Latest Headlines
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Some Archived News
Stories of Note:
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 SIA Begins Tracking Online Sales... With Interesting
Results.....
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A Look At Jarden Inc., The New Owners Of K2
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No Big Surprises in Alexa Rankings Of Snow Sports
Media Web Sites
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BD's "Holy Grail" Binding: Details Emerge
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Commentary on the Demise of Couloir
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MORE...
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Notes On The Demo Tour and Introduction of Rottefella's
NTN Binding, Feb. 2007
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Rottefella breaks years of silence on their New
Telemark Norm (NTN) in this exclusive Telemarktips interview.
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Rottefella officially announces its new NTN system
(with photos):
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The Battle of the Titans, How We Got Here &
What To Expect...
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The Battle of the Titans Begins: Black Diamond
To Build Tele Boot & Binding System In NTN Showdown
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Black Diamond To Build Tele & AT Ski Boot Line..
(and maybe an "NTN" type system of their own?).
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Telemark News & Commentary
by Mitch Weber
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- 9/10-- From the "What
a concept" file... Aspen Skiing Co. will take a new approach
in its advertising this
season. Facing a six digit decline in skier days last year, and
perhaps thus very concerned about a still-recovering world economy,
the company has decided to hop off the green bandwagon in its
print ads for 2009-2010. According to the Aspen
Times, instead of relying on "environmental messages
to inspire people to take a ski trip," Aspen's new ads will
showcase photos of skiers and snowboarders out having fun on
the slopes. One
such ad features a line of riders charging out the ridge
to Highland Bowl on a bluebird powder day. Vice President of
Marketing Jeanne Mackowski called the new ads “an invitation
to come to Aspen-Snowmass.” Aspen is said to have actually
paid a consulting firm, Factory Design Labs of Denver, to come
up with this idea. Stoked skiers, blue skies and fresh powder
instead of ads (in better economic times) definitively proclaiming
snow to be an "endangered
species... expected to disappear by 2100." What a concept
indeed!
Meanwhile, in other Aspen
news, work is about to begin at tiny Aspen/Pitkin County
Airport-- Colorado's third busiest-- on a $4 million improvement
intended to "provide a smoother place for private jets to
park." The work is being funded as part of President Obama’s
economic stimulus package, and according to an airport official,
the improvements will also allow for a "slight" increase
in the total number of private jets able to park at Aspen. The
project, which is said to have already been in the local "planning
and budgeting pipeline," but can now be "done completely
with federal funds... sooner than planned," is scheduled
to be completed before the start of the ski season.
If, like me, you are a little uncomfortable
with the use of climate change, as well as other environmental
issues, to promote skiing, our much-beloved activity which
is, at its core, a full-blown, majorly hedonistic pursuit, an
escape of the very best kind... well, perhaps you may take some
comfort in considering this: Of the many private jet owners who
will enjoy the smooth, taxpayer-funded parking at Aspen's airport
this season, a few might actually buy tax-deductible
carbon credits, or maybe they will donate
(just to make sure) a little money to retire already issued credits
so they will not be used, thus totally (really!) offsetting
their jet aircraft's emissions. Or
maybe not.
- 9/9-- Will this be the year
that the NTN system finally comes together? Indications are that it very
well may be. It's no secret that the big problem thus far with
the new system has been with the boots. Designing and building
reliable boots that are optimized for the NTN binding has proven
to be a bigger challenge than anticipated, but now with three
manufacturers offering a variety of models this fall, skiers
looking to make the switch will have multiple choices. We'll
have a full report on Telemarktips later this month, but for
now the good news we would like to pass along is that our testing
of all of this year's models has gone very, very well... much
better than expected in fact. The three models from Scarpa complete
a line of boots for skiers of all kinds, including racers and
the hardest of chargers. Garmont's powerful new Prophet NTN boot
proved to be tuned just right for the binding and was pretty
much our "go to" boot for most all of last winter and
spring. And with a reworked bellows, even Crispi's latest EVO
model was pure pleasure to ski from Day One, right out of the
box. Comfortable and responsive, our EVOs spent a surprising
amount of time on the snow. We've never been big fans of Crispi's
approach to building boots, but thanks to this newest EVO, we
are now. In the strange saga that has been the introduction of
the NTN, accurate predictions have proven to be hard to make--
areas of concern turned out okay and stuff we thought would be
a slam dunk turned problematic-- and yet with our uniformly positive
experience testing the latest boots, a first, and our continuing
enthusiasm for the advanced features and dependability of the
binding, we can't help but think that yes indeed, this third
year may very well be the season that the new system's promise
is finally fully realized. Stay tuned for more...
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- 9/8-- The Avalanche fatality
data from the 2008/2009 ski season tells
an interesting story. In the U.S. there were 28 fatalities, well
short of the record of 36, set the year before. Of that total,
16 were snowmobilers, by far the most in any single category.
Six were backcountry skiers, but rather shockingly, 3 more of
the recorded fatalities were resort skiers on open, avalanche
controlled terrain that had been previously skied. As
Bob Comey, director of the Bridger-Teton National Forest Avalanche
Center told the NY
Times last winter, "One in-bound fatal avalanche in
a season is unusual; three separate fatal incidents in one season
is really rare... We're doing what we normally do. Our techniques
work really well, but they're not ever 100 percent guaranteed."
