Ski Season 2020/2021

[conVINCEd 21469]

On 1/16/2021 at 8:33 PM, NTVTXN said:

Bro, no offense, but you’re asking about wearing a helmet (ask Sonny Bono how it worked for him) and now your buddy’s son breaks his wrist boarding.
Do you wear your seatbelt when in a car? (Don’t answer, I think I can guess) 
 Anyway, for future reference, Burton makes great wrist guards (that fit under Hestra gloves) for $25MSRP.  I got mine at Sun&Ski for $20.  

I broke my wrist and thumb once skiing and I don’t think wrist guards would’ve prevented it.  Was trying to catch major air on one of the last moguls at the end of the run, both bindings released in the trough of the mogul (and I screwed my shit down tighter than manufacturer suggestions), body went forward, poles still in the ground.  One snapped pole, one fucked up hand wrist on the side where the pole held up.

[AUinHsv 579]

4 hours ago, conVINCEd said:

I broke my wrist and thumb once skiing and I don’t think wrist guards would’ve prevented it.  Was trying to catch major air on one of the last moguls at the end of the run, both bindings released in the trough of the mogul (and I screwed my shit down tighter than manufacturer suggestions), body went forward, poles still in the ground.  One snapped pole, one fucked up hand wrist on the side where the pole held up.

I learned the hard way to never use the straps on poles. Kinda like you - pitched forward and pole is locked upright. Head butted it and had to get stitches on forehead. Without straps I would have had to walk over and pick up the pole

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

59 minutes ago, AUinHsv said:

I learned the hard way to never use the straps on poles. Kinda like you - pitched forward and pole is locked upright. Head butted it and had to get stitches on forehead. Without straps I would have had to walk over and pick up the pole

Good poles have break away straps so your hand can't get locked into the pole grip.

[Horns99 155]

Went up into the attic and pulled down my ski bag that has my old equipment in it (minus skis as I sold those). I use to work for Sun and Ski sports '94-'96, so I accumulated some good ski stuff. Sold a bunch of it once I moved back to Texas and left the ski industry.
First thing I saw was the last lift ticket was for Breckinridge in 1996.
Ski pants - no way those are going to fit, which is a shame because they were badass pants
Bibs - might actually work
Spider Jacket - a little tight but I'm on a diet to lose at least 15 pounds over the next 4 weeks before going...so hopeful
2 pairs of Oakley goggles- almost disintegrated in my hands
Gloves - still a perfect fit
Ski boots - didn't try them on. Will probably just use the rentals as I'm not sure I trust these to hold up.
2 sets of ski poles - still looking good.
Wife also had a bunch of miscellaneous clothing items in there that will still fit her or one of the girls.

Both Tacos, which Sun & Ski ?


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[Both Tacos 1806]

Both Tacos, which Sun & Ski ?


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I started up in St. Louis and transfered to their Bedford location.

[Upgrayedd 5810]

2 hours ago, Onboard 2.0 said:

Good poles have break away straps so your hand can't get locked into the pole grip.

My poles state that they are property of "Mammoth Mountain"

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

7 minutes ago, Upgrayedd said:

My poles state that they are property of "Mammoth Mountain"

That pretty much guarantees no break away straps.

[conVINCEd 21469]

2 hours ago, Onboard 2.0 said:

Good poles have break away straps so your hand can't get locked into the pole grip.

This was in the 90’s.

[Chewbacca 7766]

6 hours ago, AUinHsv said:

I learned the hard way to never use the straps on poles. Kinda like you - pitched forward and pole is locked upright. Head butted it and had to get stitches on forehead. Without straps I would have had to walk over and pick up the pole

Sounds like you need to ski better.  I use the straps every time.  Have never injured myself with a ski pole in 40+ years of skiing.

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

15 minutes ago, Chewbacca said:

Sounds like you need to ski better.  I use the straps every time.  Have never injured myself with a ski pole in 40+ years of skiing.

