SunSurfer Posted March 19, 2015 Report Share Posted March 19, 2015 Post when you're riding! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SunSurfer Posted April 25, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 25, 2016 (edited) Will be riding Central Otago fields from Sunday 14th August to Saturday August 27th 2016. Thursday 18th to Saturday 20th are set aside for other activities, but otherwise I plan to ride Cardrona, TC and Remarkables. I've found Coronet to be crowded and slushy the last few years when I've been down at this time of year so have no plans to ride there. Will be driving down and bringing the full 11 board quiver down with me, and my collection of isocline plates. Planning to spend some time on them all as well as doing some experimentation with isocline plate axle distances and stance distance. Nigel C is often down in Central at this time of year. We've ridden together before. Happy to meet up with other riders and maybe loan some of the boards. Will have TD3 Intec (Burton & 4x4 discs), F2 Race Intec, & SnowPro Race bail bindings with me, If you're going to be around contact me via the Bomber e-mail system so we can share contact details and arrange to meet up. L-R: Coiler NSR 180, Riot Supercarve 180, Coiler AM 177, Burton Factory Prime 173, Pale Spook 170, Rad-Air Pinkerman Extreme 169, Skwal USA 167, Oxygen Proton GS 164, Kessler slalom 162, Hot Blast 160, Burton PJ 163 asym (reg) Edited April 25, 2016 by SunSurfer 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nigelc Posted May 12, 2016 Report Share Posted May 12, 2016 I will be there the week before. I have a curtailed visit south this year as its my wife's 50th birthday and I also have some jobs to do on a yacht in Fiji and bringing it home. I do have a season pass for coronet and a life pass for Ruapehu so I will be trying to fit in as much as I can around all the other stuff. Maybe my legs will work this year?.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SunSurfer Posted March 31, 2018 Author Report Share Posted March 31, 2018 Just booked accommodation for some time @ Cardrona for August 8th to 23rd 2018. Planning to bring a range of boards (?6) and plates (UPM & 4x4 insert patterns). Staying in Wanaka. PM me if you want to catch up at some stage during the period. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SunSurfer Posted August 15, 2018 Author Report Share Posted August 15, 2018 Rode a 4 seat chair today at Cardrona with 4 carvers on board, Nigel C, Bryan Fox, and a young woman that we'd just found on an F2 board wearing ski boots. She knows about this forum now! Have spent much of the day riding with Bryan, and Nigel when he sneaked away from his group. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SunSurfer Posted January 26, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2020 Booked for Central Otago for 3 weeks from 8th August 2020. With a Saver season pass for Cardrona I'm looking at extending it to cover TC, now that Cardrona owns TC. If you're riding in Central Otago during that time and you'd like some carving company, PM me here on ASB. Alan McK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SunSurfer Posted March 25, 2020 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2020 Likely this season will not happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SunSurfer Posted August 9, 2020 Author Report Share Posted August 9, 2020 First day, a Sunday so crowded with Kiwis. Weather is too warm and has been for the last 10 days so that July's record snowfall/base has been rained on and thaw/freeze cycled. First 2 hours were the best, and been practicing my hardpack/ice technique on the Kessler slalom board for the remainder of the day. August has reliably been our coldest month, but not so far this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SunSurfer Posted August 10, 2020 Author Report Share Posted August 10, 2020 (edited) Day 2. No new snow but cool enough that the scuffed off sugar didn't melt too badly. Rode a few laps with Perry, a carver I've not met before. Perry on a 3 yr old F2 Speedster, but old Burton bindings and old Raichle boots. I told him about ASB cause he'd not even heard of the Bomberonline. Hopefully Perry will check this place out. Reminder to self. 1/ Feel the board through the soles of the feet. 2/ Lean on the edge with BOTH feet. Left hand turn, left side of feet. Right hand turn, right side of feet. 3/ Look where I want to go. 4/ Setting up the front boot with almost as much forward flex as the rear helps bump absorption in chopped up snow. 5/ In a carve the board turns you. Be time for snow dancing soon if the weather doesn't play ball. Edited August 11, 2020 by SunSurfer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lurch Posted August 12, 2020 Report Share Posted August 12, 2020 (edited) @SunSurfer; +100 days in, you go rogue, take your eye off the ball for a quick jaunt to the snow and BAM the 'Rona returns. What were you thinking man?!! Edited August 12, 2020 by Lurch Covid never sleeps.