Blog Posts for December, 2009

The Observatory

After a season ending injury last year it feels great to get back into the snow get to it.  With a fragile snow pack and firm skiing on the ski area we decided the best thing was to hit the backyard for some mellow pow and some not mellow control work.  Patience has never been one of my strong suits when it comes skiing, but this year more than ever we have had to endure long periods of little to no snow, long cold days and a very tender snow pack.  I can’t take it anymore, it’s time.  One of my favorite zones to ski in the San Juans sits just over the ridge from the Telluride ski area, the Cirque above the Alta lakes Observatory.  With an unlimited variety of terrain, from mini golf power to the steepest of couloir skiing Garrett and I made the call the night before to go “play” in his backyard.

Skiing over from the ski area was more an exercise in avoiding rocks on the south-facing slope down to the Observatory.  Moving quietly through the trees past a few “Red Coats” on “break” we made our way down to the house for some left-over chicken and a hot drink.  After a quick bite we made our way up the skin track to the top of the Powder Reserve, ski cutting the pitch above the trestle we found light, dry snow perfect for skiing.  Making turns back to the house for another hot drink, we were putting our skins on for another lap, this time pushing higher to the top of the Bride’s maid couloir.   Putting in the skin track to the top of the Bride’s maid I was surprised to find the couloir was  holding better  snow than we expected.  It was satisfying to reach the top knowing that we had made the right call.  A few minutes to evaluate the snow pack, good to go.  Garrett dropped first, making little noise as he moved down thru the snow leaving his mark behind.  One more pitch of skiing back to the house we found perfect snow and few face shots as a wonderful bonus.

Garrett in his Backyard

Cold and a little tired we sat around telling a few jokes and watching the alpenglow fade on the west face of Palmyra Peak.  Nothing left to do now put grab our headlamps and puffy coats and head home.  Just another great day in the mountains playing in the snow with my Wagner skis.

Went over to Aspen for a couple of days before Christmas, to ski with Sven Coomer, Wayne Wong and John Clendenin. In this company I knew we’d ski fast, so I took my good skis, the metal Wagners (72mm waist, 166cm, 11m radius).

Sven wanted me to try some new boots — the Head Raptor Supershape, a plug boot with a solid upright stance and very narrow last, especially in the heel. For the past couple of years I’ve been in the Rossignol Race 1 Pro shell, with a Zipfit liner. We popped the liners into the Heads, and Sven ground the inside of the Head shell near the toe buckle rivet to take the pressure off the lateral metatarsal.

The stance in the Head is more upright than in the Rossignol, and the closer around the heel gives a better sense of power. I felt really rooted to the skis. We skied hard snow, especially in spar gulch, and I was able to match Wayne ’s snaky fast short-radius carves. Exhilarating. I like the boots. I love the skis.

Happy to report that Clendenin still skis like a pro moguls world champion, and Sven still skis like a guy who trained with Perillat and Killy back in the day. –Seth Masia

2008 & 2009 US Masters Extreme Skiing Champion. Photo: Eben Wight/MSI

Wagner Custom Factory Team Rider, Scott Kennett, age 51 won the U.S. Extreme Masters Championship last spring, for the second year in a row.  We talked to him about the Crested Butte competition.

Us: The competition was pretty tough there.

Scott: Well, some of these guys have just turned 40 and are just out of the pro class. And they’re Crested Butte locals, so they know the terrain cold, and I’m coming in from Telluride.

Scott Kennett airs Cheeseburger Rock during the 2009 US Extreme Skiing Championships

Us: What keeps you going?

Scott: I have the passion. I’ve competed all my life, starting with motocross at 11. And by now I feel I have to compete at something, have something to train for. I need that goal or purpose. Besides, it’s healthy to get involved in competition. It’s a reason to get up earlier, eat healthier, get in the extra run. If you just sit around on the couch, you rot.

Us: How do you prepare mentally for an event?

