Topic: Skis and Snowboards

[Guy]

Wait, east vs. west poles?

Of course! 

[johngenx]

A bonus of the G3 poles is that you can take the straps off.  I had to cut them off my BD poles.

[tortoise]

I'm using a set of mis matched Scott poles from the late 80's.  Different models, same era and graphic style.

I paid $5 for the "Equipe" model at a garage sale.  I broke one and found a single "Classic" model at the bottom of the hill. Couldn't believe my luck.

I added the grips from my late 90s Scott's.

No way I could justify paying good money for a set of poles.

[johngenx]

No way I could justify paying good money for a set of poles.

I'm trying to find a way to get the G3 poles for cheap.  I miss having G3 Pro Purchase - theirs was amazing.  I've never paid even close to retail for any piece of ski gear.

[tortoise]

If they're gonna be used for touring I get spending money.  For resort skiing notsomuch.

[johngenx]

My daughter calls people that are all in fancy new gear "decked out."  It's more polite than Gaper and a somewhat "inside term" that doesn't set people off but gets the point across.  She said kids in the ski clubs at Sunshine are completely binary. They're either on the highest end gear possible with expensive clothing, or on beater skis and a bunch of layers of WalMart sweats.  But, they all rip.  Her Sunday 6-12 age crew are killer skiers.  Her weekday Tiny Tigers are Banff/Canmore local kids.

[johngenx]

For resort skiing notsomuch.

My resort poles are $9 Komperdells that do the job well.

[lebowski]

My daughter calls people that are all in fancy new gear "decked out."  It's more polite than Gaper and a somewhat "inside term" that doesn't set people off but gets the point across.  She said kids in the ski clubs at Sunshine are completely binary. They're either on the highest end gear possible with expensive clothing, or on beater skis and a bunch of layers of WalMart sweats.  But, they all rip.  Her Sunday 6-12 age crew are killer skiers.  Her weekday Tiny Tigers are Banff/Canmore local kids.

This somewhat echoes my buddy's experiences: he grew up on a farm near Canmore and was a competitive mogul skier in the late 90's. He said the bumpers were often seen as the "local poor kids" and the "badasses", compared to the downhill racer kids, who came from the more well-off families and often from out of town, as their gear and programs were markedly more expensive. It's silly to consider skier kids of any sort as "poor" but I guess it's all relative!

[johngenx]

It's silly to consider skier kids of any sort as "poor" but I guess it's all relative!

Some of the kid's parents sacrifice a lot so the kids can get out.  There's worse things your kids could be doing.  They're outside, they're moving around, they're learning stuff.

What irks my daughter the most is that Calgarians that own a condo in Canmore get all huffy about themselves being "local" and somehow my daughter, who lives in Banff full time is not a local because she's seasonal.  Why bother making such a big deal of it?  She didn't realize how important some people would take it.

She really digs Banff over Canmore.  Younger population, more accepting, lots more fun.

[lebowski]

It's silly to consider skier kids of any sort as "poor" but I guess it's all relative!

Some of the kid's parents sacrifice a lot so the kids can get out.  There's worse things your kids could be doing.  They're outside, they're moving around, they're learning stuff.

What irks my daughter the most is that Calgarians that own a condo in Canmore get all huffy about themselves being "local" and somehow my daughter, who lives in Banff full time is not a local because she's seasonal.  Why bother making such a big deal of it?  She didn't realize how important some people would take it.

She really digs Banff over Canmore.  Younger population, more accepting, lots more fun.

Appreciated and to your point, my buddy's mom, an amazing woman who raised him and his siblings on her own, was one such self-sacrificing parent.

Too funny about the snobbery of those condo folks.

[rrocket]

It's silly to consider skier kids of any sort as "poor" but I guess it's all relative!

Some of the kid's parents sacrifice a lot so the kids can get out.  There's worse things your kids could be doing.  They're outside, they're moving around, they're learning stuff.

What irks my daughter the most is that Calgarians that own a condo in Canmore get all huffy about themselves being "local" and somehow my daughter, who lives in Banff full time is not a local because she's seasonal.  Why bother making such a big deal of it?  She didn't realize how important some people would take it.

She really digs Banff over Canmore.  Younger population, more accepting, lots more fun.

Funny...I've read tons of stories about this as far as outdoor activities are concerned.  Locals vs out-of-towners.  The locals think THEY own spots (even public ones) and regularly harass (and are sometimes violent) towards the out-of-towners....even if said out-of-towners live 15 minutes away.

I've actually seen documentaries about this stuff and there was an article about the "Bay Boys" (rich, violent surfers protecting "their" waves) in my recent Men's Journal Magazine.  It's bonkers!!  Cops are even part of it!  You can read it here if you're inclined, page 24  https://issuu.com/einfohq/docs/men_s_journal__november_2017_einfoh

[lebowski]

It's silly to consider skier kids of any sort as "poor" but I guess it's all relative!

Some of the kid's parents sacrifice a lot so the kids can get out.  There's worse things your kids could be doing.  They're outside, they're moving around, they're learning stuff.

