skategoat

thomas: I have an Option Makinen Jr. in 120 that I'd be willing to trade for something in either a 128 or 138 range. The base of the board is in excellent shape, the top sheet has the usual knicks from careless kids. Location is Toronto but shipping is no prob. Lemme know. Henry

I'm writing an article about carving for the company newsletter. Anyone want to share good carving pics? Obviously, you must own the copyright. No payment other than my gratitude. EDIT: You can email them to me at: skategoat25 @ yahoo.ca

Just curious, are there any major ski/board companies still making alpine boards other than Volkl?

This is killing me. I can't believe the Opening Day photos on the Mammoth site. In Ontario, it's just plain crappy out. Wet, cold and we're optimistically 2 months away from good snow. I hate this time of year.

I ride a Volkl Spline which I think has almost identical specs as the Incline. I rode on soft boots (Burton boots, Salomon SP4 bindings) for a while last year and really felt sloppy. I almost sold the board but gave it one last ride with hard boots. It was the best day I had all year. It was late spring snow. Don't know what it will be like on powder or ice.

lonerider, you are right. But I am going to try two planks again this year. What I really like about this sport (all downhill snow sports) in the past 5-7 years is the diversity of equipment and styles. Remember the days when you would get your lift ticket pulled for catching air of any kind? Now I look at the table jumps and wish I was still 21 and able to take the hard knocks. I love seeing all the different gear that people use now. Twin tips, telemark, blades, etc. Alpental: I ride in the East. In Ontario. Our idea of back-country is the mounds of snow in the parking lots. Believe me, you would get bored riding here. The highest vertical within 6 hours drive is 700 feet. That's why I took up alpine. It was a challenge and it was enjoyable on groomers, hardpack and boilerplate.

I don't think it'll affect the slopes much. Most of the games are in the evening. I'm a big hockey fan but the lockout doesn't bother me one bit. The only people I feel bad for are the rink workers and bar owners. I pretty much have boycotted NHL games over the past 3 seasons. I hope this lockout puts 5-6 franchises out of business, forcing an over-supply of players and overall fan apathy. Market conditions have to change for this game to be affordable to the average fan. I used to own Leafs season tix but gave them up when they moved to the ACC, jacked the prices up and wouldn't guarantee me the same level of seats that I had at MLG.

I was oversimplifying for sure. The freestyle tricks are impressive as hell and really hard and take a lot of cajones. I was talking about free-riding really. To get the hang of freeriding on soft gear took me no time at all. An initial learning curve, a couple of head slamming falls and then I was there. Then I got bored. I realize now that the real problem was the limitation in the equipment for the type of riding I wanted to do. I was trying to ride fast and carve with soft gear. It took me a while to find out about alpine. Now I am finding that mastering clean carves on steep terrain on both toe and heel sides is really tough. I'm working on it.

Common origin - agreed. To me, alpine is the penultimate progression. It's where snowboarding should have ended up and I think more and more soft booters will end up there. I thought soft booting was pretty easy. Skid, scrape, the odd jump. But, this alpine stuff is hard!

I don't know d-sub. I don't see the clear, direct link between surfing and snowboarding. Sure surfing was an influence but so was water-skiing, mono-skiing, cafeteria tray racing, you name it. Anything where you stood on a single board and tried to make it down a hill. As a kid, I remember trying to ride a toboggan standing up and later making my own Snurfer with a plank of wood and a rope. At that point, I had never seen the ocean let alone a surfer.

Deer Lake airport is 30 minutes away and there are direct flights from Toronto, Montreal, Halifax and other centres. www.visionatlantic.com These tour operators offer a one week package with flights, car, accomodation, lift tickets and breakfast for $1,088. What a deal. I'm talking to them now about preferred dates. It's a bit tough around Xmas but I think I'm going to be there. Also, check this out - Cat Skiing in Newfoundland! http://www.catskiing.net/ Man, we ought to move our ECES out there. You can't get much more East than that.

