Weather forecast on K2 was stated to be excellent. It was clear when Fredrik Ericsson left for the summit, but suddenly a very strong storm moved in. Fredrik, Austrian Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner and other climbers were already near the top, but something went wrong and Fredrik fell.

According to Austria Press Agency (APA), German climber Ralf Dujmovits (Kaltenbrunner’s husband), who had initially made the K2 climb, confirmed there had been a serious accident. Gerlinde was able to return to Camp IV, and is already coming down from K2.

Conditions on the mountain have not been easy. The team has reported numerous avalanches.

According to Wikipedia, Fredrik Ericsson was born in Sweden on 1975. During the summer of 2003 Ericsson climbed and skied the 7495 meters high Peak Communism in Tajikistan. In 2004 he became the first Swede to ski descend the  8000-meters peak when he skied from the central summit of Shisha Pangma (8012m) in Tibet. In 2005 Ericsson and his Norwegian friend Jörgen Aamot made an attempt to ski the coveted Laila Peak (6069m) in Pakistan were forced to turn back due to bad weather condition. Same year they also skied from the summit of Gasherbrum II (8035m). Ericsson returned to the Himalayas in 2007 to attempt Dhaulagiri (8167m) in Nepal. Massive amount of snow and dangerous conditions forced him to turn around at 8000 meters from where he skied 3000 vertical meters down to base camp.

This is a sad day. Fredrik Ericsson was attempting to ski world’s three highest peaks: Mount Everest, K2 and Kanchenjunga. I still remember how excited and enthusiastic Fredrik Ericsson and Trey Cook were when I received Trey’s email from Peshawar. They were really looking forward to climb and ski K2. We agreed to publish several stories with stunning photos from K2, and I was eager to hear all the news from Fredrik and Trey, but it all went different.

Our thoughts go out to Fredrik Ericsson’s family and friends.

“Skiing the high snowy mountains of Afghanistan would be a dream come true for many backcountry skiers, but as we all know, it is not possible as long as the fighting keeps going on in the country.” – Marko, Homeboy ski.

At the time Marko was writing this in the Autumn of 2009, Afghanistan had already seen a number of skiers on its slopes and was preparing the ground work to accept its first batch of foreign back country skiers. As with many things about Afghanistan, the public perception of the country is often very different to actual life on the ground.

Picture taken by Chad Dear, March 2010

Ever since the International forces ousted the Taliban regime in 2001, intrepid foreign workers have been heading to the slopes near Kabul for some escapism during the winter months and today a small group now regularly use the slopes of the Salang Pass for few runs each week. In the winter of 2009 the Bamian valley in Central Afghanistan has had its first injection of a US$1.5 million investment to boost its fledgling tourism industry. Local guides have been trained to show how the region, most famous for its giant standing Buddhas which were destroyed by the Taliban 9 years ago, can be a year round tourist attraction. Two American ski consultants spent last winter there and can confirm that the slopes of Afghanistan’s Hindu Kush range is one of the worlds finest backcountry ski areas. Already the prospect of ski tourism has attracted some media interest and it seems that against all odds Afghanistan can be a ski destination.

The development plan in Bamian is to first attract foreign workers from Kabul and wealthier Afghanis before trying to attract foreign tourists in 3-5 years time but Untamed Borders, a travel company from the UK, is already advertising places for Afghanistan’s first ski tour in March 2011.

Untamed Borders is a small niche travel company that organises guides and trips to Pakistan and Afghanistan. They want to use their experience, knowledge and long lasting relationships in Afghanistan to allow back country skiers a unique experience that will be as much a cultural exploration as a skiing trip. Their itinerary intends to allow the guests to follow the routes pioneered by the ex-pat workers in the Salang Pass and then to use the services of the newly trained local guides in the Bamian region. They will also encourage the skiers to bring extra second hand ski equipment to help stock the fledgling local ski rental business of Bamian.

Picture taken by Chad Dear, March 2010

It seems incredible that peaceful pockets can exist in Afghanistan. However, one of the things that has driven the violence in Afghanistan is the fact the country is made up of many different ethnic and religious groups who are often distrustful of each other. Bamian is the home of the Hazara. The Hazara are descendants of an army left as a garrison by Genghis Khan and have mongaloid, oriental faces. They are also Shia muslims in a country dominated by Sunnis. Over the years they have persecuted and neglected by various governments and it is only since the US and ISAF forces have been in the country that schools, hospitals and roads have been built here. This is why the security situation there is far removed from the Pashtun led insurgency you see on the news in the southern provinces.

Untamed Borders use guides that have worked in Afghanistan since 1997 and have a deep understanding of the risks involved in travel to the country and where it is possible to travel safely and why. They have many friends in all the places on the trip who give them up to the minute information on what is really going on.

The question still remains whether Afghanistan, a country with poor infrastructure, no ski lifts and possibly crucially, where alcohol is illegal, can really attract skiers from Europe and America that are used to their creature comforts. However, it is clear that it will not be for a lack of opportunity should the brave wish to make the trip.

Photo: www.FredrikEricsson.com

Ericsson and Cook travelled from Islamabad to Hushe via Skardu where the trek into Laila Peak base camp began. As reported the team found the deepest snow in the Gondogoro valley in at least 15 years. The team attempted a ski descent of Laila Peak but were turned back 300 meters from the summit by deep, unstable snow. However, Ericsson did enjoy a 1000 vertical meter descent on Laila’s pristine, 45-degree northwest face.
 
Following their attempt to ski Laila Peak, Ericsson and Cook and 18 porters took three days to cross the Gondogoro-la pass, swing through Concordia and arrive at K2 base camp.

Photo: www.FredrikEricsson.com

The team reports that conditions on K2 are favorable and will be heading up the Cesen Route tomorrow to Camp 1 for an early round of acclimatizion and to scope the route.
 
To learn more of the team’s adventure check out their Ski K2 blog at www.FredrikEricsson.com or Facebook site Fredrik Ericsson – Ski Mountaineering.

Basically I wrote down a story told by Aadne – it gives you some more background and also some overview on how a film group and professional riders work together in the mountains.

