Dusty Bottle

Imagine walking in to a dentist's office in Houston, Tx and seeing this as a screen saver in the tech room. No one had a clue where the photo was taken... even after I dropped the "East Wall" clue. They really are uninformed here. Sure do miss AB! js

Good times indeed! Sure miss making weekly turns with the group. Dropping in occasionally for a bit of vicarious riding and making sure everyone is keeping the drape apes off Mario's lawn ain't cuttin' it. Boards are waiting impatiently in the vault and hopefully things will work out differently this season. If this move to flatlandia has taught me anything, it's this. Never bitch about the conditions or the commute - just ride, enjoy and make turns as often as you can, as long as you can. It's that simple! Hope to see you hooligans soon! James and Lil H

So good to ride with hooligans again! Best time Hailey and I can remember, since last year! The weather Sat and the powder coating Sun made for an exemplary trip! Slopestar, Katie and sweet dogs were wonderful hosts! We reminisced, most of the trip back to the land of flatness and humidity! It's a long road, but well worth the effort to spend quality time with amazing friends! Oh yeah, the Contra didn't suck! until next time..... James & Lil' Miss Hailey

Further jacked up my shoulder today, so sidelined from everything for awhile, probably should get it fixed... have fun!

Is this a private party or can anyone join? Details?

Experiencing LCI shenanigan withdrawal, so anything beyond the menial tasks of domesticity, would be a pleasant change. Even a Sat or Sun bicycle meetup might suffice. One more episode of HGTV and I'm gonna start fix and flip'n old Burton asyms! Everyone take care and stay well!

Tired of domestic projects, so....... okay, I'll play... I too, have been thinking I have enough excellent high speed carving blades, so thoughts have turned to a SB carving tool to upgrade from the somewhat soft 163 Donek Twin (bunny hill ripper). I spoke with the Never Summer rep in December at one of the swaps, whose familiar with the LCI and highly recommended I demo the Swift 162, claiming it to be THE powder-to-chum-to-groom quiver killer. The following weekend, I demo'd a 157 at Lovey and check back throughout the day, but the 162 never come back in. Initial impression of the 157 on the catwalk was anything but stellar. The funky camber made it hunt around like an old pickup truck, with a worn out front end, but was pleasantly surprising on the run. When tipped up, it struck lines and ripped some impressive low-mid sized turns. As speed increased however, it got busy and the short tail pushed out noticeably, which made we wonder if the increased length of the 162 (only 5cm?) might be more stable and hold a better line at speed. The demo tent guys suggested in absence of the 162 Swift, I try the 162 East, but it had an odd flex pattern and we didn't get along. Between teaching 3 grandkids (and their friends) to snowboard, busy life in general and now the resort season shutdown, I couldn't catch up to the NS demo crew, so just wondering your impressions... Everyone says get a D.O., but they forget I'm a 160# senior finesse carver and like boards built for my weight. Maybe a short D.O. vs Swift shootout, since you own both? Ball's in your court and I'm bored...

Had to make a no-show decision last night, due to lower back issue. Hoping to rejoin the antics next week!

Awoke with a head cold on Friday and finally pulled out of it last night, so no Sunday Lovey visit here. Colt and the fam however went up yesterday, but even with 2' of fresh pow and waist deep stashes, he said the bumped-up traffic and insane amount of people everywhere on the mountain ruined the vibe. Not a lot of pending fresh in the forecast this week, so Tues-Fri midweek visits should be offer some nice, albeit soft groom. Hope you hooligans in Montucky are rippin' it up! later James

Proper speed and staying low to the board are huge factors. Don't complicate trying to carve, with too much speed and staying upright. Work at slower speeds and if you low-side, no worries, just work on holding the edge at a comfortable speed, while staying low. Too many try at the onset to carve at mach speeds, on steep slopes, riding semi-upright and unless they are already comfortable carving, they will skid the turns and not complete them smoothly. I found, I was always trying to go too fast and keep up with the bigger (younger) kids and found I had to slow down and not be so aggressive. Hope this helps!

