johnstewart

So I had my first serious ding on my Donek Axis 177. I won't go into HOW I did it, but I managed to take a little chunk out of the topsheet on the edge. The top layer is kind of hanging there, in a half circle probably about the diameter of a dime. I'm thinking I should put some epoxy or something on there so it doesn't spread. Suggestions? thanks!

So just to follow up... I rode my Axis this weekend, and last night, and am getting a LOT more comfortable on it. The hero snow on Saturday was a good start (and I was the only hardbooter out there). Holy crap, I was shredding the hill all day. I had at least a half dozen guys on the hill make comments like "you're the guy who's going really fast, right?" =) And last night it was a bit sketchy... some very thin snow cover over very hard packed, icy base. But now that I'm more comfortable on it, I'm getting my weight forward enough to keep a solid carve through it all. Love the board.

This morning at Tyrol, a twelve year old kid, after looking at my hardboot gear, looks up at me and asks: "Do you know how to snowboard, too?" =)

Yes, I am referring to the "lazy" comment. I think that expressing an opinion that someone else's choices are lazy is a moral judgement, yes. Heck, based on the fact that you find it harder to get into the "zone" via cannabis ingestion (due to your paranoia), I could argue that it's lazy for you to give up on it as a means to find your "zone"! But I personally wouldn't pass judgement that you are lazy, as you seem to have done to those who choose to smoke cannabis to heighten their enjoyment of and performance in snowboarding.

True, and I have the pictures to prove it. ;)

And that is a moral judgement, not a scientific one. If I took the stance that others have made, I could make the assumption that since you are more focused on snowboarding after meditating, that you must be more dangerous and less observant! Therefore meditation and yoga should not be allowed for those about to ski! =) =) How about I'll let you do the yoga, and you let me smoke a doob? ;)

I'm about 210# (though I think after the fish fry I just pounded down I'm more than that today!). I moved to the Axis from a Volant Excel 167 (I think), which is MUCH MUCH stiffer. I've not actually ridden in softboots in a couple of years... carving is not really a problem for me. Of the last three times I rode it: First time - actually decent snow, but a ton of people on the one run that was open. I loved... LOVED the board. On my second run on it I declared that it was my favorite board of all time. Second time - slush... literally skiing on a soft-serve ice cream pile. Getting any inclination on it ended up cauing my boots to push around a ton of slush, making it pretty sketchy. After many runs, I found that shallow, quick, turns afforeded the best control. Holy crap I spent a lot of time cleaning the crud off the bottom of the board! Third - Hard, very bumpy and very icy/hard corduroy. It was UGLY. I found myself losing confidence in it, especially on toeside. I knew I was letting my weight get back too far, but I couldn't get the nerve up to get my knees and weight into it to turn properly on the ice. I actually ended up moving the bindings up on the board because I felt like it wasn't initiating the turn (though in reality it was probably mostly my fault for not getting my weight into the turn, due to simple fear of smashing myself on the ice - which I did pretty badly on the last run of the night) Part of the problem was that any carve I laid was likely to be interrupted by very sketchy bumps and undulations in the icy corduroy. It was a really bad grooming job. So, I'm not making the judgement that it's a bad board; I'm chalking it up more to the uttery crappy conditions I had the last two times out. It's looking good for this weekend, though! Apparently some more runs are open, so hopefully that means fewer targets on the hill!

Well, how do you know that you are a better snowboarder sober than you would be under the influence of cannabis? You are making the *assumption* that this is the case, and unless you have objective evidence, as you have asked of me, then there is no reason to believe so. There is accepted evidence, repeatedly shown by multiple studies, that alcohol adversely affects motor control (and hey, as an aside, I can personally tell that is the case when I am so affected; I do not need an outside observer to tell me I am). There is no such evidence for cannabis intoxication. In fact, there is evidence (see my links earlier in thread) that the opposite is true. It is not I who am making any assumptions; it is those who (as, it appears, you do) state that cannabis intoxiation is detrimental to snowboarding performance without *any* evidence that this is the case! Furthermore, you have no evidence (that you have presented, anyway) that an observation cannot be accurately made by someone who is under the influence of cannabis. I do agree to a point that self-assesment is no way to do a scientific study. I was merely making my statements as anecdotal evidence about what I have observed, while backing that up with controlled scientific studies that are not self-assesments nor anecdotal (admittedly about driving while under cannabis intoxication, but I think many of the same skills apply to snowboarding). As for objective evidence, I have seen NASTAR times improve after imbibing cannabis on some riders. I have not done any careful studies on it, though, admittedly. However, for you to state that I cannot make a valid observation if I am also under the influence is a baseless assumption on your part. I have made my statements about the observations I have made, and I do not think that in those who I have observed that their judements were impaired in such a way. Of course, this is anecdotal evidence. The only solid evidence we have to go on is the above quoted studies on automobiles and cannabis... there, the link was clear that it did not increase the chance of an accident (and in fact slightly reduced them). Unless you have other evidence to the contrary, then any statement that cannabis must have an adverse effect on snowboarding (including observation of other skiiers) is no more than an assumption.

