Deal Of The Week: 2011 Nordica Velvet Ace Ski

2011 Nordica Velvet Ace Ski

A lady doesn’t hold an Ace up her sleeve. She holds a Velvet Ace!

MSRP- $499.00

Ski Barn Price- $249.00

Free Shipping!

Buy it here!

http://shop.skibarndurango.com/clearance/cheap-skis/2011-nordica-velvet-ace-ski.html

Deal of the Week: 2011 Volkl Attiva Sol Ski w/ Binding

2011 Volkl Attiva Sol Ski w/ Bindings

 Game improving performance, tailored to fit a lady’s needs.

MSRP- $950.00

Ski Barn Price- $599.00

Free Shipping!

Get it here!

 http://shop.skibarndurango.com/clearance/cheap-skis/2011-volkl-attiva-sol-ski-w-binding.html

Gear Review: 2012 Salomon Twenty Twelve

Salomon Twenty Twelve

The Twenty Twelve from Salomon really caught me off guard. When they first revealed it, I was a total skeptic. Rockered park ski…what a joke! Well, after skiing it several times over the past couple of years I am beginning to think that I should buy myself a pair.

The Twenty Twelve comes with generous amounts of tip and tail rocker, but also a generous amount of camber underfoot. At 123-91-116 the Twenty Twelve is an all mountain jibbers dream ski. Salomon has branded it with their big mountain freeskis, but I would personally put it in with their park and pipe line-up.

Once you get these sticks on the snow they perform. The generous amount of camber underfoot really lets you lay over your turns and dig trenches on the hard pack. However, you are still gonna have to get used to the floppy tip and tail. It doesn’t affect the way it skis, but definitely takes some getting used to. The rocker in the tip and tail make for effortless buttering off of rollers or onto rails. It also comes in handy when you find yourself hunting out stashes in the trees on the backside of the mountain. At 91mm underfoot this ski is not going to be your best friend on the deep days, but anything less than 6 inches and you are stoked to have the Twenty Twelve out.

The Twenty Twelve is a ski that just about anyone can have fun on. It is easy to handle and won’t punish you for getting lazy on it, but you can also drive it hard and chances are you will not be able to overpower it if you are skiing it in the proper length. The Twenty Twelve is going to best suit the new school skier who spends time in the park, but also likes to venture around and treat the entire mountain as a playground.

Find it here:

http://shop.skibarndurango.com/salomon-twenty-twelve-ski-2012.html

www.skibarndurango.com

Gear Review: 2012 Volkl Mantra

Volkl Mantra

There is not a whole lot you can say about a ski that has been having things said about itself for so many years. The Volkl Mantra has proven itself time and again all over the mountain. It works great as an alpine touring ski, a powder ski, an everyday ski, a one ski quiver, the list goes on.

What happens when you take something so good and change it a bit though? The Mantra didn’t change much, but the good people over at Volkl gave it a bit of rocker in the tip and a couple millimeters more width. The Volkl Mantra is available in 170cm, 177cm, 184cm and 191cm lengths. Its’ new dimensions are 132-98-118 (the old dimensions were 133-96-116).

I am very skeptical about all the rocker happening in the ski industry. You will be hard pressed to find a pair of skis that carry traditional camber anymore. It is going to take some getting used to, but it will have to be done because rocker technologies are here to stay.

The Volkl Mantra is a ski that inspires confidence at speed. It begs you to go faster and drive it harder. I found that the older Mantra carved a bit better than the new version, but that is not to say that you cannot lay over the new Mantra and dig trenches on the hardest of snow. Thanks to its’ race construction and two sheets of titanal the Mantra is stiff and will hold its’ edge on the hardest of snow. The small amount of tip rocker they added also allow this ski to get on edge easier than before.

When diving into trees and hunting out stashes of soft snow the tip rocker really helped the Mantra in a way that was needed. I found that the old Mantra liked to dive in deeper snow. It was happier pushing through the deepest spots and breaking crud trying to prove itself as a workhorse. It worked harder not smarter. The tip rocker in the new Mantra keeps these puppies on top of the snow and quite a bit more nimble when roosting through tight trees.

