Backcountry Skiing News Roundup — Two Wheel Slalom and Chile Dry

I’ve always wanted to do it but did not realize they call it skiing. Now I understand my unholy attraction to getting a car up on two wheels and slaloming around. Someday I’ll actually do it? Turns out stunt drivers have been doing it since the early days of automotive fun. Naturally, drivers try to set “skiing” records, like the world’s fastest mile on two wheels out of four. Amusing, really. Check it out. Last time I had a “car” up on two wheels? Rock crawling, not skiing.

We all know about how dry California is. We’ve got friends and family there and it sounds radical, though life goes on. A somewhat similar situation seems to have hit much of the skiing in Chile and Argentina. Photos of Valle Nevado from just a few days ago show brown instead of white. It should be white — whether you’re heading there for ski touring or chair lift riding. More here. They’re getting some snow, more or less, but as the ski season progresses without a base build, chances for quality riding go down exponentially as you need bigger and more frequent storms to make up the deficit. Overall, sounds like this might not be the season to ski SA, though things could be different if you go WAY south as the weather in places such as Patagonia is a whole different animal.

Apparently Novak Djokovic and Bode Miller have something in common. Turns out mega tennis star Djokovic comes from a skiing background. Analysts attribute his balance and poise while “sliding” on the court to his years growing up on skis. This article in the WSJ gives a complete take on the skiing, as well as Djokovic’s somewhat unique moves. Interesting, if not inspirational (and one does wonder how one acquires such strong ligaments).

Remember Vanessa-Mae, the girl who raced Olympic slalom at Sochi and came in last, nearly a minute slower than the winner, and was accused of qualifying for the Olympics by running rigged ski races beforehand? I still think she was out of her league, but her four-year ski competition ban was recently overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (whatever that is). I’ll admit to wondering where her career as a World Cup ski racer will go from here. She’s not a bad skier — most of us would probably fall at the first slalom gate then slide down the rest of the icy course to meet an ambulance ride at the bottom. Truly, in every race someone has to be last… Vanessa’s selling about 10 million albums of violin music probably makes financing her coaching a non issue. Story here.

The Mae wiki is interesting as well.

Back here at WildSnow HQ? I’ve converted from carpenter to drywall finisher, looking forward to being an electrician. Soon after that I’ll move into the new diggs! Need about ten more days. The ski related projects are piling up. I’ve got some ideas for new testing rigs, boot mods, and more. The new workshop will be key.

To repair uneven concrete floor we opted to install a flat wood floor above the concrete. These 2×4 sleepers will be leveled with a laser level and supported by multiple shim stacks (with a beefed up section that’ll support an automobile). Turned out this was the least costly and quickest way to flatten the floor.