GavinB

Hi Nils Would be great to meet you in Lyon. We will be spending a week in Versailles at my cousin between Peyragudes & Zinal. Not sure if we can make it to Lyon.... but can look into doing a day trip from Geneva ???Any chance of seeing you in Zinal rather???

Hi Arnuad... Same here ... can't wait to meet all of you guys at the two events in Jan 2013. Hoping my SWOARD arrives this week ... but might only be next week !! Wish it was here today as I am going snowboarding tomorrow.

It was snowing when I arrived at Timberline and never stopped snowing while I was there. I rode in the Park area next to Stormin Norman .... going over the BIG BUMPS ..but not the actual jump .. I love that weightless feeling as you go over the big bumps ... Then I went through THE BONE ZONE a few times which was fun ... One time I did not see a 6foot cliff in front of me as the Viz was quite bad some of the time and went flying off the edge .. but landed very softly in the thick snow ... the nose of my board buried in the snow ... It was a little difficult getting going again. It was FUN !!! I left at noon ... I am sure it was probably good for a long time after that ... I will be back up there for sure tomorrow morning.

Timberline was GREAT today... IF you had a POWDER BOARD !!! Needless to say ... I realized today that I NEED a POWDER BOARD !! I had a blast on my board ... but was a bit of a struggle for me in the THICK FRESH SNOW !!! And I need more experience in THICK FRESH SNOW !! Anyway ... Today was a weird day ... Leaving Hood River it was totally FOGGED in at first: Then the fog totally cleared .... Then it rained ... then it snowed ... then it rained ...then it snowed ....along the way.. 2B Cont....

After wanting one for the past 4 years ....I just ordered my Swoard !!!!! My Gen4 SWOARD Extremecarver 168H will leave Europe tomorrow on it's long journey to Hood River, Oregon USA. I will get to ride it at Timberline on Mount Hood this summer. I will be going to ride with the SWOARD guys in Europe in January 2013 at BOTH these events: 12-13 January 2013: Peyragudes (Pyrenees, France) 26-27-28 January 2013: Zinal (Valais, Switzerland) - Main event - ECS

Arrived at Timberline at 9am this morning. Snow was pretty good ... but was disappointed that Magic Mile and Palmer were not open again. I rode Stormin Norman... trying to learn to ride BACKWARDS ... which is proving to be very difficult for me... After a while they opened Magic Mile which was quite good but only had a narrow groomed run. As usual it was totally CROWDED as you can clearly see in this photo !!! I'm sure tomorrow will be just as crowded and the snow should be even better tomorrow .... So I will be back up there for sure !!! I had to drive a little slowly today from HOOD RIVER side as I was a little nervous on the icy road with NO STUDS in my tires !! I left at about 11:30am because I needed to ... the snow was still fun !!!! On the way home it was normal driving speed !!

And our favorite costume was probably this Robot ... By 12 noon or so ... my friend said the snow was no longer worth riding .... We left after the Prizes were dished out ... but only rode those 2 early runs. Did not even bother going up again after the prize / raffle ceremony. It was a FUN DAY of practicaly no riding for us ! We will switch to TIMBERLINE NEXT WEEK !!!! Bye Bye Meadows ...thanks for another GREAT Spring Season.

Lunch from the BBQ looked good ... but we ate inside ... Some folks even tried to get across on 1 Ski ... Needless to say there were lots of CRASHES ... 2 B cont ...

The snow at Meadows EARLY this morning was really nice when we arrived there this morning. It was my favorite time when you are ABOVE the cloud layer: We only did TWO runs though as we went to watch the POND SKIMMING CONTEST ... which we had never watched before.... So had to go and sit in a seat early so that we would get a good spot ! We really liked this Kite Boarder ... This Tele Tuby guy was riding all over the slopes before the contest.... 2 B Cont ....

Today was really nice at Meadows ... It was totally HERO snow where ever I went .... It even had some snow flurries while we were there !! I rode TWO, THREE and FOUR BOWL for a while ... and rode with my wife on North Fork ... She actually ventured down TWO BOWL for the first time ever today. She chose not to go back there. They dug and lined the pond for the Kona Pond Skim tomorrow. We have never seen that before ...so will go and watch tomorrow.... These are today's photos !!!

