skategoat

Still available. Profile is out of date.

I've been to Holiday Valley many times but not Holimont. Didn't a bunch of you show up at the Provincial Championships and leave with some of our hardware?

OS2s are supposed to be lighter but it's hard to tell the difference. The "dipstick" that is designed to help you quantify cant and lift settings is just about useless. The gradations on the dipstick are too small and hard to read. You have to use your fingernail to feel the marks sort of like reading Braille. The big improvement is noticed when you change your binding angles. You don't have the cant pins digging into the base plate anymore. As for riding feel, I can't see how anyone could notice a difference. If you're not concerned about the cant-pin-destructo feature, you can save yourself a lot of money and find used OS1s.

Darren: Does the kid want to try racing next year? Check out the AOS recreational series at www.ontariosnowboarders.ca It's done for this year but will start up again in Jan. 07. It's a fun, relaxed atmosphere and he's got a good shot at a medal just for showing up. In the Under-10 category, I don't recall any riders on alpine gear (tough to find in those sizes as you know), so don't worry about equipment. Shoot me an email if you want to be on the AOS mailing list. Henry

Yes you're right, racing experience will help a lot but I'm just thinking, in a 2 day camp, you're just not going to identify the future stars especially if those guys/gals have never been on a snowboard. I suppose the skiers who will be interested in the camp will only go if they can actually link a turn on a board so there is already a weeding out process.

I hear you. I looked for a program in S. Ontario. You'd think with a population of 10 million plus, we'd have one or two. Well, there are a bunch but they are all at private clubs. For publicly accessible programs, there is exactly one - Oshawa Kirby. We ended up at Milton Heights which offers a BX program and then attended GS races independently. For 06/07, I aim to change the situation. I took on a volunteer position with AOS (Assocation of Ontario Snowboarders) and my mission is to try to breathe some life into GS racing in Ontario. Wish me luck.

Interesting. I don't know about you guys but I was a pretty good skier and it helped me zero/nada/zilch when I jumped on a snowboard for the first time. I don't see how there are any transferable skills with the exception of how to choose a line on a course. CSF must have a lot of extra coin to throw around with the OTP2010 program. CSF would be better off looking for skateboarders, wakeboarders and surfers.

Dumb ad notwithstanding, that's a fine board for a kid or lightweight rider. I picked one up brand new for my son and he loves it. Superb build quality. Too bad Burton has dropped out of alpine.

Thanks Ray but I just did a deal on an 183 all-mountain board so your 182 would be redundant. Looking for 200cm.

The mind reels at the possible responses.

I would consider a trade for a Rad-Air Tanker, Rossi Undertaker or just about any Coiler. Wachu got?

Bob: I am looking to trade for F2 bindings, not a board. The Madd performed beautifully when I loaded the nose and rode aggressively. Fantastic edge hold and if you want, you can turn it on a dime. You've heard it all before. I picked the Madd up to see what all the fuss was about. Now I'm after a mellower ride. Henry

Nice except the music ;-) To each his own! I'd like to see your cam setup though. Homemade or store-bought?

I would consider a partial trade for newish F2, TD2 or OS2 bindings.

This board rides beautifully but just doesn't suit my style. 2005 "phase 2" model with the CF Butterfly issues fixed. Red sidewalls. Originally Jack Michaud's board. Jack rode it 4 times. PTC tune, ridden about 5 times since. Some very light scratches in base that would come out with a tune. Has usual Madd cosmetic issues, the worst of which is a "wrinkle" in the top sheet near the tail. Detailed photo of wrinkle in second photo. Bindings not included. Late season deal at $400. Shipping should be around $25 in Canada, $40 U.S.

I'm scratching my head on this one. Why wouldn't you put it down? Uncool? Does it ruin the view of your feet? Gleb, you never go without a helmet but you don't put your safety bar down?

Bear: All-mountain boards are like any other all-purpose product - a compromise. I've been there. I started out and I still own a Prior 4WD but it only comes out when I know there's going to be a lot of ungroomed snow. On the groom, I ride a Colier Race Carve or Volkl Renntiger. They kill it over the Prior. The narrow waist lets me transition from turn to turn a lot quicker and I get way better, more consistent edge hold through the whole turn radius. Since you like Burton, look for a Factory Prime. Henry

If you want to be away from crowds, try Fernie BC. Liftlines are not existent. In some of the bowls, you actually feel lonely. Big White isn't bad but it's close to Kelowna and there are direct flights into it from most of Canada and W. USA. Weekends can be quite busy.

If you fly in by WestJet, take your boarding pass with you and you can ski/ride for free on the day of your arrival. Since Big White has lighted slopes, you can get quite a bit of riding in depending on your arrival time. The best carving slope is at the top of the mountain, accessible by t-bar only. Can't remember the name of it but it's wide, groomed and usually empty because it's t-bar only.

Did these guys watch the Olympics? Easily 1/3 of the riders in the men's BX were riding hardboots.

I met Imo at Osler and I remember his unusual board and his riding skills. I haven't been to MSLM all season but I'll be looking for them when I get up there (hopefully this week).

http://www.grafsnowboards.com/ Go to "Your Ride" section and click on "Ken McCutcheon". Some nice looking alpine decks. We need to track this guy down and pick his brain.

I've always wanted to build boards but Bruce won't hire me. One idea I had was to get a few guys together with similar interests and do it over a number of weeks over beers. You can share ideas and fixed costs. The epoxy fumes can be minimized with respirators and fume hoods. Besides, what's a little brain damage between friends?

I saw that and got a good chuckle out of it. Come on Ross, where's the hometown loyalty? You should be riding a Prior.

The story I heard from an Austrian friend is that the Kessler family is very wealthy and the snowboard biz is just a fun sideline. He says they are of Austrian background. Are the top sheets metal? Stainless steel like Volants or are the topsheets actually titanal? I played around with a sheet of titanal and I was amazed by the flexibility of the alloy. You could bend it right around your finger and it would spring back to it's original shape. If the Kesslers are indeed fragile, it wouldn't be because of the titanal.