Any Skiers on the Forum?

[adk highlander]

Wanted to see if there are any fellow skiers here. It has been a decent season for us so far in the east. We have not had any major storms but it has been cold enough for snow making and we've had a couple of decent small storms.

I just picked up my new boards and boots and used them for the first time yesterday.

I got the Nordica Speedmachine 14 boots and Nordica Afterburner skiis. This is my first time of mid-fat ski's and all I can say is wow. I was pounding through the crud and loving the bumps the whole day. I've never felt like I've had more control or a quicker ski.

What do others use for gear and where is your favorite place to ski (or board).

 

[ParadigmDawg]

I quit sking about 10 years ago and turned to the dark side.

I have a Morrow and a Burton board and tend to upgrade my bindings at the same pace I upgrade AV gear.

My favs are Crested Butte, Steam Boat and Lake Tahoe.

 

[adk highlander]

Nice. I have yet to ski real powder like you get out west. The most we hope for is at most 2 feet. There is a mountain in Vermont called Jay Peak that gets huge dumps once in a while that will get real powder days but I don't do too many road trips these days.

 

[annunaki]

I like to ski when I get the chance. The UP (Upper Peninsula of Michigan)usually has good lake effect snow. They have a few good runs. Nothing like going out west. I have to do that sometime.

Skiing is like riding a bike for me, I always pick up where I left off last. I just keep getting better At least in my mind anyway.

 

[captiankirk28]

I don't go as much as i used to and have not been this year yet. I live in MI but i like to go to Search Mont in Ontario Canada that is the biggest around here, i would have to go out west to ge bigger, i have also always wanted to go to Wistler though, maybe someday.

 

[jamie2112]

I board as often as I can......I bring my board and boots with me on winter tours. I love Breckenridge, Taos NM ,Tahoe actually I love them all. I grew up on the east coast and you know what that means....The first time I hit powder I thought I was gonna have a orgasm right there on the hill in Breckenridge....ooohhh the memories of the first powder run......

 

[ParadigmDawg]

Here is a picture of the Dawg on a board.

And a picture of us relaxing after a day of boarding last Christmas at Crested Butte.

 

[Sheep]

My brother and his GF just left today to go Skiing on Sunpeaks. I have another friend skiing on Whistler right now too.

I don't Ski or Board though.

SheepStar

 

[GZA]

im not big on snowboarding but i go from time to time with family and friends. i have been to several places in canada and the usa but nothing beats Banff. the reason i like boarding is all the hot girls on the hill and the night life that banff has to offer us young people

 

[yettitheman]

I don't ski.

I blow right by all of them

 

[highfigh]

I like to ski when I get the chance. The UP (Upper Peninsula of Michigan)usually has good lake effect snow. They have a few good runs. Nothing like going out west. I have to do that sometime.

Skiing is like riding a bike for me, I always pick up where I left off last. I just keep getting better At least in my mind anyway.

If you get a chance, go to Lutsen, MN.

 

[highfigh]

Anyone have a good recommendation for boots? My shins get really tender after a long day of skiing and if I could get some that have better padding, I'd ski more. I rented at Lutsen when I was there a few years ago and they were great but when I asked the local ski shops the next year, they said rear-entry wasn't being made anymore.

 

[OttoMatic]

If you get a chance, go to Lutsen, MN.

Lutsen, MN is an interesting place. Probably the best one of the ones that I went to in the upper midwest. I think I also went to IndianHead or BlackJack and something in Wisconsin (that was a pretty sad spectacle).

Anyway, I had a great time in Lutsen. It's right on the lake, and it's cold and beautiful. The skiing was better than many other offerings in the region. It was a long drive from Chicago, though. When I was there, they had this rickety old gondola that went between two peaks. It was waaayyyy high up there -- kinda scary!

I'm lucky to live on the front range of Colorado now, so I'm skiing (well, actually boarding these days, but I mean to buy a pair of skis again) all the hot spots. Copper is cool, I've spent a lot of time at Keystone in the past and Vail rocks because it's so big and awesome (forget the posers in fur coats and all the rich people -- Vail is awesome!). Lately, I've been going to Eldora because it's close. Driving I-70 on ski days sucks.

