January 31, 2001


What's a good pair of entry-level cross-country ski boots?

HELP! I am desperately seeking a brand of cross-country ski boots called "Everest" to replace the pair belonging to a neighbor that my dog chewed up! They are navy blue and size 47. He used them all the time on your basic, entry-level slider skis. I really want to replace them before he returns from his trip to Canada. I have searched all over the web but have no idea how to find these things! Please help before I'm in the doghouse!

— Lynda Sweden Tahoe City, California

Wait, wait...OK, there. I had to pick myself off the floor, where I was rolling around having a laughing attack. Let me get this straight: Your dog got into the neighbor's garage and made like a milk bone with his (probably beloved, perfectly broken-in, gift-from-a-now-deceased relative) XC ski boots? Bad dog, bad! No treat for you!

Alas, to complicate things further, you haven't given me enough information to work with. Is Everest the brand, or the name of the boot? What style are they (three-pin, or NNN)? Does he only ski on flat meadows, or does he do anything else? In any event, if they're more than a few years old, they're no doubt now either A) not longer made, or B) known as something different. So you're apparent scheme -— to scuff up a new pair of boots and place them in his garage so it looks like nothing had happened —- is not going to work.

My advice: Keep the boots in hand, then take them over when he gets home along with a large bag of fresh-baked peanut-butter cookies (that always works on me) and an offer to replace the boots. There are plenty of good boots out here, and he might be glad to have the chance to get new ones (on second thought, probably not...). One good boot: The Karhu Convert ($160), a light three-pin touring boot that can handle all sorts of terrain. Or, for more flat terrain or track skiing, the Salomon Escape boot has the newer, simpler NNN binding and is very light and comfortable. So maybe you clip out a picture of one of those boots from a catalog, or download it from the Web, and put that in with the cookies and "I'm really sorry!" card.