Topic: Skis and Snowboards

[PJungnitsch]

Yeah, I already jumped on them. The local shop sold them to me for $400 and threw in a much needed tune for my other pair, so for effectively $370 after tax with bindings I couldn't say no.

The next closest I could get a new pair with bindings would have worked out to around $1200 from the US after shipping, tax, and duty, even after season discounts.

http://www.powder7.com/Kastle-MX78-Skis-168cm-New-2014/for-sale

Happy to shop local in this case.

[tortoise]

Kastle MX-78's for $400 with bindings?  Man, I'd be on the lookout for the fuzz since that's highway robbery.

I'm in need of a new pair of skis, current ones lost their pop, and the MX-78 is right at the top of my list.  Now to find the funds.

[HeliDriver]

Glad to hear you're liking the skis!

I was at the local hill for an hour this morning on the GS skis. Snow was nice and firm up top, but was already too soft on the bottom half. Would have been great on a more relaxed ski, but the tails on the Dobermanns don't really like mushing through the softer snow.

Still lots of snow and good conditions, though. Will probably retire the GS skis for the season and head out on the all-mountain Atomics to enjoy some spring corn next time. Sunshine is open until May 19!

[johngenx]

On Saturday we did lap after lap through the steep trees just off the drainage of French Creek at the toe of the French Glacier.  We were going to do some ski mountaineering, but the weather was bad up high with zero vis and heavy snow.

So we skied boot-top to knee-deep pow all day, and it was amazing.  It's a long way to go for laps, but that also meant we had the area to ourselves all day.  Fresh tracks every run.

[Brig]

Do any of you western folks know about the danger of tree wells?  I read up on them yesterday after reading a news story about a rescue.  That's some scary sh*t right there!   

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/tree-wells-a-deadly-pitfall-for-skiers-1.2553346

[HeliDriver]

Yeah, very common threat that is easy to be complacent about.

Wasn't Edi Podivinski's brother (or maybe uncle?) in the news a while back for suffocating in a tree well? Happened just after Jan Hudec won his Bronze at Sochi, IIRC.

[johngenx]

I love to ski trees, and I'm super conscious of tree wells.  We had to rescue one of our party from one last year.  Part of the trick is to try to always make turns on the downhill side of the tree.  But, in very tight timber that might be on the uphill side of another tree.

I have been considering adding an Avalung to my airbag pack as they work quite well in tree wells, where an airbag has no use.

[Noto]

Yeah, I already jumped on them. The local shop sold them to me for $400 and threw in a much needed tune for my other pair, so for effectively $370 after tax with bindings I couldn't say no.

The next closest I could get a new pair with bindings would have worked out to around $1200 from the US after shipping, tax, and duty, even after season discounts.

http://www.powder7.com/Kastle-MX78-Skis-168cm-New-2014/for-sale

Happy to shop local in this case.

I doubt I'll be buying skis again any time soon (maybe 9 years or so), but nom nom nom those Kastles look delicious (in 158cm)!!!

[PJungnitsch]

Kastle MX-78's for $400 with bindings?  Man, I'd be on the lookout for the fuzz since that's highway robbery.

I'm in need of a new pair of skis, current ones lost their pop, and the MX-78 is right at the top of my list.  Now to find the funds.

He had 160's w/bindings (rental type or regular) for a hundred or two more, at least back then. Might be worth a call.

[Snowman]

Yeah, very common threat that is easy to be complacent about.

Wasn't Edi Podivinski's brother (or maybe uncle?) in the news a while back for suffocating in a tree well? Happened just after Jan Hudec won his Bronze at Sochi, IIRC.

Tree wells are a concern in any area with significant snow accumulations. Snowmobiling, snowshoeing, and cross country skiing. We always found them a good place to dig out and camp overnight, saves cutting down pine bows for a lean-to 

[HeliDriver]

I'm cleaning up the garage today and thought I'd get all the skis together for a group photo. The four on the right just hang on the wall and look pretty, but the rest get used somewhat regularly.



