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The problem with that is you almost never have the perfect board unless conditions stay consistent for a few days. Even then, conditions change from morning to afternoon. At Park City, I brought out the All Mountain board when I should've had the GS. Then the next day, I brought out the GS when I should've had the AM. Then in the afternoon, I wished I had a soft freeride board. Meanwhile, my buddy in his softie rig is laughing at me. This has me re-thinking the whole "quiver" thing. I already offered my AM for sale locally.

It's a tough call. I have a lot of boards too but I'm hesitant to get rid of any of them because I know my needs will change. But then it feels wasteful to have all these boards sitting around. I sold off a Burton FP 168 last season and now I'm looking for one or something similar for my son. I didn't think he'd grow so darned fast. One thing that assuages my guilt is loaning the boards out to friends.

What route do you take? We could maybe meet near 400/401 and share a ride the rest of the way. Let's wait to see what the weather is. Supposed to be flurries and I won't go if there's an advisory.

Phil: I will return. The tasting I got last week just makes me want to drink the full glass. I have to try Canyons, Snowbird and other resorts. Having some experience with the snow and terrain will make my next visit much more enjoyable. I was not at all disappointed by the snow coverage given that it was early season. After all, until today, we had none in the East. Most of the closed runs would've been too difficult for me anyways. I envy you living in Park City. Great snow, great mountains, great people. Did I mention that the tap water was the best I've ever tasted? It made me laugh that the restaurants kept pimping the Pellegrino when the stuff that comes out of the taps is like champagne. Henry

Can't make it this weekend so I'm thinking of going Friday. Anyone want to share a ride?

Just got back from Park City. Rode PCMR on Day One. Lots of variety and lots of space with nary a line-up. However, as Carvedog mentioned, the layout is weird and I would say, not boarder friendly. The runs alternate between very steep pitches and very flat run-outs. I was looking for open bowls but most were closed due to lack of snow. When I did venture up to Jupiter Bowl, I regretted it. The bottom of Jupiter is a flat area that is a total killer on a snowboard. I thought I was going to suffer a coronary when I clipped out, tried to skate and got caught in snow up to my thighs. I ended up lieing flat on my board and pushing myself along with my hands until I got to some slope. Day Two, my buddies wanted to go to Snowbird. Piled into the car at 9:00AM, drove about half-way and then we heard the canyon road was closed. Back we went to PCMR. Wasted half a day. If I did it again, I would take a soft freeride setup to PCMR. On both my Volkl RT and my Coiler AM, I was getting tossed around big-time by the bumps and loose snow. It was exhausting. Plus, I think the best terrain is accessed only by hiking - a lot easier in softies. As for carving terrain, I thought the best was off King Con chair. Lots of advanced intermediate terrain and a consistent pitch. Day Three, my buddies wanted to SKI at Deer Valley. So I rented planks and actually had a good time. Too damn bad they don't allow snowboards because DV is carve-i-liscous. Grooming is impeccable. Food was unreal. Best food I've ever had at a ski resort. Hang out apres-ski in the lounge at Stein Erickson Lodge and you'll feel like Dean Martin in his Rat-Packer heydey. Park City itself is a blast. Lots of great bars and (expensive) restaurants. Friendly locals. Enjoyed The Corner Store at PCMR base, the bar at Prime, The Spur, Kristauf's Martini Bar. Taste of Saigon is to be avoided. Lousy service and bad food that is nauseatingly over-seasoned with ginger. One piece of advice about nightlife in PC - get an early start, a lot of restaurants close before 10:00 and the bars all shut down at 1AM.

Nope, not a subscriber. Not too interested in curling. Mind you, there are some pretty good BBC shows on Country Canada. Maybe I'll drop Leafs TV and pick up CC. Coronation Street's gotta be more entertaining than a Leafs game.

I wouldn't get too excited about CBC's coverage. CBC Country Canada is a digital specialty channel with a tiny subscriber base. I don't know anyone who subscribes to it.

What'd you use to do the cutting? Dremel? Knife? File?

Email me next Monday. Heading out on a trip so I don't have time to look right now but I know I have extra discs, bumpers, screws.

