lamby
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Posts posted by lamby
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Thanks for sharing those neanderthal. Laying it over! That hand disc thingy is cool. We've been watching some tele races on TV - FIS Telemark World Cup series, which are exciting. They run gates and have to deal with some terrain and jumps. I'm not sure about the rules, but I think they get extra points if they land jumps with a tele landing (or they don't get points or time deducted from their run). The courses have uphill sections. Neat racing
www.fis-ski.com/en/other-disciplines/telemark
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1 hour ago, DMKW said:
I dislocated my left shoulder mountain biking in 1995. After completing rehab, I never gave it another thought, and had no hint of any issues on the board or any falls etc.
Flash forward to Feb 2022, and I'm at the MCC. Third day in, and I'm clearly not as fit, light, strong, flexible, or talented as I remember. But whatever. Except I got behind on a heelside carve, put my left hand down and dislocated my shoulder again. The staff at the hospital were lovely, but what an ordeal!
I completed hundreds of hours of rehab. Lost 30lbs, improved my flexibility, strength, and cardio. The shoulder specialist I saw recommended against bracing as, to use his words, they provide a false sense of security, limit motion, and reduce enjoyment. My shoulders go commando, I guess?!
Flash forward AGAIN...this time to Feb 2023. By this point, I had 10 days on the snow in the season, and was feeling great. My improved fitness made things so fun. I'd eased myself in and I thought I was out of the woods (please notice foreshadowing). Second run, first day at MCC. Snow was fast, firm, and fun. Briefest touch with left hand on heelside carve, and out goes the shoulder. I don't even remember the touch. It was unbelievable. But I laid facedown, drew left arm across my chest, pushed against snow, and got it back in, so that was lovely (aside from the mollusk-ish sound). But I haven't been on a carving board again since...just messing around w softboots. I'm in the queue to see specialist again, and expect surgery is in my future.
I'm not quite back to full strength with it, but it feels pretty good and PT is pleased with state of affairs. So I'm going to try carving again in the coming weeks. I very much appreciate the hand positioning tips above, and may construct one of the harnesses as well. I'm thinking of holding a bungee cord between my hands to keep my errant left hand in front of me. Anyway, thanks for the pointers, and happy to hear any other suggestions!
What a bummer! MCC first day - UGH! Sorry to hear that you are dealing with dislocation issues with your shoulder DMKW. I've had an abbreviated season due to my right shoulder dislocation problems (and some other health issues have contributed to limiting my time snowboarding this winter).
As mentioned earlier, I've been dealing with my right shoulder problems. The last couple of years have included a number of long time periods of rehab to strengthen and stabilize it. These help so much, but then I seem to re-injure it and am nearly back to square one.
Since re-dislocating it at the beginning or last season, and now coming back from other re-injuries of it last summer and fall (and this winter), I am not attempting to carve in the fashion that I used to. I miss railing turns, but I find I'm very vulnerable to reinjuring my shoulder when I am carving my turns. I still have my moments of carving, but they are calcualted and I'm not trying to link a bunch of turns together to the point of fatique or failure. I'm mostly slarving around. Carving at some points of turns, letting it slide out at other points in turns. I'm enjoying it, and we have had a lot of snow, so the powder riding has been great too. (Do have to watch things in pow too - can't throw right arm around as much for balance, especially up over my head - but cuff/brace I wear helps limit those).
I recently saw my doctor about my shoulder pain/dislocations/separation issues. He referred me to a surgeon (second I've seen) who ran me through an exam where he tested my range of motion and strength and such. He was perplexed, as my range of motion and stability test well. He ordered a series of 4 xrays and an MRI. Those came back and surgeon's interpretation is that he could preform surgury that would help with stability, but that my shoulder doesn't really appear that unstable to him. He said he would be afraid that a tightening might result in a condition where I found it too tight. As to the pain I am experiencing - there appears to be a tear in my labrum, but surgeon said he did not think he could do much for my pain. He is having me do physical therapy for 8 weeks and told me to go about my regular activities. I will see surgeon again, in a few weeks, for a follow up.
