January 2011 archive

OR W11: And then there were three (NTN)

For those wondering if NTN will survive, the odds are improving. It is no secret I’m impressed with the promises of a new telemark norm, but not the product. At least not Rottefella’s Freeride binding, not so far. Rottefella’s NTN rocks in downhill. It’s the Duke of Tele, no doubt. It is better than any …

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OR Winter 2011 – renewed interest in Tele Lite

The annual Outdoor Retailer Winter trade show has come and gone again. The most encouraging news to report is the return of Scarpa’s T4 and a resurgence of interest in light telemark gear. According to some manufacturers, it accounts for as much as 25% of the market for telemark gear. T4 isn’t the only sign …

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Bear Valley Telefest = Slackcountry Fun

Taken to the extreme, my friend Gary Bard calls ‘em picnic tours. Start with a bottle of wine in your pack, add a dash of romance, and take the woman you tango with on a ski tour to the backside of beyond.

Beacon Preview: Pieps Vector includes GPS

There are a number of new avalanche transceivers that will be unveiled to outdoor retailers and the privileged public next week. None of them will be available until next fall, but this is the time when we learn about what is coming. The one I’m most excited to see is the new Pieps Vector. If …

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PSA: BCA offers Tracker 2 upgrade (v4)

One of the problems that the old school beacon manufacturers made a big deal of back in the day was the potential for trouble with avalanche transceivers if they were dependent upon software to operate. The reason was simple. If the workings of the device are software dependent, and we all know how difficult it …

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Drying Boot Liners

Drying your ski boots out after a day of sweating in them is easily achieved in a variety of ways. Here’s a couple of simple tricks for when you’re away from the conveniences you may have at home like a dedicated set of forced air dryers, a space heater, or the shelf above a pot …

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Review: A Life Ascending

Everybody knows that ski movies are to skiing what porn is to sex; visually stimulating, but nothing compared to the real thing. It’s why I tend to avoid them both. Why bother when the real thing is so infinitely superior? When it comes to movies I want more than a tickling of my visual cortex, …

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