PaulB

If you can, I'd suggest renting/borrowing gear for your avy class. During the class you'll get to see, and hopefully work with, a good cross section of the probes, shovels & beacons that are available. You'll be in a better position to buy once you've got some hands on experience. Some buying tips: - As the others said, get a metal shovel. - Avoid ski poles that convert to probes or probes that store in shovel handles. They waste time setting up, don't work very well, and aren't as long as a proper probe. - A good rule of thumb when contemplating avy gear (especially when it's on sale) is to ask yourself "Would I want my partner(s) to be using this to rescue me?". Don't be afraid to buy a used shovel or probe, you'll save some cash and it's easy to tell if they've been abused or not. A lot of folks are hesitant to buy a used beacon 'cause it's hard to know if they are working 100% unless you can do some testing. Personally, I carry a G3 Avi-Tech shovel, a G3 320cm probe and a Pieps DSP beacon.

I'm not a big fan of WM movies, but $8 to get a 2-for-1 voucher for Whistler is a great deal.

This exact topic was discussed in this thread earlier in the week. The downside of upgrading old T2s with thermofits is that the original liners had the power strap built in. If you still want a strap you gotta rig something up yourself.

Vacationing Brits will still flock to LL, Fernie and Nakiska by the planeload, like they do every winter.

I only have a single data point... I believe that I tried to stuff size 11US liners into size 9.5UK T2s. Size 10 liners probably would have been better.

Lots of folks on TTips have been buying the Morrows for exactly that. For only $30 it's worth a shot as long as you get an appropriately sized liner. I tried using an Intuition liner which was too big in my old T2s, thinking that the forming process would make everything fit, but they ended up causing painful toe pinch 'cause there just wasn't enough room. I keep meaning to buy a smaller pair of liners and trying again.

Morrow = Intuition I think Intuition OEMs most of the thermo liners out there. Scarpa is using them in some of their boots now, and they used to make liners for Raichle.

Keep an eye on SkiFreeDeals.com. The Shell deal was advertised there last year.

Look around for Intuition Liners. You can find them ridiculously cheap online, although they are sometimes sold under different brand names. This thread on TTips lists lots of places that sell them.

Upon removal of the tele bindings, you will immediately become soulless. Proceed at your own risk.

Map of cirque from previous TR:

Note she's not a model... she's a kick ass tele skier.

From TTips, a recent TR for Ptarmigan Ridge.

Pardon my ignorance, but what cliff is this, and where is it relative to the Eightmile campground?

Very few companies pass on production cost savings to their customers in lieu of taking greater profits. Why do you think they move to a "low cost" environment in the first place? Unfortunately, the "low cost" part is not likely to last as China's aspiring middle class factory workers and production engineers start earning higher wages, the competition for raw materials increases and China transforms itself into a full blown western style economy. The company I work for has a couple of factories in China and one of their biggest problems is employee retention. As the demand for skilled workers starts to exceed the immediate supply, people are jumping ship for better pay, benefits, etc. that are starting to approach those in the West. The same thing is happening in India.

I haven't had any problems with the ClipFix, and certainly don't have to fiddle with it ("hardest" thing may be to adjust it to the right length, but that's easy), so wonder why you consider it a PITA. I found that on very cold days the skins would shrink enough that the camming action of the ClipFix would put the skins under a lot more tension than necessary. On warmer days when the skins would stretch (especially in wet spring snow) the ClipFix couldn't take up the slack and would annoyingly flap around on the tail of the ski. I was also using one pair of skins with two pairs of skis which, while only 2cm different in length, required adjusting the foldover on the skins so the ClipFix would be tensioned properly. I suppose that none of these are really a big deal, but to me they qualified as a PITA compared to the STS/G3 system which can handle all three situations without having to futz with the foldover. YMMV.

Go with the STS unless you use one pair of skis in reasonably similar conditions all year. Clipfix require too much fiddling with the skin length to stay fixed if skins stretch/etc. Having used both ClipFix and the STS/G3 style attachment, I'd also recommend the latter for the same reason. When everything is adjusted perfectly, ClipFix is bomber, but most of the time I found it to be a PITA.

I contacted the local Pieps distributor, and he says that if you already have the 4.0 firmware, the only reason you'd want to upgrade to 5.0 is if you are going to use your DSP with Pieps' new "iProbe". Avy gear is getting way too techy.

I doubt it. I had my DSP upgraded last year by the local Pieps distributor and was able to watch the whole process. It requires some special software and a data cable that plugs into the earphone jack.

In a similar vein, based on actual events Recruiting Sargeant by B. Hallet, performed by Great Big Sea Two recruiting sergeants came to the CLB, For the sons of the merchants to join the Blue Puttees; All hands enlisted, five hundred young men, Enlist, ye Newfoundlanders, and come follow me. They crossed the broad Atlantic in the brave Florizel, And on the sands of Suvla, they entered into hell; 'Twas on those bloody beaches, the first of them fell, Enlist, ye Newfoundlanders, and come follow me. So it's over the mountains and over the seas, Come, brave Newfoundlanders, and join The Blue Puttees; You'll fight the Hun in Flanders, and at Galipoli, Enlist, ye Newfoundlanders, and come follow me. The call came from London for the last July drive, "To the trenches with the Regiment, prepare yourselves to die." Roll call next morning, just a handful survived, Enlist, ye Newfoundlanders, and come follow me. So it's over the mountains and over the seas, Come, brave Newfoundlanders, and join The Blue Puttees; You'll fight the Hun in Flanders, and at Galipoli, Enlist, ye Newfoundlanders, and come follow me. The stone men on Water Street still cry for the day, When the pride of their city, went marching away; A thousand men slaughtered, to hear the King say, Enlist, ye Newfoundlanders, and come follow me.

Trail shoes usually have a lower profile sole (i.e. your foot is closer to the ground) to help prevent lateral rolling. This comes at the expense of cushioning, but trails are much softer to run on than asphalt or concrete. Something to keep in mind if you plan to use one pair of shoes for both trail and road.

If you want good quality stills, don't bother with a video camera. For less money you can get a good still camera which will take decent short videos. Still photos from a video camera are pretty much just a marketing ploy (as is digital zoom) to make you feel better about the money you're spending. The image sensors used for good video are relatively low resolution compared to what is needed for decent still images.

I would heartily recommend the Michelin LTX M/S. I had them on my 93 Pathfinder XE for exactly the use you described above (driving to Whistler, Duffey Lake, forest roads, etc.) The first set I bought were at 120,000+ km (they lasted almost seven years) when I replaced them, and they probably could have been driven for another summer, but I wanted new tread for the winter. The second set ended up being the most valuable part of the truck when I sold it this spring. Keep an eye out for Costco's coupon for Michelins. With it, you'll be hard pressed to find a better price in the Lower Mainland.

I recently looked into this as well, and while it does seem like a lot of hoop jumping at first, once you get it all sorted out it isn't really that bad. Unfortunately, for the vehicle I was interested in, there was no guarantee that the US warranty would be honoured in Canada, so I ended up buying here at home.

BC Parks built a bunch of tent platforms (some gravel and some wooden) around the hut last year.