I'm experiencing some pain with certain moves while snowboarding (or doing other things). I use Breg Curtis cuff to limit range of motion of the arm/shoulder while snowboarding (neoprene brace makes any garment too hot, cheaply made, expensive). Cuff does help limit me from throwing my arm over my head, but seems less limiting in keeping me from throwing my arm forcefully outward at chest level (which is another pain trigger). I've broken some of the straps and the metal clasps on the cuff/brace are cheap, but it seems to be giving me some help in limiting my range of motion while snowboarding.
Good luck with your shoulder DMKW. Heal fast!
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On 3/19/2023 at 6:44 PM, Corey said:
Wow, that looks awful lamby!
It sucked Corey.
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Mistakes were made. I was riding with a partner, but we did not keep eyes on each other at all times. When I got stuck I should not have tried to roll out of it, instead, I should have tried to unbuckle immediately, because as I attempted to roll-out I sunk deeper and away from being within reach of my bindings. I should have had pack with avi gear and been wearing transmitting beacon. Live and learn (way better than the alternative
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It was a real puzzle to get out of. As I tried to get out I sunk deeper and further away from being able to reach my bindings. Like you mention PhilW, I remember some BOL threads about people coming up with handle extensions which allowed their intec handles to be up in their pants pockets. Those would be easy to reach.
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Right on Jer - I will need to not do that anymore
. Laurie and I jumped into the bowls when they opened Thursday morning. After our 4th bowl run I exited Kaitlain's bowl via 'Jerry's Neighborhood' (HA) and then crossed Broadway to surf right edge pow. All was well as slope continued to be steep enough for me to play on the side as I went down the edge of the run. Figured I had enough speed to go right and around a small clump of evergreens, but slope angle ran lower and I lost speed and stopped, tipping into the trees. These trees are the little grouping right below Africa (another coincidence!). After about five minutes I stopped for a minute to call Laurie and let her know that I was stuck and would be a while before I caught up with her. It was a good place to be in trouble, as I was within shouting distance of people passing on the run, should things not have worked out for me getting my self out.
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Thank you for all the great responses and helpful insights.
Part of what happened was that my binding bails were "pinned" in the closed position, so to speak. I lost speed on the uphill side of a small grove of young evergreens. When I came to a stop I fell over to my toe side into bottomless powder. My body fell down slope between several small trees with many branches growing out of them. Once I had fallen, my boots became wedge against the trees with the weight of my body pulling down tight. The small branches of the trees, and the tree trunks, were pinning my toe levers to the tops of my boots.
At first I thought I could roll out of it, but as I tried to do so, I sank deeper, my back arching like a scorpion as I did. I stopped, relaxed, rested, and calmed myself. Thought it though and realized I needed to get unbuckled. I could not fold at the waist to reach my bindings, but had to try to arch my back, and use my hands and arms to grab branches in an attempt to reach back toward my feet.
Reaching for the bindings I could not feel through my heavy mitt. I realized that I needed to take my mitt off, in order to feel for the bindings. I could not see them as my head was face down in the snow. I had to arch back to keep it out of the snow, and to try and reach my bindings. My knees were folded tight closed and as I tried to reach up I sank deeper and the pressure at my knees got uncomfortable - started to hurt. What a struggle, but trying not to struggle as I got folded and my back got bend the wrong way.
Once my mitts were off I realized I was still a ways away from reaching a toe bail. Tree trunks and tree branches were stopping me from reaching them. More of my body weight was also pulling down on everything and making everything pinned-down even tighter. I need to get pressure off between the wood and my toe pieces, and that was hard to do. (My back was already ****ed up) I was grabbing branches that were near my face and pulling on them to hoist myself back up to a point where I could relieve some of the pressure and jamb my hand into the space to get a grip.
