Boy or girl, we’ve all got bros that ski. Pant sagging, goggle gapping, and ski rapping—your bro-ski, man. You know who I’m talking about. It’s likely they give you a hard time for your ski strapping, goggle lens-packing, gate bashing style. And it’s likely you give them a hard time for—well, bro-ing. You love them for their different style, and their argyle one-piece pile.

Truth be told, we have a lot to learn from each other. To ski racers, technique is all discipline of the body. To free riders, technique is all creativity of the mind. Oftentimes, in the world of ski racing, the athlete gets very caught up attempting to travel past a gate the “correct” way. I’ve been a victim of this mindset, and I’ve watched kids ski stagnant trying to force technique. While there are basics to master, in the end, every skier has a different style, a different strength, and travels a different line.

Consider this common scenario: Your coach instructs you to move your hips forward in the transition.

Exercise is the healthiest thing since broccoli.  With that in mind, don’t make a full plate of dryland training so hard to swallow.  A dryland training program is all about balance.  The aim isn’t to look like Hulk Hogan or strap rocks to your back like Bode Miller.  The goal is to maintain a healthy balance of strength, cardio, and power training, all while having fun in the California sun.

Since skiing is an alternative sport in this nation of football and baseball, use alternative ways to train.  Don’t think you need to jog and hit the gym every single day for a lift.  Not only will you be bored to death, you won’t be prepared for a season of ski racing.

Why not?

Skiing is unpredictable.  The elements are constantly shifting, throwing curve balls day in and day out.  When you’re carving out a pre-season fitness program, keep the inherent nature of the arc in mind.  Making a sweet turn is about strong instincts, quick thinking, and powerful moves.  The mountain is

• Let us handle all your equipment sales for you
• Get 70% cash or 100% store credit
• Sale runs from Saturday Sept. 3rd though Monday Sept. 5th

Start Haus will be hosting our 2nd annual Ski Swap and Consignment sale over the Labor Day weekend. This sale will give you a chance to unload...err sell that skis, clothing and gear that has been taking up space in the garage. Have your kids outgrown that race suit? Bring it to sell. Are your powder-boards lacking a little rocker? We know plenty of traditionalists who like full camber. Need another pair of skis to add to flesh-out your quiver? I am sure someone will be trimming down their own inventory.

When is the swap/consignment sale?
September 3rd, 4th and 5th

Where is the swap/consignment sale?
At the Start Haus in Truckee. 10990 Donner Pass Road.

When can I drop off items?
From August 1st till the sale

What can I expect to sell (and buy)?
Skis, helmets, race protection, ski clothing (mid, outer layers and race suits)

Will there be someone

Start Haus will be hosting a screening of Teton Gravity Research's latest film, One for the Road.  The premiere will be held at Alpine Meadows on September 23rd.  Stay tuned for further details, but mark your calendars NOW!

Click Here to see the updated Volkl RTM 84 Review

The entirely new Volkl RTM 84 is the successor to the long running line of AC 4/AC 40/AC 50 skis that date back several years.  Those past models were pretty stiff at the start and got continually stiffer as the years passed.  Recent skis like the AC 50 may have been dubbed “All Conditions” but they were not much good outside of firm, packed slopes.  The RTM 84 changes all that and does so in a big way, this is not just an incremental change to an existing model.  At first glance, the raised shoulders and top deck geography look fairly similar to past skis of the AC group but when you pick one up and flex it, it feels very different.  The flex of the RTM 84 is still pretty firm but it is much more balanced and somewhat softer than in the past.  In addition, the RTM 84 uses Volkls’ ELP full length rocker.  This is a continuous tip to tail rocker profile and is one of the very few skis in the narrower widths that uses rocker

Seasoned ski racers and ski professionals understand the importance of finding skis that bring out the best of their individual style while mitigating some of the potentially unproductive aspects of their skiing and racing.  Ski testing is necessary in order to identify which ski most enhances performance, and Mt. Hood, Oregon is a great place to figure out which race skis to purchase for next season.  Below are some key considerations to ensure a productive and accurate ski test.

When is the best time to test 2012 race skis?

In a perfect world, ski testing would be done on winter snow and in winter temperatures.  The reality is that next season’s race skis are not typically available to test until April or May.  As a result it is difficult for the Eastern and Midwestern skiers to test on home turf.  In the West you have greater opportunity to test.  For example, in California there is still very good snow at Squaw Valley and Mammoth Mountain.  For summer skiing, Mt. Hood

The Blizzard Bonafide comes in at 98mm at the waist and features the “Flipcore” construction of the Freemountain line.  The Bonafide has conventional camber in the center section of the ski with modest tip and tail rise and 2 ½ sheets of metal.  This construction with layered metal laminates allows Blizzard to build a ski with a thin profile.  This thin profile along with a lightweight center stringer in the core allows the Bonafide to be much lighter than expected for a ski with this much metal.

