So much is happening and has happened in ski shape and design in the last 5-10 years that many skiers are confused as to what would make a good purchase when investing in new skis.

First of all, the wider skis work, and they work really well. Last year I bought a pair of K2 Coombas at 174 length. The first day I skied knee-deep to thigh deep powder at Mammoth Mountain. I could not believe the difference the wider skis made! I skied better than I ever had the first day I skied the wider skis.

I had been skiing skis with a 88 centimeter waist. They worked good on firm snow and groomed snow, but were very unpredictable in soft powder and crud. I actually found myself avoiding powder on powder days and here's why.

When I would ski powder, most of my turns were fine. But on maybe the 10th or 20th turn, I would break through the crust making my body overroate in the end of the turn. This was so unpredictable when it would happen that I found myself focusing intensely trying to catch these breakthough/ overrotations, and it spoiled the fun of skiing powder and crud.

With my K2 Coombas (102 centimeter waist), they float better in the powder which provides less resistance in the turns, and is really helpful on traverses in soft snow and powder because you don't sink in as deep.

The other design feature I really like on my new skis is the wide point of the shovel is moved back which makes it ski like a shorter ski, and is much more predictable in my turns.

But the newest feature in modern skis is rocker. I have to admit that rocker in a ski does not make sense to me logically. But that does not mean it does not work. I tried my instructors K2 Hardsides last year which are similar to my Coombas with rocker in the tip.

The day I skied them was an ugly day, and the lifts shut down just after I tested the skis. I found I did not like them, but honestly it could have easily been the conditions.

Now on powder days at Mammoth Mountain most of the locals are out on their rockered powder skis. I can see the advantages of being able to "smear" your turns in powder and crud, but I am looking for skiers with experience skiing rockered skis. What do you like about rockered skis and what do you not like?

Most design "breakthroughs" are taken to an extreme at some point where the design change is no longer an asset, and you certainly don't want to get stuck with one of those sets of skis.

So I'm looking for some guidance from those of you that have experience with rockered skis. Can you tell me your experiences, what you have learned, what model of skis you prefer and why?

I plan to test rockered skis on a powder day at Mammoth Mountain soon. What skis do you suggest for an expert skier, 53 years old, 160 pounds, who skis Mammoth Mountain 80+ days a year? Please give me your advice so I can share it with the visitors to this blog, OK? And I will share what I learn when I demo skis at Mammoth Mountain.

Larry Conn has snow skied since 1968, and loves visiting Mammoth Mountain ski area so much he moved to that area in 2005. He offers daily ski reports and safety information on his blog at http://www.MammothSkiClub.com/blog/ Now Larry is reviving Mammoth Ski Club for active adults who want more fun, activities and involvement with snow skiing and other activities at Mammoth Mountain and Mammoth Lakes resorts. Get your complimentarty gifts, special report, and be entered in a drawing for a free Mammoth Mountain Season Pass ($1675.00 Value) by visiting http://www.MammothSkiClub.com/

Chains are a necessary part of the ski experience if you do not have 4 wheel drive on your ski vehicle. If you do have 4 wheel drive, you can simply get snow tires, and you will have better traction in slippery conditions. I recommend against the "all weather" tires because they are not true snow tires.

Please remember that 4 wheel drive is a traction advantage for acceleration only, NOT BRAKING. A 4 wheel drive vehicle brakes the same as a 2 wheel drive vehicle, so slow down especially when going downhill.

So what type of chains work best when they are required? I have a very strong opinion about this and yours may be different. If so, please add your comments and advice below.

My personal preference is for chain, not cable devices. Chains are bigger, and heavier, but they break the ice under your tires better than the thin cable "chains". When you need chains, you really want them to dig in, break the ice, and work.

Cable and other devices are lower profile and make it possible to drive more quickly than real chains, but you are more likely to lose control because they do not dig into the slippery surface as well.

So where are the "curve balls" in getting, fitting, and installing chains? First of all you want to go to your tire chain supplier and be sure you get chains that fit your exisitng tire size. Most people think this is all there is to do to fitting chains, but there is one more step.

What you want to do is install your chains while you are still home in your driveway. You will need a way to cut some links in your chains like a bolt cutter. You can borrow one from a friend if you don't already have one.