I repeatedly forced my fingertips in, finally wedging them in enuf to get a grip. Pulling hard, I got the front bail open - yay!!! I stepped out and immediately my foot sank 3 or 4 feet deep, and I had forgot to undue my leash (front foot was the one I got off first). I needed to get the other binding off (and the front foot leash off before that) before I made any other moves. If I sank deeper with just one foot out I would be in an even worse pickle. I pulled the freed leg up and undid the leash, then worked on the rear binding, trying not to make too many abrupt moves - trying not to sink deeper. Getting out of the rear binding also took a long time.
Once I was free I was able to swim out, and belly-out on my board to the groomed run, to get going again. Getting free was a struggle and it has given me pause. I may never have to deal with anything like that again, but if I do, it seems like it would be nice to have an easier way to release my bindings. Not sure I will make the change.
I feel lucky. The top of my right hand is well bruised, and both of my wrists are sprained. My back is pretty tweeked, but I was just coming off of a bad time with it, so that's not any news. Anyway, that was my motivation for looking into step-ins for some of my resort riding days.
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Do you use step-in bindings? What system do you use? I've always used regular plate bindings (non-step-in). Yesterday, while enjoying some deep powder I got temporarily stuck between two trees - sort of a tree-well situation... After that struggle, I'm thinking that it might be wise to move to step-in plate bindings - for ease of quick release in such situations. I see that the F2 Intec FS is available on yyzCanuck: https://www.yyzcanuck.com/product-category/bindings/ Anyway, just wondering if people out there have any advice on what works well for them.
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I can't think of anywhere in N. America where you can demo hard boots. Prior in Whistler used to demo boards, and may still do so, but I am not aware of anywhere that hard boots can be demo'd. Phantom had some demo-days of their Slippers some seasons ago. They may still be doing demo days, but I have not seen anything advertised on their site.
I started snowboarding in 1995 using softboots. Loved it, but saw a guy riding around on a hardboot setup and it looked so fun - I wanted to give it a try. On my soft set-up, I was continually cranking down on my three-strap bindings, trying to keep my heels locked down into my boot's on toe turns. Having those straps so tight hurt my feet.
Back in the day, a local Sun Valley ski shop (Ski Tek) used to rent F2 "carving" snowboards, and i think it was The Board Bin that had some Burton hardboots available as rentals. I rented a board and hardboots. Spent a Saturday at Soldier Ski Area and I was hooked on hardboots going forward. One thing I really liked was how comfortable the hardboots were. No more sore feet from over cranking down on my strap bindings. And the control was incredible. Small moves of the foot translated into instant input tothe board edges. Wow! Hardboots got even more comfortable once I had my own and upgraded them with intuition liners and custom footbeds. The crew at Ski Tek remains my go-to shop for all things boot fitting.
I really like riding a hardboot setup, both at resorts and as a backcountry splitboard setup. I'm an old **** now, and am not hucking cliffs, but I think you will find that hardboots to be great all mountain tools. How to get a taste of them prior to kicking in bucks for a purchased pair - that's something I wish people had more options to explore.
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The mountains are a place where healing and some peace can be found.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/05/world/europe/ukraine-russia-war-carpathians-skiing.html
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Thanks DRUPI. Your products look awesome.
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1 hour ago, DRUPI said:
Hi Pow4ever
No you can't mount this on Atomic backland and Atomic Hawx Ultra.
Atomic needs this system
Are these available of purchase?
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20 minutes ago, Cthulhufish said:
Speaking of angles, anyone have advice for standing up from heel side with high stance angles? I find I keep putting uncomfortable pressure on my back knee when I do it.
It can be quite a strain to stand up heel side on flattish terrain. You may want to roll over to your toe side to stand up where the terrain is not steep. When on steep terrain it is much easier to stand up heel side.
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On 1/17/2023 at 10:48 AM, Xargo said:
I modded the boots with DGSS springs and loving the setup.