 

[Geno]

I work around Reno/Tahoe/Truckee and the Eastern Sierra (Mammoth), so I ski at least a day a week. I've had a midweek season pass at Sugar Bowl the last few years. I also covered Alaska the last 4 years, so got in a few days at Alyeska and Eaglecrest in Juneau. This year has been pretty sparse, but we're getting a huge dump right now, so I'll be there Wednesday or Thursday. I'm currently riding K2 Apache Recons in Lange Banshees

 

[Geno]

Anyone have a good recommendation for boots? My shins get really tender after a long day of skiing and if I could get some that have better padding, I'd ski more. I rented at Lutsen when I was there a few years ago and they were great but when I asked the local ski shops the next year, they said rear-entry wasn't being made anymore.

I've read reviews saying Technica and Lange boots are known for their comfort level, but everyone's feet are a little different, so your best bet is to find a good local boot fitter.

 

[adk highlander]

Anyone have a good recommendation for boots? My shins get really tender after a long day of skiing and if I could get some that have better padding, I'd ski more. I rented at Lutsen when I was there a few years ago and they were great but when I asked the local ski shops the next year, they said rear-entry wasn't being made anymore.

I've owned Atomic, Salomon, Technica and my last too pairs have been Nordica. Each pair of boots has been more comfortable but I have always hade them fit by a pro and some kind of aftermarket foodbed.

Most midlevel and up boots now have some kind of heat based fit system. They heat up the liners and you then put them on and they mold to your feet.

My new boots are also the easiest to get into. They have done some subtle changes to the way the tongue area overlaps so you don't have to struggle too much.

I've read reviews saying Technica and Lange boots are known for their comfort level, but everyone's feet are a little different, so your best bet is to find a good local boot fitter.

Geno is correct you have to go in and try different things. The Lange's I have tried on have been the most painful boots for the shape of my feet. Most quality shops have many ways to get your boots to fit right and make them pain free.

 

[highfigh]

Lutsen, MN is an interesting place. Probably the best one of the ones that I went to in the upper midwest. I think I also went to IndianHead or BlackJack and something in Wisconsin (that was a pretty sad spectacle).

Anyway, I had a great time in Lutsen. It's right on the lake, and it's cold and beautiful. The skiing was better than many other offerings in the region. It was a long drive from Chicago, though. When I was there, they had this rickety old gondola that went between two peaks. It was waaayyyy high up there -- kinda scary!

I'm lucky to live on the front range of Colorado now, so I'm skiing (well, actually boarding these days, but I mean to buy a pair of skis again) all the hot spots. Copper is cool, I've spent a lot of time at Keystone in the past and Vail rocks because it's so big and awesome (forget the posers in fur coats and all the rich people -- Vail is awesome!). Lately, I've been going to Eldora because it's close. Driving I-70 on ski days sucks.

Blackjack has been the scene for many of my worst yard sales. I really prefer White Cap, if I'm in the UP although Porcupine MT was kind of nice. When we went to Lutsen, a friend and I drove from Milwaukee to Lake Tomahawk to meet our friends and then we loaded 9 people and gear into a Suburban for the rest of the drive. It took 9 hours, total. We stayed in a cha;ete on the hill, so we could ski out when we wanted to. That was also my first time on shaped skis, too.

One of these days (like, after I find some boots that are comfortable), I'd like to go out West. An ex-neighbor moved out to Beaver Creek and works in one of the clothing stores.
You didn't like the gondola, eh? Chicken!

 

[highfigh]

I work around Reno/Tahoe/Truckee and the Eastern Sierra (Mammoth), so I ski at least a day a week. I've had a midweek season pass at Sugar Bowl the last few years. I also covered Alaska the last 4 years, so got in a few days at Alyeska and Eaglecrest in Juneau. This year has been pretty sparse, but we're getting a huge dump right now, so I'll be there Wednesday or Thursday. I'm currently riding K2 Apache Recons in Lange Banshees

Are those boots for alpine skiing or Telemark?

Since you mentioned Mammoth, is the legend true, about the Darwin Award winner who ripped a chunk of padding off of a tower and slid down the hill, ending by doing a face-plant into the same tower?

 

[OttoMatic]

You didn't like the gondola, eh? Chicken!

LOL.

It was just kinda rickety. I remember that the lift attendant actually had to pull a rope that would release the car down a ramp, and then the car would eventually grab onto the cable. I guess I'm just used to more, uh, high tech rides on the mountain.

I'd go on it again, I guess. I'd be interested to see its condition now that it's 10 years later (assuming they haven't replaced it).

 

[phlakvest]

I used to ski, but now I'm one of those pot-smoking hoodlums with a snowboard you old ski fogies are always complaining about.

I'm stuck in the south east, so my ski options are fairly limited unless I drive a ways. The closest ski resort has 3 of 8 slopes open with a 10-15" base.