Saturday, October 31, 2009
Thursday, October 22, 2009
If you are reading this blog there is a big chance that you are a ski gear junkie. So in that regards, if you are a gear junkie, then you probably hold a near religious-like reverence to the most bomber binding of all time; the Salomon Comp 916.
It's been rumored that only the Euro's or Pro's have them these days. That they're too guh-narly for the timid public. Well that's flat out wrong because Porters of Lake Tahoe just bought up 20 pair and are listing them for $319 on their website. Three-hundred buck for a binding that will probably last you until your newborn gets crabs in college is pretty cheap when you think about it. So FYI. They're right HERE if you want 'em.
It's been rumored that only the Euro's or Pro's have them these days. That they're too guh-narly for the timid public. Well that's flat out wrong because Porters of Lake Tahoe just bought up 20 pair and are listing them for $319 on their website. Three-hundred buck for a binding that will probably last you until your newborn gets crabs in college is pretty cheap when you think about it. So FYI. They're right HERE if you want 'em.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Salomon Rocker- Reviewed
2010- Rocker
So being a sponsored athlete I'm not here to tell you that "This ski is awesome! Buy it!" or "It's better than anything K2 or Volkl has ever made!!!" While this may or may not be true, I'm here to tell you about the characteristics of the ski. The little nitty-gritty details that tell you really how they ski, why they were built and what they're good for. So without further adieu...
The Salomon Rocker:
Length: 192cm
Dimensions: 147 x 127 x 137
Tip Rocker which starts 72cm's back from tip
Cambered Mid-Section
Flat Tail
To truly understand this ski you have to understand how it was created. The brainchildren of this ski were Kaj Zackrisson, Reggie & Zach Crist and Chris Reubens. As most of you know these guys are all hard charging skiers molded out of the traditional racing turn and old-school big mountain ripping. So yeah, they're gnarly. But it's not always straightlines and cliff hucks, sometimes it's powder cruises through gladed trees and smooth butters on wide open bowls. So when Salomon approached this crew with the desire to build a new ski, they quickly came to the conclusion that they wanted a ski that could perform well in both manners. Charging cliff stomps and slippery smooth powder turns.
The Rocker was born.
As the beautiful beast popped out of the manufacturing womb it came equipped with a huge rockered tip. 72 centimeters of tip rocker to be precise. It was developed to pop the ski on top of the pow, disallow any sort of nose-dive and give the long-ish ski a bit more playful nature in soft snow.
The sidecut was stamped at 147-127-137 because the ski needed the playful mobility of a fat, rockered ski but the attitude of a hard charger. The relatively large radius gives it the ability to really lay down a big carve and also whip the finish of your turn into a beautiful butter. I've personally found that this ski has a great blend of those two features. I typically find that with full reverse sidecut skis there doesn't lie the ability to lay into big huge Super-G style turns confidently and still butter the crap out of spine or face. The Rocker definitely blends those abilities.
The tail is flat because there was a need to land airs confidently and securely. A reverse camber tail causes backslaps and loooonnggg wheelies. While they allow for switch landings and playfulness, these guys preferred landing cliffs forward and at high speed. So a flat, stiff tail was pressed.
In sum, this ski is a hard charging ski that has the ability to swivel in trees and slavre through any kind of pow. It's a heavy ski when it hangs off your feet on the chairlift but don't let that scare you, in pow the ski jumps up to the surface and plays around like a kid at Toy's R Us after two Red Bulls. But don't take my words for it, take the video of me for it!
So yeah, the video is super slo-mo. That's how Rage filmed it and to me it shows a little bit more of the characteristics of the Rocker. It shows the butters at the end of the turn, the big lines, the stomps in really really flat landings and the all-around versatility of the ski. I think it helps you visualize what this ski might feel like on your feet if you every decide to give the Rocker a shot. Anyways, hope this helps, feel free to ask me any questions if I haven't covered them here.
Cheers.
So being a sponsored athlete I'm not here to tell you that "This ski is awesome! Buy it!" or "It's better than anything K2 or Volkl has ever made!!!" While this may or may not be true, I'm here to tell you about the characteristics of the ski. The little nitty-gritty details that tell you really how they ski, why they were built and what they're good for. So without further adieu...
The Salomon Rocker:
Length: 192cm
Dimensions: 147 x 127 x 137
Tip Rocker which starts 72cm's back from tip
Cambered Mid-Section
Flat Tail
To truly understand this ski you have to understand how it was created. The brainchildren of this ski were Kaj Zackrisson, Reggie & Zach Crist and Chris Reubens. As most of you know these guys are all hard charging skiers molded out of the traditional racing turn and old-school big mountain ripping. So yeah, they're gnarly. But it's not always straightlines and cliff hucks, sometimes it's powder cruises through gladed trees and smooth butters on wide open bowls. So when Salomon approached this crew with the desire to build a new ski, they quickly came to the conclusion that they wanted a ski that could perform well in both manners. Charging cliff stomps and slippery smooth powder turns.
The Rocker was born.
As the beautiful beast popped out of the manufacturing womb it came equipped with a huge rockered tip. 72 centimeters of tip rocker to be precise. It was developed to pop the ski on top of the pow, disallow any sort of nose-dive and give the long-ish ski a bit more playful nature in soft snow.
