You know that Spring is just around the corner when you see runners on the road, people in shorts and Corty Lawrence on his road bike.

Footloose has just received a new shipment of RUNNING SHOES. Asics, Brookes, New Balance, Adidas, Nike have all just arrived. Come check out the great selection of trail and road running shoes from all these major brands.

Shirley, T.K., Doug, Van, Julien, Gavin and Brett are all happy to get you in the correct shoes for the right condition.

Coming soon: Merrell and hiking boots from Asolo, Lowa, Hi Tec.

Ski conditions are great this week! The top is wind blown. As usual Dave’s is fantastic! Snow is corning up in the afternoon. Weather has been sunny and warm. Temps have been in the 5o’s. So get the spring wax out. Come on in a get a spring structure on your skis and boards!

Happy Easter!

Hey everybody. I was having a conversation last week with Randy the Demo Shop manager about my favorites skis of all time. I don’t know how we got started down this particular conversational path but It gave me an Idea. Before we head into the mind twisting adventure of choosing which of next years skis to carry why not ask everybody out there about their ultimate ski list. Mine has accumulated over the last 25 years of involvement of all kinds in the ski industry.  I don’t know if this will help us pick the next great ski but it couldn’t hurt to know. At the very least it’s a fun trip down memory lane.Here’s mine: Volkl Rentiger R circa 1988- Great do it all ski and owning a Volkl in the 80’s was so hot.Atomic Bumblebee 215- You know, the black and yellow ones that had the length marked on the tail. This was my first DH ski and I’ll never forget my first run on them. It change everything I thought I new about skiing.Salomon Force 9 2s- Salomons revolutionary cap construction turned out to be just another ski design but this model was soft and floaty in the pow. Combine that with the ElNino years of the early 90’s and powder skiing went to a level I never knew existed. This is the ski that first sparked my belief that softer skis are better in most off trail conditions.K2 GS race and DH race- These are the skis that showed me the way to real skiing. Stable and smooth without being too stiff. They saw me through the gnarliest lines of my life during my indestructible years. I had about 7 pairs because they would always break in the same spot and K2 would faithfully send me a new pair.K2 AK Launcher- This was my first true fat ski. It felt flimsy and light at speed but the combination of extra width, easy flex, straighter side cut, and simple construction where the foundation for all of K2’s great skis to come.(i.e. the Recon and the Coomba.) The launcher and the Chubb are the skis that, for better of for worse, brought the skinny ski era to an end.Volkl Sanouk- This totally under appreciated ski is simply one of the greatest powder skis of all time. Soft, straight, wide, and yes virginia swallowtails really do work. This ski should be studied by every manufacture who wants to make a true powder ski. No gimmicks like rocker, just design elements that truly work for all around powder days.Thats it. Lets see yours.   

Another Trade show has come and gone this past week and boy are my legs tired. The On Snow Trade Show is held at Mammoth Mountain every year to help retailers get a better idea of what exciting new products to introduce to their customers the following season. This event is met buy your Footloose Testing Team with a mixture of Christmas time excitement and eagle eyed criticism. Skiing nearly every 2009 ski in 3 short days is no easy ask. Just ask newbie to the team, 19 year half pipe aficionado Beau Silva, who’s quote at the end of day three pretty much summed things up for everybody, ” I’m tired and hungry.” I know it’s good work if you can get it, but you have to bring a game time determination and a brown bag if you want to ski as many skis as our most prolific testers. Bobby Lichen averages 20 skis a day. ” I ski with two different skis on each foot so I can double my productivity,” bobby says, with a wry grin that leaves you feeling like he’s only half joking. Ok, ok. I know your all dying for me to cut the chit cat and get to the point. “What’s the best ski for 2009,” is the question everybody asks when they catch wind of what’s happening in the chair 2 parking lot. I think I can sum things up with the classic statement, “Evolutionary not revolutionary”. Many skis come back unchanged or only slightly modified for 2009. Even the worlds most popular ski, the K2 Recon, only sees slight modifications. Believe it or not, this is a great thing because skis haven’t been this good across the board… ever. My advice is to buy now. Skis are at the best prices they have been all year and with a similar set of products coming out next season take your discount now and use the money you saved to go skiing.