Dynafit Europe!
Well, I’m here up at the Sulzfluh Hutte in Switzerland, finally got online. The hut keeper said Dynafit told him he had to have internet, so he ordered up a USB cell phone modem stick and we’re passing it around. I could hog it, but I’m trying to be a nice American and pass it on to the Italians, so I’ve only got a moment…
Down from the Sulzfluh, gotta get back to the hut in time for the product presentation.
Weather is amazing. Bluebird day, 1,100 meter ski tour up to the summit of the Sulzfluh above the Sulzfluh Hutte. The day you want in the Alps. You get to the summit and all around you the snow caked summits form a backdrop to your alpine wonder. Then you ski down and have a few weiss beers, a coffee or two, a streudel, and some Swiss chocolate for desert. Oh, and you fit some bacon in there somewhere as well.
Sulzfluh Hut with the journalists milling around after various ski tours. That's the Sulzfluh on the skyline. Nice weather, eh?
The new Dynafit gear looks like a home run. We’re going through the clothing right now, and they’ve got stuff that looks the best ever. Don’t know how much they’ll import for us this year, but the pants, jackets, etc. include sweet down puffies, Primaloft uppers, wool blends, and more. All in Euro styles, some too trim for many Americans, but others just perfect.
They’ve got some new skis and boots here as well. But the Dynafit powers that be have my keyboard sealed, so I’ll realease the information when they loosen my leash. For now, let’s just say they’ve got boots that might get you 20 percent more human powered vertical per day, and skis that will make that vertical even more fun. Oh, and I guess I can hint that yeah, they’ve got some wider planks that have some kind of roots in Revelstoke. Something about Greg Hill being involved, wide skis that are still light?
As for boots, you know how I’m always dissing the need for metatarsal flex (bellows)? We’ll, for those of you who still need to know, European skin tracks tend to be lower angled than the testes inspired walls of death you find in places such as the Wastach. And on lower angled terrain, bellows do help a bit. But you don’t want too much, just that touch of bend kind of like the perfect number of bubbles in the perfect glass of weissbier. This seems to be dialed, but we’ll know for sure after testing.
I should add that these guys shared an interesting statistic last night: their sales have grown 70% globally with much of that being the “international” component, which I assume means the more outlying countries from central Europe, including North America. From what I’ve seen, I don’t doubt that number. And yeah, our backcountry areas are getting more crowded. What’s that mean? Let’s open up more zones!
I’m keeping good notes and taking tons of photos. So look for more reports and photos over the next 48 hours.
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Comments
18 Responses to “Dynafit Europe!”
you say european climbing tracks tend to be mellower,
from my recent experience, the austrians go up straight, and the french love to kick turn. I’m with the french!
Oh you know, I’m always making generalizations that get me in trouble… but I’d stand by my take that the skin tracks over here tend to be lower angled…
Tease.
3 on a slope in mid-winter. Surprised there wasn’t a snow stability note to justify that 🙂
Nice skiing pics the past few days, from different great locations! Keep it coming! I am waiting anxiously to hear more about the new Dynafit gear!
Lou: Did you got my mail about the ISPO-thing?
Mårten Pettersson
I love your comment on the Wasatch – why do we Utards put in such steep uptracks?
we call it euro skiing when everyone skis the slope at the same time….
Man, I gotta get to some Euro huts. Looks way cool.
Uh oh. I feel this skin track comment may be the start of an ongoing internet battle. Better get out your inclinometer Lou. Time for some scientific proof or else the Swiss may get involved.
I guess it depends on the attitude of the keenest skinner in the area. The strongest or the earliest riser?
If the skin track was set by the 75 yr old in the previous post…but I guess the Austrian hills aren’t as steep as my swiss mountains 😉
oh and love the opening shot!
About Dynafit, i d say we ll soon be petty STOCKEd… 😉
hey Lou
no word about this hot tub with the stinky french guys 😉
nice to see you up here!
Hey Lou, keeping all these gear secrets is dumb. You can always find the stuff on the net. I just googled about Dynafit boots and here are the new models nicely presented.
Mat, yeah, brushing the cigarette ashes off was a chore, but nothing like a good hot soak! Likewise, good to meet you. I won’t tell anyone at Powder that they had you wearing Lycra race tights when you got on those Dynafit bindings.
Skiguy,
I used to chase the gear scoops, but now with so many blogs and mad bloggers out there, it seems pointless to get too bothered about it. In fact, gear scoops could be called the lowest form of blogging currency for want of a better description.
By the same token, it seems information frequently leaks out despite a given company’s PR plans, which does get annoying when your’e a blogger sitting on the same info at the request of the company. But whatever, imperfect world and all…
Hey Lou — I’m going to be in Switzerland this spring and plan on spending 2-3 nights hut ski touring. I’m somewhat overwhelmed by all the options [http://www.sac-cas.ch/index.php?id=416&L=3]. All the guidebooks I’ve found online are in German or French, but I don’t speak either languages. I’ve found a few “hiking in the alps” books, but am looking for something skiing specific. Other than throwing a dart at my laptop showing the previous website, what are some good strategies to planning a Swiss hut trip? I’m specifically interested in avoiding lots of glacier travel, since the only glacier travel experience I have is in the Indian Peaks, which don’t seem to generate gigantic crevasses.