chadx

Big Sky / Moonlight Basin We're up there almost every weekend. PM me if you plan a trip (I don't check this board as often as I'd like, so a PM is best).

Ack! Hey Joe, sorry I missed you. I hadn't logged on lately. We were up there your first day on the mountain and your last day. You had some good conditions until the wind blew in. Hope you had a good time. I grew up 100 miles due-north of Minneapolis. I haven't lived there since 1990, but my folks still do so I visit. Cheers. Chad

Carving conditions are finally shaping up after months of constant powder dumps. There haven't been very many carvers on the mountain this year. I'm up at Big Sky and Moonlight Basin every weekend. Best to mail me through Bomber as I've not been on the forum much.

Hey Shred, too bad about him blackballing you. I will, however, offer my services as a straw buyer for a small fee (negotiable, but 10% seems fair to me). Let me know, but keep it quiet. I don't want the guy to find out.

I'll be riding Big Sky and Moonlight Basin from December 22 - Jan. 03. After that, every Saturday and Sunday until season close. Anyone coming this way give me a heads up.

John, To clarify, when you say "this will be the board I learn to carve on", does that mean that you already snowboard? Or this will be your first snowboarding experience? The reason I ask is that if it's your first snowboard, I'd be more inclined to say go ahead with the speedcross (though probably the 165). It will be good to learn the basics, can carve quite well considering what it is, and will remain useful even when you add a more carver oriented board to your quiver. And, as someone mentioned, it will end up a nice back-up board on those 'lack-of-snow' days. I still have a speedcross 165 and use it for upper mountain, steeps, bumpy stuff where I don't want to bring my Doneks and Coilers (all 180+). If you already ride softies and still own such a board, then you'd probably want to hold out for a more carving oriented board. The all mountain boards like the Donek Axxess, Priors, and Coilers are hard to beat and do come up in the want ads fairly often. You'll probably end up with more than one board anyway, so why not grab a speedcross to get you into or through the season then grab another board at the end of the season when they tend to be cheaper. You can get a deal, still get a few runs in on it this season, then have it ready for next season. I tend to by my boards near the end of the season because you can find almost new boards with a few days on them for quite a discount. That way you can afford more board than you would have otherwise.

Hey D, If you mean 'couple' as in man and woman, it was probably Robert and Lynn. He is usually on an oxygen or coiler. I can't remember what lynn rides. I haven't been up yet this year, but last year she wore a two-tone green jacket with long hair out the back of her helmet. Robert usually wears a fullface helmet. Good chance it was them. Sorry I missed your trip down here. I hadn't been on Bomber for a while, but just getting out the gear now so popped back on. Shoot me a PM next time you are down this way. I'll post something in the Regional section. I'll be up in Bigsky/Moonlight for the weeks of Chrismas and New Years and then every Saturday and Sunday until closing. Chad

Heh, can you believe that you wrote this? I mean, taken out of context it could leave a guy wondering. You might do more runs, but it's because you have to. You see, my runs just last way longer. ...and what do you mean out of context. I don't get it. (just kidding)

Yes, I guess it is a slippery slope. If a person started bringing with every possible thing you might need, one's pack could get full, and heavy, in a hurry. But if a person is in and out of their bindings 100 times a day and they are concerned about wear, they might feel it's worth having it with. Or having it in the locker or lunch bag to dab on, a second time, at lunch time. I guess I never thought of a little 1oz container, tossed in the back pack, as "not practical". :D

For a better response, you should, at a minimum, post the model and length of the boards. People tend to not want to have to dig around or email just to get the basic info. Also, posting pics, years, specs, prices, your location and if shipping is an option would be a good idea. Post all of it up front and you'll get a much better response rather than people just passing over your ad.

