I am a selfish giant...

[teachski]

The only ones that borrow my skis (if they need to, that is)are family members. I will swap skis with others if they want to "try out" my skis, if the boots fit without needing an adjustment and the din is similar.

You do learn though...even family can be risky:
Two years ago, a family member busted his skis the week before a week long trip to Loon. I had 3 pair, Rossi Bandit x's, Volkl 6*'s and Volants (195cm). I let him take the Bandits, and I even took the skis to get them correctly adjusted for him and to have them tuned before he left with them. I lost them for the rest of the season...he fell in love with them.

I got them back at the beginning of the next season, they were in BAD need of a tune, had a core shot and were cosmetically scratched all up. He did not offer to get them tuned and fix the base for me. To top it off, he bought a new pair of ATOMIC Metrons and wouldn't let me try them because he was afraid I might scratch them up. (our boots are the same size/brand and we have the same din setting.)

I complained and cried foul. I reminded him that I let him take a practically new pair of skis with a fresh tune and he returned them with a core shot, and in need of a tune. He finally let me try them...one run.

 

[freeheelwilly]

Of course, the Pottery Barn Rule is in effect:

How come you know so much about the Pottery Barn? :roll:

BTW, I feel the same way about all of my stuff, even my car. (and no, it's not a piece of junk. It's a $60G sweet ride!) Hell, I've loaned people my sailboat before. It's just stuff.

Willy old pal, any chance I could borrow your car, girlfriend and a couple of credit cards for a weekend this season. Thanks in advance.
HPD

:lol: :lol: Sure buddy, my casa - your casa.

 

[freeheelwilly]

you're whacked! Anybody can borrow any of my skis any time. They're just skis! WTF am I missing? I never understood how people can be so possessive about material things like that. Of course, the Pottery Barn Rule is in effect: You break 'em, you bought 'em. So long as that's understood, have at it. Why should I care? BTW, I feel the same way about all of my stuff, even my car. (and no, it's not a piece of junk. It's a $60G sweet ride!) Hell, I've loaned people my sailboat before. It's just stuff.

No my friend, YOU'RE wacked.

You see, there are some differences between me and you: you have a 60G sweet car, I have a 16G sweet car that i was finally able to afford after 10 years of driving cheap, crappy old cars. You have a sailbaot. I was trippin on acid a month ago and for about an hour THOUGHT i had a sailboat.

I race my car that I worked hard for on a regular basis and let my friends as well as people I meet at the race events take the car out for a drive and beat the living sh.t out of it. I have watched a guy put my car into a 360 spin going 50mph and thought it was "cool".

The point with skis is completely different. My skis are much more to me than just an object. Maybe this will explain what im trying to say:

I have a pair of skis that in the lastfew years have served me well in:

Portillo, Chile
Las Lenas, Argentina
Silverton, CO
Vail, CO
Breck, CO
Alta, UT
Snowbird, UT
Solitude, UT

I have at least 15 of my most memorable runs on these babies. Many of them were in a No Fall zone in Chile where one misstep would have killed me (i was participating in a backcountry ski camp). They have a cute sticker than my wife affixed and signed to "keep me safe" that i looked at as I made those turns down the no-fall chute. They have a huge core shot from a rock in Chilean backcountry, a fall that resulted in a 100 foot long tomahawk tumble that stopped just a few feet from a big cliff.

If i were to sell these skis on ebay today, I could probably get 200 dollars for them, mostly because of a nice pair of like new bindings on them. But I love them so much that you would have to pay me thousands of dollars to give them away. The point is, some skis hold so much intangible, emotional value, bring so many happy, sad, intense and unforgettable memories back every time you look at their beat up top skin and their chewed up bases that they are PRICELESS. Every time I strap these puppies on I give them a pat and say "here we go again!". They make me feel like I am in good hands. When my friends ask to borrow them, they borrow a part of me, not just a pair of sticks that glide down the moutain.

