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Garmont introduced their new Axon boot earlier this fall. It is billed as the "stiffest, highest-performance Dynafit®-compatible boot on the market". We got a pair in the office and I took them out for a week of testing.   Good fit is ensured by their thermofit liners and I heat molded the liners for the trip. There is no question that these boots are stiff and I was suspect about how well they would tour. The boot is not necessarily marketed to the hut touring crowd, but...

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Finally, after years of being asked for them, we now have Off-Piste ball caps. In keeping with current trends these babies are 100% organic cotton and come in two earth friendly colors, brown and jungle. We have two styles, regular ball cap style and corps style.

Git 'em while they last - $16 includes shipping

order here

I have been out of the computer loop for 10 days and what a great ten days it was. Santa smiled on our crew up at Sol Mountain Lodge in British Columbia's Monashee Range. For the third year running, Sol Mountain has served up some fine December powder skiing. We measured the snowpack at over 3 meters when we arrived and it snowed all week on top of that. All the snow made for some tough trail breaking but the skiing was incredible.

Although it was a family trip, I managed to get out and do some "work". I skied the new Garmont Axon boot, put some more miles on the OR Tremor pants, and put some time in on a new pair of Ski Trab Stelvio Freerides as well as a pair of G3 Reverends.

I will post more details on the all of the above and share more photos and details on Sol Mountain as we emerge form the holidays. - Cheers, Dave

I'll be out of the blogging loop for a spell - enjoy the snow. Subscribe to the mag and get out and ski!

Cheers

Dave

We used the various "free-pivot" telemark bindings for a good part of last season and have continued using them into this season. I have been psyched with the results. Now that they exist, it is hard to believe that it took this long for free-pivot systems to evolve. The bottom line, in my opinion, is that free-pivot or touring bindings evolved because of beefy plastic boots. As boots got bigger and stiffer, bindings evolved to meet the performance needs of the...

Read More "Three-Pin Simplicity"

I have been using a pair of Outdoor Research Tremor Pants for about a month now. I am a longtime user of soft-shell pants for touring. These pants are what I would call a hybrid soft-shell. They use a soft-shell outer fabric that adds a Gore Wind-Stopper membrane to the mix.  They are light, breathable, and functional.

I have used the pants for both touring and lift skiing this year. Upon first inspection, they are light in weight, well constructed and clean in design. I have toured and ridden the lifts with these pants and the have performed very well. They have built-in gaiters that zip out for folks like me who prefer a gaiterless pant. Although the gaiters looked perfectly functional, I had no complaints without them and removing them makes the pants easier to put on.

The side vents offer great ventilation and my initial concern that the pants might be too warm for a day touring relative to my traditional soft shell pants was no concern at all. I would suggest a regular softshell for spring touring, but for all around winter use, the Tremor is a great blend of traditional Gore-Tex protection and a light comfortable softshell feel. They offer significantly better protection from the wind and elements than my regular soft shell pants and this makes them better suited for lift skiing and storm days. I also like the boot cuffs that are ample in size and reinforced on the inside to protect from ski edge and crampon damage. The pants also have loops for suspenders, which are key to keeping the pants in place for me while touring. I missed the side cargo pocket found on my old softshells but I can learn to live without it. 

If you are in need of pants that can tour as well as offer decent lift skiing protection, the Tremor is worth a look. I am headed on a hut trip next week and will give them the full-week-long-tour-test. I am confident they will be the only pant I need.

In the spirit of free heels and free minds, Voile is offering a new program for recycling old tele binders. The program, spurred on by Voile's own internal recycle program and an effort to keep old bindings out of the landfill, offers skiers a 30% discount on new Voile tele bindings when they send in an old pair for recycling. According Dave Grissom, Voile's Sales and Marketing guy, they "can scrap all steel, aluminum, and most plastic parts".

Voile has been in the tele binder business for nearly 30 years and already had an active in-house metal recycling program for old parts, miscellaneous scrap, and such. The program is open to any old tele bindings from Voile or their competitors. The 30% discount is offered on any Voile binding, except the their new Switchback free-pivot touring binding.

Full details on the program are here www.voile-usa.com/recyclebindings.html

My wife and I have the same ski poles, they are Life-Link Carbon Pro poles, adjustable length with a great swing-weight and they have proven nearly indestructable. My pair is six plus years old and has been around the world; I use 'em for all my ski needs winter, spring, and summer. The ovalized upper shaft works flawlessly for adjusting length - my pair is well worn and well loved.   Well, on my first ski day this winter I grabbed my wife's poles instead...

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I just got a flyer from Stuart Craig, Telemark Program Director at Snowperformance, announcing his 2008 tele clinic schedule. These guys use PSIA level 3 or better instructors and offer a variety of clinics for folks looking to learn, fine tune, or extend their telemark abilities. All clinics are at Crystal Mountain, WA.   According to Stuart, they have a new demo fleet this season for folks wanting to try new gear. Demos will be available at all clinics. The skis are...

Read More "Free Your Heel . . ."

I am a music nut and always have something playing on the computer when I am at work. I wanted to recommend a skier centric (backcountry skier to boot) radio show that I have been listening to as of late. Don Darue, an Off-Piste subscriber based in Kalispell, MT, has a radio show called the Risky Biscuit Hayseed Hoot.  He offers a very eclectic blend of music and the current program (available by podcast) has a great story about backcountry skiing that is well worth checking out. Don...

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Going Green is the latest marketing ploy from clothing to cars and not to be left out ski areas are on board too. In an attempt o help us rationalize the hedonistic pursuit of lift skiing, some resorts are offering greener snow than others. Looking to spend your money at the greenest of them all, visit http://www.skiareacitizens.com/index.php and see how your favorite resorts fared in the latest report card form the Ski Area Citizens Coalition.

Read More "Ski Area Report cards"

Mt Hood survived the 'tropical storm' this past weekend without too much harm. We lost some snow but at least the road did not washout like last season. I just got a flyer from our friend Ken at SnowAffair.  He has his 2007-08 schedule of clinics and trips planned and, as usual, the locations look great and it is packed with tele and snowkiting clinics.                                  ...

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Last year, Arcteryx, Mountain Gear, and Whitewater Ski Resort hosted an event called the Kootenay Coldsmoke Festival. The event is back for round two this winter; the 2nd annual Kootenay Coldsmoke Festival will be February 22-25, 2008 in Nelson, BC and Whitewater Ski Resort.   The Kootenay Coldsmoke Powder Fest is a gathering of backcountry skiers in celebration of backsountry ski culture. Last year the festival attracted a wide variety of skiers and was truely a blast. Clinics...

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  With winter kicking into gear in these parts, I got out for a little tour with a couple buddies on Friday. Coverage is really improving; settled pack was at least 3 feet deep at around 6,000 feet. With temps in the teens, the snow was cold and dry. We made a few laps and we were all surprised at how good the skiing and snow were given it was still November, albeit, the last day of the month.   It was good to get the skis sliding on snow. The pack was a little upside...

Read More "Game on . . ."