Ski

They'd have you knock 20% off your times after one lesson by getting you on a good carve on a high line and improving your tactics. And I'm pretty sure that since they use Break-A-Way gates---hinged gates that are spring loaded and can be bashed through---, none of the principles would change.

Lastly: I volunteered on a NASTAR course for twice as long as Gary and with no intentions of turning it into a business. I did it for the love of the sport. NASTAR is a fun, recreational race, but what MSRT has done is criminal. Trying to turn recreational racing into some sort of big competition, is absurd. Those BC guys don't even have official handicaps!!! How can they be pacesetters if they don't go to Hunter for Pacesetter Trials? In my opinion, so what? It's just for fun. Sorry, but NASTAR cannot be considered a measure of top youth racers, since top youth racers don't have time for NASTAR. NASTAR courses aren't difficult enough---have enough gates, have offset gates, and aren't steep enough---to separate racing abilities. NASTAR is about having fun on that day. Is that bashing NASTAR? My 4-year-old raced NASTAR. I raced NASTAR on a bunch of days. I helped check in racers at our NASTAR course almost every day I raced last season. It's MSRT I have problems with. Not NASTAR. Got it. Sorry, I posted before reading.

Rob: I'm not a role model for your kid. You are. And you sent your kid to a freestyle camp and allowed womes to rub their breasts in his face and promoted the nickname Nipples. And you have the nerve to chatize me for saying the F word when I'm trying to take quiet, private training runs, but the pain was too intense after bashing the fourth from the last gate? Sorry, pal, but you're welcome to check the ASRA results and see I didn't take my second slalom run that day. I HAD to walk away from an awesome course. I didn't stick around to say goodbye to my friends, just drove back and went to Wayne Memorial Hospital before the swelling made it too hard to drive my stick shift. I'm a contract photographer, btw, and don't get paid if I don't work. No sick leave. Think back: did I try to ignore you that night? Was I trying to stay away from meeting and chatting that night? Couldn't you take a hint from inspection, when I didn't tell you who I was was? And then FOUR different people come up to me (not even the obvious ones) to let me know that the Larick's were saying some pretty nasty things about me. So the Larick's, who rode the lift with me, watch me exit the course my final three runs. I stood up for the final gates, which immediately kills your speed and slows you down, then go report me to the NASTAR starter. Then they all go spend time with my friends and fellow message board members and tell them I cheated to try and beat a little boy. Those are the facts, Rob. Squirm all you want, Rob, but that was a crappy thing to do. The night was a little foggy to me, since I'd taken 1/2 a codeine, but I really don't think I was a jerk to you. I thought I was pretty friendly to you guys, despite how I was feeling. I listened to your hateful stories of how your boy could have creamed everyone at that ski club race---that they were a bunch of creeps. And Rob? All those people that came up to me were lying? Their individual stories were all the same. They had no ax to grind. Also, Rob: Exactly when have you or ANYONE else on this MB heard me say that I was a great ski racer? Or how about a very good ski racer? Or how about a good ski racer? I'm just a dad trying to be a ski racer with the intention of coaching. I've raced for years, but have had to relearn all the shaped ski techniques. We were taught all the things that are now considered bad habits. Look back at any of my posts, including the one's with your buddy Gary.

Yeah, I spent two summers working at his house and did finally get a job at the shop. I bought a pair of Hanson Avanti (spelling?) ski boots with my first paycheck. Imagine a boot filled with a jell flowpack that molds around your foot for a perfect fit. Then imagine that boot falling over in your trunk on the ride home from the ski hill. Then, the next day, you go to put it on and the cold jell is all on one side of the boot. It generally took two hours of blowing hot air from the car heater to reboot yourself. Nice idea, I guess. Peace, Justo.