I do like it, but I'm not yet in love with it. I got the 177, and I didn't really realize how big a board it actually is. =) It's kind of big for the hills around here, I think. It does like to make big wide turns. I've not ridden it on good snow yet (hopefully tomorrow!); it's either been slush or ice so far on the ski hill here. So while I was struggling with it the last time I was out, everyone else was also complaining about the conditions. I actually wouldn't mind trading it for another, shorter, Axis...

Yes, I gathered as much, and I think that is the stance from most of the people here who are looking down on people who smoke pot (especially while boarding, but probably in general). There is a belief that cannabis is "bad" and that people who use it are necessarily using it as a crutch somehow. I think this belief is puritannical, patriarchial, and unfounded. Of course it can be abused, but use does not mean abuse. In my opinion, anything anyone wants to drink, smoke, or shove up an orifice is fine with me as long as they're not hurting anyone else. And the main point I was trying to make in this thread is that boarding after smoking cannabis is *not* in itself harmful to other people, as would it be if one was drunk on the ski hill and risking other people's lives due to the lack of motor control associated with alcohol inebriation. Is cannabis a performance-enhancing drug? I don't know. I guess I have made that argument here, or at least stated that it helps with concentration. I would say that if it is, it is minor. I would say it is more effective as an enjoyment-enhancing drug than as a performance-enhancing drug. It certainly does no good for the respiratory system, so almost certainly it is a detriment to, for example, cross-country skiiers. However, in the race course (at least in the Midwest), it is pretty much a sprint, and an anaerobic event, so that effect is minimized. It certainly does have side effects that could be detrimental to some activities. For example, I could never play chess, or write computer code, well at all when under its effects (short-term memory being critical to both activities). However, I have not observed a loss in performance in those whom I have seen board or ski while under the influence. Are performance-enhancing drugs, in general, unfair? In my opinion, yes, but with the technology we have today, I'm not sure there is a good solution (with new designer drugs freshly available every year). Certainly MLB is totally screwed up. NFL has got it down pretty well. Frequent random piss tests, etc. I honestly don't think most of the NFL is using steroids or other related substances. I honestly do think most of the MLB players do. I do not think Barry Bonds should ever be allowed into the Hall of Fame, and his "records" will always have an asterisk. Should pot be banned at the professional (and Olympic) level? I don't really think so, even though I have made an argument that it can help performance. I think it's on the same scale as caffeine helping performance. But it seems the Olympics, even though the whole Olympic committee is itself seething with corruption, has decided that it should be banned. That said, I doubt they'll be piss-testing at the top of the NASTAR course anytime soon, and I don't think most racers would think they are at an unfair disadvantage when competing with potheads. =)

Well, those angles are what I'm riding now, a Donek Axis 177... which is 21.5cm, according to their website. It's basically any less and I'd toe out. My main ride last year was a Volant, which was definitely narrower. Not sure offhand. I probably was something like 65 degrees in the front, I think... not a ton more. I'm hoping to get back on that board soon... still waiting on a second set of TD2s!

Your size is not a problem for a carving board. I wear size 12-13 shoes, and am 6'2". The key is getting used to higher boot angles. I ride at around 60 degrees in the front, a little less in the back. Get your weight forward, jam your knees into the turn, and just let it happen. You can definitely carve on a softboard, but it's a helluva lot easier and more fun on a hardboard. =)

Here's some more video of Jeb: http://media.hugi.is/hahradi/fyndnar/jeb_2003big.wmv As for that bridge thing, all I could think was "play with fire, gonna get burned". Seemed like they tried to make it this tragic event... WTF? They were doing extremely dangerous things because it turned them on. No sympathy at all from me. Now, this is coming from someone who would like to do it, too. I just don't expect anyone to shed tears (other than the wife and family) because I go splat.

