RangerRick9211 said:

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Parts of Sunriver evacuating now.

We're there every summer and winter for a few days. One of the best places in OR.

Ski related as staying in Sunriver means you skip the Bachy 250 on Century Dr. Door to lift in 15 min. Hopefully the rain forecast comes to fruition.

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Man. Saw that earlier this morning. Really hope this rain knocks it out before it gets any further. It's starting a little here in Medford.

Just a quick heads up that Sun and Ski is having a huge sale right now.

Bayou City said:

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Silverton offers a pretty solid season pass if you're looking to dip into Heli-Skiing.

$299 3 day spring unguided pass is $299 with a $99 Heli-Drop and 2 days at A-Basin, Loveland & Monarch. For $449 you get 5 days a week unguided during the spring unguided season and 2 $99 Heli-Drops.

The price of the Heli-Drops are more than the cost of the pass if you were to bid it to an outfitter or Heli guide service. $650 for two helidrops is a steal.

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Linky? I don't see anything about loveland and monarch on silverton's site

https://go.theflybook.com/Book/680/28f73961-306d-40c7-b0d1-e57c04318901/0?fbreferringurl=https://silvertonmountain.com#/base/680/28f73961-306d-40c7-b0d1-e57c04318901/config/12536/1331/pass

My favorite under the radar pass by far. If you buy the $449 pass you also get $89 standby during the guided season. That's normally $249 a day and includes a PRIVATE guide. They very rarely guide out on weekdays so that's a huge perk if you're looking to catch the guided and unguided season. Plus, $650 for 2 heli drops and the unguided pass is a steal. They are usually $495-500 each with no attached pass to ski outside of the two drops. Then throw in a couple of days at Loveland and A Basin and it's a steal. What we've done in the past is fly into DIA, ski Loveland 2 days, ski A Basin 2 days, then 2 days at Monarch, a day at powder horn and then close with Heli drops at Silverton and fly out of Durango or Montrose. 8/9 days of skiing plus 2 Heli drops for $650 on mountains that are never crowded. Then you still have 2 days at Taos for a late season weekend ski trip.

Ah thanks i was looking at the unguided pass...man 2 days at taos that we're going to do anyway makes that pretty juicy!

txaggie02 said:

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Just a quick heads up that Sun and Ski is having a huge sale right now.

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What sort of stuff?

Just wild stuff out west the past week.

Tahoe has a bad fire. Bach is ok, but still some bad fires around.

Central Cali has an inferno, and the lifties flipped the snow makers on the lifts to save them. All equipment survived this:

LATEST: Devastating footage of #BridgeFire burns Mountain High Ski Resort down on livestream.pic.twitter.com/wZxKKNKj0q

— Los Angeles Magazine (@LAmag) September 11, 2024

ChipFTAC01 said:

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txaggie02 said:

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Just a quick heads up that Sun and Ski is having a huge sale right now.

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What sort of stuff?

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https://www.sunandski.com/

I'd avoid all of the boots they are selling because they don't know how to size and fit boots.

The best deals are on the 2024 line. They have those priced at the shop discount for industry workers (except they get that deal for the 2025 line). Of what they're selling, I'd stay away from the ski and binding combos, the atomic mavericks, and anything experience. The reason I'd eschew them is they are matching a quality ski with intermediate bindings: NX11 or lower. None of those combos would be a binding I'd put on those skis. I'd want something with a minimum top DIN of at least 13. Most people will be riding 7-9.5 DIN but rule of thumb is you want at least 25% of the binding release to remain so that you don't stretch the springs. Meaning is you're a 9.5 DIN you want at least a binding w a max DIN of 13 (9.5/.75 = 12.6) then rounded up to the next whole #: 13.

In what's for sale ski only in the 2024s, The Kore Head 93s are a good price, the women's 92 and 102 rally birds are a good price, the 110 bent chetlers are a good price, the 96 rip sticks, 108 TI mind blenders, the 94 Rossi TIs, faction mana 2.0s, and black ops 92s, too.

I have the 96 rip sticks, the 110 bent chetlers, the mana 2.0s and the black ops in a 98. All of them are great.

Also, NEVER buy anything that's BOA for ski equipment. The BOA system isn't designed for ski technology. It's snowboard tech that some manufacturers have started incorporating into ski equipment. It looks cool but please don't let a salesman from a non-mountain town convince you to spend a premium on the technology. They will tell you that it's the newest and best thing in the industry and that's just not true. They're the ski equivalent of step in bindings for snowboards.