Aadne Olsrud worked as a back-up guide for the Missing Link film group

The team of eight persons was filming for Missing link. The team consisted of following people: three riders, Fred Syversen, Dennis Risvol and Lars Fidjestøl; the head cameraman was Norwegian Peter Nyquist (quite famous in Norway) and his assistant Finnish Jani Johanssen (Btw. he is a great telemarker too!); and Jarkko Henttonen and Aadne Olsrud worked as guides. Helicopter pilot was a local guy called Mathias.

The mountain they had been sessioning is called Blåbærfjellet (”Blueberry Fell”). The accident happened on the mountain’s northeast face. One day earlier the riders had been warming up with mellower lines, and by the friday the 7th of May, the riders were ready for some harder lines. Aadne worked as a back-up guy for the filming crew, waiting with his snowmobile at the bottom of the mountain, ready to pick up riders and filmers and move them quickly to the new filming zones and/or pick up zones for the helicopter.

The conditions had been great for the whole area in early May: snow was good, the base was deep and the conditions had been stable for a while – perfect spring skiing conditions for Northern Norway.

Fred Syversen had eyed the line in question for days. And on Friday he lent Aadne’s binoculars and checked the line once more intensively and thoroughly for thirty minutes, then deciding, “calculated risk but I am ready for it”.

The accident scene – what happened right after Fred Syversen’s crash?

The line itself is something one would call “hairy”, “gnarly” or something similar in “skier’s jargon”…it is about 40-45 degrees steep, has three back to back mandatory airs, and is in Aadne’s own words “just wide enough for good turns – for a skier like Fred”. What makes it really hard though is the short distance between the cliff drops, by Fred’s own estimate there was enough space for maybe just one or two quick turns before hitting another eight to ten meter (around 30 feet) air.

When Fred crashed Aadne was waiting to carry cameraman Peter to another location on his sled. Aadne didn’t see the fall but hear shouting and saw a small avalanhe coming out of the chute.  Then he saw Fred lying at the bottom of the line and cameraman Peter running to him. Fred seemed to be able to move his hands and legs though. Aadne drove immediately to the waiting heli where they had a radio connection and heard Fred reporting, “I am OK“.

Aadne then tried to drive the sled up the hill to where Fred was lying. But the hill was so steep that he had to stop about 200 meters before Fred’s location. Fred then managed(!) to walk down the steep hill (with deep soft snow) to the waiting snowmobile. Aadne was just thinking to get the man to the helicopter and back to the base camp they had down in the valley. He also called an ambulance. It took only thirty minutes for the ambulance to arrive in the base lodge. (Scandinavian public health care system has its good sides)

The aftermath – analyzing and calculating figures of the Fred Syversen’s crazy tumble

When Aadne saw the video clip of the crash, he did some analyzing from the screen.  He wonders mostly Fred’s cat like ability to hit everything skis first. It is also evident that to take this much of abuse requires the physics of a high level athlete. We both agree that even a normal, relatively fit skier would probably had much more serious injuries. So it is not totally about the luck either!

As for trying to find someone or something to blame, Aadne simply refuses, “it was no ones fault“. In the chute/couloir the snow was probably a bit dryer and deeper than anybody thought causing more snow than expected to wash out in the air from the spindrift. Everything also happened very fast – a skier going at around 60 km / hour and the whole scene lasting only about 20-30 seconds.

There wasn’t just that much time to react once Fred was at speed. He took the calculated risk and this time it didn’t go as well as planned. The most important thing is that Fred is alive and skiing again soon, and that the whole team worked effortlessly together even in the sudden accident situation.

The fall itself is hard to grasp. Based on Aadne’s calculations the fall was about 250 meters of vertical and around 350-400 meters of distance.

PS. If you are interested in Tamokdalen as a skiing/riding or climbing location check out this cool facebook group The Northern Playground

Photos in the post by Aadne Olsrud, used by permission. Thanks Aadne – we look forward to ski with you in the future!

Fred Syversen goes big again and crashes hard

The man who did the accidental world record on cliff dropping two season ago, Fred Syversen, has the ability to  make some buzz. Fred  has the reputation to  go all or nothing every time he skis.

Check out this epic cartwheel crash in the video clip  below. This happened during a Missing Link film shoot in northern Norwegian location called Tamokdalen. The line in question and the fall is shown from 1:45 to the very end of the clip.

I though I would break every bone in my body, Fred Syversen admits

Norwegian magazine vg.no tells us a few details in their article about the accident:

The accident happened on friday the 7th of May while skiing a line Fred himself called “hairy”  - a narrow and steep chute including a “three stager” cliff drop. Before the first mandatory air the helicopter filming above sprayed so much snow around that Fred couldn’t see anything. “This is a line where falling is absolutely out of question. Therefore, the helicopter coming so near should never happen! It was a total whiteout. So, I fell anyway and now I am very lucky to have no further damage”, explains Syversen when watching the video of the fall first time.

Again, Fred survived with relatively few injuries – bruised shoulder and hand combined with some scratches on his face.

Fred says that the high speed might have saved him from more serious injuries. At speed the momentum goes more forward than just hard down. However, Fred still admits that he was afraid of breaking every bone in his body (Note: And we believe that!). In the end of the fall, entering the “runout” zone, Fred also had some good luck when avoiding the sharp rocks lurking in both sides of his path.

Fred Syversen looks forward for a quick recovery – another freeride competition in June?

After all Fred doesn’t blame the helicopter pilot for the accident. Everyone who was on the filming team has spoken out about what happened.

“What is happening (in the video) is that I try to stop desperately because of not seeing anything in the snow cloud. Eventually I realize that I just can’t stop and choose to take the downhill option…”

After landing the first drop Fred started a dramatic series  of  cartwheels for several hundred meters until he finally stopped. First Fred was afraid of dislocating his shoulder but a check in hospital excluded this. Fred is still out of skiing for a while to heal the shoulder and hand. But he looks forward to be back in a freeride camp in Stryn, Norway held on the 10th of June.