Awesome stuff Xargo! Would love to see a couple pictures of your Hawx with DGSS springs. I'm loving how light weight my Hawx are.
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I'm sure you are going to get a ton of great advice Cfish. Here are my thoughts.
Hearing how things went for you today sounds familiar to me. I often find that when I get on a new set-up, or new boots, or just go from a softer board to a more aggressive carving board, that things are not right when I get started. It can be a fight to take another run, thinking this feels wrong or even painful. It sounded like it was getting crowded on the slopes, so that can really be something to make me feel like packing it in early for the day. And, you do need to heed pains and rubs and pressure points for sure. Take care or them so that they don't get worse.
Once you are not in pain it will be easier to stick it out, and things will get better. If your first run just feels wrong, consider a minor equipment adjustment and do try to get back up for a follow-up run. I bet it will get better on that second shot. I've often found that if I can keep at it for a few more runs, things start coming around. When I was new to hardboots I often start out the first runs of the season rather discouraged, then the next run was better, then the next was better...pretty soon it all seems to come together.
It can be valuable to take the time to make on hill adjustments, or at least make some considered adjustments at home, before a return to the hill. Continue to adjust binding angles, stance width and setback, boot cuff lean.
I have had great help from my great local bootfitter. I think a professionally molded high quality liner (like Intuition) is worth the price. And I love my custom footbeds (pricey, but your feet is your foundation).
Once you get dialed in with your set up it will all work amazingly well and you will be ripping. Soon enough, you will be riding whatever angle or setup and it won't matter, as your technique will be so solid that it just won't be a big issue.
FWIW I like a stance width of around 20 inches, but sometimes ride an inch wider or narrower. (I'm 5' - 11" and 155 pounds). I ride Deeluxe 700 boots with BTS (blue springs). I found them to be relatively stiff when I made a transition from earlier Deeluxe/Raichle boots (I rode Burton hardboots back in the day). Putting the BTS spring system on the 700s softened them up just perfect for me.
Resort riding - I ride angles of around 45 rear about 55 degrees front. I ride flat, front and rear (used to ride with toe lift and heel rise, and still will, but find flat fine for me too.) On my splitboard I ride flat front and rear binding and 25 degree rear and 30 front on Phantom bindings (would run steeper angles on split, if Phantoms allowed, but I'm finding that I'm adjusting to lower angles well. I did not really notice the lower angles on my last outing (but it took some time). For my split set up, It did take me a lot of fussing around to dial it it. I was not very comfortable with things at first. Adjusting binding stance width and set-back, adjusting boot lean and dialing in springs on boots (Atomic Hawx with Phantom gold springs).
Do expect the need for some messing around, and persistence, then it will all go clickity-click, watch me rip.
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I use Deelux 700s with BTS blue springs when riding powder at the resort. I use Phantom springs on Atomic Hawx 130 boots for my splitboard setup (with gold springs installed presently).
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My brother and I each got one of these for Christmas one winter. Our neighborhood was loaded with good sledding hills, and these were very challenging and a blast. Lifting your feet just enough to allow them to just skim the snow and help you balance a little. Leaning left and right to stay upright to try to figure out how to turn them a little. We had Snurfers too, when they came out. Spoiled kids with big smiles all winter long.
We grabbed the sides of the wide wooden seat and pulled up hard to try to keep the sled stuck to your rear end when you went over terrain or jumps. These things were a hoot.
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I purchase mine new at Carvers Paradise. I also purchase replacement bails from them, installing new ones every few seasons, depending on how many days I put on them.
https://www.carversparadise.com/en_US/products/speed-cc-steel
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On 12/21/2022 at 6:44 AM, b0ardski said:
have you checked out Plum split binding? French I think.
Any idea what binding angles are achievable with the Plum split bindings?
