Last Chance Camping Trip

Every year just before we open up during the week days we do a last chance camping trip. It usually involves bikes, hiking boots, golf clubs, or some other recreational gear, as well as the normal camping equipment. Last year was camping in the snow at 7500 feet altitude and mountain bike death rides that almost killed half my staff. This year was pretty much the same, but toned down so that I knew everyone would have fun and live to tell about it. So we headed to the Napa Valley to Bothe State Park. After bagging a 4000' peak, a killer Annondale park singletrack fest and two full moon hikes(plus a little wine tasting) we made it back in great spirits. Highlites were a full moon hike to Bale Grist Mill. Operated from about 1850 on, the mill features a water wheel almost 40 feet tall. Awesome in the moonlight! Then on the way home we passed through "pioneers cemetery" which has graves dating to 1849. We came upon it after being under the tree canopy, and as we entered the meadow that the graveyard was in, the moonlight opened it up in front of us with bright light. Very surreal! Now it's time to get 'er done back at the shop!

Vermont colors

Just got back from a 5 day trip to Vermont for the wedding of an old and dear friend. The whole family went. We used to go most years as Elizabeth's best friend lived in Burlington. She doesn't live there now. She lives in Kansas City. We don't go to Kansas City. We like Vermont much better and we still have a handful of friends there. It had been 7-8 years since we had been to visit so it was good to catch up.
Some quick notes from the trip:
Fall leaf colors- I cannot overstate their beauty
Visited Stowe, Sugarbush and Mad River Glen. All show potential.
Ski 'em all! They are not really very far apart.
Burlington is Berkeley East.
The National Chain stores have hit Church Street :(
There is not a genuine hoagie in California.
There is no genuine Mexican food in Vermont.
Round barns are the ticket for fall weddings.
Great job Steve! Mindy rocks. We are very happy for you both.
I reccomend Bill Curley at Inverness Ski in Waitsfield if you need a shop there.
The Chrysler 300 is a true pimp mobile at affordable rental rates!
The Rockies and the Sierra both look white and delicious from above right now!

About Ski Tests

Every year at this time all the ski tests come out. Customers find them to be important. This is because they appear to be (and kind of are...) objective opinions from experts. The sales person at the shop is a sales person and will tell you what you want to hear. The objective expert is to be believed, For this reason I am always eager to dee the test results. Some tests are (we feel) bogus and filled with journalistic hyperboly. Some tests are better. A few are really good. We personaaly test every ski we sell and every ski we would consider selling. We also test pretty much every brand we compete against. We consider ourselves "professional ski testors". Last year I skied over 75 different skis. All of us do this. It's part of the job. That being said we are always curious to see what the tests say. This year as with most we feel validated. The brands we support and the ski models we chose did very well. A number of "ski of the year" picks and our new brand, Elan, had its bext results ever by far in the magazines. All this being said let me say this: As "professional ski testers", our job is to UNDERSTAND every ski we sell. This lets us match up the skier with just the right ski. Award winners are always good skis that a lot of skiers would love. The trick is to match the skier with the correct and perfect ski to give them the most enjoyment out of their ski day. I don't want this to turn into a sales pitch, but this is what we take the most pride in. It is hard to find a lousy ski these days. Most are good to great compared to anything just a few years older. Putting you on just the right ski to put a smile on your face is the trick. After most ski sales as final and we gather up the hardware and carry it to the tech room we usually say to sombody "they are going to love this setup!". That when it gets fun! By the way, the best ski test results (in my opinion) in a magazine are in SKI PRESS. The absolute best testing for consumers is available at www.realskiers.com (http://www.ts2003.com/)

Snow!

Tahoe got the second snowstorm of the season this week. As of mid day yesterday, Truckee had 5-7 inches with more to come last night and through Friday. The Snow Cam at Kirkwood looks awesome. I'm liking it! Vermont got a good storm too and I will be in Stowe a week from now for the wedding of an old friend and ski buddy. That will be interesting. We may have to poach a Stowe ski run on Rock Skis just for kicks!

A Great Season is Upon Us!

The Oak trees shedded their acorns early. The squirrels stored acorns liked mad. South America had record snow. Now Tahoe has gotten their second snow of the year and it's only October 5th. It's feeling epic! Events coming up are the Cal Ski and Snowboard club sale the night of Oct. 17 and a big advertised sale for the last 3 weekends in October. I just spent 5 days at a BBQ cookoff event in Texas and am ready to turn all my efforts towards skiing as much as possible. If things go well, we will be skiing on my birthday (Haloween). Almost there! Tonight I am typing with my ski boots on...