If you'd come one valley further I would have skied with you. Crowds weren't horrible. Hopefully it stays cold enough tomorrow and doesn't turn wet. Forecasts are inconclusive.

I was at Sole a...

Really nice today between about 2000m and 1600m. It rained or was very wet to about 1500m last night but above that to the top of the sheltered trees was great. Soft slabs in places though, from wind...

Feels West today though, at 2200m

Italian side, Aosta valley. It's been all SW here, but whether that's localised due to geography I don't know. Snow alternates between blasted moonscape and loaded lee slopes. Below tree line out of...

The wind just up the valley is pretty brutal right now. At altitude it's been strong for days. Some lee slopes are very easy to trigger. Be careful.

Someone on green Downs in La Thuile today?

Is there such a thing as a Dual plate for P18s as well as the WTR plate? I.e. with a mech AFD? I have the same ninja P18s that it sounds like eskido has. Lots of life left in them and considering...

Given these images, shouldn't the old school P18s be compatible? The only significant difference is the two horizontal rectangular blocks. These are voids in the old P18 base plate but that old base...

I spent three weeks there back in the 90s. That's where the Bundessportheim was/is and they conducted Tirol Landeslehrer courses. The area might be small on the map, but the off-piste is big. You...

Any backcountry coupon hookups or is this not done any more?

Thanks guys. Answer: about as good as it gets for no-interference. I have inserts, too. I'll think about it.

Maybe this is in the thread, but vaguely considering Beasts now and I would put them on skis that had FKS. Anyone know if I'll be good for no-interference of holes, preferably at the same mount point?

Noted.




8 characters ...

How's 18 months for no hurry?

I was going through the shed to clean shit up and found them. Price as before, $50 (so I make about $20 after shipping, damn). treewell-dweller has first right of...

sachelis, deal was 175€ + dsp pro + 15€ shipping. Shipping cost me more than that, but whatever. Old email records show I originally paid 419.33€ for the Vector.

I really liked the Vector, bugs...

Hmm, thanks Jonathan. I wonder what the resolution will be - refund, repair, replacement? Pieps had my contact details directly but didn't contact me. I also received no notification from signing up...

I spent four weeks in Europe on the '12/'13 CD2 skis this winter. I love them. I was lucky enough to ski a whole bunch of pow and they rip - large or medium turns, smear or carve. Short radius turns...

Nice to see my old stomping grounds in the background of one of the blog photos. I never made that Neue Welt descent, no-one was ever willing to take me. Plus the idea of the mandatory rap scared me...

Damn, they look great Geo. I do like the square ends on the 2s though. Make me feel like a bulldozer.

It was discussed earlier in this thread I think? Or somewhere on tgr anyway.

Passed through Bardonecchia today and it was bone dry, while the French other side of the pass had a much more considerable amount at the same altitude.

Yeah, like blondin says wind changed things here too. Soft slab now present in some places, although it's not a big problem here (they're generally small and easily avoidable with terrain management).

I've been here for three weeks and only ridden one ski - 115mm CD2s - and they've been perfect as daily drivers. Another mag's been on Praxis Big Mountains and also no complaints AFAIK. Looks like...

Meathelmet, wind hasn't had a big effect where I am, further south. There is some funky stuff a bit deeper down in isolated spots, but by and large the snowpack is pretty favourable in the more...

Fucking awesome here in the French Alps at the moment. Got a few laps of some super cold dry powder and if you chose your line so you weren't on old tracks it was full speed bottomless stuff.

Sound deadening. You can probably get a replacement liner cheap.

I want a binder that's as bulletproof as my turntables, as elastic, reasonably lightweight, flat ramp, just as capable ripping down icy groomers with the kids but can still tour. A quiver binder,...

We're close as the crow flies, G. Shame you're not one valley south or we could share some turns. Absolutely loving my CD2s, best skis I've ever had.

Scored some good pow today in the Haute Maurienne. Maybe only 20cm, but some local accumulations of more. Hard base below, but lots of fun anyway. Forecast is for (hopefully) quite a bit more over...

Yeah, rot. Balsa wicks water very well and then rots. Paulownia isn't such a problem, although obviously water ingress is still undesirable.

It's my understanding that balsa as a surfboard construction component is far more susceptible to water ingress issues than paulownia, with not too much of a weight advantage if the wood is carefully...

Lots of thick surface hoar here in the sw alps, anywhere from 1500-2500m on shaded, sheltered aspects. The layer is maybe approaching 50mm thick sometimes, crystals starting to get pretty big too....

Mntlion sorted me out. Thanks everyone.

My most recent intel says yes. Also, I got assistance from Pieps direct quite recently and they were very prompt and helpful, however I wrote to them in German (via their website contact details).

^ If you see a guy all in black, red boots, blue Downs, ask for change.

Also found some good snow in the area today, despite the crowds.

<edit>responding to Shorty_J</edit>

If you google "salomon shop manual", one of the first links is the '10/'11 manual and it has a diagram with the boot standards on p47. If you really wanted to...

I'd tend to agree. I just mounted a set on the weekend and knew that the heel bail arms were too short (i.e. all the way) before fitting to the boot. But the easiest way to release the forward...

Updates are great. 4.2 was a huge improvement over 4.1, mainly because of the swipe keyboard but also a bunch of other things, and on the N7 you got it straight away.

Hate it. Switched from fks to ft12 on one ski and it totally transformed it for the worse, to the point that I hated using that setup afterwards. Constantly having to ski in the back seat to...

One in St. Anton also:

http://lawinenwarndienst.blogspot.co.at/2012/12/details-zum-todlichen-lawinenunfall-im_20.html

Crazy circumstances.

Interesting that she deployed an airbag and it didn't keep her above the surface.

Strongly interested in Changabang pants, men's size M, green or blue, depending on price and if anyone were willing to ship.

Me and another mag will be slightly south in an area where you've been before (and provided me some info recently) if you decide to revisit it.

First impression - damn, the carry harness is sketch. It's a plastic skeleton that clips onto the bottom and top of the Vector and only encloses the back. I didn't even like clipping it in and...

I've just received a production model Vector from Euroland in the mail. I'll be charging it up and turning it on later on (within 10 hours or so). Any questions you might have, feel free to ask. I...

Problem is, if you're conducting a search with a helmet cam on, you're going to be getting pretty close to that 1' distance pretty often. Could make things very confusing if it's constantly switching...

It's fucked in receive mode - the first test shows that a gopro is overridden next to a transmitting beacon. It's when you're searching and taping it that the trouble starts.

All the (admittedly...

Looked into the Pieps Vector? GPS integrated into the beacon. Mine's on the way.

Someone buy these, please. I've got a very itchy trigger finger despite not needing them in the slightest.

No, they have a three screw toe (two in the front, one under the boot toe lug - you can see them in some of the pics).