I was one of the first in line on Magic Mile today at 9am ... It was slightly delayed ... The groomed part of Magic Mile was soft already when I got to the top. I left the groomed part and it was a bit better for me off the groom. A little firmer and still pretty smooth. I stayed there (off the groom) on Magic Mile till 10am when Palmer lift was supposed to open. Went over to Palmer, but just missed the FIRST Cat up and had to wait for the next one up ...one every 30 minutes or so. They were running the Cat as they were struggling to get the Palmer lift open. When I got to the top of Palmer (around 10:30am or a bit later) ... it was already too soft .... on and off the groom. One lady on the way down was saying it was more like WATER SKIING !!! After one ride down .... I decided to go home. It was REAL sticky lower down !!! Glad I went ... but am in NO real hurry to go back till I hear from one of you that Palmer is NICELY GROOMED again. I'll probably decide Day by Day if it will be Meadows or Timberline till the end of April. Then hopefully Palmer will be better for me in May. Am thinking HARD about getting a summer pass for Timberline ...even though I swore I would never buy one again. Took all my Kite Boarding Gear to Kite Boarding Shop and dropped it all off on Consignment there. Selling my old Snowboard gear as well now....but NOT my Bastard set up. All the $$$ from this is going towards a new Gen4 Swoard Extremecarver....which is why I am tempted to buy the Summer Pass at Timberline. Bryan already posted my photos I sent from Timberline... but ... Here is a view of the Snow Cat going up Palmer. Not sure what I am doing tomorrow yet. (Sorry ... I have tried ...but CANNOT find a way to delete these two photos below)

Anybody planning on going to Timberline tomorrow ? I am considering it ... especially if Palmer will be groomed.

You probably all know this already .... BUT .... just in case you don't .......

Yes ... that is my "Bastard" in those photos in the Bowls (see previous page 5)! I do not ride my Prior at all anymore .... I still need to show you my NEW (post Aspen) bindings ... As for arriving at 11am on a powder day ..... Sorry to rub it in ... but I can go to Meadows any day I like, when ever I like ... so for now ... unless I know Stadium is open and freshly groomed with NO people on it ... I don't feel the need to race up there early .... especially in Spring when it might be Icy early. Also ...this gives me time for my morning coffee and do a bit of work before leaving, so if there is anything IMPORTANT to take care of .. I can ... which is easier from home at the computer ..than on the slopes with just my iPhone. BUT ...if somebody else is going up early ... I have no problem going early to meet up with them. and YES ... it is GREAT being so close to Meadows .... as I wrote ... I FREE WHEELED most of the way home today as I HAD NO GAS in the TANK .... While coasting home ... it said I was getting 99.9 mpg !!!! Can't beat that ...although some of the time I was only going a few miles per hour .. and lot of the time only 40 mph !!!!

Wow !!! From Kenya !! Welcome to the Forum !!! I am originally from SOUTH AFRICA ... But NO SNOW there ...so I live in Hood River Oregon now....LOTS of SNOW on Mount Hood !!! Are you still living in Kenya ????

Sorry some of the above are repetitive ...but could not delete them. I was rushing to get there this morning ...and only had 90 miles left in my gas tank .. but it is only 30 miles to get there ...and 30 miles back ...so I thought it would be OK .. as soon as I turned onto the 35 the Gas Warning Light turned on and the Milage started dropping much faster than I was covering miles... Soon there were ZERO miles till empty ...but I kept going. After Riding ... i did not want to buy the GAS CAN from Meadows with a Gallon of Gas at their expensive price .. so I took the chance to COAST DOWNHILL ALL THE WAY BACK TO HOOD RIVER !!! Luckily I made it ... Luckily it is DOWNHILL ALL THE WAY and you can actually Coast down the Hill ... 98% of the way !!! BUT ... I don't plan on doing that again ... I was on the edge of my seat all the way back. Funny how your brain thinks moving your butt forward on your seat will make you get further on an empty tank. Anyway .... Today was a great day in the Bowls at Meadows. Was good practicing in the thick snow there on the steeps for me. Would have been more fun with another rider though.

And here are some more .... from Two, Three and Four Bowl.

Meadows was great today. Arrived around 11am and the Car Park was covered in Snow. As usual ...Stadium was closed as was Vista Express and Cascade Express... So I decided to ride the Bowls today, which were great. Thick Soft Snow in Two Bowl, Three Bowl and my favorite today was Four Bowl. I stayed till I almost thought I would have to walk out as it was getting really slow and sticky on the FLATS at the bottom... But the snow in the Bowls was awesome.... but VERY tiring on the legs ! I need to do LOTS of STAIRS ...TWO at a time.... this summer...to get ready for next winter. IT was not at all cold today and no wind ...so the gloves came off and I took some photos.... Unfortunately the cell phone camera just cannot do the scenery and steepness of the Bowls any Justice. (And I think they are upside down and I cannot get them the right way round)

