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Why do you ride Alpine?


Jack M

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1 hour ago, softbootsurfer said:

130 days a year here, currently working on a total in excess of 50,000 miles on a Snowboard since 1984/5 season.., I can't stop...very seldom stop on a run, nor would I ever stop on a wave, or stop on a sidewalk...The G's one gets from turning is my greatest addiction, along with the Focus you must have to get it down...

Aren't you retired?

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On 10/5/2018 at 6:18 AM, daveo said:

I saw a group of Japanese guys at Cardrona on hardboots and they were 1 foot carving down cat tracks. I had never seen anything like it (actually, still haven't).

Funny - that's how I got into alpine. I took up snowboarding on a trip with our friends to Queenstown. They all skied, and were horrified that I wanted to board, but boarding looked like less stuff to lose in a beginner yard sale ... so boarding it was. I remember watching the Japanese guys from the lift, and saying to my friend "That's awesome. I want to do that".

He said "You'll need some different gear if you want to do that".

I said "That's cool. We can find some". The next season, there was a brand new Hot Blast in the shop window of one of the Auckland ski shops, for an absolutely obscene amount of money. So I bought it, and spent the next couple of seasons beating the snot out of myself on it. That I ever actually learned to ride was a triumph of pain tolerance and dogged determination over common sense. I didn't really even learn to carve as such until I moved to Canada, and met up with the local crew here.

As for now - there's nothing better than the days where it's bluebird skies, perfectly groomed chalk, and you and some of your best friends hooting and hollering and laying down trenches. Pretty much the most fun you can have upright.

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8 minutes ago, Jack Michaud said:

Now that is a fine woman!

She's also the reason I own my MX-5.  My VW was getting a little long in the tooth, and after not being particularly inspired by potential replacements, she said "why don't you just buy the Miata and keep the VW for a winter car?  You've wanted a sports car ever since I've known you". 

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7 hours ago, Corey said:

Close to a mountain and able to ride every day.

Yep - that's us......were 10 minutes from the lift here in NH  (and we were 10 minutes from the lift in CA!) and there is no such thing in our families vocabulary as "Too Much Snow!" 

As much as I love the hard charging carving days...I really look forward to the weekly casual riding days with my wife..... it's about being out there together!  So happy she's still a snow Bunny!

We moved from North Carolina to New England and northern NH for the winters and snow back in 1989 and I was the 1st Director of snowboarding at Bretton Woods resort.......back when snowboarders had to test for the opportunity to pay to ride on 1 run!   Fortunately the whole skier from boarder segregation shenanigans ended at Bretton Woods  that same season!! 

Even with being out in CA at Squaw the last seven years and riding over 100+ days on average I always have some great days back in NH every season.  Had a great pow day on the Moss PQ60 at NH's Waterville Valley over Xmas with my son (who started ski school at 4 years old while I was still at Bretton Woods) who is loving living the ski bums life himself!........  and I had a great couple of days tearing it up at NH's Loon Mtn. with Rob Alexander and Scott in March..... so cool to have Three Coilers on the Same chairlift!!

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Didn't know you were riding NH so much Barry. 

NH is a second home but for surfing. Started in 1997. Now all the Quebecois kooks and me surely included invades the spots. 

Never really tried snowboarding in NH. Will try this year.

My home is 3.1km from a very very small hill

My cottage is 4.5km on weekends 

Got "only" 57 time last year.

 

Looking at 100 plus "TIME" not days this year...big difference 

Edited by Poloturbo
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I'll try to be concise. 

I'd be pointing to the Argentina film segment with Peter Bauer and Jean Nirva in Board Around the World VHS as well as Scream of Consciousness VHS way back in the day. The way Peter Bauer to me spelled "eloquent."

So for years, I've tried to imitate their riding style but with 3 straps burton and softies. Finally, I was forced to use hardboots by Coach Will Garrow back in the early 2000s. Since then, I didn't look back. Now? I've switched to skiing using those same UPZ snowboard boots. I have not ride my Madd 158 since 2006. So it's been too long.

Maybe one day. 

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Fun post guys.  I was lucky enough to surf with Terry English in Santa Barbara California. Jack knows who he is. He got on Alpine in 1986. He is still one of the best in Alpine at age 65. So, following down the mountains, Mammoth and June gave me a leg up for an old guy! On a lift last year, a guy says, how do you do that? So, it's funn!!!! at 75, I am still here.

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Short answer:
I'm just not interested in much of the other snowboard board stuff.

Long answer: 
I started snowboarding when I was little (5 or 6?), my family was heavily involved with scouting, so each year we would have 2 separate trips (1 girl scout and 1 boy scout) to one of the closer mountains near us. I decided to do snowboarding, and LOVED it, but you can only do so well when you get about 2 days a year. Fast forward a few years, and my brother (10 years older than I) started working at the closest mountain as ski patrol. My love for snowboarding grew more and I finally got a used setup of my own, but being young and not able to drive, I still only had a handful of days in a good year. I did learn at that time I generally preferred easy to moderate runs, did not care for the park stuff, and lacked the drive to hike to powder. Shortly thereafter, my brother discovered hard-boot snowboarding himself as an avid outdoor person. I was fascinated with how he could turn, navigate the run, and make even the most bland of runs so much more fun, so I wanted to learn it. He let me borrow/ was able to acquire some old gear for me to try, and whenever I could I started trying to find that first perfect carve. It was a new experience for me as I never really have been into sports, but it felt like the perfect match for me as I enjoy technical trades and the attention to detail that comes with it, which this had much of.

