting super snug to leave room for some layers underneath. For example, on warmer days at the resort or spring days backcountry touring, I’d layer with Montane Women's Ineo Lite Shorts, but for colder days at the resort (on-piste) or in the backcountry (off-piste), I choose to pair my ski pants with a light baselayer like Montane Women's Dart Thermo Long Janes. Speaking of sizing, I really like how the pants had small velcro straps along the waistline that could be used to make the pants more snug fitting– helpful if you decide to go up in size.
Colorado is super dry so even in the coldest of temps, it can feel extremely warm with the sun out. I was super glad the Nordes pants had those ventilation zippers along the hips to help manage my temperature on those warmer days. I also found that the thicker, soft-shell material was super comfortable to move in and didn’t restrict my movement.
I was a little skeptical of the bright yellow green color of the Nordes but it quickly grew on me. It was also SUPER easy for friends to find me while out skiing in a group, which was extra important in Crested Butte where the cell service is limited and knowing your friends ski kits is a must, HA! And on a more serious note, it’s helpful to wear bright colors while in the backcountry for safety reasons and in case of an emergency. Win-win!
I’m slowly piecing together my winter racing schedule for this upcoming season, but I’m looking forward to hopping into a few ski races (Grand Traverse Ski?) and sliding on snow in all the ways with friends. Do your snow dances! Winter is coming.
Discover the full Nordes Ski System today for the ultimate protection on the slopes.
