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Articles from Homeboy's Skiing Blog

Skiing in Slovakia, Part I - Introduction 2007-10-22 10:15:28 I spent two very interesting (half)seasons back in 2003 and 2004, working for Finnish travel company www.elamysmatkat.com and guiding in Jasna, Slovakia. I spent around 11 weeks in Slovakia alltogether. Here I will tell you about my experiences in a 4 post series. I hope this can provide some useful information, maybe even correct some common misinformation, and at least just bring some stoke to go skiing and visit new places! In this post I just give an introduction and some very general information. Two following posts are about Jasna ski resort.I will especially pay attention to off-piste possibilities in the Low Tatra range (which are excellent if the snow conditions allow BTW.) In the last post I will give you some more thoughts about the whole Tatra area in general and some tips about culture, nature attractions, other sports etc. The western part of the Carpathian Mountains, Tatra, is most likely one of the less known Central European mountain range. The fact still is that the ...

Sunday Morning Video - Terje Haakonsen First Descent Of 7601 2007-10-21 04:00:39 Terje Haakonsen, Norwegian professional snowboarder, is famous for being one of the most influential riders of all time. Haakonsen became an icon by being the best in snowboarding competitions in the 1990s. Today Haakonsen is also known from starring the documentary “First Descent” from which the clip below is taken from. Check out the video. It is absolutely amazing. Scary. I have been skiing some challenging mountain faces but this one is truely stunning. See around 50 seconds how aerial that peak is. See the blue sky and the white snow. Isn’t that beautiful and scary at the same time? And how about around 55 seconds? Is that steep enough? Narly enough? See Terje dropping in around 1:12 seconds. See how fast he rides! That is absolutely beautiful snowboarding. See the powder fields around 2:30 seconds. Fantastic! I would love riding that face but I guess I would be dead scared. Man, I feel good watching this at home, surrounded by kids, and with my first morning cof ...

Völkl 07/08 Ski Review Series - Part IV: Völkl Gotama 2007-10-20 04:00:31 I reviewed few new skis from Völkl last spring. This is the final post of the four part review series. The first one was about Völkl Katana (183 cm.), the second was about Mantra (177 cm.) and the third post was about Tigershark 10 FT Power Switch (175cm.). In this post I discuss about Gotama. The review was done on last spring in northern Finland as soon as these skis were available. Check out the review conditions and skier details from the first post of this series. 190 cm. Gotama I’ve only got to ski this beauty really briefly but I’ve rocked 06/07 Gotamas for a season now, and what I’ve heard from the Völkl rep (and also felt myself), the ski is essentially the same for 07/08 season. Only the golden Budha design is much cooler IMHO. And besides, white pow skis are kind of stupid invention anyway… Otherwise, what can I say. Gotamas rock. The 190cm model is maybe a tad long for our (Lapland) mole hills but perfect for me in the Alps. (Btw. I put the bindings in 1,5cm + p ...

Völkl 07/08 Ski Review Series - Part III: Völkl Tigershark 10 FT Power Switch 2007-10-19 15:10:46 I reviewed few new skis from Völkl last spring. This is the third post of the four part review series. The first one was about Völkl Katana (183 cm.) and the second was about Mantra (177 cm.). In this post I discuss about Tigershark 10FT Power Switch. The review was done on last spring in northern Finland as soon as these skis were available. Check out the review conditions and skier details from the first post of this series. 175 cm Tigershark 10 FT Power Switch Now, let’s move on to something completely different. The Tigershark 10FT Power Switch is the ski where you can self-tune the stiffness. I won’t go on to the full details but the idea is that the ski has some loaded carbon bands in it, and you can switch the bands to either being “ON” (=stiff) or “OFF” (= softer, more forgiving flex). The dimensions of the ski are fairly standard (I guess) 121-73-105mm. The funny thing is that a few years behind this would have been stated as a “mid fat” but these days t ...