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18 hours ago, barryj said:
This weekend we have over 40 inches of Pow predicted right here in the Tahoe Basin which means double that up on the higher slopes which means perfect conditions to see if any of this helps!
We shall see..........
Hope the storm delivers as expected barryj, but please let some of that moisture slip by the Sierras to us in central Idaho. Your modifications look promising. I'm curious to hear how they pan out. I'm messing around with tapes and such too, and today I liked how some duct tape helped keep my rear binding clear.
We got 6" overnight. It was light weight and not very sticky, so perhaps not the best test day. But the taped areas did really shed snow nicely. I've made some further modifications, and hopefully improvements to the tape job, and I've installed a spiky Dakine stomp pad, which has been sorely needed.
Bring on the storm!
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Great topic Barryj, and advice - love tape idea - will give it a shot.
It has been snowing a lot here and I've also been having trouble with ice and snow build up. I often just take mitts off and dig with finger nails, but lately I carry a small scrapper that came with some bindings I bought from Phantom. Its about business card sized. I pull mitts off on chair and use scrapper to dig out ice from screw holes and other surfaces of heels and toe rubbers on Deeluxe 700 boots. Scrapper is also useful for working on ice build up that occurs on my non-stepin bindings.
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Wife's new custom Prior. 156, 8.9 radius, 217 waist, nanofiber carbon construction.
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Good to hear from you Ladia and fingers are crossed here. Hoping you get many sunny days on the slopes and that your health continues to improve.
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We ordered a custom board from Prior in Nov of last year. It seemed to be taking a long time to get the board, so we made some inquiries. Supply chain issues, but all was still moving forward. We waited further. After waiting for a long time, we reached out to Prior again, several times. They had previously been great in responding to emails and calls. But we could not reach anyone at the factory. We tried and tried. Called again last month and the Prior representative we had been working with picked up the phone. I couldn't believe I got through. He described that they were under new ownership and apologized for the lack of communications over the last months. Board was near completion and would be shipped shortly. We received it late last month.
Powder board perfection
in All Mountain Hardbooting
Posted
Today I demoed a 153 Lib Tech Orca and I'm pretty impressed with it. My initial run was on about 3 inches of fresh snow on top of groomed surface. The board felt great underfoot and was stable at speed. It was fun to make big turns in the untracked fresh that was laying over the groom. Later in the day, as things got more chopped up, the board turned nicely in tighter turns.
The lack of a substantial tail took some getting used to, but I feel it is simply different from what I'm used to. Different, but a good different. My leg muscles are not use to the way the Orca rides, but I think it would just be a matter of time before it felt normal. Basically, it felt like some new muscles were firing, or being relied on more.
Later on, as the snow built, the Orca performed sweetly. On ungroomed runs, with about 8 inches of new snow, it felt great.
The board was good at going from powder runs onto the groomers - to get back to lifts or to just enjoy the groomers. Its not a board I would likely go to if I planned on riding groomed runs most of the day, but for a powder board that is good on groomers, I'd say this is a good design.
I've been looking to replace my old Burton Malolo 156, which is my present go-to directional all mountain powder board. I love how it rides. Different than the Orca, but also good. Malolo has a large spoony tip, early rise camber, but basically regular camber underfoot. The Malolo is about an 1 and 1/4 inches narrower at its waist than the Orca. Orca is shorter and has less swing weight at tip and tail (edging does not fully wrap the board, leaving tip and tail more vulnerable to damage, but lightening up swing weight at tip and tail).
The camber on the Orca is quite interesting with its "Banana Technology." The wavy gravy profile is very evident when you look down the board, or set it on a flat surface. It's counterintuitive, but it's a very nice ride.
Edges utilize Magne-traction. I don't really know if this technology is more gimmick than substance, but I have no complaints. I have one other board with it and its fine and not a bother to tune. I have no complaints about edge hold, but I was certainly not pressing its limits in that regard. Its a short board, so I can see how you would want every advantage to keeping good edge hold.
I like this board a lot.