Learning to ski in the late 70's I blasted my thumb many times slamming it down on hard pack, east coast, ice hills with old style poles.

[AUinHsv 579]

3 hours ago, Chewbacca said:

Sounds like you need to ski better.  I use the straps every time.  Have never injured myself with a ski pole in 40+ years of skiing.

Well the ski patrol said they had never seen or heard of anyone doing the headbutt so I am marking it down as freak accident

[Both Tacos 1806]

Sounds like you need to ski better.  I use the straps every time.  Have never injured myself with a ski pole in 40+ years of skiing.

If you've never taken a pole to the nuts, you aren't trying hard enough.

[texasdago 7562]

I would say my helmet saved me from a significant head injury in 2016... long story short, white out conditions, skiing with the wrong goggles (couldn't see shit captain), skied off of a side trail over a ledge into another trail... never saw it coming because the light was so flat.  Witnesses said it looked like I dove head first into the ski run from 6 feet up.  Was stunned and freaked out but fine thanks to the helmet.  

[HouTex 1866]

If I recall the story correctly Natasha Richardson, Liam Neeson’s wife, fell on a ski trip and hit her head. My memory is that she was not wearing a helmet. She died a couple of days latter.

[Chewbacca 7766]

2 hours ago, HouTex said:

If I recall the story correctly Natasha Richardson, Liam Neeson’s wife, fell on a ski trip and hit her head. My memory is that she was not wearing a helmet. She died a couple of days latter.

There is literally no reason to not wear a helmet these days.  Helmets are warmer, safer and better all around.  If you can afford to ski, you can afford a helmet.

[Upgrayedd 5810]

You know who doesn't wear a helmet?  Hotdoggin' Hans.  That's who.

 

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

On 1/19/2021 at 2:25 PM, HouTex said:

If I recall the story correctly Natasha Richardson, Liam Neeson’s wife, fell on a ski trip and hit her head. My memory is that she was not wearing a helmet. She died a couple of days latter.

Yep, pretty minor fall as well if I remember, on a cat walk. I've had more falls on catwalks than on slopes it seems.  That snow monster just reaches up, and grabs your ski...

[Both Tacos 1806]

Angel Fire is 100% open now that they got 15"+ snow in the last week. Looking forward to our trip Feb. 15th.

[Axle Hongsnort 208]

today was a good day in park city

[Upgrayedd 5810]

Gettin after it.

[gyroprotagonist 2592]

On 1/31/2021 at 8:17 PM, Axle Hongsnort said:

today was a good day in park city

nice!  i find the app kinda dangerous.  it's always right after the mid afternoon beer/cocktail session that I think "Self, we really should be able to break our top speed if we throw just a little more caution to the wind"

[PRONG HORN 3130]

On 1/31/2021 at 8:17 PM, Axle Hongsnort said:

 

 

Can it tell average vert. per run?  

 

 

[Axle Hongsnort 208]

 
Can it tell average vert. per run?  
 
 

It’s the Slopes app. I’ve always used the free version but there are tons of premium options. Or you can do some math.

[Drunk Stoner 63]

https://www.jacksonhole.com/natural-selection.html

Day 1 last week was insane, and tomorrow's finals, with about 4' of fresh over the last week, should blow your mind...

[Pato del Muerto 52484]

Bunch of new snow also has some danger

https://apple.news/AyL2-Q6tFS7WHOV_9yDOq_g

[Chewbacca 7766]

14 hours ago, Pato del Muerto said:

Bunch of new snow also has some danger

https://apple.news/AyL2-Q6tFS7WHOV_9yDOq_g

Yep.  I think we had 4-5 people die in Avalanches in CO last week.  Big snow on top of crust is a bad combo.

 

And not inexperienced people, either.  This dude sounds like he was a backcountry legend in CO.

