Besides a slight profile change, these skis have gone primarily unchanged in terms of construction. These will ride much similar to your 06s, but with much more life in them.

You can use any kind of ski. The difference is that in a tele turn, your weight is distributed between both skis, whereas in an alpine turn it's all on the outside ski. That means that an aggressive alpine ski is a lot stiffer than an aggressive tele ski.

It depends on what kind of backcountry you do. I used this ski in the backcountry for three years but currently switched to the mt. baker SL because it is lighter and stiffer. The Mt. baker seems to hold an edge better on really icy stuff. I wanted to do a lot of ski mountaineering so I thought the mt. baker was better than the dawn patrol. But if you are just going to be skiing a lot of powder/resort I think the dawn patrol is good.

K2 tele skis run long, go a bit shorter than you would for alpine.

If I'd been asked before you bought, I'd have said 153s. But I think with a little practice, you'll be able to shred just as well on 160s. And they'll be faster in really deep powder.

Joe, pretty much any binding you buy will come with some mounting instructions as well as hardware to do so. If not then there are plenty of Telemark mounting guides on the internet. Just do a google search.--------------------K2 skis actually come with all the screws you need, Lock Tight pre-applied. And these have inserts, so everything's lined up already and all you need is a few basic tools, depending on the binding. For Black Diamond bindings, for example, it takes about 20 minutes with a Phillips screwdriver and a small Allen wrench. Piece of cake.

Probably 160-165, but there are a lot of other factors to consider besides height (weight, skiing style). If you can, try to demo a few sizes to see what feels best for you.

Yes, all K2 Tele Skis utilize an internal fiberglass mount screw retention matt and you will be able to mount an AT binding. You may also want to check out K2s Miss Baker, they are designed specifically for AT bindings!