Contact us if you run across any crazy bargains of your own, but here’s one I found last week at Costco: Head gloves for $14.99.

I was skeptical at first—Head is not known for their fine gloves as far as I’m aware—but my wife and I both tried them on and the verdict was: totally decent. They’re comfy, fit well, feel like they’ll be warm, have a zippered vent/hand warmer pocket, nicely insulated fingertips, and gauntlets that stay cinched. They come in a small array of colors and seem well constructed. Who knows if they’ll stand up to abuse, but I could spend anywhere from 2-10 times as much and still have that question. Heck, with Costco’s liberal return policy, if they fall apart, at least I know I’ll get my money back. They have kid’s gloves too, if you’re into that kind of thing.

If you know anything more about these gloves, please leave your comments.

This amazing video, captured by the victim’s helmet cam, shows what it’s like to get caught in an avalanche—and how lucky you have to be to get rescued. From the video description:

This was a decent sized avalanche. 1,500 feet the dude fell in a little over 20 seconds. The crown was about 1 - 1.5m. The chute that he got sucked through to the skier’s right was flanked on either side by cliff bands that were about 30m tall. He luckily didn’t break any bones and obviously didn’t hit anything on the run out.

Holy crap. My lungs started to seize up around 4:00 listening to the poor guy’s muffled noises. Ski safely!

Photo: A new day, originally uploaded by Katarina 2353 (spending less time on flickr).

My curiosity was satisfied one evening when we happened into one of the local ski shops which was full of Kjus gear. So was my sense of smugness at decoding the Northern-European double entendre of the brand name. (As my Swedish aunt taught me, "KJ" makes the "SH" sound in Scandinavia, thus Kjus is pronounced "shoos" just like the German word "schuss"--a straight, steep, fast ski course. Get it?)

As it turns out the Swiss company is actually named after its Norwegian co-founder Lasse Kjus. Apparently, I'm not up on my World Cup Skiing.

While I was in that shop, I tried on the CIO jacket. I think it suits me--and the cool, all-the-way-up zipper hood seems like it would be perfect for scaring the dog.

But then one evening I wandered into MontBell on Boulder's 29th Street and started poking through their parkas. The MontBell Freney Parka jumped out at me: it came in a highly visible green, the fabric was soft to the touch but durable, the weird Japanese sizing worked great with my body type, and it was $220 less than the North Face Free Thinker.

Above and Beyond: Unique Selling Points

Stowable, helmet-compatible hood

Two-way front zip (you've heard me harping on this in other reviews)

Big internal pockets on both sides for food, skins, water, etc

Big, easy-to-use pit zips

Gore Tex softshell system (fuzzy interior, more breathable than GoreTex Pro Shell

Bright, visible acid green (which is also a color I like)

Big-ass collar comes almost up to my nose

De Rigueur

• Fully taped seams
• Waterproof zippers
• Powder skirt
• One handed hood and hem cinches
• Two large external Napoleon pockets
• Internal zipped pocket for wallet, cell phone
• Lighter than most, though not as light as some: 25oz (713g)

I've been skiing in the Freney for more than a month now and I must say, I've been thrilled. It packs down to nothing into its own (supplied) ditty bag--which I've had a bunch of opportunities to test. It sheds moisture like a champ which I tested in December in Vermont in the middle of a freezing rain storm.

It's very comfortable--like all GoreTex products it can get clammy on warm days, but it vents easily, which I got to test a couple of weeks ago in Aspen. The slim fit is very comfortable under a pack--unlike my old North Face Triclimated which bunch and pulled. With my MontBell UltraLight mid layer underneath, I've weathered some cold days with no problem. Although it's lighter than some other parkas, the wind-proofing is excellent, so cold days at the top of Breck have been totally manageable. And the high collar provides excellent face protection which means I can wear a lighter balaclava (or skip it entirely) and avoid icing up. I've only had a few complaints worth noting.

