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Andy Mink

Everyone loves spring skiing but not in January
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Nov 12, 2015
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Reno
Pix or it didn't happen. Here is a short vid of a buddy getting some face shots a few years back.


Unfortunately highly compressed but the instant replay has better video.
I see what happened. The heels on his bindings weren't working correctly!
 

Philpug

Notorious P.U.G.
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Nov 1, 2015
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42,624
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Reno, eNVy
There was another less than stellar crash I had a few years ago that would have been Youtube gold had it been on video. @Philpug and @Tricia were there. The one in my avatar didn't hurt, amazingly. The other one hurt a lot.
@Andy Mink 's photo (s)
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...
 

Andy Mink

Everyone loves spring skiing but not in January
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Nov 12, 2015
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Reno
And I see what happened there. I try not to ski switch in runs like Gold.
Me too. This was in Horse Trails, I believe. Tried not to ski switch there either!
 

Jim Kenney

Travel Correspondent
Team Gathermeister
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VA

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Fuller

Semi Local
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Joined
Feb 18, 2016
Posts
1,522
Location
Whitefish or Florida
I thought I would change things up a bit... This is a portrait of me at 14 years old when we lived in Sarasota FL. Gil Elvgren is the artist, he lived a few doors down from us and both my sister and I had our portraits done. He, of course is more well known for his pin-up art but apparently he did a pretty good portrait trade amongst our Siesta Key neighbors. I like mine but my sister didn't care for hers from the beginning. They both are at my house now after Mom and Dad passed away.
20150829_133119.jpg
 

LiquidFeet

instructor
Instructor
Joined
Nov 12, 2015
Posts
6,697
Location
New England
I thought I would change things up a bit... This is a portrait of me at 14 years old when we lived in Sarasota FL. Gil Elvgren is the artist, he lived a few doors down from us and both my sister and I had our portraits done. He, of course is more well known for his pin-up art but apparently he did a pretty good portrait trade amongst our Siesta Key neighbors. I like mine but my sister didn't care for hers from the beginning. They both are at my house now after Mom and Dad passed away.
View attachment 167173
Compelling portrait. I hope you keep it as your avatar.
 

teejaywhy

Retired Eccentric
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Feb 19, 2019
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AZ
OK, I've had a few, but my current is compliments of @JudywV. Taken on the final day of the 2023 National Gathering at Snowbird. We had just descended into Mineral Basin from the tunnel in a foot of fresh and zero visibility. I think the shitty grin tells the story.

IMG_4387.jpg
 

PisteOff

Jeff
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Apr 27, 2017
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1,331
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Las Vegas
It’s from this year at Alta. I’d just come into my room at GMD and taken off my jacket and helmet, etc. Just had another great day, was in a great mood, looked over at the mirror and decided to take a picture. I later cropped it to fit and uploaded it here.
IMG_6514.jpeg
 

lisamamot

Lisa MA MOT
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Joined
Feb 6, 2019
Posts
513
Location
MA and ME
I snapped mine on the way out to a woods walk. I love my Avatar, but it pulls at my heartstrings.

This pup adored our family and was a total mush with us, but he had fear based aggression with everyone else. Even though we adopted him at 10 weeks old he was apparently already irreparably damaged. Many years of various behaviorists, starting at 3 months old, and medication and we had little to no progress.

He has since passed, but this picture reminds me not only if the love we had, but that even as an experienced dog parent that has adopted rescues for 37 years, things don’t always go as hoped.
 

AltaSkier

I stick uphill ice...
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May 16, 2017
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232
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Michigan
Mine is of my past "dog," Corbet.

He was a border collie (mix, maybe?) and was wonderful. He got me when I lived in Utah in my 20's, and went EVERYWHERE with me. He had his own backpack that he insisted on carrying on backpacking trips. He loved skinning up and running down when I backcountry skied (outside of the Wasatch of course). Didn't like to swim much, but loved canyoneering in the rivers. He moved to Connecticut with me for a year, then to Michigan where he spent a lot of time in the boat. He was solid personality, quirky, mischievous and smart. I still miss him everyday. He's been gone 8 years and I still can't bring myself to spread his ashes.
 

