Baldface Update: Photo Essay

Pictures are worth more, right!? It's been getting heavy around here. Warm weather is messing up our snow, but not our good times. Here's a little slice.

 Get geared up and load the cats.

Say goodbye to the chalets.

Goof off in the cat on the way to the zone.

Find rad zone.

Go get it.

Repeat until this stoked.

Pay respects to the master at Craig's Cross.

Words are over-rated anyway. Except this one: SKOL! That's how Norwegians toast their alcohol. I know this because there's a group of said Scandinavians here and they toast about a dozen times every dinner. They play it fast and loose. Shots, beers, bottles of wine. All-time, those guys.

Baldface 2.0: Oh Yes I Did

Some people shell out for a week of summer shred camp. Me I go for a week at Baldface. I'll take spring pow and gourmet meals over a chilidog-fueled bro-down any day. Currently, I'm sitting in my chalet. I paid for a lodge room, but two people were no-shows. Border problems, I guess. I'm not sure how. I showed up with no passport and still made it through. In less time than it took last year. A quick 20-minute search of my vehicle and I was on my way. Spent another night at the White House Hostel. Cheap bed, you seen one you seen 'em all. The next morning, however hot springs action.

Sweet view from the hot springs.

Ainsworth Hot Springs is just up the road from Nelson and they do it right. A 96°F (35.5°C) pool starts things out. From there you go to one of two X-treemes: the 41°F (5°C) straight outta the river waterfall and cold plunge or the 105°F (40°C) horseshoe-shaped hot cave and tub. Maxin' and relaxin' without the b-ball shooting. That's just why my aching joints needed after getting worked one too many times on my last visit to Meadows.

 Arctic plunge or hot tub caves?

Comparatively luke-warm pool.

Now, a short 7-minute heli ride later, I'm at Baldface Lodge. The heli came over the ridge and into view of the lodge and it felt like the gates to paradise had opened before me. Now it's on. It's been snowing for a couple days. One of the guides said yesterday was the best of the season. I'm locked in, gnar boots at the ready. My Never Summer SL-R got the binding pushed back and I also set up a Malolo 162. More on those later. I'm off for one last check of everything before bed. The quicker I fall asleep the quicker the best riding of my life comes. A kid might have Christmas morning, I get the next four days. Instead of sleigh bells, I'll be hearing a diesel snowcat in my dreams.

View from the chalet at sunset. How lucky am I!?

Notes on the Road, the Olympics and Joint Pain

As I sit here, waiting for clothes to dry for my next adventure, I thought I might share some things I learned from the previous adventure. And some things learned from adventure in general. And some ranting I never did about the Olympics (which happened while I was away). And whatever else comes to mind.

Hostels are the way to go. They're cheap, you get to meet people and the atmosphere is just straight up better than most hotels. When was the last time you stayed at a hotel and actually met a fellow traveler? Met a fellow traveler over a beer and a snowboard video? My point exactly. Take heed, aside from the obvious (your roommates may vary, etc.), at Jackson Hole the pool room had more cougars than Wild America. Bring your bear spray or your 'A' game, depending.

Local guides are irreplaceable. This couldn't possibly need explaining.

When your guides don't stop, you only get pictures of their backs.
Andy, Uriel and Benny in a Utah blizzard.

Those times you get seated in an exit row, you will be next to a 400-pounder with screaming babies front and back. Enjoy the leg room, bring headphones and lean right.

Nate Holland has a problem with tight clothes in boardercross. So much of a problem that the New York Times did a story. Here's a nugget that escaped most of the commentary:

“If someone is showing up to races in tight clothes, we wouldn’t recommend that person for a spot,” said Holland, who is on the selection committee for snowboard cross at the X Games.

Nate actually has the power to nix invites. He also has no qualms about doing so on the basis of fashion. He says, "the image is at stake." I say if you're strapped in to one plank and standing sideways, chances are you're a snowboarder. You want to ban alpine boards?  Get over it.

Shaun White got another gold medal. Something tells me this one will fade from the public memory faster than the last. He and his team know it, too. Why else would they have done all the pre-hype? He was on talk shows and tv specials before the games even started. Are magazines that didn't have him on covers going to want him any more now? Magazines that did? He's definitely breaking into that 50-60 demographic, though.

How about Todd Richards' color commentary? Double-double extra tomato, classic. The tape-delay and NBC's general coverage on the other hand. Meh. Show it live. How long did it really take? Far less than the men's figure skating short program or some random curling match...