I second (or third, or fourth. Whatever it takes) the use of Bomber Butter or similar lube. Makes a huge difference even if only done once a day. Sounds like your shorter elevation drop has you doing a lot more in and out that I do, but it should still make a difference. Maybe even give it a second dab at lunch break. No need to overload them. Just a thin layer does it. One thought on replacing the heel block if they get that worn... Since your front foot isn't in and out, that foot's heel block should get little to no wear (I general only come out of my front binding twice a day. Once at lunch and once at the end of the day). If your rear binding's block wears out, swap the bindings around. Or make a concious effort to swap them everytime you have the bindings off of your board. Everytime you go to put the bindings back on, just look at them and put the one with the least wear on the rear of the board to help even out the wear.

Nice, John! So just out of curiosity, how does that Wausau Black diamond compare with the runs at Big Sky? By the way, I got out the new Coiler last weekend and met Brad (in from Iowa) and Robert (local) and we had a blast. After soaking up a few pointers and getting used to the new board, I had some break through moments the next day and railed harder than I ever have in my life. Heading back up this weekend to see if I can continue to feel the love. You should come back again next year...or this year for that matter!

tex, How much clearance do you have between your vehicles roof rack and the top of your garage door? Just trying to get an idea. There are some fairly flat roof boxes around, but if you are talking only a matter of 5 or 6 inches clearance currently, then that might even rule out those.

Yep, over 5,500 acreas combined area. 85 miles of named runs just on the Big Sky Side. We've had 90 inches of snow in February, so the 'snow draught' of December and early January is gone. ...but closing date is April 15.

Brad, I can't comment on the Poma lift. I've never used that, or any, poma lift before. Once you are at the top, you'd be good to go, but as for the lift path itself, I can't comment. Yes, the locker rooms are in the building labeled Village Center and the tall lockers for rent are your best bet. The outside storage I mention is a 10' by 20' exposed-to-the-elements cage that sits outside right by the main lift area. Many people leave their skis locked in there overnight so they don't have to carry them around. In the morning, just walk up to the cage and the attendant hands you your skis. I've never really paid attention to see if they have slots for boards, too. El Dorado is, indeed, a place to showboat. I'm not quite good enough to get much attention, but when I've been running with a particular husband and wife team, all I hear is "Dude! Check that out" or "Hey, can you do that again so my buddy can see!". Pretty fun to ride up the lift and look down at their 4 inch deep (or more) trenches.

Do I miss chicago? Nah, not really. 3 years there was plenty. We lived right downtown, which made it more convenient since we never had to bother with driving in the madness. I walked two blocks to work. Having grown up (18 years) in Minnesota then another 11 in the St. Louis, MO metro area, I knew the city thing was only going to be a few year thing. Fun while it lasted, but don't really miss anything about it except the friends. Luckily, our core friends have also always come to big sky and one couple decided to come out and spend the entire ski season out here. The Bighorn condos are nice. Most of them have a one car garage, too. We have friends with one of them. If you don't already have a map of the village center area, check out this link http://www.bigskyresort.com/aboutbs/bs_ch_abs_map_mou.asp Once there, you can open up a full size map that prints out pretty nice. I'm not sure if any of the local boarders (the few there are) use a specific channel. We usually just spot each other. Robert and Lynn are out most every weekend and mainly run Andesite mountain (Robert, if you are reading this, look for us Sunday). Andesite is has the best runs for carving, I think. Lone Mountain has fun runs, too, but often not quite as wide for the entire length of the runs. Still plenty of fun runs there, too. I've not rented the tall lockers in the locker room, but I think they will fit several boards and boots. In the 6 years we were coming out here on vacations, we sometimes rented the little box lockers just for our boots and would carry our boards/skis back and forth. Now our condo is so close we just walk. Those lockers are a good bet. Also, they also have the outdoor slopeside storage for skis and, I think, boards. It means your sticks sit outside, but still a pretty convenient option. As for good runs, as mentioned, many are on Andesite. From the village, that is Ramcharger lift that gets you up there. Then, depending on which runs you use, you'll use the Southern Comfort lift, Thunderwolf lift, or Ramchargerlift. My favorite runs over there are El Dorado (a wide consistant green that boards nicely), Elk Park Ridge (a long blue that offers plenty of places to drop off the side if you want some bumps), and then the south side blue runs of Ambush, Tippy's Tumber, and Silver Knife. All with nice pitch, fairly wide, and consistant. On Lone Mountain, you'll mainly use the Swifty lift. I like Calamity Jane and a few others. If you venture over to Moonlight Basin, I like Elkhorn, Meriwether and Lookout. If there is one day that you end up just wanting to run for only an afternoon, I suggest Moonlight. I think there afternoon half day passes are $35 and you can explore everything over there in about a half day pretty easily. It's a 5 minute drive from the Big Horn condos and I think they also have shuttles if you don't want to drive. You can also traverse back and forth pretty easy if you have tickets for both places. If not, and you shuttle over, you can traverse back over to Big Sky, from Moonlight, without having to ride any Big Sky lifts.

