Rob Stevens

PMS' rental fleet should have a pow board or two... get them to set you up. Don't let Lundgren find out Achy's giving you free rides!

Big Kanuk... Is that you, Kurt? Well anyway, leave the alpine rig at home and go fat and long for this one. Have you seen the snow report? When you go to a buffet, you don't want to fill up on bread... Go for the meat!

noboard.

Wanna sell your Burton Race plates?

This lame Bleakberry of mine may be able to benefit from this technology. I can't afford the dropped calls as a Realtor...

Look at weight lifters on the squat rack... Knees apart for full range of motion. Strength can play a big role in a riders preference for riding knees together / apart. If you are strong, you can take advantage of having your knees apart as you can resist the G's through muscular contraction. If your legs aren't as developed, you may default to knees together as the "tripod" will lock out your flexion at a certain point. The problem with this is that unless you have good technique and can stay "stacked", the downward force has to go somewhere and riders with an undeveloped sense of stance and balance can wind up bending at the waist. As to the cant and lift (not rise) question, I ride flat front and rear. My knees, however, are straight and solid, so I have no pysiological need for cant or lift, nor do I have any pain associated from doing this. I also find that any inward disposition of the binders can result in the setup putting your knees together. When I move my knees from center, I want to have an immediate reaction from the board. If my knees are made to be closer together through cant or lift, I find that the same amount of movement that I would use uncanted, can put me in a compromised position (knees too far in and too close together for my liking). I do like a good riser now and again, though (if it's icy). When I was covering the World Cup for CBC, I met a few racers who rode flat for the same reasons and I found it interesting that the EC guys run this setup, too. Maybe Nils can ask them why they do it like they do. I saw a comment from Jack regarding the tension they must run their bails at (presumably to allow side side movement of the boots?). For the same reasons I use no cant or lift, I keep my bail tensions at the reccommended pressure. The warning I'll give to all of the above is that I'm primarily a softboot freerider, so I like flat bindings with wide knees. As a CASI 4, however (I hate bringing that up... I always feel like such a poseur) I have had to retain a fairly high proficiency in hardboots.

These two would pick up sledding in powder really fast. Weight the inside foot and countersteer. This is something alot of skiers turned snowmobilers have trouble with as they try to weight the outside foot in a turn.

JJ... How's the Der, Bro? Anyway, I look at your pictures and can see that you look like you're TRYING to hold your knees together. Instead of TRYING to make your knees separate, why don't you just relax your adductors (the inside of your thighs) and see what happens? Where do your knees NATURALLY want to sit in relation to one another? If you're not knock-kneed genetically, they'll probably want to have at least a fist width betwen them. This will add more control on uneven and icy surfaces. A more active style of making your knees go in varying directions can come later... In the meantime, see what basic RELAXATION of the adductors can do for you.

We chopped them up for firewood, one cold, drunken night when it hadn't snowed in weeks.

What're you trying to do? Scare the guy? Of course a rider will probably wipe out a few times trying this, or anything new. There's alot of reaction coming from down-unweighted turn starts and it's likely to catch you off guard before you get your timing straight. This is snowboarding, not golf. If you want to get better in a shorter period of time, you've got to sack up and try things outside the comfort (not safety) zone... even if you might fall.

I see you come from New Hampshire, so I don't know if your trails are wide enough for this, but if you can find the right spot that lets you go across the fall-line for aways, this one is good: -Pick an edge and traverse with some speed. -PUSH your board into the snow with both feet. The front one just a split-second before the back. -When the board bends and loads up you can either let it come back to you by relaxing your legs (easier), or PULL it back with a bit of force (harder) with the same front foot-back foot action. -As you're traversing, get some rythm going "pushing and pulling". Stay on edge as you push and when the board comes up to you let it go towards flat base for a moment. Don't bother trying to change edges, it messes up the feeling you're trying to get. *Go ACROSS the hill for as long as you can. Think of a surfer pumping down the line... One edge the whole way with quick moments of flat running, until the slash! *You do get one fall line turn (slash!) at the end of each traverse, so time it to get a cross under turn (slash!). The idea here is to feel the top of the turn transition to flat base (the part where the cross under is happening), over and over. The rest of the turn will come naturally as your legs extend to the apex... They'll naturally straighten if you get the moment right because of the pop from the board, bending and springing to the side. Work it where you can until you can do it at will. Just watch out for the riding-right-in-front-of-people-monopolizing-the-whole-hill part. I'd send a vid, but I keep falling on the camera.

