# The Ski Thread - who's up for it? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [December 5, 2016, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ski-thread-whos-up-for-it/773941 "2016-12-05T17:07:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2016, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ski-thread-whos-up-for-it/773941/21 "2016-12-06T15:37:14Z")
I’ve never skied and I don’t know if I ever will, but if there are skiing experts here, maybe they can answer a question for me: My wife and I recently did a major house-cleaning, and we discovered a box that we hadn’t noticed since we bought the house fifteen years ago - a pair of yellow Lange ski boots, size 8, in a box (at first we thought it was a hat box), they seem to be in good condition, I’m sure they’re used. Do you think there would be a market for them? How do I know if they’re men’s or women’s boots? Where would I find the model number or year? The prices for boots on eBay ranges from $50 to over $300, and I have no idea what the pair I have is most comparable to. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2016, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ski-thread-whos-up-for-it/773941/22 "2016-12-06T15:59:20Z")
> [@cmkeller](#): > > My wife and I recently did a major house-cleaning, and we discovered a box that we hadn’t noticed since we bought the house fifteen years ago - a pair of yellow Lange ski boots, size 8, in a box (at first we thought it was a hat box), they seem to be in good condition, I’m sure they’re used. Do you think there would be a market for them? How do I know if they’re men’s or women’s boots? Where would I find the model number or year? The prices for boots on eBay ranges from $50 to over $300, and I have no idea what the pair I have is most comparable to. They would only be useful to a collector. The materials in a 20 year old pair of boots will have deteriorated enough that the padding will be shot and the plastic brittle. If these are actual Banana boots introduced in 1972 they might have some collector value, but they’re not useful as ski boots today. ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Dead\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Cat)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2016, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ski-thread-whos-up-for-it/773941/23 "2016-12-07T18:08:49Z")
Thanks for the responses. I’ll definitely do it one day, but probably not for a few years. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2016, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ski-thread-whos-up-for-it/773941/24 "2016-12-08T02:32:37Z")
> [@cmkeller](#): > > The prices for boots on eBay ranges from $50 to over $300, and I have no idea what the pair I have is most comparable to. Worth nothing. Sorry. > [@Telemark](#): > > They would only be useful to a collector. The materials in a 20 year old pair of boots will have deteriorated enough that the padding will be shot and the plastic brittle. If these are actual Banana boots introduced in 1972 they might have some collector value, but they’re not useful as ski boots today. “Banana boots” were made by Nordica. Want some? Got 2 pairs… Original boxes, too. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2016, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ski-thread-whos-up-for-it/773941/25 "2016-12-14T05:03:02Z")
Two (or maybe three, news reports are sketchy, and I’ve been too busy to dig deeper) fatalities in the Tahoe area already this season! Some old asspipe off in a closed area got wiped out in an avalanche, and a Northstar instructor bailed into a rocky creek and snuffed it. Was avoiding an snowboarder, early reports. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2016, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ski-thread-whos-up-for-it/773941/26 "2016-12-14T10:55:23Z")
It is an ongoing thread of conversation with our little ones, mountain safety. There’s no way to make skiing completely safe though and I’m steeling myself for injuries at some point. Still, we hammer home the need for helmets and gloves at all times. Stay on piste, stay a good distance apart, take a wide berth of nervous skiers, stop at the sides, look back up the slope before starting, no off-piste without guides, obey the piste closed signs and avalanche warning…all the sensible stuff. We don’t shy away from the danger of it all but nor do we want to scare them. Several times our kids have stood nearby as a helicopter lifts an injured skier off the mountain and it brings it home, as did a deadly avalanche in a resort we once visited, as did the Michael Schumacher accident. Worst of all was the incident with the [7 year old in France](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/11530511/British-boy-7-dies-on-last-ski-run-of-holiday-at-French-resort.html) which occurred when we were on holiday and my little boy was 7 at the time. We talked about it and I think he learned from it but still, danger lurks everywhere. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2016, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ski-thread-whos-up-for-it/773941/27 "2016-12-14T13:15:17Z")
