The 2016-17 Snow Skiing thread

sunvalleylaw said:
The insane stuff, with very high exposure and consequences, is as far as I am concerned, for those without families to support. I have very mixed feelings about the Shane McConkey, "died what he loved doing" thing. I mean yes, you can hit a tree wrong inbounds, or get caught in a rogue avalanche or tree well on any given day, but one can certainly avoid unnecessary risk with focus on some education and basics. and don't go alone, out in the trees and such.

There is a lot of fun to be had inbounds, or in a properly prepared group in the backcountry, etc. But for me, right now, I don't have time to get prepared enough to really do serious backcountry requiring true pit digging, etc. I would like to and perhaps some of that is coming, but to do it right takes more time than I typically have. I am mostly a ski area boy, though I do love to be out in the off piste, and trees. Small jumps here and there for me off of little features, but no big hucks, particularly over big cliffs.
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My knees can't take it any more.
I'm 46 years old, and I avoid the "sick shit".......because it hurts a lot more than it used to.
I'm more of a "nice, long blue-square, crusing kind of trail" dude these days. If the conditions are particularly favorable, I don't mind the double-black diamonds, but they're immediately followed by some down-time and a few beers in the lodge. I do like a nice, long, wide-open steep black, but I want to fly....not short-stop turning over bumps and around moguls and shit. Probably why I enjoy those old Rossignols more than the stiffer (albeit newer) Atomics.

I like what I like. And I like what is comfortable and fun these days. I don't need to be the Animal anymore (btw....my ski nickname over the radio is Kong....probably for a good reason.). It just hurts too much to be fun any more. Can I do it? Sure. Once....but then I am ruined for the rest of the day.
Kind of like that old adage that it isn't the speed that kills you, it's that sudden stop. And I'm not in for sore knees, a stiff back and burnt leg muscles for the next few days.....

Sucks getting old, I guess.
:annoyed:

I used to buy old rental skis on Ebay. On of my favorite pairs of all time was a pair of wood-cored K2 III's in the American Flag motif with some shit-box bindings on them. Got them for $27 shipped from Park City, who were selling them for $1 on the Bay. I skied them for 2 years before the bindings actually gave out.
($1 for the skis, and $26 for shipping, btw....)
Great skis, but not worth fixing/replacing the crap bindings on them.
I actually took a Sharpie and in a drunken rage at Sugarloaf wrote "BDM" on the top of them.
So every time I looked down, I would see that and be encouraged to just "Go For It!"
"BDM" = Big Dick Mentality.

Go big or go home, bitches! Some colossal wipeouts on those bad-boys. I remember my buddy saying when he had to look UP to see how far in the air I actually was, he knew I was out of control. Yeah...that was me. East Coast insanity.

That guy is gone, unfortunately. Or fortunately, depending on how you look at it.
 
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Was up at Dollar (the beginner hill) teaching today. Will be teaching all week. Will get back to Baldy to teach there day after tomorrow. Conditions are great!
 
I can't wait til I can get away for a week boarding in the mountains. I learnt to snowboard over the past few months and it's so much fun on the indoor slopes but I want more runs and variety already!
 
Switched over from mashed potatoes to sheets of ice. Still skiable.
 

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Was out on the hill a whole lot the last couple weeks. Quite a bit of teaching, and some family time. Great new snow and conditions! Fun! Cold too.

Now the terrain parks are starting to open up. I do not huck my meat too much in there, other than little stuff. But I do have to coach there, and help other coaches teach on the beginner features. Remember: Smart Style! Go only if you know. Start small. Look first. And don't do this:

 
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