Other thread was old so I will get this kicked off.

So I would like some opinions on good ski pants/bibs. I have a pair of super cheap bibs that I have been wearing the past few seasons but they fit way too baggy and don't breathe very well. I typically ski just a couple times a year on the east coast (snow shoe, massanutten, wintergreen, etc.) so I don't need anything super insulated and I would prefer to layer if it does get cold. I want something waterproof but breathable and I'd prefer to spend $100 or less. Any ideas or places to look for discounts/closeouts?

9/26/2012 2:37:25 PM

http://www.landsend.com/pp/mens-squall-snow-bibs~214137_59.html

I have these. No complaints. Good price.
Do some searching and you can probably find a coupon for free shipping.

[Edited on September 26, 2012 at 2:51 PM. Reason : l]

9/26/2012 2:47:07 PM

Looks like I can only afford one trip out west this year

9/26/2012 4:13:08 PM

I didnt know people still wore ski bibbs

9/26/2012 4:39:27 PM

Why not? When I put a coat on nobody can tell the difference between bibs and pants anyway, so it really only matters when I walk into a restaurant on the slopes. 15 years of having snow shoveled down the back of my pants when I took a serious tumble in any kind of powder was enough. I've only used the bibs twice now, but I'm a fan.

I have a nice Burton coat with a snap together elastic snow shield, but it still rides up and lets snow in when I fall hard enough.

Function > Fashion

[Edited on September 26, 2012 at 5:37 PM. Reason : s]

9/26/2012 5:31:13 PM

see the key is... not falling.

season's pass to winter park / mary jane this year, looking forward to it, snow's already falling.

9/26/2012 6:50:40 PM

Keys to daddy's jet; I have free transportation and lodging basically wherever I want. I plan on doing lots of skiing this season.

9/26/2012 7:10:30 PM

I have seen jackets and pants that zip together at the waist. That would be the ultimate ski outfit.

9/26/2012 9:20:46 PM

^^ can you swing by and pick me up? I'm cool with you landing on our street if you have to.

9/26/2012 10:19:41 PM

Can't do that, but I'll meet you somewhere if you need someone to hit the mountain with.

9/26/2012 10:23:31 PM

Quote :

"I have seen jackets and pants that zip together at the waist. That would be the ultimate ski outfit."

Sounds like extra work. Just a sign of getting old I guess. I walk into the ski shops and think most of the stuff in there looks like a clown outfit. Ski fashion has always pushed the limits of being too radical, so I guess it's no surprise, but snowboard culture seems to have taken it to full on clown level.

I also dropped $150 on the Smith goggles with a built in fan so I can wear glasses under my goggles last season. They look huge on my face, but I'm enjoying being able to properly read the terrain rather than just feeling it out. Makes a big difference at the end of the day when the sun is setting and everything is packed and rutted.

[Edited on September 27, 2012 at 10:20 AM. Reason : s]

9/27/2012 10:15:30 AM

Quote :

"but snowboard culture seems to have taken it to full on clown level."

Quote :

"I also dropped $150 on the Smith goggles with a built in fan.... They look huge on my face"

[Edited on September 27, 2012 at 11:09 AM. Reason : .]

9/27/2012 11:05:14 AM

Ha ha...I thought of that, but it goes back to Function > Fashion. They're not big for the sake of looking gaudy; they're big so that my glasses can fit under them. And they're black; not flourescent pink with neon green straps.

[Edited on September 27, 2012 at 11:08 AM. Reason : l]

9/27/2012 11:07:50 AM

^^^ everytime I look to replace my ski pants, I see all the crazy colors and patterns and prints... personally, I'm gonna stick with black.

9/27/2012 3:59:17 PM

Prospero's picture (is that Mary Jane?) is making me want to move back to Boulder. This will be my first east coast ski season. Any suggestions? Should I just buy ice skates?

9/27/2012 6:32:07 PM

Yes, Mary Jane. Last time I snowboarded east coast it's just heavy and wet and yes you need your edges sharp as hell for the ice in-between.

[Edited on September 27, 2012 at 7:38 PM. Reason : .]

9/27/2012 7:38:14 PM

Ski season is almost here!

I think I'm gonna eBay my skis and boots at the beginning of the season and just demo gear this season, then buy new stuff after the season is over and stuff gets dirt cheap again.

