The die hard finally gets plastic boots and skiis

Margit had been pushing for plastic boots for years. I was old school though. I skied fine in leather boots - backcountry and ski area. Before my accident, I skied moguls in them just fine. I didn't need plastic boots. Plastic was for people that didn't know how to telemark. Plastic was for wimps. End of discussion.

A few years ago, Margit just bought plastic boots. End of discussion. I was fine though. My friends all had plastic boots. They were wimps even though a couple of them, but not many, skied better than me. I could always fall back on the "I only have one leg" card if they skied too much better. Hah!

This year I was skiing really well. Every time we were at Boulder Ski Deals, Margit would aim me toward the plastic ski boots and new skiis. (Yeah I really needed new skiis but I'd rather spend the money on my truck.) She pleaded but I'd just walk out. I didn't need plastic boots.


Well, this weekend, Boulder Ski Deals was having a blowout telemark ski & boot sale. We both needed new poles so we stopped by. Margit told the salesman I needed new boots and skiis. I was tricked !! I knew the gig was up ... so I broke down.

They set me up and mounted my skiis in an hour. Next day, we skied Winter Park. The new boots & skiis sucked. The snow was very icy though and I had to admit, the new skiis held their edges well. I couldn't help but overturn though. They sucked ... but I knew it took awhile to re-learn how to ski with modern equipment. The last run of the day, I finally skied a decent run. Almost as good as my old equipment anyway. I'll probably like the new gear after a few more days skiing. Sure is heavy though ...

Here's a pic of 3 generations of skiis and boots, oldest on left. The skiis are Chouinard Tua (1985), Kneissel Tour Star (1995) and K2 Super Stinx. The boots (close up here) are Asolo Summit double boots (1984), Asolo Extreme Pros (1995) and Scarpa T2X.