Just
another great bunch of friends having a great time on snow
PANORAMA
DEC.05
Ryan
Stimming, the great guy we deal with on our yearly fantastic
MTB trips to Pano suggested "we gotta have you over
during the winter with your gang"... So this year,
after 6 years of early-season rock skiing in Banff and
one so-so kick off trip to Big Sky I finally decided to
take Ryan up on his invite... There is definitely something
to be said for going somewhere where you can be guaranteed
snow on several thousand feet of vertical... It's the
best way to go if you want to start the season on the
right foot technically. Not to mention how stress-free
it is to do the ski-in ski-out thing... it's enough that
for the first trip of the year we spend what seems like
an inordinate amount of time trying to remember what foot
goes into which ski boot on without adding morning gear
packing and driving into the mix. Suffice it to say that
opening a door and skiing to the lift is a good thing.
I've noticed that recently I've had a tendency to lay
on the superlatives quite a bit on here... Everything
is likely to be absolutely fantastic... So in the interest
of a little journalistic balance (if you can call this
even remotely journalistic), let's start with the negatives:
[1] Yes the snow was 90% man-made (if you're like Peter
and I that's really not a bad thing, quite the opposite),
[2] Yes it was bullet-proof at the very end of each day...
Man-made snow has a tendency to do that (well-tuned skis
made all the difference in deleting that one). [3] Yes
we didn't have as much trail selection as some of us may
have liked (Panorama closes trails that other places would
call 'open' just for the sake of elevating the open-trail
count)... [4] Dining this early in the season is limited...
thankfully our condos had kitchens... Thankfully we had
Peter as a cook. There, I hope you're happy... I found
something to bitch about... I had to look long and hard...
Hey, it was a SKI TRIP for Pete's sake!
On the upside (these will come to me much faster): [1]
there were no crowds [2] we sampled simply perfect grooming
every day [3] no-one bitched about high speed quads to
zoom you up after you've zoomed down [4] did we mention
the four star accommodations at one star prices? [5] the
hot pools, hot tubs and outdoor BBQ's mmm [6] the before
mentioned ski-in ski out feature [7] The Panorama village
atmosphere... fantastic. [8] The Panorama people... (and
the previously referred-to Ryan dude) they're genuinely
are happy to have us ski at their resort... they go out
of their way to accommodate us... World class all the
way. We're doing this kick-off trip at Panorama again.
THE PARTICIPANTS:
Do we luck out organizing these things or what? Joel,
Peter, Dave, Erin, their freestyle crew, Kenny, Doug,
Anders, Lucy and my personal favorite, Catherine... Every
single one a blast to have along... Not one idiot in our
midst. Sure, Lucy was a little off the wall "I don't
mean to be impatient but could I have my skis NOW?"...
But who wasn't a little 'special'? We had one hit-man
(Doug) try to take out Joel (the world's slowest eater),
one phenom of a skier and hell of a nice guy (Peter) who
sporadically took the time to remind us of all that was
wrong eighties' fashion, one flatulent attention-starved
camera-happy ex-ski instructor (me), one way-too-tall
ken doll, one short (sexy) blonde who amazed everyone
with her daily progression, so much that it seemed a whole
season had passed between her first and last run... And
let's not get started on Super Dave (skis better backwards
than many of us ski forwards), Erin, the über-freestyle
chick and their motley group of Kraft-Dinner lovin' young
guns... All very nice, all full of smiles, all nuts like
us. Like I said earlier, we got lucky... Again.
I'd go on another trip with these guys any day... In fact
I hope they join us at the end of the year at Sunshine
in May... That would be just perfect.
THE GEAR:
Yes, there was a small hidden agenda here on this trip...