We hope fast recovery for Fred and wish all the luck in the future too. Seems like being a professional freerider requires quite a lot of it – and a built of a tank in addition!

Ski photo by Aadne Olsrud, other photos are screenshots from the video. Ps. I just chatted with Aadne. He was on the accident site and picked up Fred on his snowmobile after the fall and drove him to the heli. I’ll try to talk with him soon and ask some more questions!

There is still some good snow to be had in the northern part of Scandinavia and of course e.g. in Chamonix people are skiing big lines until the early summer. However, we are starting to take it a bit easier with the site and the post frequency will be slower during the summer months. We have also some totally new things coming on for the next season and those require some technical updates, which will be done during the summer months too.

Here is a compilation of  some of the best HBS articles/posts in 2009-2010 in our opinion. There will be a second part – just because there was so much of good content! The second part is coming soon too…Enjoy!

Season overview

For the season 2009-2010 we didn’t actually get a “super hit” like the 2008-2009 article about Fred Syversen’s accidental world record cliff jump. Fred’s unbelievable flight and almost miraculous survive created a lot of buzz and we wanted to hear his personal opinion on all this too. So, Marko discussed with Fred in this interview:

http://homeboyski.com/2009/01/23/fred-syversen-interview-the-skier-who-survived-107-meters-drop/

Fred Syversen in Chamonix, photo by Petri Kovalainen

Talking about the traffic, while we did not get those super high traffic peaks this winter, the everyday visitor figures were on the steady rise. And today we are actually not that far from total one million page uploads. Yes, that’s a small number in the Internet but pretty good for an independent Finnish ski site, what do you think?

October 2009

The good news for the start of the season was that our writer/contributor Ville Eskonen got his picture published in Dutch White Freeride ski magazine.

The actual ski season got a pretty good start too. Lorenzo reported about six days of skiing powder in October, in Tyrol, Austria. Here at our “headquarters” in Helsinki, Finland we were really jealous, not knowing yet that the upcoming season would be exceptionally snowy for us flatlanders too (and I personally couldn’t figure out that the season would give the most ski days in about seven or eight years…)

Another October stand-outs were the following articles:

Petri Kovalainen – My Life Behind the Camera – check out the awesome work of photographer Petri Kovalainen.

Mountain guide Ode Siivonen, photo Petri Kovalainen

“It’s all about the feelings”

Our buddy and contributor Jarkko Henttonen told us about riding the North Face of  l’Aiguille du Midi via Mallory-Porter couloir. Read the article if you are interested on serious big mountain lines and how to prepare yourself for them.

November 2009

In the beginning of the month Lorenzo wrote another great post – a Krippenstein resort review. Plenty of good pics and detailed information about the unique, small ski resort.

Another highlight from November is Marko’s excellent interview of Kimmo “Skipe” Oivo  - Life Matters! (the second part of the Skipe interview was published in December but check it out too, really cool stuff). Skipe is one of the first “ski bums” in Finland, and at the age of 43 he is still going strong!

December 2009 – Seth Morrison Interview

In the early December we got a real jackpot! It is funny how small the world have become. Marko asked his Sethness himself for an online interview. Seth didn’t write us complicated long answers but you gotta respect the man’s work ethic – Seth replied to us in less than 24 hours, and offered some really well thought straight to the point answers – pretty much telling us nerds to shut up and go to ski and train more!  “Go skiing every day, be in shape, and ski on rockered skis.”

Thank you Seth for the interview & story - http://homeboyski.com/2009/12/02/seth-morrison-interview/

Thanks also to Adam Clark, Black Diamond and Oakley for the photos.

Seth Morrison, front flip in Alaska, photo by Adam Clark

In December Juho also started his all season ski trip to the United States and Canada, and reported with a nice review from Lost Trail Powder Mountain in the border of Montana and Idaho. Gotta love those local, small scale resorts where the powder stays untouched for days…

January 2010

In January we managed to score a couple of more interesting interviews.

Marko translated an article from Slovakian site snowmagazin.sk (with the help of the Snowmagazin guys of course because we dont know much Slovakian!) – The Interview of the best slalom skier ever lived, Ingemar Stenmark. If you are old enough to remember the late seventies/early eightties you can’t forget Ingemar, still a classic icon of technique and elegant skiing style.

I did a long interview of Joonas Karhumaa, arguably one of the best telemark skiers of the world. Joonas has proved his skills again this season, placing e.g. second on the FWT Qualifications in Monte Rosa, among some 60 alpine guys!

Personally, I think Joonas interview is one of my best posts so far – pretty much because of the interesting and intelligent interviewee and superb photos by Tero Repo!

In January Juho also continued his trip in Canada:

Touring in Kootenay Pass

Some more touring in Rogers Pass and Whitewater backcountry

- If you are into touring these reports should make you drool and dream about the next season (that is, if your season is already over…)

Ville also started his EPIC Japan trip and gave us something that could be labeled as true skiporn:

Japan – Endless Powder

What you can say…? Another day at the office for Ville I guess?

To be continued with the best posts of February, March and April…

I skied all of the tested models for about three or four runs. This won’t give you conclusive review of all the skis but some impressions how the models have changed, different upcoming ski types and shapes and so on. I believe almost all new skis are pretty good from the start. The thing you have to realize is, however, that unlike some five years ago the skis in the so-called “freeride” category are not just rebadged, widebody GS skis.

Today there are a refreshingly wide range of different shapes, widths, flexes and most importantly rocker profiles  - the last feature being probably one of the biggest ski innovations since increased sidecuts and first “fat” skis! So, the key is to demo, search information and especially know (or find out) what you are really looking for.

You can find out more about the tester e.g. here. The conditions were soft spring snow groomers and later on the day wet, deep slush. There was also one little kicker where one could get a bit of air – perfect for classic “tongue in cheek” late spring/season end tricks like cosacks, spreads, daffies…

Movement Super Turbo GTI

Now, let’s start with the biggest and baddest. Earlier I have never been that impressed on Movement skis but now I have to admit that Movement had two of the most interesting models on the whole demo fleet. The first one being the Super Turbo GTI – at an impressive 202cm length.

