serge

Hi All, I am heading this Revelstoke this weekend, Any suggestion for carving runs? Looking so forward to the western fluff :D

Hahaha... Yeah.. we tend to get hardpack most of the time. I think I saw 2-3 days of 10cm+ of powder on the hill at my local resort. We usually get a lot of small snow falls during the season, which helps keep some fresh snow on the hill, and is usually groomed out the next days. Now I know what you guys are talking about when the snow gets "chopped up" :) I actually ended up at Sunshine on Friday. My aunt's massage therapist was heading up at Sunshine, and we ended up going together. I told her I was a snowboarder and that was it. When I took the board out of the bag.. her reaction : " Huh what is that ? " :lol: After explaining what it was she was quite intrigued, and was quite impressed after seeing what a carving board could do. Conditions were great.. I have to say that I have a new appreciation for soft snow/powder carving. It is fun.. and much more work than carving on hardpack. (Again, that is a east-coast perspective ;)) We spent most of the day off the Standish and Angel chair. I would do my carving run, she would do her thing in the trees/park , and we would meet up at the lift. This past week has been awesome. What I love about Sunshine is the openness of the mountain and the variety of terrain. I only went to Lake Louise once this week, but I sure love the way they groom their trails :) Unfortunately, I did not make it to Nakiska. I spent the weekend with my relatives, and got a free massage . Well I am back to Ottawa tomorrow. I will definitely let you guys know when I am back. And I hope next season in Calgary will be the same as this year :D Cheers

Went to Lake Louise yesterday. Conditions were A+ for carving. Well groomed hard pack. I was first in line at the Gondola and went straight to the Larch side. Yup.. Larch was groomed.. steep and wide. With the hard corduroy, that trail was ridiculous fast! It was a good trail to really work on technique, because if I was not on the ball, I would be going to fast, and have to scrub speed. I did see two other women hardbooters, but never met up with them... I spent the first few hours on the Larch trail.I also enjoyed the bottom of Marmot by the chalet. That part of the trail was the right steepness for me for tight carve, or even open it up without going too fast. Stayed until 1'ish and went on the south side. left around 3'ish. South side had some good trails... but Larch had less people. I was going to go today, but my cold got the better of me. All I have to say is wow.. I can't believe the conditions for this time of the year... There is still a few more weeks in Banff for some decent carving. If I feel better this weekend, I might hit Nakiska Sat or Sun.. Temperature seems to be on the cool side... Cheers Serge

Did you ever solve you problem? I am starting to feel the pain because of the cable (I did mold it with the cable. However, this just started at then end of the 2nd season with the red thermo liner... Maybe I need to remold the liner, but was wondering if punching the heel would also help.

I spent the last two days at Sunshine, and no spring in sight on the slope. Yesterday was my first day at Sunshine. Arrived at the base around 9'ish. There was alot of powder. Wind was blowing snow all over the place. Not ideal for carving, but still had fun. I was surfing more than I was carving at time. Some of the spots had ridiculous amount of powder. I did my first kart wheel... was a bit too agressive on a turn.. and dug the nose in the snow and went flying. I am pretty sure my head was under my feet at one point, but no injuries:biggthump (We really don't get alot of powder days in Ottawa :)) Wind was so ferocious, they closed the Goats'eye and Lookout lifts around noon. Good thing I did a few runs before they closed those lifts. Around 2:00, a blizzard blew in.. zero visibility.. So I called it quits. Today. was just awesome.. light wind.. sunny.... some groomed runs. Conditions were good for carving... a bit soft for my taste, but still good. I spent the first few hours trying the trails that I did not do..World Cup downhill was fun. By lunch time.. my legs could not take the long runs anymore... so I finished the day riding Wawa Bowl. That is quite the fun trail.. like a roller coaster ! It was wide enough for me to make long carves, and steep enough to keep up the speed in the soft condition. I'll probably hit Louise tomorrow. If it's to my liking I'll go back on Thursday. If not. back to Sunshine... I am now fighting a cold I started last night:(Hopefully. I am not going to overdose on Cold-FX:) Thanks for the tips and updates.. this is going to be the best end of season! Cheers