I brought a few skis to have a few people try out... Skis
that we'd unfortunately not tested fully last year during
the test... Skis like the Dynastar Exclusive 11xt [Catherine
skied like a superstar on this one... man, she simply
ripped on these, Carmen was right last year... this ski
is a winner], The Dynastar Contact Limited (I just wanted
to ski on this one again I loved it soooo much in Sunshine
last May) [yep, the king of the hill for skiers looking
for an all-mountain ski to carve up the hill on and off-piste...
simply lovely. Held an edge everywhere, shone no matter
the adverse conditions. Blindingly fast and confidence
inspiring. My new most favorite ski ever], The Dynastar
Contact XT09 [Kenny loved it, Lucy simply came back from
the trip and bought a pair for herself... sweet, versatile,
fast], The Dynastar Ski Cross 11 [Peter was heartbroken
when he returned on the afternoon of day 3 only to realize
that Joel had taken them out for a rip... Peter (the prototypical
expert skier) skied like a god on these and Joel (the
up-until-then threatening terminal advanced skier) noticed
(as we all did) how these made him ski better almost instantly...
That is until the before mentioned hit man decided to
end the ski part of Joel's vacation... The consensus seemed
to be that the Cross 11 was a winner as well] and finally
the Dynastar 4800 and Legend Exclusive [probably the most
versatile (soft-snow) all mountain skis available. These
skis skied surprisingly well out of their element on VERY
hard pack groomers]... Which reminded me of how fantastic
the 'cross' ski (these sub 70mm skis that are loosely
based on GS carving skis) is in a variety of conditions.
you can ski these on hardpack... and then happily take
them out in powder and still have a blast. Needless to
say the soft-snow skis we brought stayed in our Monster
Bags... The love of great gear... Nothing beats a good
pair of skis.
THE CONCLUSION:
On a personal note, I found a new most favorite ski buddy
on this trip. My sweetie Catherine. She impressed a guy
that's not easily impressed... Skied like a champ and
put up with me like a fish puts up with water. Man, I'm
a lucky boy. Great skiing, great new (and old) ski buddies,
great friends, great vacation... Every time we visit Ryan
and his Panorama family we come home with fonder thoughts
and sweeter memories... I can't help but heap praise on
the place, it's on my top 5 places to go anywhere for
reasons that range from the quality of the staff to the
beauty that surrounds it. I can't wait until the next
time I get away to Panorama... Maybe that'll be the day
I try Heli Skiing for the first time... Or maybe it'll
be this summer, when we come for our third annual MTB
adventure there... Either way, I'm certain we'll all have
a blast because it's kind of inevitable, we always do.
WE WENT HELI-SKIING! Oh yeah ladies and Gentlemen, we did it. 11 of us spent all our money and fulfilled a life-long dream to shred the pow using what some people call a "helicopter". We went heli skiing at the superlative RK Heli in Panorama last week! Let us be the first to say that yes, boys and girls, it's absolutely worth it. it's all you ever imagined it to be, and more... Lots more. From our kick-ass guide Graham to our top-gun helicopter pilot Duncan to the majestic terrain and the awe-inspiring views to the boo-yah skiing... we had the time of our lives. Check back soon as we lay it all here for you to see. Videos, pics, the whole story:
SELECTING THE RIGHT SKI
We pride ourselves on trying EVERY ski we sell BEFORE we decide to offer them to our customers... So we're uniquely qualified to match skier to ski... Provided, of course, said skier is able to adequately describe to us his or her skiing style and terrain preference.
The reason internet ski sales are measured in thousands of units rather than in millions of units is simply because ski selection is still (thankfuly) the exclusive domain of the human experience. the $200 ski and the $900 ski share most of the same components so it's all about HOW the ski is made. Artisans still rule. Art is still a big part of ski construction... It's still about how the ski "feels". You just can't describe that unless you've slapped them on. That's what we do. We try them out, and help you understand the nuances. Help you get the right one for you.
Published ski tests are one tidbit of information that might help... provided you trust these tests not to be tainted by sponsorships, advertising dollars and personal brand preference. Ski-test-review sites are also another source of debatable information. Don't ask us to comment on these faceless, unaccountable, dubious reviews. We can only tell you about OUR experience. We trust no-one but ourselves and that's the main reason (as I've pointed out earlier) we go to considerable lengths and expense to test every single ski we think might be suitable for our customers... [read about our ski test here] We then select the pick of the litter, slap them on our wall and proudly stand behind each and every pair with our "love them or we'll swap them" guarantee when you go with our recommendation (ask one of our ski sales-people what that entails).
