Terryw

Instead of watching us, you should come carve with us . It is possible to carve in a soft setup. I know a few riders who can carve in any set up you give them. You should definitely be able to do the Norm. Try to master that prior to switching over to the stiffer alpine equipment. Pay attention to the ride board for so cal. We have a pretty good group hitting Snow Summit on a very regular basis. Any of us would be happy to help you make the transition to carving. You might even be able to borrow some equipment from us and try an alpine setup. You just have to come hang with us! You can find us on chair 1 first thing in the morning at the opening. After that we usually migrate over to chair 7 to rip it up.

Well you finally picked the right weekend for me, but now I am going to be in Utah! Have to make a quick family visit, no time to even make it to the local resorts. So unfair. Only 1 official training weekend left. Glad we have had so much snow this year, I will still have time to ride with you guys at some point this year. Hey Andrea, did Dennis come hang with you guys for a while on Sunday?

Man, you guys are on the wrong schedule for me this year! I will be there, but with the patrol again! Only two official training weekends left. Cant wait to be done. Miss hanging with you guys.

Looks like I will be up with my wife and daughter. My daughter has decided to try snow boarding again. Hasn't been on a board since she was a small child. Now 16. should be interesting. I should be wearing red jacket, black helmet, red coiler. See u all up thar!

Looks like Hopster, Rick, and I will be at Summit. Any one else likely?

Training .................

Any one else have an extra set of steel receivers for Catek? I had the misfortune of having my boots stolen last week, so I am getting some new 700t's with fintecs. I ordered some new TD3's too, but I would still like to use my Cateks as second board kit. I apologize for hijacking this thread.

My understanding is this is not the PSIA level rating. It is a mountain specific test to determine if you have the necessary skill set to begin training for the toboggan. It is administered by the ski school instructors, not the ski patrol. You have to demonstrate the basic skills (side slip, falling leaf, hockey stop, small radius turns, medium radius turns), as well as the slightly more difficult skills of spinning 360's on the snow in both directions, and a little switch ridding on the easy terrain. You should also be comfortable and in control on slopes up to a single black diamond. I believe level 4 involves double black diamonds and an emphasis on carving ;). The idea being that they don't want you to kill your self the first time you get a sled behind you. I can tell you that it is quite a rush the first time you point your board straight down the fall line and that sled starts to push you to much higher speeds. Totally cool . For those that know our hill, the test was administered on Miracle Mile. I did not find it to be difficult, until I had to ride switch and spin . I believe that they were also looking at how comfortable you were in general. You should be able to look around you and spot trouble with out having to stop. In other words, you should be able to divide your attention between what you are doing, and what every one else around you is doing also, all while not tripping over your own edge! Every day stuff for most of us carvers. That is why I would love to see more carvers in the patrol. I think we make great patrollers. I can tell you we definitely have an advantage holding back the sled with a hard boot setup and a long stiff running edge.

You are welcome. The more the merrier! We need more carvers in the patrol to represent. Besides, I need some bros who appreciate the fresh cord with no tracks on it, and no one to have to watch out for! If you are really serious we should get together, and I can show the skills they will test you on before they will let you train for the toboggan. You have to be what our ski school calls a level 3 snowboarder to start that training. Nothing you guys couldn't handle, I'm sure.

Yes it is for next season. You have to begin the training in the late summer with the OEC class. That is the outdoor emergency care class. You could challenge this curse if you are all ready an EMT, nurse, or doctor. This usually completes in late October or early November. That is when the on hill training begins. Starting in November, there will be training every other weekend that will last into March. It is a big commitment the first year for training. Summit does a lot of training, and is recognized as one of the best patrols in the country. After the first year, your ongoing commitment is 14 days of patrolling per year. Much easier!

I won't make it up this weekend either. My wife made plans for us for Valentines Day in Long Beach. Maybe next time ............

For any of you that are interested in joining Ski Patrol, there is a "ski with the patrol for a day" ride date coming up on March 13. You get a free ski pass for the day, and you can check out what the patrol does. Pretty fun, and you get lunch too! If you are interested, space is limited, so contact the coordinator Krista Fisher at: 714 397-4515 Benefits include a season pass for you and your family, 40 - 50% off pro deals for equipment, first tracks on pristine cord ............... If you are planning on going please go to : http://www.bbvnsp.org and fill out an application.

My training runs every other weekend. So I will be training on the 21st again! I feel so lonely. You guys need to switch weekends, so I can line up with you. ;)

Sure wish I could have hung out with you guys yesterday. But at least I was able to get first tracks in a lot of places doing hill setup . Snow was really fun in the morning before it got tracked up! Sure beat the hell out of the snow on Saturday. That was just a heavy mess. California concrete. Getting close to finishing this training, then I will be able to hang with my bros. :D

Last I saw the Catek steel receivers were sold out for the season. I wanted to switch too ........... :rolleyes:

Enjoyed the teck of the film. And yeah, the story was lame, but I was still captivated for the entire flick. Saw it in the imax 3d, and thought it was amazing. Curious to see it in a typical theater and contrast and compare.....

Looks like my wife and I will be up there this Thursday too. It will be good to see you Erwin! Its been a while.

Alas, it is a training weekend for me. I will be on the hill, but with patrol.

You know what, you may be right. I went back and reread the post, and I initially thought Flounder was calling all of the people in those organizations power clerks. He never actually does. I may have read more into his words than he intended. I hope so. I will stand corrected. It is a shame Angry Craig could not do so.

I have to take exception to this statement too. I just joined the ski patrol this past year, and I have to say that the people I have met in the patrol have been nothing but helpful and fun to work with. That being said, any organization can have a few bad apples, and the National Ski Patrol is a very large organization. Our trainers have been very clear with us that, and I quote, "You do not own the hill. We are here to protect and assist the guests of the resort. Make them happy! We want them to come back. If they don't come back, you won't have any place to ride." If you have never been injured on the hill, then you have never had the chance to see the patrol at its best, helping to ease your pain and transport you quickly to the appropriate medical facility to get you on your way again. And in some cases, actually saving your life. Do I think Fin was wronged and treated unfairly? You bet I do. I think he slowed appropriately at the slow sign when asked to do so. What else can you do, unclip and skate past? Should have been a non-incident. I really don't understand the managements response. That is so contrary to good business relations and customer service. If Fin was being obnoxious or unreasonable, I might understand. But he was neither. Very strange.

Worked there many moons ago as a liftie. It can be a fun place to ride as long as there are snow conditions like we have now. Mid week is definitely the only time you want to be there.

This is so cool! If you can carry a carving board, it is perfect! http://www.wired.com/autopia/2010/01/nasa-puffin/

Congrats! I knew you liked when we demoed them on New Years Eve. I am sooooo tempted.

I might be up there on Sunday, one of the benefits of patrol is a pass that is good for anytime. Gotta try to make good use of that! What is your new toy Albert?

If the 7th is a good compromise for most of the group, then don't worry about me. At least I will be on the hill!