I switched to my Garmont Combi Plus boots, that I'd bought for lift service and ravine trips. They're also leather, but have an instep strap that holds the heel snugly during hard turning. They were also much newer than the Snowpines. I bought the Snowpines in 1990 and the Garmonts in 1996 or '97. Since I quit lift-served skiing by about 1999, they'd seen most of their use in the back country. It didn't seem like a lot of use.
Coming into the house after a trip up the back mountain I heard a funny slap noise with each step. The outsoles were coming off the Garmonts, and the midsoles had cracks in them. The cracks were far less drastic than the crumbling of the Asolos, but undeniably there.
A cheapskate would have tried to use Shoe Goo or some other contact cement to patch the boots together. I chose instead to consult a professional. I did try to stick the Asolos together with some glue, but when it obviously couldn't hold I quit. No sense in making a professional repair more expensive because I gummed up the works being a cheapass.
We have the good fortune to have a real cobbler in the area. I sent the boots to Daub's, in Laconia. He got back to me with an estimate. Because I knew it would require the skilled labor of a human being, I was prepared to hear that it would be pretty pricey. I was even preparing to decide which pair to choose if the price was really staggering.
Technofascism afflicts skiing as much as bicycling. Most skiers would have junked the leather boots long ago for plastic, and maybe adopted a system binding for the touring skis. I flatter myself that I know better. Besides, the boots themselves are still sound. A well-made leather boot can last for decades, which is one reason that they are no longer widely available. My 1984 Fabiano hiking boots are on their second set of soles, but they're still comfortable and supportive, albeit rather heavy. We were used to heavy boots back then. A rugged boot was a comfort in rough country. The cobbler who resoled those used screws to reinforce the glue bond. And I wouldn't take them on a long trip anymore, but still on many a happy day hike.
Jim Daubenspeck (Daub) called to say that the boots would cost $160 each to repair. Because I had thought it might be far higher, and allowing for inflation, it seemed reasonable enough. I vacillated for a moment about whether to have just one pair done -- but which one? I said, "What the heck. Do them both." Then I did the math, of course, but dammit, the boots are irreplaceable in this modern plastic world, and they have provided my primary means of winter exercise. I paid wholesale for both pairs when they were new. I would pay wholesale now for a replacement, but I hate to junk something with life left in it just to have something new.
Each pair has its strengths. The Snowpine is an excellent heavy touring boot with turning capability. I learned on the groomed slopes using that boot and the typical skis of the time. The Garmont was my heavy artillery for driving a slightly wider ski in ungroomed conditions. Since I can get into those just by going out my back door and hiking uphill, let alone making the ten-minute drive to the other end of the small mountain range that forms the center of town, the boots are my lifeline to fitness and my treatment for winter depression.
This will guarantee that we don't have much snow this winter.