I spent the last two days at Sunshine, and no spring in sight on the slope. Yesterday was my first day at Sunshine. Arrived at the base around 9'ish. There was alot of powder. Wind was blowing snow all over the place. Not ideal for carving, but still had fun. I was surfing more than I was carving at time. Some of the spots had ridiculous amount of powder. I did my first kart wheel... was a bit too agressive on a turn.. and dug the nose in the snow...no injuries:biggthump Wind was so ferocious, they closed the Goats'eye and Lookout lifts around noon. Good thing I did a few runs before they closed those lifts. Around 2:00, a blizzard blew in.. zero visibility.. So I called it quits. Today. was just awesome.. light wind.. sunny.... some groomed runs. Conditions were good for carving... a bit soft for my taste, but still good. I spent the first few hours trying the trails that I did not do..World Cup downhill was fun. By lunch time.. my legs could not take the long runs anymore... so I finished the day riding Wawa Bowl. That is quite the fun trail.. like a roller coaster ! It was wide enough for me to make long carves, and steep enough to keep up the speed in the soft condition. I'll probably hit Louise tomorrow. If it's to my liking I'll go back on Thursday. If not. back to Sunshine... I am now fighting a cold I started last night:(Hopefully. I am not going to overdose on Cold-FX:) Thanks for the tips and updates.. this is going to be the best end of season! Cheers

Thx for the info Dave...just landed in Calgary this afternoon...will probably spend the weekend with my relatives.... And then off to Banff for the week... Temperature looks good for next week:)

Yes.. you're right. I made a mistake. I have the Pro Limited. Those were the ones at 550$. 575$ for the FR2 Pro (non carbon) is pretty high....

Hello I have the FR2 pro. Main difference is the carbon fiber high, and different straps/ratchet ( I think the straps and highback were the same as the Nidecker the ACT 900) from. Everything else... plates, disks, etc... seems to be the same. Back then, about 4 yrs ago, Catek sold 2 models.the Pro was the premium model, which was about 550$ if I recall correctly. You can rotate the highback to a certain point by moving the highback bracket's position , one closer to the toe, and the other closer to the heel All I can say that the FR2 is the best soft boot bindings for carving that I have ridden on. Super responsive and stiff What I like about the FR2 is the adjustability. You can adjust lift and or cant with infinite options. What I hate about it is that they are high maintenance. Too many screws You have to check your screws once in a while (Loctite is your friend :), and removing the binding is a bit of pain. Since you have to unscrew the plate, remove the power bars. Only then you have access to the disc's screws I had it on my Burton Supermodel and Donek Razor at the time. I would not use anything else for carving on softboot (geeze... I can't remember the last time I used softboots) ;) ) As for Catek service... they're not that great... as you said, no response to email or phone calls. However, I did order toe bails for step-ins this past season and got them in 2 weeks. Be aware. Once you finish checking , your credit card will be charged before shipping. You might want to post something in the Wanted section.. and hopefully you'll get a hit.... Hope this helps... Cheers

Thanks everybody! I guess I am going to alternate between Sunshine and Louise.. I do have 4 days :D Well.. if any of you head out in that area between the 11 & 15th, let me know! Cheers

Hi, I am heading to Calgary for a week, and will be heading to Banff (April 11-14th). I was wondering which of the resorts have good carving runs Lake Louise, Sunshine, Norquay? or should I go to all of them :) It would also be great to hook up with any of you local to Calgary :)

I am quite saddened by this... I worked in Ishinomaki for a month several years ago. The people in Ishinomaki were the most friendly and welcoming I have met in Japan. My thoughts go to the people of Japan. Hope they recover from this quickly...

Not really a lift line comment, but I found this to be hilarious. Mike, a fellow carver, and myself decided to switch boards.He had a Coiler Pure Carve board, and I had my Coiler VSR. Mike was installing his binding on my VSR using the same holes that he used on his Pure Carve, since the inserts were pretty much the same. He kept on saying "Hmm.. this is not going to work.. the binding is way to forward". I was too concentrated on installing my bindings on his board and not really paying attention. As I finally turned my head to look at what he was doing, he stepped back, looked at the board.. and said... "Oh sh*t, that is not the nose, it's the tail!" :lol:. He put his front binding at the back of the board towards the tail.. We both laughed hard, and then had a great day, with his bindings properly installed of course! :D

Hi well no worries... I won't be able to make it tomorrow.. so hopefully sometime this season. Cheers

Hello Ottawa crew... Anybody hitting any hills on the Quebec side? I am planning to go to Vorlage on Thurs... or sometime next week? would be great to meet some of you... Unfortunately, can't make it to MSM this week as I have the carry the pager this week I usually go to Edelweiss.. but need a change...would be great to carve with other people and share my addiction Cheers