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More drying solutions than you can shake a stick at. I just stumbled on the site. No affiliation. http://dryguy.net/PRD_drying.htm

I actually ran into an old guy on the hill a couple seasons ago. My fault as I came up on him too fast. I didn't knock him down, thankfully. Then I saw him at the bottom of the run and rushed over to apologise to him but ran over his skis! I was expecting to get the gears but he just smiled and waved it off. I try to adopt the same attitude now on the slopes. It's bad enough getting there on the highways, do we really need slope rage?

Thanks for the tips guys. Mark, the 198 might be too much board for this Easterner. I'm guessing you downsized so you can get through the trees better.

Don't think they'll work in the winter. First, your balance will get thrown right off by uneven snow buildup. Second, I can imagine what would happen if you parked in a puddle and then had it freeze-up overnight. Maybe rip the things apart. Cool for a summer tire though.

Thank you sir, may I have another.

I guess I was asking for a flame war. Sorry if I came across as harsh Sean. Part of my frustration with Tremblant comes from the fact that I used to ski there in the 80's and it was such a great place. Cheap and cozy. All the money went into grooming and the ski experience rather than timeshares and huck-fests. Thanks for not taking the bait Sean.

raphael: The lack of response stems from a few things. In North America, carving in hard boots is a small niche discipline. Extreme carving is an even smaller niche of a small niche. I know of exactly two guys in North America who are dedicated to Extreme Carving and have the right equipment. And speaking of equipment, you just can't get the stuff here. Swoards are way too pricey for the N.A. market. And Northwave 900 boots - forget it. Good luck with the event. I'd love to be there but just getting a trip to Western Canada is a big enough challenge. Henry

I'm hoping to buy off a BOLer. I'll do eBay if something doesnt' come up. BTW, arc, are you searching ebay.de or something? Cause if I search on ebay.com, I get 2 hits on "swallow tail" and 1 hit on "swallowtail".

Bob: Tremblant is the worst in the spring. The crowds do not thin out. Instead, management starts closing runs to reduce operating cost. Thus, the crowds get concentrated. Last spring, they closed an entire face, Le Soleil, which actually had the best snow, for no apparent reason.

Bob - you know it won't stay on topic. Format should be kept simple: - Resort - Date visited - Weather/Conditions - Rating - Carving friendliness - Comments - Tips/Secrets

I've stayed out of this discussion because I've ranted about Mont Tremblant many times here and you're probably all tired of it. But, I need to jump in here when someone suggests an early season trip to Tremblant. Sean, if you are an Intrawest employee or could somehow be offended by negative comments, you should move on to another thread. Everyone who is familiar with Tremblant knows that Intrawest's snow conditions reports are total B.S. They are written with marketing goggles on. They make Killington's ski reports look pessimistic. When counting "number of trails" open, they like to count every cat track, ski-out and bunny trail. I think they even count the cafeteria line. If you're looking for the inside scoop on Tremblant, visit: www.tremblant-insider.com Go to the chat area for the latest conditions from someone who skis the mountain every day. This guy is Intrawest's worst nightmare.

For upcoming powder trip. Prefer something in 175 or more length. Thanks.

Would be useful to get inside knowledge from locals and frequent riders.

Phil: Tell me which model you are riding exactly. If I go to the F2 site, I see 2 Intec plate bindings - the "Intec - RS" and the "Intec - Titanium". My standard Cateks are too fiddly and heavy and my Intec TD2s were too stiff for me. Going to try F2 for sure this winter. Correction, F2 has 3 Intec bindings. Intec - RS Intec - Titanium Intec - Titanflex Henry

Umm guys - yyzcanuck isn't selling to you litigious Americans. Remember?

How come no one's mentioned Prior? The 4WD is very close in shape and specs to the Coiler All Mountain. Good all-around board and you can get some deals on their demo stock.

I'm with you guys. I've learned not to be a board snob and also not to blame my equipment for any bad riding. I threw plates on my Volkl freeride board and I had an absolute blast. Then last year, someone loaned me an old Burton Factory Prime and I had a better time on that than on my Prior. Still like the Prior but it's different. My challenge now is trying to decide what boards to bring on a trip. My quiver is up to 9 boards now. I had 1 board until late last season. I would love to try an asym, btw. And a vintage board like a Performer.

Linus: Of course, you jest about the mail server thing. That sort of thing could land a young man in very hot water. (Dad mode off). But heck, with a name like Gershenhorn, how hard could it be to track him down? HK

Wow, I would buy that board just for the beauty of it. If you don't like it, I'll take it off your hands. Those Sims bindings looks suspiciously like a pair of Oxygens I have. They are mostly plastic but one year I loaned them to a friend who weighs 225 and he didn't break them. The only thing I didn't like about them is the lack of cant options. Edit: Forgot to mention - I think you're missing a part on the bindings. The teeth on the bottom of the plate engage on the canting plate that is attached to the board. I will try to dig up my Oxygens and take photos for you.

Linus: Alan Gershenhorn President, UPS Canada Alan wants to hear from you.

Linus - sorry to laugh at your misfortune but that is hilarious. It reminds me of a time I phoned Rogers about a problem with a cellphone account and was promised a credit. A couple months later, I didn't see the credit so I called again. The person I got that time told me she couldn't help me because I failed to get the original customer service rep's name. So I asked her for her name. She said - "Sorry, I can't give you that information." Wah? I flipped out on her and I'm sorry to say some colourful language was employed. So now it depends on your pain threshold. Are you willing to go through more pain to try to win this or is it just not worth the effort anymore? For personal satisfaction, you might want to get their fax number and send them the "Looping Fax of Death".

Linus: Get a hold of the UPS Canada head office phone number and call the president. Find out his/her name first so you can ask for that person directly. You will get an admin person for sure but go ahead and tell your story. Don't forget to add the part about being a starving student and your sick grandmother. I'll betcha they waive the fee. Always remember to get names when you talk to these people too. Makes them feel accountable. I complain ALL the time when I feel slighted by a corporation and I have about a 75% success rate. Henry

FedEx and UPS charge brokerage fees *only* if you use their cheap Ground service. If you ship by Air, the brokerage fees are included in the fees. It's all spelled out in their respective websites. Another option if you live near a border is to use Mail Boxes Etc. office in the U.S. border town. They will accept and hold shipments for a nominal fee. You then pick up, bring across yourself and make up your own story about why you're bringing back a snowboard in the middle of July.

I thought that Burton sold off all the moulds for their alpine boots and bindings. Considering that even a resurrected alpine program would contribute squat to their bottom line (probably detract from it), I find it hard to believe that Burton would tool up for alpine gear. The ROI would give their accountants seizures. Unless it's a personal project of Jake's or some sort of Olympic tie-in. If it's the Olympics, it's a bit too late for Torino.

You'll just have to ask around "Hey, are you guys from Bomber?" That should make you some fast friends. How about this - we'll all try to wear something snowboardy.