SunSurfer

Video: Zeal goggles in New Zealand, park footage footage is from Cardrona and the off piste possibly TC. To make great video takes so much more than just a camera. Like Corey, I rode much of SES in 2012 with a Contour mounted on my helmet. Made great memories for me of a wonderful time in Aspen. But to get results like Johnasmo takes 1/ great riding skills to get and stay close enough without taking out your buddy, 2/ a properly setup camera, and 3/ the time and commitment to ruthlessly edit the raw footage. Oh and you also have to focus on riding with a steady camera more than laying beautiful carves down. I saw John riding at SES 2012 with a Nikon compact zoom camera on his helmet chin mount and a Contour on a knee level mount. When reviewing what I'd shot I discovered I lack the riding skills and ....... The one thing that the Zeal goggles don't have is the ability to change the direction the camera faces. I mount my Contour with about 10 degrees head up tilt so I can look down at the snow ahead and the camera looks straight ahead. But I can change that if I want. No option to change on the Zeal. Also a 170 degree lens is very wide angle. If you want to tail gun your buddy you're going to just about ride on the tail of his board/skis. (Contour 110 (1080p) or 135 (720p) degree) SunSurfer

Seen, not heard. A thumbs up and a big smile from a Korean alpine boarder race training at Turoa in August. He had no English, I had no Korean, but we were brothers on the snow. SunSurfer

Thanks for the correction. I wasn't entirely sure of the date but assumed it had to be the most recent. SunSurfer

<iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/3ayKFaSABmo" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" width="640"></iframe> NASTAR Race of Champions 2011 (thanks Pat for the correction), the snowboarders. Found on the NASTARHQ YouTube channel. SunSurfer

Just checking definitions before people get posting recipes. Michelle, can you make the distinctions between vegetarian & vegan. I understand Vegan to = no animal derived products of any kind. And what range of recipes do you want? Just vegan, or vegetarian, or people's favourite recipes of any sort? SunSurfer

Not quite sure where to put this post, but figured the information might be useful to others on Bomber. Went to SES in 2012 and ran the NASTAR course at Snowmass a few times. No significant falls/crashes but aware that my travel insurance package did not cover me if I injured myself "racing". All the policies I'd looked at in NZ excluded races of any kind apart from races on foot. Fast forward to 2013, I will again be at SES and will run NASTAR, but this time have found an insurance company (IHI-BUPA, part of BUPA International) that has travel insurance covering a wide range of adventurous activties, including snowboard racing and appropriately equipped off piste skiing/boarding. Policies are able to be bought over the net by travellers worldwide travelling almost worldwide. Insurance is a little more expensive than the locally available standard type, but worth it to me for the peace of mind. http://www.ihi.com/ Excluded activities include the following 24) active participation in any motorsport show, motorsport race or motorsport competition, base jumping, paragliding and mountaineering that requires specialized climbing equipment, 26) search and rescue services, 27) expeditions, mountaineering and trekking in Antarctica, the North Pole and Greenland, 28) injury caused by gross negligence and/or with intent. plus a range of illegal, immoral and fattening activities. (see policy conditions documents on website for details) SunSurfer

A long time ago I read this book about a guy who conceptualised an "aerohydrofoil", "The 40 Knot Sailboat" http://www.geocities.com/aerohydro/overviewframeset.htm Bernard Smith was thinking these things in the 1960s!

<iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/fNb5QJH1vtE" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" width="640"></iframe> Team NZ AC72 V1.0 catamaran during trials in early Sept 2012. This is their experimental model with the final version for the next America's cup regatta still to be built. Oracle Racing spectacularly crashed their cat with foils in October this year. <iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/xxOF0sTxL2Q" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" width="640"></iframe> Oddly enough, there still is a Little America's Cup for C class catamarans. <iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/hWz37-Wkbc4" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" width="640"></iframe> SunSurfer

Also try looking here. http://www.commonwealthfund.org/News/News-Releases/2010/Jun/US-Ranks-Last-Among-Seven-Countries.aspx SunSurfer

Thanks for the comment. Read the other mod threads both here and elsewhere, have made some of the cutting mods, and have currently got an orange tongue in my rear boot and a grey in my front. Looking at the marks left by the buckle on the cuff I can't see any evidence of significant movement of cuff beneath the buckle during flexing the cuff forward in actual use. I can only see marks left by the previous owner when he had a different cant setting. From what I can see, freeing up the rotation of the cuff on the lateral side of the boot is likely to produce significant fore & flex independent of any cuts made to the shell. Because the 3rd strap is effectively only attached to the shell now, and its attachment point does NOT move when the boot flexes forward, the 2nd & 3rd strap should not move significantly relative to each other when the boot flexes. Even if they do the cuff and tongue will still flex forward over the 3rd strap. I've tried flexing forward in the boot and there is no impingement problem with the old buckle site boss that I've been able to feel or see. If moving the buckle attachment is successful, then the old buckle boss is superfluous and could be removed if the owner desired. As I said before, I've only carpet carved this mod. I won't be seeing snow till February since it's spring here in New Zealand. I've not seen this way of thinking about the HSP flex issue described before. If anyone else decides to try this before February I'd love to hear how it went. SunSurfer

