skategoat

Hagen: Got your email. Thought I'd respond here since a get-together seems to be in the works. Mid-week for beers sounds good but I may have missed something - what week are we talking about here? Henry

Like drzone says, Markham is the place for Chinese food. Sort of the old story where an immigrant group becomes affluent and moves to the suburbs. The Chinese don't live in Chinatown (downtown) anymore. Or eat or shop there. There's a place called Big Mouth Kee on Hwy 7 and East Beaver Creek. The best, freshest seafood. Other than the Chinese food, Markham is boring as hell with the exception of Pacific Mall. Steeles Ave. and Kennedy Road. It's like a slice of Hong Kong. Amazing shopping there. http://www.pacificmalltoronto.com/en/ Email me if you want to take this offline. This is supposed to be a snowboarding site, right? One last thing, watch that you're not driving on the highways during rush hour. Traffic can get really bad. As for the 407, it's a (very expensive) toll route that's all automated (cameras in the air take pic of your plates and send you the bill). Your rental agency will ding you for the fees plus administration. Better to stay off it. Beers - try to find Creemore Ale. Microbrewery just got bought out by Molson's but their quality hasn't suffered yet. Most of the Sleeman brews are good. Rickards' Red is nice. I'm partial to Guiness but that's not exactly local. Avoid anything Labatt or Molson. Sort of the Buds of Canada.

Hagen, you are a lucky man. I am the unofficial Goodwill Ambassador for Toronto. First off, ignore the brochures at the airport, forget all the tourist traps and "must-sees". No one who actually lives in Toronto goes to the CN Tower, Science Centre or ROM. They are typical tourist attractions. The only reason you might want to see them is if you have kids. You'll want to visit the various neighbourhoods and partake in the food, people-watching and nightlife. Tell me where you're staying and I can give you some specific recommendations. A couple tips: Do not eat in the hotel. Bring your walking shoes. Stay far away from the Eaton Centre. Be adventurous and try something new.

http://www.sportinglife.ca/MyLifestyle/snowboard/articles/micro71.asp Hey, that could be my board.

John: The form was just sitting at the cashier's desk and I spotted it and asked about it. The cashier didn't even know about it. She had to ask a manager if it was valid. So, you might have to ask around or even call ahead. I filled mine in at the Sherway Gardens store. Henry

You just fill out a form at the cashier and a few weeks later Sporting Life emails you a coupon for a free S4 tuneup. They're just trying to build up an opt-in email database. I think this is the basic grind, edge sharpening and wax. About a $35 value.

Way to go tex. I owe you a beer.

tex: You should hang out with this guy. Free beer to any non-Canadian who can name this particular cowboy.

To correct my post, yes it's a 160 Fish. Too many boards, too many numbers to remember. I bought it because I liked the concept of a big nose and tapered tail. The feedback I got on it was that it allowed you to lean forward more because the tail naturally sinks in the pow. The trip is not until February so I'll keep my eyes out for a big swallowtail. Prior makes a nice one from what I hear.

www.catek.com for info. Long plates are for 27.5 mondo point and up. With my 27.5 Raichles, I can get away with either short or long. $175 is an excellent price, FYI

Carvedog, what kind of angles were you running with the big Burton. A buddy has a 185 Winterstick that he has offered to loan me. Might be similar setup as yours.

The problem is, I've never ridden powder so I don't know what I'm comfortable in. When I've ridden in what passes for powder in the East which is usually heavy and tracked-up, I find I need a softer board with more nose. But, that's because you run into mounded-up mini-moguls, tracks, virgin snow and all kinds of other stuff. If I'm in consistent, untracked stuff, I'm not sure I need such forgiveness.

RJ: You forget that what you post on the Internet is available to everyone in the world - forever. Why don't you just enter this contest instead? http://www.edge102.com/contests/manboobs.cfm HK

How does lots of golf fit in? Is that cardio or weight training? I am swinging quite a hefty weight and on bad days, I do it 100 times in 4 hours.

