Kent

Oh yes...Seal was indeed on plates! Memory is saying the old Burton MegaFlex. (?) A day or so before we rode, he mentioned that MTV (or was it VH1) was following him around....so there's video of the whole thing, somewhere. I'd imagine if someone did a monster Google search, they would be able to drum up a photo or something. If nothing else, I'm sure his accident was well-documented. As for the meet-up, it was just like hooking up with any other carver on the hill. Very humble guy...very "into" the feeling of snowboarding/carving. Was not posing...it was the real deal. Although I was the lucky guy that rode with him, my vote goes to Jean-Claude. That one is crazy! k

Seal - Rode with him for 2 days during the mid-90s. He ripped! I believe he was riding a LaCroix. Later that year, I heard he had a big accident at Whistler. I always have a Seal tune in my Mp3..... Warren Moon - Was all scheduled to give him a lesson on plates, but he was traded and left town. His son was a lil ripper. Picabo Street Jean-Claude Killy

Funny...I think just the opposite. Nightriding rocks!

Looks like a prettied up Kildy LL Bean to me!

Not so sure you can complain about the conditions....but you most certainly can (and should!) complain about the grooming and/or maintenance. As Speedzilla well knows, 5 years ago they would spread "death cookies" all over the hill b/c they didn't want to run the groomer all the time. But, sometimes...they have to run to cookie machine to turn up the snow and run the groomer a day later. As easy as it may sound, grooming is very much an art...... With that said, I'd do a cost/benefit analysis at the end of the year and send it to the hill. i.e. Season Pass - $XXX Days boarded - X Cost per day- - X Minus the days the hill sucked and wouldn't have bought a ticket and/or gotten a voucher - X You get the idea. Power in numbers. Ride with a "If you think the grooming here sucks, please tell management" sticker on your back.

Pat nails it once again... Test Pilot makes the best stomp pad period. Perhaps the best Minnesota invention since Post-It notes! http://www.seisports.com/?,browse,13,49,76,038010

Fagetabat the numbers and listen to your fingers. 27.

Check out USASA rule 603 before heading off the Nationals. Rarely enforced, but the crapapples always come out at the last minute protesting..... I haven't seen you ride, but my money is ole "Mort" Nyberg for being the fastest BoarderX rider on TDs.

It really depends what you mean by "helpful" Back when I was lifting weights and 20lbs heavier, I was MUCH faster than I am now....but not so much endurance and typically got sore after a hard day. 20lbs leaner (from Ironman training) and I can rip all day w/o any effects, but I'm slower now.... It's like lil girls who join the US Ski Team and turn into gorillas after 3 years. It's scary! I'd rather be overall athletic (Jasey Jay) than Joe Beefcake. Focus on general fitness and endurance..... Better yet, go visit Fin in the summertime...evidently his day-long MTB rides whip folks into shape pretty quick.

Let's all start a revolution. Every BOL member should call 12 ski schools tomorrow and ask for a group alpine lesson. I imagine that will set off a lil storm while directors are scrambling through their closets to find gear....

Is that Jason Broz? If so, are you still building boards? Any details to share?

Well....at Giant's Ridge (Minnesooooota) they groom continously throughout the day AND have a "grooming guarantee" where they will refund your lift ticket if you don't like the snow. Can't get much better than that.... Well, it could if it were closer to the Twin Cities.

Who's that guy that creaped into the picture w/o a board. Are you padding the picture with ski racers?

It's a great board, buy it.

I understand what you're saying, but there's a big difference b/w "CK's claimed in his book that his bones spurs were caused by too small of boots" and saying "Chris Klug's career was almost ended by a bone spur that was caused by wearing boots that were too small" If I were a newbie and read it...I'd think "I better buy my boots big so I don't get bone spurs".

Be careful with that statement. Too small of boots can not cause a bone spur. Bone spurs are caused by a number of reasons, but mostly due to the arch of the foot (assuming it was a heel spur) not being able to handle the load placed on it. This occurs for hundreds of reasons, but none of which are b/c of too small of boots. If that were the case, every world cup skier in the past 50 years would be talking about it.....

Urghh.. You guys keep talking about JJ while Chuck and I will start our own discussion.... k

I was one that bought..rode for an hour and then sold it (actually, someone stole it from me!) ;o) I bought the 160. Was a really nice ride, but not for my riding style. As a racer, I need my board to release ASAP after initiating the turn. "Carvers" generally like to hang out a few more nanoseconds to feel the "Gs". Therefore, this board was too "turny" for my application. I could either mega-detuned the tail or sell it. Otherwise, the board was pretty nice. A lil soft, but overall very nice quality.

Who cares about the men... I just want Alexa Loo to win show I can see more pix of her. Perhaps the most beautiful person to ever ride a snowboard.

$?

Dsub - I'll concur with Phil....mastering the short carve is where the magic happens. Pretty hard to fool a short SL stick. You must have the proper balance, edging, pressure and much quicker reaction. It's not to say you can't be aggressive on a long board...but rather it's easier to be lazy. Actually, riding both extremes makes the inbetween more enjoyable..... I'll take some shots of the mystery boards this weekend. Not sure if you want a 170ish freeride or alpine board, but I have a 180ish Burton Supermodel and a 171 Rossi Levitation as part of the slow liquidation.....I'd hate to see how little these would get on ebay. I bought 161 Oxygen LTD from the dude in Park City. I rode it for 1 hour. It's a nice board if you like REALLY turny SL boards...but it was a lil too soft for me. I thought there was a typo, but it actually had reverse taper (a la turny). But, a good board for someone who is aware of that. Lost my ass when I sold it as I had it stone ground and waxed it 5 times. It was shipped to my buyer in better condition than I rec'd it. Oh well, it's in happy hands in Chi town. k

Judging from your avatar, it appears to stem from your skateboarding..... Bending this way (we call it "taco" on the team) effects your balance, edge, steering and rotary. Yep...it pretty much screws everything up! I'd venture a guess that you're counter-rotating your turns. It sounds elementary, but I'd start back at square one on the bunny hill with Jack's "Norm". Make LARGE turns with long traverse....and then slowly start adding movement. If you're a ripper, it's just a matter of un-learning a bad habit and providing more ankle/knee angulation.... Hope that helps. K

Derek - If the ski coach has them blocking GS gates...they need to find a new one...blocking is only for SL. You'll find the "our" (the majority vote above) will be a lil awkward as a photo might reveal a counter rotation on the toe side. W/o trying to be complicated...your turn should still be a rotary movement...but passing the gate your shoulders will be square the the tip of your board (versus inline with your knees) Hope that helps. Let it rip.... How is snowboard participation in the midwest?

Jim Rothman should be on the old timers carving list at around 62. He looks so young and married such a hot woman, we think he's really 28. He was featured with his ripping son, Dave, in one of the issues of Snowboard Life. Jim still comes out to the hill, but Dave is playing husband/dad/kite boarding & skiing addict. He was/is simply the fastest snowboarder in the gates on the planet. Probably the most humble guy you'd ever meet as well.....

Hey...don't underestimate Kurt Hoy and TransWorld to take a perfectly good and legit competition and turn it into an unsanctioned hospital fest with either the Smith Limo, too steep of ramp or not enough landing space. I bet if you told Kurt there was a Race for the Cup, snowboarders and a ski jump next to it...he would be there in a NY minute with $500k worth of sponsors, not to mention him showing off pix of him with porn stars from the Sims photo shoot. He's such a ham....