Last Days of 2013 ski video-Liam

[Liam]

Hey Everyone,

well, I might get motivated to hit Stowe on Sunday...but chances are the turns in this video below are my final turns of 2013 (a hell of a great season here in the East).

https://vimeo.com/64313674

It's short-it has three little vignettes all shot by my wife on her iphone (so I apologize for the Zapruder film level of quality in spots!).

First section is Me skiing bumps (the great 'Yard Sale' at Mount Snow-it's the second steepest pitch on that mountain (after ripcord) and it has moguls from december through closing (never groomed) and it's right above the main base lifts-So these tend to be big bumps with pretty deep troughs.  The tops had some bare spots in the troughs and I did a little shopping, but the bottom 2/3's were great.  My little hill has great glades and good pitches, but we do get a little bump starved so these are, unfortunately among the few bumps I skied all season ('kept at Saddleback Maine in March).  I hope to ski more next season...

Second vignette is my little guy and then me (the guy in the patrol coat) skiing the typical terrain at Berkshire East:  Wide Open, steepish groomers (and in this case with soft spring snow!).  There are very few other places in the east, on a weekend, you can get to make turns this big on a slope to yourself...this is why I love Berkshire East.

Final is my buddy John, leading his daughter, a friend, my son, and lastly me through the bottom of this fun 'family' glade called Blizzard Island at Berkshire East. 

Season ended wonderfully, great snow throughout.  Enjoy the spring, gang.

Oh, FWIW: SKIS USED: 1. BUMPS-ICELANTIC SHAMAN 161cm (consider it a video review...this ski rules the East)
                                   2. Open Groomer: Head Rock n Roll 180cm, Ideal turn shape for that ski, feels great over 20m with some speed,         pretty unshakeable
                                    3. Easy Trees:  I think that was the Head again, but I might have also been the Howitzers

BOOTS: Dalbello Krypton Fusion with Intuition Lines....Great boots for a patroller IMHO.

[LivingProof]

Liam,

Thanks for sharing a final tribute to the season. It was weird seeing the lifts not running.

I'm still astounded by the thought of using a 161 cm Shaman ski in the east. My mind keeps telling me it "does not compute". I'd love to try it sometime.

[Gary]

Nice skiing Liam....fun seeing you and fam are squeezing out the last few days of what looks like great conditions.

Thanks for sharing!

Ah yes....another man with a stable of skis!!!! 

Have a great one, Best, G

[Liam]

Yeah, Gary...quivers rule!  Like a lot of folks here I have some fetishism about skis.

LP, Shaman 161cm : it's the ideal all mountain east coast ski.  The videos I posted in another thread from Saddleback and the one above, I think, show it's versatility even for a strong intermediate like myself.  It's way more versatile than the Head rock n Roll for east coast all mountain (of which tight deep moguls and tighter glades are endemic).   The key to it's versatility comes from a few things

1. The Unflappable yet user friendly tip!  Seriously, in frozen crud, groomers, pow, mank, etc-the tip just instantly engages, never gets bucked around and allows for smooth as silk turns everywhere...and in spite of it's unshakeability, it never kicks back like you'd expect from a stiff front end.   And there is no other ski like it

2. 12m turn radius...it matters.

3. Easy maneuverable twinned tail...fun to spin, easy to drift, etc.

4.  Stout and tough, even in such a short length-the short length is part of it's success---you do give back some top end speed...I think, no, i'm sure, if I skied at a big western hill like Jbotti or Max, I'd go with a longer length in this ski.  But, with the tighter confines, and pitches that rarely exceed 1500ft vert in one shot, the 161cm is perfect.

[LivingProof]

Liam,

The unasked question...."How did you happen to come across a pair of 161 Shaman's, and, what made you mount them up for you?".

[Liam]

LP they belong to a friend and they have a look demo binding.  Since early march I probably put 15-17days on them and still have them in my garage.   I am going to order ones with the new graphics in the early fall and mount them with a marker griffon I have.