What irks my daughter the most is that Calgarians that own a condo in Canmore get all huffy about themselves being "local" and somehow my daughter, who lives in Banff full time is not a local because she's seasonal.  Why bother making such a big deal of it?  She didn't realize how important some people would take it.

She really digs Banff over Canmore.  Younger population, more accepting, lots more fun.

Funny...I've read tons of stories about this as far as outdoor activities are concerned.  Locals vs out-of-towners.  The locals think THEY own spots (even public ones) and regularly harass (and are sometimes violent) towards the out-of-towners....even if said out-of-towners live 15 minutes away.

I've actually seen documentaries about this stuff and there was an article about the "Bay Boys" (rich, violent surfers protecting "their" waves) in my recent Men's Journal Magazine.  It's bonkers!!  Cops are even part of it!  You can read it here if you're inclined, page 24  https://issuu.com/einfohq/docs/men_s_journal__november_2017_einfoh

It seems in every outdoor sport there's a degree of "localism" - but the surfing stories are often far beyond the norm in terms of the violence and brutality. There's been a lot written in particular about North Shore of Oahu.

[rrocket]

It's silly to consider skier kids of any sort as "poor" but I guess it's all relative!

Some of the kid's parents sacrifice a lot so the kids can get out.  There's worse things your kids could be doing.  They're outside, they're moving around, they're learning stuff.

What irks my daughter the most is that Calgarians that own a condo in Canmore get all huffy about themselves being "local" and somehow my daughter, who lives in Banff full time is not a local because she's seasonal.  Why bother making such a big deal of it?  She didn't realize how important some people would take it.

She really digs Banff over Canmore.  Younger population, more accepting, lots more fun.

Funny...I've read tons of stories about this as far as outdoor activities are concerned.  Locals vs out-of-towners.  The locals think THEY own spots (even public ones) and regularly harass (and are sometimes violent) towards the out-of-towners....even if said out-of-towners live 15 minutes away.

I've actually seen documentaries about this stuff and there was an article about the "Bay Boys" (rich, violent surfers protecting "their" waves) in my recent Men's Journal Magazine.  It's bonkers!!  Cops are even part of it!  You can read it here if you're inclined, page 24  https://issuu.com/einfohq/docs/men_s_journal__november_2017_einfoh

It seems in every outdoor sport there's a degree of "localism" - but the surfing stories are often far beyond the norm in terms of the violence and brutality. There's been a lot written in particular about North Shore of Oahu.

Yea, it seems the most extreme.

But I've also read often enough about climbing, skiing and even hiking.

[johngenx]

^^^ interesting.  My parents lived in Jasper for many years, and that attitude was almost non-existent there.  We don't recreate in the Bow Valley area (Canmore/Banff) so we're just getting to know the people/vibe.  My daughter was pretty thrown off by it.  She was in Canmore for part of September and October and then moved into her "permanent" place in October.

She considered working in Jasper, but the hill there is not nearly as busy, meaning you need another job, or two, to make a go of it.  Also, the guiding industry is tiny in Jasper compared to the Bow Valley.

[rrocket]

^^^ interesting.  My parents lived in Jasper for many years, and that attitude was almost non-existent there.  We don't recreate in the Bow Valley area (Canmore/Banff) so we're just getting to know the people/vibe.  My daughter was pretty thrown off by it.  She was in Canmore for part of September and October and then moved into her "permanent" place in October.

She considered working in Jasper, but the hill there is not nearly as busy, meaning you need another job, or two, to make a go of it.  Also, the guiding industry is tiny in Jasper compared to the Bow Valley.

Maybe it's worse now because they are fewer places??

[johngenx]

People say Canmore/Banff has been like this for a long time.  Jasper is just smaller and farther from everything.

[Gurgie]

Out of the 2, I would've thought Banff was a little more elitist over Canmore, seemed like there was more money there, or at least when I was there in 2015. But when it comes to resorts, I thought Sunshine was more laid back compared to Lake Louise. Just my 2 cents.

And as for poles, I handed down my 13yr old Rossignol aluminum poles to my 14yr old last season & sprung for the Leki Carbon 14S, boxing day sale I couldn't resist [emoji14]

Sent from my SM-G930W8 using Tapatalk

[tortoise]

The way I see it Banff is a park which imposes limitations on what can be built.

So the well heeled move to Canmore to build their starter Castles.

When I was in Fernie I didn't get the impression that being local was a big thing.

[ktm525]

Banff is full of the quiet super elites (who do you think own these places?)  while Canmore is full of people who want to be super elites. The majority of young in Banff are transient renters who work a year or two before moving on to other things.

Yes lots of good little shredders in Banff. Typically the spawn of the career lifer in Banff. These kids can shred. Go to Norquay midweek after some snow when the locals take a 2 hour break to track it out and you will see what I mean. I do a lot of midweek skiing on the resorts (Norquay/Louise) and there seems to always be a Banff group there. I think we both only make the trip when there is fresh snow otherwise meh, leave it to the English tourist.

[tortoise]

That makes sense.

I remember skiing out west in the mid 90's when it was Japanese tourists. They had the flashiest coats, the best gear and couldn't ski.

I also remember one of said tourist falling off the Poma on a day that was pretty slick.  His coat was flapping in the wind as he went sailing by me at mach insane.