Once you have the chains fitted on your drive wheels tires (front for front wheel drive and back for rear wheel drive), you'll need to cut off the extra links on the INSIDE of the tire. If you have more than one extra link past where the chains connect to the hook, it will hit things and cause problems. Links on the outside of the tire can be managed by clipping a lose end into your chain tensioners, but excess links on the inside need to be cut off. So leave the link the hook attaches to on the inside of the tire and 1 more link for easy fitting when you need them in the snow.

This is not something you want to be doing on the side of the road in the snow. So fit your chains and tensioner on in the driveway to get the right fit so you do not experience delays getting to the slopes. That is too frustrating!

One more tip on installing chains. Drape them over the top of your drive wheels, tuck the chains under the tire, and then drive over them (getting the chain under your tire)so the chain is still draped over your tire. This is alot easier than trying to fight gravity and pull them up over your tires.

I find I can put on 2 chains simultaneously by myself in under 10 minutes. If you don't have a 4 wheel drive, you need to be framiliar with installing and fitting chains so you can get to the fresh powder. Then you can put a 4 wheel drive vehicle on your "wish list". What are your experiences with chains? If you have any insightful or funny stories, please share them with us, OK?

Larry Conn has snow skied since 1968, and loves visiting Mammoth Mountain ski area so much he moved to that area in 2005. He offers daily ski reports and safety information on his blog at http://www.MammothSkiClub.com/blog/ Now Larry is reviving Mammoth Ski Club for active adults who want more fun, activities and involvement with snow skiing and other activities at Mammoth Mountain and Mammoth Lakes resorts. Get your complimentarty gifts, special report, and be entered in a drawing for a free Mammoth Mountain Season Pass ($1675.00 Value) by visiting http://www.MammothSkiClub.com/

Women's SNB SP Finals 1. Queralt Castellet 2. Elena Hight 3. Kaitlyn Farrington

Men's SNB SP Finals 1. Louie Vito 2. Matt Ladley 3. Greg Bretz

The snow storm conditions made the pipe pretty slow, so the tricks were difficult to really throw them down. To add to that, the sound system totally broke down for about 10 minutes, so everyone was scrambling around to get things going. With an odd silence, you don't realize how much the music and announcers add to the event, so be greatful for them. The Toyota Yeti took a run down the halfpipe to keep spectators entertained. And Kevin Pearce made a visit to cheer on and congratulate the riders (he was the one that got the severe brain injury just before the Olympics). Last year's champ, Danny Davis, was also out of the game today due to an injury.

Tomorrow brings the Slopestyle Finals, so there's more to come! I'll try to fit another blog in, in between riding all the new powder...

Instead of a healthy retirement portfolio, my husband and I have gear. In the back of our minds, the plan must be we'll die of exhaustion before we can succumb to retirement.

We have gear for all seasons, several sports, and varying conditions. But it's the winter sports that really eat up space and finances. Our ski quiver would be truly impressive if it weren't for the fact it really does represents a huge chunk of what should be in retirement accounts. But once past intermediate skiing, you learn quickly that different skis work better in different conditions and are oh-so-much more fun. And isn't fun now much more important the saving money for when we're too old to have Epic Fun?

Since we play in three disciplines, cross country, telemark, and alpine, and in widely varying conditions (hard pack, ice, slush, rain, sub-zero and this year Ullr, the Norse God of Skiing, has even wrought upon us heaps and heaps of powder) we "need" and use it all and then some. (Yes, there's still a list of Wants.)

In deference to our dwindling retirement accounts, this is the year we decided to put our second home, which is in a ski area, into a vacation rental program. Our cabin has served as our winter gear annex. But we needed to reduce the number of personal effects, so we had to make decisions about what to schlep back to house #1 home and what we could leave. It made sense to to bring home the alpine gear which we can use at nearby resorts and leave the real mountain gear back in the mountains. Makes sense, right? Sense to everyone but Murphy.

Murphy's Winter Law has been decreed: You will never have the gear you need, when you need it, or where you need it. We are now looking down the barrel of our second two-foot snowstorm of the season...at our flat land house. And not a snow toy to be had. Deep snow boots? Other house. Gaiters? Other house. Cross country skis? Other house. Snowshoes? Other house. The upside to renting our vacation home is that we ski other places now, but the logistics of that, courtesy of Murphy, seem insurmountable. Since Murphy passed this new law, it never fails that some key equipment is missing. No matter how many times we check the snow reports and forecasts and plan for contingencies, pack and repack, we just can't seem to get it right. My favorite gloves will be stuffed in the pocket of a coat I didn't bring. We'll bring the groomer skis and find beautiful bumps begging for the short skis. My personal favorite is the ice melting off the lift soaking through every layer...on the first two runs of the day.

