Skiing
Black Diamond has certainly stepped things up in the past couple of seasons. Their ski line is recognized as one of the best and most versatile lineups for alpine touring, telemark and resort skiers alike. While I’m still trying to get my grubby hands on a pair of the Black Diamond Zealot’s for testing, their all-new, flat-camber Megawatt ski is catching my eye.
This ski is built to be an inbounds ski on uber-deep or chunky days or as a dedicated cat ski or heli ski option for those who only ski in the deep stuff.
Word is these things simply charge the pow and crud like nobody’s business. And, because it’s not a true reverse-camber...
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Scott USA has gone from a goggle, pole and basic outerwear company to a full-on hardgoods manufacturer… and a darn good one at that. Their top-shelf ski lineup is now one of the best in the industry, while their entire product line has been beefed up, improved and expanded.
Their upcoming goggles are functional and stylish with an entire lineup of limited-edition, bling bling models that will definitely make a statement on the slopes. Though pricing is not included, I’m sure the limited-edition lineup will come with a price.
Looking over the goggle lineup, the Scott Celebutante goggle–which is a decked-out goggle based based on the Alibi frame–looks like a sweet example...
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The Smith Optics booth is always a happening place with the beanie-wearing Smith sales/marketing crew working the crowd like no other. Greg Randolph (aka Chopper) showed me a few goodies in the lineup for fall 2008. The two items that stood out were the all-new Smith Hustle Evovle Ski Helmet and the I/O Evolve Goggles with a recycled rubber frame and bamboo-fortified strap.
I’m a big fan of the Smith helmet/goggle combination since it allows them to build helmets and goggles that maximize airflow and overall fit. It’s no wonder Giro has also branched out into the goggle world, but Smith has them beat on years of experience in optics.
Smith Hustle Evolve Ski...
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It’s no secret that we favor skiing in Utah. Each year I have friends from Washington, Canada, Colorado, Jackson who all ask if I’m going to be making a trip to ski with them. It’s not that I don’t want to explore new areas and it’s not that I don’t want to ski with my buddies. Truth is every time I do want to ski somewhere else it means sacrificing easy access and generally better snow by leaving Utah.
That’s not to say that I haven’t scored the goods elsewhere. There...
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I had skied Mineral Basin only once before and it was the winter it opened. I was treated to 1500 feet of sun-crusted bumps–not my ideal run. Over the years I’ve realized that yes, I can ski moguls, but just because I can ski moguls doesn’t mean I like skiing them. I’m a powder junkie and if I’m not skiing powder, I dig arcing big turns on the groomers.
But, those bumps had one thing going for them–a variable, but relatively consistent fall-line and a perfect pitch that wasn’t too steep nor too shallow. Hmmm… those are the same ingredients that make for excellent hills on powder days. Sounds like pretty much the...
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A couple of weeks ago Jason posted about some of the new AT boots from Scarpa that will soon find their way to store shelves and hopefully onto some of your feet. As a Dynafit Disciple I can’t wait to ski the Skookum with it’s alpine style tongue, booster strap and reinforced “power ribs”. It looks like a dream for the predominantly backcontry skiing crowd who will play in the slackcountry once in a while, spinning laps on the lifts to get the goods.
Here’s a little video that goes down the features of the boots that Jason covered in his review. The video also introduces the Scarpa Terminator X-Pro which i...
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Scott has long been a household name in goggles and poles, but their other product lines–namely skis–have been, until recent years, schlepped overseas. I don’t know if the migration of Scott skis came after some Euros inadvertently left them here in the States and they multiplied like rabbits, or if it was a deliberate effort from Scott USA–I’ll leave that up to your imagination and good sense. Either way, their versatile ski line serves up top-shelf performance at still affordable price-points.
After realizing that my Atomic Beta Rides were a little too narrow overall, I went in search for an inbounds ski that would be versatile enough to tackle bulletproof hardpack as well...
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Robert Redford’s little Sundance Resort has got to be nestled in one of the most beautiful corners of Utah. Just 15-minutes up Provo Canyon is a quaint little hill made up of only 3 regular-speed lifts covering barely 450 acres of skiable terrain. Sounds pretty small… well, it is small for a reason. Mr. Redford is one of the more outspoken environmentalists I know of and his resort does its best to preserve the beauty of the location against the southeastern flanks of 12,000-foot Mt. Timpanogos.
Sundance was the first ski resort I skied in Utah during my freshman year at college in 1993. Just like that winter 15 years ago, Sundance i...
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The legendary Mt. Baker Ski Area, just south of the Canadian border in Northern Washington State is getting pummeled once again. I just saw posted on their site that they have had 220 inches of snowfall in the month of December alone! That doesn’t even count the endless powder they have received recently.
The last La Nina season, Mt. Baker broke all annual world snowfall records with a whopping 1,140 inches (1998-1999). On a great year, Alta will get 600 inches, so that’s absolutely insane! Even moreso when you consider the water content of the...
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I love the latest trend of going back to natural fibers. It conjures up memories of wearing old Army surplus pants and shirts on cold-weather outings in the Cascades as a kid. What worked well then, still works. The trend is to mix natural wool fibers with some of the latest technology to create the ultimate warmth, comfort and durability.
Enter the upcoming Varitherm Dri-Release wool base layer from Duofold. The Varitherm tops and bottoms are made of a mixture of merino wool, polyester and spandex to maintain a 360-degree stretch and have just the right amount of comfort next to the skin. The fabric mixture is dubbed Dri-Release wool and is rounded out...
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A
foot of April flake just buried the 'Bird, the Crack House is warming
up and the Rollercoaster's drying out. Epic spring lines are calling
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