David_Parker

Try three-pins. Way better. Then you don't even have to worry about the heel piece!

WRONG AGAIN! I just got back from my first time there on Tuesday. Skiied rsteep trees, hiked both directions to Microwave and Bomber cliffs and found great little shots all over the place. The slow chairs are kinda a drag but there were no crowds! Excellent (much dryer) snow too. Dave, try getting off the groomed runs!

Day 5

Guess I got lucky last year...exactly what I got!

I see what you are getting at, but I disagree. Ist, I don't see skiers sideslipping powder. It's practically impossible as our skis don't ride on top. Second, jump turns are "linking turns" and "are skiing" albeit only usually done as a last resort and due to conditions. Heavy wet snow, crust and narrow steep chutes are some. Lets talk steep chutes. In those conditions I don't think damage is done to the detriment of the next skiier or boarder by making jump turns. The snow between the tracks remains intact unless it is so steep and dry it sloughs off. Well in that case it is truely first guy gets the goods. But there are plenty of times where two or more skiers can ski a steep chute in a figure eight fashion and each gets the goods. A boarder sidesliping to get through ruins it for the next guy. Well at least a skier. Another boarder sideslipping as well, well whatever! It takes a very high level of confidence, ability and commitment to ski a steep narrow chute. It seems, I guess, that boarders don't need that as much to get through by sideslipping and that is why they do it...because they CAN! I suppose they aren't to blame if there is something tastey they are trying to get to, it's just the nature of the beast. I don't have to like it though. The times I get envious of boarders (yes I do!) is really heavy crud. It looks much easier to rip over it than doing my energy sapping "gorrilla" turns! On a powder day, shots like Upper International (Alpenthal), Powder Bowl (Crystal), Great Scott (Snowbird), Spanky's Ladder (Blackcomb), Anything off the Peak (Whistler) are getting trashed a lot quicker because of boarders sideslipping. We skiiers need something to bitch about I guess. It's fuels the fire and keeps us ! JUMP TURN: The snow was pretty heavy!

Who the fuck moved only part of this this to spray? Either move the whole thread to spray or leave it in fresshie, BUT DON"T BREAK IT UP! This was the start of another "Muir on Saturday" and deserves to stay connected! Whatever moderator did this, please fix it back! Or maybe I should be the moderator!!

When I lived in Utah during the 80's it was illegal to leave the resort boundries and return to ride the lift again. Once you passed the gate, you were NOT to return. To do so carried serious consequences: loss of season pass, possible arrest and prosecution. We are blessed here in Washington to be able to do this. That is what I love about Alpenthal and Crystal. There is awesome "bc" skiing utilizing lifts. You can go to "5.11" terrain and do it over and over again. Going back to the original post about boarders scraping snow, I was refering more to the shots beyond the gate that friday at Alpenthal. Still however, I don't like what they do to upper international, adeneline and lots of other steep places. Do I think they should not go there....absolutely not. The only way they will learn to ride stuff like that is to do it. So basically resorts serve a great function to allow boarders and skiiers alike to develope skills they can take into the back country. I guess my complaint was more directed to the BC. When out there, ski/ride the terrain you can handle and do without ruining it for others who can. I certainly can't complain about a boarder who beats me to a chute and rides it in style. Chances are I will enjoy it too, even if I'm the 2nd, 3rd or even 10th one down it. I was complaining about the boarder who finds a chute and sideslips the whole thing. One of the things I like about skiing is looking at a sweet set of tracks in powder, a boarders or a skiiers, even my own. Aliken it to climbing in great style. Or looking at a really nice sailboat you've been sailing as you row back to the dock. It's part of the game. Likewise I enjoy watching a really good skiier or boarder rip something. It's why we like Warren Miller films. It feeds the inner fire that you too can reach that level. Resorts promote self improvement through observation and (frequent) repetitive action. They are good for their own reasons. Here in Washington, newbies can even "taste" the backcountry. What's wrong with that?

Now that we have drifted into bashing now, I'll join in. My son overheard me use the world "groveling" while riding the chair at Crystal and asked me what it means. I said wait a minute and I'll show you. Soon enough there were a couple of boarders trying to get up a slight incline on a traverse. They were squirming around on the ground on their knees in some sort of conveluted circus show. I pointed to them and said..."that's groveling!" Ok, now for the big one. I actually wish I knew how to snowboard. If I could just click my fingers and be an expert, I would buy one. It looks really cool to be able to rip a big wide bowl in high speed long radius arcs. But I'm not going to waste time learning because I just don't have that many days to get out to justify spending them learning something new again. But I do have a question for boarders who also know how to ski to compare the following. When confronting a steep, narrow chute is it just harder to commit to making a turn on a board? We skiiers can often do jump turns, but doing one properly has a lot to do with the fact we have ski poles. In a jump turn we maintain control in super steep terrain by going slow and keeping our skis more perpendicular than parallel with the fall line. But we ARE making turns and not pushing or scraping the snow down in front of us. Is the only way to go slow to maintain control on a board to sideslip? Are jump turns out of the question? Since I don't do your sport, I am trying to understand it.

It never occured to me, thanks!

Boarders need to learn how to straight line more shit! If they do that, no problems!!!! If it's too narrow for them to make turns, it's either figure one it or stay the fuck out! That's what skiers have to do.

I saw a kid about 8 years old on tele gear at Sugarloaf in Maine. Will there be kids gear to try out?? Also, is there another one too. Tomorrow isn't looking good.

