It's All Downhill: Classic skis roundup

[View web version]( [It's All Downhill. The latest from the slopes of New England and beyone by Matt Pepin] Friday, February 23 | [Follow Matt Pepin on Twitter]( VINTAGE SKI RESPONSES BY HAYDEN BIRD (With Matt in South Korea for the Olympics, I'll be handling the newsletter for a few weeks.) It’s my final week calling the shots in the newsletter before Matt makes his triumphant return. And like a plucky hero from an ‘80s (early ‘90s?) ski movie, I hope that I’ve won you over after a few early doubts. Before I go, I wanted to share a few of the responses I got a few weeks ago when I talked about my favorite memories of old school ski gear. Thanks again to everyone who reached out, and don’t be shy if something pops into your head in the future. It’s a subject I do not tire of discussing. From Terrance: Back in the early '90s I started out on a pair of K2 5500s, which was a pretty good and popular ski in its day. In the mid-90s, I bought a pair of K2 Fours, one of the very first shaped skis, shortly after they came out and could not believe what a difference they made. A ski instructor back then had told me, “It's not the wand, it's the magician.” One day at Sunapee, out of curiosity after a few runs on my K2 Fours, I clicked into the old 5500s and took a run. When I finally reached the bottom, I looked at my ski buds, sadly shook my head and said, “It's the wand, not the magician.” From Lance: When I was a kid in the early '70s, my family belonged to the Pico Ski Club. All the racers had Rossignol Strato 105 skis with Marker bindings and Trappeur boots (old school). From Garth: I skied K2 KVCs (which I still have) and they had that classic '90s graphic - multiple colors fading to hot pink. A little later in time (early 2000s) the Salomon X-Screams were the ski to end all skis. I also still have a Burton Woody 135 snowboard. No metal edges! But aren't they all a little like wood head golf drivers now? Pretty to look at, but not much more than a novelty. From Dave: You reminded me of my circa 1970 purchase of Fischer Alu 205 or 210 skis. Bought them at Alpine Haus (still in operation) in Wethersfield, Connecticut, when I was in high school. These skis were pretty big and heavy, especially for my 5’8” 150-lb body. I recall the salesman saying something to the effect that skis were only going to get longer, so this was a good choice for me. Skied on them for about five years, finally dumped them for some 190s or so. Now on 176 Rossi's. By the time I can ski for free, I’ll be on 125s. POSTCARDS FROM PYEONGCHANG [Wax technician Jean-Pascal Laurin (right) is in his his fourth season with Team USA, while technician and coach Jason Cork (left) is in his sixth.]( THE SWEET SCIENCE OF SKI WAX: Unless you've been living in a van in the Mad River Glen parking lot for the last month (which I'm not against, for the record), you've probably heard by now that U.S. cross-country won a [truly epic first ever gold medal](. Apparently the Globe's Rachel G. Bowers is possessed with an ability to see into the future, because she just happened to visit the team's wax technicians a day before Jessie Diggins and Kikkan Randall's victory. Here's a fascinating [behind-the-scenes look at the science of Olympic skis](. WHAT ELIZABETH SWANEY WAS LIKE DURING HER HARVARD DAYS: Before she was a polarizing Olympian, Elizabeth Swaney was a Harvard grad student. According to her former mentor, Harvard professor Rick Peiser, she was "motivated" and "did very well." The Globe's Jaclyn Reiss caught up with Peiser, who [offered some background]( on one of Pyeongchang's most peculiar athletes. FOLLOW THE LATEST: The Winter Games are entering the home stretch, but still have a couple epic twists yet to play out. If you want to stay up to date, check in on the [Globe's]( [Olympic coverage](. CLICKWORTHY THE IKON PASS IS HERE: The big news in the ski world over the last week (other than the ongoing Olympics) has been the announcement of Alterra Mountain Co.'s [Ikon Pass]( which goes on sale March 6. It offers access to 26 resorts across North America, broken down into two possible pass options. While it's an impressive lineup of destinations, an early criticism has been the [shrunken option for New Englanders](. TOURING TREMBLANT: The latest from [The Mountain Report]( was a tour of Mont Tremblant. In the video, they showcase skinning up the mountain before heading down. [Here's a look at some Tremblant ski touring](. CATCHING UP WITH TOMMY MOE: As I alluded to a week ago, I interviewed 1994 downhill gold medalist Tommy Moe. He took me through his memories of Lillehammer and the race he famously won by [less than the blink of an eye](. A TOUGH LOOK AT 2022: The U.S. ski team's alpine performance at Pyeongchang has certainly had its moments of glory. Both Mikaela Shiffrin and Lindsey Vonn won medals, with Shiffrin grabbing gold in giant slalom. Yet other than the 22-year-old Shiffrin, the rest of the team's future is uncertain. [Changes will be coming]( sooner rather than later, but will they be able to rebuild in time for 2022? THAW TESTS NEW ENGLAND RESORTS: Mount Washington tied a record high winter temperature, hitting 48 degrees on Wednesday (summit observatory staff were [wearing T-shirts outside despite 100 mph wind gusts](. The story for New England resorts has taken a distinctly harsher tone, however. While most places have been able to stay open, Tenney Mountain, which only just re-opened for its first skiing since 2010, [was forced to temporarily close again](. [Subscribe to BostonGlobe.com]( [Like It's All Downhill? Tell a friend to subscribe.]( [Sign up for more Boston Globe newsletters.]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [Pinterest]( About This Email You received this message because you signed up for the It's All Downhill newsletter. To automatically unsubscribe, [please click here.]( Please note: this will unsubscribe you from the newsletter only. If you wish to cancel your BostonGlobe.com subscription, please call 1-888-MY-GLOBE (1-888-694-5623). [Manage Your Account]( | [Terms of Service]( | [Privacy Policy]( | [Help Center]( | [Advertise](mailto:mbentley@globe.com?subject=Advertising in BostonGlobe.com) Address: The Boston Globe 1 Exchange Place Suite 201 Boston, MA 02109-2132 ©Copyright 2018 Boston Globe Media Partners, LLC