Jonny

A couple of years out of the loop so I've missed this development. Last I knew, a metal (cap) board was just going to delam at the worst possible moment, Now it seems they're all anyone's talking about. My quiver's a Racecarve 180 that Bruce built for me maybe 8 years ago, and an Oxygen 158 LE SL board for crowded days. I ride both in Catek stepins - 54, 218 lb, more smooth than aggressive, but I like to dig pretty deep. I don't race. The 180 is getting a little tired-out - not much pop left, although it's still a pleasure to fool around on. What will a metal board do that these didn't, and which are worth a first look? Thanks!

It's hard to know how much is the bevel setting and how much is de Santis. I do know that I had my Coiler 180 at 3/1 right along, but his 3/1 works just WAY better - I suspect it's largely that the board is really flat for the first time. I don't sharpen at all - just de-burr with a diamond stone also at 3/1. The edge has held up very well.

What were the cosmetics like on your board? I've got one, I think it's 163, Regular Asym, Grey topsheet with Mondrian rectangular stuff on it, but I'm pretty sure it's older than the one you're looking for.

The old T-Bar at Pico was similar. Much more challenging to get up than down, especially for little kids when riding with a taller partner. i never actually fell down it, but I do remember being terrified.

The biggest direct drop from a lift used to be off the luftseilbahn at the Kitzsteinhorn, above Kaprun, in Austria. This is a tram which has a lift tower perched at the edge of a huge cliff. It's 30 years since I skied there, so I can't remember whether it's 1000 feet or 1000 meters, but it was pretty scary either way. The liftie used to make a practice of opening the doors at that spot to sweep out the meltwater. This is the resort which had the fatal fire a few years ago in the railway tunnel.

Not an Aggression, but I can recommend the Oxygen 160 SL that Patrickfreen has listed (scroll down a bit). I bought its twin and it's a terrific ride. I'm pretty sure there's a Volant on the message board somewhere too.

My results are similar to Patmoore's - given a turny Nastar-type course I'll be 10-20% slower on a board, but the more challenging, steeper or faster the course the bigger the difference. There was a course set up last night at the local hill which i might have been able to run faster on a board - very wide turns on pitch. Unfortunately I'm not part of that race-series, so I could just drool and leave. However, I've been skiing forever, much of the time at a high level, while I came to boarding well after the first flush of youth and athleticism, so it's not really a fair comparison - I can manage things through guile on skis which I haven't the skill or strength to pull off on a board.

At your weight there's an inexpensive option available, especially if it's primariy a backup board - the Burton Alp from a few years back. The bluish ones with the bobcat or cougar on the nose are the best of the bunch - look for either the 163 or 171. I still keep one around for powder days. It should be fine with the Flow bindings. Obviously, at a higher price the Donek is a great board, as are the Rad-Air and the Coiler. I've also heard good things about the Undertaker, but wouldn't expect it to be as nimble.

Bindings arrived here today and are all set on one of Patrickfreen's old Oxygen SLs. My backup set is looking awfully trick. Terry threw a pristine set of Catek heelpieces in the box along with the worn ones - a very classy (and unexpected) move and much appreciated. Salut! Jonny

Free bump to the top for some great boards. I picked up one of the older ones from Patrick and it's the best-mannered, most enjoyable SL I've ever tried - my kid and I have been tussling over who gets to take it out. The boards are also in ridiculously good condition. I don't know if Patrick has capability of sending pix, but I can easily send pix of the one I got if you're interested. Compared with my 180 Coiler the Oxygen is much easier to manage in tighter/steeper terrain and for aggressive freeride purposes even stands up to my 220 lbs. For full-on race applications it might prefer a slightly lighter rider, but of course I'd prefer to be slightly lighter as well.:rolleyes:

Mt Snow..... AAAARGH!! On 12/24 with a full downpour in progress I tried to get on the Tumbleweeds lift, (at 845 AM!) to allow me to traverse over to the Ski School to cancel my kid's lesson, etc. Only a duck would have bought a ticket on a day like that and of course I didn't have one. Not only would the antipodean liftie not let me go up, but they actually took me off the chair!! when i explained what i wanted to do they still refused, but preferred to run me over on a snowmobile than let me do what any real mountain person would have allowed without a thought. The liftie was from NZ and was just following the rules but the supervisor was a Vermonter and should have known better. On the leash question - I always wear one. Until I learned to keep the Intec handles under my pant-leg I sometimes found myself unconsciously tugging on them while hanging out on the lift. Ooops

Thanks Terence, replied via email. I'll be out from about 12:30 to 10:30 PM today. I can get to paypal after that though. Let me know, Jonny

I'd be interested in the Cateks if they're still available - I'll drop you an email as well.

