Skiing

Our Goal for the day is the west face of Snowmass, pictured here to the left taken the night before on the slog into camp. Matt and Gerlinde on the hot slog in on Monday afternoon. Drying out the gear at camp, and going to bed rather early for a nice 2 am wake up call. The western Elks are really a cool part of the range. Overall, not as high as the rest, but rather beautiful. Siberia standing tall in the early morning light. Matt Kamper setting the booter past Capitol peak to the top of his last 14er to ski. Just about to the top of the ridge as the jets pass on by. Almost there. Matt hasn't let me break a step of trail the entire time. Tippy top of Snowmass. Beautiful day to boot. How would a last 14er be without a quick nip of scotch at 8:45 AM? Matt dropping in on the end of the list. It was a pleasure to share it with him. Capitol in his past, Matt skis right on by. Back to the valley. Back at the cars, my feet were wrecked. Celebration with Lou Dawson, Matt, Shane, Gerlinde, Gary and myself at no other place than whitehouse pizza. Congrats Matt on completing the old list!

Summers at Durango Mountain Resort just got even better with two new attractions and a new event that have been added to the long list of popular family activities and events....Read Full Post

With the prevalence of helmets, the most popular eyewear for skiing has quickly become goggles. The most common approach these days is to just leave them on the helmet, and just wear them no matter what the weather is like. But is this always the best option? Not necessarily. To decide which is best, I watched the group of people I know who spend the most time in the deep snow, bright sun, and variable conditions of mountain weather: The Ski Guides of CMH. Here’s what I learned: Some guides wear goggles almost all the time while skiing, but carry sunglasses for the brightest days, lunch, and relaxing. Some guides carry goggles as well as two pairs of glasses, one with dark lenses for bright conditions and one with yellow lenses for flat light conditions - skiing first in flat light is one of the big challenges of guiding, and the right eyewear makes a huge difference. And some guides, like CMH Cariboos Manager, John Mellis, love their glasses. I can’t blame him. Glasses just feel better, allow better peripheral vision, and give more sensitivity to the lovely mountain world. Johnny wears glasses when the face shots approach neck deep: Then leaves them on when the face shots start wrapping around his head: And even when the face shots reach meaty double-overhead levels, Johnny still rips in his glasses: But sometimes, when it’s snowing really hard, Johnny finally breaks out the goggles: Here are the problems with goggles: If you tend to overheat, even the best-designed goggles will fog up. Goggles don’t handle bright conditions as well as glasses. Goggles are not as comfortable as glasses. Goggles tend to restrict your vision more. Goggle lenses are not as versatile as glasses. For uphill ski touring or boot packing, goggles are too warm. Here are the problems with glasses: Glasses don’t shed the face shots as readily. Not all helmets fit well with glasses. Glasses don’t keep your face warm. Glasses fall off easier when you fall. Glasses don't protect your face as well. If you are going to carry extra eyewear while Heli-Skiing or anywhere in the backcountry, be sure to time your changes without causing other skiers to wait (or worry) for you, and without filling your glasses and goggles with snow in the process. If you would rather keep it simple while Heli-Skiing, just wear goggles and choose a lens in the middle of the hue spectrum - not too dark and not too bright. Like so many questions about the mountains, the right answer is: It depends on conditions.

Plum ski mountaineering and touring bindings, recommended top plate screws replacement for 2013 models.

The Northstar California Resort Golf Course is now open and the course is boasting a list of improvements to its greens and amenities. "The course is in peak condition heading into this season and, with all of the recent upgrades, it's more playable than ever before," said Director of Golf Pete Smith....Read Full Post

Killington Resort, Greek Peak, and Homewood Mountain Resort, as well as Utah's Alta, Brighton, Snowbird, and Solitude, were recognized for helping protect the environment by incorporating various programs and projects. The National Ski Areas Association Golden Eagle Awards were presented to each resort based on the number of annual skier visits. The categories are as follows: Small resort, up to 200,000 visits; medium resort, 200,000 to 500,000 visits; large resort, more than 500,000 visits. “Ski area environmental programs have come a long way in 20 years, particularly in terms of their level of sophistication, demonstrated results, and their concerted focus on addressing climate change,” Michael Berry, NSAA’s president, says in a statement. Here’s why each resort won: Small resort: Homewood, California — “Dramatically reduced erosion through on-mountain restoration projects, including removal and restoration of nearly four miles of unpaved on-mountain roads. The ski area also brought about a 41 percent reduction in watershed sediment in just one year thanks to a new peer-reviewed stream monitoring method developed by the project team.” Medium resort (tied): Alta, Brighton, Snowbird, Solitude, Utah — “Since 2002, these four resorts have worked together in partnership with Salt Lake City and the U.S. Forest Service to support conservation projects on the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest. The resorts have also collectively donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Cottonwood Canyons Foundation (CCF) through participation in the National Forest Foundation’s Ski Conservation Fund. The four resorts are the primary funding mechanism for CCF, which now has an annual budget of $240,000.” Medium resort (tied): Greek Peak, New York — “The (newly constructed Hope Lake Lodge) features reclaimed lumber, efficient lighting and automated controls, heat recovery, a Variable Refrigerant Volume (VRV) heat pump system, a Direct Digital Control (DDC) building management system, condensing hot water heaters, and ozone-based laundry equipment among other green implementations. These green features have resulted in annual energy savings of about 690,000 kilowatt hours (kWh). In May 2012, Hope Lake Lodge received Platinum Rating from Audubon International’s International Green Lodging Program for its eco-efficiency and environmental performance.” Large resort: Killington, Vermont — “Killington powers its K-1 Express Gondola with electricity generated directly from cows on Vermont dairy farms through Green Mountain Power’s Cow Power program. The power comes from methane released from manure as it decomposes, helping local farms, reducing carbon dioxide emissions and ultimately helping to keep snow on the mountain. Killington also offsets 100 percent of its electricity use through the purchase RECs, which in total has resulted in emissions reductions of 66,000 tons.” The ski areas were chosen by a panel of judges including Katie Wallace, New Belgium Brewing Co.; Elysa Hammond and Ryan Mayo, Clif Bar; Tiffany Beal, International Mountain Biking Association; Jim Bedwell, U.S. Forest Service; Kirk Mills, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment; Judy Dorsey, Brendle Group; Geraldine Link, NSAA.

Review of Trab Freedom backcountry and mountaineering ski, no rocker but a very nice traditional ski for touring anywhere, any time.

Blue sky, light breeze, slushy snow, very humid. No pollen, great skiing on International and Shot Six. [...]

One of the most common injuries sustained whilst skiing or snowboarding is a trauma to the head. Traumatic brain injuries sustained whilst on the slopes could be prevented simply by wearing a helme [...]

HOW TO build a pole camera in two minutes, with no tools, for under $20. What you need for this project... 1. any type of pole, rod, shaft, staff, or paddle with a diameter similar [...]