jnshapiro

Jack, I've been real careful about keeping my shoulders parallel to the slope. I had that drilled into me from years of skiing. My hand hits the snow when it does. Force it and lose the edge.

While I'm sure I have bored you with previous posts related to my improvement as a carver, I made more progress today and intend to bore you again . Today I thought I would see what happen if I applied the maxim "trust the edge" to the extreme. To initiate a turn, I "threw" myself down to the snow. Just sort of pushed my way down. WOW! The edge held! If it hadn't, I'd have been on my face. I carved such a deep turn that my back knee actually hit the slope. My side slid just over the surface with my hand on the snow. And even managed to shed some speed at the same time (something else I'd been having trouble on). This happened more and more often as the day progressed. I popped up after the turn, crossed the board under me, and "threw" myself down into a healside. This time, my hip dragged the snow. Doing turns like this I was easily able to control my speed on a pitch that previously had me a bit spooked. Turns were tighter and better controlled too. When conditions get better and I get some more confidence, I'll take this over to some steeper runs and see how it goes. Dang that was fun! I found that making turns like that all day is very wearing on the legs. I was done a bit earlier than normal. So, if your having trouble getting low and shedding speed, maybe this will help some. BOL has been a hugh help to me learning to carve this year. Thanks! Oh, if anyone is interested, I was riding a Donek Axxess Olympic at 167cm in length.

I had a pair of 225's, they were way too big (they fit when I bought them several years ago - feet change shape). Apparently, the Deeluxe boots fit big. Get them 1 or 2 sizes smaller than your mondo size. Do a shell test BEFORE fitting the liner. If the shell test works out, then fit the liner. If not, send 'em back and get a different size. No point in trying to ride in boots that don't fit right. It's painful.

Wow, it's been a long time since I've been to Roundtop! If I were still in the area I'd be there. But it's a long haul from here, and it's snowing in the Sierra for a change!

Hopefully not, and if so, not for a very long time yet!

Perspective changes as you get older and have a family. I used to be heavily into rock climbing. Pretty good too, I put up a 5.12 at my "home" crag and did a number of others in that difficulty range. But my hands took a beating. Broke all my fingers, dislocated shoulders, broken ankle, broke both hips, etc. Got so bad I just can't climb anymore. My hands and wrists hurt most of the time from the damage. I skied a ton too. Tore up both knees, lost a tooth, broke some ribs, and other assorted injuries. Knees got so bad that I couldn't ski for the pain. Then I found snowboarding . No more knee pain! I also cycle (road and MTB). Gone over the bars more than once to the dismay of my hands and forearms. However, I have a pretty good idea of my skill level at each point and I continually try to improve by riding a little outside my comfort zone. As I get better, that point moves. There are some things I'm just not willing to do anymore, cliff drops for example. And my body just doesn't move as quickly as it once did, so tight trees are out too. But with all that, I still get out there and have fun. That's what life's about. Work is just a way to be able to pay for the fun.

In response to Fin... I just checked my bindings. One shoulder bolt was snug and not as tight as it should have been. Every other bolt was tight. The offending bolt is tight now.

Current forecast is for 2 to 4 feet between tomorrow and Sunday. So that looks good! As to the rumour, beats me.

Actually, traffic in the Sacramento area isn't too bad. But what I have to compare with is Washington DC. DC was really bad. There are also enough variety in the prices of houses that you ought to be able to find something close to the job at a reasonable price.

Dang, sorry to hear. Take care Billy and heal up. Good luck with the operation.

Hiya! I live in the Sacramento Area. Rancho Cordova, it's about 7 miles west of downtown. I have a season pass to Kirkwood, 2 hour drive. From where I am, just about anywhere in Tahoe is about 2 hours away (except Mt. Rose, that's about 3 or 3 1/2). Also, check out Tahoe Carvers: http://www.tahoecarvers.com/home.php Looks like we're expecting 2 to 4 FEET of snow in the mountains starting tomorrow and through the weekend! WOOO HOOO! The beach is also about 2 hours away, pending traffic. Send me an e-mail if you like.

Tell 'em it's a monoski.

Yup. I wax, minor base repair, minor epoxy sidewall/topsheet repair, and edges. Core shots and such I'll learn how to do when I need to. Stone grindings I leave for a shop, though I am thinking about getting a riller bar and learning to use it.

This part jumped out at me. It might be beneficial to change the places where you hang out and maybe even the folks you do things with. That will bring you into contact with a different group of people and you'll have a better chance of meeting someone (depending of course on where you decide to hang out - bars won't be good!). It would help if you could figure out what you want in an other half, and then go to those places where people like that are. It'll take you way outside your comfort zone, but that can often be good. I met my wife in college. While we both have issues, we've done pretty well the past 19 years (married for 14 of them almost). Neither of us tries to change the other and we're pretty happy with who we are. Lots of communication and talking helps too. It's not so easy to find and meet the right person. I know some that went about it with purpose and they've been very happy.

Well, you guys have me convinced. I'll order a BTS kit for next season along with a couple of pins and fit them to my Head boots.

Thanks! I'll check 'em out.

Anyone making wrist guards with mittens instead of gloves? I much prefer wearing mitts.

Goggles. My eyes tear up pretty easy and then I'm blind. Glasses don't help with that at all.

I think you should ignore them and ride. Likely they'll get sucked back in. If you're really worried about it, contact Bruce and talk to him.

I'm near Sacramento. This year I bought a pair of Head Stratus Pro's from Elite Feet at Squaw and I'm thrilled with them. Though I do have to make one more trip back for some more fitting. Buy the boots there and fitting is free (except for your time and gas). Those guys are really good. You might post at http://www.tahoecarvers.com/home.php. Randy Salzman rides at Alpine and has some demo gear. Not sure if he has boots that will fit you, but I think he's got some boards and bindings. I usually ride at Kirkwood (season pass there). Once you get your gear, I'll be happy to spend some time with you to help you get started carving. In addition, there are a bunch of folks that carve at various mountains around Tahoe. Check in at tahoecarvers and you might be able to find someone to ride with. Hope this helps some. Joel

If they are more dish shaped (going into the base), then it's just binding suck. Nothing to worry about. Ignore it. If they are bumps, some time with a file or a trip down a stone grind should take care of it easily enough. My guess is that it's just binding suck. Perfectly normal. Every board I've ever seen that's been ridden has it.

I've always ridden stuff like this goofy. Skateboard, surfboard, and then snowboard. That's just natural for me.

Well, it was made in America. I love my Toyota Tacoma pickup. I wish I'd bought one with a bigger engine though. It's a dog on the hills. But it's got 130,000 miles and still runs great. Gets about 22mpg on the highway. Same as when new. When my wife's car was in the shop last, we ended up with a Dodge Magnum for a rental. The visibility SUCKED. I'll never buy one of those.

Boy, you almost had me! And to think I went through all that effort to set up a pull cord inside my pants with the pull just below my jacket. Very handy! You know, with a little bit of filing, a 3/4 inch fastex type buckle fits nicely in the Intec handle....

Dang, that's hard to take. Sorry to hear about the end of your snowboard season.