Articles

U.S. Shops with 3-D Scanning Capability

U.S. Shops with 3-D Scanning Capability

Far West Footloose Sports, Mammoth Lakes, CA (BootDoc) California Ski Company, Berkley CA (Fischer) Gravity Sports, Mt. Bachelor, OR (Pulse) Start Haus, Truckee, CA (Pulse) Sports Creel, Spokane, WA (BootDoc) Whistler, Whistler, BC (BootDoc) Snowwind Sports, Reno, NV...

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In Memorium, Carl Ettlinger

In Memorium, Carl Ettlinger

Carl was a giant of a man whose outsized voice roiled every conversation like a burst dam and whose expansive vision reached across the mixed milieus of research, journalism, risk management and education. I knew him when he was at the peak of his powers, as he explained to me when I interviewed him for a “where are they now?” profile in Skiing History. He was able to conduct long-term research on injury patterns as well as analyze the particulars of the current binding market, turn around and package this knowledge into articles for Skiing and Skiing Trade News, followed up by a workshop tour that would bring enlightenment to the grassroots level. No one but Carl could have pulled this off, and Lord knows no one has had the requisite talent, energy and will power since.

But time and tide wait for no man, and Carl’s finely spun web of influence was eventually plucked apart. The loss of his pivotal positions in the press allowed him to slip from public view before we, the skiers of the world, realized we hadn’t taken the time to thank him.

We have the time to thank him now.

So thanks, Carl, for being first and foremost a teacher, for teaching is at the heart of the evangel’s mission.
Thanks for being so damn stubborn. Your insistence on improving skier safety wore through a wall of resistance as tough as Vermont marble.
Thanks for having a heart as big as that melon-sized head of yours. The fuel to your tireless mind was a caring heart that tried to embrace the world.
Thanks for all the stories once the Mount Gay flowed. Who knew we would have won the Vietnam War if only his superiors had listened? I can’t remember exactly how – he wasn’t the only one drinking Mount Gay – but I recall the light in his eyes as he relayed his twisted tales, taking us down successive rabbit-holes of digression that I lost track of at the seventh level.

That’s what I remember most vividly about my many interactions with Carl: his brain so teemed with thoughts he rushed to get them out in a verbal jailbreak that would travel around the cosmos until returning, many lost minutes later, to the subject that had inspired them. That was Carl: too many words for one sentence, too many tasks to tend to and all of it, every erg of his endless energy, devoted to a cause he never ceased to serve.

Fare thee well, Carl Ettlinger. The world misses you already for it will never see another quite like you, whose every moment seemed larger than life itself.

I raise my glass to you, old friend. Mount Gay, of course.

Jackson Hogen
June 23, 2020

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Are Your Old Bindings on Death Row?

Are Your Old Bindings on Death Row?

As every boot fit winds to its conclusion, the bootfitter will ask if there are any skis that need to have their bindings adjusted to the new boots. Even someone planning to buy new skis to go along with their boots may have a second or third pair that is still in the...

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The Ten Best Women’s Skis You Can’t Find

The Ten Best Women’s Skis You Can’t Find

An examination of the current women’s ski market – as outlined in a two-part article on Realskiers.com – reveals that the most highly adapted made-for-women models reside in a category that’s all but invisible in the U.S. The Technical genre comprises the narrowest...

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Boots for Big Feet

Boots for Big Feet

It wasn’t so very long ago that options for fat, wide feet were few and far between. Now every brand makes at least one series of boots built on a wide last, and myriad medium and wide shells can also be heat-molded to conform to almost any foot shape. While most wide...

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7 Biggest Influences on Current Ski Design

7 Biggest Influences on Current Ski Design

Since the early 1990’s, the overarching objective of non-race ski design has been to abbreviate the learning curve. Mission accomplished. These are the seven most influential factors driving modern ski design. Fatness – By using girth as a guide to model selection,...

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7 Things You Should Know About Knees and Your Skis

7 Things You Should Know About Knees and Your Skis

The only foolproof way to protect your knees when skiing is to stay home. But there are some things you can do to mitigate your risk of knee injury, starting with… Learn to ski better. Knee injuries are positional in nature. Skiers who start with a balanced stance and...

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Top Ten Bargains of the 2020 Ski Market

Top Ten Bargains of the 2020 Ski Market

Realskiers.com has created a Value Rating System to identify the best ski deals. The Realskiers VRS correlates a ski’s street price with its overall performance score to determine the season’s best buys. The envelope, please…. Blizzard Black Pearl 78 A testament to...

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Does Your Ski Shop Belong in America’s Top 20?

Does Your Ski Shop Belong in America’s Top 20?

Specialty ski shops are part of the connective tissue of our sport. More than just a commercial nexus, specialty shops provide vital educational and social services for the skier community.  They hold the keys to every skier’s skills development, for specialty...

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Fit Your Whole Foot

Fit Your Whole Foot

In my abundant spare time, known to the general population as “weekends,” I fit people in ski boots at Bobo’s Mogul Mouse in Reno, Nevada. As a family-oriented city shop, we see the full spectrum of the ski world, from never-evers to household names.  This means that...

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