John E

So - It looks like we have 11 or so committing so far. Some staying at the St Moritz, some at the Inn at Aspen. Do others have lodging plans?

Fin - will you be able to join us in Aspen during the first full week of February in the unofficial SES / ATC - even in a completely unofficial participant mode? I really have no idea how big the group is but it should be at least a few of us. The only arrangements you should have to make is for yourself.

Mario & I are in for riding Tuesday 2/6 - Friday 2/9 leaving after riding on Friday. We're staying at the Inn at Aspen at the base of Buttermilk. About $300/night for 2 queen beds. Any others interested?

So it looks like there wasn't enough interest to commit to the Bomber House. So we're all going to have to make other plans for lodging. I roomed with Arne last year at the Inn at Aspen (base of Buttermilk). It was pretty nice and not crazy expensive. However Arne had a knee replacement in September and can't commit to riding at this point. So, I'm still interested in lodging maybe at The Inn at Aspen if I can share a room with someone else. Otherwise I may go back to the St Moritz along with Corey, etc.

I'm considering buying a 4 day Aspen Classic pass with the intention of going to UATC. However, it would only be for 4 nights. I need to buy the Classic Pass by this Friday, 11/10. Any idea if you guys will make a commitment on the Bomber House by then and if I can rent for only 4 nights? Thanks

Search thermoliner forming on this forum. There are many DIY techniques to do this. My favorite is to pour boiling water into plastic bags (maybe turkey roasting bags) inserted into the liners. This gives you lots of time to get them heated properly and you don't have to try to push a hot, flimsy liner into the shell before you put your foot in. Really very easy and hard to screw up.

Can I sign up for only 4 nights?

Big Sky Trenchin' Convention? Big Sky Expression Session? (it's gotta have BS in it)

The Burton website doesn't give any details but their new design looks very similar to an Intech (Fintech) mechanism. The binding looks like a static interface and the mechanism appears to be within the boot.

I'll go with a tentative yes (for 4 days). We also need to plan lodging. Last year I stayed with Arne at The Inn at Aspen. Right at the base of Buttermilk. Fairly nice but not crazy expensive. Arne is a maybe this year because he is undergoing a knee replacement.

So - no ATC this year. Any of the Loveland crew want to arrange a mini-session in Aspen sometime early February? I believe that Arne is getting a knee replacement as we speak. Mario said that he was planning on getting a Classic Pass. Corey (Winnepeg) is planning on being in Aspen. Others?

I've been trying to avoid FB. Are any of the Loveland crew planning on attending ATC 2018? I was thinking of getting a 4 day Classic Pass and maybe making lodging reservations. Last year I stayed with Arne but I think he's about to get an artificial knee and likely won't know about his recovery for some time. Anyone else interested? - John

I'm done. Went up Friday. I thought that groom on Firebowl would soften up as the day warmed but the groom just got pushed aside as the day went on leaving blue ice underneath. As of noon it never warmed up enough to soften. I felt like a cat trying to hold onto a glass pane being tilted to a higher & higher angle. However I did see some carvers (including a female HILLB?) carving some nice turns on slopes that I could not. Season wrap-up: a paltry 9 or 10 days total (less than my 12 normally). None of them on the weekends. I don't think I'll ever be able to justify going on the weekend again. One of my BEST POWDER DAYS EVER (Loveland Lift #8 mid-January) and the best carving day (for me) at ATC at Buttermilk. Dislocated my shoulder briefly but this did not end my day (or my season). Took the winter tires of my car this weekend so I am officially done. Free New Belgium beer at noon last Friday. For you hard-cores enjoy the rest of the season. Maybe see you next season if you can make it up mid-week.

That is the EXACT feeling I had after witnessing the aftermath: That could have been me. Often when we see something bad like this we try to convince ourselves why we're different and somehow immune from the situation. Not knowing how this happened left us feeling vulnerable. We dialed it back the rest of the day and gave the trees a wide berth. On a happier note: How was the demo day yesterday?

I've used 3M Scotchcal for other things. Works pretty good. I think you mean 8 "mils" (0.008"). This would be about 0.2mm thick.

Just read that the guy down we saw was a skier (not a boarder): http://kdvr.com/2017/03/26/35-year-old-dies-while-skiing-at-loveland-ski-area/ Still - very sobering. It made us feel very vulnerable all day - "Could have been me". Conditions were very treacherous - nice soft snow & then ice.

Snow today was soft serve on frozen mashed potatoes. Might be good carving Sunday depending on temps Saturday & Saturday night. Patrollers were aiding an injured boarder near the base of #8 about 10:30. Didn't look good. Didn't see anything in the news tonight. Looked like he may have hit a tree.

Update from the weekend?

Pete - I didn't go this week because it has been so warm and snow conditions last Friday were pretty marginal. Any guesses on how many more weeks will be worth going?

I thought that carvers had to be old guys!

I'm glad that you found this heating method works (and improved upon it). I have only tried heating liners twice before: 1) hot rice, 2) oven. With hot rice, I found it difficult to get the rice all the way into the toe. With the oven method I thought I may have ruined my liners. When I took them out of the oven they were gooey gelatinous blobs. Getting these on my feet & into the shells was very difficult and likely to cause them to wrinkle. I thought of other ways to heat the liners in the shells. That's when I came up with the boiling water method. I thought that maybe turkey bags were necessary but it sounds that you found that normal plastic bags work as well. Also, I'm more of a DIY guy and I find that if I am careful, I can do a better job than a "professional" (because it is my stuff and I am patient). I'd like to hear from others that have tried this method & see what they think. If you try it once, I think you'll find that it is pretty easy - and easy to edit.

I often get stares from softboot boarders at the top of each lift ride while they are sitting down buckling in as I step my rear foot into my Intecs and slide away.

I was planning on making the journey yesterday but ultimately talked myself out of it. I've told people unfamiliar with it that going to the mountains on a winter weekend is like waking up crazy early, participating in a NASCAR race in the dark (and maybe on slippery roads), having your fun on the slopes and then another NASCAR race back home. Did anyone demo a game changing board from Bomber? I'll probably save my days for mid-week. However, I'm glad that the crew had a good time.

I recall that Jim said they would have a demo day this Sunday 2/26. Can anyone else confirm?

If you question his fact you are dealing with Fake News.