sock_monkey

the first wave already graduated. only 48% of those new grads passed the bar exams, prompting an inquiry and reevaluation of all those new depts. one smaller dept. did not even have a single candidate pass. http://www.japantoday.com/jp/news/384957 article's gone... shoganai

Thanks for the tip Tsonda, it's good to have some evidence of why manufacturers recomendations should be followed for any safety device, lives may depend on them.

should be in hakuba that week so i'm in.

yay! vacation plans are coming together. looks like i should be up Jan 20-28

great weekend in Hakuba, finished it off with some fantastic tree runs with FT this afternoon. well worth catching the later train.

yeah, not much banter about epic lines and waist deep fluff.

Happy New Year Everyone ...still got 6 hours to go over here

i would always carry one as a backup anyway, but i would likely have to take it out to verify the reading when i dense trees or can't get a good link. the gps based altimeter is not as precise as a real one but i figure that it should be sufficient.

it doesn't have a barometric altimeter or magnetic compass, only GPS based.

i'm looking to buy the Garmin Foretrex 101. small light, wrist strap and cheap.

you should talk to Evergreen and ask how they arrange for the insurance for their tour participants

IAC's insurance info. Coverage is for mountain rescue. http://www.iac-tokyo.org/clubinfo/viewtopic.php?t=22

my parents started me at 3.

the light(er) one (nx02) was modified in the second generation to strengthen the problem parts, though it is nowhere as rigid and stiff as the nx21.

p.s. the strongest is the nx21. the 01 is no longer made

Merry Happy Everybody!

haven't tried them yet, the lines, PEs and scratch bindings are all new for this season. i've been on only the seths for the last 3 years.

from left to right: Line Mothership Flite, K2 Seth Pistol (Naxo Nx21), K2 Public Enemy (Rossi Scratch 140)

get one and wear it. the few times i've gone out without one in the last few years i've regretted not having it.

bottom of page 2 sheesh...

looks like i might be able to pop in to hakuba after new years Jan 4-8. looking very unlikely that i can make before the holidays though.

janus, you can have my seths, you just need to find a pair of bindings to slap on. Fatts, which is better, last week of January or first week of Feb... I'll book the time off on monday.

we did have an suprisingly excellent tour that weekend, sometime after i trashed my bindings. in other news, I picked up my new boots today, mmmm molded, and also got a pair of ski crampons. next on my shopping list is an ice axe, new shell and boot crampons but these are all low priority so i can wait for a good deal

that's cause we use irons. hydroelectric/nuclear/coal burning grease.

the dried out p-tex doesn't absorb wax the same way and the performance degrades. you'll need a base grind to get rid of the dried out material and get them back up to their former selves (scraping helps but really only gets rid of the fuzz). waxing at the end of the season before you store them saves you that trouble. that said, if you plan on using the skis for a long time then it's worth keeping them in good condition. if you'll get rid of em after a few seasons and don't care too much about speed and performance (as you've expressed) then yeah they'll still get you down the mountain