Weekend Stoke

29 Responses to “Weekend Stoke”

1. Margaret February 23rd, 2009 10:16 am

   Lou, Two of us are looking to skin in somewhere on Friday, set up camp, do some laps on a nearby slope, camp Friday night, do more laps or explore and lap Saturday, back to camp Sat night, and ski out on Sunday. Any suggestions on a good place to go? We are coming from the Front Range, but are willing to drive up to 5 hrs. AT gear, avy equipment, snow camping expertise. Margaret

2. Lou February 23rd, 2009 10:33 am

   Margaret, what kind of terrain are you looking for?

3. Margaret February 23rd, 2009 10:37 am

   We can (and have) skkied everything, but for this trip, a mix of glade skiing and tree skiing would be nice. Loved your shots from Marble!! Summited and skiied James peak this weekend (concrete and sestrugi), and would love something where the snow hasn’t totally blown off!

4. Lou February 23rd, 2009 10:48 am

   How about Castle Creek, vicinity of Tagert Hut?

5. Jason February 23rd, 2009 10:58 am

   aaaah man…. i wish i was back to ski that stuff too! Looks like an awesome trip though!

6. Margaret February 23rd, 2009 11:01 am

   What do think the drive back to Denver will be like on Sunday PM from there?

7. Lou February 23rd, 2009 11:10 am

   Jason, we missed you and Louie like you wouldn’t believe. Jamie is skiing pretty good though (grin)!

8. Lou February 23rd, 2009 11:11 am

   Margeret epic unless you time it so you’re doing the hill way late.

9. Margaret February 23rd, 2009 11:31 am

   Hmm, any suggestions from Lou or the crowd on something a wee bit more accessible to the Denverites?

10. Margaret February 23rd, 2009 11:36 am

    Lou, When you did the “trooper traverse” out lf Leadville, was there anyplace in that first day’s hike that you would recommend for camping & skiing? Where did you start the trip?
    Margaret

11. Colin February 23rd, 2009 1:10 pm

    Margaret, I hear Berthoud Pass is nice this time of year…

12. El Jefe February 23rd, 2009 2:20 pm

    i bet there might be a few ideas for ya on under the “books” tab….. ; )

13. Margaret February 23rd, 2009 3:08 pm

    Why read, when you could be making turns . . . Actually, I was hoping for some insight as to actual current conditions for this week and what might work well for not too far a commute with no snowmobiles, just thought I’d try for the collective wisdom ;-)

14. Jamie February 23rd, 2009 4:03 pm

    We definitely missed you and louie, jason, but im sure youve gotten your fair share of backcountry goodness up in washington.

15. ali February 23rd, 2009 4:07 pm

    hey lou, i’m in the market for a women’s AT boot, but can’t seem to find anything in my size. i’m a 5 or 5.5 (22 or 22.5) and every site i go to starts at 23. i rented some Garmonts in that size from the Ute and got blisters — too big. also, they didn’t flex at all under my weight.

    my good friend sarah just got the BD shivas, but even on the BD site (which i was only able to find via a link on your site … they have no visibility whatsoever on google, which is odd) the sizing starts at 23,

    i have this awesome AT setup now — vokl auras with marker barons and want to go uphill! help!

    love,
    ali berkley
    aka aspen princess

16. Lynn February 23rd, 2009 4:08 pm

    Nice riding Jamie. Rumor on the street is that you were looking to step up to big boy skiing and free that heel. If you still need your training wheels (locked heel) on that is cool, right?

17. bj February 23rd, 2009 4:15 pm

    hey ali, my wife has the same problem. same size foot and no love from most boots. She got some garmont megalites this year that fit pretty decent, we need to have some custom work done, but it’s the best thing we’ve found. they are supposedly a 23.5 but they fit her size 5 foot better than anything else she has tried. might be worth checking out.

18. Lou February 23rd, 2009 4:27 pm

    Ali, I’d keep working with the Garmonts, try on the smallest in perhaps the Megalite, without a liner. Let us know how many fingers you can stack behind your heel with toes just brushing inside front of boot, while standing on that foot.

    Also check out this Dynafit:
    http://www.backcountry.com/store/DNF0017/Dynafit-Zzero4-U-TF-Ski-Boot-Womens.html?CMP_ID=SH_FRO001&CMP_SKU=DNF0017&mv_pc=r126

    Whatever you do, you’ll probably need to throw away the stock liners and put in a smaller aftermarket liner, and have a boot fitter soften the flex of the boot (which is easy to do.)

    If you want some help you could bring the boots by WildSnow HQ, but that would cost you at least three guest blogs.

19. Lou February 23rd, 2009 4:34 pm

    Margaret, It’s a heck of a slog to the first decent ski area on the Trooper Traverse, which would be that stuff around Champion Mill.

    How about Uneva Peak area on Vail Pass? Short drive.

20. jason February 23rd, 2009 5:46 pm

    can anyone out there in manaslu land offer any advice as to sizing, i’m a 6 ft. tall male, i like long walks on the beach oh wait that’s another list, um i weigh 155 .
    thanks in advance

21. Lou February 23rd, 2009 5:48 pm

    178, anyone else?

22. Lee Lau February 23rd, 2009 6:40 pm

    178 – I’m 160lbs

23. Jonathan Shefftz February 23rd, 2009 7:52 pm

    I’m 145 lbs and the 169cm Manaslu is absolutely perfect for me . . . but in general I tend to prefer shorter skis.

24. Lou February 23rd, 2009 8:26 pm

    Jeez, always a contrarian in there somewhere (grin)!

    I’ve skied the shorter ones, and due to the ultra short running surface they just didn’t have the sweet spot I liked. For me the 178 actually has about 4 sweet spots! I can ride the tails, or stand tall and neutral, or do springy bouncy turns from the central position, or pressure the tips. The skis also seem to have two turn radii. I can make tiny turns, or open it up and finish and make these nice big arcs. Really fun.

25. Randonnee February 23rd, 2009 10:05 pm

    178. 225 lbs. The 178 Manaslu feels short , easy, and flexible to me. Sort of like my joints in the 1980’s. The 178 FR10 feels longer and is stiffer- never mind… : )}.

26. Jack February 24th, 2009 1:15 am

    Lou,
    New subject, disgusting as it is – We’ve had a couple of warmish days here and my feet have been just swimming in sweat in my Scarp Intuition liners (that feel like neoprene waders). Didja ever find any boot liners that breathe?

    Jack

27. ali February 24th, 2009 7:32 am

    thanks for the beta, lou! i should have known … considering the fact that i stopped growing in fifth grade, custom this and that is my life story!

    i’d love to guest blog anytime.
    best,
    ali

28. SlaveToTurns February 24th, 2009 12:25 pm

    178 manaslu. if you have a few more sandwiches, you can get a bigger ski.

29. Lou February 24th, 2009 1:08 pm

    In all seriousness, the running surface of a 178 Manaslu is incredibly short as the tip and tail go on forever. That’s why I use that length in Manaslu, and tend to lengths such as 167 in K2 Baker. And, I like the 167 skis MUCH better when I have to carry them on my pack.

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