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It had opened, the first people on it set it off. Silver was closed today and they're out there looking for another missing person. First person account quote:01/07/2020 http://www.nwhikers.net/forums/viewt...174970#1174970
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Jan 9, 2020 03:49
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Having avy gear and education is definitely a good thing, but it's still really really rare for slides to happen inbounds. I've definitely had occasions where I thought maybe it would be smart to have that stuff and be with someone else right now but I don't particularly worry about it. In other news our local hill had this happen last week  That's the upper chair, which really makes me wish I had bc stuff because you can still hike or skin up to the top.
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Jan 9, 2020 20:21
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Did some ski boot shopping today. Looking for a touring setup that's on the light and fast side so I can do some of the local rando races and not hate it when I'm climbing up mountains. LBS owner wears the same size and I tried on his fisher traverses today. They didn't fit so great- tight in the toe box and a little loose around the heel but I'm still going to borrow his stuff next week and try it all out and race on it. Should be fun trying to figure out how to use and take off skins in the dark at a race and also ski down on floppy boots and pin bindings. Then when down the street to a shop and checked out what they had and tried on a couple. Atomic backland fit really well and felt and flexed and is built a lot like the fisher so I should have a pretty good idea of how it skis after next week. Odd thing was that the fisher has a 100mm last, and has some use, while the backland is 98mm and brand new and unmolded, and the fisher was way tighter at the forefoot and toes. The backlands were really snug, but uniformly so and squeezed my heel pretty good. They also had some last year's atomic hawx xtds in my size on sale so I tried those on, but they were kind of loose despite also being 98mm last atomics. Although I think the backland (and salomon slabs) are actually based on those arcteryx boots? They also did not feel that stiff for a 130 flex boot but I suppose room temp makes stuff softer. Or maybe they were the 120s. Did not try on the technica zero g's but they're light and I've been looking at them and currently ski on technica so they'll probably fit similarly. I've been wanting to get into this for a long time as I have a lot of friends that do it and need more stuff to do in the winter. It's definitely the year for it as the upper lift at our local ski hill is broken so if you want to ski anything off the top you have to skin or hike. And our other ski hill which has been closed down for like 15 years is a good spot for pretty safe touring. jamal fucked around with this message at 04:51 on Jan 18, 2020 |
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Jan 18, 2020 04:12
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Everything in the ski area boundary is generally open to skiing, patrolled, and avalanche controlled. I have heard that's not the case in europe? And here you have a self contained area of lifts and runs, and not like some huge network of stuff across mountain ranges with little huts you can stop off in and whatnot. Fernie, Sunshine, Lake Louise are all big resorts and relatively nearby. I skied at sunshine yesterday. Would have been nice if they had some fresh snow but it was still a decent day. Been awhile since I've been to a place that big. They have a heated bubble chair! I'm used to slow, old doubles without safety bars. Castle mountain is probably the closest to medicine hat. It's small, but has some good terrain off the top chair. Not the place to go if you want high speed chairs and a lot of groomed runs. Also I want to say costs and the way you buy tickets can be different. Here you generally buy a ticket that gets you as many rides on the lifts as you want for the full day. There are afternoon tickets and sometimes "x number of hours" and sometimes a ticket for one trip to the top if you want to go touring out of bounds. To ski at sunshine yesterday it was 117, which didn't actually seem too bad given my lovely local hill with two chairs is $52 us. And if we'd bought tickets at costco or were planning to ski multiple days you can usually save a few bucks with something like a sunshine pass, ikon pass, mountain collective, etc. jamal fucked around with this message at 00:08 on Jan 29, 2020 |
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Jan 28, 2020 23:48
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Wistful of Dollars posted:Good dumping of snow at Castle today. There are no groomed runs today. I'll be there tomorrow. Probably should have gone today.
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Feb 9, 2020 03:43
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Castle was pretty good yesterday. Sun came out, was only windy up top, and there were some fresh turns to be had in the big bowl off the red chair at like 1pm. Downside, it's like 10 big turns top to bottom. I think it's supposed to snow again this week so I should make it out there another day or two before I go back to montana this weekend. Also got their wow card that gives 1/2 price lift tickets so I have to go at least once more to make it worth it. And they had some technica zero gs in my size for 450 canadian in the ski shop there. gently caress. I want some touring boots and that's a pretty good deal. Also found a guy in calgary that does made to measure basic shell bibs for $300 and I really need some new ski pants and so far the much more expensive patagonia snowdrifter bibs are the next best option I've found (want - bibs, uninsulated shell, not $texas goretex, fits a tall and skinny person).
