-Trip Report- North Twin II: Nubble Stubble Boogaloo (March 2011)

Skiing Through the Nubble Stubble

Failure can breed success.  It can also breed more failure.  My second attempt at the North Twin slide met a familiar end, but provided more invaluable lessons.

Gear Review: G3 Onyx Binding

Despite a few minor flaws, the G3 Onyx has become my go-to backcountry binding.  My review is after the jump.

Rudy Reborn: Better, Stronger, Faster

"We can make him better than he was before. Better, stronger, faster."

From Sean Astin to Steve Austin, Rudy is reborn.  It didn't exactly cost six million dollars, or even six dollars for that matter, but Rudy's back and better than before.

Update: Rudy Sidelined

It figures.  After espousing the virtues of Rudy, Murphy and his freakin law would catch up with me in the mountains of Vermont.  Alas, this last Sunday Rudy found his match in the glades of Andre's Paradise on Jay Peak..  I finished my first turn at the top of the glades, and lept into a second jump-turn when my left foot came flying out of the binding.

Rudy

So you're an accomplished resort skier that is thinking of taking your first backcountry ski trip.  What kind of gear do you need to get started?

Meet Rudy.  Like in the movie, Rudy is shorter and lighter than average, but consistently performs beyond expectations.  He can also take repeated beatings and keep on going.  Rudy is my first backcountry setup.

                                      Yeah.. I'm only 172cm tall.  You have a problem with that?