Roman and Gtanner; 403 609 1365 in Canmore. Allee; In 97 I was hosting that show and running the Unlimited school at Norquay... Good times.

That was a funny choice by the FIS. The goal of making things more "interesting" by putting riders head-to-head created courses that had to be pretty equal in both lanes. This resulted in very boring terrain with no natural variances being used. The last alpine event I was a part of and was truly interested in, was the last single GS at the World Champs in Italy (a few years back). This course had some great rolling, banked terrain and bigger turns that showed good speed and the beauty of carving. It was like a higher speed Baker Banked Slalom. The "Olympic" format is a bit to robotically left and right for me. I sure would like to see the FIS go back. If courses were a bit more thought out from the point of view of showcasing the alpine riders ability to turn, using varied terrain to highlight this, we wouldn't look weak when seen on TV, compared to ski racing. Phils last comment is the kicker though... It doesn't seem to really matter how you dress up alpine, it still draws poor ratings, unless it's the Olympics.

These race shots are just moments in time and it's really hard to tell how the riders turns flow from one to the next, but for sure, riding in an aligned position, with lower body "steering" doing the job would be the perfect scenario. This doesn't seem to reflect the reality of these shots, though. Riding with your shoulders square to the nose apparently cannot be painted with the same brush as a bad thing. I see just about all the alpine riders in these pics and at events doing just that, but on their toeside... Really reaching up and forward with the back hand, creating a perpendicular board / shoulders position and allowing the riders upper body to be parallel with the slope. This then seems to counter-rotate back to an aligned position on the heelside (the harder turn, but more from angulation concerns vs. rotational alignment). Counter-rotating through certain radius turns looks to be pretty effective at creating a minimum of movement as you're already set up for the next turn just through and out of the apex of the last. I guess it all depends on the course. If it's mellow, your body position may never be challenged. If the conditions are steeper and / or icy, you might do whatever you have to with your alignment to keep the slab on line. This then leaves only those with the greatest amount of core strength (and riding skill) at the top of the heap. If you can keep lower body disturbances from making their way up to your arms and shoulders, you're not going to have to make a bunch of corrective moves. Bear in mind that the preceding spray comes from a guy who rides around with no bindings, so I'll slide using all techniques at all times, just to keep from falling down. Likely, this constant sketchiness has created a state of confusion in my head where I can't tell good riding from bad... It's all survival to me now.

You have to let me know. I would be stoked to ride with members of this community.

As a "tech geek" (thanks for the tag, Bordy, you bastard ) what heelside position are you speaking of in your Race to the Cup thread? In most of them it looks like the riders are getting a bit of counter-rotation on. The guy in the Burton suit, though, looks like CK in the Smooth Groove! Rotating all the way. Is this just the moment in the picture? Did he finish with a counter move? I like the "rotate to start and counter back in the apex" feel. It really stacks you up for the big pressure moment. This is a change for me, as I was a big rotation fan for a long time. Now counter-rotation is a big part of my ride. Hard or soft, it works great for me. Just a few years back, guys like Mattieu Bozzetto and his French team buddies were all over rotation, it seemed. Whats the tech now? Do you promote a method, or throw them out to your athletes and see what sticks?

Allee... Go to KHMR. It is ON. Neil... Canadian bootball... We breed them hard. I don't know how southern U.S. players can come up here and get it done. -21... faaark.

I'm bleeding for you guys. This could be a direct result of that Farmers Almanac thread, claiming 50% snows for Western Canada and 150% snows for CO.

