Just had this 20% off code for Backcountry.com come across my desk (well, my bed) and it seems to work on just about everything by Marmot, Patagonia and Mountain Hardwear. The code is ’4PA-1-S2J7R’. Didn’t see it advertised on their site anywhere so I tested it on some of the more lusted after items like the Patagonia Down Sweater, Mountain Hardwear Phantom jacket and the Marmot Zeus jacket and it worked for all of ‘em.
Tested it on a few higher end down bags as well and it seems to be working on gear from those mfr’s across the board as well as it took 20% off the Marmot Lithium and Mountain Hardwear Phantom bags.
Some good deals to be had if you need some gear for yourself or for Christmas gifts.
Yup, the Patagucci Down Sweater is included
MH Phantom included? Check.
Yup, code was working on sleeping bags
UPDATE 10/14/11: As this post is still getting traffic but is from an old sale I put a gear finder search box up on the top right rail to help you find any items on sale. Just go up there, type in what you’re looking for and click search and a list of items and prices matching your criteria will show up. Should help you quickly find what you want and at a price you want it at!
“Friends are the people you can count on to send you a photo from Baker’s parking lot showing you that it’s bluebird on opening day when they know you have a 10AM meeting”
Pretty much every resort in the PNW is opening this week or by the weekend, if they aren’t open already. Timberline already open, Crystal and Meadows open today, Baker opens tomorrow with all lifts firing – it’s ON! Seems earlier than usual, by about a month, but I’m not complaining as long as it stays. If you haven’t got your season pass yet better get on it as I’ve got a feeling any deals are going to go away ASAP as everyone heads to the hills to cure their snow blueballs.
A couple pics taken at Baker on the 8th.
SCHWAAACK!
I can haz pow?
Ahhh NW flat light
Speaking of Baker, today is the last day to enter the Banker Slalom lottery. Not sure how many people enter the lottery these days, but as you’re vying for 95 spots I wouldn’t hold your breath.
Yup, I posted this last year, and am posting it again this year (and probably every year after). It’s that time of year, everyone is getting fired up to get into some pow, but as Colorado has shown us this year (and even some reports of slabs up in the Baker area) early season turns aren’t necessarily safer than later in the season. So, here’s a video reminder to help get your mind thinking avy eyes.
Somehow (by ‘somehow’ I mean ‘because everybody and their mom has a website that is firstnamelastnamephoto.com and makes videos and I can’t keep track of ‘em all’) missed this one on my (half assed) snowboard movie trailer roundup , but saw this over at Jonny’s site. Some real ‘thrill of victory/agony of defeat’ type stuff going on here – i.e. the neckplant at :14 in. Ouch.
Just saw that backcountry.com has got a crap ton of Black Diamond stuff on sale for up to 25% off. With 2-3 feet forecast over the next few days odds are you’ll be touring shortly, might as well save a few bucks on the gear you’re going to be needing/wanting in December.
A couple selected items on sale below, but they’ve got a bit of other BD stuff on sale at discounts from yay to nay, so if you’re looking for something by Black Diamond it’s worth checking out.
Whippets. Only 15% off, which usually doesn’t even register a ‘meh’ on my sale meter, but as these things seem to be sold out everywhere once the season starts I’m throwing it up.
Whippet (no not that kind of whippet) self arrest pole.
Anarchist pack for 40% off. 40% off is more like it. External avy tools pocket is always a nice touch. Looks like solid boarders are SOL, but splitters can rock it A-frame.
Anarchist pack, 40% off.
Didn’t see much for tents or mids on sale, but saw the Fitzroy was 20% off. Yeah, it’s price is definitely more Portland Trailblazer (note I didn’t say Sonics…) than Poor Man’s Heli, but it’s one of those ‘buy once and own the rest of your life’ pieces of gear.
The baller Fitzroy
Saw the Freeride Plus bindings on sale for my homeys on splitboards that don’t convert back to board mode. 25% off ain’t bad.
FR+ on sale for my homeys with splitboards that don't combine back into board mode
Also saw a bunch of skins, shovels and probes on sale at varying %’s off. Some good, some meh deals, all a few beers better than paying full price though. Speaking of beer, I’ve got an economy to stimulate, starting with happy hour. Deschutes? Bridgeport? Widmer? All of the above?
Was thinking this morning about old board graphics I liked for one reason or another and utilized the googles for a little walk down memory lane. I can’t think of any boards these days I think will be iconic, they all feel too ‘alloverprintaggrocomicbookywhatever’ to me, but somewhere in Michigan there’s some 6 year old watching a 12 year old hit a rail on board ABC and he’ll be writing a similar blog post from Mars when he’s my age.
