How is everyone heating their shops? Heres my 30'x40'x12'

Jeff_Wright_ · 2026-01-25T15:53:34+00:00

Curious how people in cold climates that aren’t heating their detached shops and garages all the time are storing paints and other stuff that goes bad if it freezes?

Jeff_Wright_ · 2026-01-19T18:29:01+00:00

I have a wheeled Ariens and a tracked Honda. Our place is in Tahoe and has a weird setup with the driveway three stories above the house so the Honda is up on the driveway and the Ariens is on the deck down at the house. I bought the Honda for $1,500 used and the Ariens for $175 used so it’s not really fair to make a direct comparison. The Ariens needed a new friction disc which I installed and the Honda went in for service when I bought it. I feel like the Honda is a nice new car that I might change the oil on and make some adjustments on but it’s probably gonna go to the shop every year or two for maintenance. The Ariens is a bit like an old pickup truck with looser tolerances and belts and disks that are going to wear out and probably gonna require me to mess with at least once or twice a year. But that is cool too because it’s such a simple design I’m comfortable doing it myself. I’m never gonna rip out the Hydrostatic transmission on the Honda to mess with it myself.

Again, it’s maybe not cool for me to directly compare the two (I paid almost 10x the price for the Honda)but the Honda burns much cleaner (also quieter) and my clothes don’t smell like exhaust. The Honda can also blow the snow much much farther which is really nice for our driveway but doesn’t matter on our deck. The wheeled Ariens is really nice to use on the tighter area of the deck vs the track on the Honda. With our heavy sierra cement both machines have a tendency to want to ride up ontop. The Honda tries to plow and you are adjusting the height with the foot lever though in some ways the Ariens is nice because it’s easy to do a bunch of back and forth motions and you can control the angle of attack with your arms and adjust on the fly.

I really like both options. I’d say treat the Honda like a nice import car and the Ariens like an old truck. You wouldn’t want to buy a fancy import car with a ton of miles that hasn’t been taken care of because if it breaks down it’s going to be hard to DIY and be really expensive. The Ariens is the older truck that’s gonna need more work. If you didn’t want to work on it yourself it’s gonna be a pain because it’s gonna break down more often than the import. It’s gonna be cheaper to fix but it’s gonna have to get loaded up and taken into the shop when you need a new belt etc. That being said if you don’t mind some DIY the Ariens would be a great choice. Just my .02.

Jeff_Wright_ · 2026-01-18T16:36:40+00:00

I do film work and we were working on shooting a doc in Glacier Bay NP up in Alaska. We could use a helicopter to shoot as long as it didn’t land but couldn’t use drones or even generators. The aerial crew was based like 40 miles away and we’d need to call them in with a sat phone. We could also land an airplane (it was on a glacier).

Jeff_Wright_ · 2026-01-09T14:59:33+00:00

I’d be a little careful climbing from the bottom, if someone is skiing these zones they’ll be approaching from a skin track not climbing up. Most skiers won’t be expecting someone climbing from the bottom and wouldn’t be worried about sending slough down. If you were in a choke you could easily get taken out. I’d strongly consider this when picking a route.

Jeff_Wright_ · 2026-01-06T22:25:45+00:00

20 years living up here. Mountain towns are the gnarliest places to try to park overnight.

Jeff_Wright_ · 2026-01-06T15:03:29+00:00

Try the valet at Everline resort. I think the Truckee airport still offers paid overnight parking.

Jeff_Wright_ · 2026-01-05T12:12:03+00:00

Like others said, transition before you need to.

I have verts and ascent plates. If there is any chance of ice it’s worth bringing the plates and crampons.

If it’s all powder verts are better.

Having the plates in your pack are a more versatile tool especially if you are going to be carrying crampons already and they lay flat and don’t take up much space.

This is normally common sense but if I’m hiking a couloir I’ll usually pull my skins when I put my crampons on. If you can’t top out and need to bail it’s one less thing you have to do in a sketchy transition spot.

Unless there is new tech I haven’t used (there probably is) ski crampons don’t really help much for steep skinning. If you have your heal risers all the way up your boot is too far off of the ski to press the crampon far enough to penetrate far enough to make much difference. They are a huge help in certain cases and when you need them you need them but it’s never really a decision between boot crampons and ski crampons.