Introducing UnofficialSquaw.Com and UnofficialAndes.Com 2007-10-18 03:22:42 Tim Konrad runs two sites that I recommend you to check out. UnofficialSquaw.Com provides lots of information on Squaw Valley, such as weather conditions, road conditions, blog articles and videos. Tim writes interesting articles in his blog, such as this one. Tim spends his winters in Squaw Valley and summers in the Andes. Check out Tim’s articles of skiing in the Andes. I really got kicked with Tim’s UnofficialAndes.Com blog. I have never been skiing in South America and I am really keen on experiencing the Andes. While collecting pennies to get myself to the Andes, I read Tim’s fascinating articles of skiing in the Andes. Just check out Tim’s video of skiing Las Lenas. Isn’t that fantastic? Man, I am jealous! I wish I was there skiing with the guys. Yep, make sure you check out Tim’s blogs. They rock! Photo borrowed from UnofficialAndes.Com Share This ...

Alpine Skiing World Cup - Opening Soon With Mens GS In Sölden 2007-10-17 08:41:03 Winter is coming here in Finland and I am just waiting for the snow. We recently received the first snow but in few hours it melted. We are still far from opening the ski season. Well, I just need to sit and wait. Meanwhile I listen to Billy Joel and finish my book on Jean Sibelius. While reading and waiting for the winter coming, I must remember that the Alpine Skiing World Cup will open soon in Sölden. It is just a bit more than a week and I will see guys riding down the Super G track. I am eager to see how Kalle Palander will ski. He represents my country and I wish him good luck. That’s actually what he is going to need. I don’t believe in his chances to win. Anyhow, it should be Kalles primary goal. As already mentioned the cup will open in Sölden. The second race will be in Levi Finland. Man I would like to go and see it live but I am not sure if I can make it. Levi is pretty small resort compered to those in the Alps but it seems to be big enough for slalom. After ...

Völkl 07/08 Ski Review Series - Part II: Völkl Mantra 2007-10-16 07:35:40 I reviewed few news skis from Völkl last spring. This is the second post of the four part review series. The first one was about Völkl Katana (183 cm.). In my future posts of this series I will discuss about two other skis as well, namely Gotama and Tigershark 10FT Power Switch. The review was done on last spring in northern Finland as soon as these skis were available. Check out the review conditions and skier details from the first post of this series. 177cm Mantra These were probably a bit small for me…or so I thought at first. I normally ski 06/07 190cm Gotamas and/or 189cm older (green) Seth Pistols, and some 180cm park skis. The dimensions of the Mantras are a very versatile 133-96-116mm. In the slopes, I was really surprised how well the 177cm Mantra behaved. I’d say predictable and stable but still somehow unforgiving. Both Mantra and Katana have a little bit softer flex and somehow “lazier” feel, whereas Gotama is very “snappy” but at the same ...

Völkl 07/08 Ski Review Series - Part I: Völkl Katana 2007-10-15 05:06:08 I reviewed few news skis from Völkl last spring. This post starts the four posts series of the review results. This first one is about Völkl Katana (183 cm.). In my future posts of this series I will discuss about the other skis as well, namely Gotama, Mantra and Tigershark 10FT Power Switch. The review was done on last spring in northern Finland as soon as these skis were available. First a little bit of myself and the review conditions Height/weight: 184cm (~6″) 83kg (~160lbs) Ability: very experienced, not the best/most modern carve/on-piste technique though. Age: 34 Days/year: currently ~30/year (but skied several years over 50 days a year) Conditions: Very soft spring groomers (groomed slush basically) with around 5cm (2inches) of new natural wet spring snow. Resort: Pyhätunturi, Finland, around 250m (~800feet) of vertical, nothing very steep but variable, high speed groomed runs, even some short off-piste routes Skis tested: 183cm Katana, 177cm Mantra, 175 cm Tigershark ...

Impressive Skiing Pictures Of Ian Coble 2007-10-14 07:00:30 Lazy Sunday.. We all should take it relaxed. Let’s sit back and enjoy the stunning skiing pictures of Ian Coble from season 06/07 (provided by Powder Magazine). If I should point out one of those pictures, it would definately be this one. Why? Just look at that powder field and image yourself riding on it.. Share This ...

