John E

We were up on Thursday. The snow was pretty scratchy. I was struggling with equipment issues and condition issues but Arne was smooth as always. I think they're due for some more snow this week. Hopefully enough to refresh the runs. If not, I may wimp out and call it a season. How were conditions (snow, crowds, weather) on Sunday?

Arne described the conditions on Sunday as "frozen death cookies". Not sure exactly what that is but it doesn't sound fun. I noticed that the temperature at Leadville on Saturday was 55 degrees. The snow up at altitude must have been very slushy. If that stuff froze overnight, it would make for very unpleasant riding. Doesn't look like they're going to get any significant snow anytime soon. Riding might be better (?) in the afternoons for a while.

Wow - that's great! Yup - Raven is our Greyhound. We put a GPS tracker on her and she topped out at 31.8 mph. I think the racers can hit over 40 mph. The image is just the Greyhound Bus logo. My Flux is not asymmetric - I think it's just the angle of the photo.

How many guys wive's buy them a new custom snowboard for their 62nd birthday? My new Donek Flux (Raven is our Greyhound):

Great day yesterday. About 2" new overnight and maybe 6" total since last week. Snow was pretty soft. Ran a couple on Ptarmigan, over to #4. Scrub was groomed. Then over to #8. Some real powder on The Plunge and under the lift and the groomer was very nice. Then over to #9 for about 4 runs on Rookie Road. Best snow of the season (for me).

My old boots were the Nitros. They fit me very snugly but I would never claim they were comfortable. I've only ridden the Talons twice. I have narrow feet so it is hard to get boots sufficiently tight without having my toes crunched. Since the Talons are size 10 and the Nitros are 9s, the Talons seem very roomy. My early reaction was that they were too loose. However I notice that when I ride I (unintentionally) clench my toes. When I get to the liftline, I'm aware of this and ask myself "why am I doing this?" (it serves no purpose). So, I'm trying to relax in the Talons. Once I get over the "roomy" feeling, they are the most comfortable boot (ski/hardboot/soft boot) that I have ever worn. As softboots go, I think they are pretty stiff. I'm riding them with the new Flow NX2 bindings. These are the 2nd pair of Flow bindings I've had. The bindings are OK but still not that easy to get into. I found the boots on Amazon as "Used - Like New" for only about $160. I can't tell that they were ever out of the box before. So far bottom line: I like them.

Old Nitro Darkseid (US Men's 9) = 29.7 cm New Flow Talon (US Men's 10) = 30.6 cm

Pete - from others I know with thyroid problems this can be a complex issue. Hashimoto's Syndrome I think is the term. I believe that it is treatable but may not be as straightforward as taking a medication. Good luck in your search for a treatment.

Up yesterday with Gregory. Saw Arne & Pete as well. Another great day: Easy drive up, nobody in the lodge, no lift lines, slopes we pretty empty, sunshine, easy drive home. Under 40 minutes from the Dino lots to Loveland and about the same going home. We ran about 6 runs on Ptarmigan, 3 runs on #6 and then over to #9. We ran Rookie's Road about 6 times. That run is really great: good groom, almost nobody on it and lots of vertical.

This is interesting. I find my soft boots more comfortable than hard boots. I agree that the boot / board interface is much cruder with soft boots. However, whenever I click into my hard boot bindings, I feel like my lower legs are cast in concrete. Much more restrictive than softies. Also, the forward angles of hard boots seems less natural to me than soft boots. I don't think softies are better in every way, just a better compromise for me. Soft boots & bindings are probably several pounds lighter than hard boots. To each his own!

I don't know the specs of the board. A friend & I both tried a 158 Saber and a 162 Flux. We both LOVED the Flux. I just got a pair of Flow Talon boots and new Flow bindings. I'm pretty lazy and don't like sitting down to buckle in. The boots are pretty stiff (but maybe not the stiffest). We're going up tomorrow and repeat the experiment (Flux / Saber). Both of us are ready to order new Flux boards.

I demo'ed a 162 Flux from Donek last Thursday. It was the most fun I ever had on a snowboard except for a powder day. I'm going to order one for myself soon.

I'd guess that most rental cars have better tires than the average driver in Denver. I've got a front wheel drive car with snow tires. The only time I have problems is getting stuck in traffic. However, there have been times when we get a big dump in March and getting up I-70 with all-season tires could be a problem. Another alternative would be to look for lodging in Dillon, Frisco or Silverthorne. These are all less than 20 minutes from 5 ski areas.