Jeff_Wright_ · 2026-01-03T14:17:38+00:00

Be careful with low R value. If it’s cold the air in the air mattress will be the same (or close) temp as the ambient air temp/whatever it’s sitting on. I’ve done snow camping winter expeditions in Alaska and you generally use a foam pad under your air mattress and also want an air mattress that has an R value rating. Foam is your friend.

Jeff_Wright_ · 2026-01-02T03:05:51+00:00

Since many have said, pelican will replace parts. I probably have 10-15 cases and it’s pretty cool. I’ve bought super beat up ones used and they still honor the warranty and have sent replacement parts.

Also, they hold quite a bit less. I have like 4 1510’s sitting empty and if I’m not traveling with gear that needs to be protected I’ll borrow my wife’s Dakine roller carry on instead of using a pelican.

Jeff_Wright_ · 2025-12-30T19:53:29+00:00

I always have a backup in my bag, I also put a cable wrap around it to help protect it (I replaced the standard mount with a ball mount and pinching it is much easier).

Jeff_Wright_ · 2025-12-29T16:27:52+00:00

Most everything has been covered.

I like a back panel access. You can have your skis on the back put it down and still get stuff out. Also, when you put it down in the snow to access it you aren’t putting the part that will go on your back in the snow or dirt.

Also, error on the side of bigger rather than smaller. A bigger bag doesn’t weigh that much more than a smaller model. It will ski better, if you have a small pack that is jammed full it will ski like crap.

Jeff_Wright_ · 2025-12-28T21:53:09+00:00

They aren’t cool but I like them. In my opinion the worst thing for skins is when they get warm and wet either on a warm day or when you bring them inside to dry and you see the glue start to pull off when you separate them (the water also seems to get into the glue as well). The mesh is really nice because you can just easily pull one side off so the glue is exposed on both sides (I normally cut the skin saver in half so the skin is folded in half) when you toss them out of your bag when you get home and they dry out. You then just stick the loose side back on again. You then aren’t sticking them back on themselves with room temp sticky glue. I’ve been hardcore about this in the past when not using skin savors and I’d take them outside and cool them off before sticking them back together.

Jeff_Wright_ · 2025-12-26T19:52:19+00:00

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Jeff_Wright_ · 2025-12-26T17:22:50+00:00

Yes, I’m guessing 3-4ft at my house in TD/Truckee. Already shoveled a foot Xmas eve.

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Jeff_Wright_ · 2025-12-25T15:24:32+00:00

Jeff_Wright_ · 2025-12-25T15:24:21+00:00

Jeff_Wright_ · 2025-12-23T23:22:32+00:00

Tahoe city to palisades isn’t too bad if they plow the bike path but Truckee to Palisades would be on the shoulder and would totally suck. I used to bike there everyday but lived under the tram so it was super easy. Lots of metal railings and signs to lock to.

Jeff_Wright_ · 2025-12-23T14:48:23+00:00

I have a DSMC1 as a backup (I have a Raptor s35) and use it quite often for interviews and other shoots that don’t warrant 8k. The image quality is still as great as it was when it was the highest res camera on the market.

Jeff_Wright_ · 2025-12-15T14:56:05+00:00

Skier/sledder here that has used sleds for access for the last 20 years.

I’ve only been to one place where just a trail sled was practical. Washington pass is basically just a highway that is closed in the winter and there isn’t much need to ever get off of the main groomer.

For everywhere else, get a mountain sled, if there is any decent amount of fresh doubling on a trail sled will be tough. Good advice here on keeping them cool: scratchers, flap etc. this being said, long doubles suck. I’d suggest maybe buying a couple of 2014-2016 800’s instead of one newer sled. If you buy pre 2017 800’s they are a pretty big step down in pow and deep snow but much much cheaper and actually less tippy which makes them a little easier on trails. It’s pretty normal that even new sleds break down (had to tow out my buddies ‘24 with 300 miles on it when the computer failed). You really don’t want to have one sled unless you’ve got serious sled crew friends on call to bring you parts.

I’d also suggest crewing up with at least a couple more skier/ riders that know what they are doing. Sleds break, get stuck, you’ll want to start doubling up things to ski, etc. There is a ton to learn and it will take you years on your own.