I know you *can* ride powder in hard boots but is it superior in any way to soft boots in the ungroomed fluffy stuff? I'm thinking about doing a trip to the Purcells in February and I've got equipment decisions to make. It's not like you can run back to the parking lot to switch gear at lunchtime. Oh ya and as for boards, I will bring a Burton Fish 164 but should I bother with the Prior 4WD? How about my Coiler Race Carve or any other narrow boards? Just leave that stuff at home, I'm thinking.

Bought a Fish last season and used it zero times! I feel like a kid who goes running out to the park every time he hears a game and then each time discovers the ball game is over. I've dragged that damn thing across N. America in pursuit of powder.

I'm still trying to work my schedule so I can attend SES but in the meantime, I thought I'd throw out this idea. Skican and other tour operators offer packages to Aspen/Snowmass in the $1600 range (CDN) with a Toronto departure. This includes air, transfers, accomodation and lift tickets. This sounds like a no hassle, reasonably priced alternative to a DIY trip. If anyone is considering doing this, post me a message. Reason being, we might be eligible for a group discount. http://www.skican.com/destinations/Colorado/aspenSnowmass/default.asp?loc=destinations&sbLoc=colorado&sbLoc1=SNS

Not my board but looks pretty cool. I thought some of you old snowboard fans might like it. Item # 7191533477

Time to start waxing.

If you don't like the conditions at Whistler, just move up or down a couple of thousand feet. I have been there when it was pouring rain at the base and white-out blizzard at the top. Even the reverse can happen when you get one of those weird inversions. So there is no perfect board for Whistler. Bring your favourite board and if it's just the wrong one for the conditions you find, rent or demo a board from Chris Prior. This winter should be good at Whistler because last season was the absolute pits and it just can't happen two years in a row.

I rode my Volkl Spline with soft boots and hated it. I was just about to sell the thing on eBay when I tried them with plates. Whole new ball game. I have a total blast with that board in soft conditions where I would worry about stuffing the nose with a true alpine board.

Thanks. I picked up a Specialized Rockhopper Comp for the kid. Not as nice as your Trek but it will do for a 12 year old.

RDY: Thanks for reminding me. I have a roof rack for the car in my basement. It's a Yakima with round bars, no locks. Gutter fit. No snowboard racks or anything but you can get those anywhere. gray: That makes 3 of us on Bomber with iX's. NateW owns a '91, I think. HK

Long post here but if you're looking for a winter vehicle, read on. Ask NateW about this car - BMW 325iX. That's right, it's an iX not an Xi. Back in 1986, BMW introduced an all-wheel drive version of the e30 sedan (318, 325). It was imported into North America from '88-'91. They were never sold in huge number due to cost ($30k +). There remains an enthuastic cult following for this car. The reasons: low maintenance cost due to sharing of most parts with the 8 zillion e30s out there, small efficient package and the best part - the best snow vehicle out there, bar none. With winter tires, it leaves SUVs in the dust. See here for the iX registry: http://home.earthlink.net/~wardellhix/iX/ This car is a 1989 and I've owned it for 5 years. It has never let me down. Fantastic condition with only 163,000kms. No rust, interior is mint. The only real problem - the A/C does not work. It also needs some suspension work on the front end (feels a bit clunky over bumps) but I would take care of that before selling. I am selling because I need more space. I will likely move to a Subaru wagon. I'm putting it up on Bomber because I'd love to see someone buy it and use it for a race team vehicle. Throw a roof rack on it and it would be perfect for bombing up to the mountains every weekend. Offered on Bomber for $5,000 which I think is a steal. Location is Toronto but I could be talked into delivering if some good riding is part of the package - eg. drive to Colorado/BC/Maine, meet you for some riding and hand over the keys.

I had a hard time finding anything small and light enough for my 12 year old. After much searching, I found a used, custom 151 Prior WCR. I never did see a board under 150cm. In the 150 range, you will find a lot of new, old stock Oxygens (from the days when Atomic liquidated their stock). Check eBay for those. There are also the odd Burton FPs in 153-ish length. If you're well financed, I'm sure Chris Prior or Bruce Varsava will build you a custom board. Checking the Bomber Store, I see that the LeMans is available in mondo 22 so you might be in luck with your sister. Good luck.