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The Official Skiing / Snowboarding / Playing in the Snow Thread

otc

Stylish Dinosaur
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So 50% chance I buy it lol.

Well not to tempt you, but Sierra has the green? tan? mustard? version of the bag for $109 with free shipping:
Plus activejunky has them at 5% cashback right now. They also have the black one at $150.

That's even better than I was getting elsewhere (which was ~45% off + shipping)...so I ended up ordering both colors. I think I like the black with orange hardware better, but for that price I'll see how the other one looks in person.

Hopefully they come before I drive north for a couple weeks--I'll return with my impressions.
 

otc

Stylish Dinosaur
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Convinced my wife to get ski boots (or at least, to let me buy her ski boots). I suspect this will immensely improve her enjoyment of skiing, not only because I know just how important good fitting boots are, but also because she has a miserable time getting her foot inside rental boots and is often ready to go home before she even gets the second boot on.

Settled on a pretty comfort-oriented intermediate boot, K2 b.f.c 80 W, although between the two shops in Duluth, there were only about 4-5 different models available that even fit her. It opened up far enough to make it very easy to put on and was comfortable but still decently stiff--and seriously, I don't know what's up with her foot, but there was one boot they came out with that she literally could not force her foot into, so easy-on is a winner here.

Kind of wish we could have tried some more Full Tilts though--I think the 3-piece design is good for her, but the only one they had in her size was FT's top-end women's model (Soul Sister 100). Fit was pretty good but it was way too stiff for her...I think one of their softer models would have been great--and then you have the option to buy a stiffer tongue piece down the road.

Pained me to buy it from the shop that carried K2 though. Did not care for either of the salesmen we talked to...when we went back to purchase, the guy was pushy and just spouted commentary like a car salesman. Loved the vibe at the other shop we went to, but they just didn't have boots that worked.

I have far far too many backpacks and duffel bags - it's a running joke with my wife - but I have to say that one looks pretty cool and has me thinking twice about buying another one. I almost never travel by plane to ski so as a result the bootbags I have are extremely crappy. I suppose I could argue that this provides net new capability but it's a capability that I'm unlikely to need frequently and I have far too many new and unused bags to begin with. So 50% chance I buy it lol.

Bag review: It is interesting. Its not perfect (what bag is?) but I'm going to keep the cheaper color. The black with orange hardware looks cooler, but I like the soft fabric of the colored version over the plastic-coated black fabric.

Packed up nicely and even though this was a car trip, I get the feeling that it would do real well as a carryon. The metal compression hardware rattles if it isn't tight, but is actually a much slicker design than I expected so I'm not really missing the plastic clips. It is obviously big and square for a backpack, but the straps seem perfectly fine to me (some reviews claimed about them being stiff which I don't find to be true). Nice side handles for carrying in different orientations. I think it could really have benefitted from an extra stash pocket at the top (since if you use the helmet carrier, you can't zip up the other outside pocket) with a little clip for your keys and room to throw boarding pass/passport/etc.

Not sure I could justify the full MSRP, but for $100, I'm in.
 

otc

Stylish Dinosaur
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Oh, and I guess I kind of missed that we are in the middle (tail end?) of a format war with bindings and boots.

My current boots have standard alpine soles, but these new boots are GripWalk...gripwalk seems to have won over salomon's WTR standard, but there are still going to be binding compatability issues out in the marketplace.

We are skiing Lutsen tomorrow where she should have no problem with the rental shop having compatible bindings, but I'm skeptical that a lot of the smaller midwest hills will have new enough bindings in their rental fleets...

My own bindings are a mixed bag. Two sets of Salomon STH2s. These supposedly "retroactively" support GripWalk (after WTR was confirmed dead, salomon changed their indemnification policy to specify gripwalk), but you have to adjust the toe height to make it work.
1 set of Tyrolia Aaatacks on demo tracks on my park skis. I was hoping that in a pinch my wife could ski these (they are a little long, but pretty easy-skiing), but it looks like mine are too old. The 2018 model changed the design of the anti-friction plate to accommodate gripwalk soles, but the plate on my 2017 binding is too high/far back and interferes...so I guess that's not an option.

The ski shop did say they should have standard alpine sole plates in stock, but I didn't really want to give them more money and if gripwalk really is better for walking around, my wife will be happier.
 

Numbernine

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I've skied in cabrio boots since the 80s. I thought about Full Tilt a bit when they came out especially since they used the original molds from Rachlie (sp) but I ended up in Dallbellos which I found to be an improved boot. I have no idea how many models I've been through.
Convinced my wife to get ski boots (or at least, to let me buy her ski boots). I suspect this will immensely improve her enjoyment of skiing, not only because I know just how important good fitting boots are, but also because she has a miserable time getting her foot inside rental boots and is often ready to go home before she even gets the second boot on.

Settled on a pretty comfort-oriented intermediate boot, K2 b.f.c 80 W, although between the two shops in Duluth, there were only about 4-5 different models available that even fit her. It opened up far enough to make it very easy to put on and was comfortable but still decently stiff--and seriously, I don't know what's up with her foot, but there was one boot they came out with that she literally could not force her foot into, so easy-on is a winner here.

