Legendary skier and Jackson Hole local Doug Coombs was inducted into the Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame. Coombs died three years ago while skiing near La Grave resort in France. He was trying to reach a friend who’d slid out of view when his skis couldn’t hold an edge on a rocks just beneath a dusting of snow. Both men died.
Coombs’ induction certainly isn’t a surprise. The man’s skiing accomplishments the world over are second to none. But let’s say you want to take a visit to the U.S. National Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame. It must be located either in a bustling city or a suitable mountain town? Nope. The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame is tucked away in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in the town Ishpeming, population 6,686. Why? Well, it’s claimed as the ‘birthplace of organized skiing’ in the United States, and the U.P. coalition was formed back in 1905, before common sense existed.
Breckenridge Ski Resort in Colorado wants to give something back to the community. Going forward, skiers who arrive at the hill with more than four people in their vehicle will be charged half-price for parking on weekends and will receive free parking weekdays. So you're telling me that Breckenridge actually charges to use their parking lot? This must be a Colorado move that helps cover the difference between their $400 season passes and the outrageous prices everyone else pays. Instead of charging at all they should offer the spots next to the slopeside bar to carpoolers while solo drivers and anyone in a vehicle that gets worse than 12mpg has to walk a mile in ski boots.
And why wouldn’t people in Breck want to carpool? Better hotboxing opportunities. Though the vote to legalize marijuana was largely symbolic (read: “meaningless”) you half expect the local police to take the hint and spend more time sleeping in their cruisers.
We tend toward hyperbole and humor here at GoBlog, because it helps distract readers from the bad writing and lack of substance we generally provide. Yet, strangely, we're one of the largest outdoor blogs around, so what does that say about you, gentle readers? But we digress. If you read about the world's most expensive ski boots we posted about a few weeks ago, and decided you must have a pair, why not add a pair of the world's lightest powder skis to your shopping list? Weighing in at 2000 grams (4.3lbs) for a pair of 175s, the Black Powder aim to be the GoBlog of mountaineering skis: fast, light, good in the sack on the mountain. Wooo. From their press release:
Is ultra-light so that the energy saved on the way up
leaves you the strength to enjoy the descent
Is not too long in order to facilitate kick turns while
climbing, to be maneuverable during the descent
and to move easily around obstacles (narrow
corridors, trees)
Its width at the waist is compatible with all
crampons
The width at the tip allows easy lift off of powder,
while remaining reasonably narrow to break trail on
the way up
How did they accomplish this feat of engineering marvel? Again, we defer to their press release:
The BLACK POWDER is a ski with a "partial core"
(AlpControl patent) which is shorter than the ski, so that
the upper and lower layers of carbon sandwich come
together to form carbon/epoxy composite monoblocs at
the tail and spatula.
Because a ski should remain flexible, we ruled out fibers
too rigid (high modulus) and instead selected the strongest "high tensile" fiber: the Toray T700S.
The T700S is one of the rare fibers in the world with a rate of elongation before break well above 2%, ensuring a high tolerance to shock.
The catch is you need to use their binding it appears, the Mountain Spring, which secure your plastics to the skis. Alright, enough shop talk. Suffice it to say they were a finalist for an ISPO this year. Read about them yourself on the AlpsControl website. Download their the Black Powder techncial spec doc and press release here (pdf).
A recent trip to my parents' home to unload my gear after a trip made it very apparent that I have bags and bags of gear and no real reason to use it anymore, even tho I just unloaded a ton of stuff on the Sherps. Apart from a quick 3 week jaunt in the mountains this summer, my last major climb was in 2004, and that was Denali, which I consider expedition-lite. I have bags of underwear, socks, jackets, packs, bags, etc. The sad thing is, I'm still wearing the exact same Patagonia Capilene top and tights I've had since Everest 1999. In fact, on that trip, I brought tons of undies/socks/apparel choices and basically wore the same stuff everyday. I washed my outfit instead of cracking open brand new stuff and ended up giving all my stuff to the Sherps. Since, I've worn this same outfit on every trip - I'm weird like that. Honestly, while TNF keeps giving me this crap and my parents are relentlessly decked out in the latest gear, there is no place to put this crap. I could care less, gear is gear - my kingdom for someone who can make the perfect glove. Enter Aether Apparel. Aether is much like the Isaora post before, beautiful website, buy direct, trop cher clothes - outdoor clothes with a bit more style than a huge TNF logo on the chest. No reviews yet on the gear since I rarely review non-TNF stuff, but stuff looks pretty good. Here's a bit about the founders and why this was created.
We are Palmer West and Jonah Smith, and up until recently we were just two film producers in Los Angeles making the kinds of movies we wanted to see. We created Aether because we felt there was a gap in the market. As outdoor sport enthusiasts, we found our shopping options were often limited when looking for new gear. We could either go to the obvious performance-driven clothing lines, thus sacrificing design and style, or shop the more aesthetically pleasing lines and sacrifice performance. Being in our mid-thirties, we are no longer comfortable with the youth-oriented brands that made us look like teenagers on the ski slopes. To us, design and function should be equal.