Hey John, It was nice to meet you. Glad you had a good week and the groomers settled down after all the powder chop we pounded through on Monday. I checked out the vid. Good stuff. It's still snowing like crazy in Big Sky. Hard to get any good groomers with all the snowfall. Plenty of coverage, finally, with little to no fear of rocks so I took out the Coiler for the first time yesterday. Quite the different animal than my Axis. Snow conditions were bad (skied off powder turned to chop) but I just had to try it. I'm hoping for some better groomer days in the near future. Let me know if you ever head back this way so we can ride again.

Hi Brad, I'll make sure I'm around. Sunday will be the best bet for some of the other local carvers to be out on the mountain. I'll probably try and do Sunday and Monday. For deals, I have coupons where a person gets a full day for a half day price if they are with someone with a season pass or a frequency card. Saves $10. If you have a Costco membership, you can get 3-day Big Sky and 2-day Moonlight Basin tickets on the cheap. Just search the Costco.com website for Big sky lift tickets or Moonlight lift tickets. Believe the snow reports. The lack of snow is finally over. Besides a wind storm that blew off some of the steaps a week ago (they are now well covered again) it has been snowing anywhere from 2 - 10 inches a day for the last couple weeks. It's actually snowing so hard today, we are heading back down the mountain rather than going out (low/no visibility). See you next week.

Yep, it's around 9m sidecut. It is a boardercross board after all so one would expect it to be a relatively 'turny' board. Definitely not a 16+. Those specs I posted were off the F2 website a number of couple years so I would assume they are accurate. I copied the page when I bought my speedcross.

This year, I've used the Level Super Pipe Pro gloves about 20 days. Let's just say the Biomex wrist protection has proven itself to me. It is a hard concept to get used to. I used to wear rigid protection that support the wrist front and back. When one looks at the Level Biomex support system, it seems small and too flexable. But, per others, I went for it and couldn't be happier. They are way more comfortable than the rigid guards I've used in the past but still really help guard against injury. I've not tried the other level gloves or mitts, but the super pipe pro is made with Gortex XCR for waterproofing. They also have the Outlast insulation (that heat store/transfer stuff) which I had in my last gloves and will never buy any other kind. Enough talk. I'm headed up the mountain for a few days! 9 new inches in the last couple days. aaaaaand I'm gone.

Hey John, I'm packing to head up the mountain right now. Last week, there were a few places that were skied off, but they've received about 8 inches in the last few days and it's still snowing, so coverage should be pretty good. Are you doing a half day Sunday? At Big Sky or Moonlight? I know you are pumped about your ATV, but you might want to hold off the first day to scope things out on the Axis. I'm sure coverage will be good after this snow, but better safe than sorry. I'll be on the mountain first thing tommorrow, so if you want to meet up Sunday rather than waiting until Monday, just give me a call. I gave you my cell number. Otherwise we'll get together Monday morning. I'll be on my Axis 182 this weekend with a silver topsheet. Burnt orange jacket, black pants and helmet. Camelback is either orange or blue depending on the day. I also printed you some coupons. You have to go to the ticket office with someone with a season pass (like me) or a frequency card, but if so, they give you the full day Big Sky ticket for the half day rate of $59. You might have other arrangements already, but I'll have them with just in case. I'm leaving in about 30 minutes to head up and will have limited email access while up there. See you this weekend.