Interested. Enable your email and let's talk. Or email me.

Do TD2s have the same issue? The top of the step-in receiver collides with the boot shell and I can't get the boot seated properly.

Has anyone taken a Dremel or a file to their Head boots to make them work with TD1 step-ins? If so, any photos?

To add my 2 cents. Dave at yyzcanuck helped me mold my Inuitions the first time and they turned out perfect. Then, I handed my boots down to my kid. Molded the boots in the oven and seemed to work out great. A week later, he put them on and they shrunk at least 1cm. He couldn't ride in them. Temperature had nothing to with it since they were stored in the house, then transferred to the car (not the trunk, in the passenger compartment) and brought into the lodge. Both times, they were molded exactly the same way, in the oven. I guess we'll just have to try again.

This is the kind of info I need. Quick question for you guys - West Face to the left of Jupiter Lift looks ideal for my kind of riding. This judging from the photos on Park Ciy website. Not killer steep and with widely spaced trees. Can you traverse on a snowboard to this area from Jupiter Lift or is it a hike? At Fernie last year, I got stuck on a couple of traverses and it sucked all my energy. I want to try to avoid that kind of thing at PCMR. Or at least be better prepared.

Praise Da Lord. It's snowing in Toronto. Just a bit, but it's white and flakey. Here's the prob - it's supposed to go up to 7C on Friday, then 9 and THIRTEEN on Sunday. That means only the truly desperate will make snow over the next couple of days. Didja guys know that man-made snow costs approximately $1 per cubic foot? Found that out from the snowmakers at Oshawa Kirby.

I sent Marty Frankland a couple of emails on just this subject. Waiting to hear back from him. Also will try to meet up with the hardbooter crew. Thanks for the recommendations. I know about Instructor search but was looking for personal recommendations. Thanks again.

Looking for a half day of hardboot, freecarve instruction between Jan. 11 and Jan. 14. I'm looking to focus on making smoother, more rounded turns as opposed to racing/GS technique. I actually want to go slower, not faster. Any recommendations?

Where do locals go on weekends to avoid crowds? Or do you guys know secret runs at PCMR?

No problem. Send snow.

I just installed my BTS. What else to do on a rainy Saturday in January? My knurls were on the outside. I punched from the inside-out. I also noticed that the knurled end of the pins protruded a bit more out of the plastic than the smooth end. That should be an indicator of the direction in which you want to punch the pins. Installation went without incident but after I installed and performed a carpet test, the clouds did not part, angels did not sing. In other words, I noticed a small difference on forward flex and virtually none on rearward flex. This on a pair of Indys formerly with RAB springs. We'll have to see how they perform on snow.

I had a conversation recently with a friend of mine who is a multiple provincial GS champion. One year he entered the SBX provincials on a lark with his GS gear, before they started restricting board shape. He found that in full alpine setup, he had way too much speed going into the last jump and had to bleed it off before hitting it. In the final, he decided to go balls out and crossed the finish line airborne but sideways. Landed in the finish corral on his hip and shoulder. Won gold but suffered a huge contusion, almost passed out from the pain and that was the end of his SBX career. Bottom line, most SBX courses are made with softbooters in mind. Racing in alpine gear gives you a bit of a technical advantage but it comes with risk.

I once had a PDF or JPG scan of that "Core Four" article but lost it. Does anyone have a copy they can email me?

Allee: Enjoy it while you're there. It's just not the same when you brew it at home. Henry

The best coffee I've ever tasted was in Costa Rica. Nothing special by C.R. standards, it was just what they served at the mountain lodge in the mornings. Brewed in an old fashioned percolator. I bought some beans to bring home but it just wasn't the same. Must be some sort of magical combination of beans, water, brewing method. It was better than anything I was served in Italy or France. Not to say their coffee wasn't great, but the stuff in Costa Rica was heavenly. Rich, aromatic, nutty. As for Starbucks, ya they are over-rated and expensive but before they came along, your choices were Tim Horton's brown water or the universally horrid stuff that coffee shops served in those ubiquitous white styrofoam cups.