How To Select The Right Lenght For Your Alpine Skis 2007-10-13 07:00:11 Have you ever wondered how to select the right length of the skis for you? You have probably been walking in sport stores and thought “if I will buy new skis for this season, of which length those skis should be”? Every time I go buying new skis I have this same problem, so I wanted to write it down and share with you. This is a question for which you can quickly get 5 different answers or even more. There is no exact answer and therefore the answers differ a little bit from each other. Anyhow, let’s define the rules of thumb. These should help you when you go buying new skis. The length of your skis depends on “what you ski”. The length of your skis should not be the same on slalom tracks and backcountries. In this rules of thumb I focus in traditional alpine skiing, not backcountry skiing, ski-touring or such.   Rules of thumb: 1. Giant Slalom (Super G): your own height 2. Slalom: your own height - 10/15 cm. 3. Ordinary skiing on slopes: your own height ...

Ski Season Opened! 2007-10-12 08:13:14 I am jealous! Dave has opened the ski season with his mate. Check out the pictures and full story in Dave’s blog. Guys definately had good skiing. Wait.. already on early October!! See also the pictures Dave has in his earlier post. I really like those pictures, especially the one in which you ese a road ahead and a fence on left side. Good skiing Dave! We already got the first snow here in Finland but no skiing for many weeks. Right now it is raining out there.. Share This ...

First Snow Received In Finland - Not Enough For Skiing 2007-10-10 16:10:43 Last night we just received the first snow here in Finland. I live in south and here we did not see any snow, but few hundreds of kilometers to north people have photographed the first snow. This time is very early to get the first snow here in Finland and therefore it will melt in few hours. See the first snow in Iltasanomat.fi newspaper. Share This ...

Top 10 Ski Resorts 2007-10-09 08:40:14 While waiting for my coffee to be made today, I found myself thinking, “which are the best ski resorts in the world”? I might quickly say “any good resort with great backcourties in Europe, such as La Grave in France or Tatry mountains in Slovakia. That is a limited view. I totally forgot Valdez in Alaska, Whistler, Kamchatka and the Caucasus mountains, and even Mount Cook in New Zealand. So I just don’t know enough.. Let’s find out. Let’s see what other people say. I searched “top 10 ski resorts” in Google and just picked up the first site I found. Let’s see what people think. #10 Aspen, Colorado I am supprised. I expected Aspen to get closer to position #1 because so many people enjoy resorts like Aspen. Most of the people don’t go skiing in the backcountries, they prefer easy skiing and good nightlife. I prefer the other extreme but I definately would like to ski and see Aspen. #9 Cortina, Italy Again I am supprised! Corti ...

How To Start Skiing With Your Child 2007-10-04 16:57:52 We have three kids in our family. One of them is my four years old son. I am going to take him skiing with me on next season, and I have been thinking “what should I know beforehand”. This short article points out few things to remember when you srtart skiing with a child. When my son was two years old, I considered taking him to skiing. I was not sure if he is old enough, so I spent some time in the Internet to find it out. I came into conclusion that it is too early, and therefore I decided to start later. First of all, it is a fantastic idea to start skiing with your son or daughter! Going together with the whole family could be a great idea, but make sure you know what you should know. L et’s start with the equipment. You need at least: - quality clothing for your child, such as Gore-Tex to resist water - skiing equipment (skis, boots, etc,) - helmet! I would NOT recommend skiing without a helmet. That was before 2000, now it is different. Use the helmet! - time ...

Skateboarding Stuff From Shopping.Com 2007-10-01 18:05:58 I just happened to come across with Shopping.Com. Nice decks, see for example this Heartagram deck. Designed by Bam Margera?? Or how about this longboard? This is a pretty big skateboard webshop with lots of items. There are also backbags and helmets for sale, some even with signatures. Search function works fine, I even found CKY DVD’s. What I do like a lot is the left sidebar in which you can search by categories and price ranges. Nice webshop, I must say that. Just gimme this one! Share This ...