Clinic coaches? You mean ONE clinic. MSRT. Run by a con artist. Ever hear me disparage ANY other clinic? Hmmm? He came here and told me I had no balls. He called ME out. MB Admins? These guys are my buds. I've NEVER said anything bad about Greg, Jeff, or Glenn. Ever. Or do you mean the one's that come to use for ammo to shoot down Denton's "stupid lies" by "marketing dweebs"? Race organizations? You mean MSRT? Because you've NEVER heard me say anything but glowing things about PARA, USSA, MARA, NYSEF, VARA, and even Masters. You on the other hand, have gotten a break from me. I think what you said about me behind my back was the bottom of the barrel. And it came from you and, well, someone close to you. Which is worse. Right after I crashed at a Mountain Creek slalom, I went to the hospital and had an xray and check-up. I had some sort of front-whatever dislocation of my right shoulder. With a few races left in the year, I wanted to know if I could push out of the start. And what pain I'd feel from racing. So I cut my pain killers in half and drove down to BC's NASTAR course midweek. I was feeling wicked crappy, couldn't raise my arm more than horizontal...it was a bitch just getting my clothes on. So what does everyone hear about Cole? A few days later, word gets back to me how I'm a cheater. That I cut gates trying to beat a little boy. People heard this from YOU and people "close" to you. That I was cheating like this was funny to you and people "close" to you. It was the same sort of mocking that I heard from you about your ski club that slighted you. Listen, Papa, that night wasn't about you or your kids. I was seeing if my season was over. I was scared and disappointed and mad at myself for hooking a tip in the slalom race. By the last three gates, I had to stand up and couldn't hold it. Did you happen to notice me standing up? Is that trying to beat someone? Have you ever heard me say ONE thing about ever wanting to beat ANY kid. NEVER! There's not an atom in me that desires to beat any kid period. What you did was the most offensive thing I've ever had said about me (other than from an ex-wife, of course).

The Pelican owner had tons of cash from his new, growing business...this was, uh, 1978-79, or so. He built a huge house and needed lots of work done, from landscape, to boulder moving, to pond digging. So he had job fairs at Pelican. And this new ski shop was where every kid I knew wanted to work. The deal was, though, that you had to work your way up to the sales floor. Starting job: work at his house. Dig ditches, spread stones on his 1/5 mile driveway, roof his garage...every sh*t job he could come up with. 25-30 kids would do this all summer long, in hopes of getting one of five store jobs. Oh, and the pay? $2.25/hr. cash, under the table. The newspapers made a big deal during the second summer after a bubbling vat of tar was spilled and burned some kids. Oh, and Papa? What's Latin for bite me?

Justo, man, I'm not bashing you at all. At least I don't mean to. I worked in a shop as a kid. I pretty much would have worked for free, too. It's the ski manufacturers that created the current situation. Trying to keep small shops in business, yet these are the same shops that certainly can't pay a competitive salary to it's employees. One rep just made fun of me, suggesting I'll get carpal tunnel syndrome trying to buy gear all summer online. Well, I sure can't buy ski gear at the two ski shops within 25 miles of me, since they are closed all summer. The future of ski boots will involve everything that ABBF certified stores cuurently do, but through the mail. There's at least 20 online places that do 3D footbed molds. And as more people buy boots online or just expect a better fit than they get in their shops, the more business these places will get. But listen, Justo: every kid that works in a shop is okay by me. But someday I'll share my personal story about the founder of Pelican Ski Shop in Whitehouse, NJ, and what that sleezeball used to do to new hires. Don't worry, Think, his odd, slave labor practice was documented in the newspapers.