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Feb 11, 2020 01:27
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My like, 7-8 year old h2no patagonia ski jacket has been water resistant enough for my uses. Including recent days where my pants were starting to get a little damp. I do have a really light goretex active shell that i bring hiking and stuff that I might use on a spring day or touring. Anyway the I think the guy said they make the bibs out of e-vent, which appears to be an actual waterproof, breathable fabric as well and not just something with a coating.
jamal fucked around with this message at 06:27 on Feb 11, 2020 |
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Feb 11, 2020 06:16
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Gearing up to ski a lot more this year. This summer our old defunct ski area that is popular for touring but technically private property got bought by some new owners and leased to the city (marshall mountain in missoula, mt). This has been great on the mtb side of things as it is now officially open to the public instead of being a grey area of "well, technically it's tresspassing but there's no enforcement..." and should be good for skiing as well. Or maybe it's already too popular. We'll see I guess. I help put on bike races and stuff around here which are done by a guy who opened up a bike and ski shop, mostly on the nordic and skimo side for skis, but anyway it means I work there and get a discount on skis so I got these  Was thinking about a heavier setup to attempt to do it all, like shifts on backlands (Atomic is his other alpine brand), but decided to go lighter without getting into full on skimo gear. I'll just limp the old Katanas along for another season with some new MNC bindings so I can use my technica zero gs on both sets of skis. But anyway last winter I spent way too much time on zwift and not enough time outside so I'm looking forward to doing more skiing. Got a weekday pass at our actual operating ski area too, which has good backcountry access off the top. jamal fucked around with this message at 22:47 on Nov 12, 2021 |
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Nov 12, 2021 22:37
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Depends on your ski pants. I have just shell bibs and definitely could use some more insulation for cold days. Like these or something https://www.stio.com/products/mens-fernos-insulated-knicker?variant=40859429241006 jamal fucked around with this message at 01:04 on Nov 16, 2021 |
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Nov 16, 2021 00:57
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Finally got out on skis this week. Monday went down to lost trail (south of missoula on the mt/id border) saw some sheeps on the way They had a foot of fresh and it snowed all day and wasn't very busy. Some of the more fun terrain wasn't open yet though because there isn't much under all that new snow  The bowls opened later in the afternoon but the chair broke down while we were on it. We sat there for like half an hour and by the time it got moving really slowly and we got off we had to just ski out and were done for the day. Yesterday I took a lap at the local place (snowbowl) on my touring stuff because they were closed mon-tues. Need to wrap a little more thin foam around my ankles and get some laces for the liners to keep my heels from moving around and rubbing as much. Have some slight blisters after one ~50min skin lap. But overall the technica zero gs I bought for cheap on the internet are pretty good and work with both pairs of skis after I bought some MNC bindings for the volkls.  Very different skiing experience between these two. I don't know if it's the bindings/ramp angle or the more flimsy skis or what but I was all over the place on that run while the katanas just charge through everything. It got pretty warm so the run was heavy, chopped up snow which doesn't help. Then today I went back up to snowbowl for awhile. Have a weekday pass so I don't feel bad about getting there at 10:30 and skiing until 2. Very thin, even up top on the north facing backside but I got a couple of good runs down the front in deep enough snow. 
