El Duderino, if you're not into the whole brevity thing

February 26 - 28, Backcountry.com went in with Black Diamond to bring Dudeness to the people. The Big LePowSki was a clinic-with-the-pros event at Brighton that benefited The Billy Poole Fund and the Winter Wildlands Alliance.

The Powderwhores were there. Check it.


The Big LePowSki from Noah howell on Vimeo.

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New Black Diamond Boots!?!

My first piece of black diamond gear ever was their blizzard harness for my first rock climbing excursion. I never would've thought my closet would be full of all the trinkets they sale; and now they pull this me.

I am one of those teli-markers so the Custom (on the right) is obviously catching my eye. BD has never done me wrong (or anyone that I know of) but bringing on a boot is a big deal! Their evolution of their cams has been amazing and I expect the same care of detail was put into these bad boys.

The new boot line features:

• Multi-density plastic
• Triax-frame split into Pro, Performance, and Tour groups
  
• Rid-stiff, mid-stiff, and freeflex options per boot
• Boa lacing system....WHOA!!

One thing I like about the new line is all the options. I think its way cool they are matching boot stiffness with their binding stiffness (wow I'm a gear whore).

Here is their Method AT boot to the left. Not seeing the BOA party in the back but you've got your Dynafit business in the front.

And can I just say these boots are just flat out sexy? Definitely going to bat off the women with my ski poles next season. "Ladies, ladies please..."

Many thanks to Telemarktips who posted all this fancy beta.

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Dueling Entrepreneurs - Backcountry.com CEO and Black Diamond DOS

Two of the larger players in the Outdoor Industry who have grown and matured in Utah are Backcountry.com and Black Diamond. Although the two companies do vary in focus and the type of businesses they each run, there has been a lot of connectivity between the two of them. Most recently, the relationship has flourished as Backcountry.com has emerged as one of the top if not the top retailer of Black Diamond gear.

Launch magazine, a Utah based publication for entrepreneurs, somehow lassoed two very busy individuals in Backcountry.com CEO Jim Holland and Black Diamond Director of Sales and Marketing Chris Grover to have them chat about each others business. It's a unique format, one Launch calls e2e (entrepreneur to entrepreneur), and after reading some brief pieces of text from the discussion I spent the time to listen to the podcast. I have to say, I found it insightful and quite interesting.

Here's a sample of the interaction through conversation that emerged - the aged old question in the Outdoor Industry. And a fine answer by Chris Grover!

Jim Holland: Chris, how do you guys incentivize people? Sometimes that gets a little tricky. Is there an incentive for people just being in this industry?

Chris Grover: Yes, but that is not enough. You get to be in the industry. You get to be in a good environment if it is the right environment for you. You get to be part of something you are passionate about. There is a lot that comes with working at companies like ours but you are absolutely right, at some point the answer to, "Where is the rest of my paycheck?" can't be, "Look at the view out the window."

So grab a cup of joe, a fresh bagel and either download the podcast from Launch Magazine or listen to it from their website.

After you listen to it, comment below with your feedback on what you thought or perhaps things that struck a cord with you or even things that cut you to the core. You've got carte blanche.

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All We Need is Love in the Backcountry

At the end of the day, or the beginning if you prefer to ski powder during the wee hours of the morning, backcountry skiing is about getting up so you can enjoy the down. Although images of "the masses" from the land beyond the lifts would tell another story, the backcountry skiing community is a small one. Too small in fact for the dividing asunder and the "he said she said" that seems to be going on. But the waters have been stirred and are now muddy.

From TelemarkTips.com's recent article comes this rhetoric:

This "Battle of the Titans" is a war for the hearts and minds of a future generation of telemark skiers yet to discover the sport. Viewed as such, it becomes a little less threatening and far more fun to follow along. Indeed, most of us had no idea it had already begun, but as can be seen from the narrative above, the battle has been underway for many months, perhaps even years.

Mike Geraci at Base Camp Communications offers an olive branch on behalf of Scarpa to the Telemark world. Why is an olive branch needed? I think it's a "better now than later" and to draw a line in the sand. Speculation by the masses will only lead to confusion and yes, more speculation.

By now you may be wondering what exactly I'm talking about and who exactly cares. It's the Black Diamond v. Scarpa v. Garmont v. Rotefella v...blah, blah, blah and well, apparently some people care, myself not included.

I love Black Diamond. I use their gloves, the Avalung, the Slide Pack, a ratty beanie, a couple of tee shirts, their Flick-Lock Carbon Fiber poles, their probe pole. I'm a regular BD die hard.

I also love Scarpa boots. The Scarpa Spirit 3 is my new love after having owned and skied the Matrix (light and fast), Denali (original red), Denali XT (smurf blue), and the Denali TT (red again).

But then again as you can tell from the link, I fixed the heel and fixed the problem long ago. How's that for love?

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