Captured some of the avalanche damage in Little Cottonwood Canyon today with my latest drone, a slow flyer which is designed for more “cinematic” filming. Only flown it a couple of times so far but I’m digging it. The damage is stunning, including of parts of Tanners Flat Campground. Below are two versions of the video, a long and a short one. The short one is going viral on Twitter, at over 40K views in 24 hours!
Long Version
Short Version
My Tecnica Zero G backcountry boots were extremely expensive. I was very surprised and unhappy to find that my boot boards, also known as Zeppas, had completely fallen apart. I had taken my liners out to let them air dry since they were wet with sweat from a tour and found the carnage:
I called the Tecnica dealer that I got the boots from and they did not have my size (25.5). I called other local dealers and none of them had replacement Zeppas either. I looked all over online and nothing. I called Tecnica and I was happy to hear that they would replace them under warranty. One problem. The replacements will not come until some time after November 1st. It is may, and we have a 165 inch base. There is a LOT of backcountry skiing left this spring, plus fall of next season. Waiting until November means missing out on potentially dozens of backcountry ski tours with my Tecnica Zero-G boots.
Solution!
I’ve been into 3D design and 3D printing as a hobby for quite some time, and this was a perfect opportunity to put some of those skills to good use. I designed up a new version of the Zeppa and did some test prints, revising and printing numerous times. Eventually I came up with a satisfactory design so I printed the Zeppas in a softer rubber material that has some cushion to it, like the original boot boards.
The work awesome! Better than the originals!
Need Some?
I’ve had many people reach out to me who apparently have the same problem and want me to print them. Sounds like a business opportunity! Let me know if you need some. Reach out to me via any of the social network links in the header.
Started the day intending to do something I’ve never done, ski Mount Olympus Couloir (a.k.a. Memorial Couloir #2). I tried but unfortunately (and fortunately) I did not ski it because it was too sketchy to even get to it.
But I did do something I haven’t done before after I got home! Ate a peanut butter sandwich in the shower. I wanted my peanut butter sandwich so much, and wanted a shower just as much…
A couple of days ago I posted a crazy video of the rope drop in Mineral Basin. The Twitter version is now up over 50K views and was even picked up by MSN and UnofficialNetworks.com.
Hundreds of skiers and snowboarders race to get first tracks on wind blown sunbaked crust in Mineral Basin. pic.twitter.com/ZSpbSQUj14
— Tony Korologos (@TheGolfSpace) March 12, 2023
Stoked to hear that the final load testing of the new Sunnyside lift at Alta Ski Area is taking place. I’ve been watching the construction for months. See photo below:
A couple of days ago I watched the lift actually move. Load testing and brake testing is happening now and if all goes according to plan the lift will be carrying skiers this Saturday the 21st of January, 2023! Looking forward to riding it on Saturday!
2nd backcountry skiing session of the season was a little bigger than the first. 1800-ish vertical from the lower lot to the top of the Collins lift at Alta, via Ballroom.
It wasn’t much because I ran out of daylight, but I skinned up Grizzly Gulch and made some turns coming back, on snow. I skied! The season has begun. The base has some hazards but it is solid.
This was a tough video to make. So many awesome clips from the 2021-2022 ski season to choose from! Some of the clips feature pow on Mount Baldy, East Castle, backcountry skiing, Main Chute (Mount Baldy), Perlas, High Boy (Alf’s High Rustler), Jitter Bug, Stone Crusher, Gunsight, Deseret Peak’s Twin Couloirs and more.
I’ve been rolling with three GoPro Hero 7 Blacks for a few years so it was time for an upgrade. I now have my hands on the new GoPro Hero 11 Black, which I intend to use for all my mountain sports as well as some FPV drone flying.
I’m looking forward to trying some horizon lock, especially for skiing and biking. Hope to do some biking soon.
In for review is Pickle Juice. Why pickle juice? It can help prevent muscle craps.
I love pickles, but that didn’t make it much easier to try my first shot of Pickle Juice. I took it right before a very, very hot and dry mountain bike ride in which I know I lost a lot of fluids. No cramps!
Subsequent shots went down much easier and it seems like I’m feeling the benefits each time. I’ve only tried a few but I’m going to keep at it and see how the results are when I’m done with about a dozen of them.