jamal fucked around with this message at 01:46 on Dec 23, 2021 |
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Dec 22, 2021 23:16
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Had a couple of pretty good days already but it hasn't snowed in weeks here and got pretty warm. I should still probably go take a couple runs this week. I did try something new though and signed up for our local rando series. There are 5 of them plus another local 2 day thing I'll be helping put on but should also be able to race. Last thursday was the first one. Super fun, good turnout. Serious skimo guys did 4 ~15min laps, starting with cat track climb, transitioning to switchbacks up a ski run, then going to bootpack, then back skinning up cat track to the top of a run, then down to repeat. As a fairly fit person I was pretty shocked at how quickly I got lapped (top of 2nd lap). However I've never done it before so my transitions were... slow. And I wasn't on skimo gear (There's a lightweight class for them and then "heavy metal" for the rest of us. First lap I tried pulling the skins in the bindings and failed and had to take the skis off. 2nd lap I just did that right off the bat. 3rd lap I decided to try it again and got them off without completely falling over and even though it wasn't pretty that still was a lot better than taking the skis off. So I'm going to actually practice this a bit before this week's race. Probably over dressed too with shell bibs and a lightish softshell jacket, but the jacket was useful for carrying my skis down. Seems a lot of people just hold them in their hands. It's a pretty short run. Next week I think I'm going to just wear tights and a light thermal hoodie that I can hold skins in. Bike helmet and bike light worked good. Also my technica zero g boots were not ideal. I like how they ski well enough but they don't have very good range of motion and kind of hurt my toes when walking and I'll need a slight punch to fix that. So yeah after one race I convinced myself I needed different boots and went and got these today  Still not skimo gear but a good amount lighter and walks better and apparently still goes downhill pretty well. I tried on some racier PDG2s but they did not feel very good and were probably a size too small and are not a boot I thought I would enjoy actually skiing in. Which is the main goal here, not racing. I've been eyeing backlands for awhile and they feel good right out of the box and should be a good match for my uses and the skis (dynafit blacklight 88s). Still will heat mold the shells I think, they're pretty snug and narrower than my technicas so I'm not expecting perfect comfort at the next race. Downside I had to remount my bindings because these are ~20mm shorter. I actually considered this possibility when I got the skis but then didn't tell them to mount the heel piece farther forward than normal. Now it works for both boots at least but it was annoying drilling more holes in my new fancy skis. And my boot center is now like 1cm forward. Helps that I sort of work at a ski shop because I was able to just go and do that myself today. And get a discount. jamal fucked around with this message at 23:59 on Jan 19, 2022 |
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Jan 19, 2022 05:32
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knox_harrington posted:Nice. I'd think the Backlands and Blacklight 88s would be a decent setup for racing-ish anyway. Yeah I have the dynafit skins to go with my skis. It's their own rubber tip attachment not a bungee thing but basically same deal. I felt pretty good about getting the skins on by just clipping the tail hook and ripping the skins apart and stretching them to the top in one motion. A pair of race style skins that are shorter and narrower and don't have tail clips is a thought I had since it's a good idea to have spares anyway and they'd glide better and be easier to pull off. I should definitely think about a skimo jacket like that, although I was able to fit the skins in the jacket I was wearing fairly well. I'd better look closer at what's around the shop next time I'm there (I don't actually work in the shop, just at events, mostly bike races). I have that dna16 pack but don't really need to wear it for an hour long beer league race on a short lap. Mostly I got it for those quick inbounds laps or over at the other closed down ski hill where I just need room for like a jacket and water. Seems pretty good. Light, some neat features. And then I have a 30l osprey pack for regular touring. Poles I guess are another thing I could improve, they're pretty basic aluminum adjustable deals and it tears me up inside they aren't carbon like all the rest of my stuff. Haven't found any pictures yet, being in the dark probably doesn't help. There's not much on their instagram https://www.instagram.com/randoradness/ Also holy poo poo for some reason I thought my zero g (guides) were in the 1300-1400g range but no actually they're like 1700, so uh, that's a good part of 3lbs coming off my feet. jamal fucked around with this message at 23:52 on Jan 19, 2022 |
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Jan 19, 2022 18:47
