John E

But really - don't you think that everyone makes the fun -to- hassle calculation? At some point most everyone will decide that it isn't worth it. Maybe my threshold is just lower.

I view snowboarding like many other pursuits: There is a fun to hassle factor. If there is a big dump of powder to offset the huge hassle (waking early, dealing with bad driving conditions and crowded roads, crowded slopes, etc.) then it is "worth it" to me. If I have to deal with a similar hassle factor to carve (even good carving conditions) I question the value. Great carving can be had mid-week. I tried this once & I was shocked how relaxing it was. Also, I'm probably spoiled by ATC: great grooming with very few crowds. I think we averaged 25k vertical feet each day for 3 days. We quit around 2 - 3 each day because we were exhausted - not because the slopes got cut up or crowded. Few straightliners. However, all of this said, I know that great days often happen because one is willing to go frequently - great days often aren't planned. I likely will attend 2/26 or 3/26 to try out a different board.

Oops - I guess that March is so great they extended it by 5 days. I meant Sunday 3/26.

I'd say that if you can find old hardboots that fit you, go for it. The most important thing is the fit. If you find that you really like it, you can start to upgrade.

So - I may be accused of being boring (wouldn't be the 1st time) but how was the: drive up, snow conditions, crowds, weather & drive home? Jim & Angie are planning a free demo day next Sunday (2/26) and again on Sunday 3/36. So, I may have to overcome my phobia and make a journey up on a weekend.

This sounds like an excerpt from his Press Conference yesterday (except much more coherent).

I tried the rice method. I found it very difficult to get the rice all the way down into the toe of the boot. The water flows down there just fine.

Start with the liners in the shells. Put a turkey oven bag in each liner. Pour about 1.5 quarts of boiling water in each one. Let stand for about 15 minutes. Pour out the water, Pull out the bags, insert your feet & buckle. This saves having to put hot liners into the shells.

I've often thought that the biggest differences between success as a rider were 1) snow conditions & slope, 2) ability of the rider and 3) everything else. Not sure of the order of the first two but they seemed to be much more important than everything else. I say this because I think I am stuck as an intermediate rider. I'm stuck between the slowly rising slope of getting a little better with experience and getting older every day. At some point the age thing will dominate the improving thing. On Friday at ATC another rider loaned me his board. It was a Virus SL 167 Asymmetric (regular). At first I was skeptical. My only points of reference were a 19 year old Hot Blast and a 5 year old Coiler Stubby. After riding a bit, it felt like everything was coming together and I LOVED carving. I'm sure that some of my old bad habits were still present but after spending a day on that board, I had the BEST DAY OF CARVING I HAVE EVER HAD! The conditions were pretty close to hero but tending toward the soft end. The slope was moderate (Buttermilk). I kept asking the guys I was riding with if they were having a great day and they replied a bit mixed (too soft). I was hoping the guy that lent me the Virus would make me a deal I couldn't refuse but that didn't happen. I told my wife about my experience and she said that since I had a birthday coming up that she could get me one (!). So - was it the snow conditions & slope, was it the board or some combination? If I decide to get a new board, should I go for a similar Virus or something else? I understand that the Asyms are no longer available so if I do look for a Virus, I'll need to find something similar in a symmetrical board. I know that fellow riders rave about their Virus boards but are they really that special?

At the ATC Banquet, they showed a video from Bruce at Coiler. I was sitting pretty far back, had ridden hard all day and had a few beers & wine in me so I'm not sure that understood what Bruce was saying. He was offering to build a board for the winner of the lottery but he indicated that his health wasn't so good. Something that came on fairly quickly. Something about his knee(s). After thinking about it a bit, I'm concerned. He is one of the Chiefs of our Tribe. Does anyone know more? Is there anything our community can do to support him?

At Loveland yesterday to do some carving. I've never taken a mid-week day to go carving before. Powder - yes. Carving - no. What a great experience! Drive up was very easy. No lift lines. Nobody on the slopes. Carving was quite good. Never had to worry about others on the slope. It was sunny but breezy (windy?). The demographics seemed quite different than I am used to: Mostly skiers, mostly older, mostly beginner-intermediate. We ran constant loops on Ptarmigan and #6. We were doing about 12 minute laps (about 5 runs/hour). We rode from 9AM to about 12:30 or so and got in about 17 - 18 runs. Left around 1:45. Drive home was a breeze. I'm fortunate to be able to get away during the week. Now I'm spoiled and it will be hard to get up the motivation to go on the weekends any more.

Pretty cool: http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/mountains/avalanche-on-ajax-peak-seen-from-downtown-telluride

I can dress for the cold. I can't dress for the crowds.

Thinking of caving mid-week this week. The weather Friday looks best. Anyone else up for mid-week?

Mario - thanks for the report. My boarding days are falling behind even recent years so I am vicariously carving through others.

I have some older X-Bones on one board and TD3s on another. If I recall correctly, it is the length of the boot sole that limits the angles I can run (to avoid boot-out). I ride M27 as well. Maybe I'm not recalling this correctly.

So - how were the: 1) drive up, 2) snow conditions, 3) crowds, 4) weather, 5) drive home? The local evening news last night said that the worst of the traffic (at 5PM) was between Silverthorne & Denver. I'm thinking: that's the whole drive!

What has happened to the Sunday Carvers? Are they not carving or just not posting?

Too bad the weather was so crappy and you guys weren't having any fun!

Corey - Colorado Mountain Express say they run between DIA & Aspen: http://www.coloradomountainexpress.com/schedules#winter-dia-eagle I see their vans all the time but have never used them.

Breakthrough days are great. It's been a long time since I've had one. More like breakthrough runs when everything that everyone has been telling me suddenly makes sense. Then it gets icy & it all falls apart. Keep working at it!

As they say - with a name like Douchebag, It must be GREAT!

Another great day yesterday. Pete, Arne, Gregory and myself. Gregory & I agreed that it was one of the best powder days either of us ever had. Lots of new snow. Snowed hard all day. Not as cold as last week (20s) . We wound up on Lift #8 again and stayed there until about 2PM. Lots of great powder and very few people to mess it up. Visibility late in the afternoon above timberline was near zero. Just can't beat the feeling of surfing through fresh powder. Like surfing through a cloud.

Another thing that is exasperated by the heavy weekend traffic: 1) People talk about "days" of riding when they really mean "hours". 2) One tries to leave the ski area before noon to beat the traffic home. You can spend 3 hours in the car for 3 hours on the slopes.

Around here on Mondays when someone says they went skiing over the weekend, the first question is often "how was the traffic?".