Unfortunately that's why we will never guarantee that ski 'X' will perform as advertised on their own website... Most ski manufacturers often mis-categorize their own product, it's a simple result of trying to hit every category... and why even their own 'product selectors' often miss the mark. Sometimes a ski that is supposed to be good at something ends up being AMAZING at something completely different... And there's nothing wrong with that. That's the beauty of our process, finding the jewels that will make your on-snow experience a phenomenal one rather than an adequate one.
That's where we come in.
The only catch is that, unfortunately, we can't help you with selecting the right ski over the phone or by email... It's a process we'll only embark upon in person. And while we stand by our lowest price policy, there is a price to pay for all this knowledge, and that price is that you call (or drop by) one of our two locations, make an appointment with one of our specialists and make the trip to Gord's. Not an unreasonable investment we think, considering the potential upsides associated with finally owning the right gear.
2008 SKI TEST VIDEOS
LOWEST
PRICE POLICY
We know that for
some of you shopping
at Gord's is probably a
bit intimidating but
relax, we're here to make it a fun and fulfilling experience.
With the lowest prices guaranteed and a friendly fresh staff,
give us a try, you may be pleasantly surprised. Our motto
here at Gord's is simple: NEVER PAY MORE! And if we missed
one, no problem. Of course we'll price match any local competitor's
price, just mention it.
KNOWLEDGE
IS POWER
At the risk of sounding immodest, permit me to say that
it's a fact: We have a pretty stacked team when it comes
to pertinent and passionate knowledge about the sports we
sell. Whether
it be doing a grab off
a tabletop at Fernie,
riding Spruce Woods
to standing around waiting for a bus in February, we've
been there, done that. Whatever the endeavor Novice to expert:
We may be able to help.
Ryan
Stimming, the great guy we deal with on our yearly fantastic
MTB trips to Pano suggested "we gotta have you over
during the winter with your gang"... So this year,
after 6 years of early-season rock skiing in Banff and
one so-so kick off trip to Big Sky I finally decided to
take Ryan up on his invite... There is definitely something
to be said for going somewhere where you can be guaranteed
snow on several thousand feet of vertical... It's the
best way to go if you want to start the season on the
right foot technically. Not to mention how stress-free
it is to do the ski-in ski-out thing... it's enough that
for the first trip of the year we spend what seems like
an inordinate amount of time trying to remember what foot
goes into which ski boot on without adding morning gear
packing and driving into the mix. Suffice it to say that
opening a door and skiing to the lift is a good thing.
The reason internet ski sales are measured in thousands of units rather than in millions of units is simply because ski selection is still (thankfuly) the exclusive domain of the human experience. the $200 ski and the $900 ski share most of the same components so it's all about HOW the ski is made. Artisans still rule. Art is still a big part of ski construction... It's still about how the ski "feels". You just can't describe that unless you've slapped them on. That's what we do. We try them out, and help you understand the nuances. Help you get the right one for you. 
Ski-test-review sites are also another source of debatable information. Don't ask us to comment on these faceless, unaccountable, dubious reviews. We can only tell you about OUR experience. We trust no-one but ourselves and that's the main reason (as I've pointed out earlier) we go to considerable lengths and expense to test every single ski we think might be suitable for our customers... [
Unfortunately that's why we will never guarantee that ski 'X' will perform as advertised on their own website... Most ski manufacturers often mis-categorize their own product, it's a simple result of trying to hit every category... and why even their own 'product selectors' often miss the mark. Sometimes a ski that is supposed to be good at something ends up being AMAZING at something completely different... And there's nothing wrong with that. That's the beauty of our process, finding the jewels that will make your on-snow experience a phenomenal one rather than an adequate one. 
The only catch is that, unfortunately, we can't help you with selecting the right ski over the phone or by email... It's a process we'll only embark upon in person. And while we stand by our lowest price policy, there is a price to pay for all this knowledge, and that price is that you call (or drop by) one of our two locations, make an appointment with one of our specialists and make the trip to Gord's. Not an unreasonable investment we think, considering the potential upsides associated with finally owning the right gear.