I like Mt. Hood Meadows for the fact that it doesn't turn to moguls nearly as quickly as places that have a higher ratio of skiers. Looking down a 1000' bowl of moguls just makes my joints ache. Compared to most other places, though, that's about its only redeeming quality. Well, that and I've come to know it well over the years.

Living in the mountains must be the best thing ever. I've gotta try that out. This whole hour and a half drive is no good. Purgatory, I say. Portland is a great city, though.

It reads, "If you're lucky enough to live in the mountains, then you're lucky enough." Cody bought it for $25.

Hiking a long time for just one run is generally worth it. Try it some time. Bring food, drink and stoke. And one guy who knows what's up. Preferably with able legs.

Post-ride beers, snacks and laughs. Dumping hard enough to cover our gear in minutes. Good thing we were in the trees. Tom, Cody and Matt after a Willy's Peak expedition.

Now I'm off on the 9-hour drive to Nelson, BC. Then a quick, 9-minute heli to Baldface lodge. Looks like they're getting the goods right now, so things are looking up. Weather's looking good for the drive, too. White knuckles replaced by chillaxing.  I'm thinking of doing some quick video interviews with random employees at Baldface to get some insight into the inner workings. I mean, who wouldn't want to work at a rad cat-riding operation? We'll see if it's all that. I know the riding is.

Yak to Cover Your Back

Now get out there and get yourself some yak shirts! Looks like the perfect insulating layer. All the wooly warmth, none of the sheep.

Mid-Season Binding Review: Union Force SL

At the beginning of the year I bought some new bindings and now with about 30 days on them it's time to talk a little bit about the Union Force SL.

Your first contact with this binding should be this little oscar. It's a video FAQ. Why don't other companies do this kind of thing!? So helpful. And who doesn't like to sit and watch Johan talk for a bit, regardless of bindings? We all get lonely sometimes. On to the bindings...

Yes, they are lightweight. My kitchen scale says that the left one weighs 2 lbs, 1.375 oz with all the hardware. When I get my backups back from my friend, I'll have something to compare that to. If you have the specs on your bindings, let me know. Right now, I can just speculate.

Stability plus tweakability (yes, it's a word). The Force SL delivers all-mountain response and still lets you tweak out a tuck-knee like Nicholas Müller. DO NOT rotate the highbacks unless you plan on grinding off the excess! If you don't, this will happen to your boots:

These boots were new at the beginning of the season (review forthcoming). I rotated the highbacks, noticed the damage and rotated them back immediately. Be warned.

The straps are the most comfortable I've ever ridden. Union got it down this time around. The toe strap works well in cap strap and over-the-top positions and all angles in between. Other than a little wear (both ankle strap seams are splitting by less than an inch and some wear on the end opposite the ratchet; the toe strap is a little scuffed, see pics) they are holding up:

It would be nice if manufacturers wanted to go the leather route if they could include a single-use packet of Sno-Seal or other such protectant. As it is, I should have known to apply my own, but didn't until it was too late.

Adjustability is another area where these binders shine. The forward lean adjustment couldn't be easier. Just turn one piece to the side to loosen the slider, slide that puppy up and down to set your preferred lean (make note of the number for reference), turn back to tighten and ride away. Done in seconds, just like in the above-linked video. The straps are easy to adjust, too. The ankle strap is even tool-free for changes mid-run. My boot is a 10.5 and I went with the L/XL as per manufacturer's recommendation. As it turns out, I think I could have easily gotten by with the M/L, but my boots are on the low-volume end of the spectrum (and I got mine via pro-form and all they had was L/XL). If you plan on squeezing into the lower size be sure to take your boot to a store and try before you buy. Anyway, chalk it up to the flexibility of this binding that the straps aren't even at their shortest and neither is the heel loop. If pressed, you might fit a 9 in there and be held in tight as though to your mother's bossom.

One thing I'm not so keen on is the screw-down footbed (see 2 pictures up). If that screw strips, you're screwed (pun-tacular!). Also, I'd like to see Union add a canted footbed in the future. It seems like a natural for their footbeds and it seems like my bum knees would benefit. One other thing to beware of, the red highbacks bleed onto your boots.

I'm no fashionista (it's covered by my pants anyway), but it's something you might consider. If you wear your pants inside your bindings, they may turn pink, too.

