For the first time in as long as I can remember, I bought new bindings: Look Nova 11. They’re at my local ski shop now being mounted on my new skis, which will also be getting a new ski tune-up. This is very cool. Come to think of it, this is a pretty big deal. I’ve only actually bought 1 other pair of skis in my entire 17 or 18 years on the slopes. Wow. This is the first I’ve stopped to think about that.
Let’s take a moment to reflect on that.
OK, moment is over. This is cool. The first pair of skis that I owned were given to me as a gift. They were silver Kastles — 150cm. Next (in high school, I think), I saved and saved to buy my very own skis for the first time: K2 Gyrators (185cm, I believe). They were hot, especially in the early ’90s: Black base with hot pink and neon green graphics. Of course, I later equipped myself with the matching outfit. That jacket and those pants ruled. I wonder where they are now. The top layer of one tip of the Gyrators eventually broke off, so I sent them back to K2. They had stopped making that model, so they sent me a pair of K2 TRCs (or TRComps), which bumped me up to 190cm. I skied on those for a number of years before I got a hand-me-down from my younger (but bigger) brother (as I often did with clothes and other things): his K2 Extremes, like those made famous by Glen Plake. Which brings me to present day. I skied those bad boys until last season, when I demoed the Xscreams that I now own.
So to recap:
- 1985-198?: Kastle
- 199?-199?: K2 Gyrator
- 199?-199?: K2 TRC
- 199?-2002: K2 Extreme
- 2002- : Salomon Xscream Series
Now I just have to put my brand new setup to use one of these weekends, especially since I have new boots and poles, too. Woah. A whole new setup. This will be cool.
