Got our shipment of carbon fiber material today, enough to make lots of Dodge Ski Boots.  Will start cutting it and molding new boot parts tomorrow.

PJ says he needs more boots.  Taking him another pair of 255s tomorrow.

Must put my son to work in the shop.

Bill

Good skiing yesterday. Good boot tests. More materials today. Make lots of boots. Yahoo!

Dave & I just got back from Stowe.  Took about 6 non-stop runs. Dave was on his GS skis so you know we weren’t dilly-dallying.  Snow was mostly hard, with some spots on North Slope that were just plain slick.

The Dodge Ski Boots were really feeling and performing great.  Cold weather (about 12 degrees) and feet stayed reasonably warm.  Best of all, the boots had the same nice flex at 12 degrees as they do at 70 degrees inside the shop.

I am doing various mods on my personal boots so I can have first-hand experience with how they can be affected.  Today was the first day with a softening modification.  The way we’re doing it is by cutting down the height of the back of the lower shell instead of cutting the cuff.  It maintains a good linear flex rather than an abrupt flex.  I  softened them more than I would like for normal use, but found a good flex for someone who’s smaller than me.  That’s the point of this testing.

The next test will be to take another, un-softened pair of shells and do side-by side comparisons to really see how the ski is affected.

Then I’ll be trying some playing around with the ankle bushings to change cuff cant and also forward lean.  Dave has changed one of his cuffs and says the effect is much greater than on his “rubber” boots.

More as we have it.

Bill

Dave & I have been doing our best impresssions of Santa’s elves and busy in the workshop making Dodge Ski Boots.  We have delivered a couple pairs of 265s and a pair of 255s to PJ so he has them in his shop.  For a limited number of the first boots, we are offering a beta program to ensure users they will get the newest updates as we evolve the boot.  See PJ for more information.

-6 degrees in Essex this morning.  Nose hair-frezzing weather.  Might have to start wearing gloves soon.

More work on some boots today, paperwork, selling a car.  John’s home for Christmas break.

Busy today, but will try to get on the hill tomorrow.

Keep breathing!

Bill

Okay, winter is finally here.  I think the high today was about 8 degrees, but it’s now Zero and dropping like a stone.  Finally.  Should firm things up on the hill.

Nice chat with Tim Kelley today.  Look forward to seeing him next week when they have Christmas break.

Dave & I had a really good and productive day making Dodge Ski Boots today.   Will be finishing up and delivering the 255s to PJ tomorrow.  Are you ready?

Got a package today loaded with packing peanuts.  Yuk!  BUT, there was a slip of paper inside saying they were made from cornstarch and biodegradable.  Right!  So of course I grabbed a handful and held them underwater.  They did dissolve, and rather quickly.  Good job GreenboatStuff.com!  This is someone you should do business with.

How `bout Didier Cuche?  Think he’s been reading about Mohammed Ali  … aka “Rope A Dope”?  It will be interesting to see how he does in the race.

Think it’s cold in Sugarloaf?  How about -3 degrees right now?

Keep warm. and,

Keep breathing.

Bill

Cold weather on the way. Teens this morning, single digits tonight. Gotta love New England. Snow, ice, cold. Nothing better.

Dave & I had a good boot-making day today.  Made a lot of pieces for the 255s, so tomorrow is assembly day.  Have some 265s that Dave will be taking to PJ.  If you wear a size 8/9 you should give PJ a call to snap these first ones up.

Will be readying up the size 255 Dodge Ski Boots for delivery to PJ in the next few days, so make sure you make an appointment with him.

Did some modding on my personal boots today.  Softened them a little to see how they are.  Next step will be playing with the bushing placement to affect forward lean to see how that is.  Will let you know.

New/old look next time out on the hill.  Decided to switch back to my Jofa helmet (courtesy years ago of John Jacobs at Reliable Racing).  Just like the feel better.  Still gonna stick with my old school goggles though.

Have you listened to Farm Fresh radio yet?  102.9 Fm or online.  Very good.

More later.

Keep breathing.

Bill

Dave & I did some good boot testing today.  4 runs off the quad and 2 off the gondola.  Nice to have him back.  Think it’s the first time we’ve skied together in many, many years.

Our Dodge Ski Boots were feeling good. New parts that Dave brought back were working well.  Tomorrow we’ll assemble some more boots.

Put together some boots for David today.  Guess he’ll be using them down at the Snow Bowl.

If you see us on the hill, say “Hi”.

Bill

Dave is back from his trip to work with our injection-molding vendor and brought back some nice looking parts.  We’ll be assembling these into some size 255 and 265 Dodge Ski Boots over the next couple of days and then delivering them to PJ later this week.

But first we need to get out and “test” boots!  Dave is really anxious.  He came over to the shop yesterday and built his size 255 boots so he could use them today.  All new components and looking good.  We’ll let you know how he’s feeling later today.

Definitely will be busy this week building boots.  Guys are coming back from Europe next week and we want to have boots ready for them.  If you haven’t already, check in with PJ to arrange a time to get fitted.

Keep breathing.

Bill

Good day getting a lot of things done in anticipation of doing a little sliding tomorrow.

Cleaned up my wife’s Volvo to get ready to sell.  She has one that’s new-to-her sitting in the driveway, but she can’t drive it until we sell the old one.  Hopefully someone will see it on Craigslist and love it.

Had a great conversation with Gerard Rubaud today. For those who don’t know him, he started in the business back in the mid-`60′s as the seed of Rossignol’s race department, working with stars like Killy, Perillat, and Richmond, Vermont’s own Barbara Ann Cochran.  In the `70s he came to Vermont and was head of Rossignol USA for a period.  Today, if you want some really fine bread look for “Gerards”.

Nice talk with my son today.  He’s getting ready for final exams. Back home at the end of the week.  Daughter Ellen is here for the weekend and doing a great job helping her mother with Christmas decorating.

Back at it tomorrow, as Dave gets back from his overseas travels late tonight.  I knew he’d be jealous of me already skiing on the Dodge Ski Boot, so I’m sure he’s gonna try to (and probably will) ski me into the ground.  Good test for the boots.

Ellen told me of someone saying “Be good” as their sign-off, and I decided I would try one.  So here it is:

Keep breathing!

Bill