I was spoiled by not having to suffer the discomforts of day-trippers. Yet one thing this Murphy character can never spoil for me is that any day playing in the snow, no matter the conditions, is far better than anything that can be had under a roof. So bring it, Murphy. You can't wipe the smile off my face, especially when it's frozen by snot.

"Alis volat propriis"-the motto of Oregon, which translates roughly to "we don't tan in summer, we rust!" Yes, Oregon gets enough rain to justify keeping an ark in the garage. Thats Oregon. And the Beaver State sure loves beards and flannel and of course, beer. Portland has more microbreweries than any city in the world, including any of those found in Germany or Belgium, who are also apparently fond of the stuff.

But Oregon is more than IPAs and lumberjacks. Its also got some solid mountains, snow, climbing, surf, world class whitewater and loads of public land (almost half of the total land area in the state is owned by the U.S. Forest Service and BLM). Viva socialism!

The outdoor recreation opportunities in the Beer State are endless. The past 72 hours for this author have included 6-10 foot surf (with sea lions for company), a last-minute hike of 4,000 foot high Mary's Peak (highest in the Coastal Range-bigger ones lie just east in the Cascades), and a split lip sustained from mountain biking in one the many nearby forests. Just for good measure, there was also plenty of quality beer (may I suggest Bridgeport's IPA and Ebenezer Winter?). Click below to continue

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So the Beginning of another season and I can only dream it's gonna be a good winter. The weather so far has been somewhat normal,I wish it was a lot colder and the snow guns were firing away everywhere. With that said lets move on to the subject at hand. The Boston Ski and Snowboard Expo at the baside Expo Center. I will be attending this Saturday Nov. 21st. It runs from Nov 19th to the 22nd.

I went last year and grabbed a bunch of discount and free lift passes, not to mention I won a free trip to the berkshires. It is not just for northeast resorts either, there were canadian resorts there, Tahoe region, and Colorado. I brought my 2 and 4 year olds and they had a great time. I cannot say enough good things about the Expo. All I can say is if you are a serious Skier or Rider you needto get there for at least one day. You'll save alot of money in the long run and have a blast while your there.

SO if your in the Boston area this weekend and want to see the hottest new gear, grab some killer gear discounts and possibly lots of free stuff, stop in. You won't regret it.

See you on the slopes folks Bryan

My Utah ski vacation guide turned up a few weeks ago. Right on time. On its tail came the avalanche of gear catalogs. This is my late summer, early fall fix, the seasonal opposite of the lifesaving arrival of gardening catalogs in the dead of winter. I'm done with summer. Done. There's just way too much sweating for so little exhilaration. I say bring on the snow. Epic snow. Shut down the schools, ground flights, stock up on a year's supply of toilet paper and milk, gridlock a city snow.

My friends at White Grass have been pumping up theories of an epic winter. I'd be okay with it starting tomorrow. I'm done. Cooked. I find myself lost in thoughts of crisp air stinging my eyes and sinuses, breathing deep, and letting go.

In summer (spring and fall, too, really), I plod, peddle, and paddle. By the end of the sweating season, I'm weary of the predictability and repetition. And did I mention the sweating? And the mud? And bugs?

I probably play harder in summer than I do in winter. At least it feels that way. I know I come home with more marks. I long for a clean run, pristine snow, and the freedom from gravity and laundry. All summer long I've been hiking up or biking up trails and spending hours cleaning up gear. It's time for some gravity magic and some of the stuff that doesn't stick.

In July, we hopped on horseback and rode many of the trails on which we ski both downhill and cross country. We spotted wild turkeys, a black bear, and plenty of blackberries. The wildflowers were lush in the open sections and in other places, the trails seemed impossibly narrow and wet. And steep. The horses thought so, too. As we switchbacked up and back down the mountain, I found myself looking for new lines. As much as I've always felt there's no better way to spend a day than on horseback, the skier's itch seized me.

The stack of ski gear that needs repair is now calling my name. My ski mechanic (also known as my husband)has a full complement of skis to tune and wax. And then we'll watch for the Weather Channel, itching and scratching, for signs from above that it's time.