Over the last couple years (I'm 27 now), I have steadily been able to have the time, money, and means to really dedicate more to it, resulting in some more time on the snow, current equipment, and riding with others which have propelled my skills much further. I still definitely have a ways to go, and there are some bad habits I am still breaking from a poor base of infrequent riding, but progress has increased exponentially.

Alpine snowboarding feels like a lifestyle to me, not just a hobby. I frequently spend hours browsing the forums, watching videos, and obsessing learning everything I can until the next time I am on the mountain. If only that could translate directly to applying it and being a better rider! When I change jobs and complete my education, living close to a decent mountain will absolutely be a high consideration on my list. I really do love so may things about this sport - the amazing community, the feel of the Gs and carve, its my "absolute activity" as Jack and others have described where everything just fades away, the infinite tech details one can nerd out on and tinker with (ok, its a love hate relationship there sometimes...), how smooth it feels to be in a clean carve, like you are flying down the mountain, especially on perfect groomers, the amazing winter scenery and fresh air (or lack there of at altitude?), and ofcouse, when you fall, (generally) you have not much more injury than a bruised ego and can try again!

 

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My first board was a Burton Free 6 with Burton 3 straps and "Comp" (vs freestyle) boots.  I just had too much envy when watching those rad guys from the lift at Boreal, CA.; but never any interest in pipe or tricks.  Soft bindings seemed (and still do seem because they are essentially the same today) bulky and inconvenient when compared to skiing.   Sit down, insert straps, crank your bindings every single time you get on/off the lift!?   When I changed to Nordica SBH, Burton Rat traps a pink 92' Burton Asym Air it all felt so much cleaner.  Cleaner equipment, but I was not carving cleaner !  I did like being able to cut through the crud with authority, but my style didn't change.  I really didn't have any role models to know what was possible.

With that background my progression and interest in snowboarding declined for many years.  Part of it was kids, but part of it was that there's only so much interest you can generate without new challenges in technique.

Bomber changed all that.  I bought a used set of TD1's (which i never used - sold for TD2's shortly thereafter) and found that I had so much more to learn about snowboarding.  Now every time I go I'm looking for that perfect flawless run.  Some days I get it, most I don't.  It's like searching for the zone on the basketball, volleyball or tennis courts...  'like floating a climbing route without thinking - but totally focused.  Because I can only hit the zone sometime/rarely, and I have so much more to learn...is why I ride alpine.

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On 10/11/2018 at 8:52 PM, carver said:

Fun post guys.  I was lucky enough to surf with Terry English in Santa Barbara California. Jack knows who he is. He got on Alpine in 1986. He is still one of the best in Alpine at age 65. So, following down the mountains, Mammoth and June gave me a leg up for an old guy! On a lift last year, a guy says, how do you do that? So, it's funn!!!! at 75, I am still here.

Jack would join us at June Mountain for our local annual carving event. Great guy with a mean toeside??

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22 minutes ago, CMC said:

I ride Alpine because it's fun, aggressive, allows me to vent, gets me free gear, aquire women, meet new people and relieves stress.  Once the board becomes an extension of the body, it can be placed anywhere at any time.  Precision and control.  I always labled it the fun exercise.  Get in shape while having fun.  Then you get to meet funny people like Shred Grumer and listen to one of his women bitch at him over the phone while we are slugging beers, laughing the whole time thinking about tomorrow's turns.

lol - Welcome back CMC!  One of the best carvers I've seen.  I had noticed CMC hadn't logged in since December so I thought perhaps he missed the transition from BomberOnline and dropped him a note.  Got his old username back too (formerly "Ripturns").  CMC dates back to the original BOL forum from day 1 in 1999.  Glad to have you here.

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18 hours ago, CMC said:

I ride Alpine because it's fun, aggressive, allows me to vent, gets me free gear, aquire women, meet new people and relieves stress.  Once the board becomes an extension of the body, it can be placed anywhere at any time.  Precision and control.  I always labled it the fun exercise.  Get in shape while having fun.  Then you get to meet funny people like Shred Grumer and listen to one of his women bitch at him over the phone while we are slugging beers, laughing the whole time thinking about tomorrow's turns.

Very very very good to see you, again!

Drop a line to Bill Loftus I said yo, yolo! ?

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On ‎10‎/‎18‎/‎2018 at 8:41 AM, CMC said:

I ride Alpine because it's fun, aggressive, allows me to vent, gets me free gear, aquire women, meet new people and relieves stress.  Once the board becomes an extension of the body, it can be placed anywhere at any time.  Precision and control.  I always labled it the fun exercise.  Get in shape while having fun.  Then you get to meet funny people like Shred Grumer and listen to one of his women bitch at him over the phone while we are slugging beers, laughing the whole time thinking about tomorrow's turns.

Hey Curt! Heard there's a small chance for a small race in Antrim next summer. Hope to see you there If it materializes!

As far as this thread, I am sorry I can't partake as I have not put on hardboots or ridden an alpine board for the past 25 years or so... ?‍♂️

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On 10/19/2018 at 12:08 PM, Mig said:

Hey Curt! Heard there's a small chance for a small race in Antrim next summer. Hope to see you there If it materializes!

As far as this thread, I am sorry I can't partake as I have not put on hardboots or ridden an alpine board for the past 25 years or so... ?‍♂️

as one who's hung up the plates & hardboots for the foreseeable future, i'd like to think alpine is more a state of mind than a hardware prerequisite. it's all about using those edges; how we interface with the board is secondary. 

Edited by xy9ine
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