Hey Bryan Glad to see so many things checked off on you list. Sure hope to see you on the slopes before the season ends ... Don't forget your Video Camera....and hopefully there will be some HERO snow for me, as I need to look like a Hero on the video. Let me know beforehand where you plan to go and I will do my best to meet you there for sure. Salmon BBQ at my place afterwards ????? So happy to hear the RENTERS are in....now you can buy me that GEN 4 SWOARD I am still missing in my collection !!!! RE: "Of course a photo of your lovely wife against the Mt Hood backdrop would certainly be a plus :)" Well seeing as though you have begged so much for photos and I have not delivered any yet... Here is a photo of my wife, Nichapat. Hopefully I'll take some photos tomorrow up there ...it was to cold to take my gloves off today. (Only take them off for work calls, e-mail and texts up there when it is so cold) Gavin

Hey Sam Don't worry about rushing me .... as I have all the time I want to practice slowly on my own.... which is the wonderful thing about living in Hood River.... Was nice to ride with you .... And it is good for me to "chase" other carvers from time to time... Even though I am currently EC OBSESSED ....and really want to get good at it before ASPEN in FEB 2013 .. I do enjoy riding FAST as well.... and have to improve ALL my snowboarding skills ...NOT only my EC stuff. So look forward to riding with you again up there....even if it is at your pace.

Went to Meadows today. Arrived around noon or so (I think) ! Stadium was closed again ... I think I have to give up on that run till next winter. Met Dr. Sam from Portland at the top of Mnt Hood Express and rode with him for a few runs on Vista Express until he had to leave. Conditions were good on Vista ... a little Icy up top but nice most of the way down to the lift. It was cold at the top of the lift ... was 37degrees in the parking lot .... and started snowing around 2 pm or so. Practicing my EC drills does not bode well with riding with other Carvers as they go much faster than I do .... So got to practice more at my own pace when Sam left. It should be nice up there tomorrow...so I will be back up there for sure. Thursday looks like some rain ...so won't be going then. But Friday looks sunny again ...so will go then most likely. Gavin

Here is the link the resorts that it is good for .... http://www.skifreedeals.com/ski-resorts-all.html Make sure you check the resorts deal where you are interested in going to ... as some seem to have restrictions on when you can use them ...which days of the week and until when etc And ... They are NOT BUY ONE GET ONE FREE for yourself .... so you CANNOT buy one and ride on TWO DAYS .. You have to ride the SAME day with a friend, unfortunately ... but great if you planned on riding with a friend. I used one of them at TIMBERLINE with my wife and it was a good deal then for me....as we would not have gone there in the winter time without it. They are in my car now ... I think I have three or four left ... will go and check if you are interested. Will mail to you right away if you want them and send me your address. Gavin

I arrived at Meadows Main Parking Lot at 8:40am... Went straight to STADIUM lift again ... and once again ...it was closed for the racers. Getting very annoying as that is my favorite run right now. Went on Cascade Express and Vista Express again till 11am but was a bit too icy for me higher up and a bit too soft lower down. Did not find a spot that I really liked...so practiced on the Icy areas ...and once again proved that I am really not good on the icy areas .. and need LOTS more practice and a few more skills most likely. Also there were far too many people for me ... There was a lot for a Sunday ...and much more than I am used to during the week. And NOT good for trying to practice my EC Drills when there are too many people. Also my bindings were going into the snow too deep and it opened my rear binding on a toe side turn even though I have no toe overhang .... A product of the too soft snow. Bryan I know you wanted photos ...and I could have taken a photo of lots of people ... but am sure you have seen that too many times before... So no photos today. It probably got nice higher up after I left ... but more people kept arriving as there were a few things going on there today ... so Home I went ...and will be back there on Tuesday when I will have the slopes to myself again... can't go on Monday unfortunately !! I really NEED to learn to ride on the ICE .... not that I like to do it ...and hate the sound of it ...but I need to learn to be totally comfortable on the ICE. So will force myself to practice on the hard icy areas this spring as much as I can. Definitely NOT fun for me though !!!!! Gavin

Four weeks later I noticed this thread ... So I come out from the cold .... Sorry for vanishing Bryan.. But I have had Snowboarding Visitors from San Diego, CA for the PAST MONTH pretty much .. so have been going to Meadows MOST days with them ... and Timberline once to buy the TLine Spring Pass .. as I already have a Season Ticket for Meadows. Now I can pick and choose ...but will mostly stay at Meadows till the 28th April ... closer to Hood River.... then switch to Timberline after that till the end of May.... and I am hoping Palmer will open before the end of May... BTW ... not sure if they are of any use ... BUT I have a few of those BUY ONE GET ONE FREE SKI PASSES from the Shell Gas Station.. so if anybody wants to go with a friend to Timberline (or where ever else they are good for) and NOT get a Spring Pass .. they are still a good deal ... unless you are going for THREE DAYS or more then you may as well get a SPRING PASS. I have NO use for them ...so if anybody wants them ... please let me know and I can mail them to you right away...or you can pick them up from me in Hood River. Gavin