 

https://www.skyhinews.com/news/east-vail-avalanche-victim-johnny-kuo-remembered-by-skiers-family/

Edited February 9, 2021 by Chewbacca

[Gucci_Suit 2642]

I hit Vail Thurs-Sunday and we picked up around 40” over the weekend. We weren’t exactly on piste, but didn’t get anywhere near the same vertical stuff we were doing just a few days earlier. Saturday/Sunday a lot of the back bowls were closed for mitigation. 

Skiing in that much powder is a blast but at my age also makes me breathe a little harder. Gotta remember how to bounce. 

[Both Tacos 1806]

Forecast looking good for our ski trip next week.

[Your Mom 4805]

On 1/16/2021 at 4:45 PM, Both Tacos said:

Okay, looks like snow conditions in Angel Fire the 3rd week of Feb may still be shit. I'm really not concerned that half the mountain may be closed as it will be the kids first time, so they won't know any difference and will probably stay on greens anyways.
Here's my dilemma. A friend that takes his kids snowboarding says that it's harder to snowboard on hard packed snow/oce than ski. His kid on Christmas day caught an edge on icy patch and it slammed him onto that hard pack and he broke his wrist. So, it is better to just have them learn to ski this trip if conditions stay the same or will boarding be okay for the to pick up and enjoy?

For kids I’m a fan of ski first, board later.  I think skiing is easier to learn and skis are easier to manipulate with tiny legs and feet. Both my kids skied once a year from age 5-9ish then started a slow transition to boarding. Typically, at age 10-11 for them both, it was: take a boarding lesson on day 1, get frustrated, spend the rest of the trip on skis. By age 12 they both stuck with boarding full time and haven’t skied since. I made the switch in my late 20s. 48 now and still love boarding way more. Haven’t been on skis since the 90s. 
 

And Angelfire can sometimes suck in the Spring. I’ve seen lots of grass and dirt there over the years. My last trip there during one spring break our ski-in ski-out condo ended up being a 50 yard slog through a mudpit. The guy selling lift tickets advised me to buy one day at a time because he didn’t know if they’d be able to stay open 3 more days. These days we opt for an extra half day of driving and go to Wolf Creek. 

Edited February 12, 2021 by Your Mom

[Your Mom 4805]

My new K2 Simple Pleasures board came in yesterday. I’m putting Burton Step-On bindings on it. This is an upgrade from an old soft flexy Cruzer I’ve been using for years.  I’m a carve big fast turns down steep blues and hit a few jumps kind of guy. No real park play.  This board ought to carve way better than my old beater.

I was hesitant to switch to the step-on bindings because I remember the old clickers from back in the 90s and they sucked. Judging from all the reviews, sounds like Burton got it right this time and I’m looking forward to less to no time on my ass after lifts. 

[Johnny Chimpo 478]

I only ride mervin manufacturing boards. Specifically I’m a lib tech whore . I have an old dark series with a couple hundred days on it and some nice core shots that need to get P-texed and a T Rice Orca powder board with maybe 15 days on it I picked up last year. Also got the T Rice DC boots and Union Bindings. I’m sure I paid a little name tax on that setup it rang up at 1400 all in but YOLO ya know. Snowboarding is my favorite hobby. 
 

I used bent metal step in bindings on my dark series and they were good but I decided to switch back to strap in because I found they don’t really capture your toe like strap ins do. You’ll be fine though, just got to get them set up right for your boots. 

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

1 hour ago, Your Mom said:

For kids I’m a fan of ski first, board later.  I think skiing is easier to learn and skis are easier to manipulate with tiny legs and feet. Both my kids skied once a year from age 5-9ish then started a slow transition to boarding. Typically, at age 10-11 for them both, it was: take a boarding lesson on day 1, get frustrated, spend the rest of the trip on skis. By age 12 they both stuck with boarding full time and haven’t skied since. I made the switch in my late 20s. 48 now and still love boarding way more. Haven’t been on skis since the 90s. 
 