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Hey well I just had to remount the heel piece on my brand new skis and now I'm 1cm forward on them and will probably never use the old boots with these. I think that's prob fine for mount point, but those extra holes will always bug me a little. Real happy about the new boots. Feel them a bit on the outside of my little toes but not as bad as the technicas. I think I'll put a little pad over them when I do the heat mold but they almost don't need anything. I could probably like, put a pad over my little toe and hit that spot with a heat gun and call it good. Rando week 2 tonight. They do a little pre-race clinic you can sign up for, which I did. A guy helped me with some transition practice which was good. Process I decided on was- binding to ski mode, click in, rip skin, fold skin and put away, repeat other ski, both boots to ski mode, pick up poles and go. I couldn't reach the tip of the skin very well if I did the boots up first. Still didn't manage to rip the skins in one smooth motion but my skin to ski transition was still a lot better and faster. I also wonder if I should just take the booster straps off for these. The buckle on them is cool with a little locking mechanism with a pull string but I can probably make it 40s down a ski run without them and it'd save a little bit of fiddling and time. Well, next week is vertical challenge straight to the top of the ski area so I won't need to worry about transitions. It was a little wetter today, raining in town and then just right on the edge of snowing at the ski hill. My clear glasses fogged up on the climb. I figured they'd clear up after a few turns on the descent but they didn't and I pulled them off, and oh this run is ice and lumps of wet snow holy poo poo gently caress glad I can see now. Dropped them at the bottom and then was fine just not wearing glasses, will probably skip those next week unless it's snowing. I wore tights tonight which was a better choice than shell bibs but also means snow in the boots especially on the boot pack. The skimo specific apparel is becoming more and more appealing. No results but hopefully I did better than last week. I still didn't stick with the guys I wanted to and maybe won't flip my heel risers for the skin track, and need to improve my kick turns a bit but there was only like one corner you actually needed to make one. Wore a chest strap HRM this time because my watch didn't record properly last week. 167avg for an hour, which is a lot for me and close to my LTHR (on a bike anyway). 9min over threshold. Not sure I averaged that high of a HR for that long all cyclocross season. Also just did two pretty hard days on zwift. Winter tends to be my time of the year to not be in my best shape but that's starting to come back after a little break. e- 16th last week, 13th this week. about 50 guys in the heavy metal class, which is everything up to actual race gear. Hoping to get myself well into the top 10 at next week's vertical challenge. jamal fucked around with this message at 06:50 on Jan 22, 2022 |
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Jan 21, 2022 06:04
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Not much new snow lately but it has been fairly nice out. Tuesday did have a bit of fresh snow but it wasn't enough to keep you over the frozen junk underneath. Went up again today for a bit because I didn't have anything better to do. Also raced skimo last night  Kind of got boring today and the top chair was pretty crowded. Only skied for like 3 hours. Thought about bringing the touring stuff because i want to go up to that mountain in the background of the 1st pic one of these days. I bike up there all the time but haven't gone up on skis. Today would have been a good one for it- stable snow and nice weather and I saw a number of people skinning up. Was shooting for a little better results last night at the vertical challenge. 2k foot climb straight to the top, I was 14th with a time of like 36min. But there were around 10 of us within a minute or 2. I also suppose that being pretty good at riding a bike uphill doesn't translate that well to skiing/running uphill if I never go and actually do it outside of the races. I think i've gone on like 4 runs this winter, and have been on this skis about 4 times, so maybe I should be doing those things a little more. Some winters I do run a lot but since getting a fancy zwift setup it's harder to get myself out there. Anyway, race was hard. jamal fucked around with this message at 02:52 on Jan 29, 2022 |
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Jan 29, 2022 00:33
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A little bit of snow this week has slightly improved ski conditions Still scratchy underneath but I had some good runs yesterday. Today I was up at our closed down ski hill working on this weekend's skimo course with a couple guys. Real cold, and that place is a lot lower and the snow conditions are still pretty bad. Their idea for a boot pack is pretty silly and might involve ladders to get up a steep embankment next to a road. We set up a more tame alternate too though. Plus side, feet were comfortable after a couple hours of skinning, walking around, and skiing in the backlands. I did the memory fit deal the other day where you heat up the whole boot with liner, and then the shell itself itself molds a little bike like just a liner would.. Tops of my arches/ankles were getting pretty good blisters and my pinky toes weren't comfortable, so I taped some little bits of foam to those spots. Seems to have worked well. Now I just need to learn how to ski better on this flimsy stuff. Probably would help if I actually went and spent time skiing it. like 40s down a run in the dark in a skimo race isn't great practice. Was pretty surprised how fast the guys I was with were going down through ice, moguls, and bushes on full race gear. jamal fucked around with this message at 04:39 on Feb 3, 2022 |
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Feb 3, 2022 01:33