In a year or so, these skis will be retired and hanging on the wall safely in my room. They won't be tuned or anything - they will have all the battle wounds proudly showing, including the rust on the steel edges.

Well. I guess I never looked at it quite like that. To me, they're "just a pair of sticks that glide down the mountain". Post a pic of those sticks. I would like to gaze upon these objects to which you feel such a passionate attachment.

I was trying to think if I own anything that I wouldn't loan out to somebody because of sentimental value. Came up with nothing. Well, I guess I "own" my dog Porter (sometimes it feels like the other way around) and nobody can "borrow" him.

As far as loaning out skis, fitting them to boots etc. That's only relevant to you locked heel guys. Easy to swap skis with freeheel bindings. Just another reason that you guys should get rid of those .....nevermind. :lol: :lol: :wink:

 

[Vano]

Well. I guess I never looked at it quite like that. To me, they're "just a pair of sticks that glide down the mountain". Post a pic of those sticks. I would like to gaze upon these objects to which you feel such a passionate attachment.

I was trying to think if I own anything that I wouldn't loan out to somebody because of sentimental value. Came up with nothing. Well, I guess I "own" my dog Porter (sometimes it feels like the other way around) and nobody can "borrow" him.

As far as loaning out skis, fitting them to boots etc. That's only relevant to you locked heel guys. Easy to swap skis with freeheel bindings. Just another reason that you guys should get rid of those .....nevermind. :lol: :lol: :wink:

The pair of skis i described is K2 Seth Pistol twin tips with a whole bunch of wacky/ugly graphis on them, but i still see them as beautiful

THe rest of my skis I am less attached to, one pair i would loan out without thinking about it for a second cause I barely have any days, or any really memorable days on them. Funny thing is, I only feel like this about my ski stuff. I can't really think of that many things that I own that I don't think of as just objects.

 

[freeheelwilly]

Ahhhh...the Seth Pistols. Those are nice. I skied them at Alta two years ago. My buddy had slapped a freeheel binding on 'em (Hammerheads I think) and let me use 'em for the day. But they weren't his everyday ski; just a pair that were more or less lyin' around. Come to think of it, I don't think I'd loan out my everyday ski - what the heck would I use? I usually buy a new pair of skis every year or so and let others use the "retired" ones if they want to.

I'm very jealous of the S. American stuff you did. I'd trade my sailboat for that experience (it's not that nice a sailboat :wink: ).

 

[Vano]

Ahhhh...the Seth Pistols. Those are nice. I skied them at Alta two years ago. My buddy had slapped a freeheel binding on 'em (Hammerheads I think) and let me use 'em for the day. But they weren't his everyday ski; just a pair that were more or less lyin' around. Come to think of it, I don't think I'd loan out my everyday ski - what the heck would I use? I usually buy a new pair of skis every year or so and let others use the "retired" ones if they want to.

I'm very jealous of the S. American stuff you did. I'd trade my sailboat for that experience (it's not that nice a sailboat :wink: ).

I am very jealous of me too , because I doubt I will ever get to do it again. I took a 6 day backcountry skiing course with Chris Davenport, Chris Anthony, Wendy Fisher and Shane McConkey in Portillo, Chile. Skiing with Shane, the father of today's extreme skiing was pretty amazing. Words can't describe how good this guy is on skis - on jumps that we would avoid or just hop off praying that we would land on our feet, he would do backflips. On the last day I very cautiously, nervously and slowly skied a tough no fall line, skiing out with a big grin on my face! Shane tooks us to lunch, had an entire bottle of red wine. Took another bottle and skied down the same line, much faster and smoother with poles in out hand and bottle in another.

Check out some of my photos here:
http://community.webshots.com/album/233833963tYJsgU

The whole training crew was really friendly, really professional. The class is called Skiing with Superstars and its held every year in Portillo - www.skiportillo.com

 

[freeheelwilly]

Wow! That is pretty darn cool! I'll look at those photos more closely tonight but that's just amazing. Good for you!