Nobody

Out of my mind, back in five.
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Joined
Nov 13, 2015
Posts
1,272
Location
Ponte di legno Tonale
Nobody said:
Well, mine is pretty obvous, isn't it?

I took the picture on a week.where I was running a comparison between my old Tecnica xt17 and the then recently acquired (end of previous season sale) Scorpion 130.

Nice and performong as the Scorpion appeared at first, I couldn't bring myself to cut the umbilical cord with the xt17. In a last ditch effort, I attempted this week long "direct" comparison, one day green on the left foot and orange on the right, the next day viceversa. Believe.it or not, it ended with me putting the Scorpions back.in their box and continue to use the xt17...

I tried to sell those,no luck.

Last year I attended an L1 clinic and used only the xt17, left the Scorpions home...

During.the clinic it became obvious that the xt were too outdated and the plastic too old...Once home, out of the box came the Scorpions...at last, you'd say, right?

On the very first day of use, after about 3 hours of.continous skiing I started to feel pain and numbness in my right lower leg,
Continued for another hour or so, at which point was lunch time anyway...so off we went to eat.

Once inside, I realized I had difficulties to walk and put down the right heel.

My pard suggested to take the foot off the boot, once out, his face transformed in horror and "you have broken your tib!"'cried.

The lower leg, external side, right above the ankle, was so swollen and I felt such pain that we really thought I had broken a bone...
Cooler minds prevailed and we decided.it couldn't be. Waited till I slowly could put back my foot in the boot, limped to the cable car and go to the car. Tooknoff.boots, donned shoes and...proceed to drive home...my car, my turn to drive. I don't know how I managed the 20 km.drive of.mountains road till home, foot was numb and couldn't exert all the finesse requested to dose the accelerator and the brakes with the left foot (luckily nowadays I drive a car with automatc gearbox, no clutch.
Anyway, after this I very sadly gave up trying to use the Scorpions and resumed the xts ,until Jan '17 when I found a brand new pair of Tecnica 9.8r at a shop sale...been happily skiing ever since in those.
A case of bad sizing? Feet not agreeing with Dalbello shape? Tightened too much the buckles? Tightened not enough the buckles? Who knows, I was so pumped at the idea of skiing the Scorpions...but this is for another post/thread...
Click to expand...

Nobody said:
You know the funny thing?
Since I took that pic, whenever I happen to be on the mountain during the Carnival period...I ski with all my equipment mismatched..different L&R skis (width and lenght), different L&R Boots, different L&R poles, different L&R gloves...fluo pants and jacket (from the '90s)...
Don't know if I'll be at it this winter , since I have now changed boots and downsized a notch or two...but if I'll be there, I'll do it again...
Why? Just for fun, after all, it's Carnival

P.S. there's a ski instructor on the mountain that skis with mismatched boots all the time, every day of winter. Used a three buckles Nordica boots (green, don't remember the name model) and a 4 buckles orange one (Tecnica Mach 1 IIRC). I did not check wether the same boot always on the same foot but I'll pay more attention this winter, plus..I'll cough up the cheek to ask the reason for it...
Click to expand...

Nobody said:
Not many pictures of me skiing around. IIRC I used three different avatars...
First one was me skiing a couloir in the Dolomites' Sella Massif thirtysome years ago
Second one me performing "ski-lift duties" in a storm for my son (then 3 yrs old) going to the lodge (I use the american term to relate, but there is no "lodge" at resorts in Italy) to eat some.
Then the actual one, me skiing off-piste in 2017 or around that time.

And yet it looks I used at least a fourth one! A picture of mismatched boots while actually using a lift (but skied the whole day that way) Went in my profile looking for it and is not there anymore (and the other in the Dolomites I cited as well), oh well, amen.



I think I described the previous ones, even if they're not available on site anymore. This last one...it is a picture taken this past Christmas/New Year time 2022-2023, one evening when the Local ski schools organized a torchlight show descent plus some fireworks. When we got up at the pass, the weather was cloudy. So the atmoshpere was a bit eeire, we could see some, hear some, but not form a distance. On the way to the show we passed by the same lodge I was "ski-lifting" my son to in another of the avatar pictures...it was lightnened, and also the tress, as you can see.
 