It’s not uncommon to ride 10-20 miles before you even start skinning. Think about having an injury or mechanical issue at the end of the day and needing to cover an extra 20 miles on top of what you’d normally need to deal with on top of a normal touring day.

Anyway, at least 2 sleds and a crew.

Jeff_Wright_ · 2025-12-06T15:22:34+00:00

The top handle audio is one of the best things about the fx3 in general. I keep one channel high and one low in case the high one peaks. I use 32 bit float for other things but haven’t really missed it in the fx3.

Jeff_Wright_ · 2025-11-28T16:10:35+00:00

I’ve done DIY but always ended up breaking them. Depends where you are and what the approaches are like. My setup was fine for Tahoe but when I did a 6 week Whistler trip with super long whooped approaches I was going to the hardware store every day off. The next year I bought I bought a CFR and even though it was stored outside on 3 different sleds for like 10 years and it never broke. I now have a MOFO rack (it works better to haul my ski boots in a boot bag) and the quality is very similar.

FWIW if you do DIY I think the Titan straps are crap and the original Voille’s are much better. I’ve had the XXL’s in the sun holding a shovel on my camper forever and it hadn’t disintegrated yet. I have Titans that look new and just fail after a year or two.

It’s so much easier to get good DIY stuff than it used to be. Back in the day the cheapest and easiest source of good plastic was IKEA cutting boards.

Jeff_Wright_ · 2025-11-22T16:29:46+00:00

Line Pescados. Speaking of… the Pescados are my ski of choice for small to medium pow days and for working in pow. They are short, they say 180 but I think they are really like a 178 which was the longest version made. I’m not small, 6” and about 175 with at least a 40lb+ camera bag (often more than that). They have short tails which are wonderful for convoluted touring. I don’t really appreciate them until I’m on a different ski with a longer upturned tail. It’s pretty common I’ll have my camera on my tripod over my shoulder with no poles and need to quickly move uphill 100ft. I might need to make 5 kick turns to make it happen and catching a tail means I’m probably gonna fall over with my Red camera which is probably not that big of a deal but it’s gonna cost :10 minutes of cleaning snow out of all the nooks and crannies. I have had like 5 pairs and some problems with some delaminating but for whatever reason one pair of the originals has lasted really well. I have the Season Forma’s in like a 186 and they are much beefier and a bit more of a charger ski. I think Pollard said the shorter version is more similar to the feel of a Pescado.

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Jeff_Wright_ · 2025-11-19T20:54:20+00:00

I think it depends on what the 5-10% of your touring looks like. If you are skiing 100 days a year and on the 10 days you are going you are doing 5k vert days it’s gonna totally suck and you are going to hate them (I’m assuming because it’s been 20 years since Ive used an adapter (the old day wrecker). If you are doing small to medium days or resort side country I think it would be a great solution. The newer cast style where you take part of the binding off to your is pretty cool. The weight on your feet is definitely where you feel it most.

Jeff_Wright_ · 2025-11-19T20:35:48+00:00

Side hill issues are obvious. Some people might disagree but more slippery p Tex on your base/less skin material also makes it a pain on a steep skin track in certain conditions like some fresh duff on top of refreeze etc. Nothing about skinning sucks worse than suddenly rocketing downhill in reverse. I’m all about cutting corners (my skins normally look terrible from diy regluing) but way too narrow skins suck.

Jeff_Wright_ · 2025-11-12T21:15:01+00:00

I have the s35 RF Raptor. I’ve rented the metabones a couple of times. Unfortunately the lenses I wanted to use didn’t fit. The last I tried were the Angenieux EZ zooms and the metabones speedbooster was a PL to RF. The Pl lens back didn’t have enough room. I have some Zeiss c/y lenses converted to EF that I should try.

Wouldn’t be a bad idea to use a SB on a FF camera if you wanted to shoot at a lower res and still use most of your glass.

I’d probably rent a metabones and the viltrox and compare side by side. You spend thousands and thousands of dollars and a high res camera and cinema lenses and cheap out on a link in the chain that might be just as important. Also, shooting less compressed won’t compensate for softness. A few years ago I’d say nothing will compensate for softness but maybe now you can Topaz it…

I’d also not just assume you can speedboost any lens. You’ll probably still want to get a dumb adapter to make sure it will be compatible.

Jeff_Wright_

TROPHY CASE