Serving Boone, Blowing Rock, Banner Elk, and other towns of the North Carolina High Country
Founded 05-05-05
October 26, 2006 issue
Story by Sam Calhoun
Ski and snowboard season is about to take over the High Country, so now’s the time to purchase new equipment, select new winter clothing and learn about the season’s newest technology. With multiple winter sport outfitters around the High Country, it’s easy to get decked out in a total ski and snowboard makeover from head to toe.
This week, two Banner Elk-based retailers discuss what’s new for 2007.
Alpine Ski Center
3150 Tynecastle Highway, Banner Elk | 828-898-9701
Nestled at the bottom of Sugar Mountain in Banner Elk, Alpine Ski Center is always a reliable source for the latest and most popular ski and snowboard gear. From Thursday, October 26, until Sunday, October 29, Alpine Ski Center will host a Winter Kickoff Sale from 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. each day. Everything in the outfitter’s showroom will be on sale with various discounts.
At the sale, new sets of skis will be available for both men and women.
For the men, the sale will debut the Rossignol Radical R11 Mutix.
“This is the neatest thing I’ve seen this year,” said Burton Davis, vice president of merchandising for Alpine Ski Center. “And they’re wicked looking too.”
The name Mutix is slang for “mutant,” according to Davis, and meant to highlight the ski’s interchangeable arms that customize the flex of the ski. A quick installation of different size suspension arms allows skiers using the Mutix to have two distinct behaviors of their ski—either for slalom or giant slalom.
The Mutix is joined at Alpine by the latest in female ski technology—the 2007 K2 T-9 One Luv. The One Luv comes in three different models and is an advanced level women’s ski.
“K2 is just owning the women’s ski market,” added Davis.
Advertised as a “performance all-mountain ski,” the One Luv is rated at 40 percent ungroomed and 60 percent groomed—meaning that the ski is perfect for riding on hardpack or warm snow, the typical conditions in the High Country.
The One Luv has either a grey or white base with red and yellow highlights. To color the ski, K2 uses the same ink that the U.S. Treasury uses to make money so according to Davis, the graphics sparkles and resembles a hologram.
On the snowboard side, new versions of Burton snowboards are available in 2007 for both men and women.
For the women, Burton’s Feelgood is back on the market with a 2007 version that Davis said will maintain the Feelgood’s position as the “top selling performance board in the country.”
The Feelgood is joined by the 2007 Burton Custom snowboard that is geared toward male riders.
“Every kid who starts snowboarding dreams about owning a custom,” said Davis.
The Burton Custom snowboard is a versatile board that can be used all over the ski mountain, from the park to the cliffs. The Custom is also perfect for all levels of skill, from basic to advanced. The 2007 version is lighter and has more of a twin shape than in past years.
“It’s the board everyone wants,” Davis added.
As far as winter sports clothes go, Alpine is back again this year with fresh stocks of North Face and Spyder.
“There’s a bunch of new styles out this year,” said Davis. “They’re both good, solid, well-built clothing.”
Davis explained that Spyder specializes in new looks for skiers, whereas North Face produces more classic looks.
In addition to Spyder and North Face, Alpine also carries clothing options from Burton that, according to Davis, come in a full spectrum of price ranges.
Burton, Davis added, is the “up and coming” board clothing company.
Ski Country Sports
3149 Tynecastle Highway, Banner Elk | 828-898-9786
Right across the street from Sugar Mountain, another reliable source for ski and snowboard gear exists at Ski Country Sports. This weekend, the winter sports outfitter will host a Fall Clothing Sale on new merchandise. During the sale, customers will receive 10 percent off one clothing purchase, 15 percent off of each clothing item when they buy two pieces of clothing, and 20 percent off of each clothing item when they buy three piece of clothing. The sale does not apply to accessories or hard goods.
Ski Country Sports has a wide selection of name brands for top-of-the-line snow clothing, including items from DNA, Burton, O’Neill, Roxy, Quicksilver, Obermayer, North Face and Patagonia.
For 2007 ski equipment, Mark Russ, Ski Country Sports manager, is most excited about the Volkl AC3 that he describes as an “all mountain ripper” and a “one ski quiver.”
The Volkl AC3 is “a great all mountain ski—it’s good for hard snow; it’s good for soft snow,” said Russ.
He described the ski as a “one ski quiver” because skiers can “take it all over the country.” The AC3 comes in black. “It’s hot—totally different,” said Russ.
Whereas the Volkl AC3 is a male ski, Ski Country also carries a wide selection of female skis, such as the K2 Burning Luv T-9—another version of the K2 T-9 One Luv all-mountain ski family—and the Head Wild Thang, another all mountain ski that comes as a system with bindings.
On the snowboard side\, Russ is excited about the K2 Legend, a versatile male snowboard that handles all terrain with grace and comes in the increasingly popular wood grain cosmetic. Also for the men, Ski Country Sports carries the 2007 Burton Custom and the 2007 Ride Timeless that features the classic all mountain design.
On the female snowboard side, Ski Country Sports has the Burton Feelgood in stock, as well as the K2 Luna, that Russ described as the best-selling female snowboard of all time.