AtomicSkier

weather is looking good for tonight...i'm going to try to get up there a little earlier today so i can do at least one course inspection.

actually, i was going to say she skis like GSS with her arms flailing BTW, what's the purpose of blurring her name when I could just...go on their website?

Paging Ride Delaware...I sent you a PM.

BTW...someone said "root should be a moderhater" while having beers at Blue. Done.

Well now I can call you to chat at any time. Ask Toast what happens when GSS gets a hold of someone's #

Got an email at 9:05pm tonight: Dear Jeff: Just wanted to let you know you were just left a 0:09 long message (number 1) in mailbox 44902 from M KRSULICH, on Saturday, February 04, 2012 at 09:05:51 PM so you might want to check it when you get a chance. The message is attached, or try the web interface http://a.lehigh.edu Thanks! --Asterisk What did you want to talk about?

i usually like to make fun of smartass, but the Kendo is the same construction at the Mantra's, just slightly narrower. So, in that case, no way it's a noodle. Mantra's are too stiff/snappy for skiing variable conditions which is why I only ski on it hard pack days at Blue, doesn't see much spring action. JohnnyLaw get the fucking titty sparkles out of your eyes. Pretty sure they're made in China. Mantra = Mini Katana (metal) Shiro = Mini Kuro (carbon) As much as I love big beefy skis made of metal, I prefer the dampening characteristics of the carbon. Still plenty of power and stiffness, but none of the bucking that is associated with skiing my Mantra's in variable conditions. One of the downsides of the Katana for me. No metal in pow skis for me. Got's were carbon as well.

Ok...so here is my take on the Shiro's.... Firstly, they're flat underfoot and rockered tip/tail. 119mm under foot, 150ish in the tip. 30m radius at 193cm. There really wasn't another other question about what ski I was going to get, because nothing out there really matched those specs (maybe a Blizzard that PhilPug suggested) as they were exactly what I was looking for. A normal camber underfoot early rise tip/tail wasn't an option because what's the point? It's not great at groomers and it's not great in powder. Why sacrifice? It can't do either well, and does mediocre at both. My first runs on them were at Blue. I was expecting a noodle with a floppy tip and no control or power. I was surprised...big time. My first few turns were down Lazy Mile, and wow, did they truck. But I was also surprised how easy they were to turn on groomers. They're the same radius as my Gotama's, but they were noticeably quicker edge to edge, with an additional 13mm underfoot. You do notice the width though, as you can feel how far you are off the snow when on edge. More on that later. Because they're not crazy rockered, you can still get the whole running length on the snow at moderate speeds when on edge. Fast forward to Jackson Hole. 80" in 8 days...great test of the skis. The difference was amazing in comparison to my non-rockered 190cm 106mm 30m Gotamas. The Gotamas plow through the snow while the Shiro's ride on top of it. It was instantly apparent how the rocker does an awesome job of keeping the tip up, allowing you to charge straight down the fall line in near any condition. The rocker helps manuever the 193cm boards in tighter spots, but in the really tight chutes and trees, I *do* wish I had the 183cm skis. But, trees aren't my thing, I prefer wide open faces where I can fly, hence, my choice for the 193cm. Also, the length is great for stability in chowder. At 119mm, they're pretty damn wide. You can really feel the width when you get your feet closer together to ski some bumpier terrain or make some quick turns. I could hear my skis clanking together. Not really a problem, just an observation. On some fast groomers at JH, I prefer the Got's for arcing as hard as I can, but for getting back to the lift in chowdered up shit on Groomers...give me the Gots so I can fly over it all. They're not floopy noodles at all, quite a bit of power, but very forgiving thanks to the rockered tip and tail. I'll never ski the Gots again in pow.

I didn't realize a jibhonk could be pretty quick ...you used to race on BMR, right?

Awesome trip report guys...

He finished two runs though. That's what matters.

Interesting night...Super fast slick snow...great racing conditions. Funny how Razor Back to the bottom of Razors Edge is only 2 seconds longer than Raceway was. Just shows how fast you're going on Razors in comparison. My first race run of the year I wasn't on my game, and came over the last headwall hauling ass and just couldn't make the gates so I just skied out for a sweet 1:30 time. Second run on the red course, I nailed the top section, scrubbed some speed before the headwall and just murdered the gates on the headwall barely holding on for the last gate to ski the 3rd fastest time on the red course. Unfortunately, we didn't have 5 racers complete two runs, so we had to count a 1:30 in there which put us way back. Hopefully next week 5 will finish and we'll have a much better ranking. BTW, Nice spelling of my last name Mbike-Mike

in all seriousness...we'd just need it done once...at the end of the night, someone to ski down with jackets in hand to the bottom of razors and throw them on the ground.

Razors looked SLICK today. No chance of ruts forming today. I was on my slalom skis to get the feel back. Should be interesting tomorrow.

Today (1/29) was also good. I got on the snow around 10:15am after seeing AngryHugo in the lot. I parked next to Root, and quickly joined up Root, JLaw, Chippy, and You-Gene. I needed to get some turns on my slalom sticks for tomorrow's race night, so to Lazy Mile we went, which also happened to be the ROTD. JLaw had just gotten pulled over for fast skiing on Paradise and got put in the database shortly before I met up with them. Apparently You-Gene got a little fired up over the situation...he's not a guy I'd want in my face Lazy mile was smooth, fast and grippy. I made about 1000 turns on my slalom skis in the 1hr20min session I put in. Razors was closed due to a J1/2 race (I assume). Switchback apparently was cookied up, but I only skied Lazy -> Falls. Dreamweaver looked nice, but Nightmare was very narrow due to the bumps. Nice quick session in the sun and a beer in the parking lot with Root and Chippy. Nice being back at Blue

...waiting for action shots...enough of this scenery shit.

I'll be there late morning. Going to let the sun come out and let the race team get off of Razors before I get there. Need to get on the slalom skis.

Looks/sounds awesome...get some actions shots of the shady bunch today.

I'll type a full report when I return to my laptop but a few word about the Shiro's: fucking awesome. I skied Gots after skiing Shiro's...sucks in comparison. Love the width and rocker. So glad I made the purchase.

A drunk Phillycore...lol..please take video. If he starts talking about loose women, it's a good story.

Why aren't you guys drunk yet?

They had the bottom lodge closed but also closed the lot? That's lame. Years past they've kept the lot open.

Enjoy PC!

At MDW? No problem. ORD? Yes problem.

That's what snow tires are for