John E

One of the best powder days in memory. Gregory, Justin (co-worker) & myself did a couple on Ptarmigan, then headed down South Chutes to #4. Though the sign on #4 said #8 wasn't open, we risked it and it was. 1st load on #8 was about 9 or 9:15. The powder was fantastic. Just kept lapping #8 all day. Took a 20 minute lunch break at the cabin. Otherwise we were either riding the snow or riding the lift. Ran into OddJob at the top of our last run. A mis-communication we went skier's left & he headed down another run. We got back to the lodge at 2PM. On the road about 3PM. Traffic was briefly slowed until Silverplume & then 60 MPH the rest of the way. Many, many runs of nearly untracked powder. The wind would fill in earlier tracks. Never expected these conditions. Wow, wow wow!

OK so I tried this over the weekend and was somewhat successful. Basically, the instructions (even from Intuition) describe how to heat the liner by putting 3 - 4 pounds of rice into a sock, heat it in a microwave & put it into the liner & leave it there for 5 - 10 minutes. I followed these instructions but found that trying to get any amount of rice past the ankle really doesn't work. An alternate heating scheme that my wife came up with would be to use some of those gel ice packs (they state that they can be used for warmth as well). I think if you put a pot of water on the stove, put in 6 - 8 gel ice packs, heat the water to about 180 deg F or so, & then slip them into the liners, it would be much easier to get them deep into the toe of the boots. Anyway, my attempts with the rice worked well enough so that when everyone was complaining about how cold it was last Sunday, my feet were happy.

When most of the crew departed for #6, I stayed on Ptarmigan. It was pretty cold but I had most every layer on that I owned. Ran into a new oldguy (Greg). He said that he had been away from carving for some time. He was on an older Donek & some 1st gen Bombers. He didn't know anything about this forum. We rode for a bit & he went down to change gear. I then ran into Ink & Shelly. Ink left to find Kai so Shelly & I rode for a few runs. She disappeared & I rode until 1:10. On the highway by 1:30. Traffic not too bad. I thought the snow was very good and remained so through most of the day. Every time that I saw a liftie grooming the ramp with a rake I thought of Mario. Maybe we should get him a rake so he can shake it over his head & yell at the slackers "Get off of my lawn!". Good to ride with you all again.

Very clever re-purposing!

Oldsnowboards - I pinged him with your offer. If he is interested, I will send you his contact info.

There are several DIYs including some videos on the intraweb showing how to heat-mold your Intution liners. Even the one published by Intuition suggests using rice in a sock heated in a microwave. Has anyone tried this to re-mold older liners? How were the results?

Ryan - check with SoftbootSailor. He's another fan of adding a 3rd strap. He's done this for years. He's in Aspen. Best place to find him is on the Colorado ride board - Buttermilk - a surfer's paradise.

What is the best way to unload an old ski quiver? A buddy of mine is moving & needs to send his '70s, '80s & '90s ski quiver to a new home. I doubt that he expects to get much money for them but just wants them to go to someone who will appreciate them: Located in Denver

Jim - thanks for your insight. When I get some powder, I "revert" to softies. I like the way that I can feel what the board is doing underfoot. However, once one is used to plate bindings, soft boot bindings seem crude & clumsy.

Very impressive. Wish I could get to be that good (but I'm too old).

So Jim - Since you see more powder than most of us (and true powder - not just new snow) AND that you can choose any setup - do you ride powder in plates or soft boots?

Send that snow to Colorado. We'll both be happy!

Rode Ptarmigan (aka Reload) all morning (mostly with Don & James). That lift is a HUGE improvement over the old #2! It almost never stopped. Still working on getting lower. Light went flat about 10:30. Started snowing about 11:30. Snowing heavily by noon. Quit about 12:10. Looked for you guys in the Rat but looks like you had already left. The drive home was one of the easiest ever. Never even slowed down. Hope all of you have a great holiday season. I probably won't be back until next year.

Maybe you could show jealousy for those of us in the Rockies? Sorry - just couldn't resist doing an endzone dance. Actually, this seems to be just an average winter here in Colorado so far. I hope that winter catches up to all of you elsewhere.