Movement Super Turbo GTI is a big mountain and powder ski with dimensions of 150-120-135mm (tip-middle-tail) and long tip rocker. It has no tail rocker though, giving the ski a more traditional feel when finishing the turns.

On the feet the first impression of the skis is “holy s**t these are big and heavy” (see the picture below – compared to my friend’s Dynafit Mustagh Aga touring skis!). When you start to get speed these didn’t feel like total tanks though. There is just enough sidecut to even get decent turns on the groomers and the ski isn’t overly stiff. Tip rocker part is also so long that on the firmer stuff the ski feels more like a middle stiff 185cm traditional fat ski. The very tip of the skis flap a bit at speed but it doesn’t seem to has an effect on the performance at all.

Conclusion from the four test runs: manageable but quite boring on the low angle groomed stuff (can’t be surprising to anyone?). I also wouldn’t like to jump turn these beasts or try to flick them around on the tight trees – if you are going to buy these, you better know what to do with them. Big ski for big mountains and good skiers but not overly demanding. Seems like this category of skis has “softened” a bit since the likes of Head Im 103s, first generation Big Daddies and Nordica FF 105s.

Movement Fly Swatter 185cm

This is a freakish looking ski: short(ish), very fat and with abrupt rocker and deep sidecut. People carving these on the slopes looked like they have some kind of little “boats” on their feet. Fly Swatter is kind of exaggerated version of the Armada JJ. 150-125-145mm, 17 meter sidecut radius and very centered binding mounting point. It also has the similar “5-dimensional sidecut” profile than the JJ. Nice graphics too. I forgot to take a picture of these, check out the graphics and some more info on this link.

However, on the slopes this was a very positive surprise. Fun, poppy and lively, carves and surfs well, depending on what you like to do. Very playful, makes you want to try silly little jumps/180s everywhere – see the picture below, the skier looks stiff but the ski works better, heh.

Soft, forgiving round flex probably has some speed limit if you really like to charge. And the effective sidecut is quite short -I guess this ski need some amount of soft snow to come alive.

Positive impression probably come also from the conditions (deep slush, small hill) but as a huge fan of Armada JJ I think I could like this ski almost everywhere as long the conditions are  on the soft side. I would be tempted to mount the binding just 1,5-2cm more back (from the recommended mark) but on the other hand due to lots of tail rocker this might not work at all?

Conclusion is that despite the awkward look, Movement Fly Swatter works very well. For the skiers that like soft, playful skis. Also, I bet good backcountry freestylers would make wonders with these “surf boards” on their feet. Btw. Pretty much everyone around seemed to like these skis.

K2 Hellbent 179cm

Already huge-dimensioned Hellbent has growth some more for the next season. It now has a whooping 132mm waist but otherwise the concept is unchanged.

This was a small disappointment for me. The ski has the typical “K2 feel”, soft(ish) but stable and damp. The downside is that this feel offers not that much liveliness and “pop”.

The Hellbent carved ok and absorbed small ruts and bumps very well. But something lacked in my opinion. Maybe the very wet snow had an effect – I felt that ski this wide began to “glue”/stick to the snow, making it even more out of its element (while 132mm waist ski can carve on the groomed, no one could argue that this width is made for the prepared slopes).

Some guys on the test tent praised how K2 Hellbent behaves on the real powder and I guess the story is totally different there. 132mm waist and “powder rocker” concept can’t be bad on real blowder days. Still, I am beginning to be in the school of thought that skis with waist widths bigger than say 125-130mm work better with “5-dimensional sidecut”/pointy tips.

K2 Obsethed 189cm

I have been the fan of the whole K2 Seth line since the original yellow Seth Pistols. For the next season, K2 ObSethed has growth some more, the dimensions now being 146-117-134mm.  It has the rocker profile 20/40 on the tip and 10/20 in the tail (see the picture below).

Again, Seth’s ski didn’t disappoint. For some reason, despite having the same K2 feel as the Hellbent, the whole concept worked much better to me. Maybe for me the longer but slightly narrower ski just felt better? (So take this with a grain of salt – hard to say anything between different lengths anyway, 179cm vs. 189cm). Some have speculated that now the ObSethed have moved from “all-mountain” category to the pure powder ski status. However, I felt that this is “just a ski” (in a positive way). It felt that I could just click into the bindings and ski anything without thinking too much of it.

Armada ARG 185cm

Armada ARG hasn’t changed for the next season (graphics excluded). This was my first time on the so-called Reverse-Reverse skis, like Praxis Powders (I count ARG’s to this category, even though the ski has a very short section of minimal of sidecut). I know what to expect though – a good friend of mine skis these pretty much all the time, everywhere, even on groomed slopes(!).

Very fun skis, just forget carving! If you try to carve, the skis will split and go to the separate directions. But you learn to avoid that in a few runs. Think old school “windshield viper”, sliding turns. No problem for an old mogul skier like me…

Where the slush was deep enough I could feel the ski start to surf/plane. When that happens, everything become totally effortless. In powder this type of ski lets you do the things unimaginable before. There are other options too but if you look for uncompromised and at the same time fun/playful powder performance, I guess ARGs can’t disappoint.

Jumping felt strange with these – no wonder Armada team skiers seem to use JJs more: on booters and kickers some sidecut is your friend IMHO. I guess for powder cliffs there shouldn’t be any problem (once you have got used to the R/R feel).

Armada JJ (as telemark skis)

This was something I have waited for a long time. The JJs are also unchanged (graphics aside) for the next season. Being the huge fan of the concept I have been thinking that JJ must be a really fun freeheel ski too.

Well, telemark skiing is way more dependent on the bindings than alpine. So, I had some troubles with loose (too long) cables and just couldn’t get the “right” feel in the tele turn. General impression was that the “loose” feeling of the rocker ski is really fun also when dropping the knee but with JJs I also felt the tight sidecut become quite “hooky” on couple of occasions (might be my bad tele technique and/or the problem with the bindings).

I tried to jumps couple of times from the small kicker available – here I can understand why some people don’t like tail rocker on tele skis. I ended up very back seated after the launch from the lip.

