2014/2015 Whistler Blackcomb - South Coast - Duffey Lake Thread

[Jacolac]

I thought Gunder posted a Baker pic from this week that looked super deep?

What shops are good at fitting AT boots in Whistler/Squam/Van? FanatykCo is my shop but they don't really sell any AT boots, I've also had good luck at Destination in North Van but same story. Thinking about stuff like the Maestrale RS.

Thx

Escape route Whistler

[powderbro]

Probably some bros going to get first Husume tracks. Blower over the head

Guilty as charged, I guess! Snow was pretty tasty in there, and even if setting the bootpack did suck, it was worth doing once. Couldn't figure out how to embed video from instagram, but here's a gopro clip.

[abraham]

Obviously I'm not jaded enough, that looked pretty fun!

[Axelerate]

[Shaggy]

I think it's awesome people are getting out there and skiing familiar stuff sans crowds, even if it is still quite boney. Wish we could go back to the days when Peak, Harmony, Showcase, et all didn't open till Christmas.

[LeeLau]

Cool!

[BDoubleYou]

Hey powderbro, nice one. I've been wanting to do the early season Husume patrol for a while. How far'd you get via 2 wheels? Kind of feels like I'd blow a nut on the access road but an alpine start would fix that I guess.

[powderbro]

Hey powderbro, nice one. I've been wanting to do the early season Husume patrol for a while. How far'd you get via 2 wheels? Kind of feels like I'd blow a nut on the access road but an alpine start would fix that I guess.

a bit less than two hours on the bike got us up to that one pillow zone below the spanky's return. we took our sweet time on the way up, too, so if you cranked a bit harder, you could go a bit faster.

[Judo Chop!]

I thought Gunder posted a Baker pic from this week that looked super deep?

What shops are good at fitting AT boots in Whistler/Squam/Van? FanatykCo is my shop but they don't really sell any AT boots, I've also had good luck at Destination in North Van but same story. Thinking about stuff like the Maestrale RS.

Thx

Tom @ Intuition liners does great fitting work. bring beer.

[BDoubleYou]

Thanks a lot Powderbro....heading up this weekend if the weather isn't massively ass.

[powder11]

Now that its rained over the top, lets talk more about these new passes. Most importantly, can it be used as a tracking device? Would hate to think this new technology would be used to see who is going where... if you know what I mean

[shirk]

They would need to install a pretty large RFID reader at a choke point where you would pass close enough for the pass to be read.

Something like the solar powered set up beeper gate off the Glacier.

If they did install them it's pretty easy to block your RFID. Just order a couple of these and slide your pass into it before heading into questionable locations.

[Jacolac]

FYI, for those considering sharing passes with other people now that you won't have a person checking the picture on your pass. I understand they record some kind of bio-metric information (maybe weight?) and if it differs by a lot between scans of your pass, it alerts staff. Anyway, that's how I understand these things work to try to prevent pass fraud.

[powder11]

Im thinking more like it having that chip the ski school uses to monitor where the groups go or find lost kids installed. Heard rumors that might happen to track "traffic in certain areas". It probably wouldnt be too hard for them to figure out who to watch.

http://www.whistlerblackcomb.com/les...-solution.aspx

My wife and I share the parent pass, so I dont think the biometric stuff is going to work so well with us. Hahaha

Thats a nifty little sleeve there Shirk. Not a bad idea in general! In fact, who is to stop some scumbag from posting up near the lifts with a reader and gleen a bunch of CC #'s stored on the new resort card?

[Jacolac]

The ski school devices for tracking are powered devices that are two way, i.e. they send out a signal with their GPS location. The RFID in your pass is a passive technology where the RFID reader sends out a signal that "bounces" off the chip in your pass and returns data. This also requires pretty close proximity to the pass for the reader to work.

There is no way they can track your location while skiing with these new RFID passes, only as you pass by a reader at a lift. Nothing to worry about.

[ROCKS]

I thought they did have the ability to track RFID at greater distances. Isn't that what they use for tracking animals, geese, migration patterns, etc...?? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_migration_tracking

[Jacolac]

I thought they did have the ability to track RFID at greater distances. Isn't that what they use for tracking animals, geese, migration patterns, etc...?? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_migration_tracking

Not the same type of technology. What they stick on animals is battery powered and sends out a signal. The term RFID is used to describe such a wide range of technology that it gets confusing to know what's actually being used. But unless they plan to have batteries in the passes, there is no way they can track you while actually skiing.

[Shaggy]

The concern pow 11 has re cc numbers is very valid. I was able to read my card with my phone (actual true story) and was surprised by the amount of info on there. It's really scary given the identity theft risk. It even has cock size on there, which is automatically updated based on how bad ass your skiing is.

Rain to the top today and tonight but just barely. I prefer this precip trend to the no snow trend we had the first half of last season. Good base building going on.

[powder11]

Good base building going on.

This. Lotsa sticky icky oozing into all the nooks and crannies trumps early season pow skiing as far as Im concerned. Kind of silly to risk injury tromping around some serious barely hidden hazzards.

I did here more insider info tonight re: the new passes being used to detect people skiing where they shouldnt. Not sure of the technology deployed, but the adventuring types ought to be aware something is in the works.

[Jacolac]

Just got my pass in the mail and found it's pretty much the exact same technology used to open doors at my workplace. It's a proximity RFID card that is completely passive. I.e. a reader sends out a signal that bounces off the card and returns a card number that identifies you. The reader has to be in close proximity to the card to read it and although the readers they are using at the gates are probably slightly more powerful than a typical door access reader, you would need to stick a reader on every single tree in "questionable" areas in order to track you while skiing there.

Either way, one of those RFID blocking sleeves linked to above would remove any risk of being detected where you don't want to be.

[eldereldo]

You guys read a lot of conspiracy theory Novels . An RFID that can be embedded in the pass has a very limited range it can be read in it also has no capability of recording any additional info while you are moving around in order to track where you have been. The whole system is perfectly capable of recording every gate you went thru to get on allift, and report on how many people are using any give lift during a time period. But none of that does anything to tell the area what you have been doing in between the scanner gates. If anyone is telling you different, they are either ignorant of RFID capabilities, or trying to give out misinformation to keep the lemmings in check.

[Zaeius]

FYI, for those considering sharing passes with other people now that you won't have a person checking the picture on your pass. I understand they record some kind of bio-metric information (maybe weight?) and if it differs by a lot between scans of your pass, it alerts staff. Anyway, that's how I understand these things work to try to prevent pass fraud.

My understanding is that every lift will now have staff on hand reviewing the RFID scans via a tablet. As you walk through the scanner your picture pops up on the tablet so that staff can check for fraud. Im not sure how effective that will be, but I guess we'll find out.

[funkendrenchman]

My understanding is that every lift will now have staff on hand reviewing the RFID scans via a tablet. As you walk through the scanner your picture pops up on the tablet so that staff can check for fraud. Im not sure how effective that will be, but I guess we'll find out.

It works here.

[xyz]

I heard the new RFID cards will function similar to the collars the prisoners wore in Running Man. You might want to think twice before ducking a rope this year....

Edit: It was Running man, not Total Recall.

[roadgap]

They're going to pre-charge your CC for heli evac the moment you stand up on the other side of the rope.