jtslalom

Those of you living on the east coast get ready. We are going to get pounded by whats shaping up to be a Nor Easter. 12 inches of snow are expected to fall over northern NJ and the surrounding areas. Mountain Creek already has a pretty good base for March and will have a much better one after tonight. I went riding last night and the conditions were great. I will by riding tomorrow provided school is cancelled.

Thats funny because I just moved my back binding back about 1.5 inches on my Renn Tiger because I thought my knees were always jammed together to much.

When I started riding 1988/89 season, nobody had hard setups. Every one of my friends learned how to CARVE on a freestyle board. I can carve my soft deck much different but as good as any of my hard decks under certain conditions. I ride a K2 Fatbob. Its a wide board so my toes don't stick over the edges and I get no heel or toe drag. The length is a 162 so I get good edge running length. The board is a stiffer freestyle board and my SnowJam boots are pretty stiff freestyle boots. Its almost like riding hard. Sorry you feel that way Derf but I'm an old Schooler, I ride bumps, parks and cordoury on my freestyle deck and still love it the way I did in 1988.

I rode the past two nights on my Volkl Renn Tiger. Conditions were firm and I rode pretty good. Tonight I took my k2 162 FatBob with soft Ride bindings. What a night? I was turning as well as I ever had? I haven't ridden this board but for two other days this year when conditions were really soft. Tonight they were nice and firm. I can't believe the difference in riding. Whenever this happens, I tend to stay on my soft board and neglect my race decks for a couple of days. It feels so nice to jump on a freestyle deck every now and then and rip some turns. Ofcourse its not like ripping turns on the steeps with the Renn Tiger but on those blues and easy blacks, its alot of fun. Every hard rider should get back on a soft deck and ride it. You'll quickly remember how fun it is.

Erik, Sorry dude. I don't think that damage is fixable. I had an Oxygen board with similar damage. Apoxy held it for about five runs then it just blew out again. I'm assuming this happened at Mountain Creek. You have to ALWAYS look uphill. No matter if you think you are totally alone, look up hill on each turn. The world is full of as*holes. Its to bad alot of them ride and ski at Mountain Creek. Maybe the one who hit you was half way cool but the fact of the matter is he hit you when it could have been avoided. Good luck dude.

Al G, If you don't get the bails, let me know. I have a couple of Burton bails at home. I will send one if you can't get any from Burton or Klug.

I will be at Mountain Creek tonight (Thursday) riding at Bear peak and Granite Peak. I will Also be there Sunday and Monday morning. Hope to see some other hard riders there.

I use my Burton E-Deck for rails and jumps. I also jump from time to time with my renn tiger.

I've been riding for 17 years now and still don't know what Euro-Carves are. Why get so excited about touching the snow. I came from a skii background and belive in just good technique. When riding a steep slope especially on a short board my hips and shoulder to chest area will hit the snow regardless of where my hands are. This should happen to almost all riders who carve steeps especially when they really round their turns. I think people should put less emphasis on touching the snow and more on just proper riding technique.

sic t 2, I've been doing that for years. The best is doing it around a ski patroller while he is trying to control ski traffic.

SkateGoat, That is the story of my snowboarding life. I carve steep icy slopes. You must ALWAYS be over your edge. Don't think about trying to touch the snow with your hand. You must be as forward as possible. When you start your carve drive your front knee forward and to the side simultaneously. DON"T just drive them to the sides. As your carve progresses drive your knees so that they almost hit the ground. This will cause your board to go up on edge quickly. Stay as low as possible throughout the turn. Good Luck

Is any one riding on Sunday March 13 at Okemo?

Here in the lower north east we are having a rainy nor easter storm coming through. This equates to alot of precipitation in the form of rain. We had one earlier this year in the form of snow that dumped 18 inches of snow on us, not so lucky this time. Next weeks temps will be good to blow snow but the problem is it is getting late in the season. My local mountain usually does not blow snow beyond the middle of february. Our season usually lasts until the beginning to middle of March but I don't think it will this year.

I just looked at the race standings from the last world cup event. I am older than every one who competed in that event. That seems weird. I'm used to having professional athletes be older than me, but that is not the case any more.

Whiteface is the best mountain I've been to for steep carving in the east. It has the largest vertical drop and by far the longest sustained steep slope. I will be there the first weekend in March. Generally the snow base holds up pretty good through the month of March. Be prpepared to possibly ride on some hard conditions depending on what the weather brings. Conditions have been good on the five seperate trips that I've been there. I generally go around the end of February. The top of the mountain does get icy so sharpen your edges.