The only spot I found that I don’t like to ski the Mantra is in the bumps. It has a wide chassis that is not fun to try and zipper through and with two sheets of metal it is snappy and stiff. These are not fun characteristics of a ski when dodging Volkswagen sized bumps. I felt as if I were getting bucked like a cowboy on the back of a horse.

If you enjoy skiing powerfully and fast in all conditions I would recommend that you get on a pair of Mantra’s. They will perform for you no matter how hard you drive them (don’t get lazy on them though, you will pay). They eat ice for breakfast and powder for dinner, not stopping in between for lunch knowing there is more terrain to tear up. Jump on a pair and find out for yourself.

As a guy that is spends half his time riding backwards on skis, I am not typically into non twin-tip skis. However, these skis are just flat out fun and would not think twice about buying my own pair.

Find it here:

http://shop.skibarndurango.com/volkl-mantra-ski-2012.html

www.skibarndurango.com

Gear Review: 2012 Rossignol Super 7 Ski

Rossignol Super 7

The Rossignol Super 7 is the step up from the Rossignol S7. Think of the Super 7 as the S7 on steroids. The dimensions stay the same, but the Super 7 comes with two layers of titanium where the S7 comes with just a full wood core. It is available in 188cm and 195cm lengths. It’s dimensions are 146-117-127.

A lot of people may ask…How are you able to test and review a ski that has just been made available to the public? Every year right after SIA, we head to Winter Park for On-Snow. It is a demo festival that allows buyer’s to test equipment before they buy it. We ski for 3 days straight from open to close riding and getting a feel for all the products we potentially want to buy. It is hard work, but somebody has to do it.The conditions were not ideal to be testing powder skis, but fortunately the Northern mountains of Colorado were graced with an epic winter last year and there were stashes in the trees that could be found.

Now, how does it ski? It is amazing to put it simply. The combination of rocker and camber allow this ski to go anywhere in any conditions, even if it is 117mm underfoot. Immediately off the lift this ski is confidence inspiring. I was able to roll my ankles and get it on edge and swing through beautiful arcs on the hard pack snow. If you really get it moving you can lay down some serious GS turns. The titanium layers in the ski keep it exceptionally stable and quite a bit stiffer than the original S7. On hard snow, the only thing that caught me off guard was the tips flopping around due to the rocker. It didn’t seem to affect the way that it skied, but it just took some getting used to. When you dive into softer snow the Super 7 excels. The 146mm tip combined with a generous amount of rocker keeps the tips afloat. The narrower profile in the tail also helps keep the tips up by dropping the tails. This shape combined with the rocker also makes this a very nimble ski in tight spots. Hunting out stashes lead us into some tight trees, and I had no problems throwing the ski sideways to dodge a pine tree or two.

If you are looking for a hard charging ski that likes soft snow, big airs and high speeds the Super 7 is should seriously be considered. It will take you all over the mountain in any condition and inspire confidence every time you ride it. It could be considered a one ski quiver (one of our Retail Associates, Eric Hanson, skis it everyday) but is best suited for the deep days and softer snow.

Find it here:

http://shop.skibarndurango.com/ski-gear/skis/rossignol-super-7-ski-2012.html

www.skibarndurango.com

Spring…Mountain Biking

So the inevitable has arrived… No more skiing!!! (For most of us anyway.) What is a person to do with themselves when they dedicate an entire lifetime and focus to a single sport, but find themselves cut short on a yearly basis?  (I say this only because there are a select few with the proper knowledge and skill that it requires to stay out longer than the rest of us and seek out those last turns of the season.) Well… if you live in Durango, you break out the bike, most of who probably did months ago, and start to pedal!

It is summer training season. Time to get in shape for the first of turns to come next year. Some people see this in the opposite way, where skiing is a way to stay in shape for the bike season, but that is neither here nor there. Let us talk about why this article was really written..We follow the frozen water.