Now...which mountain to head to first? I'm thinking Vail (my favorite), Aspen, or somewhere in Tahoe (never been to the latter two).

10/29/2012 12:21:39 AM

To the OP, here is the answer to all life's problems (on the slopes, that is):

I present the Onesie

10/29/2012 7:33:56 AM

^ to wit, I will repost a pic from my friends soon-to-be official Mary Jane Onesie Day (2010)





[Edited on October 29, 2012 at 4:10 PM. Reason : pics>links]

10/29/2012 4:08:37 PM

I think I'm gonna sell my skis and boots and use this season to demo different stuff and see what I want to buy during the off-season. My boots are prob 9-10 years old and I want to upgrade to the latest gear; my skis are only 4-5 years old, but I think maybe I bought about a size too long (178 cm Nordica Hot-Rod Eliminators; I'm 5'8" and 185 lbs--probably a more aggressive than average skier, but neither as good nor as aggressive as I was when I bought them...lots of time spent in FL and the Middle East has degraded my skiing skills ). Plus, while I think I want to stay in the all-mountain type of ski, I think I want something geared toward about 80% frontside groomer use).


At any rate, my question is, should I throw that stuff up on eBay right now, or should I wait until ski season gets into full swing?

11/25/2012 11:17:04 PM

[Edited on November 25, 2012 at 11:18 PM. Reason : dbl post]

11/25/2012 11:17:04 PM

just be sure to sell it before Christmas as everyone sells their old stuff after Christmas b/c they get new

11/26/2012 11:21:32 AM

Headed to Steamboat just before Christmas and I have an extra day in town. Any tips for things I should check out on my day off? Any tips for the resort itself?

11/26/2012 12:21:00 PM

I've got nothing specific, but we had an awesome time in steamboat last year.

Sunpie's and the boathouse were the bars in town we frequented the most.


wish i could go out west this year, but i'm using 3 weeks of vacation time for a trip to India this year.

11/26/2012 3:54:47 PM

Quote :

"Tahoe (never been to the latter two)"

Check the snow reports. Last year was absolutely brutal due to a severe lack of snow.

11/26/2012 3:58:19 PM

But the year prior to that was pretty good (at least when I was there).

I've tentatively committed myself to Snowbird again this year...likely around President's Day. They're doing pretty well on snow accumulation so far

11/26/2012 6:17:13 PM

Epic local pass procured. 7 days booked at vail. It better start snowing up there soon.

11/27/2012 10:46:15 AM

Tahoe got a little snow. I was at heavenly for thanksgiving and they had two lifts open. Already more than January of last year.

11/27/2012 11:15:38 AM

planning to go to Snowshoe Dec. 26-30. hope it doesn't fall through

11/27/2012 2:30:36 PM

Anyone ever skied Alaska?

[Edited on December 8, 2012 at 9:54 PM. Reason : also, 178cm Nordica HotRod Eliminators and/or Dalbello Avanti boots for sale.]

12/8/2012 9:54:17 PM

^^ Start making other plans. This weather pattern is atrocious.

12/8/2012 10:35:12 PM

Steven's Pass got a significant dump within the past couple of days. Grand Targhee is fully open. Whistler/Blackcomb is doing well. It seems like the only reliable region has been the Pacific/Northwest the last few years.

12/9/2012 5:04:11 AM

Haha Stevens and Baker always have snow.

12/9/2012 10:45:58 AM

Quote :

"Report Time Mon, Dec 10 4:54 am (local time) Surface Packed Powder New Snow Notes 9" past 72 hrs Base 16 inches Lifts Open 4 of 18 Trails Open 15 of 165 Acres Open 81 of 2965 Percent Open 3"

Thinking I'm going to cancel my trip to Steamboat unless they get dumped on for the next few days.

12/10/2012 9:17:43 AM

Ugh you people making me so jealous. I haven't been skiing in almost three years now

12/10/2012 9:43:46 AM

^^

that sucks-- definitely noticed over the last several years that early season snow is less and less reliable. Back in high school or even college (for me i graduated HS i 96), you might get lucky and have some decent snow just after thanksgiving, but mid-december would be a lock for having most if not all runs open in NC/VA, and certainly out west.

climate's definitely a-changing.

