RealSkiers

As far as I know, October isn’t “National Buy Your Ski Boots Now” Month, but it should be. Carryover stock will never be more abundant, and new models will still have a full range of sizes, which won’t be true forever. Perhaps most importantly, bootfitters are also in relatively strong supply, so with any luck the one waiting on you won’t be juggling three customers at once. It’s a perfect storm of abundance: values on last year’s models, selection on this year’s new arrivals and personalized service are all at their peak.

Prof. John Seifert of Montana State University first popped up on my radar when I saw a video of a lecture he gave to the PSIA National Academy in 2019. That year, I published what I could glean from his presentation in a Revelation titled, Why Wide Skis Aren’t Good for Your Knees. Prof. Seifert went on sabbatical at the end of that school year and we drifted out of touch. We recently reconnected and I’m glad to say we picked right up where we had left off.

We’ll pick up the thread of Prof. Seifert’s thesis in today’s podcast, along with a deep dive into the field Dr. Seifert first explored on the aforementioned sabbatical, namely the equipment used in mountaineering and its latest incarnation, skimo. If you haven’t heard what’s going on in this newly minted Olympic sport, suffice it to say it is an extreme form of alpine competition that I think will intrigue and fascinate those of us who merely ski downhill.

In today’s belated contribution to my podcast library, I’ll hew to my usual custom of reciting today’s Revelation verbatim. As penance for missing my customary Tuesday posting, I’ve added a bonus contribution to today’s podcast, namely the four full, 300-word reviews cited in today’s Revelation, annotated for your edification and amusement.

Liberty Skis, the brainchild of Dan Chalfant and Jim Satloff, was born 20 years ago - over après ski beers - in Beaver Creek, Colorado, from the urge to develop a lighter ski that would reduce fatigue and return more energy to the skier than the relatively dead planks of the day. They were on the leading edge of the Lighter is Better movement in consumer goods that has come to dominate the current equipment landscape.

This installment of The Making of a Skier doesn't have much to do with skiing, but it does cover a formative period of my youth which has informed my life ever since. It is timely in that it references a time in our nation's past when we seemed as divided as we are today. I offer it as a balm to our national wounds.

My very special guest today has known the highest high and the lowest low a ski racer can experience, and handled both moments with style and grace. She pulled off the run of a lifetime at the perfect venue, the roars of the home-country crowd exhorting her to victory in Vail, crushing the field despite starting 30th. There were no crowds - no witnesses of any kind - when an unidentified course worker slammed into her just 45 minutes before her scheduled start at the Calgary Olympics, breaking her fibula and dashing a lifetime of dreams. Always a team player and a class act, Pam Fletcher stayed in Calgary to cheer her teammates on.

In today’s Revelation on Realskiers.com, I extol the virtues of the 2025 season’s finest Frontside models, skis with a much more expansive performance envelope than they are usually given credit for. My ultimate objective in celebrating Frontside models above all others is to help create a safer mountain for all skiers. The greatest danger to the out-of-bounds skier is avalanche, but the greatest danger to his in-resort brethren is collision. A great Frontside ski delivers the turning precision mandated by today’s over-populated groomers. Please remember, the responsibility to ski courteously applies to us all.

Bob Gleason assisted at the birth of the rear-entry boot when he worked alongside Denny Hanson in the early days of what would become a huge phenomenon. He is one of the founding savants who taught bootfitting in an era of anything-goes designs. He’s been teaching bootfitting skills, from the rudiments to the exotic, for 45 years, and counting.

Realskiers.com has a long history of publishing its ski test data on our members' site - until this year. Simply put, there isn't enough data to justify publishing it. Here's the story behind the story...

The ski trade is in a period of radical change, from brand ownership to dealer relationships. In my opening Revelation of the 2025 season, I take a snapshot of the current turbulent situation.