Previously I had wrote a blog about my dislike for spring (Corn) snow. Well Yesterday I had the opportunity to change my view. Although I am still not entirely found of wet hills and puddle filled bases, I really enjoyed cutting through some of the best corn filled slopes of my life. The highly moveable snow had formed some excellent elements on most of the slopes. Which I took full advantage of. I rode the mountain like I owned it and I do not regret my choice to go during spring conditions. Contrary to my other spring boarding sessions, I did not end up injured. This was a contributng factor to me changing my mind.

SO I leave this season a happy and extremely wet boarder. Yes with all the melting yesterday and me using the mountain to the fullest I absorbed at least 95% of the water on the slopes. It was worth it. I will return next year to as many slopes I can and still try to do it for a budget. I think next years challenge will be 20 mountains under $200 in lift licket prices.The quest is on again.

So here it is at last, Spring has made it to New England. With one of the best Skiing/Riding seasons we've seen in years, New Englanders have been tearing up the slopes.That is about to a lot more literal meaning to it. With Spring comes Corn snow. What is corn snow I am asked every spring. Obviously by a non Skier/Rider.
Dictionary.com provides the folowing Definition.

CORN SNOW

–noun Skiing

Also called corn, spring snow.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Origin: 1930–35 Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.

I fall on the side of hating corn snow. Most other people I know really love it. They say it's part of New England Skiing/Riding. I am mostly a just freeride snowboader and I find that the corn snow makes for a slow and rather wet day. Everytime I ride corn snow I tend to get hurt. Call it a curse, back luck or whatever you want I know it has to do with the snow. I will take -20*F and icy slopes over corn snow.

The other thing that drives me insane about corn snow is how easily bare spots pop up. I have damaged my board on many occassions while riding corn. I know,I know, it is just the natural effect of spring melting away our winter playground. None the less it is depressing. Knowing with the coming of corn snow my winter fun will be coming to an end shortly just takes the beauty out of spring for me.

Sorry I had to go on this rant but I needed to get it out. Maybe with time I will come to like corn snow. Nah, I doubt it! I will however still ride it because God put it there for our enjoyment, and I guess corn Snow is better than no snow!!!

Just a quick shout out to one of out partners. Ski Butlers picked up some props from Vail.

Ski Butlers Wins Vail Platinum Service Award

Vail, Colorado Ski Rentals...Ski Butlers Vail and Beaver Creek, Colorado is a winner of the Platinum Service Program Award given by the Vail Valley Partnership for exemplary customer service in the month of the December. "We are very proud to have won this award. The staff works very hard. It is great that our staff is being recognized for their efforts," says Bryn Carey, President of Ski Butlers. "Since day one, Ski Butlers has been built on customer service, high quality ski and snowboard rental equipment, and a well trained staff that is knowledgeable and friendly. We are a valued proposition; you get the convenience of home delivery at the same or lower price than one would pay at a resort rental shop."

The Vail Valley Partnership is an independent voice for the community that sends out secret shoppers to evaluate numerous businesses throughout the Vail Valley. Last year, Ski Butlers was fortunate to have won the annual Platinum Service Award given to companies that provided exceptional customer service over the course of the 2007/2008 ski season. "We hire for service, it is the key to our success," explained Carey. Ski Butlers was the only ski and snowboard rental delivery company to win this award.

About Ski Butlers...Founded five years ago in Park City, Utah, Ski Butlers has become the leader in in-room fitting. Ski Butlers serves over 25 ski resorts in Colorado, California, Utah, Wyoming and British Columbia, Canada. These include the top 9 resorts as rated by readers and editors of SKI Magazine in their "Top 50 Resort Rankings" issue. Currently, Ski Butlers delivers ski and snowboard rentals rentals at the following locations: Heavenly, Kirkwood, and Sierra in California; Aspen, Snowmass, Highlands, Buttermilk, Breckenridge, Keystone, Copper, A-Basin, Telluride, Vail, Beaver Creek, and Arrowhead in Colorado; Park City, Deer Valley, The Canyons, and Big and Little Cottonwood Canyon resorts in Utah; Jackson Hole in Wyoming; and Whistler/Blackcomb in British Columbia.

For more information go to www.SkiButlers.com, call 435-658-0458, or e-mail info@skibutlers.com.