Skis
PM Gear Llasa Pow 196 (Carbon version)
Simply beautiful hand crafted skis made in Reno Nevada USA.
40cm rockered tip with slightly rockered pintail twintip.
Edges tuned to 1,3 degrees.
140/112/122 sidecut.
Actual length 194cm & chord length 196cm.
2mm camber.
39.3m turn radius.
1430mm effective edge length.
Mounted on the line with Vist 614 bindings with the toes shimmed to give a -2mm delta angle.
Very light for their size at only 4124g per pair in the flat.
Total weight per pair mounted is only 6660g & the carbon construction keeps the swing weight really low so they can really be thrown around for such a big ski. Simply the mutts nuts all mountain ski! The rocker makes light work of variable snow, crud & windslab. The stiffness in the mid section & high torsional stiffness gives great hard snow edge hold for a ski of this width. Long radius & construction gives superb stability landing drops & on high speed run outs. Awesome float with a tip that will never dive.
PM Gear have made their 183cm Bro model for a few years now & it's their top seller. These are the new 183's (actual length 183.5cm, chord length 185cm & 1500mm effective edge) & have been upgraded with the Lhasa's tip shapes, new base/metal cuts, new top sheets, tweaked sidecuts & a few layers of carbon fibre replacing fibre glass resulting in a weight of only 3546g per pair in the flat. I've mounted them on the line with the new Look Pivot 14 bindings with the toes shimmed to give a -2mm delta angle. Edges tuned to 1,3. Their 125/99/114 sidecut, 4mm camber & 33m turn radius makes them a superb all mountain/all condition ski & the ideal two ski quiver for when conditions are too firm for my Llasa's.
Poles
Scott Series C Element 5 carbon poles fitted with Scott's larger powder baskets. I really like Scott's great ‘hold open' strap for easy in'n'out. At two years old I snapped a tip off one pole in Utah & Scott replaced both poles with brand new ones foc! Mega sharp four point carbide tip is great on ice. Useful advice for transit protection of poles is to slide a matching length of foam pipe insulation over the shaft & then tape a small piece over the tip.
Boots
Atomic M110's with Zipfit Gara liners, custom footbeds & 3 degree internal alignment shims. Fitting & alignment work by the superb Colin Martin & Andi McCann at Solutions4Feet.
Protection
Helmet: Giro 9
Armour: Dainese Nextwave back protector.
Dainese Impact Plus shorts.
Dainese Elbow Guard Air.
Black Diamond Telekneesis knee pads.
Eye Wear
Oakley A Frame goggles with Fire Iridium lens for mid-bright light.
Oakley A Frames goggles with Hi Blue lens for low-mid light.
Oakley M Frame sunnies with Black Iridium, Fire Iridium & Persimmon interchangeable lenses.
Yes Oakley are expensive but their lens quality & customer service is second to none.
Backpack
Arc'teryx Silo 30. I have the Regular size so it's actually 27 litre capacity but with great compression straps that really flatten the pack to the extent that I've never had to remove it on a lift. Easy internal access with a really useful external top pocket for spare goggles etc plus an internal valuables pocket. Excellent strap locating points which, when combined with the hip & sternum straps, really stabilises the pack & ensures that it's carried high on the back. It's frameless but has external padding to add stiffness & protect the user's back. Seperate front shovel blade pocket & internal slots for shovel handle & probe storage. My Camelback StoAway hydration system drops straight in it's seperate bladder pocket. The vertical/diagonal/A frame carry system on this pack did a superb job stabilizing my long Llasa's when climbing up Stairway To Heaven.
Avalanche Gear
BCA Tracker 2 digital transceiver, Black Diamond carbon probe & BCA metal shovel.
Tools
In my backpack I carry a Leatherman ‘Wave' tool c/w ‘bit kit' to include the no.3 pozi bit for binding screws, plus a Moonflex minituner c/w a mini alu-oxide stone & a Moonflex 200grit mini diamond file. Back at the chalet I have a tuppaware box containing all the bits you'd expect a tuning geek to carry!
Clothing
Arc'teryx Sidewinder SV hard shell jacket in Goretex Pro Shell fabric. Simply the mutts nuts.
Arc'teryx Minuteman shell pants in Goretex XCR fabric. As above!
Thorlos Thermolite eXtreme Level 1 socks.
Patagonia Capilene 2 capri length base layer leggings.
Decathlon's own wicking base layer tops that have 90% of the function of the top brands for 25% of the price of the top brands!
Arc'teryx Delta LT zip neck light weight mid-layer.
A couple of pairs of Spyder Rage leather gloves.
Oakley MTB Factory Pilot gloves for spring skiing & Xscape use.
Boot Dryers
Thermic electric warmers. A pair for boots & a pair for gloves. A brilliant piece of kit.
Luggage
Snow & Rock Deluxe wheelie holdall c/w boot compartment at each end. I've removed the metal retractable handle to reduce weight.
Dynastar 3 Pro ski wheelie bag. Easily holds two pairs of fat skis & poles plus avi gear & tuning kit.