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Good fitting boots are the most important part of your ski equipment so yes buying boots and then renting is a good idea. I did that for awhile when I moved back to montana. It's likely going to be worth spending the extra money to buy them new in a store as a good shop at least will make sure they fit properly. In addition to just the size/length, boots come in different widths and then can be modified to fit your foot better, which are things you won't get if you just buy something "in the right size." Boot sizes are also very different from shoe sizes. I wear a 12 in street shoes which if you look at a ski boot size chart says I should be in like a 30.5 shell but my boots are actually 28.5. Just carrying your boots to the rental shop is if anything easier than putting them on in the parking lot and then walking in them anyway. And you won't have skis to carry either. Then you rent your skis, they adjust the bindings to your boots, you put your boots on and get ready in the comfort of the rental shop, leave your shoes and whatever else in there, and off you go. You also don't want to just buy skis online without having boots first. Non-rental bindings have limited adjustability so you need to know your boot sole length and can't just expect to by any pair of skis and use them. You can have bindings remounted but ideally you'd find some already mounted in about the right spot and not have to worry about extra holes in your skis or conflicts resulting in a less than ideal mount point. jamal fucked around with this message at 18:58 on Feb 3, 2022 |
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Feb 3, 2022 18:49
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So tired. 5 days in a row on skis. Tuesday lift serve, it actually snowed a little and I had a nice time on a practically empty hill. My last run of the day was still pow turns. Sunny over on this side but dumping snow at the top when I left. Wed-thrus would have been good too but I had to get over to the closed down ski area where we were putting on a 2-day race. Wed afternoon Jeff and Jesse and I got a lot of the course figured out and marked. Thrus night was number 4 in that series and my best one so far, with a 10th place (there are usually 40-50 guys in the "not full skimo" category. Still losing time in transitions but getting better. Frustrating to skin faster than someone, rip skins, ski down, the see them on the way back up before you're even close to ready. But I'm starting to get marginally better. Our weekend two day thing is part of a state-wide series. Friday was vert race to the top, saturday a pretty short course with laps. Kind of different categories but still a recreational/heavy metal one for a guy like me. Friday's race started at 6pm so we had little led cones out there on the way up and down. Wound up being a 1200ft climb, which was all the room we had available (the mountain is higher but there are multiple property owners now). The thing about that is the timing equipment needs to be at the top, and we had a borrowed snowmobile, so Jesse (who's the timing guy and also a ski tech at the shop) and I, who have never driven a snowmobile, went up. It's all on road, but was still pretty challenging and we drove off twice but not too badly and got it up there after a bit of rocking and shoving. The trip down was better because there was a track and I'd started to get a little bit of a feel for it and Jesse skied down putting cones on the descent for people to follow. So anyway we raced and the fast guys one the lightweight gear skied away but there was a good pack of us together, surprisingly with me leading Mike, who has been on the podium most thrus nights. The last bit to the top is up an old t-bar cut, straight and steep and Mike came around me then I got boxed out a bit by some other racers we caught, but I managed to get through, back onto his skis, and then out sprinted him at the line. Which turned out to be for the win in the category so that was cool, and there were a bunch of us within like 30s. Smaller turnout than the thurs series, which was a little strange. Figured most of those people would show up. Then neither Jesse and I felt all that comfortable going back up there in the dark to get the timing stuff so Shaun went, then also got the snowmobile stuck. Jesse and I skinned up with shovels and we got it free and got the stuff packed up and to the bottom and it was warm and the ski back down was pretty nice. I think I was still home by like 9:30 so not too late. Day 2 had a real skimo racer 5 lap race, then a 3 lap one for the rest of us, then a backcountry film festival starting as we finished with the racing. I found myself on the front at the start and wanted to stay there into the bootpack, which went up a real steep embankment and on some dirt through some bushes. Which I did. Then got my skis back on on faster than Myke (different from Mike from last night) and had a solid lead at the top. Then blew it. By the start of lap 2 climb he was way ahead of me after I did a terrible ski to skin transition right in front of everyone. Lap 2 however was better and the announcers were calling out transition times and I actually got my skins on faster than Myke by a few seconds. It still took me 1:22. The winner of the fast race did one in like 35 seconds. Still too far to close down, and I felt real bad on the 3rd lap climb. Comfortably 2nd though. Then I had to go back up and clean everything up. I didn't have the energy to stick around for the film festival or beers and once everything was put away I left and now I'm going to not move for awhile. Also my feet feel great. No blisters or sore spots or anything after 4 days in a row in the backlands, all day fri-sat with setup, working, walking around, racing, taking everything apart. jamal fucked around with this message at 03:52 on Feb 8, 2022 |
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Feb 6, 2022 04:59
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I had some hestra fall lines for about a week and they didn't cut it. Not warm enough for cold mt days, not very water resistant, jacket cuffs don't stay over the wrists. Thankfully they came from REI so I exchanged them for BD guides, which are better overall. The army helis would have been a better choice probably. Didn't ski last week except for thurs skimo, which was the last one. Had a lot going on- partners race, lemans start, costumes encouraged. We had a really good start and I partnered up with the guy who beat me on Saturday but it wasn't to be. I looked back after one of the turns on the skin track and he had slid out and fallen down and then a whole line of other racers went by him, meanwhile I was like the 5th person to the top.