DesmoDog

Getting off the lift
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Joined
Jan 31, 2023
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180
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SE Michigan, USA
My avatar is the real Desmo, aka "DesmoDog". I started using his name as a username late one night when I was registering for a new forum and my typical name was taken. As I sat there pondering what to do, Desmo walked into the room and the rest is history. I've been using it on forums ever since.

That's the short version. Here's the long verison.

We got Desmo (his name was "Lucky" then, I changed it) from a golden retriever rescue group when he was two years old. We came to find he was an anti-retriever though. All of the things retrievers are known for? Not so much for Desmo.

Desmo didn't know how to play. If you threw a tennis ball to him he would literally let it hit his face, watch it roll away, and then look at you like "WTF is wrong with you?" Toss him a treat and he was on it. A ball? No interest.

He retrieved for me twice. When we first got him we were out walking, he was off leash, and I threw a ball. He ran and got it, brought it back, dropped it when I asked him to. Cool! So I threw it again. He raced off after it, got to it, and just kept running. Ran right by it. After that when I'd throw the ball he'd just watch it, then look back at me. "Hey, YOU threw it, YOU go get it!" Through the years I'd tell that story - then once we were out walking with someone and I told it again. I had a ball so I thought I'd demonstrate. I got his attention. Tossed the ball. He raced off, grabbed it, brought it back and dropped it at my feet. Then wandered off. "Dude, enough with that lame story. I know HOW to retrieve, I just choose not to"

He loved kids, especially girls. Adored them. I always thought his first owner must have been a little girl.

He loved animals bigger than him. Ignored smaller animals for the most part, but big animals? He'd walk right over. Horses and BIG dogs were his best friends. Little dogs, cats, squirrels, he had no interest.

He loved to jump. When we first went to see him, he came charging into the room, jumped over a table, and landed on the couch between my wife and I. Open the hatch on my Jeep? He would launch out of it. When going down stairs he would jump when he got near the bottom. I don't think his paws ever touched a bottom stair on the way down.

When he was six years old we unexpectedly brought home an 8 week old retriever pup. He was not amused. The pup would not leave him alone. He finally climbed up on the couch to get away from it. The pup stood there barking at him. He had finally had enough. Desmo did not bark often, but when he did... holy cow. He had a bark that backed people up when they rang the doorbell. Not exaggerating, from behind a closed door he would bark and people would step back off the porch. Anyway... he had enough of the yapping. Time to lay down the law, show this little mongrel who was boss. He voiced his disapproval with a growl/bark that sent the pup scrambling backwards until she ran into the TV stand.

Desmo laid there on the couch looking at her. She was shocked. But... then her eyes got wide and she charged him, barking away. Desmo sat up, gave me yet another "WTF!" look and stayed up against the back of the couch, out of her reach. Sophia (as she came to be known) did not take any guff from him, ever. No care at all that she was outweighed by 60lbs. Oh no you DIDN'T!

Desmo was the typical big brother. He ignored Sophia for the most part, but she followed him around and mimiced what he did. This picture isn't posed, she really did copy his moves and follow his lead.
dogs_3770_m.jpg


You would have thought Desmo didn't even like her. Until she got into something... if another dog wanted to get to Sophia, they had to get through Desmo first. HE could pick on her. YOU could NOT. Desmo hated water. When Sophia was still young, she chased a ball into a pond, took a few leaps and then hit a drop off and disappeared underwater. When she surfaced again she was frantic. First time swimming I suppose. Other dogs crowded around to see what the excitment was, blocking her from getting back to shore.

Out of nowhere, Desmo came charging into the water, breaking up the crowd. Sophia made it to shore. Desmo went off to do something else. Task complete, Time to go do whatever it is dogs who don't like water do. I never got him to go into water again.

They became the 'triever twins. A friend used to walk them when my wife and I were at work. The dogs became more well known around the neighborhood than we were. I was walking them around a baseball field and as we were leaving, a young girl yelled "Good bye Sophia!". Sophia turned and looked, tail wagging. The mom and I looked at each other. I have no idea who she or her daughter was and by the looks of things she had no idea why her daughter knew who Sophia was. Neither did I.

Sophia was the trouble maker. Desmo was the well behaved gentleman. Sophia started a lot of scuffles and Desmo would come running to find me to avoid the chaos.

Or so I thought.

