transitions on skis and in life

Nice video about ski transitions in/on Backcountry Magazines ...check it.
Main point:
Anticipation
Organization
Simplification

Those are great words to live and build skis by! Listen to the background music too..OUCH

Videos...will this work?

A little video test from last season. Help from our friends at A-basin and Go Pro cameras..and of course FlyLow Gloves. That guy is too old to be banging those bumps...

If anyone has any good software for editing videos on a PC let us have it...

Bamboo cores

We cut up a little bamboo this week as well as performed work that produces income! Bamboo is in interesting material. Not exactly wood as it is a grass. Bamboo itself is gaining traction as a "green" product. We all know the only real "green" product is money. Bamboo does grow very fast, so it is considered more renewable. We are always suspect of such claims here at Grace. We have found the bandwagon believes something, usually something easy to believe and the wagon rolls on in bliss. So is bamboo really a material worth using to make a great ski? Yes we think it is. Is it "green"? If so, compared to what? The environmental advantage gained by the fact that bamboo is a rapidly renewable resource is outweighed by the environmental cost of transporting the bamboo such a long distance from where it is grown. (China) The problem leads to difficult questions like, "How far away from its point of origin does the bamboo have to be before it is no longer green?" . . . pretty complex. What if a ski is manufactured in China? (like so many are) One still needs to ship the final product. Shipping via boat is less harmful and very fuel efficient compared to trucking, so it might cancel out. By asking these important questions and critically evaluating the life cycle, including the harvesting, manufacturing and disposal of the product, you will be better equipped to determine if bamboo is really the healthiest choice for Grace Skiers and the environment. Long story short, We need to grow our "cores" locally with wood/grass that helps the local environment/economy. Take a page from the restaurant business. Local food, grown organically, with very small shipping distances. This is what we at Grace will move toward. We wonder if a bamboo or ash farm could thrive in Denver? That is the long term plan.

Fly Low in INC Magazine

Check out a fellow Denver kid making the right moves. More people should follow their passions.

FINAL SKI PRESS DESIGN

WE SHALL SEE HOW IT ALL FOLDS OUT!

1.33 MM STEP EDGE

One step closer to skis. There is a lot of granite out there to contend with. These little guys better be fierce! Time to bend some edges....

BMBW 300 vert and counting

Here is where it all started. ( for me at least) Two little bumps in the mid west. Just south of good old Cleveland Ohio...I wish I could remember where I took this photo and what Mag it was in...Oh yea, some snowboarding mag at CREMA COFFEE!

Oh well, here is to Boston Mills and Brandywine..

Snowboarding wouldnt be cool if skiing wasn't cool in the first place

Some would say skiing got cool because of snowboarding. I agree with mike Douglas in this video. There is no reason to choose snowboarding over skiing or skiing over snowboarding. Or is there?

Matter of fact: Snowboarding is easier to learn. Snowboarding minimizes ones ability to reach as high a speed, making it safer. By that logic if one cant reach as high a speed, then they cant "fly" or spin as far as a human on skis. So, if you have to choose, play it safe, pick up a snowboard, it is your choice

Check it

Cold Smoke Powder Festival

looks like a good time to go up north..

Check out this kid...at Yeti Skis

Check out this kid and his skis. Chris at Yeti Skis , in the great state of Maine could teach the world a few things. Read into his thought process on his blog, I guarantee one will come away thinking about their plot in life. If you are a teacher, think about what you are teaching. If you are a student, follow Chris's lead in business development. If you are a person who's loafers are wearing a hole in the carpet below an "alt_click" desk job. (dead end, gutless, non inspiring, abstraction of a career) find your personal Yeti Ski life. Nice to see the "kid" coming out of school is not following the institutions lead to "get a job". Chris is making his own job, he has the for sight to be "real" about it, create a market in his part of the world and doesn't seem to concerned about failing. The younger one is the more time one has to re coop from a mistake. Go make mistakes like Chris will, he will be a better man. If all "fails", who would you hire in the future, a kid who went and sold Coke as a regional Sales rep for 5 years? Or a kid at 25 that sold his ski business to pursue something else...I would pick the later.

OH N THREE P (ON3P)

If you buy Grace Skis in the future, I hope you try ON3P skis out of the North West..for now. They represent what is right in the industry.

full bladder

Holding air...

kylie lams

2001 durasurf top sheet .75mm (sublimated with graphics?)
0/45 triaxial fiberglass 22 0z.
2" or 3" or 4" unidirectional carbon (9 oz)
bamboo core 2mm-13mm 2mm
2"or 3" or 4" unidirectional carbon (9oz)
0/45 triaxial fiberglass 22 oz
durasurf 4001 1.33 MM orange if we can find it
1.33 step edge 2mm edge depth
UHMWPA sidewalls shouldered for edge grip
Environmental epoxy....

