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Come on out and try the latest and greatest in backcountry equipment this weekend at Alpine Meadows Ski Resort!
Alpenglow Sports has partnered with Alpine Meadows Ski Resort to provide its 7th annual Backcountry Demo Event. This year’s event will take place on Saturday, January 5, 2013 from 9am to 3pm, weather permitting, at Alpine Meadows Ski Resort.
The event will provide a forum to perpetuate the enthusiasm for all aspects of in-area and backcountry skiing. Free to all, the event will showcase the latest and greatest in both telemark and alpine touring equipment. Participating vendors will include Black Diamond, Dynafit, G3, Scarpa, Salomon, Garmont, Marker, Volkl, DPS, Moment, Venture Snowboards and SkiLogic.
A new component for the biggest AT and telemark demo on the West Coast is an informal avalanche companion rescue techniques class. Taught by Rich Meyer (NASTC / AMGA Ski Mountaineering Guide and AIARE avalanche instructor), the companion rescue clinics will include beacon searches, strategic shoveling, and probing and last approximately 60 minutes. Rich will have BCA Tracker 2 beacons & BCA shovels/probes to demo. Come out and try the latest beacon technology and refresh your searching skills.
Representatives from Suunto will also be on hand so that people can demo their latest GPS/heartrate/training watch the Ambit.
Alpenglow Sports will also be giving away a pair of Dynafit bindings and other great prizes to participants for FREE. The first fifty participants will also receive a special gift!
The event is free, but participants must possess a valid lift ticket or season pass purchased from Alpine Meadows or Squaw Valley USA, along with a drivers license and credit card for deposit. Registration for the event will occur onsite on January 5th.
Please come on out and enjoy a super fun event! Please call 530.583.6917 with questions.
From former employee and current Alpenglow Sports Ambassador Whitney Foehl….Selling shoes at Alpenglow Sports in Tahoe City, California has exposed me to a myriad of options and opinions for outdoor footwear. However, little I’ve seen compares to the winter-season-woman looking for boots. The drunken girl wearing flip flops in the middle of a blizzard was probably a highlight, but more on par is the UGG tourist. They thought that since those comfy slipper-like boots worked in the suburban setting where hence they came, they would do for Tahoe. They quickly discover that they aren’t waterproof and they become a sloppy, wet mess in any snow deeper than your pinky nail. Ladies, UGGs are great for some things but being practical isn’t one of them.
Other women come in for the mountain-town famous Sorel. These boots will definitely keep your feet warm and dry but are also bulky and feel like you’re carrying around extra weight. When trying to snowshoe or walk the dog, Sorels can be cumbersome. Hey, don’t get me wrong, Sorels are perfect for those deep, wet snow storms, or as a quick slip on to go to the store.
So, where am I going with all this?
Let me introduce to you the Montara boot by Ahnu. It is billed as a mid-height, light weight hiker but what I discovered recently was its ability to be the perfect winter walk around boot. I haven’t worn a mid-height boot in over fifteen years and was skeptical at first, but after one day of breaking them in, I’m sold. They are fully waterproof using their own breathable material they call “eVent”. Please notice how cool it is to have the capital V stuck in there. V is for? Ventilation silly. Actually, I have no idea, I’m just assuming since that is what this fabric liner is all about.
Okay, waterproof and breathable, check. They are also very comfortable and have Vibram soles so I don’t feel like I’m going to slip and slide in the parking lots of life. I’ve been lacing mine up almost daily for dog walks, shoveling, around town, and just winter wear in general. The added advantage is that they are stylish and feminine so you could wear them for work, travel, or in the city. You have to consider what you’ll use them for since they are not insulated like true winter boots are, but I’ve had them out in the snow with warm socks and felt great. If you are looking for a boot to be out all day in a blizzard, these obviously aren’t your boots, but as a versatile protective layer for mountain life, I think you’ll love them.
To sum up, the Montara boot from Ahnu deserves a second look as an around town winter boot. The great bonus is that you have them to wear in the other three seasons as well. They have a multipurpose flare so you can wear them for a variety of life’s adventures. Take it from this local; if these were the last boots I had on my feet before the revolution began, I’d be ready to fight (like a girl).
