Maggots Assault Mt. Hood on July 4th to Test New Maggot Ski
PowderMaggots converged on Mt. Hood over the Fourth of July weekend to celebrate their annual summer Mini-Summit with newfound purpose this year. The diehard brotherhood known to pursue turns in pursuit of an endless winter, regardless of calendar dates, tested prototypes of a new ski designed and built by PM Gear, the Maggot-owned and -operated gear company. Maggots skied soft and stiff versions of a prototype ski on the Palmer snowfield, delivering feedback designed to help enhance the final version of the ski scheduled for production in limited numbers for the coming season.
"We're striving to produce a ski for the masses, based on the kinds of skiers Maggots represent – hard-charging powder skiers who can rip the chop and the grooms with the best of them," says Ron Shevock, one of the owners of PM Gear who had a hand in designing the ski. "Like every ski company, we want to build the ultimate one-ski quiver. And it looks like we're onto something. We're currently testing a 124-99-113 sidecut on a 188 length, enhancing the sidecut radii found on a number of the best-performing skis ever built. With performance feedback gleaned from our fellow Maggots, we'll produce a rippin ski at a price skiers can afford, around $550. We're calling it the BroModel, because that's who we're building it for – our brother and sister Maggots and skiers tired of paying over a thousand dollars for boards that will rip everything the mountains have to offer."
In addition to skiing the Palmer snowfield on the 4th of July and testing new skis, some Maggots climbed to the summit of Mt. Hood, while others honed their jibbing skills in the park, demonstrating once again that this congregation of internet ski enthusiasts is not just talk. Lincolns, 3s, 7s, fronts, backs, darts and a host of other mad skills were thrown on the glacier snowpark. Even the over-40 Maggots got in a few tricks, to the amazement of kids hanging around the hits and pipes below Palmer.
As the night of the 4th drew close, Maggots headed to Hood River for a party thrown by PM Gear on the deck of one Maggot's house. A barbeque and a local DJ's music set the mood under Hood River's fireworks display as the party raged until daylight. Other nights of the holiday weekend were spent on the mountain and under the stars at the Still Creek campground. The weather cooperated for sunny days on Palmer and lots of passing around of the Bro Models, allowing another annual get-together of Powder's devotees to the sport to go down in the books as a complete success and a killer time. For more information on the Maggots' BroModel skis, contact PM Gear at info@pmgear.com