I was supposed to be spending the weekend in Fruita, CO for the weekend with a couple of family members and friends. Plans do not always seem to work out in your favor, and due to several imposing factors I did not make it. I was bummed, but I was determined to not let that destroy my weekend.

I wind up going out on Friday night and diving a bit deeper into the abyss than was planned. Everyone else seemed to do the same, because all the people that said they wanted to go biking… did not make it biking.

Saturday morning rolls around and I feel extremely lazy as I lay in bed. It doesn’t matter. I have places to be. I told people we were biking last night. Time to get moving.

After all was said and done it was Ryder and I. We decided to ride up the Colorado Trail via. Hoffheins connection. This was the first that I have ridden in this area of Durango. Do not ask me why… I have been here for 7 years and just never managed to make it (riding bikes in Durango is a new adventure everyday. there is always something new to check out right in your own backyard.).

We made it to the trail debating whether or not wind would be a factor. It was not. As soon as we started ascending, we dipped into the trees. We also dipped into some of the most fun, smooth, and manicured singletrack that I have ever ridden. This is the type of trail that you dream about… hooking your tires up around mini-berms and wheeling through dips at ridiculous speeds. We pedaled for a solid three hours. Straight up Hoffheins and then right on up the Colorado Trail.

Ryder and I pedaled a lot further than I ever would have imagined that we would make it this day ( I was extremely hungover mind you…that disappeared after about an hour of pedaling). We pedaled about eight to nine miles up today, and finally have to call it quits when we reach snow that we can no longer pass. We were pretty bummed out at this point. Neither of us were ready to turn back, but after several snow fields every 50 yards, you just can’t pedal anymore.

Silver Mountain

After a short break we turn the bikes around and start to descend. This section of trail is amazing. We attempt the no pedal-no brake, but some corners are just too tight. The singletrack is amazing though. Smooth and flowing. The descent never seems to last as long as I want it to. It is over much quicker than I had anticipated. We were moving pretty fast though.

We retire to the house and BBQ some dinner, and start talking about the next ride for tomorrow. We really come up with nothing. Maybe we are too tired to think?

We wake and mill about the house as we talk about where to ride. We decide that we are going to try and access the Indian Ridge trail at the top of the Hotel Draw road to the west of Purgatory. We quickly find out the access gate is closed and we cannot make back there. Our original plan is shot.

We decide to take a drive up Coalbank Pass and over to the top of Molas Pass. We do a little scouting and decide that we will have to drop in elevation to get any pedaling in.

The view looking west from the top of Molas Pass

We finally pull over and check out the Engineer Mountain Trailhead. Looks dry. We start unloading bikes and throw on a couple extra layers. The wind was howling and the temperature had dropped. Off we go.

The climb up this trail is not exactly friendly. It is steep and it is long. Combined with the wind, this made for some heavy duty pedaling.

Gorgeous Views & Great Singletrack. Ryder Okumura pedaling.

The top of Engineer Mountain in the distance

Ryder pedaling round the pond.

We keep at the pedaling for a while and really start to gain some elevation. For some reason my chain decided that it would best to snap and cover itself in dirt about halfway up. So we break, fix my chain and eat some snacks.

Broken Chain

Myself fixing my chain.

Back to it. We continue climbing for about another hour or so, and then it happens again. The trail disappears into a snow field. We climb through several of them, in hopes that the trail will open up into a meadow again, but just like the previous day the higher we go the more snow drifts there are to pass.

Not an enormous obstacle, but when trail disappears into these every 50 yards...Time to turn around.

It is somewhat anticlimactic at the top. We were hoping to pop out of the forest and have a clear view of Engineer, but it just never happened. I was somewhat disappointed, but knowing that I have miles of amazing singletrack to rip down brings the stoke right back up.

Looking east to the Needle Mountains. Some of the most gnarly and beautiful mountains in there.

Looking south. Purgatory is the last horizon on the right. HWY 550.

And so it begins again! Our descent. This is one of the first times that I have ever stopped and taken pictures on a descent. I am usually having so much fun that I just keep going. Don’t get me wrong…I had an awesome time on this one too, but felt like this ride needed some documentation.

