Many folks wondering about skijoring for the first time are confused about what sort of skis they require. Part of the confusion may be the result of the varied advice you might receive from other skijorers. I think the right answer will vary greatly depending on your goal, your dog(s), and your experience on skis.
Let’s start with the ideal situation and proceed from there…
For those with fast dogs, reasonably good skiing ability, and groomed trails, you’ll want skating skis. However, this presumes that you intend to actually help the dog(s) out by skiing yourself. If you aren’t comfortable on these relatively slim skis, you may prefer something more stable.
Skate skis differ from classic cross-country skis in their length, stiffness, and camber. Skate skis are not made to take grip wax like classic skis and therefore require a different camber and stiffness.
If you are not a skate skier, you may want to take it up, but it is advisible to gain a reasonable level of proficiency before attempting to skate skijor.
Skate skis are best for flat-groomed trails that are wider than about 6 feet. If you’ll mostly be breaking your own trails, or following a single snowmobile track, they won’t be the best choice.
If your dog is slow and alone you may find that you can both get a workout on your classic skis. Your dog still needs to be relatively good at staying out front and keeping pressure on the line. You may actually want to use a longer tug line to prevent contact with the dog’s heels - when skating, your skis vee outward but when classic skiing you are thrusting your skis directly toward the dog so, if the dog stops or slows radically you are more likely to make contact.
If your dog is just a bit faster, you may find that you can’t kick fast enough to add any power. In this case grip wax will just slow you down. Consider taking off all the grip wax and hot-waxing your skis for glide only. You can use your poles for power, and you can even try skating a bit on your classic skis.
Use of metal edged skis for skijoring is contraversial. Many organizations, including the Alaska Dog Mushers Association and the IFSS, do not allow metal edges at their events. It is viewed as a safety issue whereby dogs can be cut by the edges of the ski. Other organizations and individuals advise against use of metal edges under any circumstances.
Some prefer to use metal edged skis as they afford greater stability, much better control in slippery conditions and at high speed, and because the metal edges make for more effective stopping and snow plowing.
A race is one thing - in that situation, it is not only one’s self and one’s dogs at stake, it is the safety of other racers and other dogs, as well. The potential for contact between ski edges and dogs rises dramatically when you introduce the possibility of one team passing another. It is the perogative of race organizers to balance the concerns of all participants. Since serious racers will want to be using the lightest, fastest equipement anyway, the rule doesn’t really cause a problem. However, for recreational skijoring, I think a case can easily be made for metal edges.
If a skier is inexperienced and unstable on classic or skate skis then one could make a reasonably good case for the stability of metal edged skis. While metal edges are sure to be more harmful than plastic on impact with a dog, one has to consider that making any contact at all with your dogs is to be avoided at all costs. Not only is it unfair to dogs to put them in harm’s way, but it makes for very bad training. A dog that is accustomed to being run over will not make a very good skijor dog. If one is reasonably accomplished on downhill skis, has reasonably fast dogs, and has poor balance with nordic equipment I can picture downhill skis being the right choice for skijoring. Likewise, conditions on any given day may warrant a reasonably good skate skier to switch to his/her metal edged skis temporarily.
A good compromise is back-country skis without metal edges. These provide good control and good turning ability. They won’t give you as much speed on a groomed trail, but they will be an advantage if you’re breaking your own trail, or on a narrow snowmobile track. If you hot wax them for speed you can get up some good speed with a strong team.