The ski manufacturing industry is unique. They work very hard to protect small ski shops. They refuse to sell to the big chains, such as Dick's, let alone Walmart. If Atomic allowed Walmart to carry skis, they would buy in tremendous quantity and sell GS:11's at a 10% markup, as opposed to ski shops 50% to 300%. I'm really not interested in subsidizing ski shops. Why would I want to pay an extra $200 for my skis to keep a ski shop in business? As Dthmtl says, times are changing...online outlet stores cannot be stopped, no matter how hard ski shops kick and scream. Did I read a ski shop rep tell us that you need a ski shop to get a good fit? That's a joke. You need a great bootfitter to get a good fit. I have easy feet and am comfortable with an across the board mid-size 28.5 boot. A large toe box boot is bad for me, as are boots with narrow toe boxes. But I know my size and would get a molded custom footbed ONLINE if I had problems. They send you the mold, then you step on it and send it back. You get a custom footbed in the mail, and they have an amazing success rate. I bought boots for my oldest at The Loft a few years ago and had to pay $20 extra for two lifters. What a rip-off that was. If ski shops had great boot fitters rather than minimum wage kids, then they'd have an arguement. In reality, go walk into Pelican's boot department and see who helps you. Or a few days ago at The Loft. That's where I was. I wanted to check out Nordica's new boot. A real boot fitter is nearly a podiatrist...and if you don't spend at least 30 minutes walking around and heating up that boot, then what you are buying is nothing resembling what you are going to be skiing in. Pay a little more? Skifreak has new GS:11's and race 4.12 bindings for $329 (I believe). Jeff and I have new GS:11 race stocks for $279. My new Atomic 6.14 race bindings were $99. My wife's new Atomic B7W skis with bindings were $248. Our neighbor's kids bought park skis: New Line 1260 Twin Tips for $133 and 2005 Line Skogen Sprang Pro Model 158's for $379. I dare any ski shop to post their prices for that gear. Go ahead, let's hear it!! Bottom line, guys. The Ski Bum has little kid ski/binding/boot seasonal rentals for $130. But theskibum mocked me when he thought I put my kid in a cheapo helmet that was dangerous around 200lb newbies. So how much is the tag on for The Ski Bum junior helmet? Do you strongly recommend helmets for kids that are renting seasonally? You seemed pretty concerned in your post about it. If so, what does that bring the $130 package to? $200? $250? I'm still waiting to hear how many front entry seasonal rental boots you have in Mondo 19 and under. Just tell us the cost! Why the secrecy? I couldn't find a single price on your website. Why not? EBay and other internet sources are the great equalizer. Equiped with a minimum of knowledge, it takes away all that car salesman crap that I hate. I had a non-skier correctly outfit her two kids online in 38 minutes by simply following four basic sizing steps. Her gear would be on her doorstep tomorrow. No carpal tunnel syndrome. Just a few hundred dollars saved. I'm starting to hear music...it's singing...a woman's voice singing for the ski shops...uh oh, I think it's the fat lady singing.

Yeah, but Jeff's in charge of Blue ...I still can't get over the hate tonight. Hate from someone I never expected it out of. Crazy hate. Phil's just convinced our hills are a waste of time...I sure don't think he's about to snap and open fire. Man, there's a major difference.

The better the snow---meaning more groomed and not icy---the easier it is. Even someone that's just barely a blue square skier will do just fine. Powder days are bad, while slush days are the worst. Snow builds up in the wedge and you'll have to keep picking them up and lifting them over their plowed up snow.

The roads to Elk aren't hilly at all; no steep grades. It's that they are narrow country roads that run along wide open farms and fields and there isn't much snow fencing. The snow just drifts constantly, if it's windy.

Ha, well, yeah! The Kid Ski Apple Rise system is the starting point for all parents. The tip-lock, leash, kiddie lift, and stick are a must. Don't waste money on the plastic skis...plus non-metal edge skis aren't slope legal anyway. http://www.kid-ski.com/ Grab her a pair of Atomic Race 5's in 70cm's, or a comparable ski. Rear entry boots are fine for the first season, but she'll do much better with front entries by next season. Buy a gross of heat packs. Buy a gross of Skittles or other candy she likes. They are for the top of the lift, before you start down. With tip locks (don't bother with the wedge bar, it's ungainly and too wide for most little girls), she will be able to ski down any slope you are able to go with her. Make sure to unclip them and let her cruise around your carpeted living room. The idea behind a ski leash is for you to turn the kids hips, so they are making the turns. It's not to be used simply as a break. But the first few times out, IT IS A BREAK AND MEANT FOR CONTROLLING SPEED. The kiddie lift allows you to pick her up and place her on the chairlift. It's an awesome piece of gear. My 5-year-old could ski diamond as a 4-year-old, but is still two years from being able to jump up on a lift. I even used to stop with 100 yards or so of skiable terrain left, pack away her leash, then pick her up by her kiddie lift (again, this is the harness used to carry and lift a child) and ski to the lift line. No poles for kids, of course. They get in the way and the kids use them as weapons or bug appendages. So pick a sunny warm day. Put the ski stick in one hand and pick her up with the other. Skate to the beginner lift. You hold the handle of the kiddie lift all the way up and she doesn't touch the snow when getting off until you've cleared the lift area. Put the stick between her legs and hold it like you were going to paddle a canoe. Push off and she'll ski down next to you. Oh, and while she's doing this, check to see if she's awake. Kids are totally under your control while on a stick and don't have to be awake. My daughter skied WAY before she walked. How strong are your hip flexers? Trust me, they'll be really strong by January. You'll be snow plowing next to her. Repeat 30 times. Love it. Then it gets more fun. Put the stick in your car and grab the leash. You'll still be snow plowing, but now she'll have some freedom and responsibilty. She will turn in the direction she chooses. Have her lean forward a bit and put her hands on her thighs. Have her press her right hand on her right thigh and she'll find she turns left. This is when she'll get it. This is a MAGIC time. Gently help her turn by steering the leash, just like a horse. The leash tucks into a front pouch on her belly. It's easy to take out and then pop back in. I always stopped with enough room to put it away and then get enough speed to ski directly to the lift line while holding her off the snow. Repeat 100 times. Then unclip the tip clips. Let her turn. Let some slack in the leash. Repeat 100 times. Then let her take the leash off. BTW, if your ski area has NASTAR, take her down it with the leash. Let the people know in the start shack that you'll be tripping the wand with her. Shout "right, right, right", or "left, left, left." ---- I'm sure I'll have more to add. Tons of stuff. But does this help?