HMMM maybe some Zylon perhaps

The Quest

We sit and sketch and ponder the actual layup of the Kylie. Our projected date of the pie coming out of the oven is November 1, 2010. We have done the grunt work and the tools are in place. The press is a "paycheck away". Our thoughts keep spinning around the cross section of the ski. The edges will have a 1.33MM step and a 2mm depth for the prototype. We originally thought a 1.8mm step or a 2.5mm edge would be best to handle the granite we skip across. Because the Durasurf 4001 base material is so damn strong and impact resistant we can implement a 1.33mm base material thickness to match the 1.33mm edge step and save some weight. The edges are on their way! Our first thought is a bamboo core with 5mm UHMWPE sidewalls. That is a thick sidewall, but we like a radius on the corner of the sidewall and the top sheet so we need the plastic to thick enough to bevel. Trust us, it will look cool and help eliminate opposite edge damage to top sheet and the all mighty graphics. The vertically laminated bamboo core will be wrapped with a 45 biaxial fiberglass (stops twisting). The top and bottom of the core will have a 3" carbon unidirectional stringer 0/90. The top may use a Kevlar stringer as it will create a more "damp" feel then carbon. The combination could be perfect for the Kylie. All Carbon for the Kiwi (Powder snow is the best compression element in the world as it never rebounds just continually compresses making every ski "damp", we want pop and playfulness in the powder, carbon=POP) and triaxial fiberglass and a 2" or 3" stringer of carbon in the Jake. We want pop but we also want edge grip and stability for the Chamonix ice and cold side of the Couloir. Many ski companies employ rubber to the edges making a ski "damp". Like riding on a bicycle tire with low air pressure. Soft and supple but not very responsive, great grip and traction but not lively. Jury is out on this at time of post. Our gut is saying "forget the rubber". This is a tough spot for a ski designer and the trick of the art. How to make a ski damp AND lively AND light AND quick AND stable without compromising the other characteristics. The quest for the perfect ski continues. Keep tinkering..and skiing of course.

Another step to a full bladder

Mr John Thorpe continued the flow of graciousness to the cause. Here is the machine that will fill the bladders to press the laminates, to make wood, metal, plastic, carbon and epoxy into a ski. Couldn't happen with out this baby....

PS: the Browns look terrible.

Fire on the Mountain

We want to send out thoughts to all the Boulder folks displaced by the fire. I took this shot the evening of it's inception from Kate's condo in north Boulder. that is the sun almost completely eclipsed by the smoke. She may be evacuated tonight. This is the second time in less then 2 years she and Harper have had to leave their home because of fire danger. A graceful thought.......for all involved.

Steps to a full bladder

We cut up and drilled (The Carl came in handy today) the bladders today. They look pretty long don't they. Better long then short as skis are getting longer again with the early rise tip and tail and composite materials making them lighter! Tomorrow we add the air valves and marine grade silicone, then tighten the nuts on the bolts. When the silicone hardens up, we hope to have full bladders that don't leak! See you then.

One small note, searched Craigslist for steel beams and..... bingo. Found a guy with beams and wide flanges. Check back for info on that tomorrow...big savings coming our way, we hope.

Lets get a recap:
Press designed (check)
Bladder 50% complete (check)
tools purchased (planner, table saw. drill press) (check)
Air compressor (tomorrow perhaps)

Who has a CNC machine they want to donate???

Three small steps to a shop

We purchased three nicely used and loved items from Carl's son Brian. Carl is no longer with us, so the tools will carry his name sake. He treated his tools with care. Solid tools translates into solid ski construction. We move forward.

A Seperate Reality

"The difference between a warrior and an ordinary man is that a warrior sees everything as a challenge, while as ordinary man sees everything as either a blessing or a curse."

Don Juan

It is important to work ON one's life and not work IN one's life. The difference between the two is living fully and just existing.

Not always about skis

Check this out, definately fit to print...Not only is that bike super sweet but look at those legs! I would like to point out she does not sacrifice fashion in her pursuit of sustainable transportation. Also, check out her blog! Raging lardon

FREESKIING WORLD TOUR UPDATE

Angel Collinson and Chopo Diaz win the Argentinean Freeskiing Championships Presented by The North Face in Las Leñas, Argentina. With a few inches of new snow and warmer temperatures, athletes were in great spirits and put on a fantastic show on Eduardo's-- the massive, 2,500-vertical-foot venue at the Argentinian Freeskiing Championships. Still, due to unseasonably low snowpack, this was definitely a different type of competition, not focusing so much on big airs, but technical lines and controlled fluidity.

SCHEDULE FOR THE COMMING SEASON:
August 17-21, 2010 - The North Face South American Freeskiing Championships, El Colorado, Chile
August 25-28, 2010 - Argentina Freeskiing Championships, Las Lenas, Argentina
January 2011 - The Canadian Freeskiing Championships, Revelstoke, Canada
February 2011 - Subaru Freeskiing World Tour Qualifier, Location TBA
February 2011 - Subaru US Freeskiing Championships, Crested Butte, CO, USA
March 2011 - Subaru North American Freeskiing Championships, Kirkwood, CA, USA
March 2011 - Subaru Freeskiing World Championships, Snowbird, UT, USA

Life Cycle....

Solid HD video teaser about a bike. Check it out. This movie will be worth the celluloid. Do they use celluloid any more?? You get the picture. (no one says picture anymore either, or preview. When did the previews become the trailers?

Ski Press Sketch up download

Grace Ski Press or what we like to call "The Pulaski Press" is available for download from Google Sketch up. Check it out, give us advice.. thanks to TWIZZSTYLE ON SKIBUILDERS.COM!

We are working to a full set of Auto CAD drawings that should be available soon. We can send those out to anyone that might need or want the drawings. We are updating the design so the link might come and go.

One more step to Consistency....Value.....Branding

Here are the Grace Ski brand colors. They all have a relatively low color intensity but a high level of light intensity. We find most things in nature, especially in winter have this quality. If you have ever looked into a snow cave or under a cornice you have enjoyed the GRACE BLUE. The GRACE CHAMPAGNE is a more visible version of straight white, have you ever tried to find a ski that was all white in the snow, we have, don't want to spend that time again. We celebrated finding that ski, thus the GRACE CHAMPAGNE. The GRACE BROWN, well if you know us, it came from a storied franchise, we will leave it at that. To compliment the GRACE BLUE and GRACE BROWN the logical choice, GRACE ORANGE. In the vain of consistency we move forward...look for all GRACE ORANGE bases..SHARP!

TREBUCHET FONT...if you have not noticed.....