I think there is a different key to unlocking the fore & aft flex in the Head Stratos Pro. I was looking at my own pair and realised that the mount point for the 3rd buckle (the one across the front of the ankle) goes through both the cuff and the shell. Combined with the pivot point/cant adjuster on the same side this produces a 2 point fixation of shell and cuff. This prevents the cuff from rotating properly around the ankle pivot. The original design could only work if the mount point was designed to slide on the surface of the cuff. It's not. The third buckle is held in place by a single approx 5mm countersunk machine screw into a T-nut in the shell. The Cant adjuster is held by an almost identical machine screw, which has had it's end crimped to prevent it coming completely undone. I have now mounted my 3rd buckle over the Cant adjuster using the original machine screw and secured with blue Lock-Tite, so that now there is only a single point holding the lateral cuff and shell together. And now the cuff rotates much more easily and the BTS is the flex control. The shell does not deform nearly as much as it did previously. And the 3rd buckle now holds down the front of my ankle slightly lower than it previously did. This has only been carpet carved so far. I won't be on the snow till I hit Aspen for SES in Feb 2013. If anyone tries this out on snow before then I'd love to hear their report. SunSurfer

Fun to watch here in NZ Had a few moments of schadenfreude for the Republicans. They need to realise the mass of contestable votes they need to win are in the middle of the political spectrum, not on the loony right fringes. Meanwhile the Bush tax cuts evaporate on Jan 1st 2013, with compulsory cuts to military spending also occurring. That might make the books easier to manage. Near universal affordable access to quality healthcare is about to become part of the USA. And maybe the USA will want to fix its election mechanics, in a place that prides itself as a bastion of democracy. The last time I saw lines that long for the chance to vote was in South Africa's first all race election in 1994. SunSurfer

My conception was to scan to scan the original Northwave boot cuff and shell, to produce the 3-D CAD design. Then prototype and test buckle attachments, the BTS and Intec mods using 3-D printer, before finally making a conventional set of new boot moulds from the finalised CAD. When the day comes that 3-D printers can handle the plastics that make the actual boots I envisage a complete custom boot service from high end manufacturers. For people with feet like mine...... aaah I can dream. SunSurfer

Sitting at my computer a BBC news video on a 3-D printer trade exhibition caught my eye. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-20047744 Got me thinking that with modern technology for externally & internally scanning, recording, and rendering complex objects that the fact that the moulds for the Northwave's have disappeared doesn't actually have to be a problem. It just needs someone determined enough to collect a range of Northwave shells, put it all together, add some decent buckles & make it BTS & Intec compatible, rebrand, and possibly pay some royalties to Northwave. Not me, but ............. The enormous design potential for 3-D printing is mind boggling. SunSurfer

See you there Corey, I'm also booked in at the Snowmass Inn! SunSurfer

Flights can wait! But I have my accommodation sorted and booked. Coming from NZ you don't even want to think about the airfare! SunSurfer

Not a stitched together, rehearsed, stunt drive around San Fran. <iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/8Y4camxSlVw" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" width="640"></iframe>

What size feet do you have? I have a pair of Deeluxe Suzuka's sitting in the garage, in close to new condition. Size 29.0 standard liners, 29.5 lower shell. 5 point heel position. Might be relatively stiff for a new rider. I picked them up on Trademe last year as a long term spare for if my Head Stratos Pro's ever gave up the ghost but happy to sell if it'll help you get going in the sport. If they are of interest to you, send me an email at aj dot mckenzie at clear dot net dot nz and I'll send you some pictures. Use the search function to scan Bomber for info on Suzukas to see if they would fit your needs. SunSurfer

Another Kiwi! There's a few of us around on bomberonline. I'll be riding at Turoa from Sat 18th Aug through to 26th Aug. Would be a pleasure to take some runs together if you're up the mountain. SunSurfer (Alan)

http://beckmannag.com/ Came across Erik Beckman's website in my travels around the 'Net. Looks like its' been under construction since mid-March this year. As always, Erik has things to say about snowboarding (and skiing) that make you think, as well as a range of interests beyond time on the snow. In the past I've benefited from his experience and advice in setting up boots and binding tilt and canting through e-mailed advice. That's just one of the areas he now covers on his site. SunSurfer

http://www.bomberonline.com/VBulletin/showthread.php?37461-Olympic-Alpine-Snowboarding Some people in Nth Am. were having trouble viewing it. SunSurfer

Just come across this tip on my web travels. The Nokia BL-5C battery is apparently exactly the same as the Contour camera batteries (not the Roam which has an integral battery). In NZ the Contour branded batteries sell for $45-50. The BL-5C is available for much much less. (I have not tried this myself, but the pictures of the batteries look awfully similar.) Edit: Have now checked my own Nokia phone which, it turns out, uses a BL-5C. The Contour battery and the BL-5C are identical in shape, voltage and mAh rating. So I can also use my phone as an extra charger without buying the pricey Contour one. SunSurfer

http://www.3news.co.nz/VIDEO-Train-plows-through-wall-of-snow-in-Arthurs-Pass/tabid/309/articleID/257025/Default.aspx Even the trains got to carve up the fresh pow! Reminds me of being in the UK in Dec 2010 and the trains there stopping for more than just a few cm of snow on the tracks! SunSurfer

Major dump of snow over the last 24hrs means Mt Hutt in Canterbury will be open for the 2012 Southern hemisphere season this weekend. Other South Island fields weren't quite so fortunate and the North Island fields pretty much missed out entirely.I'm hanging out for the second half of August when the snow cover should reliably be good and I have a week off. Sunsurfer

<iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/43381114" width="500" height="281" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe> Not sure why but the video isn't embedded when I view this thread, then it appears in Rey's original post when I embed it. Whatever. Great video! SunSurfer