Can’t say much based on this experience – fun skis as telemark too but one must have good technique and balance and I guess binding selection is pretty essential factor too.

Btw. Another interesting tele option was available too – Voile Drifter 182cm (See the picture below). The cables were just too long for my boots. People seemed to dig that ski quite a lot and it also seemed to work very well in slushy conditions. Too bad I couldn’t test them this time.

Armada ARV 185cm

Unchanged for the 2010-2011 season. I already reported some impression of that ski last season. The fatter skis worked better for the heavy slush conditions though. Anyway, Armada ARV is a nice piste/park oriented all-mountain ski that still work on the soft snow too. Neutral, not too stiff and predictable – good skis but don’t particularly impress on any special area.

Völkl Gotama 186cm

This was also one ski I have been eager to test for some time already. Völkl Gotama changed quite radically (on the paper at least) for this season but for 2010-2011 there is no new modifications. Measurements are 137-106-122mm and the ski has a very subtle rocker through the whole ski.

The original black Gotama had quite a cult following. After skiing this incarnation I’d say that the new model also lives up its legendary status. But there are just huge amount of other options and “competitors” around these days. The ski felt pretty same as my own 190cm 06/07 (white) Gotamas. When standing on the skis the rocker is so mellow that you don’t even notice it. The tips of the skis are very low, to the degree that you wonder how they work in the soft snow. Reports confirm that there shouldn’t be any problems though.

The ski engages the turn just a tad slower than the 06/07 and 08/09 models and the rocker gives maybe minimal amount less “pop” from turn to turn but after a few runs you shouldn’t notice the difference. Seems like Völkl didn’t want to change the winner concept too much,  just changed it a bit more modern.

I guess the new Gotama offers all the same than the older one but adds  a bit more flotation and “looseness” in the soft snow. If you dig Völkl skis/older Gotamas and look for a solid all-arounder, look no further. The 194cm version should be also good option for the big/strong skiers.

PS. This was our last ski review for this winter. The test day was the 43th ski day for me. The awesome winter of 2009-2010 gave us six months of skiing here in Southern Finland. And despite the small molehills we even enjoyed some very rare real powder snow in January and February.

Please comment if you have any more questions – or additions to the ski  test, or even if you totally disagree with me!

At the moment I have a lot of “original content” drafts under work but while they require still some more editing / research, I will now do an exception to the above mentioned principle. I have thought the whole winter that when these guys get three editions/parts together I will post them all at once – because this is just good, progressive stuff and the guys behind it (Aarni Toiviainen, Oskari Raitanen and Matti Räty) reserve all the possible support and coverage.

So I won’t write more this time. Check out the clips below and judge yourself. You don’t even have to be huge new school fan/skier to see that the guys are just having big fun everywhere and don’t take skiing too serioysly – just like it should be in our opinion.

And, yes remember to check the Nipwitz Blog too!

Nipwitz episode 1 from Aarni Toiviainen on Vimeo.

Nipwitz episode 2 from Aarni Toiviainen on Vimeo.

Episode 2 documents the cold yet snowy January 2010 in Finland.

Nipwitz episode 3 from Aarni Toiviainen on Vimeo.

On my recent trip to Andermatt, Switzerland, I was pleased to meet the owner and founder of the Birdos Skis, Dan Loutrel. (For more info on Dan and Birdos Skis, read Antti’s nice interview from last season, “Birdos Freeride Skis from Andermatt“).

While skiing the Swiss Alps I was curious to test something from Birdos against my beloved Armada JJs. While I love the JJs and find them very FUN skis in almost all conditions, sometimes I feel that a bit more effective edge and girth would be welcome. You know, all those hard surface/piste runs, avalanche debris, cruddy conditions, occasional icy patches in the couloir/line entrances etc. While telling all this, Dan quickly gave me a pair of “Early Birds” 191cm for a test in Andermatt. Thank you Dan and Birdos Skis for the test!

Birdos Skis Early Bird specs, test conditions and about the reviewer

Dan described these skis simply: “built for speed”. He also stated that they are not overly stiff though, round- medium-flex and slight rocker on both ends adding some versatility, while the relatively traditional shape and long(ish) effective edge would offer the needed stability for varying Alps conditions.

The shape is fairly standard 143-111-124mm and sidecut radius 28,5m. The skis are offered in three lenghts 171, 181 and 191cm. (Read more on Birdo’s own site.) Note also that all Birdo’s shapes are available in custom rocker profiles and flexes – very cool option in my opinion, you can choose standard skis if they suit you, go semi-custom with an available shape or create just the monster (or beauty!?) you have in your own mind. Try that with big corporate manufacturers! One thing I also like is Dan’s approach to use only local, sustainable subcontractors and materials. Check out the the mentioned article by Antti (above) if you want to read more about that. Another argument for why you might consider a small scale local ski builder (like Dan and Birdos) for your next ski purchase?

Tip Rocker

Tail Rocker

Test conditions were pretty optimal, some new snow, variable crud here and there and moguls forming up in the most popular routes. We skied everything from boot deep light powder to soft moguls on the test day. The only negative thing was that the visibility was pretty low all day – so no good skiing pics this time. Also, the low visibility restricted the possibility to really “open it up” (where these skis obviously shine). So, take my observations with a grain of salt. And for example pictures of the snow condition/terrain click my Andermatt trip report.

Few words about the reviewer. First, while we have been quiet with the blog for some time, I was able to log most days in eight(!) years this season: over forty days so far, and March and early April giving some twenty ski days.  I’d say that I am fairly strong all-mountain skier that can ski pretty much everywhere and in every conditions.  My stats are: height/weight: 184cm (~6feet), 83kg (~160lbs), some 29 years of skiing experience, mogul back ground. I like playful skiing and eventhough I can’t call myself a “newschool” skier (anymore) I still like to jump here and there and ski some park too at times. I also do more and more telemark skiing these days (19 days this season).

Birdos Skis Early Bird on the Mountain

My first feel on these is that the skis are long and quite heavy. And compared to my JJs the 191cm is at least true to the announced lenght (see the picture below).

