It’s no secret we like Cloudveil gear. To us it has just the right mix of simplicity and tech, not to mention use of the best fabrics. Thus, I thought it appropriate to blog what’s said to be an aggressive sale that’ll run from June 24th to 30th. Word is they’ll have 20-50% off their entire line. So skedaddle over to the Cloudveil website and pick out a present for yourself or someone you love. Have a good weekend!
P.S., Mike Cuseo made a little ski film from when we skied Castle Peak together a week ago. Check it out on YouTube.
According to Mike:
“Lou Dawson of www.WildSnow.com discusses
the merits of new-school skiing while hiking and descending from the summit of 14,256′ Castle Peak on June 14, 2007.”
What Mike left out is “Old school Lou Dawson of www.Wildsnow.com discusses new-school while driving his old-school Jeep…” But I guess my old-school skiing in the vid speaks for itself. Let’s just say it works (grin).
15 comments
Nice video, nothing wrong with being a little one sided!
Highlight was seeing Mike wearing some good “World famous in New Zealand” kiwi made Cactus pants!
Sweet video. Looked like some really great snow, Lou.
Sweet vid! You “old school” technique looks like what I learned from my Ski Instructor Training class at Montana State circa 1990. Diverging parallel? Smooth, sound technique works no matter what gear you use of where it’s used.
Mark, after getting my left ankle fused some years ago, I had to re-learn much of my ski technique and arrived at what I presently do. It seems to work, though on more moderate terrain I’m working on letting the skis do more of the turning. One of the best things about skiing is the constant adjustment of technique over the years.
Maybe I missed it, but your gait hides the fused ankle well. Isn’t it amazing how much fun modern skis work with a simple bit of ankle angulation and simply leaning a ski on edge? I hope the latest Dynafit skis are treating you well.
The ankle still has a small amount of movement, as the talar joint is fused, but the sub-talar still free to move, though it’s unfortunatly minimal. Actually is more a problem for things like back packing and rock climbing than it is for skiing, though it does limit my ability absorb weird snow transitions and stuff like that and I did have to re-learn some of my skiing, especially for more difficult or steeper stuff. I had it fused back when skis still required more forward knee pressure to make some kinds of turns, and that was a problem. Now it’s easier. But sometimes I wish I still had the joint (grin). “Run what you brung” I guess…
lou , hows it going ? well this is my first try at this … i have been following youre blogs and all the other good ones pertaining to our sport and climbing the peaks , in general! i feel like a spy , getting all the info i need , for a safe and informed ski , climb, etc ………well i m trying to figure out how to be able to get on the blogs now and im hoping this is i good way !
a summary , of who i am ,,,,,, im thirty eight , i come from a family of mountaineeers , and been mountain climbing since the late seventies and tele skiing and snowboarding for twenty years , dabbaling in a little randonee here and there .. my home mountains of the past are the mountains of northwales and scotland , to the sierras of califi and last but not least the sangres of north new mexico (yes they exist ) hahaha and of course the san juans . i live in one of those crazy “earth ships “(totally self substainable house made from re used materials and car tires ,withthe abbility to ctch rain water and reuse grey and black waters ,, solar , etc…………….and generally love to live and enjoy life which of course comes back to skiing of those mountain tops .
ive followed youre feets of mountaineering and commend you , for being ,,,,,well, who you are (great guide books too!,,,,,great)
so i m hoping this was the correct way to get my foot in the door , here and maybe one day , we may climb and ski together (wow)
meanwhile as of last weekend , i feel the heat of summer is on .
and the season seems to be over ,,,,,is it ,,,are you done ,
the snow sems to have gotten sooooooo warm , i dunno
any way , i like to take pics and movies of all these adventures too ,,,,so id be glad to share ,,,any way ,, thanx timparkerintaos.
so its all out for every one to see , ,,,,,,wow
Tim, if that wasn’t intended to be public let me know and I’ll delete. Thanks for the interesting and kind words. ‘best, Lou
That was pretty good stuff. First time to hear you speak or see you ski outside still shots. Interesting perspective on parks and just good ski chat through the rest of the video. TKS.
Hi Lou, Just stopping by to say great site, thanks for all the info, and to ask if you’ve ever heard of any sort of dynafit heelpiece mod which would allow a lock out of the release mechanism. I imagine that something resembling the heel “ejector” mod that you have up here would work, with two strips of metal on the outside of each pin folded down from a plate resting on top of the unit with a pivot allowing optional use. I haven’t looked at the internals of the binding for a solution but I suppose it might be possible also. I’ve had a few bad experiences with pre-release of the heel, even with the DIN maxed and correct pin spacing, and am looking for other options… possibly a stronger spring? I’m also 6’4″ and pushing 200lbs, so maybe I’m just pushing the limits of the design. Anyways, I would appreciate any feedback or if you raised the question to anyone “in the know”. Thanks, Josh
Hi Josh, it would be easy to make a clip that works as you describe and locks out the release. But I’d say if you’re having the problems you describe and all adjustments are correct, you might need to consider a Fritschi or Naxo.
Lou: I’m interested in how you had to modifiy your boot after your ankle was fused. I had a fusion about 18 months ago (both the talar and sub-talar joints) and will be going to a bootfitter in the Denver area to see if he can do something to help me. Over the phone (I live in outside of the US) he thinks a DaleBoot might be able to help me but the more I know about what other people have done the more I may be able to help him help me. I’m an intermediate skier on the wrong side of 60 but enjoy the experience of skiing and want to continue if I can find out how to manage with a leg/foot that is fused at a 90 degree angle.
P.S. Other than being anxious about the skiing the fused ankle has been well worth the effort and recovery time.
Lou, I understand that you are skiing on a fused left ankle. I am having my left ankle fused in just a few weeks. What problems do you face in getting your boots on and off. What boots would you recommend for easy entrance and exit, but still providing good support?
We’ll, for starters the tongue style shells are much easier to get in and out of, though you can use an overlap if you want to go to the trouble. I don’t know what kind of fusion you’re getting, but mine did not fuse the sub-talur joint so I still have a few degrees of movement. The only other things are give yourself a year or two to get totally used to the change in ski style you’ll need, and play around with how much delta (ramp angle) your setup uses as that’ll be critical.
Back years ago when skis required more “knee drive” force to turn, skiing with a fused ankle was tricky. Now it’s easy, though I don’t quite have the fudge factor I used to in terms of recovering from near falls and that sort of thing.
The best thing about it is that I’m disabled, and thus qualify for massive amounts of Federal money, as well as being able to use a motorized wheel chair to cruise through legal Wilderness. So enjoy the bennis! :angel:
Comments are closed.