Uh, actually the 323 was renamed the 325 the year they upgraded the 328 to a 330. My wifes 2000 323 has a 2.5liter. They just rebadged it (aside from the usual yearly improvements) with a 325 label a couple years later. Same 2.5liter engine with same horsepower rating. Not sure what you mean by "but you could tune 323 a bit electronically to make it almost same as 325". As mentioned, the 2000 323 had a 2.5liter. Yes, that was the point of my fist post. Well, kind of. The complete thought being most BMW models ARE based on the engines liter size. But there were a few exceptions (including the current model 3 series). That was the point of my first post. I totally agree with you about the horespower ratings being more for the "bench racers" than true drivers. There is so much more to getting around a race track, driving on the street, or even straight-line acceleration, than horsepower. The driver, of course, being the main difference, but all other aspects of the car as well. I always got a kick out of the quarter mile times in magazines. First, very VERY few of us could ever match those numbers because we don't have the skill and/or are unwilling to beat our cars that bad (think smoked tires and burnt clutches) while trying for the 'best time'. Also, engine horsepower can be offset by the efficiency (or ineffeciency) of the rest of the drivetrain. I always liked how Car and Driver and Road and Track were so tickled that a 3 series with x horsepower could run quicker than other cars with more horsepower and the same curb weight.

Yep, they haven't release a 335xi yet (if they will). But since the 328 (with it's 3.0liter engine) is running competative horse to the old 330, it's a none issue. Actually, all the engines on the current 3 series are the same size. They are all 3.0 liter. They just have different horsepower ratings. Don't let the 328 and 335 fool you. Yes, BMW has traditionally tried to have the engines liter size in the name, but not always. The 2000 323 actually had 2.5liters, but they didn't want to name it 325 because the 'big' 6 was currently a 2.8 liter in the 328 and they thought customers would think the size too close. As soon as they pumped the big six up to a 3.0liter and rebadged it the 330, then they magically renamed the 323 the 325, but it was a 2.5 liter all along. They've played that name game several times in the past and the new 3 series is no different. All are 3.0 liter, just running different horespower. Not unlike the way outboard two-stroke boat motors used to do it. The only difference between a 90, 110, and 130 horse Mercury was a different set of carbs. Everything else was identical. Fun with names by the slippery marketing people!

Here are three how-to articles. Perform this at your own risk. If you wreck the liner, your are out the money. A bootfitter is probably the best choice. That being said, I, and many others, have molded our own liners with complete success. Enjoy the reads... http://www.alpinecarving.com/bootfitting.html#heat http://www.yyzcanuck.com/E_tech_cooking.htm http://www.moldableliners.com/Pages/molding_liners.cfm

First, I have to mention that the superfeet footbeds go INSIDE the thermoflex liners, not under them (between the liner and shell). They do nothing in that position but take up room in a weird way. As for sizing, I've mentioned in this in several other threads, but my feet both measured 27.5cm so I bought the mondo 27 Suzuka. When I did the shell test (foot in shell without liner), it showed the shell a bit too big, but I molded them anyway. I had the heal lift you mention and also shin bang. I wore them for 4 days and ended up ordering the Suzuka mondo 26. I molded them and they fit perfect so had to sell the mondo 27 and take quite a loss, but it was well worth it. My mondo 26 fit so well, I don't loosen the straps from the time I put them on in the morning to the time I take them off at the end of the day. I don't even loosen them during lunch they fit so well. So basically my 27.5cm feet needed a mondo 26. The finger/shell test is a good start, but everyones fingers are different. Most places have a wood dowel that they use. It looks like it's about 1.75 to 2.0 cm diameter. If you have more space than that between your heal and the back of the shell, it's probably too big, even with moldable liners. I molded them myself and followed all the published tips and tricks in the various carving websites. Read the detailed articles. They describe the shell test and how to mold properly (attach footbed to bottom of bare foot, cottom between toes, old thick sock to cap toes, thin sock over that, heat liner, put over foot, cover with pantyhose to protect it as you shove it in the boot, buckle boot lightly not tightly, stand with tow on 2x4 or phonebook for 15 minutes, and Bam! perfect fit). The key is starting with the correct size boot.