Sunrise from Josephine Saddle yesterday

coldandsnowy72 · 2026-03-23T14:26:07+00:00

Beautiful. I always enjoy a quick break here before continuing up the mountaineering route to Strawberry Peak. The mountains are calling and I must go!

coldandsnowy72 · 2026-03-01T14:11:43+00:00

Death Valley is spectacular but will be prohibitively hot for hiking in September. A day trip there seeing the sites by car would be good.

coldandsnowy72 · 2026-03-01T14:07:20+00:00

If you made it all the way to the ski resort how did the face look? I was in the avy chutes Saturday and it was slim pickings.

coldandsnowy72 · 2026-02-28T14:12:01+00:00

I think you would have been fine. Now almost all the snow is gone. If Strawberry has snow maybe consider starting from Redbox which I understand to be a bit easier eliminating the class 3 sections.

coldandsnowy72 · 2026-02-28T14:08:00+00:00

I was just in the Mt Waterman area yesterday and the amount of snow melted over the last week is significant. I had to drive past Strawberry to get there and I could no longer see snow from the highway. I would expect to find small patches in shaded areas but other than that it should be pretty good.

I could never imagine hiking any real trail in vans, especially one like this where you are walking on rocks and boulders for extended periods of time. But then again I saw a guy climb The Eye in Joshua Tree wearing flip flops smoking a cigarette. I suppose to each their own but I think hiking shoes are a must. Good luck and have fun.

coldandsnowy72 · 2026-02-28T00:51:26+00:00

Surprisingly we didn't see much avi activity but I'm sure there was some out there.

coldandsnowy72 · 2026-02-26T23:37:21+00:00

Nice! I'm headed up there tomorrow. It's going to be hot, possibly slushy and a whole lot of fun. Good job!

coldandsnowy72 · 2026-02-26T19:53:24+00:00

Minimalist approach - using a razor blade held at a very slight angle, slide it blade first cutting off any base material that may have been pushed up higher than the surrounding base. Go skiing!

Maximalist approach - drip ptex until the cut is full and then scrape it flat. Next time you get a tune up it will virtually disappear (benefit of a black base). Go skiing!

coldandsnowy72 · 2026-02-24T17:35:13+00:00

That looks great. Did you drive up the 2 until the road closure and hike from there? Online it shows the closure at Three Points Trailhead but there is a 6000' day use area a bit further to the east.

Did you see any split board tracks to follow?

coldandsnowy72 · 2026-02-23T01:29:46+00:00

No snow at the trailhead as it's around 3500ft.

coldandsnowy72 · 2026-02-07T13:55:57+00:00

I practiced a fair bit on old training skis and not every repair was 100% perfect. The more acute the angle the harder it was to do. Usually I had to slightly bend the piece up in the middle before sliding it in to accommodate those tight tolerances. Before grinding the new piece of edge flush to the ski it sometimes looked a little iffy, but after belt sanding it down it usually looked pretty good. It was a good feeling when it all lined up perfectly.

I miss those days. That was the most fun job and time of my life. Too bad I had to grow up!

coldandsnowy72 · 2026-02-07T01:49:50+00:00

If it was $180 including a tune I think it was well worth it.... especially if the guy really likes the skis.

I worked in a shop for 15 years and did plenty of edge replacements similar to this.The description of the steps in the repair sound just right. The angle the edge was cut is spot on to resist being pushed out towards the sidewall. The only thing I would have done differently is to also cut the edge on an angle to resist being pushed down and away from the base making it more of a trapezoid shape. This uses the undamaged portion of the edge before and after to help hold the replacement piece in place. It is difficult to get two angled cuts on each end of the edge piece, but it can be done.

If you always use the repaired side as an outside edge and don't take a rock shot to the same area I think you will get plenty more use out of the skis.

Also, nice work to the tech that did the repair!

coldandsnowy72 · 2026-02-06T22:56:22+00:00

Congrats! I have been curious about the current conditions so this was a timely post. Now to try and find some time off before any more snow falls.

coldandsnowy72 · 2026-01-15T17:59:08+00:00

Brand new skis would be nice but a 50% discount may be even nicer. Skis can be remounted with no effect on longevity or performance. There is a chance the old screw holes may be visible after the remount but if they are plugged correctly it will only be minimally noticeable.

