Wagner Custom Skis and Snowboards Blog

Summer Skiing in Gold King Basin

Woody Smith — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 16:37:18 +0000

On June 26th my bud Grayson and I decided to go search for some snow and landed on climbing the main chute in Gold King Basin. The main “problem” we ran into actually accrued the night before when at around 1:00 in the morning we decided to go the next day. We were going to try and start walking at about 8:00am so we would have some time to chill out and take it in at the top. Needless to say we ended up getting a late start and didn’t arrive there until around 9:00. Although we had our doubts about how the snow would be once we got to the top, the conditions turned out to be ideal. It managed to stay cold enough to provide us with a nice thin layer of corn atop the firm under layer. I was stoked on the conditions and got to ski the chute switch top to bottom on my new Wagner Custom sticks. Grayson also tore it up after not being on skis for several months. The only low point to the entire expedition was my realization of how out of shape my vacation has made me, other than that we had a bright sunny day with some sick turns. Looking back we got incredibly lucky with the conditions and weather, which made for an epic day. The next trip we have planned at the moment is the Lunar Cup up in Savage Basin. It should be sick with all the snow we got this year! -Woody

Preparing for Snowboard Descent of Denali

AJ Linnell — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 18:59:19 +0000

So I’m just back from guiding a successful Denali climb with a great friend of mine, recuperating and trying to regain some of the weight that I lost while we were stuck in a storm at high camp for a week. (17,200′) Hanging around in Palmer at the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) base has been wonderful, eating five or six meals a day and catching up with old friends, but it took only about 15 minutes of being here for me to start getting excited about my next “project”. I’m prepping another Denali climb right now, with the intention of heading into the Range with a few friends and trying to ride some lines off of both summits. (Denali has two summits, the Southern being the actual summit and the Northern being a bit lower.) The riding potential in there is mind-blowing, with HUGE couloirs and hanging faces all around, including some first- and second-descents. I get blown away just thinking that I have the opportunity to make this trip happen, and that I have three close friends who can do it with me.
Having made our unavoidable trip to Anchorage yesterday, we spent today packing, repairing worn gear, re-sizing crampons to our ski boots, insulating our ice axes, consuming lots of calories, and generally doing all of the stuff one has to do before a 3-week trip at altitude. In some ways it feels like any other trip that we’ve worked together. Except that this time I get to bring my board, and they get to bring skis, and we get to do it our way. No clients, no students. Mmmm… I’m looking forward so much to traveling on my Wagner Custom approach skis after using snowshoes with my clients last month. And getting to ride lines that I’ve only dreamed about on past trips?! Holy crap!!! I will admit to being a bit disheartened after watching much of the snow on the upper mountain blow away during our high-camp storm, but it’s gotta snow before we arrive up there again, right? And if not, the Messner Couloir and the lines off the North Summit still had snow in them when we left. Just not powder. Any way you slice it, we’re going to have an amazing time, and I’m going to get the opportunity to put my board and approach skis from Wagner Custom through the wringer in the ultimate testing ground. Wahoo.

Cheers,
AJ

South Teton Snowboard Descent

AJ Linnell — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 21:13:08 +0000

Skinning away from the truck at 4:30 in the morning can be rough. It’s dark. It’s cold. And it’s 4:30 for god’s sake. Doubts creep in, and I find it easy to invent reasons we should turn around, get back in the truck, and make the hour drive back to my warm bed where my wife lies sleeping. But then I look up at the massive starry sky and at the craggy shapes of the Tetons I love, snowfields subtly lit up by the half moon, and I find it easy to anticipate magnificent things to come. So I keep moving forward, away from the truck and the warmth it could offer, and choose the unsure experience ahead. Embracing the cold and dark I skin up towards the days objective, today’s being the Southeast Face of the South Teton, and I enjoy the work and sweat and mild discomfort of it all. At least until the coffee wears off.

Yesterday brought a break in the storm of the past week, but Alex and I knew that the cold temps up high had maintained the snow quality while the sun had started the stabilization process. The sun rose as we passed the Platforms in Garnet Canyon, and a biting cold wind blew in our faces for the last three hours of our climb. We walked the summit ridge under bluebird skies 7 hours after leaving the parking lot, with a stiff breeze blowing us along and unobstructed views in every direction. Amazing.

The view down the Southeast Face was surprisingly frightening, at least initially. An initial 300′ of 60-degree turns led down to a more moderate, wide open 45-degree face that ran 1200′ before ending abruptly in an 800′ cliff. Traversing left would bring us into the cirque below the South and Matternaught Peak, and down through the narrows into Avalanche Canyon. Hand shears showed 15cm of warming powder over a firm base–we couldn’t have asked for better conditions! I led down the first pitch, making controlled, confident turns on my new Wagner board. (I’ve been astonished at how fun this board is, and was further impressed at its stability and power in steep terrain.) The surface sluffed behind me with every turn, causing a bit of vertigo as I rode down a face that seemed to be moving with me. I stopped near our intended traverse and called for Alex to join me. He whooped as he carved through the firm pow, and after meeting up we swapped leads down through the narrows and to a sunny picnic spot on the edge of Lake Taminah.

The snow got wetter and stickier as we finished our descent out of the canyon, and we stripped down to t-shirts for the glide across Taggart Lake and through the moraines to the parking lot. Today was a phenomenal day in the mountains, successfully making a big descent of a big peak with a great friend. Awesome.

Wagner Custom Factory Video

Pete Wagner — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 21:35:51 +0000

Get Fitted and Choose Your Graphics Online!

Pete Wagner — Sun, 28 Oct 2007 01:43:45 +0000

Wagner Custom is excited to announce that our new online ski store is live.

You can now choose your ski graphics and complete the Skier DNA portion of our proprietary fitting system online.

The online snowboard store is under construction. Snowboarders, please give us a call at 970-728-0107 and we’ll go over our topsheet options and take you through the fitting system verbally.

Wagner Custom and Winterstick Snowboards Form Alliance

Pete Wagner — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 15:21:16 +0000

Wagner Custom, leader in custom ski fitting and design, and Bigelow Mountain Partners, owner and operator of Winterstick snowboards, are proud to announce a worldwide licensing partnership. For the coming 2007-2008 riding season, Wagner Custom will manufacture and distribute a select line of Winterstick products, including the grandfather of all snowboards, the Swallowtail.

Interested in getting a Winterstick board? Visit www.Winterstick.com. We’re currently accepting pre-season orders.

Grand Opening

Seth Masia — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 19:00:57 +0000

I spent a few days in Telluride last week and stopped in to see Pete Wagner’s new shop in Placerville. They’ve already made several pairs of skis there but still had some trick new machines to install. The place is pretty undistinguished on the outside—not to say run-down and funky. It’s the shack with the massive solar thermal array on top, just a few yards north of To-Hell-You-Ride Motorcycles. Inside is sanitary, with some slick equipment including a 21st century CNC milling machine they use for shaping the cores, tops and bases. Stacks of gorgeous laminated maple and oak cores—you could make fine furniture out of this stuff and in fact I’d like to use a hunk to carve a new neck for my Mastertone banjo. Went out a followed Pete through the woods off Lift 9 and for a couple of powder-bump runs. Congratulations on the grand opening!

Gaining a Foothold

Pete Wagner — Sat, 02 Dec 2006 23:00:52 +0000

Winter Activities article featuring Wagner Skis from RockyMountainNews.com, December 2, 2006