Picking up the new pair of powder skis today, mounted with AT bindings this time instead of telemark. For use out west when chasing my wife. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2016, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ski-thread-whos-up-for-it/773941/28 "2016-12-14T17:22:02Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > Picking up the new pair of powder skis today, mounted with AT bindings this time instead of telemark. For use out west when chasing my wife. If you have to chase her perhaps she’s trying to tell you something? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2016, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ski-thread-whos-up-for-it/773941/29 "2016-12-15T00:39:20Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > Picking up the new pair of powder skis today, mounted with AT bindings this time instead of telemark. For use out west when chasing my wife. Which skis? ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2016, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ski-thread-whos-up-for-it/773941/30 "2016-12-15T00:42:25Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > On other curious quirk I’ve noticed over the years is that, all the faffing about with multiple layers of clothing and bits of kit has slowly transformed from a hassle into a comforting ritual. I use a spreadsheet correlating clothing with weather. Saves having to think in the morning. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2016, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ski-thread-whos-up-for-it/773941/31 "2016-12-15T00:50:20Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > Skiing is never going to be a cheap holiday but being of a fairly parsimonious nature I do try to get the best bang for my buck. > Hence we drive rather than fly (saves us at least £1200) get a self-catering apartment (saves another £1000 at least) and watch what we spend on the mountain. (a large beer and a big, loaded baked potato for lunch is only about 9 euro if you choose your mountain hut wisely) > . My neighbours do as you do. Drive rather than fly. Self-cater rather that dine out. They tag team drive for 24 hours to get there, but since flying most of the way and renting a vehicle to drive the rest of the way would waste the skiing hours of the day, they prefer the comfort of driving themselves all the way. They purchase season’s passes rather than day tickets, which makes their second ski trip very inexpensive. One of their kids got his driver’s license last summer, so this winter it will be three-way tag-team driving. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2016, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ski-thread-whos-up-for-it/773941/32 "2016-12-15T01:27:42Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > Which skis? G3 Boundry 100s - mounted with Marker Tour F12 bindings. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2016, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ski-thread-whos-up-for-it/773941/33 "2016-12-15T01:48:23Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > Are you going? where, when and why? > What do like about it and what pisses you off Where? [Ontario’s](https://youtu.be/S_R-mDIekxM) and [Minnesota’s](https://youtu.be/8nXHy1F9O6Y) western Lake Superior. Pretty much daily. Cross-country after work, lift areas on the weekends, and [backcountry trails](https://youtu.be/jxipVxQNV2Y?list=PLogPAvJAO-nZoe96wK1xWJFculyDDCnIq) when I am out of town for work or if it is a particularly nice day locally. Why? What do I like about it? I love the flow and rhythm of slow dancing down snow slopes at speed while playing with gravity and pushing myself to my physical limits. Here’s a blurb referring to my local hill that is supposed to come out in January: “A giant moon rising over the Giant while skating toward the S-bend, cutting right then left through the chicane, sailing off the ledge into the void, bending the skis in deep long exhausting turns in an exhilarating dance of force and speed under the dark night sky.” Hints? [Enjoy every minute of it](https://youtu.be/vvjKUjyxqYo?list=PLogPAvJAO-nZoe96wK1xWJFculyDDCnIq) – [no matter what](https://youtu.be/fptNwsMA0Q0?list=PLogPAvJAO-nZoe96wK1xWJFculyDDCnIq)! 😉 What pisses me off? [Running out of snow](https://youtu.be/g3fl7AWvsrc). ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2016, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ski-thread-whos-up-for-it/773941/34 "2016-12-15T02:01:45Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > G3 Boundry 100s - mounted with Marker Tour F12 bindings. I look forward to hearing what you think of that set-up once you’ve put in some vertical on them. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2016, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ski-thread-whos-up-for-it/773941/35 "2016-12-15T02:13:17Z")
> [@N9IWP](#): > > I signed up and paid for a XC ski weekend in northern MN (almost to Ely) > [http://www.nationalforestlodge.com/](http://www.nationalforestlodge.com/) > > This is my first ski weekend (I ski locally) > > Brian Northern MN is addictive. You’ll have a terrific time! ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2016, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ski-thread-whos-up-for-it/773941/36 "2016-12-15T02:18:30Z")