Once you start skiing some of that feel disappears. The flex is not overly stiff and the skis absorb little ruts/chopped up stuff nicely. At first we ski some ungroomed runs that are skied by hundreds of others already, making them good testing grounds for pretty typical Alps conditions; the snow is still soft but moguls start to form up and the snow is uneven, somewhere you still go through everything, somewhere you get bounced by the early-stage moguls. Here the skiing is easy and effortless, as long as there is enough space to just go for it and open it up.

Then we hit the real off-piste and to our bad luck the visibility gets worse. Traverses over some exposure feel harder/scarier with these skis than on my own, the added lenght definately feels there. Slow speed skiing on the steeps is also quit a lot harder, the more traditional shape with moderate rocker doesn’t seem to help much here. The skis are ok but feel a bit dead and unresponsive, or should I say “traditional”. The 28,5 turn radius also feels a bit longer than you might expect…or maybe I am (too) used to the JJs almost “slalom-like” sidecut probably?

We manage to ski a little bowl of perfect powder while having a “sunny window”. Now, once you get the skis to plane properly the rocker starts to work and you can “slarve” /”schmear” the turns (similar to my JJ’s or e.g. Praxis Powders). Skiing powder in low visibility is a bit frustrating, knowing that just a bit of more speed would really make the ski alive – ski at too low speed and these skis require quite a lot of power and your legs get tired pretty soon. “Built for speed” seems really appropriate slogan here!

Near the village we got to (or have to?) ski some soft moguls. The skis work suprisingly well. You feel the lenght and weight but the relatively straight tail lets you finish the turn by sliding the tails old school style. The ski won’t “hook up” or do anything too suprising. Just stay forward and aggressive. At least I can say the 191cm lenght is not for the weak/technically less skilled skiers.

Cons/pros of the Early Bird skis and another observations

 Pros

- Stable and damp

- Shines at speed on long radius turns, while not being overly demanding to ski – very good combo

-  Long turn radius (feels longer than announced, could be bad too if you like turny skis)

- Lets you dictate the turn shape, no “locked in turn” feeling. Rocker adds  to this but IMHO only works at speed on this model (or compared to e.g. Armada JJs which are easier to ski on slow speeds)

- Forgiving, round flex makes the 191cm model easier to ski than you would expect

- Nice finishing, hand made feel, materials seem bomb-proof to me

- Custom option on the flexes, camber profiles and graphics = very nice

- Not “just another big brand ski” (if that means something to you)

Cons

- Just a tad heavy (could be good too – just plows through the crud. Note: Marker Jester demos are not light weight either)

- Quite “traditional” feel (if you are used to the “fun shape” feel)

Other observations

- I would like to have tried the binding just a tad more forward, 1-2cm

- I would love to test the “Floater” and “Floater 110″ shapes, Floater 110 with NTNs as tele skis…hmmmm

- Read this and you’d probably consider buying from Birdos too…

The skiing (and snowboarding) was pretty good for the whole time in Andermatt. The cold weather guaranteed good snow all the way to the village and the lack of wind offered safe and stable off-piste conditions. Btw. this week the whole weather pattern for central Europe seems to turn much more spring-like. I guess we were pretty lucky with the weather!

1.st day – March 7

Not bad, first day of skiing and it has dumped some 30-40cm of new snow on the upper mountain. Travelling with the kids is always a hassle and this time it leads to that certain “no friends on a powder day”/”powder stress” situation. Waiting for Antti (AZ) I bump into Joonas Karhumaa at the middle station but the guy  is obvioysly too stoked to go ski the powder (and I am still waiting for AZ ). Then AZ calls that the lift line down there has grown significantly – I should wait for another half an hour or so. A bit confused I ponder weather to go skiing alone for a few runs. Suddenly couple of old ski friends appear (world is small indeed) and I make the quick decision to ski with them.

I manage to get some four great runs, before it is time to let my wife get her share of the powder. I skied two times the basic “B-Russi Run” and its sides and then the two couloirs to the Felsental side, “Gipfel” and the smaller one to the skiers left (the so called “Swedish/Finnish couloir”, not sure of the “official” name?).

2nd day, March 8

I have an afternoon turn and by that time everything near the slopes is tracked out. Time to hit another classic, the ”Giraffe” route.

Ooops –  the  high traverse to Giraffe over some 200 meters of exposure is quite unnerving at first. After all, last season I had  the first winter for 15(!) years of not going to ski any central European mountains. This definately feels here. But after the second run (we hit Giraffe twice that day) everything seems easier again, “I’ve done this before and it is nothing but a short, easy traverse” – this mantra seems to help…The skiing itself is nice, light and dry snow all the way to the exit couloir. The long traverse back to village near the river serves as some very welcomed exercise for us office rats. After that we even manage to go once more to the top for the five o’clock “alpenglow” run and ski empty Felsental in cold air (-20c!) while snow crystals sparkle in the air. Just beautiful.

3rd day, March 9

It gets a bit cloydy and two days of ski efforts feel  in the legs. I take it pretty easy. We ski the basic “Guspis” route to the picturesque (did I say that word?)  and ancient Hospental village.

After that I took some time to ski with my 5 old daughter and we went to the south side Nätschen resort.  For her the whole trip is an adventure. And to be honest Andermatt is not a real “kid’s/family resort”. She has never been on a chairlift before and got quite scared. We went to the middle station with Matterhorn-Gotthard Bahn (a train), which was a nice option. But from there all the slopes and lifts seem quite steep and high for my daughter. After a hot chocolate and a bit of pondering I see people skiing down the nearby sledge route with kids – bingo.  We found just perfect route for her.  Back at the village we are both pretty stoked, for a 5 year old the mellow sledge track (of some 500m of vert) was a long and exiting enough run for sure!

On the evening we enjoy a decent sauna with friends who have rented a flat from Swedish owners, and eat some mexican food in good company. One could get used to that kind of life.  

4th day, March 10

We decide to take another easy day with  the kids. After some research we found out that the nearby Sedrun resort has a long(ish) t-bar lift and a “kid’s world” with snow tubing etc. Splendid for the kids and our younger daughter (2 years old) appears to be a real daredevil on the snowtube run. Not to anyone’s suprise the father is the most scared on the (damn uncontrollable!) snowtube ride.

