Ski

Wow, yeah, I forgot about that.

Unless ski manufacturers open their inventory to chain stores, you'll eventually buy all your skis online. Even the venerable Atomic is shooting itself in the foot by trying to keep little shops open. And typical ski shop prices chase new skiers away from the sport, including potential racers. The people that visit our ski hill are mostly NYers, with vacation homes in our community. They put their kids on old, hand me down straight skis and the kids suffer through every run. I can't begin to tell you how much easier it is to teach a group of kids on the proper ski gear.... And the most common answer to why the kids of people with $400,000 vacation homes use 20 yr old crap skis is that new ski gear is too expensive. They also complain that shops are often too far from their homes and have sketchy hours. And so I help solve their problem.

We have a small ski area in our gated community. It's not much more than 120' vert, with a double chair and a J bar. It's an awesome grass ski hill, though...

Wow, $50? That's crazy. It's still $25 at Bear Creek Ski Shop, near Montage. I was paying $25 back in the 90's...the mounting price issue may disappear as skis end up with integrated bindings, where it takes two minutes to set them up.

One person on Earth under age 90 that's yet to figure out eBay. Rob, you should probably lay low about that...

Hey, Ted, some people can't get over the fact that they had a bad experience online, while the REST OF THE WORLD buys and sells skis online everyday THOUSANDS of times. I've bought over 100 skis on eBay and NEVER had a problem. If there's ever a question, I ask BEFORE buying. I buy for me, my family, friends, and to help out our local private ski hill. And as you know, most skis are made in shady places like Europe.... Make sure you're buying exactly what you want...confirm the shipping price if it's not listed...buy from someone with good feedback...AND JUST GO FOR IT! If it's a regulat eBay seller, you are protected by eBay from a bad deal. If you use your credit card, then you're protected by that. I usually pay 1/3 the price of a shop. A shop would have to have one HELL of a warranty for me to want to blow an extra $400. And I've been skiing a long, long time and NEVER had a ski fall apart. Good luck!

Ha, I want to ask his dad what he uses. Sexkitten: at the very least, you should use a cheap wipe-on every day out. Pick up a bottle of universal paste and just hit your bases as you unload your car in the morning...takes a minute per ski. The hot wax you had done at the start of the season lasted until the end of your first day. You've been burning your bases ever since. You won't let that happen again next season, right?

The Catskills will be in spring condition...lots of snow and good coverage, but slushy by noon. I just got off the phone with 'Dude, who was racing yesterday at Whiteface and Gore this morning...course conditions were really tough and they had to drop a lot of salt (which hardens the surface). He's still on the road but should have a good first hand account for Upstate NY a little later tonight...

Seems like it's snowed more this spring than all winter...

Hehehehe... Isn't DaveK at a waterpark in Arizona, now? Didn't they just have a like half a year without any rain, so there's major water restrictions? Karma.

Skifreak, your DaveK avatar is messing with my head.

So I couldn't figure out the rear brake wiring for my Jeep and took it into the shop Friday morning, before my drive down to Blue. When I go to pick it up around noon, the mechanic calls me over to a corner of the garage and tells me he tucked my "stuff" under the passenger seat. I'm a regular customer of the place and they all know me pretty well. "Stuff?" I asked. "Yeah, Cole, you gotta be more careful," he whispers. WTF, I think, and go over to my Jeep and rumage around under the seat for what he's talking about. "D'oh!" I pull out a plastic baggie marked "100 grams", stuffed with a fine white powder that I always keep next to my quick edge tuner on my passenger seat. "It's ski wax," I tell my mechanic, who just winks at me, like I'm full of sh*t. Ironically, I have found it to be pretty addictive, but only if it's over 25 degrees. Keep and eye on eBay for it...there's two guys that sell comparable pure fluoros, but I like the Dr. D stuff better, plus he's from PA. I tested both at over 60mph and the Dr. D stuff was noticeably faster. On a typical weeknight Blue NASTAR course, it'll shave .5 seconds; on Montage's tuck course, it's easily .75 seconds faster. I use the 5-micron fluoro powder. Or just hit him up at: http://www.racewax.com/ (Go to "products", then click on "Fluoro Powder & MicroFibers") This is just an overlay that you cork on at the start area, but he's got equivalent low and high fluoro "hot waxes" much cheaper than the Swix I've been using, but there was no slightly funny story to go along with it.

Hey, WELCOME Concussion Ted!!!!

Sexkitten, if you enter and win a t-shirt, it might get wet, right?

Thanks for the head's up, Beachie.

At his size, I'd probably still go 180...I'm assuming he's also going to want to ski all-mountain stuff. A softer flexing ski like the GS:9 in 180 is what I'm thinking...

A 180cm 'off the rack' GS ski should be about right.

Congrats, Sib!

I'm coming down to close the place on Sunday.

No, but I'll head down on March 34th.

You can definitely crash in your car at the Sugarbush Inn. There's traffic in and out until fairly late because of the restaurant, plus the vehicles in the lot from the Inn. After turning left onto the access road, it's a big old building on the right, just before the right turn to Mt. Ellen.

Sorry, I don't know of any other company that offers variable settings. Atomicskier Jeff knows...shoot him a PM.

IDK, the only way I ever drink beer is with two shots of vodka in it. They all taste the same to me.

Although the "much anticipated Mid-March" COLD ENOUGH FOR SNOWMAKING TEMPS did arrive. Since when did the Poconos, with it's average annual snowfall of 50", start counting on Nor'easters?

Something's up.