Silver Bullet

I've had them 2 seasons. A few of the adjustment screws are stripped. Will unload for cheap. sj

Cristan, I just picked up the Conform'ables on Saturday at Surefoot in Park City and am itching to try them out. I am amazed at how well they hold my heal in place. They feel very hard compared to the thermo fit liners, which I seem to pack out every season. Do they soften up at all and provide any flex? One thing that I noticed is that the Intec cable won't be drilling my ankle bone any more! sj

How about Bam Bam?

I designed a new museum up there a few years ago. I also had an offer to relocate there. I took my wife in February to see what is was like. Ice storm, no where to go, little mountain on an army base. High housing costs. We decided not to take the offer.

Mark, I thought I was the first guy at the Beav! But I guess you had me by a year or so. I seem to remember a few guys on wintersticks trying to hook their feet back onto their boards with frozen webbing and loose screws. Could that have been you? In '83, a buddy of mine got a Woody for Christmas and did not know what to do with it. The bindings were pre-high back and had a mountain peak that would lacerate your achilles tendon. I believe the same year('83 or "84), Tom Sims had a short spot in a Warren Miller flick and I was sold. I picked up my first board at Cycles and Sleds in Logan for $120 buckaroos. I learned quickly after hiking through the snow at the Logan Country club one October that moon boots would not cut it. That season, I recall seeing 2-3 others on the hill at Beaver. A few years later, say '87-'88 Dennis Nazari of Salty Peaks Fame (He actually rode in a Wet suit) and a group of sponsored riders from California started showing up at Beaver and promoting the Southwest Surf Ski Association Certification Program. There was also a race circuit developing. I remember that we had to make the halfpipe with shovels prior to the competition at Powder Mountain. What a mess. Anyhow.... What I really like about hardbooting now is that it feels as fresh as railing on those goofy metal fins did in the early '80's. Snow is forecast for tonight in the hills above Salt Lake. Could it be? The hottest Summer on record is over? Let's hope so! Stephen

My front leg used to burn like the dickens until the toe tip. It also keeps me centered on the board. On my shorter boards I ride 6deg front no cant 3deg rear no cant and the speedster is set up with 6 deg front 0 rear. I've also widned out th estance to 21.5 inches on that board. I find I'm more stable that way. I'd like to try a wider board some time. My feet are 29.5 and I boot out if I'm not running angles that are at least 68 degrees. Does anyone have suggestions for a wider board?

That is last year's F2 Speedster 183. It is a great board. As for the riding style, i spent quiet a bit of time watching the EC videos on the web, then spent a little time trying to keep up Dave, Bordy and others at the WTC. Fin gave me the tip of raising the front toe and it's all history. I've been boarding since 1982. I was twelve, but only recently got set up with hardbooting gear. I've got about 50 days in on hard boots. Here is another sequence from earlier in the season at PCMR.

Okay this is the last one......promise...;-)

As you can see, I'm still giddy.........

and another....

yet another....

another shot...

Here are a few shots of my last day at Solitude. Diamond lane got a bit bumpy but the day was fantastic. I've been hardbooting for 1.5 seasons and loving it!!

I forgot to mention that I set their bindings at zero degrees because they will point either end down the hill. Caroleine on the left did end up preferring goofy, so I turned here front foot 15 degrees as shown here, but occasionally, she'll still ride fakie. I find that frustrating, because I've been riding since 1984 and still cannot ride backward. As you can see, the 4 year old, Sophia still likes to straight line it. She only links turns when the slopes are crowded. Isabella is 9 and she keeps asking me when she'll get her first alpine set-up.

I started teaching my girls at age 3. Here, the 2 younger girls are pictured, ages 6 and 4 respectively. They are all linking turns now. I started by connecting a retractable dog leash to the middle of their back foot. I would ride behind them, controling their speed. Unfortunately I did yank the board out from under them a few times. That was nothing chocolate and skittles couldn't fix. Needless to say, they got very comfortable straightlining the fall line. We then worked on heal sliding. Since they were inclined to straighline, the transition from straight to heal and back was easy. Toe slides came next. This was a bit trickier, until i realized that their feet were not centered on their boards. They figured out how to roll on edge and carve long before they figured out how to slide. All in all, it took an entire season to teach the first child. The younger kids picked it up in aobut 5 sessions. Good Luck.

I have an extra pair of boots (Head Stratos Pro 29) 1/2 season old with intec heals and a pair of Catek Olympics 1/2 season old that I'll sell you. I'm not looking to make a profit, just wen a little purchase crazy last spring if you know what I mean. Once you start buying this stuff, you realize how many options there are and you want to try everything. That's why I'm heading back to the WTC this week! New gear!!

I wanted to ride one of these at the Prior Demo at Snowbird the other day. Unfortunately, I couldn't escape work. I hope the Hardbooter folks bring one up the the WTC next week. I think I like damp.

I have to agree with Phifell. Most of the runs off King Con have been perfect. To Gibbons point however, many of the runs down Silverlode or the signature runs off Bananza and the Ski Team lift are rocky and twiggy. A new storm pattern would be nice. These shots we taken on Shamus 2 weeks ago. It sure was cold, but the slopes were empty.... except for the on slope photographer;) I remember those storms in the 80's. I learned to snowboard off my roof in '82.

Try holding the carve a little longer. arcing up hill a tad will help you bleed speed.

Fin and Bob, Thanks for the feedback. I've got Susukas and Head Stratos Pros. I've been riding the head boots a bit more recently because the flex seamed nicer and the strap at the top holds the tongue in snuggly without having to tighten the boot. I also ride these in walk mode. I have to crank down the boot straps on the Suskas to to get rid of that gushy feeling and keep my heal down. Perhaps the a power strap would keep the boot together and allow the BTS to do its job.

Just wondering if anyone has had a chance to dial in their BTS kits yet. I rode mine today for the first time. I'm about 195 lbs and ordered the blue(medium) springs. They seem a little soft on toes side carves even though i've got them preloaded(top spring nut almost an inch down) Are there any rules of thumb that should be considered when setting them up?

Derek, Snowbird: You'll find Regulator Johnson agreeable if you like long broad steep groomers. Skiers tend to ski it waves off the tram, I generally take the Little Cloud lift and do laps here and wait for it to clear out. There are a few fun runs in Mineral Basin as well, but they are bit shorter. Mark Malu and Primrose Path are other fun groomers. Solitude: Take the Powderhorn lift to Diamond Lane or Eagle Eagle Express lift to the Sunshine Bowl or Sun Dancer or Inspiration Park City: Get to the King Con lift. Shamus and Sitka are hardbooter favorites. Also, check out their Signature groomers. I've got season passes at these three resorts because they all offer something different. The terrain is dramatically different, so is the attitude;-) Enjoy your trip.

dshack, I started hardbooting in January and was, like you, unsure how to invest in gear that I was unfamiliar with. Hardbooter let me test 2 boards (F2 silberpfeil 173 and Speedster 183) for two weeks in order to compare. This is what I found. The dampening, the sidecut radius and the size of the Speedster was easier for me to learn on. The longer board gave me more time to ride in each carve and get a sense of what the norm feels like. A widened stance and a longer board helped establish balance. Turns could be initiated by using legs to decamber board. I also found that lifting the toe on the front foot helped me center my body over the board and eliminated the front leg burn that limited the runs I was able to make. So, in the spirit of advice giving, for someone of your size, I would say the 162 ultra prime is too short and soft for you. I would start out with a longer stiffer board and practice using the push pull technique to muscle your board into turns. Good luck and let us know how it goes.