Ski Modification: Twin-Tip Tail Removal

There are a number of projects that I've been working on recently, one of which is turning my pair of "in-bounds" skis into some backcountry powder hounds. I bought a pair of used touring bindings and mounted them on my white Fischer Kehuas. Telemark bindings now come with a free-pivot mode for skinning uphill. For those of you still thinking that telemarking = touring, which I still think is very true, there is better technology out there these days. Anyway, after the bindings were mounted I wanted to cut off the twin-tip tail (actually an old Doug Coombs trick) to better enable me to stick them into the snow while transitioning between skiing and skinning or building quick belay anchors in a more technical skiing environment. Not to mention I'm saving weight by shortening the skis...

I cut six centimeters off the tail and ground a notch to help keep my skins in place while climbing. It's been suggested that I seal the now-naked ends with an epoxy or JB Weld and after the first coat and a day of skiing the protection is chipping a little. I don't really see any problems delaminating but I still don't want water in the cores. It will most likely just be a continued maintenance issue unless putting some heavier-duty JB Weld and grinding it off smooth would be better.


Ski Modification: Twin-Tip Tail Removal from Colter Lane on Vimeo.

This is my first video in a long time, but I want to get back into making them. It will be just one more avenue for creation to add to the quiver along with still-photography and writing. The video may be a little slow and boring so feel free to fast-forward through it. Any suggestions on editing in the future will be much appreciated.

Creating and Then Letting Go

A question that I've been asking people recently is "What would you have to do in your life to make it seem worthwhile?" As is the nature of such questions, I have had to be prepared to answer it myself. It's a tough question to say the least. Through writing and working on some projects in our shop lately I have been noticing humanity's affinity for creation. We gain a satisfaction through building things or creating art. In my opinion this is an attempt to imitate the the one who created us; when we are making something it brings us closer to God in a sense.

I do a lot of reading, writing, and building. In addition, I love to climb peaks or rock climbing routes. There is a satisfaction to gain through working hard for a goal and then accomplishing it. However, what will this gain me or anyone else around me when I'm gone? Very little, to be blunt. I read a post by Don Miller this morning talking about being afraid of death because of what we are leaving behind. I was struck by the fact that all material things are going to be left behind when we die. It's not like I didn't realize this before, but it's an important reminder nonetheless.

So to answer the first question, "What do I have to do to feel like my life is worthwhile?" I feel like the only way to do this is to make a difference in the lives of other people. There's a famous wandering, vagabond with the initials JC who modeled this pretty well: healing the sick, feeding the hungry, speaking with those whom no one else would hang around. He set the standard pretty high. I'm just hoping that those around me will feel loved and not hated, uplifted and not broken down, like I was their friend not just a face in the crowd. This is a very general answer, but then again, it's still a tough question.

Thoughts on 1 Peter 1:6

In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.  1 Peter 1:6

I volunteered to teach the High School and Middle School age class at church on Wednesday nights, as I mentioned in a previous post about teaching. We are studying 1 Peter and using materials published by the eBible Study website run by Oklahoma Christian University's College of Biblical Studies. The study guides and worksheets have been useful and taken a lot of pressure and time commitment off me in preparation every week. But I don't like the emphasis the preparer of the material, Dr. Curt Niccum, puts on the "benefits" of Christian suffering. I agree that the purpose of the author of 1 Peter (most likely the apostle Peter) is to encourage christians scattered to new areas in Asia, reminding them of the joy of their salvation, call them to live holy lives, and urge them not to lose their faith in the face of persecution. There doesn't seem to be an emphasis on rejoicing in suffering.


Take the above verse for example (1:6). The rejoice in this verse doesn't point to "rejoicing in your suffering" as is the stance Dr. Niccum takes and is the traditional interpretation, or at least the interpretation the at I've grown up hearing. Peter is telling the christians to rejoice in the salvation they have in Jesus Christ, reminding them of the hope and inheritance they have as gifts from God. In this phrase, Peter is saying to have joy in the blessings they have through Jesus, even in the midst of their trials, not because of those trials themselves.


The problem I see is christians in the present taking this passage as an excuse to act in a way that makes non-christians edgy, turning them off in a sense. This is justified because any negative reaction is "persecution" and our faith is just being "refined by fire, like gold." We run the risk of alienating people because of our self-righteousness: we are better than everyone else because we are christians. I don't feel like we are under the same persecution/trials that the early church was and to try and include ourselves in the same suffering, because we feel uncomfortable praying by ourselves at work or sharing our beliefs with a classmate or coworker who doesn't necessarily believe the same way we do, is ignorant. 


Again, the emphasis, both for followers of Christ in Peter's time and now, is to rejoice in the love, joy, peace, hope, and salvation we gain through a relationship with God. We should seek to share that joy with others, not turn them off to make us feel more assured about our place in heaven.