Ian M

^ Update coming soon. Hang tight!

^ Awesome news, Dan. This is shaping up to be a great season! I'll attend most, if not all, of the Mont Blanc session. It's close to Ottawa, so there should be others up for such fun nearby! Cheers :D

I'm in!

Lol... nice Allee . Is your cynicism strong enough to be considered a super-power? ;)

Hey everyone, Just a heads-up that there is an offline discussion going on about who's buying season's passes where, as well as a set of weekly teaching sessions that I'm offering. If you're not in the loop and would like to me, just send me an email through my profile! Cheers, Ian

Nice! You finally made a decision. That's the metal FC, right?

That sir, is a very cool topsheet. It looks like you stole it off a spaceship :P

Thanks for the feedback, Jack!

And we have poutine!

The trail map and photos of Sugarbush look TASTY. Anyone have first-hand experience there?

^ Haha... the translation is close. Thanks Brian!

New-board happy dance!!

Belle planche, Réal! J'ai trouvé que les Kesslers prennent plus de force en général, mais les resultats sont spectac. Fais-tu des courses, ou freecarve?

I'm stoked to see responses to this thread already! Chris's suggestion for end of February sounds wise; it's a good bet when planning this far out. What about Owl's Head or Gore Mountain? I've heard lots of great feedback on both, and know several people first-hand who've enjoyed Owl's Head. Both seem to get lots of snow, have great terrain, and are very quiet mid-week. They're both on the cheaper end, and pretty centrally located for us as well as our friends from Quebec and the U.S.! Owl's Head - 1700' vertical, 45 trails [Quebec] Gore Mountain - 2500' vertical, 94 trails [New York] I can certainly ride Sugarloaf again, but to me it is a bit shy on intermediate terrain. I'd prefer to try something different :D. Can't wait to book this off at work... any dates in February are peachy for me! Cheers

Pick me!!

Good review! I'm way behind with the demos... still haven't ridden a plate. Next time :)

^ Nice! Did you get to demo that monster?

Cool. That's a good step up in length! This 177 will be the longest board I've ridden; 171 Stubby before that. You know what this means, right? We should be well-matched for tailgunning :P Who wants to go first?

^ Nice Stephane! What specs did you order? Remind me what you were riding last season please?

^ Thanks floBoot! Because alpine gear is a niche market, many of the board manufacturers increase their value by offering custom gear. Coiler and Donek are two North-American builders who can make boards exactly the right shape, size, stiffness, and color for you! Both offer standard topsheet designs, but will work with customers to include their own designs or a custom graphic from a third party. I was too impatient with my first board to do this, but am really really looking forward to riding such a great board with my own decorations on it! XD Cheers!

In the firm belief that it is never too early to share my carving enthusiasm with you fine folk, allow me to take the lead with this season's NBP thread! What's your new ride this year? Who's got great graphics? Come on, we all love the shiny stuff :D My contribution is fresh off the press... well, my press. Just finished making my own topsheet last night, and emailed it to Boardmaster Bruce. The board should come to life in about two weeks, and I cannot wait to ride it. It'll be a 177cm Nirvana, almost identical to a Coiler demo that I rode at ECES last year. Specs are as follows: 177cm, 20cm waist, 12-14m SCR, 16mm taper, and the stiffness just right of course. She'll look something like this: The theme is zen, which is where I often am while riding. The open circle is a common Buddhist symbol that suggests the imperfection of the human experience. The text is Chinese, because it looks great and reflects the origins of Buddhism. It says 'be the experience', which reminds me to be one with the snow. It's all pretty deep stuff, but not to be taken too seriously. The important thing is that it will help me get to my favorite headspace when I strap it on my feet! I used GIMP to lay it out, and the circle and leaf were freebies online. Everything was brought up to 600dpi using vectors, other than the 'Coiler' text which was done in GIMP along with the red drop shadow(s). The grey board outline and scaled bindings helped me get a feel for what might be covered up or cut off, but nothing has to work out exactly. Doing this sure taught me a lot about graphic work, and I'd highly recommend making your own topsheet as a fun way to pass the summer:cool:. Best wishes to everyone for a kick-ass season... may you all experience your own form of Nirvana! :D Snowily yours, Ian MacKenzie

Great video! Very playful and creative... wicked riding and vibe

Glad to hear that you're enjoying it, Steve! I'm going for the 177cm 12/14m version, probably 8mm taper. Very nice photo of your board :) I'll post graphics for mine once they come together.

Hi nitros! Please remind me of your real name again? The Nirvana is basically the new Stubby. Same flex profile - stiffer in the tip and tail, softer in the middle. It has variable side-cut though, where the Stubby was single radius. They ride very similarly... I find both to be really stable, comfortable boards that you can also crank the s*$@ out of. Bruce is offering two levels of taper (8 or 16mm), and had the following versions available for demo at ECES: 174cm, 12/14m VSR, 8mm taper 177cm, 12/14m VSR, 16mm taper, 21cm waist 182cm, 13.5/15 VSR, 6mm taper I only rode the 177, and it was wicked. I just have to choose which taper to get, and decide on a 20 or 21cm waist. Chris preferred the EC (EuroCarve) board, which is the same flex profile, but has a much longer single radius sidecut in a small package... I think 15m for the 168cm. There are a few of us headed up to Tremblant this Sunday if any of the Mont Blanc crowd are interested in a change in scenery :) We have some tickets to use up! Cheers, Ian

I'm off until Friday, when I'll ride at Calabogie with my parents. Thanks though! A new board is in the works - I'm on Bruce's list for a 177cm Nirvana for late summer XD. Stoked! It'll be my first board with a custom topsheet, too.