12/10/2012 9:51:03 AM

Thx man. I'm thinking it might be better to be out a few hundred bucks now and still be able to take a trip sometime in late January/February than for go in these conditions. On the other hand, being the first to ride new trails as they open could be pretty awesome.

Any tips on selling my three day lift ticket? Thinking of putting them on eBay for $200 with free overnight shipping and seeing if anybody picks up on them. Paid $240. They're $98/day at the slopes.

[Edited on December 10, 2012 at 10:02 AM. Reason : l]

12/10/2012 10:00:27 AM

This season is starting to bum me out already.

12/12/2012 2:05:20 AM

I am taking it if it is sucking in good places then somewhere like homestead resort in va which doesnt even open up until December might suck as well? Anyone ever been?

12/12/2012 3:27:45 AM

Heading to Killington tonight through Sunday. I'm not optimistic, but it beats being at work

12/12/2012 8:57:25 AM

I keep flip flopping on whether to cancel. Steamboat has been getting snow almost every night. It's at 10% open now which doesn't sound like a lot, but it's still more rideable terrain than Snowshoe. I was really looking forward to those long rides from the top of the mountain and doing a lot of tree riding though.

12/12/2012 9:46:42 AM

^3

Snowmaking temps just resumed, so yes. It probably won't be great. The caveat is that Homestead is about as big as my backyard, so if they make snow, they can probably have TEXAS% coverage in no time.

To me, any day on any slopes is better than no day on no slopes, to me. but I thought this is pretty funny:



vs






Actually the photo doesn't do it justice, due to scale...

Skiable acreage: 45 to 8171

That's 0.5% of the terrain!

[Edited on December 12, 2012 at 7:02 PM. Reason : lol]

12/12/2012 6:58:09 PM

Skack, I'm at Steamboat right now. It hasn't been ideal, but the conditions are getting better and better. They got about 15" of new snow from Sunday to Tuesday and are steadily opening new trails. If you haven't cancelled your passes yet, I say go for it and come on out here.

Go to the hot springs in town. $16/person, but you can get a hand stamp to go back later in the day to get your money's worth. There's another hot spring nearby called Strawberry Springs. I didn't make the trip up there, but it's supposed to be even better.

Mahogany Ridge Brewery and Grill and Carl's Tavern are great places to eat.

12/12/2012 7:24:48 PM

I'm staying at the Rabbit Ears motel which is across the street from the Old Town Hot Springs, so I'll be sure to check them out. Thanks for the restaurant recommendations too.

12/12/2012 10:17:00 PM

Snow, snow, and more snow!
So glad I didn't cancel.

12/17/2012 5:43:38 PM

wtf are you morons going so early? I'm going to Utah. In late February.

12/17/2012 7:47:27 PM

Quote :

"Anyone ever skied Alaska?"

I was at Alyeska outside of Anchorage about a week ago and the conditions were pretty bad, which is uncommon for this time of year, but even if they were good it's not worth a trip to Alaska in the winter. It's a small mountain. There are obviously plenty of back country skiing opportunities in Alaska, but I don't have any experience with that up there yet.

It's pretty awesome in Washington right now. I skinned up Ellinor with a buddy on saturday before avalanche danger got too high, then headed to Crystal where the conditions were great and I'm sure even better today. I've never skied there before but talked to several people on the lifts who said it's the best they've skied in Washington for years, and that was before another 2.5 feet fell over the last 36 hours.

12/17/2012 8:47:01 PM

^^that's when we usually go, but hey...powder is powder

12/17/2012 9:20:18 PM

Skack nailed it - it's dumping at Steamboat right now

I'm in Boulder for graduation on Thursday. Wish I had bailed on family stuff and gone skiing today, but the base still looks bad for most of these colorado mountains. However, seeing snow flurries tonight made me happy.

Looks like I'm going to Steamboat for a week in mid-March. My g/f's cousin just bought a ski-in/ski-out condo and we get to stay free. Now all I need to do is ensure massive snowfall.

12/17/2012 11:46:48 PM

Quote :

"I'm staying at the Rabbit Ears motel which is across the street from the Old Town Hot Springs, so I'll be sure to check them out. Thanks for the restaurant recommendations too."

haha, that's where we stayed last year.

not a bad joint, esp. for the price.

12/18/2012 12:29:39 AM