Past that, all the little things are in place. The ratchets are smooth and easy to crank down. The toe ratchets took some getting used to for me to release them, but now I don't notice so much. They fold down flat (unlike my old Technines) for ease of use on the roof rack. The look is clean and stylish with some logo hits, somewhere between Union's Force and Data bindings.

Finally, these bindings are just plain comfortable to ride. Like I said, the straps are as plush as a they come. The EVA cushioning, along with the footbed and highback padding make for a cushy ride. The inward flexibility of the highbacks not only helps tweak out Japans, but it also decreases pressure from riding with a wider stance.

After the first 30 days in these bindings, I'm pretty impressed. If memory serves (and mine usually serves me poorly), the average shred, industry-wide, gets eight days on the mountain per year. This means I've already spent nearly four average seasons in the Force SLs. If all goes like it's been going, I don't see any reason I don't get another season to season and a half out of them. Something like 120 days. That's four-hour minimum days, too, remember that. Also, now is about the time you want to be shopping for a product like this. They retail at $279. Now that gear is going on sale, you could probably pick them up for 20-40% off if you shop around and act fast.

In the end, this is a high-quality binding. Comfortable and responsive, yet flexible. All-mountain shredding. Hairy trees to big, airy steez. May the Force (SL) be with you!

The Journey Concludes: Jackson Hole

 Like Snowbird and then some. This time the tram goes up 4000 vertical in nine minutes and once you're up there it gets gnarly. A little fresh snow the day before I arrived helped soften the edges and a day off gave my legs a welcomed reprieve.

Benny from Salt Lake put me in touch with Joel in Jackson Hole. They're in a shop owners' ring or something - Ben with Milosport and Joel with Jackson Treehouse. Both cool shops. I never did get to ride with Joel, but he lent me a board more suited to Jackson: a 162 instead of my 155. Many thanks, no one likes submarine-ing.

Strapped into a Rossignol Jeremy Jones Experience 162, ready to get it.

Before I get to the riding, a word about the accommodations. The Hostel in Teton Village is the best value I've ever stayed at for a ski resort. Warm rooms; bathrooms in every room instead of every floor; a nice community area with TVs, pool table, ping pong, fireplace, tuning area, two refrigerators, microwave, slow cooker (but no stove?); a five-minute walk to the tram and all for around $40 per night. Now that is with a four-bunk room, so you're rolling the dice on roommates. How long are you really going to spend in the room, though? Hopefully not long. Hopefully it snows.

 

It did for me, anyway. Unfortunately, a bit of trouble with my voucher foiled my plan to get on first tram. I'm not a morning person, so I thought my slopeside room would give me my first shot at a 'first' something. First tram is so much easier than first chair. Did I mention they fit a hundred people in those boats? Not a place to have bad gas like I did at Snowbird. I blame the medium-rare chicken from the night before. Seriously. From a restaurant. Lucky I didn't get sick and file suit. I held it in like a champ, though. Anyway, I settled for among the first five trams. Still a good amount of fresh to be had.

I can't stress enough how hard it is to ride 4000 feet at a time when I'm only used to 2000. All it took for me was two tram runs and my legs were violently reminding me of their fatigue. Then to the gondola (only 2700' vertical). Tree stashes were still giving up pow slashes and the best I found were at the top of the gondola. One place I had to check out was Dick's Ditch, one setting of the Natural Selection contest a few years back. Now, during Natural Selection, they had feet of powder while I only had a few inches, so it looked totally different, but the layout was still there. Hip here, tree bonk there, rock hop, cat track, repeat. Long and deep like a Tolstoy novel. After a couple tries there I wandered around the rest of the mountain, but things were getting bumpy. I made a point to see every side of the mountain just for future reference and when that was done, so were the lifts.

From there on out, the weather turned to spring conditions. Ma Nature hit the Head and Shoulders for a flake free weekend and the sun lit up the mountain like some equatorial beach. My final day was a full-on mellow-park chill sesh. After a few frustrating attempts at finding snow that wouldn't make my teeth rattle, I settled on the mini park. A few stalefish trashcan taps later and it was time for après beers and elk steak.

 I couldn't possibly order the buffalo steak with this guy staring me down.

See ya later, Jackson, glad I had the chance! You know I'll be back for a replay next year, especially if I can score some of those cheap, silent auction lift vouchers (see 3b) again.