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Man, I hope we have a half decent ski year this year. Last season was brutal. It didn't start snowing until the season was supposed to be over. Ive been thinking about some Stokes. Although Ive heard totally opposite things about them. Some people seem to rave and others talk shit. I guess I need to demo some up. G3 has some new skis, but I dont know anything about them. I know one has metal in it, I wonder if that one will be legit...

Its Getting cooler in the mtns her in ut and I can't wait....Getting new boots just not sure which Bring on winter

Which boots are you thinking about? I was on the Zzeus and dug them quite a bit. Ive got to say though, Im pretty curious about those Dynafit TLT 5 Mountain Boot.

I'm on the Scarpa Skookums and love 'em. I know killingcokes likes his Titans, but I could fit my wide foot in them. The Skookums are def. lots of boot. I have the FT 12s on my Howitzers and it's a sick, sick combo.

danf, I know I should be plugging Ski Logik, but have you also looked at the Armada JJ? I only bring it up because I think it's everything the S7 is and more, plus it's super light. I'm a theory guy, and think in theory a symmetrical design makes more sense than a pintail...IF and ONLY IF the flex is right. The JJ is great in this respect.

Of course, my new setup this year will be some Bomb Squads with Marker Tour 12s :)

Stay tuned to what we have in store for y'all, too ;)

Hey Climbhoser,, Ive heard good things about those Skookums too. The Titans and FT12s are for sure. I have been intrigued by the S7, but havent gotten on it yet. Ive heard from a few folks that those things are fully legit, one even went as far to say it is the best ski ever made. Bold words I know. Ill check out the JJ. I havent been on that either. I was just going to bite the bullet and buy the S7s unseen based on the raving. It is probably worth checking out the JJ and few others. Maybe we will actually have a monster snow year and these fat boards will be loving every second.

Im hearing some sort of hocus pocus rumors about a big snow year ahead of us because of el nina and the weird weather in the southern hemisphere. Who knows? None of that makes sense to me

Yo Dan, I just checked out Loveland website and want to make a little correction - that 40 days till they open is actually 40 days till they start making snow. And its now down to just 24 days!

Also, have you guys seen the Accuweather forecast for the 2011 winter season? They are calling for a Wintry Battle Zone in the East and Winter's Worst Cold and Snow in much of the west. Looks like it's gonna be a cold one.

LINK HERE

Hey Mallen, Wintry Battlezone? Man that sounds serious. Who is fighting in this battlezone? I wonder if this will really go down. Itd be nice if we caught with some sweet snow levels this year. We could use it.

I totally misread the 40 days till loveland thing. I guess I was getting a little ahead of myself on that one. That should have made more sense to me...Oh well

It sure would be nice if these 90 degree days would be over. It has been way too hot way too long! I hope this is just a prelude for the exact opposite this winter, cold and lot of snow...Woot!

they were supposed to start blowing snow yesterday, but due to the warm temps, they aren't...

BOOOOOO..... TEH SUX....

Maybe they will fire it up tonight. It is finally cooling off, at least for today... We cant shake these damned endless 90degree days. F that noise if you ask me. Im done with summer

LOVELAND HAS STARTED MAKING SNOW!

A-basin got some up high the other day, and I heard rumor they are shooting for october 15th opening...

http://sports.espn.go.com/action/freeskiing/news/story?id=5627055

Ski resorts battle for first to open
By Megan Michelson
ESPN Action Sports
Archive

Last Friday, temperatures dropped in the mountains of Colorado just enough for Loveland Ski Resort to turn on their snowmaking machines for the first time this season. Today, the temperatures have risen again, putting a temporary halt on snowmaking, but Loveland still swears they'll be the first ski resort in the country to open: They're shooting to have three runs open by mid-October.

"Once the snow guns start buzzing you know that a new season is just around the corner," says Loveland's marketing director John Sellers. "Check your edges and find your gloves because we are going to be skiing and riding in a few short weeks."

Loveland, of course, isn't the only resort striving for bragging rights as the first ski area to open. In fact, Oregon's Timberline Ski Area on Mt. Hood has announced that they will open two chairlifts on Friday, October 1 and stay open weekends through October, thanks to late spring snow and summer grooming on the Palmer Snowfield. Colorado's Arapahoe Basin, located just over the pass from Loveland, is also in the running, although they haven't started making snow yet. When asked about Timberline's early opening, A-Basin's marketing director Leigh Hierholzer said, "I think the ski area really has to be open every day [of the week] for the season to count."

The rivalry between Loveland and A-Basin has been ongoing for years.

From 1999 to 2005, Loveland was on a six-year winning streak as the first resort to open. But then A-Basin took the lead in 2006, beating Loveland by one day. In 2007, A-Basin opened first again and in 2008, the two resorts tied for opening day. Last season, Loveland opened -- as the first resort in the U.S. -- on October 7. A-Basin, plus Nevada's Las Vegas Ski and Snowboard Resort and California's Boreal, all followed closely behind.

The earliest Loveland has ever opened was in 1962, when the resort got a huge early season dump and opened on September 30 (but it then closed and re-opened in October). A-Basin's earliest opening was last year on October 9.

In separate interviews with the marketing directors at Loveland and A-Basin, they echoed each other when asked the same question: Sounds like you guys are putting your hat in the ring to become the first to open?

"Putting our hat in the ring?" Loveland's Sellers responded. "We are the defending champs!"

Arapahoe Basin's Hierholzer said the same thing. "Putting our hat in the ring? We own the ring."

Courtesy of Loveland
"We get to offer a long season to our pass holders and the media exposure we receive is worth in excess of a million dollars," says Loveland's John Sellers about the glory of opening first.
There are other contenders in the match as well.

Last year, California's Mammoth Mountain opened on October 16, although their average opening day is late November. "A Basin and Loveland are a lot higher in elevation and Colorado is a lot drier, so they're able to make snow earlier than we are," says Mammoth spokesman Dan Hansen. "It's rare that we beat them, but we always have the chance of getting a big early season storm." Hansen says Mammoth gets their bragging rights by staying open later in the season than any other resort -- last year Mammoth closed on July 5.

In Utah, the earliest opening days were Brighton on October 31 and Snowbird on November 4. Solitude opened last year on Halloween, but then closed and re-opened later in the fall. "We don't put emphasis on the beginning of the season," says Ski Utah's Jessica Kunzer. "But this year could be a good early season year for us, if the predictions about La Niña are correct."

On the East Coast, place your earliest opening bets on Maine's Sugarloaf or Sunday River or Vermont's Killington. Last year, Sunday River had its longest season with an opening date of October 14. "Last fall was the third year in a row for Sunday River to open first on the East Coast -- and we had one of our earliest openings in well over a decade," says Sunday River's director of communications Darcy Morse-Liberty. "It's hard to say if we'll get the weather we need to do it again, but it's always fun to think about."

In the end, though, which resort opens first hardly matters. "Whether Loveland or A-Basin wins the race," says Leigh Hierholzer, "it still means ski season has started and that's good for the entire ski industry."

Images and Video from Dustin Schaefer @ Loveland! Way to go man!