Kurt Swanson

I'm finally getting around to posting pictures of my new ride, a Thirst 8RWarp. I've never ridden a board over 171cm, so I was bit nervous with this one at 184.5cm. Mark (Miller) and everyone else was right, I had no problem turning this board as tight as much shorter boards. It's been a blast to ride! Working with Mark has been a great experience. He took my design ideas for a custom topsheet and came up with something I liked much better. He is truly an artist and a craftsman as well.

Agreed. I was hit from behind this year by a skier while I was doing very narrow turns, no big carves across the fall-line. I was okay and he stopped to apologize. Of course now my paranoia, which was high to begin, with is through the roof.

Hey Pat, Thanks for posting that. That's some interesting information. Mark sounds like he is very thorough.

Trying to find a used Thirst 8R Warp or Superconductor. I ride goofy (RFF). Heard great things about these boards. Kinda' hard to shell out the money for a new one without a test ride first...

At the end of this season I wrote down some notes as reminders for next year. What I have so far is shown below. It would interesting to have a more detailed step-by-step account of the techniques involved in carving. My notes are far from complete and may not even apply to everyone. Anyone up for adding more details? Heelside 1. Start riding perpendicular to the fall line 2. Move weight slightly towards the front of the board, with shoulders facing the front of board 3. Shift board uphill 4. Apply pressure to the front heel while pulling the rear knee towards the inside of the turn 5. Angulate the upper body away from the turn 6. As the turn progresses shift weight slightly towards the rear of the board Toeside 7. Start riding perpendicular to the fall line again 8. Move weight slightly towards the front of the board, with shoulders facing the front of board 9. Shift board uphill 10. Apply pressure to the rear toe while pulling the front knee towards the inside of the turn 11. Angulate the upper body away from the turn 12. As the turn progresses shift weight slightly towards the rear of the board

After the paint on my BTS springs started chipping off, I stripped them completely and then polished them on a buffing wheel until they looked chrome-plated. That lasted for several seasons but now are showing rust again. Anyone else run into this issue? If so, what was your remedy? I'm considering titanium springs, but that's got to be pretty expensive...

I should probably clarify that statement. When I say stiffen my front leg during a heelside turn, what I'm really doing is driving my front heel hard into the snow through the whole turn, especially when initiating the turn. I wasn't doing that before and as a result my heelside turn would start with me skidding the turn before the edge would grab hold. My front knee still flexes to absorb shock while I'm focusing on pressuring that front heel though...

Yes, more for heelsides. I was pointing that rear knee outwards and it was screwing up my stance and felt awkward as well.

After nine years, finally learning the subtle techniques to carve on steeper runs: 1. Keeping my front leg stiff and not flexing the knee. 2. Pulling my rear knee into the turn instead of letting it point outward 3. Turning the board slightly uphill before initiating the turn 4. Having Chester at Montucky Clear Cut center my bindings on the board (just a few centimeters, huge difference) Applying these four techniques have been a total game changer for my carving.

Has anyone here ridden Ski Cooper? If so, what were your impressions of the place, favorite runs? I have free lift tickets and was wondering about checking it out soon. Kurt

I might be able to give you a lift. My flight lands in Kalispell Sunday at 10:14am and leaves Friday morning at 11:13am.

Yup, I got the call from them. Re-booking now...

Made reservations at the Evergreen Motel. It looks like food and other supplies (beer) are all within walking distance. My flight lands in Kalispell on the 5th at 10:15am if anyone wants to share a ride.

Just wondering where most of you guys are staying this year. I'm flying solo this year so if anyone needs an extra person for their condo let me know. Already looking at some hotel options as well as a rental car.

I've had my 325's punched out two different times to make room for my narrow flat feet. No issues. Next pair of boots will be a half-size larger though...

I've been enjoying my new ride this winter. It's a 171 cm Donek Freecarve with the Secret construction.

Resurrecting this thread from last year to report some progress and tips. First, I realized that if I pressed down hard on my front heel while starting my heelside turn, the edge would grab better. It sort of feels like a running back stiff-arming a defenseman out of the way. I was doing this on the green runs, but when it got a little steeper I was subconsciously chickening out and holding back. Second, remembering something I learned (and forgot) a while ago, was to push my knee into the direction of the turn. These two minor changes resulted in heel turns being a thin line instead of washing out at the beginning and then grabbing and carving. I was trying to figure out what I was doing wrong by watching videos of me riding, but those mistakes were too subtle to notice....

Sounds good. Pm me his address so I can calculate shipping.

2015 Donek Rev 170 demo board for sale. Asking price $300, buyer to pay for shipping. The board is in great shape. The specs are as follows: Running length: 152cm Shovel sidecut: 9m Tail sidecut: 16m Shovel width: 24.3cm Waist width: 18.5cm Tail width: 22cm Thanks for looking!

TD2 Step-ins for sale with the steel receivers. Includes are 3 and 6 degree cants. Bindings are in great shape with normal wear for bindings of this age. $180, buyer pays for shipping.

Looking for a set of lightly used TD3 Step-ins. 3 and 6 degree cants if possible. Thanks, Kurt

Thanks Corey, I was hoping to find that. Not a good feeling finding out I've had the cant disks setup wrong for years. Explains some other "issues I've had...

This may be a little off-topic, but if I want to run my rear binding (TD3) with 6 degree heel lift and no canting, does that mean the tallest part of the cant plate is directly under my heel? I may have mis-understood how these are supposed to be setup and I can't seem to find any info out there regarding setup.

I'm sure this is a familiar topic. I'm having a hard time initiating heelside turns on steeper runs. I suspect the issue is fear of committing my inside edge at the beginning the turn, but am thinking it could be my body positioning on the board or how I have my bindings set-up. Binding angles are 65 degrees front, 50 degrees rear, 3 degree toe lift, 6 degree heel lift and 20 3/4" stance width centered on the board. I'm 5'10" and 155lbs. I'm going to bring my rear binding up to 60 degrees today to see if that makes any difference. Any suggestions?

Just pulled the trigger on a couple of Ikon passes for this year. If I understand correctly, we need to reserve the days we want to ride at the desired resort ahead of time. And we can start that process on November 1st. Anything else I should be aware of?