Kalamazoo: First Tracks of 2012

The Janky Qiver

The newly fallen snow- not a track in sight.

First tracks were had.  The snow could use a couple of cold nights to freeze the ground.  Weather report is hopeful with more snow in sight.  My skiing was pretty rusty, the conditions were less than optimal, but I still got in first tracks.

Salomon ADV 8 Backcountry ski boot

I have waited, like a puma..silently craving the beefiest boot Salomon offers in a cross country boot.  Then on deep discount i pounced- throwing caution to the wind and bought the Solomon ADV 8 backcountry Ski boot. These boots came to me in July, which is the worst possible month to test ski boots in Michigan.
So these are so far untested- I did take some pics though for comparison.  Those of you who might be considering this boot may appreciate it.

Not every person who skis,but every Skiier i have met is kinda always on the search for the best possible set up..until they find it. Maybe it is the never ending search for the perfect ski,  I figure that for some this is a never ending saga, while others figure it out stick to it and accept the limitations while reveling in things that the rig has to offer.  Many will read this posting and have lots of ideas on how to make these ski rigs better...and i welcome that but please consider the following:

          1. I am committed to a ski that i can tour for turns with.  Not really doing lift skiing means i need to climb and snake between the trees on the ups and down.
          2. I really like making turns, I like the idea of skill over gear.

These are the skis that i want to drive through the powder.

The higher cuff on the ADV 8 is all fluff....errr...integrated Gator- which think will be pretty sweet...but what am i gonna do with my 20 year old OR gators?

Some will say...just go with the Excursions...but those are not mine, borrowed from a friend.

 and used at the telemark festival that is described in this post : aftermath-of-blizzardzilla-body-is-shot

Two looks at the ankle support of the ADV 8s. From playing around with them, i doubt that they will be much more supportive in the ankle than the Greenlands.

Here is the Greenland.  This boot was revelation to me, from what i could tell at the time, it was the perfect boot.

The undersides of both boots. The ADV 8s do feel like they have a heavier sole than the Greenlands.  I am unsure if this will add much control to the boot.

Why Such heavily lugged soles on the new ones? I never had a traction problem walking around in the greenlands.

flow systems

Tools for finding Flow.

Bicycles.  Especially with the whole family.

Skateboards. Especially if they are long and like to carve

Froggy boots may assist with finding flow.

Getting low and into the flow.

Scoping out ski spots while on a Skateboard is especially flow.
I am looking forward to this slope already. I remember hitting it about 3 years ago in a wild snow storm.  It is maybe 60 feet long ending in a parking lot.  It is a two or maybe three turn hill with urban assault written all over it.

This parking lot is just one big smooth gently sloping open space.  Evening Cruises, practicing my slides and some dancing.  One block away- very close and modest fun.

A couple of pictures of Burnside in Portland.

Feb. Skiing in South West Lower Michigan

iced dogwood

After a brilliant snow storm  that gave us such nice skiing snow, we had a thaw. The thaw was long enough to get a few skates in, looked like the runners were happy to have open pavement.

After the thaw,  freezing rain, snow sleet, more freezing rain and then......a nice white coat of snow. about 1 inch of thick powder.  So the ground is encased in ice....over which is a thin veneer of snow.

I am realizing that this is becoming a kalamazoo weather blog.  Fine tuning your fun exploration to the prevailing conditions though.....has some merit.

yeh, i was a little crabby.  Over my right shoulder is the hill that brought me to Angell field in the first place. The "face" was all sledded up, but i still found some powdered sugar freshies.

Thinking that I would like to get a little more skiing in this winter i went down to Angell Field and toured around. The climbs were an exercise in busting through the ice...the downs were alternatively powdery...powdered sugar over ice which led to big slide turns and straight up ice....which required pointing the skis down and hanging on.

it is all elevens until i initiate the turn and then it is a slide turn...not the curvaceous" S"  but a thick " J "of a line.