You can always go after work, temps should be back down to about -12° F by 7pm. -16 in Lenox this morning, the 'roy was like chalk. :D

I've got Superfeet Cork orthotics in both my skiboots and my snowboard boots. the ones in my skiboots are more than 10 years old and still solid, the SB ones are about 8 and fine too. If you take the liners out a lot it stresses them more, though. I generally pack out a boot in one or two years, but if the shell is still good a new liner does the trick. it sounds like your Nordicas might be toasted. I really recommend the Starting Gate just below Stratton - excellent bootfitters with a good selection.

The short and stupid answer is "'cause it works". Most of my waxing comes from prepping race skis, both alpine and nordic, well before the modern age of the super-fluoros, so take what I say with a grain of salt. Every ski racer has noticed that a pair of skis with many worn-in coats on them will be faster than even a well-prepped newer pair. As to why, well... Hmmm... My guess is that it's more effective at ensuring that every microscopic bit of p-tex is coated by at least a monomolecular layer of Swix or superzoom or whatever. Even with a thorough re-melt, there are voids and imperfectly adhered sections, which scraping and reapplying seems to take care of. It's also clear that creating as flat a surface as possible, then re-applying and re-flattenning, similar to french-polishing, gives me the best chance at a truly flat place for my structuring.

Should work fine, but it will leave a residue which will be visible for quite a while. you can minimize the effect by using a good coat of prep wax under the Zoom. I like to iron in and scrape off at least half a dozen coats of base wax before applying any running wax at all.

Hey Patrick - do you have a price in mind for the Oxygens? Are you located anywhere near MA, VT, etc?

Syd & Dusty's at Stratton had a few pairs of used big hardshells last spring - I sniped a set of 29s for my kid, but the others may stilll be there. I think there was a set of Burtons and another set of Raichles. In the meantime, if you're not still skiing in your current boots, it's not that difficult to soften them up by removing rivets from the back and sides of the cuff and even making small cuts in the shell. You'll want the cuts to be shaped like a steep "U", not like a "V". Take it a step at a time and remember that everything's softer in the warm house than it is on the hill. :p

The big trick on Timbers is figuring out how to handle all that sidehill - I ride regular-foot which makes it a little easier. The only really narrow spot is right at the top, and if you're overloaded there you can bail out onto the wide area where the two trails meet just below it. My favorite spot is the little roll about 200 yds above the final pitch - if you approach it from the left side of the trail you can head UP the knoll and get 100 horizontal feet of air at an altitude of about a foot and a half. I agree that Sunbrook is potential paradise, but the lift is slow, and I'm always getting blindsided by guys doing 11s down the left side. I may have seen you there - were you riding a Rossi VAS last year?

Why don't you grab that Volant that Banks has listed a few threads down so I can stop drooling over it? I rode one a few years ago - sweet board with a lot of pop if you can stay on top of it, and if you ride at Windham the bulletproof feature could be useful:D

Thanks guys - I'll get a chance to try all this out in the next few days. "Wedeln" is the old-timey Tyrolean word for a series of quick linked ski turns, with the tips heading almost straight down the slope and the tails wagging (wedeln in German) back and forth behind - a good way to control speed and pick up chicks if you're riding 215 cm skis with painted bases and no sidecut to speak of. I'm more than old enough to remember when this was the mark of an expert skier. I'm definitely able to turn this board VERY tightly once I'm at speed, and I do often overcarve myself out of slope. The aggressive move which tips the board up on edge at moderate speeds winds up tipping me on my face when I'm going slowly. It's easy to skid the thing, but I'm looking for linked little carves. I'll have to look again at Jack's "cross-under" but I usually associate that with getting quite a bit of deflection from the fall-line. I look forward to CMC's clips, but would like to have some techniques which work for those of us not made out of silly-putty as well. I'll start with low and loose, get my butt behind me and initiate forward, and go from there. Thanks again.

I'd love to hear some chatter on approaches to quick slalom type turns, especially on slopes with some pitch. Perhaps it's just increasing age and girth, but I'm really struggling to get the edge engaged and working on quick linked turns. Its disappointing because my longer GS-type hooks are feeling really good and solid considering how early it is in the season. I ride a 180 Coiler with a short sidecut- 11.5m or so. I don't aspire to be a Gilmour-style wigglemeister, but I'm sick of sketching on every narrow trail.

I'll be up from the 20th to the 24th. I usually try to catch the first chair and ride for an hour before switching to skis (easier to hang with my 7 year old that way, and hardboots are no good in crowds). I stay under either the summit or Canyon lifts until the crowds hit, then Fallen Timbers (best carving trail on the hill), then Carinthia.

Brodie is getting hammered - over a foot alrady at 7pm. Unfortunately it's pure poaching at this time. Those clowns at Jiminy bought it bought two years ago and shut it down - it's now only for tubing - no ski-lifts running, nothing. The Irish alps have fallen. Jiminy itself will be good but I won't give them my business under this regime. I'll be at Bousquet all this week when I can get away, and then at Mt. Slow with the family on the weekend. Stratton would be nice but it's not going to happen for me, alas.