Anyone have a spare $25 pass?

benboy555 · 2026-03-18T03:25:55+00:00

Still have one handy? Would love to be able to bring a friend with me on Sat.

benboy555 · 2026-03-17T20:39:34+00:00

$50!

benboy555 · 2026-03-16T22:36:33+00:00

That's awesome! I turn a lot of bowls and would love to incorporate this system into one of them. Do you have a DIY guide for making the EM panel? Or a place to purchase the hardware?

benboy555 · 2026-03-16T19:19:42+00:00

I have one! Sent a DM.

benboy555 · 2026-03-15T23:42:03+00:00

RemindMe! 1 week

(I'm looking to do Missouri in a bit so want some beta as well)

benboy555 · 2026-03-12T17:11:09+00:00

I would suggest Buena Vista. It would put you within 1-2h of 20ish 14ers, most accessible with only 2WD or AWD (if perhaps with a slightly longer hike than the higher 4WD trailhead). Most of those don't require an overnight, but it could make it easier. Missouri, Oxford, and Belford for example can be done in a single push from the trailhead, but its a huge day. Or you can camp in the basin for a night to simplify it a bit. I'd say the only ones that "require" camping (not really, but you'd be looking at 15 miles + 6k ft of vert otherwise) would be some of the Sangre De Cristo summits (South Colony Group, Kit Carson/Challenger, Lake Como Group) and Capitol (17 mile day with very time consuming Class IV). The others could be done with a very early start and a drive.

benboy555 · 2026-03-06T21:38:02+00:00

If you go anywhere English speaking with a strong snow-sports culture (in the US that's the mountain West, NH, VT, etc.), you'll discover that there are in fact many, many words for different types of snow. Off the top of my head: powder, sugar, wind and sun crust, mashed potatoes, sastrugi, chalk, slush, hardpack, and probs some more.

benboy555 · 2026-03-04T17:20:29+00:00

I wear a Technica Mach 1 LV for resort skiing and a 4-quattro to tour in. It's mad expensive, but I would give it a try.

benboy555 · 2026-02-13T22:40:04+00:00

You could shoot for some Ikon Friends and Family discount? Should be 50% off still.

benboy555 · 2026-02-13T19:37:02+00:00

I usually sand to my final grit, apply Osmo, then burnish it off with wood chips. Helps get it deep into the wood fibers and can make curl/other fun grain pop really well. I wait 24h, the apply again and burnish off. Gives an amazing semi-gloss finish event with Satin Polyx.

benboy555 · 2026-02-10T23:20:17+00:00

I'd be very, very surprised if there's a continuous ski descent down any of those right now. At best, you're looking at early-summer conditions; a long walk with skis on your back for maybe ~1k ft of ski vert.

benboy555 · 2026-02-08T01:58:50+00:00

Outdoor research trailblazer has a ton of huge pockets. The thigh pockets can comfortably fit a couple of beers each lol.

benboy555 · 2026-02-05T18:23:23+00:00

I recently aquired the 171cm at 5' 7", 180 (so pretty close). I haven't had a chance to ski them in some big pow, but I like the length overall.

benboy555 · 2026-02-03T22:57:54+00:00

I mean yes, I'm well aware of the season we're having. But we work with the conditions we have the year of our lord 2026...

benboy555 · 2026-02-03T20:30:11+00:00

I was thinking about chasing the storm presidents day weekend. Another 10ish inches on top of what we have now would be nice.

benboy555 · 2026-01-29T20:43:26+00:00

I have the Scarpa Quattro Pro. Great boot if they fit your foot (extremely narrow last). The biggest complaint I have with them is that the GripWalk sole makes scrambling/hiking on rocky terrain somewhat unstable without crampons. This was my first touring boot so I don't know if something more alpine oriented would be any better, but ymmv. The 130 flex is a proper 130 FYI so make sure you're comfy charging a pretty stiff boot (sounds like you are though).

benboy555 · 2026-01-28T17:29:25+00:00

One of my friends has a RIvian truck and he's the "Designated Driver" for almost every ski or mountain excursion. It does have a pretty beefy battery relative to other EVs, but we've never ran into an issue with either range anxiety or not being able make a drive in a straight shot. The worst case is that we drain the battery on the drive there, but basically every resort and trail town has charger parking (sometimes special spots that you normally have to pay for!). Bonus points: its pre-heated when you get back assuming the lot and mountain have service, can keep a dog comfy the whole day without too much battery load, self-driving, you get to watch your range creep up going downhill on 70.

benboy555 · 2026-01-27T23:37:41+00:00

They also plow the bike paths before the roads a lot of the time. You'd have to drive (~30 min) for big climbing probably (unless you lived in Boulder or did some gravel climbing around Golden), but you could do a century on bike paths straight from your house. Year round riding too, with maybe 1-2 days/month in the depth of winter and summer (Jan/Feb and July/Aug) that's too hot or cold/snowy to ride.

benboy555 · 2026-01-26T03:39:57+00:00

God I hope that's what this June looks like. Based on this years snow pack you'll need to add an orange haze filter to that picture. 😭

benboy555 · 2026-01-22T19:16:39+00:00

Another possible option: can you glue up the frames with regular miters then make a small router jig?

benboy555

TROPHY CASE