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The 2013 Rahlves Banzai Tour started off with a bang - competitors went big on a great top-to-bottom course for all out racing action.

The Start Haus is known as one of the best ski shops in the country,  with numerous awards, accolades and some of the world's top skiers relying on us to work on their skis and ski boots.

One of the tools that makes our shop on of the best in the country is the Wintersteiger Micro NC grinder - the only one publicly available in North America!

The Wintersteiger Micro NC can create patterns and structures in the base of a ski no other ski grinder can.

Welcome to the Start Haus' Tahoe Ski News report, your weekly source of tahoe ski racing & competition info, wax calls, deals and more.

Send your race, ski event or results to website@starthaus.com. with the headline: Tahoe Ski News to get them listed here each week.

2014 is already shaping up to be an awesome year for Blizzard Skis, with an expanded line of Freemountain skis.

Welcome back to our weekly Tahoe Ski News Blog where we keep you in the loop with the latest from Tahoe racing, resort news, the best deals and more.

Send your race, ski event or results to website@starthaus.com. with the headline: Tahoe Ski News to get them listed here each week.

One of our absolute favorite women's powder skis is the Nordica La Nina. Based on another favorite, the Nordica Patron, we weren't surprised when our female testers came back with big praise for these skis after testing.

A cold Sunday morning that promised to turn into a spring-like sunny day meant there was no reason to rush for a dawn patrol on Tahoe's west shore, so I (Greyson, Start Haus web guy) met up with my buddies Paul and Jan at Homewood at a leisurely 9 a.m.-ish to head down to Hidden Peak.

Also known as Bliss Peak, tucked between Jakes and Rubicon just to the north of Emerald Bay, Hidden Peak earns it's name, tricking you into thinking you're almost at the top with a false summit. it rises up over 9,000 feet, overlooking both Tahoe to the east and Desolation Wilderness to the west.

I skied my K2 Backcountry Skis with Dynafit Bindings and Dynafit Boots, a great setup for the day.

Happy Martin Luther King Jr. weekend, and welcome to our weekly Tahoe Ski News blog.

Send your race, ski event or results to website@starthaus.com. with the headline: Tahoe Ski News to get them listed here each week.

In ski racing and competition news, Far West Skiing's Ski Cross Open Series continues this weekend at Squaw Valley. At Boreal, A CNISSF Slalom Race is coming up on Monday, the 21st, Farther down the road, Tahoe League racing continues Feb 2-3 at Alpine Meadows.

Each year our staff, including America's Best Bootfitters instructor and Start Haus owner Jim Schaffner tests dozens, if not hundreds of ski boots. This year, we're lucky to be working with Craig Dostie, the backcountry skiing guru who founded earnyourturns.com, who is an expert on backcountry ski boots.

While we skied and liked a handful of what we'd call sidecountry ski boots that ski really well and have a walk mode for hiking, we only picked two dedicated backcountry ski boots that really deserve to spend their lives out of bounds: The Dynafit TLT 5 Performance, which has been around for a year and is the weapon of choice for ultralight altitude seekers, and the Dynafit Mercury, a new boot this year, that we think strikes the best balance between hike-ability, ski-ability and weight of any backcountry ski boot to-date.

Every year certain skis get all the hype - all the attention, while others seem to fly under the radar. The HEAD REV 90 is one of those skis - a faultless all mountain ski that's tons of fun both on the groomers and off-piste.

This ski is one of the reason's we decided to expand into HEAD's rec skis beyond the usual race skis we normally carry from them - it's a ski that sells itself with a day on a demo pair. That's because it really does nothing wrong - it's quick and playful while remaining damp and stable at speed, a rare combination of traits in any ski. Testers called it "effortless" and were stumped when asked what to put in the "cons" column after putting them through the paces.

One of the most exciting areas of development in ski boots has been in backcountry ski boots, and specifically in backcountry ski boots that ski as well as normal alpine ski boots.

It used to be that alpine touring ski boots were a compromise between the lightweight and flexibility needed to hike uphill and the stiffness and control needed to ski downhill. This year, that gap has closed rapidly.

We skied in and picked a handful of ski boots in this category, and really like them not only for backcountry, but also for sidecountry skiing where you only need to hike a little bit for a fresh powder stash at the resort - or even for those who just want a ski boot that's easier to get around in. These boots are extremely popular with ski patrol and other ski area workers who work in ski boots for good reason.

Welcome to another week of our Tahoe Ski News blog post, where we share ski conditions, racing info, ski events, wax calls and ski deals every Friday.

Send your race, ski event or results to website@starthaus.com. with the headline: Tahoe Ski News to get them listed here each week.

Another dusting of cold smoke is on the ground and the skiing continues to be fantastic here in Tahoe - if you're not here you're missing out!

We're excited to be nominated by Skiing Business for Most Knowledgeable Staff, Most Innovative, Best Backshop: Ski Tuning and Best Backshop: Bootfitting! We've taken wins in Best Backshop: Ski Tuning, best Backshop: Bootfitting, and Most Knowledgeable Staff in the past, so keep your fingers crossed for us.

In ski racing and competition news, Far West Skiing has Ski Cross coming up at Squaw Valley on January 12-13 and 19-20. U10/U12 Juniors will be racing at Sugar Bowl January 12-13. The Tahoe League Race Series is heading to Auburn Ski Club January 12-13. Far West Masters head to Sierra at Tahoe this weekend as well. At Northstar, the U.S. Revolution Tour brings halfpipe, slopestyle and cross events on January 13-18. USASA Rail Jam and Slopestyle are on tap at Boreal.

Wax calls for this weekend at Sugar Bowl: Holmenkol Beta Mix, Swix CH8, Toko Red, and Dominator Race Zoom.