Unsure about next week... Early Sunday was fun riding with DT, Ink and Shelly and even with the cool Lovey breeze, conditions were pretty good. Later it got crowded, so I joined Hailey and Trevor down at the Valley for lessons and Hailey wanted to make a couple runs off lift 3. On the trail at the bottom of Switchback, I managed (with help) to ride off the edge at speed, yard darted headfirst into the powder, forward flipped in the air and somehow managed to slam myself back onto the trail. Hailey gave me a 10 for airtime (actually heard her scream, while in midair) and -1 for swearing. Both ankles hyper-extended, lots of soreness and bruises, nothing broken, but I just don't bounce as well anymore. Hoping to heal by Sunday, as it sounds like a great pending group! later James (Advil Spokesperson)

Simply Magnificent Sunday! I could leave it at that and say, if you weren't there ya missed out, but being a somewhat semi-ethical character and in accordance with Big Mario's weekly banter, I'll elaborate: LCI turnout was somewhat lackluster, nonetheless well-represented for breakfast at the Wedge by Hailey, Dylan, myself and joined later by Shelly. Bluebird skies, light breeze and early day snow conditions, nearly as perfect as I can remember. Traffic and crowd reports will be omitted however, as they're boring..... on to the fun stuff! First run groom was firm and fast and softened only a mere fraction by midday. Spillway was oddly undulated, Roulette got scrapped off early and Fire Cut was a mogul minefield. Lower Richards looked interesting, but I opted to stay with the g-kids. As it should be, my first hardboot outing this season was amazing, as I unveiled a new ride. Schooling me on good habits vs bad, I toyed with differing speeds and turn sizes, realizing Bruce may have something with this Contra theory. I'm not sure if I love it or really love it, but between the melded smaller overall radius (than my usual rides) and the always uber-grippy Coiler feel, it provided a perma-grin and sunburned teeth. Had so much fun, an I-70 roadside snow dance was required! Mario, in the absence of your trenches, it was downright boring to watch groups of novice pizza wedgers and gapers mindlessly skimming and sliding across your lawn, clueless of the bone-jarring slam and ensuing gut-wrenching pain they were avoiding. But on a constructive note, I overheard a conversation between a couple of park monkeys and apparently you didn't butter your bread well enough before your ollie... or something like that! Heal up big guy, we miss you! later James

Hard or soft boots? Idea of waist width? Carving, freestyle or all mountain oriented?

I'm no expert, but I re-read your original post and like me, you may be overcompensating in other areas, when maybe all you're trying to accomplish is to keep your heels down. I have very small ankles and high insteps, so I had the same issue, before remembering the ankle inserts that came with my Driver X softies. They're "V shaped and pretty thick, so I experimented with differing thicknesses of the same type material and some Velcro on the outside of my liners and now my heel feels very solid. I no longer tighten my boots to the point of cutting off circulation. I'm no orthopedic specialist, but I do understand spending money on what works for someone else, may not fix your particular problem. Good luck and I hope my experience helps!

Yikes Mario, we do not like hearing such reports! I thought Hailey was going to cry when I told her. Take care and give us an update when you're feeling better, so we can breath again. Heal quickly sir, and as Lance said, if you need anything whatsoever, let us know! On Sunday, our group of 6 had a great day, highlighted by good traffic, sunny skies, great snow and warm temps. Hailey took Colt and Lori to the Basin right away, acting like a tour guide. I stayed down at the Valley with the boys, but after a couple hours, the teens were ready so we short bused it, for a few green laps off lift 1. I was amazed at their progress and after checking in with them today, they are officially hooked, so they'll probably be Sunday regulars. They liked watching me rip little turns on the Twin and both want to learn to carve. We left the Rat about 2:00. As for tomorrow, it was only going to be Hailey and I, but neither of us are feeling very well, so we're resting until later this week. Hailey just said, if Big Mario isn't going to be there, it would make her sad anyway. Take care everyone, Merry Christmas, and Happy Holidays to all! James