Find some lodging in west Denver (or possibly Georgetown) and head up to Loveland! Only about 45 minutes from west Denver. The base of Loveland is about 10,000 feet and the snow stays pretty good later in the season. If you carve mid-week, there are very few people. If you head up on Sunday, there is a pretty good group of carvers there. Loveland is the opposite of Aspen - just an old ski area. Fixed-grip lifts, no lodging and pretty simple. You can probably find discount tickets on Denver Craigslist (look for "4-Paks").

Sounds like the most important thing to you is what you others think about you.

We came down Face last Thursday. The lower section was pretty much a butt slide.

I think that the debate about whether softboots / hardboots are "better" isn't really important. What is important is whether you are having fun. For myself - I will never be as good as the great carvers who develop their skills on ice. But if I can have fun carving in forgiving conditions in softboots, that works for me. Also, this forum is hosted by a company that makes hardboot bindings so understandably, discussions of softboot carving wasn't the point.

Most of us Front Rangers go to Loveland. It is only about 15 minutes from Silverthorne. There is a gathering of carvers every Sunday. Not an Epic resort but those there with Season Passes can get you discount tickets (~$50 - $60?). As for Epic resorts, I think the consensus is that Beaver is the best for carving.

Arne - thinking of going maybe Thursday. Let me know how the conditions are.

One thing I discovered is that trying carving on my softboot setup I've gone to a much shorter sidecut radius and wider waist. My hardboot boards are in the neighborhood of 12 M SCR with a waist of about 20 cm. My softboot board is about 7.5 M SCR with a waist of about 26 cm. This allowed me to ride smaller angles. Whatever the change was, I found it very easy to carve (under those conditions). All my attempts to carve in hardboots required more effort (with poorer results).

So I have been trying to hardboot cave for a long time. In hero conditions I can do pretty well. When snow gets hard and/or the slope gets steep, it all falls apart. I went up yesterday and tried softboot carving. I set up a very old Ride Mecca 159 board. I set my angles as low as overhang would permit. The conditions were pretty good (but sub-hero). I had a GREAT time. I felt like I could get a lot more edge pressure (toe & heel) than I could in hard boots. I realize that I will likely never carve as well as those great riders on hard boots but if I'm having a great time, what else matters? I was curious about the specs of this board. It is wider (26 cm waist) and shorter SCR (7.5 M) than any hardboot board I have. If I was to have a new softboot carving board made (Donek?) should I use these specs as the basis for the new board?

Sometimes I fail to appreciate what isn't there. In this case - crowds. Up to Loveland yesterday on a non-powder weekday. Really easy drive up. Few people in the lodge. No lift lines. No hoards on the slopes. Grooming was really good and lasted until we were finished (about 1:30). Worked on carving in soft boots (on my oldest & cheapest rock board) and had a great time. We rode 9AM to about 1:30 and got in 15 - 16 runs. Ran mostly on Ptarmigan and a bit on #8. The groom on #8 wasn't quite as good and the light was pretty flat. Back on Ptarmigan we rode Fire Bowl over & over. Took the whole run with almost no others on the slopes.

Maybe this has no physical reference but I think that when the curlers are sweeping ahead of the stone, they are momentarily melting the surface of the ice just ahead. This is what speeds up or steers the stone. If a sweeping broom can do this, a snowboard should be able to do so as well.

Thanks for the Nidecker video. It doesn't say what the "natural" stance should be. I measured my floor-to-knee and it is about 52cm. This is about what I have my boards set at. So I'm guessing that one's floor-to-knee distance should be the "natural" stance. Also, I notice that the angles they show would result in a lot of heel drag.

So - I've been reading most of this thread. I began life as a skier, migrated to softboots, and then have been working at hardboots for quite a while. I have not been able to carve in hardboots consistently and am now thinking that I never will. I really admire those on the east coast who can rail on very firm snow (I cannot). If the snow gets that hard here in Colorado, I will likely stay home. So - I'm now thinking I will try to optimize my softboot carving. I'd like to get a dedicated softboot carving board. Based on this thread, it looks like the likely candidates are: Endeavor Hammerhead (can't find one), Coiler BXFR (have to order one), maybe a Moss Snowstick (hard to find) or maybe a Donek Flux or Knapton Twin Tip. Is there any consensus on which of these might be best? I can drive over to Donek, talk to them & buy or order one. I have an older Burton Supermodel that carves OK an I have an Arbor Steepwater that I have never ridden. Might this be a good candidate for a softboot carver? Thanks