Is Boeing in big trouble?

Around the middle of March, I was trying to explain how Boeing got in such trouble by modifying its hottest airplane, in order to keep it popular and continue making lots of money selling it.

Since the changes made rendered the plane almost impossible to fly, Boeing's engineers turned toward military aircraft technology, where all kinds of jet fighter designs that should never be able to fly the way they do, receive “help” from computers that enable them to be super maneuverable in spite of their lack of flying functionality.

They must have thought, “if we can make these machine fly, we can do the same with the 737 Max...” Problem is that these planes are used a great deal more than their military counterparts and that while software can make some miracles from time to time, it can't guarantee all miracles, all the time.

Now that all eyes are on the FAA, the cozy relationship that prevailed between that Federal Agency and Boeing is like to undergo increased scrutiny.

At the same time the Chinese and the European Union that used to defer to all FAA's decisions, may not continue on that path and could make life extremely difficult for Boeing, that might as a result of these other large clients' reluctance to continue buying the aircraft, fall into bankruptcy.

Sure the U.S. Government will have no other choice of saving the aircraft manufacturer on account of its share of military contracts, but this might have deep consequences for its civilian division...

Are some days bad enough no to ski?

A few days ago, I decided – against my best judgment – to go skiing in spite of a terrible snow and an awful visibility.

I took a first run, didn't quite like what I felt under my skis, then pondered as to whether it would make any sense to quit for the whole day, and wisely return home.

Against what I thought was my best intuition, I decided to stay and ended up having a pretty decent experience.

So, the morale of the story is that, in life like in skiing, some days never are to be as bad as they appear they could be, and it's always worth to persist!

Oldie but Goodies?

On Wednesday night, I was invited to attend the reception organized by the International Skiing History Association (ISHA), which mission is to preserves and increases awareness of my favorite sport’s heritage through its “Skiing History” publication and its website.

I do subscribe to the advertising-free magazine that I receive six times a year, never fails to read cover-to-cover and that I enjoy an awful lot, because I've always been interested in history in general, and even more so into the history of what's my lifelong passion.

When I was in the midst of these folks, I felt young because some of them are almost 20 years older than me!

So, my attitude is not see the advanced age of these people, but rather their wealth of experience, something along the lines of “what could I learn from these people, with their huge experience that I could apply to the rest of my life?”

Now, you understand, Oldie but Goodies isn't something to avoid, but rather seek, because it's high quality and classic value before anything else.

The never-ending slalom...

Only my French countrymen would do this: For a third year in a row, at La Plagne ski resort, organize a slalom competition in one run, covering a vertical drop of 2,625 feet, using 320 poles and taking more than 4 minutes 30 second to run for the men's winner, this time the up and coming French Slalom star, Clément Noël.

This race, the brainchild of French Team member Julien Lizeroux in cahoot with Julien Régnier a former mogul skier, attracted 470 competitors, all of them French, except for a handful of Swiss participants.

Only one run with costumes encouraged, loads of fun, no DQ that I could see, just a few DNF, and all in all, a great day of fun. We ought to have the same in America!

That last run...

It could be this last run of the day or of that very last descent of the entire season.

Each time it happens, I get mixed emotions as I'm sad that my day, or my season on skis, is coming to an abrupt end.

At the same time I want to squeeze these ultimate moments of ski pleasure that I know won't return till the next day on the slopes or the following winter season.

This makes me savor this last run like no other moment in the ski day. I soak in the feelings, the views rolling by and the last flush of speed in a way that could slow the time to give me a greater chance to fully appreciate every nano-second.

No matter the way I feel or the conditions, I always fully enjoy that special moment in time!

Skiing bad spring snow

Spring snow isn't always easy. I'm not talking about morning groomed runs that are the normal fare consumed by the majority of spring skiers these days, but about that slushy, changing and irregular stuff that raises its challenging head in the afternoon or early on, all over slopes that are exposed early to the sun.

That's when skiers quickly discover that there's a fine line between speed, turnability and safety.

These tricky conditions have to be matched with a commensurate skier's relaxation, plus ideally, a more adapted equipment, like heavier skis, even though ski weight influence can be mitigated by a seasoned, extra-sensitive skier.

There's also a need for heightened attention that defines the perfect compromise between all these "moving parts", along with an ability to scout for the less dangerous terrain and the appropriate line.

All the ingredients that go into keeping that ideal “fine line” are what make slushy or tricky spring snow skiing that much more interesting and a culmination of a great deal of various skills. I love it, but I also appreciate its danger and based on my long experience, always step into it knowing full well that it's never devoid of risk.

That's it, the magic blend. Maximum relaxation and utmost concentration; I know, we recently talked about these two...

Not 60 anymore !

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to ski with my good friend Dirk between Brighton and Solitude resorts, on the other side of Park City, in beautiful Big Cottonwood Canyon.

Not only was powder exceptional with more than one foot of new, untracked snow, but we did our share of exploring. I had never climbed on top of Evergreen Peak, which at 9,850 feet opens up the door to some great powder skiing.

To accomplish this, we have to climb, following a narrow and very steep path on the ridge of that mountain that made us struggle for a good half-hour, carrying skis on our shoulders.

I found that climb extenuating, as each packed step demanded a maximum effort as I had to extend my hips to the fullest, always on the verge of losing my balance.

The last time I did something similar was just on the opposite side, climbing Fantasy Ridge exactly 9 years ago. That's when, huffing and puffing, as we reached the top, I muttered to my companion: “I'm not 60 anymore!”