allison

I'd spend the certificate on something else. The Zipka band is terribly uncomfortable, and the Tikka is no longer the best thing out there. I like my Princeton Aurora and my BD Ion both a lot better. Don't ask me why I have three headlamps, it's a long story.

My Sub has already nickel and dimed me to death. This old car has: A new radiator, cam timing belt, water pump, TRANSMISSION, front CV joints and boots, wheel bearing, and fairly new tires. At this point it has already been through all of that, and to the best of my knowledge, the top end is the last piece to do. Nothing else outside of routine maintenance should need to be done of it until the chassis really starts falling apart. I know the top end might run as much as 2K, but given the condition of the car, it is worth that much, and buys me some time to make an informed choice instead of getting the first car I can find. If I buy another old Sub I have to go through all of that drama again!

No way man, gotta have that 4WD. Gotta, gotta have it. Subs don't necessarily die at 175K, more accurately they blow a head gasket at that point. If properly maintained they can pretty much go forever. Given that, and the fact that mine is in pretty good shape for its age, I'm most likely going to get the new motor and drive it for a while so I can decide what I really want to replace it with. My money's on its replacement being an older Outback. There is nothing else out there that I can see that will meet my needs as well.

I've always considered myself one of the sport climbers of the ski world. You don't have to have any skillz to ski at a ski hill except skiing. When I go to the ski hill I pay my money and ski down the hill. Only skiing, no uppity-up and no avy anything. Sure, it's easier, and it's funfunfunfunfun. K, I think you should take TLG to dry-tool at 38. From the looks of this thread, she's got all of the makings of a future ex-girlfriend to me!

The person she was with may have been an idiot. It appears that the other person my have paid for her lift ticket, which would make them an idiot, and TLG a wily one!

I was there too, and it wasn't worth my money. Hopefully next week it will be.

Much as it pains me to say so, I believe Alpine K and I agree on two things here. One is that light snow coverage=think twice about how bad you want to go skiing. Once you've been at it a while, you find that you can wait for better conditions. Two is just what he said in his last post. Whew, that was scary! And now, back to our regularly scheduled programming....

No, you'll need to 'kick it in the pipe' with someone your own age. I'm old school, just getting my first pair of parabolics....which feel so much like cheating!

No one here is complaining. You are a big talker re your skiing ability, and people are going to react to it. As for whether or not I could kick your ass on the slopes, well, I don't like to be a big talker myself, but you could count on getting lessons from me. If I haven't become a rock-solid skier in 31 seasons on snow, well, I'll eat my hat.

Okay, I can no longer resist the urge to kick the Big Talker's ass. TLG, I would be glad to kick your ass on the slopes any day of the winter. Once I get done, I will spend some time working with you on your technique, and then I will allow you to buy me a hot chocolate.

I can't afford new. See oringinal post.

My older Sub didn't get great gas mileage, prob 23 in the city and 27 on the highway. Beck, I hear you re driving in the city. Due to the nature of my work, it is difficult not to drive to work every day, but my commute is less than 12 miles RT. I still don't want a bigger gas hog than the one I am replacing. I realize that most of the driving we do is not on dirt and gravel roads, but I do enough bombing around on non-paved surfaces that I insist on 4WD. I liked that my Sub could be in either 2WD or 4WD. And the ground clearance thing was an issue on more than one occasion.

I refuse to be afraid of the boogeyman.

I got a rather unexpected Christmas gift this year. On my way out to the FS cabin by Sequim that my family's taken to renting for the December holiday, my '87 Subaru 4WD SW decided it was time to blow a seal, so to speak. Actually it was the head gasket, which it was expected to go at around 175K but was nice enough to wait until 175,500. My car is lying in state at a decent shop in Sequim, and I expect to get a full diagnosis and estimate after the mechanics get back from a short Xmas break. I am at the point where it is unlikely I'll still have this car after I get the bad news, as this is yet another expensive thing to have done to a car that is late in its life. So.....about a year before I planned to have to buy a new car, I am probably going to do so, and I need a little advice. The Sub has been a good car, except for the maintenance, which has been a little high, and the ground clearance, which is a little low. I like the amount of space in it. I do some driving in the city, so the gas mileage thing is a consideration, but might go the SUV route despite misgivings about gas mileage, and driving a 21st Century minivan. Not a big fan of trucks. Budget is TBD, but 5-7K seems like about what my bank account will tolerate without too much pain. Ideas?

BD Raven Pro. Guess I'm going to have to get over my extreme snow lameness and learn how to use it. It is, as promised, "lighter than a potato chip", but may for now just be a dangerous weapon in my gumby hands.

Poop, I knew I should have broken rank and gone up there!

Aw, heck, you guys, why not forget who's the better skier and just get out there and have some FUN....hopefully with a little better coverage than I had last Saturday. We had a great time given the conditions, but we did have a kid in tow so didn't get up in the upper bowls, and maybe the coverage was better up top. The Campbell bowl looked OK on the left side as you look at it from the top of Chair 9, but the chutes closer to the chair looked abysmal. I was on rental skis and still didn't want to dodge all of those rocks! Same with the upper bowls on the front side. In any case, I've seen hundreds of better ski days in terms of coverage and quality over a few-odd seasons of skiing.

Some candles that were shaped like human beings. You can guess where the wicks were. Uber tacky!

That's funny, we were just talking about these funny little things last night. Are there any skins available for them, or would one need to make/modify? They seem absolutely ridiculous for inbounds skiing, but could be a lot of fun in the BC, IMO. I'd like to hear more about this from anyone who has tried them.

"I'm not attacking anybody, just having a little fun. And I'm not poking fun at you, just your people." Hey---you know the word 'gullible' is not in the dictionary, right? Really, while I'm not a big fan of personal attacks on anyone, least of all me, ya really think I'm that thin-skinned? I was just goofin'!! (though I do hate what snowboarders do to the ski hill)

I gotta ask you guys, is going to the laundromat too scary or what? The method is straightforward, the materials are readily available, and with multiple washers at hand, one can wash more than one bag at a time. People, it's easy! Been washing my own down gear in big washing machines for years with nary a problem.

I saw part of the deal on TV last night. Looked like nice conditions...COLD!! Keep those freshiez a'dumpin, as I'll be down the end of January too and hope to make time for a day or two at the ski hill. FYI Outdoor Retailers is for industry and media only, so make arrangements beforehand if planning to attend.

Yesterday: Very foggy. Early season conditions like one would expect in November. Very light coverage, especially on the upper mountain. What snow is there is in good shape. There's enough snow to have fun in, but I'd say not worth the $$ (it's full price now), and do NOT bring your good skis.

Hey, here's a novel idea: If you don't like sport climbing, don't do it. I hate what snowboards do to the ski hill, but they have as much right to it as I do. Ranting endlessly about a sport and/or its associated culture that you don't care for is very tiresome!

No, Trask, I thought YOU were going with me!