First up, the ol’ Lib looking like Salomon (I think…) skis.
The old Doughboy trying to look like the Salomon Force 9s
The ol’ (and also remade a few years back) Matt Cummins. Radical Rick on the base, 23 window splitty overlooking a Washington ‘secret’ surf spot on the top sheet. Pure win.
The ol' Matt Cummins
The OG Terje. I was actually trying to find a pic of the first year Burton Custom with the red base/pegasus graphic because I remember thinking ‘shit just got real’ when TW did the feature on Terje in Alaska and he was doing 540s off cliffs. Then I tried to find the Terje with the dog pissing himself on the topsheet and the cat on the base, and failed again. However, the OG Terje is 3rd best, there was some ad or pic in one of the mags back in the day, kind of fish eyed so the tip of the sword was distorted, Terje tweaking his air. Good stuff.
The original Terje pro model
Burton Brushies. Seriously, Brushie has had some good graphics in his time. The ouija board twin (not his official model, but I recall some sick photos of him boned out, dreads flying, kissy lips puckered out like some New Jersey guido clubber, on this board), the craps table one with the dice base, the old cruzin’ looking one.
Burton Brushie craps table
Look Lamar Trick Stick. Funny story about this board. Was at the old Olympic Sports location at the Tacoma Mall, the one INSIDE the mall near where the Nordstrom’s originally was. Buying my first pair of skis ever (still remember the ad in the TNT, K2′s for $79, I begged and pleaded for skis), just after we moved back from Germany. We were standing in line to pay and I spotted one of these (only in the dark colorway, blue/black) against the wall in the corner. Was one of those “whoa!” moments with sparkly music. Didn’t really know what the hell it was, but I knew I wanted it instead of the skis. Sadly couldn’t convince mom of it, but hey, ‘sall good.
Look Lamar Trick Stick
I could go on all day like this, but we’ll leave it short and sweet for now. Let’s hear about some of your favorite graphics and why.
I’d love to roll up to the chain controls in this. And I like millionaires like Ken Block, having my kind of fun with his money (sorry Buffett, buying out railroads just isn’t as exciting to me).
As for the review, I’ll summarize it as:
2009 Subaru Outback – decent car, LOTS of little issues. Not even remotely up to the legacy (no pun intended) of my 1988 wagon.
Wentworth Subaru – two thumbs down, one middle finger up
Long story short, when moving to Portland from CA I had my kayak on my Subaru OEM rack with the Yakima aftermarket kayak cradles. Somehow, some way, the Subaru crossbars BUCKLED, causing the front/rear straps to come undone and the kayak to flop all around. Fast forward to today, brought my 2009 Outback into Wentworth Subaru to have the crossbars looked at for warranty work (as well as the leaking front passenger footwell due to horribly designed AC evap tube routing, still need to get it in for the shifting issues and other shit when I have more time to leave it….). Just got the call a few minutes ago that the crossbars won’t be covered by them because ‘when they sell the kayak cradles to their customers they tell them they should also buy the round bars’. This is regardless of the fact that the weight was well under the load limit Subaru mentions in their owners manual, Subaru making no mention of any sort of crossbar change out needing to carry kayaks, and in fact shows kayaks being held on the OEM aero bars.
I’m a reasonable person, and it seems to me that when your whole company’s reputation is predicated on outdoorsy Portland beardos, and one of those comes in with a one in a million issue (I mean seriously you couldn’t recreate this if you tried) that doesn’t cost you anything to fix outside of the opportunity cost of the labor, than why wouldn’t you fix it and create a long-term customer? In this day of decreased consumer spending, as well as Yelp, Twitter, etc. making it easier for one person to quickly get the word out to many, you’d think companies would go out of their way for their customers (especially brand loyal ones) as opposed to reaching for excuses (because really, when he was explaining it to me on the phone and I’d point out a flaw in his thinking he’d reverse direction and go down a new path). I mean here was a case where a potential new customer walks into (zero marketing cost to them) Wentworth Subaru’s service department (the profit center of a dealership), and instead of capturing a new customer they’ve got a one star review on Yelp, RTs galore and made Everett Street Auto a new customer. Business 101 fail.
Hmm....aero bars carrying a kayak??!?!?
Aero bars....and note the straps aren't even being used per manufacturer's recommendation...
Rack buckled, one in a million (unwarranteed) failure