My first experience on the Bonafide was at Squaw Valley in early January on very hard snow.  The layered metal gave the Bonafide near ice-pick grip in the conventional cambered section and the ski was remarkably damp on the near bulletproof conditions.  Rolling in and out of varied turn shapes, it was easy to see that that the Bonafide changed turn shapes easily and would finish turns smoothly regardless of the radius.  The even flex blends the rockered sections into the overall construction

This 2011 season turned into one of the most powder filled seasons in the history of skiing.  The “Season of Powder” continued long into June, with local skiers still getting face-shots on the 6^th of June.   Needless to say, the Volkl Shiro was the perfect tool to for those insanely deep days we had Squaw and across the country this year.

My first day on the Shiro was in February during one of the biggest storms of the season.  To put this into perspective I’m 6’5” and the snow was above my chest.  Although the Shiro is not the widest powder ski on the market it provided an unrecognizable amount of float.  The tips of these skis are nearly impossible to burry!   This ultimately is due to the tech that Volkl has associated with the Shiro.  Volkl has brought together the best tech within powder skis to build the Shiro.  So let’s brake this down the Shiro has fully rockered construction, giving you maximum float without feeling “planky”.  From there Volkl knows that taper

As the temperatures warm up the countdown to flying south to Chile’s premier ski resort, Portillo, begins.  Some people ask, why the heck would you fly all the way to South America to ski during the summer?  Simply put, because it’s awesome.  If you like to ski and you like to have fun, Portillo is where you need to go this summer.  It is an experience that has the potential to change you.  Not only does it offer an escape from the heat and mundane but you enter a world that is so different than anything you would find in North America.  Here the sky is a cobalt blue hue, the sun shimmers powerfully down on you as condors glide gracefully through the sky.  The Andes rise up all around you, like the towering walls of a fortress.  As the Inca Lake and its surrounding peaks lure you into an almost hypnotic state of tranquility you begin to believe in its mythical legend.  Your spirit soars to new heights when in Portillo, you just can't help it, as you get this incredible

***UPDATE: See our blog with a new Salomon BBR 10.0 Review***

Every few years, something comes along in ski design that captures the imagination of the skiing public so completely, that it revolutionizes the market.  This doesn’t happen very often but when it has happened in the past, the concept has often been the brainchild of Salomon’s Bernard Bertrand. Bernard who is often known as Beber is not just a ski engineer or a marketing guy.  Rather he is an imaginative designer with roots that deeply embedded in both surfing and skiing.  Beber has always strived for ways to make skiing easier and more accessible to the market and some famous designs of his include Salomon’s X-Scream and Pocket Rocket.  Both of which dramatically altered the landscape of ski design.

Beber’s newest creation is the new Salomon BBR model for 2012. This ski model looks so radically different from other ski designs that it warrants double takes in the lift line.  The most noticeable difference in the

The Pon2oon is the second generation of the venerable Pontoon model; the brain child of the late Shane McConkey.  This is the first major redesign of the ski that arguably popularized the trend toward big, rockered skis for powder.  While there is no doubt that the Pontoon set the trend, the original design has become a bit dated.  Newer designs have brought some serious competition to the genre and the new Pon2oon addresses the market very well.  The Pon2oon has a much longer conventional section in the center of the ski along with lower rocker at both tip and tail.  The result is a ski that retains most of the near magical powder performance of the original, but with dramatically improved stability when the snow is not waist deep.

I first skied the original Pontoon some years back on a day when it had rained over an 18” storm, not your ideal powder day.  The Pontoon handled the thick heavy snow with ease and it really showed me what the concept was all about.  In the years

“Legend Pro” is a name that has become……well……uhhh…….legendary among western big mountain skiers over the years. That name drew its following from several Dynastar big mountain skis that really epitomized the category. For the 2011 season, there was a ski called the Legend Pro 115 but that was (and is) really more of a powder ski than the versatile big mountain performer the prior Legend Pros had been. For 2012, the big mountain ski is back in the form of the Legend Pro 105. This is a ski with the wood/metal layup and medium-firm flex of the older versions but with the addition of a moderate amount of tip rocker. This upgrade really makes this the most versatile of all the Legend Pro skis.

I first tested the LP 105 at Mammoth during a period when there was not much new snow. The result was a good groomer skiing but mostly firmish conditions off trail with some chalky soft spots and some horrible refrozen crud. The Legend Pro 105 is a big ski with plenty of stability for high speeds both