Late start to the ski blog this year, apologies ~ it's been a hectic world in the Kennedy house with a busy month of moving house, but we've managed to get in a few powder days... Steamboat's had a great first month, at this point we've clocked 150" total inches, nearly half of our seasonal average.
Today wasn't a full-on powder day, but it's worthy of posting - a glorious bluebird day after a fluff dusting late last night, and thanks to a chilly week, the snow we got about a week ago is holding up nicely.
We have Oregon guests in town, so despite a full agenda at the STARS office, we managed to sneak Craig out for a couple hours and get an afternoon of turns in. It seemed gray, flat and foggy from down below; the Gondy car dragged us through a layer of pea soup, and we were a little worried it was going to be a so-so day for these guys... but once we hit the top we were pleasantly surprised by the familiar crisp blue Colorado skies - nothing quite like that!
We toured most of the mountain today with Tash and David, from Sunnyside to the Chutes the terrain was carvy and the people were relatively spread out. Steamboat's at max-capacity right now, but thanks to that pea soup layer of fools-fog, the masses didn't seem to be up at the top with us. Instead, every building was packed with 'em, "elbow to asshole" as my mother would say, and that means good money for all the working locals!
Carvy indeed - and a nice layer of fresh stuff in the trees - good for soft landings, no matter what you land on. :)
Ok, here's the obligatory mono footage to keep us real -
And now to talk tech - I was super stoked to be demo-ing a Ride Barretta today from Powder Tools... a 151, 12cm shorter than my 10 year old, 20lb customized Burton Custom that most of you know as "the Captain." The Captain and I have been a good team for the past decade, but I'm well aware he's too big for me, he's being out-done by the new rocker technology, and at some point he's going to delaminate and need to be retired. He's still great for the deep days, but on an all-mountain carvy day like today, he's not. I have to muscle him into turns, and it's just downright ugly on the bumps and in the trees. I am pretty sure I'd be a better rider if I had better equipment... and I'm a good rider.
So how was the Barretta? Fucking awesome. Immediately down Rudy's I was squirreling thru the powder stashes, and all day I was smiling so big about this new tiny board that frankly, I didn't want to turn it in. The great thing about Powder Tools is that your demo-rental costs go towards a new board if you wind up buying. But I'm not done shopping...
When I turned the Barretta in, Vince told me I want to check out the Solomon Wonder. So I think I will. :)
I also scored a pair of new Solomon Boa boots at this year's Christy Sports "tent sale" that I'm also loving, that also are making me a better rider, so combined with a new board, the whole setup fit like a glove.
Ok, nuff tech talk... again, my apologies for missing this month's epic powder days (we've had a good half dozen, and I've skied the best of them, which is about four I think)... but we've got a whole season ahead of us! See you in the Deep!!
Cheers and happy new year from the Kennedys and the Pilz-Bellis cru!
Today wasn't a full-on powder day, but it's worthy of posting - a glorious bluebird day after a fluff dusting late last night, and thanks to a chilly week, the snow we got about a week ago is holding up nicely.
We have Oregon guests in town, so despite a full agenda at the STARS office, we managed to sneak Craig out for a couple hours and get an afternoon of turns in. It seemed gray, flat and foggy from down below; the Gondy car dragged us through a layer of pea soup, and we were a little worried it was going to be a so-so day for these guys... but once we hit the top we were pleasantly surprised by the familiar crisp blue Colorado skies - nothing quite like that!
We toured most of the mountain today with Tash and David, from Sunnyside to the Chutes the terrain was carvy and the people were relatively spread out. Steamboat's at max-capacity right now, but thanks to that pea soup layer of fools-fog, the masses didn't seem to be up at the top with us. Instead, every building was packed with 'em, "elbow to asshole" as my mother would say, and that means good money for all the working locals!
Carvy indeed - and a nice layer of fresh stuff in the trees - good for soft landings, no matter what you land on. :)
Ok, here's the obligatory mono footage to keep us real -
And now to talk tech - I was super stoked to be demo-ing a Ride Barretta today from Powder Tools... a 151, 12cm shorter than my 10 year old, 20lb customized Burton Custom that most of you know as "the Captain." The Captain and I have been a good team for the past decade, but I'm well aware he's too big for me, he's being out-done by the new rocker technology, and at some point he's going to delaminate and need to be retired. He's still great for the deep days, but on an all-mountain carvy day like today, he's not. I have to muscle him into turns, and it's just downright ugly on the bumps and in the trees. I am pretty sure I'd be a better rider if I had better equipment... and I'm a good rider.
So how was the Barretta? Fucking awesome. Immediately down Rudy's I was squirreling thru the powder stashes, and all day I was smiling so big about this new tiny board that frankly, I didn't want to turn it in. The great thing about Powder Tools is that your demo-rental costs go towards a new board if you wind up buying. But I'm not done shopping...
When I turned the Barretta in, Vince told me I want to check out the Solomon Wonder. So I think I will. :)
I also scored a pair of new Solomon Boa boots at this year's Christy Sports "tent sale" that I'm also loving, that also are making me a better rider, so combined with a new board, the whole setup fit like a glove.
Ok, nuff tech talk... again, my apologies for missing this month's epic powder days (we've had a good half dozen, and I've skied the best of them, which is about four I think)... but we've got a whole season ahead of us! See you in the Deep!!
Cheers and happy new year from the Kennedys and the Pilz-Bellis cru!
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