For more information, please see: http://www.ahnu.com/womens-montara-stability-hiking-boots/AF2128,default,pd.html.
Technical specs include: padded collar, waterproof/breathable eVent bootie, nubuck upper, rubber toe protector, Vibram outsole, mid-cut for added security and protection, genuine leather lined collar and tongue.
Mark your calendars! With a pile of snow headed our way this week, this will be a great opportunity to brush up on your avalanche safety skills!
When people hear that I ski every month of the year, they ponder that concept for a moment, and then they generally ask the same question, “What do you do for the hot months July and August?” A good question, considering we live in sunny California, but I have routinely skied nice long runs in July and perfect corn in August (knock on wood).
But for me, it is September, and especially October, that are tough months to get a ski in. Usually in September I am able to scrape something together; an old snow patch lingering on some forgotten North face, but October is different. The problem with October is that half the time, at least here in the Sierras, I can ski fresh snow in October. So the challenge is; “Do I wait, or do I get some while the getting is “good”? Only once have I “threaded the needle” and waited until October 31 to ski. On that day, I earned two desperate turns on sun-cupped ice and I hiked 8 hours to do it. Learning my lesson from this experience, I generally try to get my turns in much earlier in October.
October 2011…..30″ of fresh.
Last October, 2011, was no problem. In fact, on the 5th and 6th, I skied two of my best powder days of the entire year. This year, 2012, with a warm Indian Summer holding on tight, and not looking like she wanted to let go, I knew I better get some turns in early. So, when I saw a little storm front blowing in around the 11 of October, I knew I needed to be ready. The storm brought some rain and a little snow, above 9,000ft, to the Tahoe Basin but dropped quite a bit of snow down on the Eastside around Bridgeport, CA. I knew where I had to go. Besides, it was my mom’s 70th birthday, she lives down there, and I was looking forward to hiking with her on that day.
Driving down Hwy 395 is always a pleasure for me no matter what time of year or what time of day, but this one was particularly special. It was just before sunset on October 14. Fresh snow covered the Sierras, particularly from Bridgeport to Lee Vining, and the fall colors were at their peak. I would even say they were the best I can remember, ever. Gold and amber and tangerine and green and yellow and orange, all juxtaposed against blue, blue sky and white, rugged peaks. What’s not to like about that! Anyway, I picked out my ski line- an old, semi-permanent snowfield with new snow on top- from the highway and then drove on to meet the family for mom’s birthday party.
For mom’s birth day we hiked one of her, and my, favorite places of all time- around Convict Lake and up Convict Canyon. As usual, it was spectacular! The fall colors, the beautiful warm sky, and both reflected in a completely calm lake. Convict Lake rarely sits still so that perfect natural mirror was an extra special present for mom.
The next day, October 16, Mom and I rallied my old Toyota up some dirt roads out of Virginia Lakes until we could not drive any more. I gathered up my ski gear and packed a load up to the snowfield I had seen a few days earlier. Mom was over the ridge taking a photograph, which was probably for the better as the snowfield was actually a mini-receding glacier, complete with a 30-foot drop off into the rocks below! Yikes! I wasn’t prepared for ‘extreme’ ski mountaineering but I felt that if the new snow on top was tight, I could still ski it. When I got to the snowfield, I gingerly stabbed at it with my boot- there was new, soft powder, about 4-6″ deep, on top of blue ice. Fortunately, it was not super steep and the warm sun had bonded the snow, more or less, to the ice so I felt could squeak a line in the deeper snow on the lee side. I put on my skis and carefully turned my way down. Mom made it over the rocks just in time to see the last few turns and the consequences of the drop-off did not sink in for her until I hiked below the “glacier” and she saw that it was 4x’s taller than me. We both choose to ignore that fact and instead reveled in another beautiful day on the Eastside.
**Exactly one week later, I skied amazing Powder in Tahoe. A mid-October storm hammered the Tahoe Crest with almost three feet of fresh snow and the skiing was fantastic. It was full on winter conditions and powder skiing for three days +! Lots of folks called in sick and were out getting some freshies but I have to say I enjoyed the earlier, marginal October snow just as much as the fresh powder. Don’t get me wrong; I love skiing powder as much as the next guy, but sharing that gorgeous fall birthday with my Mom was pretty special.