Down Sides

Hood stowage is a little awkward

MontBell products are hard to find

The Freney seems to have been discontinued, though it's available on sale for the even cheaper: $215

Zipped up, the inside front of the collar gets a little annoying in wet and icing conditions

So, if you can find it, I highly recommend the Freney. If you can't, try checking out the MontBell Alpine Therma Shell which is very similar to the Freney. It also looks like MontBell has some new items on their international site (though I haven't seen them in the store).

MontBell Freney Parka
Price as tested	$329.00
Shell	3-Layer GORE-TEX Soft Shell 30-denier anti-grease Ballistic rip-stop nylon body 40-denier stretch reinforcements in shoulders and arms
Weight	25 oz 713 gm
Sizes	S, M, L, XL
Colors	Black, Dark Blue
Features	Tri-axial hood, fits climbing or ski helmets Hood rolls into collar Offset chin guard Long pit-zips wrap towards the front allowing access to interior mesh hand pockets and waist draw cords Two chest pockets with Aqua-tect zippers protected by micro-flaps Two way front zipper protected by double storm flaps with rain gutter Alpine Cuffs - elastic cuffs with Velcro adjustments Elastic draw cords for waist and hem Fully seam sealed Two external napoleon pockets Internal, zipped cell phone pocket Two large internal gear pockets Integrated powder skirt

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The Jimis are a fat, twin-tip, reverse camber powder ski that feel soft and float like crazy. On powder, they ski almost like a carving ski and reward aggression and power. On packed powder, they felt solid and controlled, though I don't have the technique to make them really carve on hardpack.

Finding I could practically carve in powder on the Jimis, I was soon flying over the powder with awesome control and weaving through stumps and debris like I was on rails. But what caught me off guard was how the Jimis returned power out of each turn. Even in soft powder, the Jimis popped out of every turn, begging to be thrown into the next turn. The awesome float meant I never got bogged down or buried a tip, and could even ski right over two- and three-foot snow banks.

In addition to being an amazing ride, the Jimis look great, sporting Peter Max inspired graphics on the tips. I'll be looking for them next year.

Ski Cooper is a county-owned ski area known best as a local’s hill. The base area is modest and low key—it reminds me a lot of my hometown’s area, Dodge Ridge—but the hometown feel is a good cover for the awesome Chicago Ridge snowcat operation.

Our cat departed at 9am, our last run ended at about 3:30pm, and we took 11 runs during the day totaling about 10,000 feet of vertical. Conditions were epic—no tours had been run for several days prior and our guides Ralph, Timothy, John, and driver Greg, took us to one area after another of untracked, bottomless powder. The run “Sawmill” in particular—a long, consistent pitch through an old logging area—left us most of our group positively aglow.

No question, this was the best days of my (and Shana’s) year, and if our guides are to be believed, this was the best day of the year for Chicago Ridge. And since we had a half-full cat, we had about five or six more guides tagging along. You can tell these folks love their job. Although safety is their number one priority, fun is a close second. It’s a pleasure to ski with folks who care about what they do and enjoy showing their guests a good time.

In addition to the awesome conditions, we ate a great lunch in the area’s yurt, and an off-duty guide loaned me his brand-new, 2009-2010 Head Jimis—a reverse camber powder ski with a 105cm waist that absolutely made my day. As best I can tell, the Jimi is an updated of Head’s current Supermojo 105. A review and pictures are in the works.

I highly recommend you find the money for a tour with Ski Cooper’s Chicago Ridge Snowcat tours. This year is less busy than prior years, which means more untracked powder per tour. But also, this was my second time riding with them and both experiences have made their respective seasons. I’m going to try to make it a more regular event. Tours are $290, but go up to $325 from January 25 to February 28. Don’t forget to tip your guides.

There’s a chance the snow will be non-optimal, though, in which case we may skip the San Juans altogether and head to Utah or go further south to New Mexico. In theory, it should be a relaxing ten days with no agenda except finding powder—hopefully we’ll succeed despite the West’s impending high pressure system.

We’ll be blogging it all, so follow us here, on Twitter, and on Flickr.

I expect the North Face haters out there are groaning now, but I've never gotten TNF hate. The North Face makes a range of products at a range of price points. The quality throughout the range is largely price-appropriate and aimed at different consumers--when you have ready access to 100+ days of skiing every years, it's easy to forget that not everyone finds utility in top-of-the-line gear. So, at the low end, TNF makes some run-of-the-mill gear and, at the upper end, it makes some great gear. The Free Thinker II Jacket is certainly latter.