You've come to the conclusion that Woodbury's early opening is "great". My job is now done. Eh, but would you like some tips on teaching 4-year-old's? I'd be most happy to share what I've experienced.

Want something done right? Send a Montager!

No you didn't. This is what you said: "Depends on where you live, I guess. It's usually only a small patch (not full vertical). It's a bit amusing how they claim to "beat" Killington some years though. Killington's new policy is to only open when they have top-to-bottom terrain. It's not a fair comparison..." You said it was only a claim that they beat KMart open and that amused you. I said it was a fact. My brother-in-law took his two boys to Woobury for their opener last season. They rode the chair and had a blast. No pick-up trucks, no hiking. They spent the day skiing at Woodbury, while KMart was still closed. It's not just my "opinion" that Woodbury opened first. It does appear, though, that it is your "opinion" that skiing a place that has only a couple hundred vert doesn't count as skiing.

But 'Bum, you're not going to support a message board where there's a guy that posts he thinks there's a cheaper alternative to seasonal rentals? I'm sorry, then, to have expressed what I've found to work. My intention wasn't to simply step on toes, or p*ss you off. Every day I'm at our little ski hill, I hear parents talking about how expensive rental gear is. These are generally upper-income NY families that have a vacation home in the gated community where I live. A while back, skiing replaced golfing as the sport having the highest income among participants. I wonder how much that has to do with the expense of the sport? In any event, my intention is only to help remove one of the elements that makes skiing prohibitive for kids in our area.

Woodbury's terrain was called "a tiny patch", when in fact it was top to bottom, completely lift serviced skiing. In the past, Woodbury also had a "build your own hit" policy, with shovels scattered about. Is rushing to beat KMart open "sticking it" to them? I like to think so. I mean, wouldn't it have seemed lame for KMart to be advertising the 'Beast in the East First to Open', when they weren't? And who ever heard of Woodbury before they started beating KMart open? Good for Woodbury.

I don't disagree that buying gear online doesn't do it by itself. And selling it to make all the money back is also a few minutes work. But if you have three kids and want them outfitted (with helmets!), then you're looking at over $600 a year in leasing. And is the statement "and you won't get carpal tunnel syndrome from buying ski gear on ebay all summer" accurate? Is there any danger of getting CTS? Does it take "all summer" to order gear on eBay? And 170cm ADULT skis will ship USPS Parcel Post from Denver for $14.00, although $20 is pretty standard. If you walk into a PA ski shop and buy $300 skis, you'll pay $18.00 in sales tax, plus $3.00 for the gas. No sales tax or gas online. (BTW, I left out of my post "How to measure for a helmet": put a string around your kid's head, then measure the string and convert to cm's. Simple.) Just for fun, this morning I asked a friend that doesn't ski and has two kids to read my post and see if she could pick out skis and boots in the proper size on eBay. I also asked her to watch the clock. She didn't buy anything, but got to the point in each eBay transaction where all she had to do was hit the "Buy it Now" feature. It took her 38 minutes to find the correct ski lengths, binding, boots, and helmets. Since her kids have never skied, she decided on used gear. Total coast for two junior packages with helmets: $192. Price she could resell them next fall: $192.

