BCM

I bought my pickup new, boat was used. I have more money in bicycles than I have in my boat. I couldn't be happier with the boat, its time to upgrade one of the bikes.

I always package, measure/weigh and then shop around. Sometimes FedEx is cheapest, others UPS. USPS can be a pain for those receiving shipments in a rural area, they won't drop a package of that size at my house, only give me a slip to come pick it up at the post office. The USPS hours are near identical to my work schedule, I have had to let things sit there for a week or two before I could take off early to get to the post office.

Lift accessed will be at Bachelor this year, maybe a few days at Mt. Hood. Looking to earn some turns around the Mt St Helens and Mt Adams areas.

@cragginshred I picked one of these up last winter. I wear a spray leg on the back leg. I notice a tiny bit of drag in the turns but not enough to change anything. I can layer underneath and have full mobility. The full neo suit I had was an old hand-me-down and was bulky as could be. I like that the baggy suit is just a water barrier and I add insulation as necessary. I was hesitant to go full baggy, but I am happy I did.

Make sure your body is warm and unrestricted. I ski all winter and don't touch my fin. I do make sure that I am wearing proper gear for the weather that doesn't restrict motion. My old full neo drysuit was warm but terribly restrictive, I skied like garbage in it. When the water gets cold I am comfortable in a 2mm top, but my body is just a little stiff, I ski like garbage. In my baggy top drysuit I am warm and unrestricted, I ski as well as I did in August. Before I figured out my warmth/movement issue I hated skiing in the winter, now I like it.

I have won a few Beer Miles with a PB of 7 min 45 sec. I can tell you that you are feeling the effects slightly at the end of the mile and within about 15 minutes you are way drunker than one might expect for 4 beers. You also spend the entire mile and at least a few minutes after trying to keep everything down, this is the hardest part. The last Beer Mile I ran a friend who is super fit and can put down some beverages came to me within a minute or so of finishing and said "I feel pretty good, minus the fluid sloshing in my gut". About fifteen minutes later he came back and said "I'm hammered". I would happily run another beer mile, I will not drink and ski, not even one.

@cragginshred - I will be there in 2 weeks. I'm excited. When the lake is real full I remember skiing 3-4 passes then waiting for several minutes, maybe 5+ then a few more passes. I also remember feeling like there was an anchor tied to my ski

I have used backup cameras in others vehicles, work great, but I would rather spend that money on ski gear. So, when I park the trailer I put a piece of firewood behind my driverside rear truck tire, unhitch and pull away. I leave the fire wood in place. When its time to head to the lake I back up and line up the outside of the firewood with my tire and drive until I hit the wood, works flawlessly. I park my tandem axle on gravel, so the only movement I get by hand is the flex in the jack. I go months without moving the wood (I use it to guide my parking as well). If you can't leave a piece of wood out, a small dot of paint or a large nail would work.

I second what @cragginshred said. I recently spoke with the club treasurer about their financial situation regarding a new course. They could definitely use help. They have a great location and dock, but the old course is in dire need of replacement. Memberships are not expensive and its a great group of people who just like to ski.

@Cumby85 - I ski in a drysuit in the winter then transition to top, no shorts (wetsuit shorts that is). I have two tops that fit slightly different. One is a little baggier and I do get water coming in. The other fits much more snug and you do get wet, but it keeps me plenty warm. It is a wetsuit top, not a drysuit top. I wear a pullover vest, very snug, over the top and it works well. Personally I don't see a need to buy a shorty. But, I have an above average cold tolerance and for some reason really don't like wearing wetsuits.

@wtrskior and @skibrain - I have many friends/family in EMS and I work in the woods. I only wear a metal ring around town (date nights, office days, etc.). Any time I am doing ANYTHING more than typing with my hands I wear a Qalo silicone ring. $25, super comfortable and the ring will rip before your finger does. Best $25 I have spent in a long time.

@ToddA and @Mark_Matis - I like that idea, I will give that a shot. I really like the idea of having the catch pan under the boat rather than in it. Given that it only takes 2 quarts of Dexron my theory in the past has been that you won't get all of the oil out, but if you change it regularly (maybe every 50 hours or more often) you are cycling the old out and replacing with new over a handful of changes. I generally try to change the tranny fluid when I change the engine oil. But, I enjoy tinkering on the boat, so I find a few rainy Saturdays a season to pull the boat in the garage and crank up some hair metal and clean, adjust, tinker, etc.

@keith2oskier - The NM course has had 55's for the past decade or so. But it has been out of the water the last few summers due to low water levels. I hear it will be back in this season, with 55s.

Thanks. Sounds like I need to get a small tube all the way to the bottom of the dip stick tube. I should be able to snake some brake line down there and attach to my sucker. I use a manual suction device, looks similar to a grease gun, without the lever. It sucks about 1/2 quart at a time, but is pretty clean. I have not had good luck with electric pumps and stick to the simple stuff.