Layton, if you decide the categories NOW, it will be easier to choose photos accordingly. For example there are a couple ski shots but no ski category so where would they go. Bouldering could be it's own section, or just under climbing. Beware if you start including sub-categories as you may open pandora's box. As I saw it there were 3 categories: 1: Climbing (photos with climbers in them) 2: Scenic/landscape (no climbers) 3: Humor (could be anything) If you add skiing, you should open it up to more entries. Scenic could be divided into NW and then outside the northwest as there are many great photos in this category. I hope no one submitted a photo they didn't take with out stating so!

Erik, you didn't arrive with any sort of "attitude" did you? Actually, SLC is only about 60% Mo-Mo. Population-wise, there are more Mo-Mo's in California than Utah. Find the other 40%. A lot of them are up in the 3 Canyons having fun. What I miss about Utah is there are WAY more people who are living there because they are totally into the outdoors. Maybe because the climate is so much better! Go find them and ignore the rest. The rest are everywhere!

Er, you might tell us WHERE!

My brother routinely uses 5 or 6 mil cord to rap into couloirs for skiing in Utah. Certainly he doesn't want to carry anything heavier. Basically the shit is strong enough to do the job weight wise, but the edge thing and slipperyness is a factor.

Thanks Josh. Lance, you obviously have a complex about being a boarder. As Josh sates, nobody was complaining about good boarders that can carve a turn. I tele ski and I do not carry a "holier than thou" attitude about the different ways to glide over snow. Good tele, AT, Alpine, snowshoers, bigfoot, plastic trays, innertubers and boarders can co-exist. Can you run circles around me? Maybe, but frankly I don't give a shit. We're all out there to have fun. And yes, some skiers also sideslip terrain and wipe off good snow. But not NEARLY as much as boarders. Re-read the post and try not to take it personally. So what's your fucking problem now?

It's not just the shop you choose, but more the technician in the shop who gets the repair job. Ask to speak to the actual guy doing the work and get his advice/opinion on the job needed. I worked in a repair shop in Park City for 5 years and can say experience counts! Not every joe blow even knows how to run a belt sander or stone grinder right and you can fuck up a pair of skis pretty quick if you don't know what your doing. If you are an expert skiier, you need an expert technician. Shop around.

I wish the ones that "suck" would recognize as such and stay out of the terrain above their ability. Alpenthal is fun with lots of extreme little shots through cliff bands and such. It just pisses me off to find one with all the snow scraped out because some knuckle dragger did it sideways. Fuckin do it right or NOT AT ALL!

I agree with Will. Subject matter is more to organize the photos into the general catagories. The best photos need composition, exposure and few distractions. There are a lot of nice photos submitted, but many have "technical" problems. In choosing your favorites, think like a magazine editor and don't be swayed by the subject matter. Composition is how the photo is framed. A lot of photos would be better if (for example) a climber is not in the center of the photo. Also, personally, I would NEVER choose a photo showing a climber on top rope. Exposure is about being in the right place at the right time as well as knowing how to work your camera. There are photos of great peaks, but the light is just all wrong. It may have looked awesome while you were there, but the film didn't do it justice. It wasn't your fault, just bad timing. I'd vote for Will to be one of the judges, as he seems to be unbiased with an eye for quality photos.

I used to use the Alpine Bod but I hated it because it didn't have a belay loop. In winter with the extra clothes, it was a PITA to see what was going on down there and basically it was a cluster fuck, especially with double ropes tied in. All-in-all, i felt that it was a dangerous situation in that more could go wrong messing around at rappells and such. I considered adding a Belay loop by having Metolius or BD sew one on and then always threading the waist loop through, but I just bought a new harness for ice climbing. I'd still use the bod for an alpine climb but I don't have the lightweght version so I don't. It's nice to have a spare though for friends or newbies to use. I like the belay loop for rapping too as it gets it out away a litle more and so I can see what's going on and control things better.

Just wanted to report that I felt like I received top quality customer service from BD. I exchanged a few emails with a guy who seemed genuinely concerned and wanted to see the helmet. He sent me a new one, even before receiving the old one. They passed each other in the mail. Anyone who has a bad experience with BD customer service must be starting off on the wrong foot, maybe taking to much of an attitude they "owe" you something. I have never had a bad experience with them and so will continue to buy their gear as a result.

Shoulda been there; For some reason I always seem to hit it on fridays. Powder day!!! Hooked up with an alpine skiier who pushed me hard all day. I'm a little stiff today. Damn, I gotta ski more! I'm begining to think the learning curve on boarding must be longer than some people say. Why do they all seem to just slide around sideways. Does anyone know how to friggin' CARVE a snowboard???

Jens, in the eighties when I wasn't too high on drugs, or maybe I was, I used to participate in Galande' jumping in Utah. We used 222 DH skis and buckled our boots a little looser at the top. The technique was still similar to regular jumping in that you HAD to get out over the skis while in flight for maximum distance. So instead of laying flat over your skis as on regular jumping skis, you were piked at the waist. Warren Miller featured our Snowbird event in one of his films. I went over 215 feet on that one! Sadly Galande jumping came to an end at it's peak when in Colorado an ex-schoolmate of mine from Holderness School (he was on the jumping team) out jumped the hill and landed on the flats and was killed. He probably won the Subaru, but didn't get to drive it. I still have my K2 910's and would love to fly again. Maybe with the newer Tele boots I should put tele bindings on them though. I think that would be better. Let's hit it!

Time to get some turns in on a non-weekend. I be headed there if anyone wants to hook up. I ski on those funny bindings with no heel piece. you can pm or call me at 206-714-4300.