It's pretty safe for me then. I'm all of 5'9" 156# with little size 8.5-9 255 mondo feet and with a previously blown out knee so even cheap bindings are more than enough DIN for me. I am at something like a 6.5-7, and the surgery was due to a ski that did not detach after a hard crash. I know it varies person to person but I'd rather take the fall due to a ski release and crash with just boots than the alternative. That 6 months of therapy was rough.

Bayou City said:

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They're the ski equivalent of step in bindings for snowboards.

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Not sure if you've been on step in in a while, but the new ones (like last few years) are pretty great. Yeah, they aren't as a good as straps if you're in the top 1 % of boarders on the hill, but they're incredibly convenient for 99% of snowboarders.

Agree completely on BOA, though. No idea why there is a huge fascination with it in the ski industry currently. Step ins are nice because it saves you time after every lift/run... BOA gives you a worse fit in your boots for an extra 1-2 minutes at the beginning of your day? How is that worth it?

BOA has been in snowboard boots for a while now and do pretty well, but probably just cut some manufacturers a deal to try to break into the ski market.

If that's the case I'd look at the combos on Tyrolia, Marker or Atomic bindings. If they are adjustable and new, you don't have to worry about the pins. The Tyrolia will usually be the lightest all things equal, then Atomic, then Marker. As you go up in DIN rating, you typically add more weight. So the 11s will carry less weight than the 12s and 12s less than the 13s. I haven't had great luck with Solly bindings.

As a reference, most rental equipment is set on bindings w a max DIN of 11. Some of the higher end demo gear (Black Crows, Line, Faction, Dynstar, etc) are set up on bindings up to a 13. I've never seen a shop carry a DIN over 13. Usually in a 13 it's the Wardens or Tyrolia Attacks.

Bayou City said:

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I haven't had great luck with Solly bindings.

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Huh? The atomic bindings are exactly the same as salomon bindings? Like... even named the same (strive, warden, shift, etc.) They just have different branding.

Just found out our rental at Wolf Creek got canceled due to the property owner selling and the house being under contract. Back to the drawing board trying to find a place to stay that first week of January. Hopefully we'll still be able to get something decent without paying ridiculous prices.

Ag97 said:

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Just found out our rental at Wolf Creek got canceled due to the property owner selling and the house being under contract. Back to the drawing board trying to find a place to stay that first week of January. Hopefully we'll still be able to get something decent without paying ridiculous prices.

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Are you locked in to Wolf Creek? Plenty of other options...

Merry Christmas!

ChipFTAC01 said:

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Merry Christmas!

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Rule 1/skiing bro!!

Great choice, I got the 94 also in a 192 last year and absolutely love them! They absolutely blast through chop and crud with no chatter at high speeds.

HUEY04 said:

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Great choice, I got the 94 also in a 192 last year and absolutely love them! They absolutely blast through chop and crud with no chatter at high speeds.

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I demoed them in February and loved them. I could absolutely rip on them but they handled the crud great as well. I spent the last 6 months looking at other sticks (mostly from smaller manufacturers) but at the end of the day decided to stick with something I know rips.

Same company yes Amer Sports and same designs but they are manufactured in different locations and the quality coming out of Poland isn't great. Salomon bindings are made in Norway/Poland. Atomic Skis and Bindings are made in Bulgaria, Austria, and Romania. salamon is the entry level and atomic is the more advanced.

My advice would be to put those on the lightest binding possible that isn't plastic since they already have a lot of weight across the base. Pivot 13/14 would be my choice or Tyrolia Attacks or Griffins. The Squire and Strive are all plastic so what you lose in weight you also lose in durability.

Do you know how you want them mounted? Progressive? classic? new school?

What's your budget? How many people? How many bedrooms? What specific dates?

I think the universe may have done you a favor. WC/NM are supposed to have a below average season and potentially one of the worst in a decade. If it was me, I'd be looking at WY, ID, UT, WA, Canada. Pacific NW should have a stellar year along w the northern Rockies (Not Calgary though) Jackson, Grand T, Big Sky, Sun Valley, Whistler, Mt Hood, Big White, etc.

