Had my first run at the Pinnacle on my backcountry skis today. Coverage is light but for this time of the year fantastic with 3+- inches of hard packed base and 6+ inches of fresh snow on top of that it's hard not to have fun out there.

I did a run from the top of Pinnacle and then another down towards the HS and then back over to home.

The extra inserts I put in my boots to take up volume are definately helping with the heel chafing problem. 4 miles on my first time out this year and only a minor hot spot on one heel.

It's nice to see a good utilization of the town forest even in the winter time. Saw many tracks and ran into PJ and a new guy Joe.

Ryan

I'm still interested in some back country snowboarding. My Burton doesn't get used for anything else anymore.

-- Ken
 
"If you brake, you don't win." Racer Mario Cipollini

Ken, I am stuck with you for now as a snowboarder needing consistent descent to avoid frequent strapping in/out. One of these days I would like to learn to make tele turns and get some backcountry skis...

Have you found some reasonable runs for snowboarding at the pinnacle?

Actually, I haven't even tried yet. I was going to go out with Ryan last year, but was never able to. I have a nice Burton that I bought a few year ago, but now I can't afford to go snowboarding at any mountains. Too expensive. I figured going backcountry at the Pinnacle is the only way I will be able to use the board for a long time to come. We might have to start playing around a little bit.

-- Ken
 
"If you brake, you don't win." Racer Mario Cipollini

Ryan: I work at the Boot Pro (a ski shop w/ a focus on boot fitting) in Ludlow during the winter. If you continue to have fit issues w/ your boot, there are lots of different solutions to help other than inserts (which take up volume but don't necessarily fix heel slip).

Ken & Jesse: I too was a snowboarder (till this year) for the last 19 years, and I just bought a new telemark kit w/ skins... we skinned arrowhead sunday morning before I had to go to work at noon and it was awesome! I'd imagine that the Pinnacle would be even better (provided you knew where to go). I'd be interested in heading out w/ you guys but my free time is super limited. Sunday mornings look like my only option. I'll keep my eyes open for posted group efforts. If you guys were going to snowboard I'd bring mine too...
 
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[quote:b1d16580bd]I work at the Boot Pro (a ski shop w/ a focus on boot fitting)[/quote:b1d16580bd]

Good to know Jason. The heel slip issue is a thousand percent better than it was but still a minor issue what else can I do to eliminate the heel rub? I also had a bit of pressure on my right toes but I suspect I can take a bit of volume out in the toe box and fix that issue.

I had fun yesterday but it was 85% cross country skiing and Maybe 15% downhill. I skinned up to the top of Pinnacle, then removed the skins and never put them back on the rest of the time. My skis are the fattest NO-WAX you can buy so they have 3/4 scales which allowed me to tool around on the flat and moderate uphills without too much trouble.

I have not to date found a consistent long downhill that would keep a snowboard moving. Not to say there isn't one in the Pinnacle system somewhere, I just haven't been focused on finding that specifically but now that I know there is interest I will look. I did explore some new lines yesterday that I had been wanting to try. I suspect for snowboarding purposes, coming from the HS side might be the best plan of attack but either way would definately require some traversing / climbing to get in/out.

It is important to note that I ski the pinnacle much like I snowshoe it and it's not uncommon for me to find myself in a steep and or heavily treed area. I seem to recall trying to get Ken to follow me into an area like that at Smugglers Notch one time and not having any luck. :D

If we find some good terrain this winter perhaps we should thin it out in the Fall for next season.

Ryan

Smuggs is a bit bigger than The Pinnacle.

-- Ken
 
"If you brake, you don't win." Racer Mario Cipollini

And yet I can assure you there are areas just as steep.

:)

Hey Ryan - I picked up a set of tele skis last week from Paradise Sports. I got to try em out at Burke on Friday - what a blast. I definitely like it better than straight alpine. Still some work to do on the turning, but I felt instantly comfortable on the skis.

The boots, however, are a different matter. The guys at Paradise don't have the boot heater yet for Black Diamond boots, so the liner is still fitting a bit on the tight side - it will probably pack out eventually, but doing a true thermo-form would be great. Jason - do you guys have the equipment at Boot Pro?

I did get skins, so hopefully I'll see you guys out there soon for some backcountry fun. I plan on getting up to Cardigan Mt sometime soon as well.

Aaron

Aaron,

Glad you like your new gear. I love tooling around the backcountry however the tele turn doesn't fit me as nice as it does you, but to each their own. My confidence on the turns is not real high but I'm working on that. I really need to find the right open terrain to practice the turn. Perhaps going straight to the steep and tight trees isn't the best way to learn.

Definately interested in any backcountry adventures so if you are looking for someone to go with look me up.

