Gear Stoke TR: Counting Down the Classics

[Vitamin I]

Nowadays, I am clueless about which forum is the right place for a Gear Usage Stoke TR. Not a real trip, no exotic locations, no rad lines, no epic powder---just some stoke after I skied some classic gear to finish the season strong.

After what seemed like endless gray, wet days in April and early May in Whistler, at the very end of the season, the forecast finally predicted 6 days of sun without precipitation until close of Blackcomb lifts. So, in a silly mood, I committed to ski the final 6 days on my favorite classic gear, in reverse chronological order. Maybe some of my fellow oldskool maggots might feel the stoke and identify the skis...

One MILLION G.N.A.R. points if you can identify all 6 skis !!!!!!!!

6th to Last Day on Blackcomb:
I think y'all can identify this 198cm metal ski from 2010, which slayed especially at high speeds.


5th to Last Day on Blackcomb:
Y'all know this 194cm ski from 2008, which was lighter weight even with all its metal (EDIT: I was originally WRONG, and abraham was right below. This ski indeed has metal, but has foam core between the metal sheets instead of wood core), and could get knocked around a bit, but exceptionally stiff to compensate for any shortcomings. (I backed out of this line, and am happy to accept the negative G.N.A.R. points penalty for backing out. Actually, I was trying to find the entrance just slightly downhill from this one.)


4th to Last Day on Blackcomb:
If you don't recognize this 194cm ski from 2006, then you are dead to me. Notice the Volkswagen-sized cornice chunks way down in the runout.


3rd to Last Day on Blackcomb:
This 193cm ski from 2003 was notably heavy at 9.75 lbs attached to each boot (including hostage plate, & 1018 metal heel bindings)...and it was the heavy weight that made this ski shine at speed and explode every heavy wet slush pile in its path. (68,028 ft of vert got 2nd place on the day).


2nd to Last Day on Blackcomb:
If you can't recognize this ski from 2003, then GTFO. This ski has many notable traits, but one of its simplest traits (heavy weight) made it slay with stability at high speeds, which resulted in me skiing fast enough to unintentionally win the Whistler tracking app's vert leaderboard that day...which basically means I spent too much time smoking groomers on this hot, slushy Spring day after the upper mountain was closed for risk of wet slides. But that Whistler app was buggy and down all day, so nobody saw this ski's victory in real time (67,776 ft of vert on the day).


Last Day on Blackcomb:
Bonus points for identifying this ski, painted over by previous owner. This 1996 metal ski was just lightweight enough to get knocked around a bit in wet, heavy, inconsistent snow...but the Whistler app still claimed I got 2nd most vert on closing day, so obviously there's nothing slow about it at all. But yeah, this ski's long, stiff, fully cambered tip is prone to "stuff a tip" in deep, heavy, wet, untracked steep trees.


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[abraham]

Didn't the 5th day ski have metal in it? I'm pretty sure the 189s did

[peds]

I would kill for a pair of Spatulas. I had a pair for about a month, over a decade ago. I was rocking Spatulas and Salomon Pocket Rockets.

It was a great time to be alive.

[grinch]

Damn, that's some serious vert on back to back to back.....days. Ouch. Well done

[plugboots]

Good times, great oldies.

[undertow2]

I love this thread and no doubt some absolutley killer skis posted... I have no Fing clue what the last skis is and to this day I never got on the RC112... That ski and the Moment Garbones are a bucket list ski and hope some day to get on them...

And I def consider myself in good shape, but holy shit 60,000 vert in a day is Fing legit... Plus you did this on skis that are demanding... I think on my best day I might get close to 50k... Congrats and well done...!

[::: :::]

wow, i don't think i've ever put more than 30k vert in a day

[Vitamin I]

Didn't the 5th day ski have metal in it? I'm pretty sure the 189s did

You are correct sir! I was wrong---negative G.N.A.R. point for me. That ski indeed has metal, but what threw off my memory is it unexpectedly has foam core between the metal sheets instead of wood core.

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[thommy21]

Nice work on the skiing and cool idea on ski naming. Next round don't use the ski name in your jpg file. Will make guessing the ski more difficult.

[Vitamin I]

Haha! What a dumbass...I put all the answers right in the filenames.

[wicked_sick]

60k vert at w/b to me says a combination of 0 liftlines, expedient skiing, and no lunch with beer. If not for the pictures, I'd have assumed you were sliding on your balls.

Great way to finish the season.


(Someone should start a cumulative quiver length thread.)

[abraham]

Haha! What a dumbass...I put all the answers right in the filenames.

I wouldn't have figured out the last one. All the others were pretty easy

[Vitamin I]

Here's a photo of that last ski's actual topsheet graphics, which adimmen posted on TGR a few years back:

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Also, on closing day, I was stoked to see a random stranger sliding on these rare beauties from 2000-2002 (dimensions 112-80-102):


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