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Feb 14, 2022 18:55
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Been a pretty long period of warm weather and barely any snow around here. Few inches mon-tues made wed at snowbowl decent. Went friday too. Then did a quick lap of the old closed down marshall mountain today. Snow not so great because it was about 40f when I started plus it gets very heavily skied    Storm started coming in when I got to the top, I hear we're supposed to get a reasonable amount of snow the next few days which will be nice. jamal fucked around with this message at 06:30 on Feb 21, 2022 |
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Feb 21, 2022 06:03
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wilfredmerriweathr posted:Isn't marshall going to reopen, thanks to the county or the city? Not as an operating ski area, but it is fully open to the public now after a small group stepped in last minute to purchase the base area and lower half (they are leasing to the city, with the city planning to buy in the next year or two). It nearly got sold to a guy who was going to try to live up there, and that likely would have been an end to any access from the bottom for skiing and events like bike races and camps for children and whatnot. The top half, which you can get to by a forest road lower down the canyon, is owned by a land trust and has a bunch of mtb trails we built in the last few years. Few inches of fresh snow this morning, but also well below freezing and windy. So I think I'm staying inside. jamal fucked around with this message at 22:38 on Feb 22, 2022 |
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Feb 21, 2022 21:00
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After a bunch of really cold windy days this week I finally went outside because it was a nice day old stunt ditch, old chair  skiing was not great, but on the other hand I was skinning less than 30min from my door. Not much new snow and really uneven and crusty underneath 
jamal fucked around with this message at 02:28 on Feb 26, 2022 |
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Feb 26, 2022 01:43
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Pretty grim last few weeks. We got some precip, but it mostly rained even up high. Cooled off a little, snowed a bit, so I ventured up to snowbowl today. They're closed tuesdays not very deep, but pretty nice turns in soft snow on the back  It's kind of weird having a whole untracked ski area to yourself on a weekday. Well, there were like 20 cars in the lot but still I only saw two other people on the way up. I should have gone earlier, would have taken more runs on the back. Front was a little less great  Few good turns at the top then a mix of windblown heavy drifts and ice. Got out of the bowls and took a groomer down the lower half, which had like 3" of heavy snow, also over ice, but it was the best skiing I've done in weeks and is 20min from home so who am I to complain. Probably will go back up tomorrow and ride the lifts for a bit. jamal fucked around with this message at 06:17 on Mar 9, 2022 |
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Mar 9, 2022 04:58
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Moot .1415926535 posted:Question: Do they drink Montucky in Big Sky or Montana in general? No.
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Apr 8, 2022 21:36
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If it's real cold I'll wear a light down jacket under my ski jacket but usually I'm just wearing like a base layer and/or a thermal running type shirt. Eyeing those patagonia R1 air shirts and always looking for an insulated 3/4 length bottom. Have some cheap fleece sweatpants that work ok and I could probably just cut the bottoms off of. Anyway I skied yesterday  not too bad up there for november. just skinned up that one run and came back down. 20min drive and takes about an hour. It's real cold today but next week I'll try to get up a little higher and poke around more. jamal fucked around with this message at 20:22 on Nov 18, 2022 |
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Nov 18, 2022 20:16
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Couple of voile straps?
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Nov 20, 2022 02:02
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The good studless tires like blizzaks and x-ices are generally the way to go. Even on, like, an ice rink I think bridgestone claims the blizzak grips better than the winterforce with studs. And then studs give you worse grip if it's just dry or wet. I've spent a lot of time on general altimax artics, which are one of the cheapest snow tires out there and blizzaks. On really slick smooth ice the blizzaks do work better but in deeper snow and slush I like the generals a little more because the bigger tread blocks and more open space let them cut down a little better. So anyway yeah just having snow tires is like 99% of it.
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Nov 27, 2022 17:43
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TBH those skis are probably going to be fine it's the boots you'll want. Also bindings only have limited adjustment so hopefully you're only like a size smaller. I don't really get this "boots are going to hurt at first and then break in thing." It's rigid plastic, it's not going to move and fit your foot without having a boot fitter heat and punch the shell. The liners do adapt to your foot and generally you get them heat molded at the ski shop right away when you buy them. So if they hurt your feet after that things aren't going to improve much. Anyway I skied today and it was pretty good. A little snowy and windy, when I got to the top and was exposed to the wind coming up the back I skipped that and stuck to the more sheltered bits. Maybe tomorrow.   