They have your money allready, all $1100. They only have $52 from day tripper and want more money from him. To get him to come back and spend more they will give him a free pass. He'll probably spend money even though he has a free pass( food, locker rental, ski/snowboard rental, buying tickets for his kids, etc) They are making money just like any other company. It sucks to be a season pass holder when it comes to this scenario, but I still wouldn't complain. If the ski resort was grossly negligent with terrible conditions with NO grooming, then maybe I would complain. There are less ski resorts now than there were in the 1980's. Many mom and pop operated ski areas are closed. Law suits and poor profits. I will never add to any ski resorts demise unless they are grossly negligent. I don't think complaining does, but certainly getting a free days pass when you are a seaon pass holder already adds to it. Let it go and just complain, don't try to get something for it.

"Snow so good its gauranteed", should be, "Snow so good it is gauranteed to the best of our ability". I don't think that any ski resort can gaurantee its slope conditions because no ski resort can control whether or not it snows. Ofcourse snowmaking is possible but only under certain conditions. I think most ski resorts try hard to make conditions optimal. The fact that you went riding and conditions were bad doesn't mean the resort didn't try. With the limited time we all have on the slopes, we want our riding days to have good riding conditions. It doesn't always happen. Some days conditions suck no matter what the resort does to the snow. You happened to ride on one of those days. I ride in crappy conditions almost every night. Oh well, I just feel greatful that I have the opportunity to ride at night. If you want to complain thats your choice but I know I wouldn't. Not about conditions anyway.

A long time friend of mine rides all conditions and terrain on a Burton Custom 181 with soft bindings. He's been riding since 1985 and can carve with the best of them. He can also pound through bumps with it. The best all around rider I know and does it on one board with soft bindings. For me I prefer a hard deck on hard snow days and a soft deck with soft bindings on soft snow days. Any slope for either day will do but for bumps I prefer a soft deck.

I read a few posts that this years ECES will be held at Okemo from March 10 -12. Can any one verify this? If so is there any chance that it could be extended through the following Sunday March 13? I was also wondering if Okemo is owned by Intrawest?

Since I ride such a short board, I prefer picture A. At least that is what I strive for. If I'm tired or want to slow down I will turn B style turns.

Today I rode with two other hard riders I used to make turns with a few years ago. I haven't really ridden with them in a couple of years but today I met up with them. It was so cool to turn boards with people who know how to turn. One guy on a coiler 184 and the girl on a Burton. Ofcourse I was on the Renn Tiger. The beat part is that I'm on a 153. His one turn = three of mine. I wished I had the rossi race Vas but it didn't matter, I just had such a great time turning with others. I'm always looking to turn boards with people. If any body comes or is planning to come to Mountain Creek, PLEASE post it and we'll ride together. I was wondering how many people ride mostly alone? Or do most ride in a small pack?

SWriverstone, I live in Vernon NJ and have for most of my life. My local mountain is in the same town I live in. They groom every night but yet it is rare to find groomed runs except for the first run or two in the morning (weekend crowd). Get used to it. I mostly ride at night when the conditions are hard and icy. I feel the harder the better, it makes me concentrate on perfecting my form. When I'm railing carves down our racing trail on a hard icy night I MUST be at my best riding or I'm sliding out. This morning I went out at 8:00 AM and hit fresh groomed snow. I thought I died and went to heaven. I could be as sloppy riding as ever but yet still rail carves over groomers. When I look at Jacks picture above I drool and also realize that I can't have that very often. Maybe a few times a year, but not often. In the meantime I make do with what I have and love every minute of it.

Here in New Jersey we had about 20 inches in the past week. The season started very slow. No natural snow and warm weather. 16 inches from a nor-easter snow storm, now conditions are excellent. My local mountain is 100% open. Hope the season changes for you up in Canada.

Once again winter has shown its face. Mountain creek received almost 20 total inches of natural snow over the last week with more snow in the forecast for the beginning of next week. Slope conditions are the best they've been since the beginning of the year. With exception of 2 slopes, the resort is 100% open and the 2 that aren't will be open by this weekend. I will be riding at north peak this Saturday morning or maybe bear peak provided there are no ski races that morning on the racing trail. Hope to see other carvers there.

mikemcse, I ride at MC all the time. I live in Vernon and ride mostly at night from usually around 3:30 to 6:30. I ride Monday and Thursday or Friday nights, and usually twice on the weekends(only before 12 noon). I spend most of my time at south on the racing trail (if no race). Othewise I will ride north if Zero-G or Devils Bit are open. I ride usually around 40 days a year. I was there last on Monday night. Hopefully I will see you there.