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SunSurfer Posted August 12, 2020 Author Report Share Posted August 12, 2020 Yeah, Cardies closed today for transition to Level 2 business. Next few days will hopefully bring answers as to how it sneaked in past the border. Should be carving hard pack cord tomorrow though, with a little luck maybe even a little fresh snow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SunSurfer Posted August 22, 2020 Author Report Share Posted August 22, 2020 This is a warm and strange NZ winter. It's late August as I write this. This should be the coldest month of the year and the mountain I'm riding would be getting frequent top ups of fresh snow. Just 10cm cumulative snowfall since the beginning of the month, warm temperatures, thaw/refreeze cycles, hardpack technique practice before 10am, slush technique practice after. Today I saw a guy sitting by the base lodge in a t-shirt and shorts. Make the most of any hero snow you get to ride. The times, they are a changin'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SunSurfer Posted September 4, 2020 Author Report Share Posted September 4, 2020 https://niwa.co.nz/news/winter-2020-–-nzs-warmest-winter-on-record This was our warmest winter since records began. NIWA is New Zealand's National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SunSurfer Posted August 9, 2021 Author Report Share Posted August 9, 2021 (edited) 2021: End of my first week down here, 3 more to go. All days at Cardrona so far. Annual leave allowances much more generous in NZ than in USA, and a range of issues have prevented me taking an actual extended holiday since I was down here a year ago. Have skis and 5 boards, plus my wife with me as we mark our 40th wedding anniversary. The original honeymoon involved lots of skiing! She no longer skis (long story) so every so often this trip I take a day off for vineyard visits, good food etc. All gear has been ridden so far, including the new Thirst Superconductor. I'm wearing the Thirst rider's manic grin! Weather is suitably cold for August so far, after our warmest July on record. Snow base is about 2/3 normal. Mixture of days, a blue sky day with massive crowds at one extreme, and today -7C, windy and snow/ low cloud through till just before lunch with few people around. This year's changes. Boot toe work and technique changes have meant my UPZs are very comfy and get left buckled through the whole day. Bindings have gone to 65/65 to prevent any boot out on the Thirst, but this has also helped me really ride with a + stance both toe and heel side. The same angles are also helping me to carve later day bumpy snow without a plate by allowing my knees to shock absorb while having minimal effect on edge angle. In addition, bending my knees in the turns lowers my centre of mass, improves my shock absorption, and helps me recover when ice is unexpectedly encountered. Riding centred between the bindings in the bumps helps my fore/aft balance and makes my rear heel much less likely to lift in the boot when a bump impact is not fully anticipated. Run into the local Donek rep a couple of times, he lives in Central Otago, and has a few boards available to demo. He tells me Sean has got the USA to NZ freight costs down to almost unbelievable levels, comparable almost to moving a board inside NZ. Seen just 2 other hardbooters in the distance over the week but our lift queues haven't coincided. 7 days, just under 40,000m vertical total, biggest day just under 9,000m. Favourite moments so far, a "nice turns" conversation opener on the chair from one of Cardrona's senior instructors, and getting to repeatedly carve Sluicebox (150m stretch of steep, limited width, but carveable terrain) today with few interruptions given the low traffic levels. Friends and family arrive during the next week, one mate is keen to use his GoPro, so hopefully some video to cool your summers soon. Edited August 9, 2021 by SunSurfer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SunSurfer Posted July 23, 2022 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2022 Hitting Central Otago for much of August 2022. Always on the lookout for other hardbooters. Will be mostly Cardrona but will have some days at Remarks, CP & TC. One week to go! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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