Weekend Loveland report? Snow conditions, runs open, crowds, traffic etc?

Thanks for the Cancellara video. I'm certain that he corners more aggressively than I do. Also, the analogy to road motorcycles may be apt. Obviously cars do controlled oversteer all the time. I think road racing motorcycles do as well (correct?). However, I don't think that I have seen a road bicycle do a controlled oversteer. It seems to me that when a 23mm tire loses grip, it does so pretty immediately and in an uncontrolled manner. Also, I think the whole point of carving is to avoid oversteer. Most soft boot boarders (and skiers) oversteer as a lifestyle. The other tips are welcome as well. I think that I just need to find my limits and not be afraid to exceed the limit. Under the right conditions, the consequeces aren't that severe.

The other sport that I participate in is cycling - both road & mountain. It occurred to me recently that carving a curve on a road bike & carving on snow are quite similar. This lead me to think that I may have discovered one of my problems. When I corner on my road bike, I really have no idea where the limit is. I really don't want to find out so I think that I am staying far away from it. The consequences of crossing that limit on a bike are pretty severe: loss of traction, sliding, road rash, guard rails, emergency rooms, etc. Since I have been riding a bike much longer than I have been carving, I'm wondering if I am unconciously applying the same fear of the limit to my carving: staying far away from the limit. However, the consequences of exceeding the limit while carving could be much less than on a bike. In the most forgiving situation, your edge looses grip & you slide out. If there is just smooth open slope on the outside of the turn (no people, no trees, etc.) you just slide until you stop & then recover. If this is true, this may be why I cannot get anywhere near as low as I see other riders get. I'm afraid of sliding out. This may be an unwarranted fear. Also, I see a lot of riders much better than me put a hand down on the inside of the carve. The best riders I know don't do this. I've tried to emulate them but now I think I need to put a hand down as a safety stop and explore the limit. So, as I take up riding this season, maybe I need to get out on a wide-open slope and take the risk of putting a hand down & sliding out. Other thoughts?

OK - so when he can fling his Bowler like a Frisbee and cut off some knuckle-dragger's head, He'll be the real Odd-Job!

Well if you wait until Sunday, all of the powder will be gone. Also, since there will only be one run open (in the whole state), it shouldn't be too crowded.

There's no denying that last season in California & PNW was bad. However, predicting that this season will be bad is premature. We've had recent seasons that started out bad and wound up being great. Hope for the best!

WooHoo! Loveland opens Thursday! I expect that Mario & Don will on the first chair. Make sure you bring your powder boards!

A competent snowborder to head a nation? That's more credibility than most of our candidates down here. Good on ya!

We'll see how it works out. Around here a number of previously free highways have added lanes funded by private companies. They charge a toll for use. To get the best rates, you need to have a transponder in your car. Otherwise they send a bill to the address of the registered auto. Not sure how they are going to work this out with rentals. Though I was initially against this approach, maybe it is the best of bad options. I think they should set the toll rate for all toll roads on a "on demand" model. When traffic in the toll lanes is light, reduce the toll. When it is heavy, raise the toll. This could be done on a minute-by-minute basis. A driver could then make the instant decision on whether to pay the toll or not. This should also maximize the revenue for the toll company. It seems like traffic around here has gotten significantly worse in the last year. We'll see how it affects the ski season. Last year, if I was on the highway by 6 AM, usually I was OK. However, it seems like one can't leave the ski area too early to avoid the afternoon traffic. I ran into traffic on a clear day last season leaving Loveland about 12:30. It used to be that if you left by 2 PM, you were OK. Sucks.

Of all of the tests that people describe, I think the sock slide test makes the most sense (I've never skateboarded). When I first started snowboarding, the instructor asked if I was regular or goofy. I wasn't sure so I picked regular. I've been snowboarding regular for a lot of years. Fast forward to 5 years or so ago & I tried the sock slide test. Turns out I'm goofy. However, I've got so many years in as regular, I chose not to switch. Maybe depends on how many years of snowboarding you think you have ahead of you.