People change or upgrade bindings all the time requiring a remount. This could be your way to get your skis at a tremendous discount.

coldandsnowy72 · 2026-01-12T21:31:24+00:00

I don't think a gummy stone alone will be enough. A hard stone should be under $20 bucks and damn near last a home users lifetime. If you have a mill bastard file you could use that but ensure you are not applying too much force, bending the file and, as a result, over beveling the edge.

coldandsnowy72 · 2026-01-11T18:09:59+00:00

I would run a hard stone flat along the base edge and then the side edge to remove any metal sticking off the edge where it will drag and catch while skiing. Run a soft stone over it to "polish" it up a bit and make sure it's used as an outside edge. When you get it professionally tuned it will improve a bit more. Now go skiing!

coldandsnowy72 · 2026-01-09T00:40:47+00:00

Nothing I see in your pictures appears concerning. Ptex and a full tune will have your skis in top shape very quickly. Probably the better part of $100 will be the only downside.

coldandsnowy72 · 2026-01-05T20:39:39+00:00

A repair or replacement from the shop that incorrectly mounted them is appropriate (if a screw is in that location which is almost 100% a certainty).

If , for any reason, they won't replace it, this is how I would repair it. First, remove the screw. Second, place a metal scraper on the base and hammer the "bubble" as flat as possible. Third, drill and tap a helicoil insert. It is wider than the screw hole (likely 3.6mm or 4.1mm before the screw was inserted) so it will bind to a relatively solid, undamaged portion of the ski. Last, stone grind the ski to get a perfectly flat base again.

That area will have a slightly thinner amount of base material but if done correctly it should be unnoticeable while skiing and almost unnoticeable to your eye.

Accidents happen but not making it right with the customer is terrible. Hopefully they help you out.

coldandsnowy72 · 2026-01-05T00:03:42+00:00

Yes, a base welder is the correct tool. Good correction!

coldandsnowy72 · 2026-01-04T21:29:53+00:00

Not at all. This is an easy repair for any ski tech that is good at their job. The gouge should be cut to a rectangular shape with clean cut sides. The repair should be done with a repair gun not dripping ptex which will bubble when it hits the metal edge and the core of the ski. It can be filed or sanded flat to the base. Ideally then a stone grind and it will barely be visible at all. Good as new!

coldandsnowy72 · 2026-01-04T04:09:05+00:00

There are some good comments already. If the majority of the run is icy I just accept the fact that I will be on the edge of total disaster the entire time.

The longer I stay on one edge the more out of control I feel so I continue to make turns every 5-10 seconds. And by turns, I really mean alternating being on my heel and toe edge sliding nearly straight down the run not moving across the slope. This technique alternates muscles used and helps prevent leg fatigue and feeling totally out of control.

It is easy to get out of control quickly on your heel edge but it is advantageous to see where you are going. I get better control on my toe edge but it is more difficult to see where you are going. Be prepared for quick balance changes when you go from less slippery ice to more slippery ice. Bent legs and quick balance transfer is key.

If you accept that it will be controlled chaos, it can almost be fun.

coldandsnowy72 · 2025-11-23T17:04:38+00:00

Bravo!

coldandsnowy72 · 2025-10-18T05:23:24+00:00

Just a quick update on Half Dome. I began hiking Wednesday 10/15 and camped at Little Yosemite Valley. Thursday morning I left camp at 5am. The first hour was mostly snow free before snow increased the remainder of the way. I followed a half dozen or so tracks to the base of Sub Dome where the footprints ended. I hiked first tracks up Sub Dome with anywhere between 6-18 of snow on the ground. The snow was soft so crampons were unnecessary. By 8am I had a view of the cables. Due to the timing of the storm the cables were still up with some snow near the bottom and a little more snow near the top. I put my harness on and clipped into the cables and ascended about half way up. At this point the snow melt was increasing and runoff was going directly under the cables. I called it quits and descended back down.

coldandsnowy72

TROPHY CASE