Whitefish Mountain Feb 2021

[bauerb]

thanks for the tips. I must confess, I was in the ski shop today and I held a pair of AT boots and admired some AT bindings...they are so light!! fortunately I've forgotten how to ski alpine , so I'm sure if I buy more gear next year, I'll buy Tele, just a light setup for skinning days....but....I did hear about a ski consignment shop in Whitefish...you never know.

anyway, I removed the brakes today, but haven't tried stepping in. Also, since the shop was quiet and the boot fitter guy wasn't doing anything, we spent some time on my boots. the nice guy wanted to rebuild my footbed and then add a bunch of custom padding...basically he wanted to do the right thing. so instead of spending $200, I opted for plan B ( $20) which involved adding more padding to the outside of my liners. I definitely now feel better pressure on my ratchet buckle which should help keep my heel locked down better.

today's video, just a quick update on the eve of the race. I did not ski today because I wanted fresh legs for tomorrow. yeah I am trying to be responsible or smart or whatever...

[Montana St Alum]

My local son has brakes on his Meidjo's (Hoji skis at 112 underfoot). Can't remember if my son in Alaska does but both of them love the ease of using crampons on their Meidjo's. I have Meidjo's on my quiver (82mm, 85mm, 102mm and 108mm underfoot) and brakes work great on all of them.

It may be that some people do have problems, but I haven't run into anyone out here who has.
The use of PTFE tape has been fan-damn-tastic.

Did you try thermo-fitting your boots?
If you decide to do so, I'd remove the added padding first!

[bauerb]

the boots I have are not worth the investment of being molded. I bought them used a couple of years ago. they are a size too big and had the hole in the bellows when I bought them. they must be 10 years old at least. skiing a few days a year going downhill only, boot fit was never a concern. but I do see the problem now that I am skinning up.

[Link]

Did a guy in old red T1's with orange pants and a blue backpack pass you on Wednesday and you asked what the course was for the single ascent for the Whiteout? If so, that was me. Maybe I will run into you tomorrow morning....I will be in the same orange pants and blue backpack but rocking my blue and yellow T2's for the race. It's crazy how much easier the boot pack sections of the race are in T2's vs old T1's.

[Link]

skinned the entire Skimo race ascent today

Haha, yeah, that was me that stopped and we compared vert. However, I was not using super lightweight gear if that is still me when your video continues. I was using my heavy setup, which consists of 2000 era Scarpa T1 Race Boots, 2007 174cm K2 Anti-Piste, with Black Diamond 01 bindings. During the race I will be using the new Scarpa T2's, 2017 184cm Dynafit Meteorite Skis, and 22 Design Axl bindings. Still a heavy ass setup compared to what everybody else is using but not as bad as using my T1's with the Anti-Pistes.

[Montana St Alum]

the boots I have are not worth the investment of being molded. I bought them used a couple of years ago. they are a size too big and had the hole in the bellows when I bought them. they must be 10 years old at least. skiing a few days a year going downhill only, boot fit was never a concern. but I do see the problem now that I am skinning up.

Ah, for some reason I thought you'd gotten new boots.

[bauerb]

I did shave some weight for the race by removing the brakes from my OutlawX's...

[bauerb]

12 degrees at the bottom of the mountain today at 8am. can't see the top of the mountain due to clouds. chance of mid-morning snow is 80%. Winter storm warning in effect for Flathead valley through tomorrow due to heavy snow forecasts. should be a good race day !!

@Link good luck today man! I'll be starting in the back.

[bauerb]

awesome skimo race today. 12 degrees and snowing hard. omg the elite racers are fast going uphill !

I bumped into @Link at the start

I'll post an uphill video from the race today a bit later.

at the finish line

[bauerb]

well, as crazy as it sounds, I won the masters division and was 3rd overall on the short course. I know that the real hardcore( fast) guys race the longer races...

here's my race video. unfortunately the battery died before the finish