The second word, surprisingly, was: comfortable. For me, the Free Thinker just fit right. Which is to say: it is fitted but not restrictive, lightweight and flexible. The size small fit my 5'10, 160 lb frame nicely (but keep in mind that I don't go in for any bagginess or excess bulk) and left plenty of room in the shoulders and chest for a down midlayer. The Gore Tex Pro Shell is finished on the inside with the same fuzzy stuff as the Arc'Teryx Stingray, so it has a nice, slightly cozy feel.

The trade off for burliness is that the Enduro nylon fabric is kind of stiff and has a slightly rough hand. It feels and sounds a bit like 320-grit sand paper, yet this wasn't a problem: it's light and thin enough that it doesn't bind like a heavier fabric would. Although the fabric is really tough and light it also has no stretch at all which might be a problem for some.

In the outdoors, the Free Thinker performs. Wet snow doesn't stand a chance; wind bounces off it. Pull the hood on over your helmet and you'll feel like finding the steepest, rockiest, windiest slope and flipping it the bird. Yet, it still feels light, breathes decently, and vents easily. The high, ample collar provides nice face protection while the offset zipper eliminates annoying flaps and bulk around your face. The hood cinches are dead easy to find and use. Zippers operate easily with gloved hands, although the snaps on the powder skirt and inside cell-phone pocket are less cooperative.

The downsides for me were slight but notable: it lacks a two-way front zip; the cell-phone pocket will not accommodate an iPhone in a sleeve--and just barely accommodates a naked iPhone; the internal storage is wimpy--no place for skins, water bottle, etc. These are personal bugaboos, I realize, but they count.

Ultimately, I wanted to pick the Free Thinker II because it's an awesome jacket that made me fantasize about running it through its paces. If you're hardcore and you want a shell that will perform in 90% of conditions, I doubt you could do better. In my case, though, I found one jacket that checked off more items on my wish list and did so for a lot less money, which is why the Free Thinker only makes it to my #2 spot.

If you have trouble with the price tag, here's a sweetener: The North Face is touting free returns. It's not quite as good as Zappos, but at least it's a step in the right direction.

The Ascent MCZ is made of lightweight Descent DT Hybrib fabric and uses the Conduit DT Hybrid breathable/waterproof membrane system. The jacket itself is very lightweight (735 gm) and supple making it very comfortable by itself or with multiple layers underneath. The Ascent MCZ has a standard array of ski shell features:

But in addition, Mountain Hardwear has incorporate a number of clever features to make the jackets especially attractive for snow sports:

• Removable powder skirt
• Flip down pass-holder
• Lift ticket ring
• Furry collar lining
• Furry body mapping on shoulders and back

Click on these photos to see my notes in Flickr:

When I tested it out, the Ascent MCZ provided great protection from the elements, blocking cold and shrugging off moisture readily. The features are easy to use even with gloves, and the low weight and suppleness means it feels like nothing. The fabric is tough and durable, and, since it moves easily, it’s very comfortable for high activity—e.g., skiing.

On the downside, the Ascent MCZ is lacking in a few departments:

• One-way front zipper: I need to be able to open my jacket from the top AND the bottom
• Wimpy interior pockets: one needs a place for skins, water bottles, etc. and the Ascent MCZ only has a single large, interior pocket.
• Inadequate fit: the Ascent MCZ is roomier than I need (read: baggy), too broad in the shoulders, and the sleeves are too long and baggy for me.
• The interior is unlined, which means that you get direct contact with the waterproof membrane, so for someone who perspires readily (like me), it gets clammy fast, despite is breathability claims.

These shortcomings are pretty specific to my preferences and needs and had I not found an jacket I preferred, the Ascent MCZ would have been hard to reject. I can recommend the Ascent MCZ whole-heartedly for hardcore skiers who want a roomy, hardwearing jacket that will serve in lots of conditions. And at $279, it’s the least expensive of the shells I tested.