Myself demonstrating the proper way to split seas.

Ryder ripping down.

Super smooth singletrack. Brraaaaaapppppp!

We messed around a little on the way down with some follow cam footage, but quickly figured out we need something more stable. Watching the video later almost made me sick. It was quite dizzying.

We got back to the car and had a few post-ride beers before heading back to town. We decide that there are so many more rides that need to be done before the summer is over so we plan to try and mission every single weekend. There is so much to ride here with so little time. There is a plethora of trails in the San Juan’s, the La Plata’s and all surrounding areas.

Post-Ride Beers are delicious!

At this particular time in the season we unintentionally find ourselves Following the Frozen Water!

Ski Barn Ski Day!

It has been a long winter for us here at the shop, but we got our day! We closed the doors for the day so that we could all take a day and ski together (something that does not typically happen). Unfortunately, we were missing a couple people due to circumstances that I am sure were out of their hands. But never the less we had a ripping good time. We had beverages, I saw more splaffies than I could count and numerous maneuvers that had probably not been done since the 80′s!

From Left to Right: Ben DeVoti, Kevin Smith, Eric Hanson, Adam Bojan, Hunter Allen, Alex Umbhau, Jackson Lacek

Not Pictured: Rick Mackewen, Eric Bojan, Kenny Malara, Jake Holland, Jim Drumstas, Elise Thatcher, Travis Newell, Jared Koreski.

Notice the jackets that Ben, Adam, and Hunter have on. Rick had brought everyone a sweet old school Spyder jacket that only world cup race coaches can get. Stoked!

Possibly with a slight swerve Adam demonstrates how good he can make a 20 year old Spyder coat look!

Alex demonstrating proper technique on a sideways cross up.

Hunter here, thinks it is a good idea to throw 540's over the tables on Tele-skis. Nobody else agrees.

Kevin thinks he can fly! Flap harder through your late 180's!

Eric showed up at the end of the day and decided that it would be a good idea to start learning corked 7's with bottles of beer in his jacket. Let me repeat that BOTTLES (not cans) BOTTLES!

All in all we had an excellent time at the mountain! On behalf of the Ski Barn crew we would like to thank Jurgen & Sachiko Umbhau for a ripping good time!

What the shop guys are riding!

Here at the Ski Barn, we take skiing quite seriously. We work hard so that we can play hard. Fortunately, the wonderful companies we represent help us out and get us into gear so that we can thrash it and talk it up to customers. Our decisions on what we buy for ourselves are not influenced by the companies. We do not take bribes so that we sell more of one brand over another. For the most part, they are influenced by what we find works best. We get to take all the gear out and demo equipment all year long so that when the time comes to get our own, we know exactly what works best for us.

Here is a look at what the 2009/2010 Ski Barn crew is rocking and destroying this year.

Kenny “Spicy Meatball” Malara

Title: Retail Manager      Age: 31

Kenny is our know it all product guru! He has been with the Ski Barn for appx.  10 years and knows more about skis and ways to tweak a boot than Stephen Hawking knows about astro-physics.

All Mountain Ski

Volkl Bridge w/ Salomon Z12ti

http://shop.skibarndurango.com/10-volkl-bridge.html

Powder Ski

Volkl Gotama w/ Marker Duke

http://shop.skibarndurango.com/10-volkl-gotama.html

Kevin “Coach” Smith

Title: Online Sales Manager      Age: 25

Kevin is the author of this article and #1 product destroyer. He has been with the Ski Barn for 4 years and has a huge problem with keeping bindings mounted to skis. If he thinks it can be jumped, he will probably try.

All Mountain Ski

Dynastar 6th Sense ‘Distorter’ w/ Look PX 12 Jib

Powder Ski

Dynastar Huge Trouble w/ Look Pivot 18

Yep. Thats Ross Anderson's speed suit!