Ryan

Aaron, we do indeed have the stuff needed to mold the intuition liners. We're a Dalbello dealer and a few of those boots come w/ them stock. I have them in my tele boots and it makes a WORLD of difference. I'm surprised that they sell boots w/ those liners but don't have the heater to mold them. Stop by, and we can get you hooked up.

On a side note, Todd (from EMS) and I skinned up Magic Mountain today and it was... well... EPIC! They are only open on Thurs - Sun and they are uphill traffic friendly when they're not open. Snow was perfect and we were the only people there. And did I mention it was FREE?!

Ryan: does your boot have a removable liner? if it does I can fix it w/ a heel wrap pad and we can use an HD bontex to take up some room. Are they to big?
 
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Jason,

I have Scarpa T2X boots with moldable liners, they are removable. Last year I had to duct tape my heals and use body glide on them too just to get through one session and I would still get blisters. This year after talking to some people and and reading up on the subject I have come to the conclusion my boots are too big. I added a second pair of foot beds below the manufacturer supplied ones and that seems to make a world of difference. I was able to tool around the Pinnacle for 2 hours the other day for the first time this season with only a minor hot spot on my right heel. I also got a sore toe on the right foot from pressure on the toe (left was good). I'm of the impression the boots are not exceptionally long for me but maybe way too wide and might need some more volume adjustments.

I am definately interested in having them fit right. What does your shop charge for that? I spent way too much money on them to have unhappy feet.

Ryan

I have that same boot. A quick way to find out if they're too big is to remove the liner and put your foot in the shell. Slide your toe til it just hits the front. If you put your index finger on top of your middle finger (almost like you were going to cross your fingers) the distance of those to fingers on top of each other is the distance you should have in your boot between the back of your heel and the heel of the shell. If you have more than that (especially in a tele boot) then the shell is to big. By the sounds of things if you're able to add another foot bed into the mix and you're still moving around, they're to big... A heel wrap pad is the next move (I fixed a pair of these same boots for the same reason a week or two ago). They're only like $20 installed for the pair, and I would offer you the "team pinnacle discount". Stop by seriously, the winter is too short to be dealing w/ that...

PS, have your liners been molded yet?
 
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Jason,

I have had the liners molded but I had to show "them" how to do it and I had no idea what I was doing. In an attempt to improve matters last year I modified the liner by trying to crush out some of the hot spots in the back after the molding and also removed some of the reinforcing in the liner on the back of the heel. Needless to say none of this really did much.

Putting in the extra foot beds this year has made a dramatic improvement but I think they can still be better. I didn't have any real issue after 2 hours the other day but suspect much longer and I would get some serious chaffing and blisters. I really think the boots should fit like a glove and not be the limiting factor. Seems like my boots should fit well enough that I can go all day without foot issues even if the rest of my can't.

I just pulled out the liners and attempted to measure the heel gap you refer to. I wasn't really sure how to acurately measure with my fingers what you were talking about. After some looking around the house I found that the gap is about the size of a "D" battery diameter or approx 1.25 inches. I found the gap on my right foot that had a bit of a hot spot after the last ski and a jambed toe was tighter to my surprise. The battery slid in on the left side lightly touching boot and heel.

What are your store hours and where are you located?

Ryan

Hi Jason,

I'll pile on with Ryan asking when is the best time to stop by for the thermal treatment (sounds like a spa thing). Glad to hear you guys can do it, it will be a relief to my feet. I'm definitely in the right size shell, and was just on the fence between the liners (they use the same shell for 29 and 29.5, and I was told to go with the 29 since it is more likely to pack out then to bring it in during the heating).

I'd be psyched to do Magic Mountain or any other place soon. I need to trim my skins to fit the skis, but might get that done Friday night. There is a tele-festival up at Wildcat on Saturday I might try to attend - free clinics for the price of a lift ticket, but the 3 hour drive is a bit de-motivating.

Definitely post up if anyone has any near term plans for the backcountry.

Aaron

You can find the link to our webpage here: www.thebootpro.net

Probably the best time would be during the week when we'll be able to spend a bit more time, but really anytime you're available would be acceptable. We're open M - Th 8 - 6, Fr 8 -11, Sa 8 - 10 and Sun 8 - 7. I typically work M & Tu 8 - 6, Thu 8 - 6, Fr 4 - 11 and Sat 2 - 10 (wednesday/sunday off).

We'll be able to get you guys dialed fo sheez

If you're on Rt. 103 and coming at the Okemo access road on your left, we're in the red building on the left at the corner of 103 and the access road. 802-228-2776
 
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Thanks Jason, I know right where that is.

Ryan