Most backcountry skiers know to
be vigilant and educated, to carry a beacon, probe and shovel,
and it seems likely that most are fully aware of the risk of
avalanche . But I wonder how many skiers at the resorts, including
bc/resort crossovers, actually realize that of the nine skiers
to die in slides last season, fully one third took their final,
tragic run inbounds, on open slopes that had been avalanche controlled
and previously skied? I doubt many do, but these inbounds fatalities
seem to confirm for me a major "take-away" from our
own near-miss, inbounds, "post-control" incident at
our home resort.
It's been nearly two years, and
still, hardly a day goes by that I don't think of those brief
but indelible moments of absolute shock and terror.
I suppose it's normal to question
yourself and your role in the wake of a near-death, razor sharp
close call. I'm still haunted by a few of my answers. Mostly
this is a story for another day, but I feel compelled to note
that last year's three inbounds avalanche fatalities at three
separate resorts, seem to confirm an observation noted in my
initial account of our dark event: Many, if not most of us, tend
to try to avoid at all costs thinking about the role plain
old luck plays in determining our fate when we are out on
the snow... in particular while out chasing powder.
Although comforting, denial is not
much of a strategy, so consider this:
The avalanche safety professionals
at these resorts are out there every day. They've got the tools
and the education, as well as detailed historical knowledge of
their home terrain and past and present conditions. Through daily
repetition, there is likely a sharpness to their skill that the
average recreational skier can only dream of possessing. And
of course they have access to what that sage of avy safety sages,
Rod Newcomb, once told us was the best avalanche avoidance tool
(other than your brain) one can carry: A pack of two-pounders.
Yes, the pros are out there each
morning, reading the terrain, making intensely well informed
judgments, and when in doubt, tossing a few two-pound bombs onto
suspect slopes along the way. Every day on the most familiar
of possible terrain, and they are good, really good, at what
they do. Still, as we have just been reminded they are "not
ever 100%" successful in making the all-important go/no
go decision.
As I reported at the time, immediately
prior to our slide I noted ski tracks (mostly our own, from our
previous time through) and that there were also bomb holes all
over the place, more than I had noticed previously. I had ski-cut
the area that slid, not once but twice. it's part of my
routine in setting up video shots on powder days, and I did not
see, hear or feel a single sign of instability. Nuthin', zip,
zero. We found out later that the patrol director for that day
had skied the same area in between our first and second runs.
Apparently neither he nor his control crew earlier that morning
observed any direct signs of instability either. If they had
I'm sure the terrain would not have been open for skiing. Still,
the slope we were on let go impressively, and two good buds and
ski partners-- including my best friend-- very nearly lost their
lives. The role raw luck played that day, both good and bad,
was HUGE.
So as I have mentioned before here,
we now carry our avalanche gear in our Avalung-equipped packs
on every powder day, inbounds or out. That being said, by way
of perspective it's important to note that the odds are certainly
in our favor. Out of all the uncountable days spent in the backcountry
last season by thousands of backcountry skiers in the U.S., just
six were lost to avalanches. Of the nearly 60 million
skier visits to resorts recorded last year, just one inbounds,
post-control avalanche fatality occurred per 20 million
skier days. Of course the overwhelming majority of those 20 million
aren't out chasing powder (thankfully) during and right after
storms, so don't get too comfy with those numbers. And for whatever
reason, it appears that post-control slides have become more
common in recent years.
My advice: Although the odds remain
overwhelmingly in your favor, and yes, the drive up to the hill
is probably more likely to get you into trouble (etc., etc.),
bring your gear and your backcountry-style vigilance on every
powder day, no matter where you're headed. Then if the hand of
fate delivers a high hard one to the inside, at least you'll
know you did all you could and were as prepared as possible,
regardless of the outcome. Trust me on this one, knowing that
you were not as prepared for what the mountain served up as you
could easily have been, especially considering the very high
stakes, is not all that fun. Keep it fun, be prepared.
- 1/14-- Twenty Two Designs
has a new binding and
will conduct a beta test similar to the one HammerHead designer
Russell Rainey ran when introducing his ground breaking design
back in 2001. Based on that now very popular high-performance
freeheel binding, the Driggs ID based innovators have come up
with a free-pivot touring model called the "Axl." In
a press release sent out today, Twenty Two says it will build
200 to be "sold with the understanding that they are not
a final product, but a test binding. However, this fall when
we release the final version, we will provide all testers with
a new binding or new parts if the design changes significantly."
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Weighing in at 4 lbs., the Axl's
touring mode pivot point is located directly under the pin line
for a more natural feel when skinning.
Shown at right, (click for larger
version) the Axl will also feature the HammerHead's six hole
screw pattern and unique adjustable cable guides, allowing skiers
to fine tune the binding's level of activity according to personal
preference, a key feature of the original design of the standard
HammerHead.
The Axl will sell for $310 and more
information can be found on the Twenty Two Designs website at
twentytwodesigns.com/axl |
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Telemark
News story index & archive..
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