Eric ‘tha boss’ Bojan

Title: Part time minion (master of all trades)   Age: 22

A mouth like a motorbike and complete lack of respect for anyone he works with. Quality control expert and full time hell giver. Also will try to jump just about anything. Also the only guy that will fit into Ross Anderson’s speed skiing suit!

All Mountain Ski

Salomon ‘Suspect’ w/ Salomon STH16

http://shop.skibarndurango.com/2010-salomon-suspect.html

Powder Ski

Volkl ‘Chopstick’ w/ Marker 12.0 Free

http://shop.skibarndurango.com/2010-volkl-chopstick-ski.html

Not so much Frozen Water in Moab!

On Friday the 9th of October I didn’t have to go to work and got to take some early season turns in Silverton’s Velocity Basin. Only a week later, Friday the 16th of October, I got out of work early only to go the opposite direction and get in a late season bike shred in Moab. We left in the late afternoon to catch a sweet sunset traveling west out of Durango.

We were hard pressed to find a campground at 9:30 on the Friday night before a marathon, but we got lucky and scored a sweet campground in the bottom of the canyon on Kane Creek Road. We quickly set up camp and proceeded with the usual camping antics. Fire. Beer. More fire. More beer. Sleep!

We wake, eat a quick breakfast and run to the Poison Spider for some bike shoes because Ryder couldn’t seem to locate his at home. Bummer, but apparently needed anyway. Just minutes later we are shredding around the famous rocks and slabs of the Slickrock trail. This place is biker heaven. We take the day milling around the 13 mile loop and sessioning natural half pipes and rock drops.

I wasn’t exactly looking for the rock drops, but I came out of this a little too hot and missed the light sweeping left and lost grip on the right. I wound up blowing through that tree at the bottom. Several branches and about 10 feet lower, I crawl from the mangled bike and start laughing unscathed. Lucky. A few more feet to the right and I would be hugging the trunk.

After all was said and done…No Harm…No Foul. Continue the shred. I don’t know what it is, but it seems like the miles in Moab are a little longer than the miles Durango. There were no gnarly, long up-hills or even anything out of the ordinary other than the slickrock, but by the time I made it back to the car I was wiped out.

We wound up meeting four others (Vaughn, Kelly, Blake and Laura) in the parking lot and they joined us at the camp that night. We all shared dinner and talked over many (let me express that again MANY) beers. Good times were had by all. We awake again and set off on another ride. We shuttle cars and ride the Porcupine Rim Trail. I can honestly say that this is my new favorite trail. EVER. Period. 3 miles of grueling technical uphill only to be at the top of a 12 mile Moab style downhill.

A quick break at the top and we shred hard all the way down. There are some of the most fun sections of trail I have ever ridden on this trail. Also some of the most technical downhill sections. They are not fast moving sections, but what you lack in speed you make up for in having to balance and essentially ride trials through some of the sections. Needless to say…We had an awesome time.

We finished the out the ride and rallied up the shuttle vehicles and convened at the Moab Brewery for a final meal and well deserved beer. All in all it was a successful weekend. Lots of shredding. Lots of fun. New friends. And to top it all off… Ryder and I were not passed once on a trail (we did manage to pass quite a few others though).

Early Season Silverton

It starts flying in the high country long before it hits the valley floor in Durango. So when I peek out and see the La Plata’s covered in snow I really start to itch for a good shred. So what does one do? Do I hold out until they fire up the lifts at DMR? Nah! I find a couple friends and head to the high country for some early season turns.

I was skeptical about the ski-ability as I traveled north over Molas & Coalbank pass. It was looking thin. To my surprise though, we pass through Silverton and up into Velocity Basin to find an ample amount of snow for being only the 9th of October.

We geared up and took off up the hill. 2 hours of post-holing up the mountain we made it to the top and opened a celebratory beer cheersing to the first shred of the 09/10 season.

So we chug. Then we shred. The first half of the chute was wind-loaded and we were ripping through face-shots. I just wish that were the case for the second half. The second half was slowly sliding over rocks covered in 3″ of snow. My skis hate me, but I got to shred. One more storm or so and we should be in a bit better shape.