Bayou City said:

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Same company yes Amer Sports and same designs but they are manufactured in different locations and the quality coming out of Poland isn't great. Salomon bindings are made in Norway/Poland. Atomic Skis and Bindings are made in Bulgaria, Austria, and Romania. salamon is the entry level and atomic is the more advanced.

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What are you talking about?

Atomic, Armada, and Salomon are all manufactured at the same Atomic factory in Austria.

Edit: you are a super knowledgeable poster here, but there's no need to make up stuff like "Salomon is the entry level and atomic is the advanced" if that was the case why wouldn't they market them and sell them that way?

Bayou City said:

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My advice would be to put those on the lightest binding possible that isn't plastic since they already have a lot of weight across the base. Pivot 13/14 would be my choice or Tyrolia Attacks or Griffins. The Squire and Strive are all plastic so what you lose in weight you also lose in durability.

Do you know how you want them mounted? Progressive? classic? new school?

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Pivot 13s?

Yes I'll most likely put pivots on them. I've just spent enough money this month on home repairs. I don't see any reason to mount them forward.

I have an Aspen Ski Co 7 day pass that I won't be using this year. It's a compensation pass from the COVID season that I didn't use but since I had pass protection I didn't lose it. However, it must be used by this season. If someone wants to buy it and upload their picture on my profile and pretend to be me this season, lmk. You'll need to look early 40s late 30s. It's $425 for 7 days unrestricted at any of the 4 ski co hills. They only scan base chairs so once you get up, you should be gravy just don't go back to base until you're finished.

I can also call and see if I can get it transferred to another profile. I worked for Ski Co for years so I can give them a call and see if they're ok w transferring it to a foreign profile. My guess is they will say no problem. I already have a full alpine pass so it's not like I could use it anyways.

Thinking about getting my wife skis this fall/winter. We've skied the last two winters at Santa Fe with the kids and I think I'm on the path to converting her and the kids to being a skiing family. After her terrrible experience with rental boots in '23 we got her boots last season (something hilariously soft like a 60 Flex) that she was much, much happier with last season. Was thinking of just picking up some last season beginner skis in an upper 70s, low 80s width, something soft. I doubt she ever progresses too far past skidded turns on easy runs but if she does I'll gladly upgrade her gear.

I ran my search through Curated where they recommend gear and they recommended the Head Joy and Elan Element which are both bindings included skis and the K2 mindbender 85 which seems like a bit of a step up. First two ones seem to basically be rental skis (Which again in all honestly is probably just fine for her)

Should I be completely be turned off by skis that are sold with bindings? I can't tell if they are already premounted with adjustable bindings like a rental ski? Do you think I'm selling her short buying her complete entry level skis?

On a separate note, I'm trying to plan a gettaway for MLK weekend. I want her to have a ski in/ski out experience and get to ski without the kids. I bought an epic last spring for my guys' trip to Park CIty and was thinking we would go somewhere else as a family for spring break. Decided to go back to Santa Fe for spring break with some other families.

Park City just seems the easiest for a weekend getaway, but maybe there is somewhere else that I'm missing. We love the town, I love the mountain. Easy to get to from Houston.

Mindbenders aren't an entry level set IMO. I'd consider them an intermediate demo. Full sidewall, rocker camber rocker, w carbon braid construction vs metal to reduce weight and an Aspen Veneer vs Poplar core. It's a solid ski.

Just an aside, if I was going w the mindbenders, I'd go with the 90c W not the 85.

If they are sold w bindings and they don't provide an insole / mondo that means they are on adjustable bindings. If you have questions about specific ski/binding combos, feel free to post what you're seeing.

I'd look at Whistler and Heavenly. Should be a great year for the PMW.

Park City is great. So many options.

You could also go J-Hole or Reno > Northstar on Tahoe. I70 has plenty obviously, but you start near Kansas at DIA.

Ehh, Whistler is still a 2 hour + CA entry. That's on top of a 5 hour flight from IAH. That's a lot of commute for a weekend getaway.

Do we know if he's trying to stay on the Epic Pass?
Jackson Hole is amazing but not really a good beginner hill. It's the steepest front in the country IIRC.

Maybe look at steamboat? It's hella easy w Hayden. Aspen Snowmass Highlands is amazing if you can find a decent flight. Sometimes you can find low balls but not usually for weekends.

Hella valid.

Yeah Whistler is effectively a days travel both ways. Would consider beaver creek if flights into eagle weren't so damn expensive.