5th day. March 11

Low visibility. I took some nice Birdos Skis ”Early birds“  191cm for a test ride. The misty condition doesn’t allow these skis to shine. Low visibility keeps you going slow and according to Dan of Birdos Skis these are “built for speed”. However, we found some nice powder and a window of good visibility while doing a variation of “little Giraffe” (going along the ridge from the top and then heading to the skier’s right). I will try to write a longer review of the skis in a week or so.

6th day, March 12

Nice dusting (some 10-15cm at the top of the mountain) of new snow. The air is cold and still and the snow is just like cold smoke. There is not that much of it but the base remains quite good, so you ski on a soft pillow with very light crystals on top of it. Kind of “hero snow” where the snow is even but here and there you end up feeling the rezrozen chunks under the snow. We do some shooting at “Giraffe”. Couple of the shots even look ok IMHO. Sauna and few beers on the evening close up the very good day nicely. 

Oh and how could I forgot: Glen Plake sighting on a main street. He drove slowly by in a car taped with Elan/Dalbello logos. I guess the man knows where to find the good snow, heh.   

7th day, March 13

I go to ski “Giraffe” with Ulla (Antti’s wife) but we end up backing up from the high traverse. Increasing wind and lots of traffic has rounded out the track that leads over the exposure and some 30% of the track’s width has also disappeared. Not that big of a deal for skis but as a snowboarder Ulla should have walked over it on snowboard boots (she had no crampons with her) - pretty wise move to hesitate if you ask me. Then we just hit the “little” version where the snow is already a bit tracked out and getting more like crud due to sun & wind. I go up once more and ski the Felsental where are still some good pockets of snow but the lower part is just like a giant mogul run – manageable but not (that) enjoyable…

My wife and Antti do a wiser move and hike to the ridge of Chastelhorn where they score some 400m vert of almost untouched powder. Good for them.

8th day, March 14

Antti and Ulla and their son, Alvar head back home and we decide to do another Sedrun day again. Sun shines and kids enjoy, I don’t complain, after all.

From the train I spot dozens of nice ski touring routes and tens of groups going up. Not a bad thing to do for a sunday activity.  Well, some day again…(when the kids are a bit older?). The concept of using a train as a “lift” for touring trips is pretty cool to me. I guess many locals just buy the train ticket and go up to Oberalppass where you can e.g. hike up to Rossbodenstock (2836m). Using the train lets you get a nice advantage: with about 800 meters to hike up, you get some 1500 meters to ski down.

In the evening I try to do some serious stretching. Even by just skiing half days I am pretty exhausted. Besides skiing I’ve carried the kids the whole week with a traditional Swiss sledge around the village and up the little hill near the down station.

In the evening it starst to snow quite heavily.

9th day, March 15

New snow but bad visibility. There is some 30cm of new snow on the top of the Gemsstock and only a few people. I follow a Swedish group skiing with an Italian mountain guide. The skiing is “interesting” as the guide states, and I can’t but admire the guy’s steady short turns through the mist and how he seem to not mind the  lurking moguls underneath the soft snow at all. Not that easy when you don’t see for five meters ahead of you.

Skiing down the village offers some better options. And by one o’clock in the afternoon I even find some new routes down (from Geissgrat t-bar lift). It is my last ski day of the trip and damn I want some powder – so I just follow up (Swedish) groups and try to politely ask if they don’t mind me skiing with them. To my suprise they don’t and I get some nice turns here and there although the tiny trees on the lower mountain are quite tight and the routes not that straightforward. (Be aware of the sudden gullys/ravines out there if you are ever going to ski in that area!).  

On  “that one last run” down the Geissgrat I scare myself pretty good. I ski some chopped up moguls/crud and air between two moguls. Landing backseated to the second mogul it shoots me accidentaly to the air again - to a sudden steeper patch (almost a drop). I ended up dropping some 2-3meters and flying away some 7-8 meters, sideways and to my ski heels / butt. I land like a wet rag, luckily the snow is soft. Humbled, I ski down to the village.

My wife only rides for an hour and a half after that (she didn’t like the low visibility and riding solo), so we got plenty of time to do some shopping and drink the last after ski beers in the Spycher bar. We also meet Joonas and it appears that I’ve skied with his wife Mariella in the afternoon – I am glad that I tried to be polite at least…

I didn’t get to ski with Joonas (as I hoped for) because he was competing in FWT qualifications in Nendaz. Too bad Joonas fell and didn’t scored too well. But as he told me “I won the best trick competition and got myself a fancy watch!”. (He did a big 360 of a cliff).

10th day, March 16

Thirteen hours of travelling with two small kids and LOTS of stuff. I won’t tell you more of that. In Helsinki I find out that my ski bag is left in Zürich, great. (note: it came back yesterday, so I don’t have to buy a new pair of Armada JJ’s. The skis I just love by the way)

[View with PicLens]

Hey Steve, what is Packlate.com?

Packlate.com is an online marketplace where you find and book great deals on last minute vacation rentals.  We opened the marketplace this winter with vacation rental properties throughout the US Rockies including top destinations like Aspen, Breckenridge, Dillon, Keystone, Telluride, and many others…

Nice. It sounds like many good North American ski resorts are included. Anyhow, Packlate seems not to be the only player on the market, so what sets Packlate.com apart from other travel booking sites?

Packlate.com offers members (it is free to join) big discounts on premium vacation rentals.  In fact, many discounts are 50% or more.  The way it works is that prices drop as you get closer to the check-in date – so when booking with PackLate, procrastinators win! PackLate customers can closely track moving vacation home rental prices all the way down to hugely discounted levels.  Packlate.com also has great customer service with a goal of answering all questions in less than 60 minutes.

How has the site been received by users?

As a result of our unique approach to pricing and rapidly changing discounts, we have recently been featured in a number of US publications including The New York Times, The Washington Post, Budget Travel, among others.  We are also quickly becoming a favorite destination for skiers who are looking for big discounts in North American vacation rentals.

