Boots

February 4, 2012

Diamond Peak on a sunny Saturday.

I got a new pair of boots this year as a birthday gift from my parents. I got my last pair of Salomon's in...I think...2002? I loved the Salomon's--they were super comfortable, sufficiently stiff, and generally worked well. Except after nearly a decade of skiing they were pretty packed out.

Gear has changed a lot in the past 10 years. Skis got more sidecut...then they got shorter...then wider...then rocker. The innovations in equipment are awesome. They make skiing so much easier and fun. Especially in powder.

Boots evolved too. They got stiffer and more upright to reflect the stance needed to work new skis. The technique required for new skis is not the aggressive forward stance needed for the old gear. You now stand and turn with both skis and take a more neutral stance.

At any rate, after trying on lots of different boots, I found that the Rossignol's fit my fat feet the best. Here they are.

I got the boots back in August and didn't ski on them until we went to Colorado in December. The first three days were pretty painful. I loved the way the boots rode, but it was agonizing getting in and out of them. Plus lots of pressure on the side of my fat foot and on my bony ankles. So, we went back to the Outpost where we got them. The bootfitter basically said that I was pronating and that it was forcing the outside of my foot...further outside. I did not completely buy the explanation, especially since the purported solution was a $150 pair of custom footbeds.

To say the least I was a little pissed off by the expectation that I would throw down an additional $150 on top the $500 the boots cost just to make them fit. There wasn't much I could do at that point--it was either suck it up and deal with the pain of spending $150 on footbeds, or suffer through the pain of wearing the boots as they were. I got the footbeds.

I didn't get to use them until I got back to Oregon. They were still a little painful in places, but significantly better. Five ski days later and they are starting to feel a lot better--they are easier to get in and out of and my feet don't go numb any more (bonus!). I'm confident that I'll get along with these boots just fine.

Diane strides across the parking lot.

Diane tears it up.

A fun day of skiing capped off with a gig at the Axe & Fiddle in beautiful downtown Cottage Grove, Oregon. It was a fun place to play even if the place was dead. We made $32...my take was $8 which ended up to be $2 after paying for dinner. We usually get pay significantly more, but it was fun nonetheless.

I.

II.