You can't be serious. When do people eat? 4:30? And like Neil sez, Newfoundland is home to some serious drinkers. As for the slopes, was there enough variety for a full week? How was the grooming?

Anyone know what the North American broadcast schedule is for these events, if any? Last year, I caught a race by chance on Sports Sunday CBC. If these are televised, I want to know in advance so I can record them. Watching Jasey Jay ride is inspiring.

I can understand *associating* sex with products in order to sell it. I mean that concept is everywhere - beer, razors, underwear, tools. But, actually emblazoning said sex object on the otherwise unconnected product seems ridiculous. What's more ridiculous is people actually buying it! It's as if Snap-On tools came out with a line of Pamela Anderson impact wrenches. Wait a minute, that's not a bad idea.

Born in 1962 First skied in 1981 Bought first snowboard in 2002 Landed on head too often while trying to jib, found religon and switched to hard boots in late 2002.

Born in 1962 First skied in 1981 Bought first snowboard in 2002 Landed on head too often while trying to jib, found religon and switched to hard boots in late 2002. Oh ya, definitely going to try skiing again this year. I bought a pair of boots last spring and they fit like butter. Amazing how far ski boots have come along in comfort. Previous boots were 10 years old.

I just put Intuitions in my Raichle shells. They feel fantastic when I wear them watching TV (Go Sox!). No on-slope experience to relate. Dave Morgan had some valuable tricks for molding the liners. I recommend you buy from him and get his advice on fit and molding. www.yyzcanuck.com

At the Toronto Ski, Snowboard and Travel Show last week, I saw the ultimate fashion-over-form snowboard. It's a "Jenna Jameson Autograph Model" from Sims. I know Jenna Jameson is a pro but I had no idea she was a snowboarder. I thought "nobody in their right mind would buy that board". Then I saw two guys walking around with one under their arms. Warning, link is not work or family friendly: http://www.ainews.com/Archives/Story6383.phtml

www.skimarble.com 1700 foot vertical 16 feet of average snowfall (snowiest city in Canada is nearby) 34 trails 175 acres skiable terrain Only 19% beginner terrain Three quad lifts, one of them detachable Adult lift ticket is $38 and there are no lines. So how come I don't know anyone who's ever been there? After getting accurate quotes on Sun Peaks, I'm thinking a Newfoundland adventure might be in my future. So who's been there? Who can give me the straight scoop?

For me, the happiest day of 2004 was the day I got rid of my 1999 Audi A6 Avant. What a piece of junk. I'd give details but I'm in therapy to try to put it past me. As for the VW, it's basically the same. Nice when new but everything starts to break at 3-4 years and costs you an arm and leg to fix. If you want reliability, I'd go with the Acura. Can't beat Honda for quality. Owned 2 Acuras and 1 Honda in my life and loved them all. Older Bimmers ('98 and older 3 series) are great deals right now. Superb cars. Handle like a Coiler race board.

Thanks Sean. Left you an email and also left a message with Ryan. One question - if we decide to cook a few of our own meals, is there a grocery store in the village (ie. walking distance)? Or, do we need a car?

I have two pair of Trench Diggers, a TD1 and TD2. Both are step-in. I'd like to trade one of them for standard bails. The TD1 has 3 degree discs and purple bumpers and has been used two seasons. The heels still hold solid. The TD2 is 0 degree front and back with yellow rings. Used one season. When I say "season", I am using that term generously because I typically ride 10 days a year. Looking for even trade - TD1 for TD1 or TD2 for TD2. The canting I would like to get back is 0 for either. Let me know if you'd like to deal. Henry

Looks like I'm taking the whole family to Sun Peaks over New Years. We'll probably go the condo route. Can anyone with local knowledge offer advice? As in - stay away from this side of the mountain because of the bears or that group of condos is not really ski in/out like they say.

I need help choosing a destination for a trip in late Dec. I've been to Big White and liked it but I'm always up for a new mountain. Which has better grooming for us carvers?

Might be more even more effective if you perforated the pipe (the part that goes into the boot). Consider that "Engineering Change Request 0001" Henry (headed to Home Depot)