The sidecut was stamped at 147-127-137 because the ski needed the playful mobility of a fat, rockered ski but the attitude of a hard charger. The relatively large radius gives it the ability to really lay down a big carve and also whip the finish of your turn into a beautiful butter. I've personally found that this ski has a great blend of those two features. I typically find that with full reverse sidecut skis there doesn't lie the ability to lay into big huge Super-G style turns confidently and still butter the crap out of spine or face. The Rocker definitely blends those abilities.
The tail is flat because there was a need to land airs confidently and securely. A reverse camber tail causes backslaps and loooonnggg wheelies. While they allow for switch landings and playfulness, these guys preferred landing cliffs forward and at high speed. So a flat, stiff tail was pressed.
In sum, this ski is a hard charging ski that has the ability to swivel in trees and slavre through any kind of pow. It's a heavy ski when it hangs off your feet on the chairlift but don't let that scare you, in pow the ski jumps up to the surface and plays around like a kid at Toy's R Us after two Red Bulls. But don't take my words for it, take the video of me for it!
The Rocker from Cody Townsend on Vimeo.
So yeah, the video is super slo-mo. That's how Rage filmed it and to me it shows a little bit more of the characteristics of the Rocker. It shows the butters at the end of the turn, the big lines, the stomps in really really flat landings and the all-around versatility of the ski. I think it helps you visualize what this ski might feel like on your feet if you every decide to give the Rocker a shot. Anyways, hope this helps, feel free to ask me any questions if I haven't covered them here.
Cheers.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Free Salomon Czars!
Click HERE and follow the directions from Canadian ski writer Mike Berard.
Easy way to get some sticks if you ask me.
Easy way to get some sticks if you ask me.
Friday, October 9, 2009
Don't forget to check out my good buddy, neighbor and fellow Squaw skier JT Holmes on 60 Minutes this Sunday, October 11th at 7pm ET/PT.
Watch CBS News Videos Online
"I do dangerous things."
Watch CBS News Videos Online
"I do dangerous things."
Monday, October 5, 2009
And it Shall Now be Known as "McConkey's"
Abraham Lincoln has a marble chair. George Washington has a phallic tower. Lady Liberty has a statue on an island. Shane McConkey has the steepest, gnarliest and least skied peak/face on Squaw Valley.
On Saturday, October 3rd, an official renaming ceremony took place in Squaw Valley, CA. After months of collaboration between Squaw Valley and the friends and family of Mr. McConkey, a consensus was agreed upon to rename the legendary "Eagle's Nest" as "McConkey's." It was a much debated decision, but in my opinion it was the only run at Squaw fitting enough to bear Shane's name.
For the official dedication/renaming ceremony, a group of friends and family gathered at the bottom of KT-22 and planned on hiking up to McConkey's to spread some ashes and officially recognize this mountain as Shane's legacy.
"We're going all the way up there?" (McConkey's is the peak above and to the left of the offload station of the KT-22 chairlift)
Final push up the backside of McConkey's
Kyle O'neal dangling ankles over the face of McConkey's.
Somewhere the lovely Sherry McConkey said that not letting Shane ski, base jump or do any of the crazy/amazing stuff he did would be like caging an eagle. The official McConkey memorial sculpture.
Even amid the seriousness of losing our friend, we're still a bunch of dorks at heart. Señor Scott Gaffney dorking it up.
Then, whether you call it coincidence or spiritual synchronicity, nearly immediately after we spread some of Shane's ashes it started dumping. Snowed through the night, through the MSP premiere and through the party that stretched into the early hours of the morning. Woke up to McConkey's with a fresh dusting of snow. So cool.
Betcha there is going to be a heavy rush to ski McConkey's first this season.
On Saturday, October 3rd, an official renaming ceremony took place in Squaw Valley, CA. After months of collaboration between Squaw Valley and the friends and family of Mr. McConkey, a consensus was agreed upon to rename the legendary "Eagle's Nest" as "McConkey's." It was a much debated decision, but in my opinion it was the only run at Squaw fitting enough to bear Shane's name.
For the official dedication/renaming ceremony, a group of friends and family gathered at the bottom of KT-22 and planned on hiking up to McConkey's to spread some ashes and officially recognize this mountain as Shane's legacy.
"We're going all the way up there?" (McConkey's is the peak above and to the left of the offload station of the KT-22 chairlift)
Final push up the backside of McConkey's
Kyle O'neal dangling ankles over the face of McConkey's.
Somewhere the lovely Sherry McConkey said that not letting Shane ski, base jump or do any of the crazy/amazing stuff he did would be like caging an eagle. The official McConkey memorial sculpture.
Even amid the seriousness of losing our friend, we're still a bunch of dorks at heart. Señor Scott Gaffney dorking it up.
Then, whether you call it coincidence or spiritual synchronicity, nearly immediately after we spread some of Shane's ashes it started dumping. Snowed through the night, through the MSP premiere and through the party that stretched into the early hours of the morning. Woke up to McConkey's with a fresh dusting of snow. So cool.
Betcha there is going to be a heavy rush to ski McConkey's first this season.
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