And it's supposed to snow all weekend then get warm and sunny early next week. Next week should be some nice spring skiing! 

[Northernridge]

I'm not a downhill skier (is anyone in Manitoba?) but I dig ski design. I'd love to develop graphics for skis.

[johngenx]

I'm not a downhill skier (is anyone in Manitoba?) but I dig ski design. I'd love to develop graphics for skis.

I was embarrassed to ski on these...

[HeliDriver]

I broke down today and bought another pair of skis: new old stock Nordica Dobermann SLs from 2011. Should be plenty fun enough for my purposes, and a decent deal at a little less than $600 with bindings.

Now I just need to hope it doesn't snow for the rest of the winter so I can enjoy the hardpack. 

But if/when it does snow, I'm going to be seriously jonesing for another pair of skis on my wishlist: Blizzard Brahmas. I've been out on my old Atomic R:EXs a couple of times now this season and am officially done with them. Time for something new on the all-mountain front as well...

[johngenx]

Now I just need to hope it doesn't snow for the rest of the winter so I can enjoy the hardpack. 

[johngenx]

But if/when it does snow, I'm going to be seriously jonesing for another pair of skis on my wishlist: Blizzard Brahmas.

They're about the same dimensions as my "skinny" backcountry skis, and that's a versatile size.  88uf is just enough to float a bit and they have enough sidecut to pull an edge on hard stuff. 

[HeliDriver]

But if/when it does snow, I'm going to be seriously jonesing for another pair of skis on my wishlist: Blizzard Brahmas.

They're about the same dimensions as my "skinny" backcountry skis, and that's a versatile size.  88uf is just enough to float a bit and they have enough sidecut to pull an edge on hard stuff.

Yeah, I'm a pragmatist. Around here, 20 cm is a big dump, and that might only happen a few times a season.

It's funny how an 88 cm waist is almost narrow these days: I figure it will be perfect for most days at the resort when there's a few cm of fresh, or soft groomers, or chopped up crud, and they'll also be just fine on the rare 20 cm+ days. On the off chance I go cat skiing in bottomless pow, I can just use whatever ridiculously fat skis they rent there.

[johngenx]

There's still lots of need for 75-90mm skis - they work great for 90% or more of skiers.  I ski my 126-88-113 skis at the resort but I'd probably ski my Solly X-wings a lot more (75s) if my alpine boots fit like my AT boots, and were as warm.

[Noto]

But if/when it does snow, I'm going to be seriously jonesing for another pair of skis on my wishlist: Blizzard Brahmas.

They're about the same dimensions as my "skinny" backcountry skis, and that's a versatile size.  88uf is just enough to float a bit and they have enough sidecut to pull an edge on hard stuff.

Yeah, I'm a pragmatist. Around here, 20 cm is a big dump, and that might only happen a few times a season.

It's funny how an 88 cm waist is almost narrow these days: I figure it will be perfect for most days at the resort when there's a few cm of fresh, or soft groomers, or chopped up crud, and they'll also be just fine on the rare 20 cm+ days. On the off chance I go cat skiing in bottomless pow, I can just use whatever ridiculously fat skis they rent there.

Lolz, my Blizzards are 123-72-105.  >80mm underfoot does not compute.

In Whistler last February, I demo-ed a bunch of skis, the thinnest of which were 98mm underfoot.  It was weird and I couldn't carve for sh!t compared to my Blizzards.  ...but for the fluffy stuff, the width was appreciated.

[tortoise]

I demoed a pair of 85mm Blizzards (Magnum 8.5 Ti) when we were at Kicking Horse over NYE and didn't notice the waist at all.   I liked them despite the terrible tune.

Heli, the Brahma's are on my short list for my next pair of skis.  I recently picked up a pair of Rossi SL skis off of kijiji for $140, now I need something for the soft snow.

Not that it matters, but I really like the graphics on this years Brahma's.  I'd love to match them with a pair of green Look bindings.