And Angelfire can sometimes suck in the Spring. I’ve seen lots of grass and dirt there over the years. My last trip there during one spring break our ski-in ski-out condo ended up being a 50 yard slog through a mudpit. The guy selling lift tickets advised me to buy one day at a time because he didn’t know if they’d be able to stay open 3 more days. These days we opt for an extra half day of driving and go to Wolf Creek. 

Interesting, you think skiing was easier to learn than boarding ?  I always thought boarding was easier /faster to learn, and skiing harder to master as a skill set.  Longer learning curve with 2 boards instead of 1 I thought.

The kids wanted to board when they were on the hill for the first few times, and I said when you master skiing then learn how to board. Neither ever really took to boarding, and both now can pretty much lap me if they want to, the arrogant shits !! The son did a day of boarding a couple years a go, said it was OK, but nope, skiing was his game.

[Your Mom 4805]

 

24 minutes ago, Onboard 2.0 said:

Interesting, you think skiing was easier to learn than boarding ?  I always thought boarding was easier /faster to learn, and skiing harder to master as a skill set.  Longer learning curve with 2 boards instead of 1 I thought.

The kids wanted to board when they were on the hill for the first few times, and I said when you master skiing then learn how to board. Neither ever really took to boarding, and both now can pretty much lap me if they want to, the arrogant shits !! The son did a day of boarding a couple years a go, said it was OK, but nope, skiing was his game.

Yeah, just my anecdotal experience with my kids.  Both took to skiing naturally and quickly.  Both were cruising down greens within a day of their first time on skis.  Both were frustrated with the board for days at a time when they first tried to switch.  There's probably also some negative transfer of learning going on too though.  Maybe if they had started on boards and then tried to ski later I'd have seen opposite results.  

45 minutes ago, Johnny Chimpo said:

I only ride mervin manufacturing boards. Specifically I’m a lib tech whore . I have an old dark series with a couple hundred days on it and some nice core shots that need to get P-texed and a T Rice Orca powder board with maybe 15 days on it I picked up last year. Also got the T Rice DC boots and Union Bindings. I’m sure I paid a little name tax on that setup it rang up at 1400 all in but YOLO ya know. Snowboarding is my favorite hobby. 
 

I used bent metal step in bindings on my dark series and they were good but I decided to switch back to strap in because I found they don’t really capture your toe like strap ins do. You’ll be fine though, just got to get them set up right for your boots. 

I'm coming from Burton Freestyles with Ruler boots.  Everything on the new set up is going to be stiffer.  I'm looking forward to it.  High speeds were getting to be exhausting on the old soft set up.  For new boots with the step ons in was a choice between Burton Photon or DC Control.  Both were unavailable here in Austin to try on so I went out on a limb and ordered 2 sizes of the DCs.  I'll return what doesn't fit.  I wanted to compare them to the Burtons but I've worn various Burtons for 20 years and was never completely happy with the footbed shapes.  

[Johnny Chimpo 478]

Yes, if you want to ride big mountain shit stiffer is the way to go. Even if you just want more control stiffness helps you feel like a surgeon out there carving a line.  My gear was and is definitely keyed toward freeride. I previously had the stiffest Salomon boots I could find along with that dark series. I’m a bit of a powder hound and on good days I’m happiest on the double blacks and steep trees . 

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

9 minutes ago, Your Mom said:

 

Yeah, just my anecdotal experience with my kids.  Both took to skiing naturally and quickly.  Both were cruising down greens within a day of their first time on skis.  Both were frustrated with the board for days at a time when they first tried to switch.  There's probably also some negative transfer of learning going on too though.  Maybe if they had started on boards and then tried to ski later I'd have seen opposite results.  

 

Yeah, that makes sense.  It's such a different game on each platform. That fat, front edge of a snow board has so much stopping energy built into it, much more than a skinny ski IMO.

I grew up sailing, and learning to wind surf was one of THE hardest things I've ever had to learn (that and playing 18 holes of golf) as it's a bit counter intuitive to what you do on a boat with a sail.