Scott: I still get just as nervous as I did as a kid. I used to use Rolaids to settle my stomach. Now I channel the nervous energy. I visualize winning. I focus on this idea that “I love this and live for this.” It turns into that feeling like you’re in love. I stay focused on the goal, and go there saying I’m going to win. That way I don’t stress out. I visualize the perfect run and never have a negative thought – think positive thoughts all the way. It works if you have the desire and mindset to win.

Us: What’s your training routine?

Scott: I ski a lot in the backcountry. In Telluride that requires some hiking. It means working hard at higher altitudes, and skiing varied conditions. I try to get a lot of runs – I do long days with two or three runs, skinning up radical terrain. Meanwhile, Telluride keeps opening up more and more radical terrain, like Lower Bear Creek.

Us: Isn’t that where you got hurt sometime back?

Scott: It was six years ago, and it was out-of-bounds then. I hit a tree and did a compound tib-fib fracture. The patrol guys had to haul me out of deep heavy avalanche terrain, and they kicked me off the mountain for two years – about how long it took to rehab. And now it’s legal. The Forest Service said “Maybe we should open this up.”  Maybe I opened it.

Us: What else about training?

Scott: I watch the diet. I eat pretty good. I drink mostly alkaline water to counter lactic acid. I have a machine that treats the water through electrolysis at the sink. It changes the pH level and filters it. I eat elk meat a lot – we all hunt. Each year someone in the family gets an elk and we share it out.

Us: You’re still coaching freestyle?

Scott: It’s fun to go to events and coach kids. If I’m going to be there anyway, I feel I can compete.

Kennett Freeskiing near Telluride

Us: What gear did you use at the Extremes?

Scott: I’m in the Lange Banshee Pro Freeride. I’m an oldschool bumper. I used to use the Raichle Flexon Pro. Now I get boots from Lange and try to get the flex and lean of the old Raichles. I hate to get in back seat so I put shims behind calf and crank the boot forward. For bindings I have the Salomon DIN 16. The track for the heel binding is reinforced with steel so it won’t deform like plastic. In the backcountry I’ve been on Marker Dukes, but I’m going back to the Fritschi Freeride this year. It’s better in crucial situations because you don’t have to take off the skis and your glove to convert. You can do it with a ski pole and go right into sidestepping.

In the contest I’ve used the same Wagner Custom skis for two years and they’re still holding up. It’s my best-friend ski. I might have worn the bases off from tuning but the ski still has plenty of life. I’ll have a pair made just for backcountry powder,  really wide with normal sidecut and camber but a rocker tip. But I’ll compete on the original Wagner skis.

Us: What’s next? If you win a third time, do you retire the trophy?

Scott: I’d like to win five, and then call it quits. I need to keep that passion for competition. I don’t know many people who’ve done as many extreme events as I have – Alaska, Colo, Argentina, France, all over. Even if you don’t win, it’s great fun to be involved.

Countervail is a visco-elastically dampened carbon fiber material

After 2 seasons of product development and testing with the Materials Sciences Corporation, Wagner Custom is pleased to announce that Countervail® (visco-elastically dampened carbon fiber) construction is now available as an upgrade on all of its designs.

The patented material, available for use in skis and snowboards only from Wagner Custom, is a structural fiber used to supplement fiberglass. It provides the smooth ride and stability of an aluminum or Titanal structure without the weight. In fact, Countervail® has the lightweight characteristics of carbon fiber.

Countervail®, developed to forestall flutter in the carbon-fiber control surfaces of supersonic aircraft, consists of a thin viscoelastic polymer cloth, with fine strands of carbon fiber woven along its length in a sinusoidal or serpentine pattern. Because the stiff carbon creates a two-dimensional pattern, it provides strength in both flex and torsional axes. The harsh reactive stiffness of the carbon is moderated by the viscoelastic fibers. The result: it’s a light, strong, whippy but self-damping structural layer. To get the same flex and vibration characteristics you’d need a heavier layer of aluminum backed up with a neoprene damping layer, or an even thicker sheet of very hard prepreg fiberglass.

The hyperperformance Countervail®, in short, gives you the speed and buttery smoothness of an aluminum or titanal ski, at considerably lighter weight and – this is critical – without the fatigue, bending or delamination problems common with metal skis.