Pretty cool. So Steve, what inspired you to start Packlate.com?

I got the idea after owning two properties in Park City, Utah, where vacancy rates have reached 50 percent during the economic downturn, and finding that I could cut my losses by steeply discounting rates at the last minute.  I couldn’t stand a night to go unused. So I set-up Packlate.com to offer steep discounts to customers on last minute vacation rentals.  This benefits both the customer (great deals) and the property managers (higher occupancy rates).

Interesting. Thanks Steve!

I tried Packlate by searching deals in Park City, Utah and Aspen, Colorado. I wanted to travel between March 18th and March 22nd. As a result I got 100+ properties with many offering a discount over 30%.  Seems like sweet deals to me.  I was also able to set “price drop alerts” so I could stay up to date as prices moved down as the check in date moved closer.  The one catch is that when you set a price drop alert, other consumers are alerted that “others are watching this property” so it’s a bit of a game that you carefully have to manage your watches and choose when to book so you don’t lose out on your great vacation rental deal.

Are you guys using the Internet to find vacation rentals? Any experiences you can share?

This is how the marketing message of iSki Instructor begins. Although I have seen already quite a few similar ads I got curious and wanted to know more about this particular application, so instead of reading and trusting the whole marketing bribe I wanted to hear more from the company behind iSki application. I contacted  Pernille Slot who runs the Danish company and shot few hot questions.

Interviewing Pernille Slot – the creative founder and owner of Danish iSki company

[Hometown Boy]: Pernille, what’s the purpose of iSki application? As a self-learned skier, snowboarder and telemarker I’s like to know what kind of benefits such an application provides to skiers?

[Pernille]: I believe you “Homeboys” are already experienced and skillful skiers, so I wouldn’t recommend iSki exactly to you, but people who are learning to ski can benefit from using iSki application. Having iSki on your iPhone or iPod Touch you can listen to how you get into the most optimal skiing position and you can also watch live on the screen how your are doing the exercises. This way you can start preparing yourself at home or on your way to the destination and listen to iSki’s guiding when you are on the slopes. If you find special interest in certain chapters you can choose to practice them as many times as you like.

[Hometown Boy]: All right, I see. I’d like to dig this a bit more, so could you describe who exactly needs “a ski instructor in a pocket”?

[Pernille]: I would say iSki Basic is for you

• who have been skiing more than 3 weeks
• who would like a dynamic skiing style
• who would like a nice relaxed and stable skiing style
• who would like to learn how to control the speed during turning
• who would like to learn how to carve ski

In fact iSki is not meant to be used only by beginners. It could also help experienced skiers who have been away from the skies for a little while, to find there balance point again. It`s a good brush up for everybody who is not standing on skis several months a year. So for the common ski enthusiasts who have few weeks a year time to ski, and who would like to develop their skiing from the beginning, I would say iSki brings them faster to the point where they can start developing instead of using a day or two to adjust body to the new environment. Start with iSki and develop to the level you want.

[Hometown Boy]: May be my next question is a bit silly, but do you personally use your own product?

[Pernille]: No, it’s not silly at all. I do use iSki when I go skiing. I have the opportunity to do my ski lessons when I like to and as many times as I like. Basically with iSki you get your own personal ski instructor for less than the price of one ski lesson, and iSki you may use again, again and again.

[Hometown Boy]: Does this mean we won’t need real ski instructors anymore in the future?

[Pernille]: No, because iSki is not meant to replace a real human ski instructor. Anyhow, it can prepare you so that you will get the absolute best out of your skiing also when you are with your local ski instructor.

[Hometown Boy]: Ok, I see. iSki seems to be an additional tool for learning to ski. Pernille, how did you come up with the idea of iPhone or iPod Touch teaching people to ski?

[Pernille]: Well, it’s a long story, but let me tell you..

I had been away from teaching skiing for a couple of years when I was invited to come along on a trip with teenagers. The first day I had 16 beginners on a cold frosty northside of the mountain. I started teaching without thinking too seriously about all the ski teaching or technicals trueness. It was just me teaching these kids and having fun. After 1,5 hour of balance training all 16 beginners could ski.. All this happened without talking anything about technics such as “This is how you break, this is how you turn”, but only by letting them play with there balance on skis and guiding them to the good feeling of balance. That was amazing to me, and I acctually thought it was a coincidental.

Later on the afternoon a pair wanted to get a ski lesson. In the beginning the of the lesson the lady told me that she was a little bit scared because she was ran over by a snowboarder earlier that day. We started out nice and easy, and I did the same way as with teenagers. I communicated with my tools from my knowledge about how the human brain works and the fact that the body is learning faster than the brain. I trained them balancing in 2 hours on all diffrent kind of terrain. In the end of the day I was waiting on the side of the slope when she came down to me doing nice big curves, while suddenly a snowboarder approaced behind here and came really close to here legs. She just continued with the same peace and dynamic as before. I was affraid in that moment on her behalf, but she just continued and told me afterwards: “I saw him but It’s fine now, I have the control. I know how it feels when I’m running good, and I knew he would stop because he had the giving way.”

Then it stroke me. This is to good to keep in my mind. I had to find a way to provide this information to anyone who wants to learn to ski. Afterwards some of their friends said to the male “Soren, what have you done? You ski like a whole other skier than for 2 hours ago!” They have been skiing together for over 15 years.

[Hometown Boy]: Interesting story, Pernille. Thanks for giving us your time and sharing your story. Is there something more you would like to say?

[Pernille]: Well, my bottom line is that the strategy of my work is to do it as simple as possible, and to make it work most places possible. People can see the video at home, on the road, in the lift or even on the slope. They can plug in the earplugs and let them be guided for just 1 hour to their best balance point where all good skiing begins. In the future I will add some software technical features as speedometer, altitude meter, trailtrack and even a movement sensor. So it will become an interactive ski instructor.

[Hometown Boy]: All right, thanks! All the best for you and your iSki Instructor application!

What do YOU as a reader think about apps like iSki? Is this the future of learning to ski? Please have your say.