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I think it's about 4 hours out if it's set as Mountain time. Scared the crap out of me when I saw Dec. 1 as the date of my post. Dec. 1 is our wedding anniversary!

Closeup of the suspension. I forgot to mention, it has a metal fin in the middle of the ski that retracts on the uphill ski when you lean.

I buddy of mine who originally hails from Austria dug this up from his basement for me. It's called a Swing-bo. Ingenious design with a pivoting suspension that puts two edges on the snow at all times. The binding isn't anything more than non-adjustable plastic straps. He tells me it's a wild ride. Very swoopy and manuverable.

Burton makes a step-in. I had SI's as my first snowboard binding and they worked well. I think the pros don't like 'em because they just don't offer the response but for an intermediate or recreational rider, they work fine. I remember Burton upgraded them and called them pSI but on their website now, it's just SI. Either they dropped the p or they dropped the binding. EDIT: I have Flows for both my kids (9 and 12) and they love them. I love 'em too because the kids are strapped in and ready to fly in seconds as opposed to plopping on the ground and strapping up. Keeps their butts dry too.

Did someone use the words "production" and "Coiler" in the same sentence? I would say that Bruce's boards are as custom and hand-made as you can get. In my opinion, at his current prices, they are an unbelievable bargain.

Randy, you're going to want one of these for Xmas:

The snowsports are great but I have to honestly say that Kelowna is one of the worst planned cities in Canada. There are wrecking yards next to grocery stores next to residential communities. The sprawl makes Mississauga look compact. Then there is the ridiculous floating bridge that's a gigantic traffic bottleneck.

Sounds like a bad idea. I put a light coat of wax on my topsheet to keep snow from sticking to it. How would you wax a rough topsheet?

Have you guys seen this: http://www.blognewsnetwork.com/members/0000001/mpg/tricolorAutos/tricolorAutos.html 3000 luxury autos in the hold - BMW and Volvos mostly.

Really? In Toronto, all we got was a lame 2 for 1 ticket for Mount St. Louis. And I think it expires Dec. 17.

I have both my kids in Flows and I've never had a problem. Maybe cause they're lightweights. What part breaks? I had way more trouble with my old Burton strap bindings than the kid's Flows.

I live in Toronto and have gone to Tremblant every year since 1981. But I have vowed to never return. I hate that place. The Eastern Townships is a nice alternative. So is Western New York. Holiday Valley and Bristol Mountain are both decent. Bristol has over 1000' vertical. I'm going to try Mt. Ste. Marie, 1 hour north of Ottawa, over Xmas break. Haven't skied/ridden there in 20 years. Intrawest owns it now but I hear they haven't ruined it yet. I'll report back.

Ya, I felt really bad for my two kids, age 9 and 12. We could've seen The Incredibles instead. At least the Miller film was free for us and I snagged some Jeep carabiners.

Caught the new Warren Miller film, "Impact" this afternoon. If you've seen a Warren Miller film in the last 10 years, you've seen this one. In other words, more of the same. I guess they call it tradition. Near the end of the film though, there is some hardbooter content. A rider named Christian Santelices rides plates and hard boots in Alaska. Mind you, the board is wide with a rounded tail so not a true carving board. But still, caught my interest after 2.5 hours of rather bland footage of "extreme" skiing. Okay, there was one cool segment on riding a tidal bore on the Amazon.

Jack. Taken care of, my man. Filters and water traps in the system. No oil except for an inline oiler which moves to wherever I need it. My only concern is whether I have enough air in the system to dry the boots without running the compressor all night. Only time will tell. The thing only cost me $40 or so in PVC. I thought I'd give it a try. If it doesn't work, at least I have a place to hang my boots.

D-Sub, did a bit of searching and found: "XL fits boot size 11-13 " Too big for me but thanks anyways. I should be able to sell through word of mouth or a hand-written flyer at your ski hill. I know us old guys love those bindings for the ease of entry and exit.

Mark, you are a brave man indeed. With those sheep paths that pass as roads, the changes in elevation and the locals who've had one too many Guinness, biking in Ireland is for not for the weak. In the Wicklow Mtns, I witnessed an accident where a cyclist got wiped out by a tour bus. Luckily, the guy saw it coming and bailed into the bushes. Minor cuts and bruises. The bike though was trashed.

Not anymore. Not one of those shops you mention carry alpine gear. Last time I was in Hogtown (a year ago at least), they had a couple of old Burton boards but they were asking new prices for 3-4 year old product. Sporting Life used to carry Burton hard boots but not after Burton dropped alpine.

Good wallpaper on Prior's website. One warning about switching from soft to hard setup. You know on soft gear how you fall on your butt to rest or adjust your equipment? The first time I tried that in hard boots, I thought I had dislocated my knee. Because of the high angles, you need to drop down on your hip.

Going to Dave at yyzcanuck will save you a lot of time and trouble. As far as I know, there is one retail shop in all of Toronto that carries alpine gear - Sign of the Skier on Yonge St. Even then, it's a very limited selection. I got my Raichles two years ago from Skiis and Bikes but they were the absolute last pair in the store. I talked to them this week and the store mgr in Mississauga has no intention of re-stocking alpine gear. He says it took him years to get rid of the stuff he used to carry.

D-sub, what boot size is that XL good for? Too lazy to look it up.

I was 100% step-in last year. Now I have TD2 step-in, TD1 regular and Catek regular. I'm going to be switching around and will report back, FWIW.

How many boards is Mike making and are they all sold?

Can't wait to read his book. My mother is another thriving liver transplant recipient. She was probably hours away from death when she received the new liver. It's been 3 years now and not only is she healthy, she's beating me at golf. She's 66. Organ transplants work guys. Taking good organs to the grave is an awful waste. Sign your donor cards and inform your loved ones!

Lonerider, Wal-mart has cheap aquarium pumps but you can pick them up a garage sales for next to nothing. Generally, the bigger and more expensive the pump, the quieter. That's because they pack sound insulation material into the body. The quietest are Rena brand from France. If it has a single outlet, not to worry, you just use a T in your airline. I'm going to try this out this winter with an extra pump I have around. Nice thing about this idea is the portability. BTW, they are not waterproof. They are meant to be placed outside the tank. Noslide - thanks man. I gotta do something with all those tools I own. jp1 - photos, we gotta see photos.