One winter morning, I'm sitting on the couch reading the paper. Desmo was napping in front of the TV. Sophia was asleep in front of the fireplace. When Sophia slept she was dead to the world. Such a heavy sleeper. I noticed Desmo look around. Then he slowly got up, and very quietly walked over to Sophia. Desmo stood over her, then slowly raised his paw. Held it up for a moment, then slammed it down on her head, ran back to the TV and laid down before Sophia came to her senses. When she charged him, barking away, he sat back with his innocent look like he had no idea what the commotion was about.

That little... I wondered how many times he had gotten her in trouble. She was ALWAYS blamed for any commotion!

Desmo was is the only dog I've seen take a guy down with one punch. If he was up on his hind legs and you pushed him backwards, he would spring forward and lead with his right paw in a nice little jab, without ever setting his front paws on the ground.

I sold a car to some friends of the family. It was for their daughter, She came over with her dad to pay for it. HOT summer day, dad is in lightweight running shorts. Starts playing with Desmo. Desmo stands back on his hind legs, the guy shoves him back. I see it coming. Desmo springs forward and NAILS the guy with his right paw. Right below the belt. The guy hits the floor. As he's rolling around, the daughter was laughing so hard she was crying. I was trying to keep a straight face because I hadn't been paid yet... Desmo just sat there next to him, wagging his tail and I swear he was smiling. The guy had played with him before and was mumbling something about "I should have known it was coming..."

So yeah, I can ramble on about Desmo. He ended up outliving Sophia which blew my mind. I NEVER thought that would happen. Very close to the end I had a DNA test done on him and found out he was only about 1/4 retriever, then something like 1/8 each chow and german shepard, then a bunch of other breeds. A true mutt. And I mean that in the best of ways, he was a great dog. He was an old soul. He seemed wise somehow.

He made it to just shy of his 17th birthday which for a retriever is not common. Near the end of his run we had him at the vet. The doc checking him out wasn't his normal vet, but she knew him. I asked how? She said "a 16 year old retriever? He's a rock star around here! We all know him."

When the day came that Desmo had to be put down, the vet who had been seeing him for 15 years was doing it. Of course I was sad but I was holding things together pretty well. He had made a good run. Things were not going well. It was time. I think even he understood. He looked calm. And so tired. I was right there with him. We were good. The vet was prepping him... and when she was done with the prep she bent over and kissed him.

I wasn't expecting that. It hit me hard, like someone flipped a switch in me. So much for no tears. It was all very clinical right up to that point, but then the spell was broken.

Here he is near the end. The vest was there because he wasn't so great at gogin up stairs, but would still make the leap on the way down. He'd give it a good effort but could no longer nail the landing. I'd grab the handles and let him jump, then carry him to the bottom and set him down gently. I liked to imagine he thought he was finally learning how to fly but he was one of the smarter dogs we had and I'm sure knew exactly what was happening. He didn't seem to mind in any case.

IMG_2809.JPG


And that's my novel about Desmo. It might come as a shock but I'll admit it, I kinda liked the big guy.
 

Prosper

This is the way.
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SkiTalk Supporter
Joined
May 2, 2017
Posts
1,110
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Ken Caryl, CO
Jackson Hole Steep and Deep Camp Feb 2023 Crags Shot 7. About a 45 min boot pack and then skate. Was knee deep, really fun and well worth the effort.
 

Nobody

Out of my mind, back in five.
Skier
Joined
Nov 13, 2015
Posts
1,272
Location
Ponte di legno Tonale
I think I described the previous ones, even if they're not available on site anymore. This last one...it is a picture taken this past Christmas/New Year time 2022-2023, one evening when the Local ski schools organized a torchlight show descent plus some fireworks. When we got up at the pass, the weather was cloudy. So the atmoshpere was a bit eeire, we could see some, hear some, but not form a distance. On the way to the show we passed by the same lodge I was "ski-lifting" my son to in another of the avatar pictures...it was lightnened, and also the tress, as you can see.
Oook, I think I managed to dig out all avatars from my personal archives:
Avatar1.jpg
Avatar 2.jpg

Avatar 3.jpg

Avatar 4.jpg

Avatar 5.jpg

(from Avatar 1...one could infer I have a "thing" for couloirs...that picture was taken in January 1994...)
 

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