Went to change the trany fluid in my 98 CC yesterday. Figured I had time while the engine oil was draining. Pulled the trany dipstick (right at full mark), grabbed by oil sucker, tried to suck the oil out, but I can't get the tube for my oil sucker deep enough to suck the oil. I primarily use said sucker on pickup transmissions/differentials/t-cases and have used it on a few MC transmissions. It looks like the dipstick goes into a rather small diameter hole before reaching the oil, my suction device has a larger tube. Is there another plug that I can pull to gain better access for suction? Do I need to use a small (maybe 1/8") hose to get down into the where the dipstick goes? Any help is appreciated.

I was searching for my 98 about a year ago. I came across a few CC specific trailers on craigslist over a 3-4 month period.

@cragginshred - the New Melones group is still around and active. They had to pull the course due to low water levels a couple years ago and I don't think they have been able to get it back in yet this spring. Fun place to ski, good people. I'll be at Melones for a week in July. PM me if you want more info on the Melones group, I have some connections. I know they are looking for people who are interested in skiing and willing to lend a hand.

@dchristman - I like the idea. We're looking at rain for the next month or more, so I have lots of time to tinker in the garage... and snow ski @eleski - At least it isn't wood. Its on the replacement list, just below my A1. If the summer goes well I should be able to fund a replacement. I'm hoping to get more tricks time this summer and maybe progress a little. A little progress will make the investment easier to swallow.

@eleeski - It's a Goodman from about 2006, not new but not super old. Would love to get a new one, but the wife made it clear that it was new tele skis or a new trick ski. Choices were made, it will be a few more years on this ski. My ski purchase priority is a little different than most Jump>telemark=slalom>alpine>trick. I happen to have a 1/2 roll of dual lock. I used some on our college team ski many moons ago so we could switch between RFF and LFF skiers easily. Worked well until someone decided to switch it around on the swim platform on a deep public reservoir, toe plates sink fast. With the current holes the plate is centered, my foot is not. I can see how that could be a problem... I'm going to go with the dual lock and fine tune, then maybe drill new holes, install inserts, after some experimenting. That is if it stops snowing. Thanks for the insight.

After pulling a few screws out of my trick ski I finally decided to install some inserts. I completed the front boot inserts, used the original mounting holes (drilled out, tapped, epoxied, etc). Then I got to the rear plate. I purchased the ski used many years ago and used the holes used by the previous owner. They are drilled to allow the toe plate to sit 45* from centerline when using the middle hole in the toe plate. But, my rear big toe is a few inches from the back of my front boot. I never thought much of it until now. I run my slalom boots as close together as possible. Should I go with the same approach on my trick ski? How about angle? Should I get the toe plate as close as possible to the front boot? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

I use a Peet Boot Dryer (similar to this one). I use it for my work boots during the rainy season and then in the spring/fall I use it for my intuition liners. It doesn't get very hot, just circulates warm air. They are pretty cheap and work well. I have been using a similar dryer for work boots for over 12 years. I haven't tried ski gloves on it, but I have put lined leather work gloves on my spare dryer and it worked well. Peet makes a variety of styles, I believe they have some with glove spots and even some tall ones for waders.

I voted #2 only because my site requires a membership for the club insurance. My boat personal (homeowner, health, boat, etc.) insurance providers couldn't care less.

I agree with @aupatking those buying a new high end ski are likely members or know enough about membership to make a conscious decision to not be a member. During the years after college when I wasn't a member, my ski gear came from SIA. I would happily opt out of the printed guide and magazine without a decrease in cost if the extra money could help the organization. I am already paying for it and not reading it, might as well let AWSA do something with the money rather than mailing it to my recycle bin.

In a few years when I hit M3, I will assess my situation and determine the best speed to gain the highest score. I don't see myself slowing down soon, but I am a really big fan of options.

For spectators (and my own enjoyment) I am a fan of a good announcer (with a good PA system...). Would you go to a football/baseball/basketball (college level or greater) that didn't have an announcer? Second: Look real hard at format. For the average spectator (non-tournament skier) our standard format and rules are a little confusing and not exciting to watch. I really like head-to-head. HtH is the only time my wife will come watch me ski. For a multi round tournament with spectators I have always thought a cumulative scoring system would be fun. Rather than best score out of 3 rounds, best cumulative score of 3 rounds. Re-seed each round with placing from previous round. The Nationals Final Rodeo uses this type of scoring format and they are rather successful at drawing spectators. One big difference from my collegiate experience to non-collegiate experience is a central congregation area. Most of the recent tournaments i have been to before/after skiing skiers are either working the tournament or hanging out at their RV/Camper/Tent area. It's really hard to be social when your 1000' apart. Things like tailgate games, food trucks, concert, maybe seating, etc. I think could go a long way towards getting those not skiing/working at that time to socialize.