Phil, I think it's VERY cool that you stuck around after I smacked you for calling me too poor and inept to be able to ski up north. And if you're willing to get past me calling you a few names, then maybe we'll take a run someday and have a laugh. It's a small world, right?

I respect that opinion, Papa. I disagree, but respect it. Firstly, consider what I actually said: that The Ski Bum's prices were extremely high. A 300% markup. This is a fact and not me just throwing up numbers to make an arguement. And renting straight skis to ANYONE is detrimental. Just how old are their seasonal rentals that they are straight skis? 10 years? 15 years? I think that's unfair, but they feel like they have no competition and can get away with it. It's a free market. But that doesn't mean people can't speak up about it, does it? And as far as I'm concerned, if someone is making the effort to take their kid skiing enough to warrant seasonal gear, wouldn't they be interested in knowing it can be easily found online? There's no secret or magic to junior gear. Hold a tape measure from their toes to their chin, then convert to centimeters. Bingo! You've just done the hard part! Can't convert cm to inches? I'll make it easy. Go here: http://www.onlineconversion.com/length_common.htm Now, want to pay me $200 extra to tell you that if it's 40 inches from your kids toes to his chin, then you buy 100cm skis? Is Mondo sizing a confusing term? How about paying me the extra $200 for this chart: http://sunlightsports.com/Ask%20Bob/winter/bobalpsize.html Easy? Couldn't be easier. If your kid wears a size 2 shoe, they wear a Mondo 20 boot. If they wear a size 4 shoe, then buy a Mondo 22 boot. Bindings? Junior bindings are junior bindings. No magic. Just look for the following: "Junior bindings". Like, if you want milk, you buy the carton that says "milk". Want to pay me the extra $200 for that nugget of advise? ******************* People have become amazingly savy when it comes to the internet and places like eBay. If you delete my wise-ass remarks from the above text, you'll be left with all you need to quickly and cheaply outfit a kid online. People can spend $300 for that new junior package at a ski shop or $250 EVERY YEAR for The Ski Bum package with the helmet. Or they can follow MY simple sizing links and spend $100, with the option of being able to resell it on eBay and get EVERY penny back. Yes, free ski gear with 20 minutes worth of effort. Oh, and worried about growing feet? Like the idea of being able to return your boots for the next size up? Spending $40 or more a year at a shop is one option...I chose to buy Mondo 18 and 19 boots for this and next season. Total cost? $37.50. If I wanted "rental quality" boots, I could buy them for $10 each pre-season.

BTW, before anyone buys any new or used camera gear, check out: http://www.keh.com/hmpg/index.cfm It's a huge online shop in Atlanta that newspaper photogs have used for years. Their rating on used gear is exact. They'll list, for example, a Canon 28 f2.8 lens, then give prices for NEW, LIKE NEW, EXCELLENT, all the way down to BARGAIN. So you can pay $20 for a beat-up bargain lens, or $100 for a Like New one. I've bought gear from them for 10 years and never once had a problem.

$500 is expensive for a 28-135 zoom, yes. But I used to use our newspaper pool lenses that included a 600 f/4, 400 f/2.8, and a 300 f/2.8...I was just pricing a used 400 f2.8 and will have to spend $2,500, or so. It's all relative, I guess.

So does anyone else think it's cool that a little ski area spends a chunk of their budget to lay down some man-made snow to open earlier than the giant Killington? Am I alone in thinking it's awesome that they then stick that in the face of a ski area that was feeling over-taxed by their state so threatened to try to secede from Vermont and become New Hampshire? For years, KMart opened a tiny patch that involved jumping into a truck to get to the lift service, just so they could say they were first to open. But when a ski area in Connecticut does it, some people are "amused" by their "claim" to beat Killington and it's not "fair". Poor, poor KMart, I say. I APPLAUD little ski areas that rush to open and cause a stir. How great is it that KMart had to change their early season marketing and drop their own claims of first to open? "Well, for years we rushed to open a little stretch of early season snow in order to say we were the first to open in the East. But since a little ski area has been beating us to it, 'first to open' claims no longer count." So PA has steeper terrain than KMart and CT opens earlier. And some people have a really hard time accepting those facts...

Looks like the Catskills to me...

Nice towel.