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Show Thursday, April 12, 1979 U with Craig Aftschul fe Pane 7 II mil II ill I .mii i; n, - i p i i ii Ef JSC -: v'M S-'- 1 : We consumers are no dummies. We understand under-stand how to buy skis these days. Anyone can tell the difference between a honeycomb and layered fiberglass. Right? And, boots are no big puzzle. You either stick your foot in from the back or the top. Some have a lot of forward lean; some don't. Some are good looking; some are clunky. But, bindings are another gamelt's like sending send-ing someone like me who just wants to listen to music into a stereo shop to buy components. Where do we begin? How do we begin? Why do we even try to begin? We have to wade through a world of jargon about maximum feasible loads and endless amounts of torque. Little is done by the manufacturers to help (though Salomon did publish a .nildly helpful booklet this season). Several years ago, I purchased a pair of Burt bindings. I really didn't understand the technical theories then and, frankly, I don't understand un-derstand them well now. I and you shouldn't have to understand why bindings work or don't work any more than we need know the difference differ-ence between woofers and tweeters. We want music and we want to avoid the risk of serious injury as best we can. I bought Burt's because I thought it was a good idea to be able to release from the binding just as much as I needed to be released in order to prevent injury. I had no use for climbing in and out of my skis on a hill. If Burt bindings were as safe or safer than any others, and if I could have the skis snap back to my boots via a retractable cable so be it. More power to Burt. I caught up with the inventor, Burt Weinstein recently as he was a speaker at a seminar on bindings presented to the Eastern Ski Writers. A representative fro$rze andTTyrolpi was also on hand to , make" his; case llr thfmore,:; classical "heel and toe" design binding. "Why do you need a release at the toe?" asked Weinstein. "Unless, of course, you ski backward?" I've been known to do that, I thought to myself. Weinstein says the object is to release us just enough to absorb the potential load; not to eject us from our skis. He feels a binding should be able to sense the difference in skiers abilities. And, he points out, the same dynamics apply to the beginner as to the expert.... the only difference being the load put into the binding. He doesn't believe the boot should have a role in the binding system (it doesn't in the Burt, as it does in the ' 'heel-toe" ) . One of my journalistic colleagues asked the other binding reps a very good question. The answers were telling, and frankly, a bit scary. The question was how come there is a price differential in classic heel-toe systems? Is the $90 binding safer than the $60 binding? And, if it is safer, why do manufacturers sell "not as safe" bindings. It was a hairy kind of discussion, with no good answers coming forth. Weinstein didn't have to reply. His bindings may top the $100 mark but a skier can't buy a "less safe" version. ver-sion. "It's like being a little bit pregnant," I said too loudly. The Burt has not set the ski world on fire. Few revolutionary ideas make our slow moving industry sit up and react. Clif Taylor's short-ski revolution took a quarter quar-ter of a century for us to become believers. Hanson's rear-entry boot hasn't changed the bootmakers way of life yet. But, there are believers in Burt bindings in growing numbers and a look around a liftline makes the point. Those who use them are the best sales force Weinstein has going for him. For a number of years, Garcia was the parent company of Burt, among other products. When the company suffered severe financial problems last year, Weinstein had to go it alone. His sales organization in this country is just now getting put together. "There will come a day," he predicts, "when we'll all be skiing with a retractable cable bind-' ing." I believe it. Ski brakes aren't the answer. As Weinstein told the writers, the brakes are merely a compromise. They have eliminated the windmilling ski lacerations, but not the trudge back up the hill to get the ski back. And, in powder, look out. And, what about money? The Burt is not quite at the top of the cost ladder in bindings. Yes, it's expensive, but, so is my potential injury and my enjoyment of the sport. If we can afford what goes into a ski trip, we probably can afford af-ford the top of the line bindings as well. Who wants to be "less safe?" I had a chance to take a run with Weinstein, and skiing with me gave him a perfect chance to watch how his binding can rescue a skier who really doesn't need or want to fall. I caught an edge; not an unusual occurrence for me or anyone. But, I recovered without a fall. I