Kind of wish we could have tried some more Full Tilts though--I think the 3-piece design is good for her, but the only one they had in her size was FT's top-end women's model (Soul Sister 100). Fit was pretty good but it was way too stiff for her...I think one of their softer models would have been great--and then you have the option to buy a stiffer tongue piece down the road.

Pained me to buy it from the shop that carried K2 though. Did not care for either of the salesmen we talked to...when we went back to purchase, the guy was pushy and just spouted commentary like a car salesman. Loved the vibe at the other shop we went to, but they just didn't have boots that worked.



Bag review: It is interesting. Its not perfect (what bag is?) but I'm going to keep the cheaper color. The black with orange hardware looks cooler, but I like the soft fabric of the colored version over the plastic-coated black fabric.

Packed up nicely and even though this was a car trip, I get the feeling that it would do real well as a carryon. The metal compression hardware rattles if it isn't tight, but is actually a much slicker design than I expected so I'm not really missing the plastic clips. It is obviously big and square for a backpack, but the straps seem perfectly fine to me (some reviews claimed about them being stiff which I don't find to be true). Nice side handles for carrying in different orientations. I think it could really have benefitted from an extra stash pocket at the top (since if you use the helmet carrier, you can't zip up the other outside pocket) with a little clip for your keys and room to throw boarding pass/passport/etc.

Not sure I could justify the full MSRP, but for $100, I'm in.
 

imatlas

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Full Tilts are on the list for Mrs A: last year she had an ankle injury that I suspect will make it impossible to get into her old boots, as pointing her toes is pretty painful.

I got out to ***** Valley yesterday (my first day out this season :-( ). Conditions were pretty awesome - they had some rain on Tuesday but another foot came down on top of that. So, some ice crust on the windswept spots but deep and soft in others.
 

otc

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Headed to lutsen tomorrow.

Gonna be a high of 9F, and while they got 3-6"today, they haven't had enough snow to open all of their hard stuff yet.

But hey, I get to ski :)
 

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Stylish Dinosaur
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I have my sole trip of the season at the end of February. Finally, it appears that some snow is falling!
 

imatlas

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Headed to lutsen tomorrow.

Gonna be a high of 9F, and while they got 3-6"today, they haven't had enough snow to open all of their hard stuff yet.

But hey, I get to ski :)
I've gotta say, for the midwest this place looks pretty good. Any good tree skiing?

1612483862545.png
 

imatlas

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PS I love that there is an Ullr Mountain. My standard winter sign-off is "Praise Ullr!"
 

Numbernine

Stylish Dinosaur
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Full Tilts are on the list for Mrs A: last year she had an ankle injury that I suspect will make it impossible to get into her old boots, as pointing her toes is pretty painful.

I got out to ***** Valley yesterday (my first day out this season :-( ). Conditions were pretty awesome - they had some rain on Tuesday but another foot came down on top of that. So, some ice crust on the windswept spots but deep and soft in others.
Figured as much when I saw another post about being in Loomis. I would have gone up today but I had a Covid vac yesterday afternoon . The wood is booked out tomorrow so probably early next week
 

otc

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I've gotta say, for the midwest this place looks pretty good. Any good tree skiing?

View attachment 1549279

I haven't been there since I was a kid so I don't really remember anything (besides the frostbite scar that's still on my wrist)

But I believe it is pretty legit. Limited total vertical compared to out west, but feels like a big mountain.

Lot of birch forest, so many areas are probably too tight for decent tree skiing in between runs, but there's some "sidecountry" spots that have good trees (maybe they thin them out during the summer).
Unfortunately, the low snowfall means most of them are closed:
1612484835759.png


They've only had 44" so far this year which is pretty terrible. They are reporting the sidecountry base at 6-10" which in the trees means core-shot city...

The hard stuff on Eagle Mountain is all listed as open--hoping that means they have enough base to cover the rocks and stumps...
 

imatlas

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Not surprised to hear you got frostbite there - my next thought was "******* hell that place must be cold".

It was 16 degrees and windy yesterday, and I regretted leaving my down puffy at home, but that's about as cold as we ever get. Growing up skiing in VT we routinely went out in sub zero temps.
 

otc

Stylish Dinosaur
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It's been upper 20s/low 30s... Until the day we have our tickets for...

But yeah, it is known for being cold. And its not like somewhere like winter park where it will be cold AF when you head up, but by the time the lifts start spinning it warms up fast.

Tomorrow is going to start cold and stay that way. Better than Sunday though:
Screenshot_20210204-203914.png
 

Nbarbar

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Jackson Hole side country comp was pretty wild today. Wonder if they will open that section as a stand alone park?
 

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Stylish Dinosaur
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Is that off-mountain? I thought that was one the of the runs where you ultimately used the Union Pass Traverse? (Can't tell if it is the Hobacks, or one of the adjacent ridges/bowls. Makes me miss JH, such a great place to ski.
 

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