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Binding Mayhem
If you’re anything like us, you’re a little bit irritated and maybe a little bit confused by the binding situation in the ski market these days. This morning as I was setting up the photo for this...
View ArticleCarbon Offsets for Christmas
Happy Thanksgiving! This spring we ran an Earth Day promotion in which we partnered with our ski suppliers to make a $100 contribution to Protect Our Winters for each pair of skis that was ordered. We...
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Amy’s First Northface Grand Traverse Experience
At midnight on March 23, 2018, my longtime friend Tom and I started the Grand Traverse, a 40-mile backcountry race that starts in Crested Butte, Colorado, and makes its way over Star Pass (among...
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Salomon 2018 Review – Preview
2017-18 Review Salomon has been on a roll in recent years, having launched a series of updates and revisions to their race models that have pushed their ski offerings ever closer to the top of the...
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POW Partnership Continues
In April of 2017 we decided that we needed to make a meaningful gesture in recognition of the threat posed to our industry and livelihood by climate change. We created a partnership between our...
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Madshus 2018 Review – Preview
Selecting new dagger-tip skis. Last September I wrote about an ambitious development project that Madshus had undertaken, in which they put most of the variables in their ski design on the table for...
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Race Skin Skis 2018 Review – Preview
Skin skis have officially become a phenomenon in the industry. The idea was first introduced in the 1970s, and was even used successfully in competition. But it wasn’t until the introduction of the...
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Protect Our Winters Program is Live
As promised, today and tomorrow – April 30th and May 1st – your orders will generate donations to Protect Our Winters. For each pair of skis ordered during these two days, we will donate $100 to POW....
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Fischer 2018 Review-Preview
No news is good news? With lots of news of new models from other brands, Fischer has been pretty quiet, and this is nothing new. In spite of rolling out a major change in their material with the...
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2018 Salomon Ski UPDATE
We’ve just wrapped up an early season visit with Jean-Marc Draeyer, and the famous ski-farmer Willi Engelhardt (https://youtu.be/NZZ_Q0bNlQk) at Salomon’s factory in Altenmarkt. We selected a handful...
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Introducing Madshus Redline 2.0
On Saturday Amy and I will return to Europe for our second ski selection trip of the year, and we’ll spend a week in Norway where we’ll be working with the first full production of Madshus Redline 2.0...
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Vauhti’s New Mid Fluoro is Good
Last spring, when it came time to place a pre-season order for wax, the Vauhti guys mentioned that, “oh, hey, there’s a new Mid fluoro formulation coming for next year.” I sent a very nasty note back....
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Kris Freeman on Rottefella MOVE Bindings
This silly picture is from our first test of the MOVE bindings, back in October of 2017 on saved snow in Sjusjoen. This season Rottefella released their MOVE bindings – a system that allows skiers to...
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American Birkebeiner Outlook and Recommendation
If you just want to skip directly to the recommendation, scroll to the bottom. Otherwise, grab a cup of coffee, and enjoy my prose as I discuss how this recommendation was generated… Our Guy in Hayward...
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Fischer Review/Preview – Speedmax 3D
It’s time for our annual series of reviews and previews, discussing what we’ve found this past season, and what we’re looking forward to next season in new skis. This also marks the start of our annual...
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Tad Looks at Race Day From Both Sides
Tad Elliott’s “retirement” took a quick turn toward the unglamorous side of ski racing this year when he signed-on as an intern coach with Sten Fjeldheim’s Northern Michigan program. If you thought...
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Salomon Review/Preview – New Classic Design
Salomon has continued to push their development cycle relentlessly hard, with the introduction of new designs and models almost every year. This year we’re looking toward a totally new classic design,...
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Madshus Redline 2.0 Review Preview
Over the past couple of years we have chronicled the development of the new Madshus Redline 2.0 model through the process of conception, development, prototyping, and testing. We’ve been able to do...
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E-Z Buyer’s Guide
We do a really good job making ski selection, grinding, and waxing very complex. That’s what happens when you try for the highest possible performance. But we also know that many of you prefer a...
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Late Summer Ski Selection Teaser
We’re off to Quebec this weekend for a last-blast of summer fun, watching mountain bike World Champs. But fall is upon us; we’ve already cranked up the grinding apparatus in the shop, and in a week...
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