> [@Chisquirrel](#): > > First ski weekend at Lutsen (north shore Minnesota) is in 2 weeks. From there on out, unless there’s a holiday or other pressing concern, I’ll probably be spending at least one day a weekend on the slopes, or at least what passes for slopes around the Twin Cities. There’s a mob of really nice people who ski out of Welch Village who make it up to Lutsen a couple of time each year. Filling condos makes it affordable for them. I hope you come across them during the season down your way. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2016, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ski-thread-whos-up-for-it/773941/37 "2016-12-15T08:38:40Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > My neighbours do as you do. Drive rather than fly. Self-cater rather that dine out. They tag team drive for 24 hours to get there, but since flying most of the way and renting a vehicle to drive the rest of the way would waste the skiing hours of the day, they prefer the comfort of driving themselves all the way. They purchase season’s passes rather than day tickets, which makes their second ski trip very inexpensive. One of their kids got his driver’s license last summer, so this winter it will be three-way tag-team driving. It is a good way to do it if you can stomach the drive. A christmas flight to Salzburg for 4 with 11 days car hire would cost us at least £1500 and take about 12 hours door to door. And that’s without factoring in the additional costs of transporting equipement. To drive, including tolls, channel crossing and fuel costs £300 and takes 15 hours door to door. I’m lucky in that my wife is happy to tag-team with me. And yes, season tickets are great. We are going back over to Austria for two weeks at Easter so we’ve bought a [Ski Alpin](http://www.skialpincard.at/)card which covers a huge area (including glacier skiing) and that has cost us the equivalent of $550 per adult and $280 per child. A good deal I think. I have to say I was astonished by the cost of lift tickets and hire costs that \*\*Telemark \*\*pointed me to. We’ve considered N.America but never priced it up. Now that I’ve looked it seems like passes and equipment hire like for like is about three times the price over there. And I can’t even find equivalent multi-mountain season tickets but hopefully they are better value. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2016, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ski-thread-whos-up-for-it/773941/38 "2016-12-15T16:04:16Z")
I have had a season pass at our closest resort each year since 2000. It’s about 1 hour 15 minutes from my driveway the parking lot under good road conditions. So I try to go and get some turns in weekly (ski or snowboard, depending on who I am with). Unfortunately, the recent storms around Tahoe have been warm and rainy, so lack of open runs and poor conditions have been keeping me away for now. We don’t do ski vacations since I am the only one in the house who enjoys this. Yes, skiing is expensive. However, most US resorts have reasonable “learn-to-ski” programs for newbies, where you get equipment, lift ticket, and a lesson for around $50. You can also get additional beginner lessons usually at a reasonable price. They want to get you hooked. After that, cost of equipment and lift tickets or season passes make skiing out of reach for most, to be honest, unless you develop a passion for it. I have been going to the snow for almost 40 years so it is a passion for me. I love it! I wear a helmet now with speakers in the ear muffs, so I can pretend Warren Miller is filming me. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2016, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ski-thread-whos-up-for-it/773941/39 "2016-12-15T16:59:52Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > II have to say I was astonished by the cost of lift tickets and hire costs that \*\*Telemark \*\*pointed me to. We’ve considered N.America but never priced it up. Now that I’ve looked it seems like passes and equipment hire like for like is about three times the price over there. And I can’t even find equivalent multi-mountain season tickets but hopefully they are better value. There are certainly deals that can be had with some planning and flexibility. For example, Colorado has many [multi-day pass deals](http://www.skicolorado.com/multi-mountain-season-passes/) that cut the price of tickets in half. There are similar arrangements near Tahoe, allowing you to hit multiple resorts on an extended trip. The huge prices are for buying tickets at the door. It gives you maximum flexibility but at a price. And some resorts attract a clientele that isn’t very price sensitive. But for the rest of us, multi-day passes, flexibility, and scrounging for deals can drop the prices to something reasonable. ---
**Author:** ![Chisquirrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6bbea6/32.png) [@Chisquirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chisquirrel)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2016, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ski-thread-whos-up-for-it/773941/40 "2016-12-15T17:25:13Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > There’s a mob of really nice people who ski out of Welch Village who make it up to Lutsen a couple of time each year. Filling condos makes it affordable for them. I hope you come across them during the season down your way. That would be awesome. I added a couple more Lutsen weekends in January and February with old co-workers, and Aspen is in mid-January, after the kiddies go back to school. I made friends in Grand Marais during my first trip Up North, which has done wonders. I even got a surprise gift of Packers dreadlocks attached to a skullcap, so everyone can find me on the slopes. I have fun with the “Are those real?” questions. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ski-thread-whos-up-for-it/773941.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ski-thread-whos-up-for-it/773941.md?page=3)