Vintage Skis

[Strato 102]

I got those Javelins out of St. Paul where they were built. They appear to be very early with an external tail protecter and the base seems to be different without the Hart logo. Whats really interesting is that there is someone's name written in the graphics with the same font. I like to think they were for some muckety muck at Hart back in the day.

Those are cool ads and pictures. I have a pair of Kneissls just like the ones in the Porsche ad. I would love to see them on a 356. Every time I come across an old Leitz rack, it seems to have remnants of a ski rack or "ski halter". They are always rusty, wonder why!

[CurtEgerer]

OK, you guys are forcing me to burrow deep into the archives (and there's not much skiing stuff in the archives ).

First up is the Head XR1 Competition. My brother bought a pair of these and still has them (in nice shape with the original Look-Nevada bindings). I skied them often and they were a blast. These probably eclipsed everything else in the coolness factor for a year or so. The skis were hollow and extremely lightweight. Initially built by DuraFiber as I recall and then built by Head themselves or they bought out Durafiber or something?

$250 MSRP in the early 70's was some serious cash.

Head XR1 Comp Advert Page 1.jpgHead XR1 Comp Advert Page 2.jpg

[CurtEgerer]

So the XR1 was only offered for a year or 2 (1972/73??). A few years later Head came out with the slightly de-tuned version called the XRC. I bought a pair of these. Significantly softer then the ultra-stiff XR1, but it was a much better all-around ski. I've still got them.

Head XRC Image.jpg
Head XRC Specs.jpg
Head XRC X-Section.jpg
Head XRC Letter 1976.jpg

[Jens]

Strato, you ol' hound dog, that is so-o-o unbeleebably cool.

Do you guys remember the Raichle Red Hots? Fiberglass lower boot shell and a laceup liner; Cruel Shoes! My feet got so cramped up halfway down the Mountain one day that I had to lay down and yank the outer shell off, throw them in the woods and massage my frozen feet 'til the pain subsided. Worse gawddam boot in ski boot history!

The Hanson boot was a pretty good idea, but you had to use the recommended silicone spray just to get your foot into them. Not so funny that the silicone degraded the foam liner to disintegration, wtf. Nowadays, there is no excuse not to be comfortable and warm in even the most hardcore World Cup race boot let alone the more flexible and soft mainstream boots. Comfy and toasty. The modern boots and bootfitters are so good that there should be no sufferin' no more.

Keep the pictures comming. I just can't resist showing one of the hottest talents on the World Cup tour today; Marcel Hirscher.

[CurtEgerer]

>>>>Do you guys remember the Raichle Red Hots? Fiberglass lower boot shell and a laceup liner; Cruel Shoes!<<<<<

A good friend and one of the best natural skiers I've ever seen used those boots for years .... it got to be a joke and we'd laugh at him. Then he'd go and kick our asses on the snow.

Jens, this thread has brought a lot of old memories to the forefront for me. You mentioned Stu Campbell, do you remember a PSIA Examiner named Victor (from the Rocky Mtn region)? Real tall guy.

[CurtEgerer]

This is my current BIG mountain ski - K2 Seth Morrisons, 193CM! These things will crash thru crud and crust like its powder. Ultra stable at high speed. Sorta like K2 Fours on crack. You need to eat your Wheaties before strapping into these. Not much use for them here in Mich.

Then there's one of several sets of 80's vintage Spalding Squadra Corse. Spalding had some sort of incredible pro-form one year for instructors and were dumping everything they had. Than a year or 2 later, a regional sports retailer here, known for baseball and basketball stuff, bought all remaining Spalding stock. They had 223 DH boards, Super G, and GS Squadra Corse on the rack for $75 a pair I bought several.

K2 Seth Morrison.jpg
K2 Seth Morrison Tips.jpg
Spalding Squadra Corse Super G.jpg
Squadra Corse SG.jpg

[steve shea]

Victor Guerdin from Jackson Hole now Aspen. If you guys really want a trip down ski memory lane visit the New England Ski Museum in Franconia NH. Make sure to ask to see the archives, they dwarf the musem. Cannon Mtn. was the best! XR1 sidewalls used to blow out all the time. Good ski but very fragile...much better for smuggling. There was a drug bust in Co back in the early 70's...guess where the goods were found? In a Head XR1. Also for those reniniscing about wood skis, almost every current racing ski is still made with a classic sandwich construction. A wood laminate core, composite sidewalls and a top and bottom sheet. Salomon and Atomic back in their cap construction days (they tried to sell the public on cap cause it was way cheap to produce)would still build DH and SG with a straight sidewalls and sandwich construction. These days ski companies don't try to hide it. Everyone knows. A fact is a fact. Why? Ski to snow contact. Wood offers a very smooth ride and maintains the best ski to snow contact which equals speed in ski racing. Steve

[Strato 102]

There are some awesome stickers on that 'fridge. Some go back. Raichle Red Hots were almost as wacky as the Rosemonts. I have to dig up that poster of the naked lady body painted with skis. The poster was from about 1970. The K2 "Comp" had the place of honor. I have to find that poster!

[CurtEgerer]

I think I can help with the poster ..... hmmm, maybe this is why I always liked VR17s the best

Victor was/is one damn good instructor. I was getting disillusioned with PSIA. Seemed like the further one progressed up the food chain of instructing, there was less skiing and more standing around babbling about the philosophy of weight transfer ..... it was unbearable with a couple of examiners I won't name. After one of these excruciating morning sessions, Victor showed up for the afternoon session. He basically said, 'follow me'. 4 hours of non-stop skiing later, I think our group had learned more than all previous clinics we attended!

Ski Magazine Ski Girl.jpg

[Jens]

I spent many seasons on K2s, but somewhere along the line I got a couple of pairs of the Elan Unilines that Ingmar was on. Dark maroon with orange and white graphics. Got them from the distributor in Burlington, VT. Some kind of great ski that was. Later I had the Super G version in bright blue metallic. Kinda like these. I also ran a pair of 223 downhills that were just freight trains for the skinny Danish/American kid weighing the better part of 125 pounds. I did well on those. I actually podiumed against my hefty 240 pound colleagues.

Curt, that's an impressive cabinet o' stickers!