jamal fucked around with this message at 04:07 on Dec 2, 2022 |
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Dec 2, 2022 04:05
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I do need some new full alpine boots and I've been eyeing those Atomics with the mimic liner that gets filled with foam. Last year I got the idea that I could do everything on one pair and found a good deal on some technica zero gs. Turns out a 4 buckle overlap boot sucks to walk uphill in even if it has a "walk" mode and is kind of light. They do ski fairly well so I'm still using them when riding lifts but I need a very slight toe punch and had to stick a bunch of foam around my ankle/lower leg. So anyway after a couple times out on those and one beer league skimo race I bought some atomic backlands and those were almost perfect out of the box, but again tight across the toes. The front of my foot is generally wider than a 98-99mm last but my ankle and lower leg are pretty skinny. Those shells have some heat mold-ability though so I stuck the whole thing in a liner oven and wore them around a bit then went and stood in the snow and that gave me just enough room in the front so they're pretty much perfect now. I think I also stuck some foam on the outside of my little toes as a sort of a "toe cap." jamal fucked around with this message at 17:55 on Dec 2, 2022 |
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Dec 2, 2022 17:32
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I am very new to the touring side of things but so far can live with the skiing performance of the backlands and blacklights. Although last two days I was wishing for something a bit wider (they're 89 under foot). Easy to ski flimsy boots in fresh pow though. Nicer weather up there today, going to miss having the place basically to myself when it opens up in another week or two. I clipped a tree under the snow and fell down right after taking that picture. it was kind of funny.  But yeah I'll probably just need to do a new full alpine setup fairly soon. But also kind of want some nordic stuff. And already bought a season pass and a new jacket and pants and a new bike recently and want to not spend money for awhile. Probably better to get through the early season on the old stuff anyway. jamal fucked around with this message at 04:07 on Dec 3, 2022 |
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Dec 3, 2022 03:51
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I like the smartwool socks better. also i just got these canada themed ones in other news, skiing at the local not yet open hill is still good   I've heard rumors they might open friday but I'd have expected them to like, post about it by now if that was the case. The top lift was running when i got up there and some patrollers were skiing and some cats have driven around on the roads but they've got a lot of grooming and shoveling and stuff to do still.
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Dec 8, 2022 05:44
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swix has some very in depth videos about waxing and tuning https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_7wOLDc0Kk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HVZRrlcATk Prob going to put in a swix order though the shop and get a vice and iron and some files and stuff and start doing this myself and keeping my skis a little sharper and in better shape. Last friday was like "oh poo poo the katanas are dull" and also there was a good core shot in one of them so that's going to be like $65 by the time those are all done and the dynafits could use a little edge touch up too. Mechanic at the shop did wax them for me the other day though. And i've been meaning to get at least one pair of nordic skis and another pair of alpine skis in the near future. Oh also found some decent alpine boots on the discount rack at my local shop- hawx ultra 130s for like half price because they're a season or two old. Fairly tolerable out of the box with just a liner mold but it's a stiff, lowish volume boot and was hurting the top of my right foot so I went back and did a shell mold with a pad taped on there so hopefully that takes care of it. jamal fucked around with this message at 06:21 on Dec 16, 2022 |
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Dec 16, 2022 04:06
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Ha, well let me tell you about Montana snowbowl...
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Dec 18, 2022 03:09
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I have a 500ml soft flask (this one but there's lots of stuff out there) i just put in an inside pocket of my ski jacket along with snacks and then don't have to wear a pack and can ski a good part of the day without stopping in the lodge. In addition to my bigger 30l osprey ski pack i have a little dynafit 16l deal meant for skimo racing that is really handy for the quick laps I do inbounds when the hill is closed. I can stick a skinny soft flask in the holder on the shoulder strap and then it also has a bottom pocket you can reach around to from the side for storing skins and stuff, usually i stick a regular bottle in there. Also does diagonal ski carry without having to take off the pack. Anyway it's small and light and low profile and i suppose would work alright for carrying a few things around riding lifts but on the otherhand you might give off the impression that you're a skimo dork.
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Dec 21, 2022 21:11
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Yeah to be clear I put water in the little soft flask not whisky or whatever. That goes in a different flask.
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Dec 22, 2022 01:15
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Actually yeah i did get a plasticy taste the first time i used it, which was on a bike ride with it in my frame bag on a hot day, and it sat in there a few hours before i drank any of it. seems fine now.
