If the twelve calendar months were my children, I would foster an environment of hostile and vicious competition for my affection. It would all be based on how well they could please me, and my very conditional love would correlate precisely to the INCHES OF SNOWFALL they gave me. Currently, February is still up for adoption. There haven’t been any takers on my craigslist post. MARCH however, is the golden child. And after this past week, I’m seriously considering changing her name to Max Jr.
What I’m really getting at is SNOW. It’s a beautiful thing that makes me happy. You can ski on it and eat it with syrup (try maple, seriously) and build crazy multi-room structures out of it. But best of all IT HAS COME BACK TO THE FRONT RANGE.
The big storm last week brought carnage to I-70 (come on people…this is Colorado, you know how to drive in snow!!) and face shots to ME. And probably quite a few other people. It didn’t really matter where you went, because big flakes where falling hard and fast almost everywhere. And the goodness continues.
So, get your skis out of the closet (where’s your faith man?!??) and take a good look at your old planks. Are you seeing ridiculous deep pow flotation? Or are you seeing ridiculous 70mm toothpicks with tele bindings that look like they’re made of twine. Take those boys out back and MAKE A SKI CHAIR. The economy is tanking, snow is falling, you might as well start stock-piling canned goods and arming yourself,,,,WITH SOME REAL POWDERS SKIS.
And by the way, this is a great time to buy some new sticks. Deals are rampant because “the season is almost over.” -nonbeliever. How bout some BLACK DIAMOND VERDICTS??? 102mm underfoot, with a nice stiff flexing wood core. Plow the powder but still rail your open-face GS turns. Breath that fresh mountain air as the face shots clog your windpipe. Yum.
Or you could drive to the base of your favorite resort the day after they close for the season, spit on the stagnant lift, laugh maniacly, and skin up that stupid groomer and shred back bowls all day. And not see anyone in a Starter jacket. Or not see anyone period. The backcountry is coming alive as we speak. And you alpine skiiers with sweet 80lb rigs, DINs of 23, and really really comfy alpine racing boots (black toe nails are not attractive) are left alone to knit or bake cookies. Alone. OR you could create your own backcountry rig. How bout some BLACK DIAMOND KILOWATTS? 95mm underfoot, backcountry rippers, equally at home on spring corn, terrifying high altitude crud/ice, and the black hole tree wells and their endless face shots. Throw some FRITSCHI EXPLORER BINDINGS on em, and bring the heat. Or go ultra-light and grab some mouth-watering DYNAFIT VERTICAL STs and find the true meaning of joy as you blow past your buddies on the skin track.
And never a bad idea to grab some classic BLACK DIAMOND TRAVERSE POLES while they’re on sale. $45 bones. Hell yes. And if you need a shovel for backcountry adventures, or to dig out your rear wheel drive Hyundai after it makes friends with a snow bank, scope out all the sweet deals on AVALANCHE SHOVELS.
IT’S STILL WINTER. GO GET SOME!!!
-Love, Max
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