Barry - I appreciate your well-reasoned response. I do, however disagree. I have tried to be objective, and don't think I am dismissing your statements out of hand. This really isn't the issue. He is not, as a rule, nervous or unable to concentrate when he rides. This guy is literally the best hardbooter I have ever met. He is almost always the fastest boarder in the racecourse, buzzed or not (and *no*, I really am not talking about myself! I think I'm getting pretty good, but I'm not there yet!). So it's really not true that he is at a disadvantage in any way by *not* being stoned. When I've spoken to him about this, and as I said, I do feel the same way, when getting a little buzz on, it does tend to make one concentrate on the task at hand. This may be due to short-term memory issues (not being able to multitask as a result of this). What this means is that you *have* to concentrate only on the carving, rather than the mortgage payment, the xmas shopping, etc. By creating a situation where you can only single task, then you can, and must, devote all of your faculties to THAT task, which in this case is snowboarding. So, I ask you, objectively, why *this* cannot be true? Why can cannabis not be a performance-enhancing drug (at least for some people)? You wouldn't say that steroids, or uppers, or ritalin, or whatever Barry Bonds is injecting, isn't a performance-enhancing drug, right? Well, why is this any different (other than preconceived stereotypes that potheads have to be in front of the TV with a remote control in one hand and a bag of Doritos in the other)?

I looked on the OLN website, and according to that guide, the next one with Chris Klug is on 12/25, Xmas day, at 6pm (Eastern). And that one is listed on my Tivo as being the Jeb Corliss BASE jumper twit, too.

I've not put on my soft boots in 2 years; I put my old crappy plate bindings on my freestyle board and love it. My hard boots are so much more comfortable (with thermoforms) than my slightly-too-small soft boots (my toenail has never been the same after a hard season in those). Some people do it with their hard boots in walk mode, or not cranked down too much. I personally ride it much the same as my carve boards.

Well, I Tivoed this and every episode of Fearless since (that didn't have a conflict on my tivo). Every time it's been labeled as Chris Klug/snowboarder, it's actually been this annoying pud basejumper dude. Has anyone managed to see Chris?

Duuuuude.... you need to lay off whatever *you're* smoking!

Confront what problem? You're making a lot of assumptions here. Why do you think that there is a "problem" at all?

Okay, you're an old coot. =) The fact is that intoxication by cannabis does NOT cause the deleterious effects on motor control that intoxication by alcohol does, despite your (and others') assumptions on this thread. Multiple studies have shown that stoned drivers are not only better than drunk drivers, but actually better than SOBER drivers: http://www.answergurus.com/blog/archives/000040.html http://www.cannabisculture.com/library/hparchive/Stoneddriversaresafedrivers.html I have a "friend" who has been known to smoke on the hill... always in such a way as to be unobstrusive and inoffensive (who lights up in a gondola with a bunch of strangers?!?). He finds, quite honestly, that he is a better boarder with a bit of a buzz on. He is more relaxed and able to concentrate on the matter at hand - carving. I know others who feel the same way. I'm sure it doesn't affect everyone the same way, and certainly I know people who I wouldn't want to see anywhere in control of any moving object while stoned, but to say that it is the same as being drunk is just way off base. Having a cannabis buzz does not in any way mean you are out of control or a danger to yourself or others on the hill.

Yeah, I've "heard" of it to. =) My ski buddies and I usually just refer to it as the gangala.

Spent two days carving up the slush at the tiny hill we've got (Tyrol Basin, just west of Madison in WI), with one run open (the rest of the hill is bone dry - been too warm to make snow!). They're blowing snow now... I'm itching to get out there when they reopen at 5pm tomorrow. Appreciate what y'all have got!

I have a huge melon, too... I wear an XXXL motorcycle helmet, for example. However, the Giro Nine 9 helmet in XL fits great on me.

I'm keeping an eye out for an all mountain board that will be able to handle the bumps and chunky stuff (and hopefully occasionally powder), but still lay a carve well. I weigh about 210#. I think that means something like the Axis... so far I've missed out on all that have been posted. If you've got anything, drop me a line (the email link here should work)

Me too =)