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Dec 24, 2022 01:31
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Yeah i've done a bunch of inbounds self powered skiing this year because it's so close and easy and the local place had good snow before they opened for the year. Went up to marshall, our old closed down place the last two days (which no i'm not considering to be inbounds but it's low angle and heavily skied). The bottom half is terrible. crusty and heavily skied and scraped to the ground in spots as well as being covered in small trees and bushes because there's been no maintenance/cutting on the runs for 20 years. One of the runs at the top was untouched though because you kind of have to go through some trees and down a ridge that doesn't easily put you back at the base.  my track from yesterday was still the only one there. did 3 laps on it then went down. it's thin, but close and easy so I can just go do it on a monday afternoon. 
jamal fucked around with this message at 07:30 on Jan 3, 2023 |
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Jan 3, 2023 07:23
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That reminds me that I saw these new poc goggles the other day that have little things that cover more of your face https://na.pocsports.com/collections/snow-goggles/products/nexal-clarity?variant=43415980540070 I kind of want some.
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Jan 6, 2023 19:38
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We've had a lot of rain and melt freeze crust here lately. But did just get ~6" at the top of snowbowl and it was fairly ok
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Jan 19, 2023 03:35
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Last week was the start of our beer league skimo season. Pretty fun, seem to be doing better than last year after a good number of days out on the skis. Two 6th places in the regular category (ie not skimo race gear), and finishing on the lead lap, which is a lot better than last season when i was always like 15th and getting lapped. Losing time on transitions still but not as much. I'd rate my overall fitness as fairly ok but splitting my time between biking and skiing is making me not as fast as I'd like at either. But hey it's winter and I'm skiing a lot. Anyway, last night it was snowing pretty good which made things a little harder, bindings getting jammed up, couldn't see poo poo through my glasses on the way down on the 2nd half but had to keep them on because of the snow. Also fell down once on the skin track, skied the descent once with my left boot in walk mode, hrm came unclipped, almost lost the timing chip, hit pause on my watch. All sorts of fun things. With the new snow I was thinking I needed to get up there today and got out the door nice and early in time to get up there before the lifts started spinning. nearby snotel reporting 18" new and it's still snowing. Then it's stopped traffic near the top. Lots of cars coming down, I hear the power is out through the window. gently caress, knew I should have brought my touring stuff because who would expect snowbowl to actually have a smoothly running powder day. Get turned around on the road, sit in more traffic on the way down. Couple cars in the snowbank, a guy broke down on the way up just loving stopped in the middle of the road. Complete poo poo show and it's only like 9:30am. Go home, change and grab the touring gear, go back up, by now it's like 11. Get to the top by noon, bombs still going off in the cliffs. Power definitely not back on  Way fewer people up there than i expected. Some bootpackers lower down but it's a lot farther to get all the way up there. Took 3 laps off the top and then was getting cold and wet and my skins weren't sticking that well anymore and were probably still a bit wet from last night. And I wanted a casual day of riding lifts not 5500ft of self powered vert. Anyway, take the main ridgeline down the middle of the place to the bottom and holy poo poo that was good. If I'd known I would have taken two big laps on it instead of dicking around on the back  I assume tomorrow will be shitshow round two but I have to work so I guess I'll miss out. Maybe I'll go to marshall sunday and then try riding the lifts next week. jamal fucked around with this message at 02:01 on Jan 28, 2023 |
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Jan 28, 2023 01:47
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| # ¿ May 21, 2024 00:52 |
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Boots come in different shapes and widths and stiffnesses so getting the best fit is a little tricky and does take a little bit of measuring and trying on different things and discussing what kind of a skier you are or want to be. There is a whole range of boot fitting, the most basic is just making sure that the boot is the right size and shape for your foot, doing a heat mold of the liner and maybe shell, and probably selling you some aftermarket insoles (which are generally actually worth it). Summary would be that you want the boots tight, but not hurting your feet or cutting off circulation or anything like that. The worst thing for skiing is a boot that's too big and loose. Pay attention to if your heel is held in laterally and that you don't have play between your shins and the boot rocking back and forth with them done up. And keep in mind the foam liners are going to pack out a bit and get looser after a few days of skiing. Moderate pressure points can and should be taken care of before you ski too much or it'll turn into a persistent problem. My boots for example are pretty stiff and narrow and the first time out I'd only done a liner heat mold and they hurt the top of my right foot pretty good. and were causing some discomfort on my left shin. But a lot of new boots let you heat up the shells and they'll move a little to match your feet better. Doing that with a little pad on my foot took care of it and now they're real good. Next step would be pressing out or even grinding down the plastic in problem spots. jamal fucked around with this message at 07:09 on Jan 29, 2023 |
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Jan 29, 2023 06:54
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