500. It's a pretty big number. I can remember the day I wrote my first post, I was a mere sprout. I thought my 500th post would be something more substantial, racy, controversial, perverted, but I guess I have to settle on writing about a coat. Isaora has harnessed NASA technology into a cold weather coat.
We live for the edges—the cleanest lines, the most innovative fabrics, the most challenging ride. We’re independent adventure-seekers, equally at home on concrete or snow, constantly on the move, forward-looking and mercurial. At once youthful and sophisticated, taking equal delight in both journey and destination. Global citizens, ready to jet off to Hokkaido or Valdez at a moment’s notice. We’ve left behind our anti- establishment aspirations; we live where the forces of nature meet the forces of fashion.
Whether you leave two tracks in the snow or one, whether you confront the elements on Alaska’s Chugach steeps or a driving rainstorm in Manhattan, ISAORA provides style, performance, and protection wherever your adventure takes you.
And… At ISAORA we take our ecological footprint seriously and are always looking for ways to reduce our environmental impact. We believe everyone should do their part, and we like people who are doing theirs.
The Cloud jacket has phase change materials that NASA developed for space suits, basically a type of cotton that changes properties depending on the temperature, close knit when cold, open knit when warm. Gimmicky? I guess so, but the founders seem to be pretty core snowboarders, so give a shot. The hit to your pocketbook is inherent.
Note to self: Break news earlier. Sorry for the delay, since this has been going on since Oct. 1: Every day between Oct. 1 and Dec. 1 -- or all that time you're waiting for the slopes to get into actual skiing shape -- Warren Miller Entertainment (and Ski and Skiing Magazines) are giving away a prize to a lucky winner. Skis, ski trips, resort packages, etc., if you visit this web site and do what they ask. In other news, Dynasty is showing all around the country over the next couple months, which in Colorado usually means some cheap lift ticket coupons. Here's the trailer:
With the beginning of ski season comes the beginning of ski porn season. Jeremy Jones ditches helicopters and snowmobiles for something more meaningful.
A friend who used to work in the industry told me that the approximate media value of being the first ski resort in America to open is $1 million. I don't know who the market is for Arapahoe Basin and Loveland, besides every person on Colorado's Front Range who loves to ski when they go to a ski resort, instead of buying furry boots and eating at restaurants that use cloth napkins. And those people already know about A-Basin and Loveland. Anyway, it appears the time is upon us, in which I begrudgingly deliver the news that Loveland Ski Area will be the first ski resort in America to open today, and a couple thousand people will show up to get some core shots on their (hopefully old) skis during a handful of rides down the "White Ribbon of Death." Nate "Nate Dogggg" Nadler, the furniture delivery guy who's been on the first chair in Colorado every year for the past 14 years, will probably show up again and get his photo on the front page of the Denver Post. Arapahoe Basin won't open until Friday, or approximately 60 days before the skiing is actually worth a shit.
Pretty scary video here, but a good tutorial for what to do and what not to do. Besides the dood who gets buried, pretty systematic, all in all, a job well done.
Seriously? You going to wear these on the slopes? How about you over there? Maybe you? Seriously? Like we said, coming soon to a Sporting Authority near you. Nike needs to ditch the "exclusive" store strategy and just whore them out at Sports Authority, where they belong. Need a pair of these Zoom Kaijus? Visit the Nike site to find a place to buy them.
no real reason to use it anymore, even tho I just unloaded a ton of stuff on the Sherps. Apart from a quick 3 week jaunt in the mountains this summer, my last major climb was in 2004, and that was Denali, which I consider expedition-lite. I have bags of underwear, socks, jackets, packs, bags, etc. The sad thing is, I'm still wearing the exact same Patagonia Capilene top and tights I've had since Everest 1999. In fact, on that trip, I brought tons of undies/socks/apparel choices and basically wore the same stuff everyday. I washed my outfit instead of cracking open brand new stuff and ended up giving all my stuff to the Sherps. Since, I've worn this same outfit on every trip - I'm weird like that. Honestly, while TNF keeps giving me this crap and my parents are relentlessly decked out in the latest gear, there is no place to put this crap. I could care less, gear is gear - my kingdom for someone who can make the perfect glove. Enter Aether Apparel. Aether is much like the 
would be something more substantial, racy, controversial, perverted, but I guess I have to settle on writing about a coat. 
A friend who used to work in the industry told me that the approximate media value of being the first ski resort in America to open is $1 million. I don't know who the market is for Arapahoe Basin and Loveland, besides every person on Colorado's Front Range who loves to ski when they go to a ski resort, instead of buying furry boots and eating at restaurants that use cloth napkins. And those people already know about A-Basin and Loveland. Anyway, it appears the time is upon us, in which I begrudgingly deliver the news that 
