Rumor has it - Belleayre is blowing snow

It is so cool that the skiers of Belleayre care more about reporting events there than the management. Or is it just a footnote on how low budget Belleayre remains, hopefully forever.

adamti91 says,

"Bunch of my friends who work there were up for orientation, and they started blowing there that night."

Again, adamti91 is a source of great info - thanks!

It would be nice to see some pics on the Belleayre web site! But, that is why I started this blog, as GrilledSteezeSanwich says,

"Belleayre has one of the worst and least updated websites in ski country..."

Unhappy with the Summit Ski Shop

I picked up my skis today at the Summit Ski Shop, Summit, NJ. I started leasing from them a few years ago because I decided their staff were smarter and their leasing program was better than the ski shop closest to me, 4-Seasons, in Greenbrook, NJ.

They have been good in the past. But after dropping my kids' and my stuff off three weeks ago, I went to pick up today and my son's skis were still not ready. The problem allegedly was that their regular tech guy was out (for 3 weeks?) and the Volant topsheets were too difficult for others to drill. The kid keeps getting bigger and they needed a remount. Luckily a capable tech came in and after about an hour of waiting they got it done. Then, when I got my daughter's skis, there was one fairly deep scratch down the length of both ski bases that I am sure were not there when I dropped off the skis. All they had to do was adjust the bindings for the lease boots. The manager said there was no way they did that. I really think the tech mishandled the skis and dragged them across the workbench or ski vise. And there is more. The sharpening job on my son's Volants and my Atomic m:EX's was good, but the wax job was in no way as good as I do it by hand. They took a good amount of plastic off the bottom of the plastic tip protector of one of my son's ski.

Now that I am looking them up online, the prices there are less than they charged me. For example, the price there for sharpen & wax is $19.50. I was charged $29.95.

My guess is the newer techs there stink. Hey, while I was waiting there I witnessed a sales guy - actually a sales teen - who was telling a customer that the only reason those things (referring to ski brakes) were there was to hold the skis together and it didn't matter that it wasn't springing into position by itself!

I am going to return to 4-Seasons for the 2008-2009 ski season!

I think we might make it - IF there is snow

Just got mail from Belleayre today. Tap Into Winter party is Nov 10, skiing or not. "Free food, ski & snowboard videos, games giveaways. Equipment Demos (weather permitting). Ski waxing demonstration. First 50 people to bring their skis get them waxed for free. Fashion Show."

Seashore's Skis

I won the auction for Chris Seashore's skis. $51 + $35 shipping = $86. Not bad for a pair of Atomic Beta Ride 9.22s skis. Googling indicates they are probably from the 2001/2002 ski season, so the model is at least 6 years old. But the bindings, Fischer FX12, looks like it appeared as a product in 2004, so I am thinking the skis were purchased then, when the binding was new. Since this ski was lauded by a lot of telemark and backcountry web site posts, it would make sense that she would seek these out, even if they were from previous season inventory. According to Jon, "She never threw away skis and there were a whole pile of them when she died.... She trained those skis well. They know how to turn."

Although the skis were listed as Atomic 9.22 Beta Ride, Googling around has me realizing they are probably 9.22s X-tra Wide Body - the S is for "soft", I would think; and the geometry is right. They are blue, the wrong color for the 9.22 Beta Rides. I believe the 9.22's were yellow in 2000 and orange in 2001.

I am going on about this because I am glad they are the 9.22s, and not the 9.22. I had a pair of 9.22's in 170 that I got from eBay and resold them there because I realized after a year of skiing them that they were too stiff at 170 for my weight. Also, the 9.22s has a wider tip and tail @ 108-72-100; the 9.22 was 104-72-98. The 9.22s should make for tighter radius turns and have better soft-snow performance - and I am looking for those characteristics. I have slalom race skis for holding on the groomers and hard snow already.

The reviews for this ski are varied. Some people say they are good off piste and not good on groomers. Some people say exactly the opposite. Some say they are not stable at speed, some say they perform when pushed hard. Goes to show how subjective ski reviews are. It is all based on a person's perception based on their skiing ability, experience with different kinds of skis, conditions they were skied under, skier weight, ski length and tune characteristics. According to the Atomic performance description that gets embedded in all the review sites,

CHARACTERISTICS The gentlest and most comfortable ATOMIC off-road. Particularly in powder and in difficult snow conditions thanks to a soft flex. TARGET GROUPS Provides support to skiers who prefer a leisurely approach and want just the right ski for every terrain and all snow conditions. Off the slopes or on groomed slopes.

Off the slopes? Was that supposed to be, "Off the piste"? ...The only thing that worries me is the line about leisurely approach. I don't approach the mountain leisurely.

Unexpected Sadness while Watching Skis on eBay

I put skis on my watchlist, and delete them when they get too expensive to bid on. Here are some Q's and A's that were asked about this one auction:

Q: How much use have these gotten? Oct-15-07
A: The skis belonged to my wife, Chris Seashore. Chris was a serious skier and ski bum from the time she was 18 till she died at 57. But for the last 30 years, she skied mostly in the back country. She died in an avalanche March 26, 2005. We were very close and I’m just now getting the strength to go through her equipment. So, how much use did these skis get? Well, they haven’t been used at all for the past two seasons. I don’t remember exactly when she bought them, but she had three pairs of skis when she died. She skied mainly on her back country skis. She used the 9.22’s only on powder days at the ski hill. I don’t think they have many days on them. The edges are still sharp and, while there are a few scratches on the bottom, not many and nothing deep. Chris was a small woman and very graceful on skis – a real dancer. These skis haven’t been stressed much, they have a lot of bounce left in them.

And this is the guy selling them, John Turk. He is a writer and a true adventurer. What a life he and Seashore had!

Here is an excerpt from an article:

Darby resident Jon Turk has skied the volcanoes of Kamchatka, is credited with the first ascent of Lamo-she Peak in China's Sichuan Province, has kayaked around Cape Horn and completed a 3,000-mile kayak passage from Japan to Alaska, following a 10,000-year-old aboriginal migration route.

The intrepid explorer and adventure-writer pushes his mind and body to wild places most of us dare not go, lured by the challenge and the romance of untold mysteries.

Turk has lived a lifetime of epic adventures, but is currently in the midst of his most arduous journey.

This week, one that should be filled with celebration over the publication of Turk's new book, "In the Wake of the Jomon," and the launching of a media tour, is instead filled with pain and sorrow over the sudden death of his wife, Chris Seashore.

In seconds, a March 26 avalanche took Seashore's life and Turk's soul mate of 25 years.

On the face of 13,652-foot Mount Tom east of Yosemite National Park, Turk saw the snow fracture above the wide gully that Seashore and their friend, Will Crljenko, were skiing.

Turk had taken a more conservative route, and believed the ski party agreed to follow. With an intense flash of trepidation, Turk watched as Seashore picked a steeper path down the mountain.

Suddenly the snow slid in a torrent of crashing waves that consumed the skiers. Avalanche transceivers helped Turk and the rest of the small ski group locate his wife and friend buried in two different locations, under 10 feet of snow. Neither could be revived.

It would kinda be an honor to ski those in Chris Seashore's spirit! She is gone, but long live her skis. She went out of this world doing what she loved. That hurts, but what more could a person ask for? It beats cancer any day.

What are they Blasting?

So this letter writer says,

"Years of blasting could damage homes, wells, natural formations and wildlife populations, making the mountain virtually unlivable...."

I wonder what will be blasted. I hope not much~! BaBoom!