knew instantly without Weinstein having to point it out that the same edge catch in any other binding would have meant an ejection. His point had been eloquently made and he didn't need to say a word. You'll have to excuse me for getting on my soapbox. I do it on occasion when a subject begins to rile me. Bindings rile me. I asked what's next for Weinstein the inventor. inven-tor. "I'm working on boots," he told me. "We really don't need them, you know. Why should we have to have our feet encased in plastic to ski? We ought to be able to ski in whatever we normally wear." I think he was semi-serious. A nice thought. But, with the cost of ski equipment forever on the rise, we'll probably be out of place unless we ski in Gucci loafers. I'll just wait and see, keeping my SKI TIPS up. Park City Kickers Battle In SLC By Pat Van Wagoner Although the competition soccer teams have been playing since early March, the recreation teams are , just beginning their season. The, two under-8 teams had !V:;thfiir openers against each other in Salt Lake last Saturday. The Bucks defeated the Park City Uniteds 4 to 1, with Mark Veronne kicking in two goals, Randy Poulsen and Carl Richards one each. Sean Smith scored the United's goal. The under-10 and under-12 recreation teams had a bye last week. The under-12 girls, coached by Marilyn Rivas, lost a close contest against a Sandy team 3 to 2. Goals were scored by Lori Erickson and Susie Miles in the second half. A combination of excellent ex-cellent teamwork, enthusiasm en-thusiasm and alert saves by goalie Mark VanLuven, led the under-10 competition team to a 3 to 0 shut-out over their opponents. Kenny Wade scored first, followed by Mitch Carlson and Eric Perry with one goal each. Skyline teams defeated Park City'sunder-12 competition com-petition team 5 to 0, and the under-16 team 14 to 2, with Steve Toly and Trent Levitt scoring in the losing effort. After a sluggish first half, the under-14 team came back fighting to win the game 3 to l against the Cottonwood Cot-tonwood Rowdies last Thursday. Thurs-day. Kenny Lawson tied the score early in the second half then Scott Williams scored to put Park City ahead. The third goal was made by Kenny, assisted by Scott. The under-14 girls struggled to a 3 to 3 tie with a Sandy team. Anita Miles, Wendy. Hagman, and Madge Marcellin each had one goal. Heavy Snow Causes Turkey Problems Limited access due to heavy snow will create additional ad-ditional problems for spring turkey hunters in Utah this year, according to Floyd Coles, Division of Wildlife Resources regional game manager in Cedar City. The April 28-May 20 season is one week longer this year to allow turkey areas to clear of snow. Coles said warm weather could speed up the snow melt making more of the favorite turkey hunting areas accessible. Access will be a definite problem if cold weather continues. In addition to access problems Coles said that early surveys indicate the severe winter may have caused some winter mortality mor-tality in the population. Even if the winter breaks there will be no chance of access at some of the higher elevations. TENANT ANYONE? Get all the protection you need at low cost with Farmers Tenants Package Policy. Protects Pro-tects your precious possessions against fire, lightning and explosion, ex-plosion, windstorm and hail, vandalism, burglary, water, steam or freezing and many other perils. Coverage applies to your personal property at home or anywhere in the world. Give your fast, fair, friendly Farmers man a ring TODAY. Judy Kimball Agent 202 Silver King Bank Our policy is saving you money. PNI and Tribune Cup Photos Employees Finals Race Please call Pat McDowell KODAK film 649-9494 Open 9-5 Tues-Sat Located at the Powder Room t-Shirt Shop at the Resort Plaza I I j if PROSPECTOR SQUARE ATHLETIC CLUB Ride 'N Tie SSS5SSSSSSSS3SSSS5SSSSSSS i 4k . ' l If w The Chamber of Commerce, in conjuction with Prospector Athletic Club is showing the Ride'N Tie Film-"What Is This Madness?" Mad-ness?" by Levi Strauss Wednesday, April 18 at 7 pm. in the Theatre at Prospector Ski & Conference Center. The film is FREE and open to the public. Everyone is invited to come and watch this interesting film, even if you don't plan to enter the race because you will learn valuable information about the care and conditioning of your horse. The Ride 'N Tie Lecture Series offered through Prospector Athletic Club has been postponed and is scheduled to begin Monday, April 23 at 7:00pm at the Prospector Ski & Conference Center. Lecturers will include Buzz Marden, D.V.M.; Dr. John Sloan; Don Gallion; Marit Glenne; Dorrie Spurlock; Bev Ross; and Dave Goble. Charge is $5 per lecture to non-members. After the lecture you are invited to use the facilities at the Club. For more information, call Jeannine at 649-7100, ext 2247. (X |