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

6 minutes ago, Johnny Chimpo said:

Yes, if you want to ride big mountain shit stiffer is the way to go. Even if you just want more control stiffness helps you feel like a surgeon out there carving a line.  My gear was and is definitely keyed toward freeride. I previously had the stiffest Salomon boots I could find along with that dark series. I’m a bit of a powder hound and on good days I’m happiest on the double blacks and steep trees . 

Boot stiffness = confidence.

[JSB 677]

Headed to Winter Park March 8th, Thinking about waxing my own board for the first time. Worth it, or just let the shop do it for $20 or whatever they charge? 

[Johnny Chimpo 478]

It’s a good way to kill some time if you’re bored. But it makes a mess and it’s not like it’s a real thrilling activity. Unless you have exactly the right wax for your expected temperature conditions it’s kind of a wash. I just pay the people. 

[Upgrayedd 5810]

I wax my own.  $20 is kinda light, no?  I like to have them waxed every 4/5 days on hill, so it adds up during a 25 day season (plus the gf’s)

[Johnny Chimpo 478]

Yea. I guess to be fair I only have my stuff waxed like twice a season. Ive been working in Kazakhstan since November so it’s been a real cheap ski season for me.  

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

2 hours ago, JSB said:

Headed to Winter Park March 8th, Thinking about waxing my own board for the first time. Worth it, or just let the shop do it for $20 or whatever they charge? 

Let the little people have their livelihoods old man....

[Chewbacca 7766]

On 2/13/2021 at 10:10 PM, JSB said:

Headed to Winter Park March 8th, Thinking about waxing my own board for the first time. Worth it, or just let the shop do it for $20 or whatever they charge? 

$40 is the going rate to get skis tuned in WP.  Can be more if they need to fix core shots, etc.

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

15 minutes ago, Chewbacca said:

$40 is the going rate to get skis tuned in WP.  Can be more if they need to fix core shots, etc.

Or you slip em a little something something...

[Chewbacca 7766]

3 minutes ago, Onboard 2.0 said:

Or you slip em a little something something...

They're probably already high.  It is CO, after all.

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

5 minutes ago, Chewbacca said:

They're probably already high.  It is CO, after all.

Yeah that one doesn't work so good anymore. 

[Both Tacos 1806]

Great skiing at Angel Fire. Base is good with some powder as they have had frequent snow lately. They got 6" two nights before we got here and forecast of snow over the next 3 days.
It's a family ski trip where my kids have never skied. Lessons this morning and afternoon, then onto the mountain the next couple of days.

[Both Tacos 1806]

Not sure what happened to the pics above. Another good day of skiing with snow falling most of the day.
Got split up from my 19 year old son and next thing I know he is being brought down in the basket by ski patrol mobile.
May have injured his MCL. Going to see what it looks and feels like in the morning. He was able to put weight on it as the ski patrol helped him to the Suburban from the medic tent.

[Drunk Stoner 63]

Starts in 20 minutes...

 

https://www.jacksonhole.com/kings-queens-corbets.html

 

 

[Horns99 155]

Not sure what happened to the pics above. Another good day of skiing with snow falling most of the day.
Got split up from my 19 year old son and next thing I know he is being brought down in the basket by ski patrol mobile.
May have injured his MCL. Going to see what it looks and feels like in the morning. He was able to put weight on it as the ski patrol helped him to the Suburban from the medic tent.

BT, how was the town / mountain? Restaurants open for dine in or is everything take out only ?


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[Both Tacos 1806]

BT, how was the town / mountain? Restaurants open for dine in or is everything take out only ?


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Everything is take out or delivery. Went through Red River after snowmobiling and it looked like they had dine-in and patio seating at several places. We ended up eating at the Condo mostly and one night in Taos for dinner.
Even if Angel Fire would be totally open, there isn't much there to do.