January 20, 2005, advertisement

Ron, nice post.<br><br>I started into the rando-backcountry gig three years ago and was directed to Pro Ski Service by a friend who is a regular customer.<br><br>Being a classic dirtbag bargain shopper I looked around for a few weeks before jumping into the touring gear. It was the excellent service and competitive pricing that swayed me to buy from Pro Ski. No other shop in town even came close to matching the postive experience I got from Pro Ski. I'm sorry to say that a couple of the other smaller shops actually gave me a bit of attitude once they realized I was shopping for rando gear and not the more traditional alternative. Probably isolated incidents, but nonetheless that was my experience. <br><br>Three years later I'm still buying from Pro Ski because they offer me the best selection, service and overall experience. Granted I can sometimes find slightly cheaper prices elsewhere, it all equals out by the time I factor in all the extras such as knowledge, package discounts, sales, knowing I'm buying from good people with roots in the community and other positive intangibles...<br><br>Another facet of Martin's ventures I've utilized with positive results is Pro Guiding Service. I took the "Intro to Ski Touring" course and was very impressed with the level of knowlege that was imparted to the class. After getting my alpine buddy hooked on touring this year I was hoping to take the class again with a friend, and because it is so knowledge rich that I'm certain a second run-through would be beneficial.<br><br>I have no financial ties to any of the "Pro" businesses and know Martin and his crew as a customer and client. I just wanted to echo the word that it's good to support a local team that is dedicated to the sport and working hard to provide the best they can give.<br><br>Hmmm, after this glowing testimonial I suppose I'm obligated to dust off the credit card and go buy some stuff...

Good job Charles, and good job Ron. I'd suggest that, on a site of this sort, the best advertising possible would be consistent constructive participation in one or several forums. I hope this makes sense to Martin.<br><br>On a more selfish note, I'm on my way home from (at this particular instant) Playa del Carmen. I sure hope you folks left me some random bits of remnant snow scattered here and there. Or should I trade in my ticket and head for Mamouth instead?

Totally understood Charles. I think a 'Gear for Sale' board is a good idea.<br><br>I moved to North Bend four years ago and was very happy to have a local shop. I was pretty new to skiing, had tried touring once. After I finally found a decent job and it came time to replace my first pair of skis (bought in PA), I looked around a bit. I went to shops in Issaquah, Bellevue, Redmond - in each one I would get - on average - 2 sentences in before I was being ushered to the newest ultra-fat stiff wunder ski. No listening to what kind of skiing I enjoyed, my skill level, what I was hoping to achieve. When I went looking for AT gear it was pretty hard to find and even harder to find someone who knew something about it.<br><br>I had a completely different experience at at ProSki. Martin and his crew spent hours with me talking over what I wanted out of a ski, weighing the positives and negatives, and totally getting into the most detailed aspects of every piece of gear I was looking at (and there is a lot of it to look at in the shop). I even remember spending an hour on the phone talking over the skis I was thinking about. I still get that same service now and I think its worth every penny I spend in the shop. <br><br>I can honestly say that I have never dealt with a store that has done so much to earn my business. Ditto for the guiding service.<br><br>Besides...the guys are just great to hang out with, tell stories, etc.<br><br>Another disclaimer...I too have no financial ties to the shop <br><br><br>

Charles: I still like "Turns-All-Year Yardsale"<br><br><br>Mark: I didn't use any more than my share, but there isn't much left. Make a sidetrip to Mammoth or Tahoe if you can!

Hi all;<br>first off I want to apologize for "abusing" the intended use of your site. I understand completely that simply opening the site to commercial content could cause a serious problem and dilute the quality of your site.<br>I was not thinking this all the way through (I did have feeling that it was maybe not quite all right).<br>Being the moderator I would have most likely done the same thing. <br>So thanks for not turning the post into a Martin bash session. Furthermore we got some good endorsments out of it and I appreciate it. <br>It has been a bit rough out there, but my hopes for the spring touring are still up.<br>In the end I want to contribute something hopefully usefull to the site.<br>Recently a neat study was conducted in Switzerland about the effectiveness of the "holy 3" pieces of gear in Snow safety. <br>60 people conducted a 3 beacon burial search 4 times.<br>Here are the results for the average search times:<br>Beacon only: 59 minutes<br>Beacon and probe: 42 minutes<br>Beacon and shovel: 29 minutes<br>Beacon, shovel and probe: 14!!! minutes<br>I think this illustrates quite well that a good probe is not some add on item, even though industry sales suggest so. <br>Again - sorry for the commercial use - thank you for the good ink - and good job on the site. <br>

I'd like to add my own personal endorsement for Martin and his two Pro Ski shops. Martin and his staff have provided me, my family and friends nothing but excellent product, service, mounting and tuning/repair for all my skiing needs. He and his staff are an excellent resource for the Seattle area skiing community. If this sounds like a shameless plug, sorry, I'm just a happy customer. Thanks Pro Ski.<br><br>Martin brings up an excellent point about the value of a dedicated probe in reducing search times. As a ski patroler I and my colleagues conduct scheduled single and multi burial search drills (As I hope all of you out there are doing - practice, practice, practice). The dillegent addition and proper use of a probe have consistently lowered our search times. This is especially evident with deeper burials. I'm not a big fan of probe poles either since the added fiddle factor means that it often doesn't get used. If you don't have one, get a probe and get out there and practice with it - you and your ski partners will be glad you did.<br><br>Jan Kordel<br>Alpental Pro Patrol<br><br>