... I don't want to be right. Here in Alberta, even if it stops snowing now, our base is nuts. Sledding and Noboarding in Golden, B.C. yesterday with 8 feet on the ground (2.5 ft in the last 2 days... stay on that throttle!) I have NEVER seen coastal snow like this here. It is literally sticking to everything, with excellent bonding of the layers. The pit we dug showed no weaknesses. This will change with temps, but we didn't shift a thing, regardless of slope angle. There is a melt / freeze crust down there and if it goes on that, it'll be massive. Now, the shear, compression and Reutchblock tests we did yielded nothing. Lake Louise has snow sticking in places where it rarely, if ever, stays. It's normally too dry to hang around for long. The usual routine is snow, followed by a scouring wind. This snow is too heavy and bonded to the ground to be moved. So, if this is the result of our voratious appetites for natural resources, then it seems to be working out for us. Talk about a narrow-view, single-minded, ignorant approach to a global catastrophe in-the-making...

I ran Koflachs way back when (Hunters, Valugas & Superpipes) and they were great compared to the other softboots of the time (Sorels). The penultimate mod I rocked on my Hunters was adding the tongue and spoiler from a Raichle Flexon 5 ski boot (black and red). I drilled out the Koflachs stock cuff and the Flexon spoiler bolted right on with no re-drilling. The tongue under the laces was an addition I made well before the spoiler. The day I got my Sims Blade (The original pointy / square one), I knew I needed more power. A few years later, I was given a Kemper Screamer and a F/S board. I took the highbacks off, put the spoilers on (which sat right on top of the baseplate, just like a highback) and had low angles for the F/S and high on the Screamer. Lots of lateral flex (to "tweak") and cock-stiff fore and aft to carve. The one thing I did on all my Koflachs was to shave off the heel and toe. I could reduce my sole lenth by at least an 1.5 inches. Otherwise, the overhang (even in a 10) was brutal. Obviously, using them in plates was out of the question. Today, the only thing good (in my mind) that could be taken from these setups would be the Vibram sole. Burtons Driver X has one, but it's weak. I can easily flex it with my hands, so your legs would go right through it. A true Vibram sole would not flex at all. This used to allow me to have great edge control, without cranking my straps down as hard as others would have to. The full length stiff sole also acted in the same way modern curved baseplates do. I had full support under my toes when everyone elses boots were folding over the ends of the too-short baseplates. Fuzzy and I were talking about carbon fibre footboards in Nagano and thought that might be a way to get back into that feeling. My fantasy boot would be my 32 TM2's with a real Vibram sole. For true carving, I'll keep the proper hardboots. This is alot like whats happening in MTB right now... The industry is trying to promote the "One Bike". If you like to ride trails, in an XC kind of way, but also downhill properly (at speed, on a big track), you need 2 bikes. If you're that dedicated to freeriding and alpine, you need 2 boards and 2 pairs of boots. Too much $$? Well then, you're not that dedicated. I do like Bumpyrides K2 setup. It does extremely well in its chosen arena.

Thanks, Bryan. That site is from around my way, from the looks of it. The main topic on now is about powder riding... Post a pic of your SnoDad... they'll spit! Just back from 5 days at Lake Louise. If I don't get back this year, I will still have had some of my seasons best turns. First line off ER main and first line down Paradise NW. November has no right being this good! We are going sledding on Wednesday, so I'll try to get some noboard vids for y'all.

I always wear the helmet now. In the last few seasons, I started wearing my DH knee / shin combo. That back knee is very exposed, sticking out like that. Especially on a 'der day when you can't see what's just under the surface. I debate the ass pants and flak jacket... like today. Early season Lake Louise should demand it. Why don't I? Maybe I don't want to look all puffed up. It sure doesn't bother me riding bike on a 30 C day downhilling... Why would it at -10? Just pride, I guess.

No offense, Y'all, but if I need to move East to get better, I'll stay out West and continue to suck.

So, how much Der do you people need before you call it a "Der day"? 10... 20... 30cms... More? Der... I love my new favourite word. Thanks Fluff! <!-- / message --><!-- sig -->

Can't wait to see it, Phil. As goals go, It'll be right up there with the duck-foot, heelside E/C.