slopetool

I love my Tankers too. This year I recently traded my 192 for a longer race board. When I rode the 192, I sometimes felt that I wished I was riding the 200 instead. Standing next to the 200 seems intimidating, "wow, thats a big board. How the hell am I going to ride that thing?" But since its such a sweet board, I feel it rides much shorter. And the added length is always a benefit and not a pain. I'm not a tall, big guy either. 5'10" and 200 lbs. When you place the 200 next to a 180, for example, its only a few inches bigger. Its all in ones mind that the size is so huge. This is my fifth year riding the Tankers and I'm kinda glad the secret is out. Like one guy here says, "Speed is your friend." Now we just need some fresh snow in Oregon so I can ride them.

Hugh - you really opened up a can of worms on that one. Yea Hugh, as you have noticed , you couldn't have found a better place to find an older alpine board. Many of us have asyms that we don't ride anymore. We all know where you can find asym boards; in our garages and basements. And maybe attics too. Great question!

Those Elan SCX's are sweet. Stiffer the better with stack plates.

I'm trying to pretend its only Nov. I went up to T-line yesterday. Its tricky getting around but worth a couple of hours of riding to ease the nerves. Thank goodness I bought that Weakday plus Pass. lol, sadly.

I've been finding it more comfortable and more all-around to ride a wider stance and less angles too. I'm 5'10" and 198lbs. It just feels right for me at 21" on my longer carve boards and 23" on my Tankers. 63 - 53 degrees on my 190 Rossi WC

A couple years ago I saw the K2 aggressor/sidewinder boots in the catalog and hunted for them. But it seemed like K2 didn't ship any into the US. I'm a big fan of Clickers and would snag them up immediately if I saw them in my size. That has to be the stiffest clicker boot made to date. I hope Deluxe is making them. Thanks for the updated info. Thats great news to me.

I've had great luck with SST pro clickers, mounted on Palmer pro-link stack plates. Try to find a stiff model of boot too. (K2 transformer, for example) I'm a believer in riding soft boots with the Tankers for the surf-style ripping that they demand. I haven't found any other board to come close to the sweet nectar of the Rad-Air Tanker!

Why Carve? I knew over time and in the long run that if I was to get into jumping and riding the pipe I would be in traction by the time I was 30. Edge Control is the #1 reason. There is a sense of style and finesse to riding alpine that is hard to find in skiing. The flow of initiating turns, one after another, is very pure. The effort involved compared to other methods of riding or skiing make me wonder, "is this cheating, kind of?" The G-forces are amazing and the control at higher speeds makes one ask, "what if I had a longer board?" When the conditions favor it, there is no better way to get down the mountain with the amount of effort it takes. Limited by Stance? Definitely. but overall, its worth it. Personally, I try to lower the binding angles and widen the stance as much as needed for the overall stability for riding the whole mountain. We aren't in a World Cup race, you know? Ski Areas could work on teaching the new groomers to smooth out those ridges made by each pass by with the tractor. We are Endangered Species too. Because Bomber is here for us it gives us a false sense that there are more carvers. But when you get up to the mountain, there are really no more rippers than there were 10 years ago. Unless we all get together for events. And its tough for the newbie to find equipment without having some connections so they seem to just stay with the freeride board until something pops up at the pawn shop. Being an endangered species, gives us attention from others that we all love too. And the feeling of commrodaree is the greatest. Hope to get some powder soon in the Pacific NW!

If you guys and gals have enough energy to respond whenyou get back from all that steep and deep, I'd love to hear about it. You can bet I'll be raving once we get some here in the PNW. Bachelor is our best bet so far. How about some Sierra updates or Europe snowfall reports? its kind of mastocistic but I'm a little preoccupied until Tues. and I'm dying to get up there! I wish I was you!

Man, I'm envious but you all deserve it for working so hard over the Summer, right? In the NW we are paying our dues but we'll get what we deserve very soon. It seems like the rest of the U.S. has gotten pounded a couple times already. Good for you. Alright, guys and gals, lets hear it. How deep has it been? First chair? First tracks? I'd be happy to hear how its been... Rub it in too. I can take it. Its okay to say you may have dinged up your board getting the goods too. our prayers have been finally answered. its snowing in the nearby mountains!

I think an early Feb. road trip would be in the works after seeing those pictures. Thanks, Thomas! It brings back fond memories! Baker terrain is very fun - Ed

I'm happy to announce I'm moving and I'm saving about 20 min. drivetime to the mountain! yah! Mt. Hood's snowpack is a little thin now, but the weather has got to turn around soon. Typically my days to go are Fri. and Sun. I've set in place an 8 inch rule before I'll call in to skip work. I applied for a sales position and if that happens I'll drop a couple inches off the rule. Do you guys find you have to set up these selfish standards too? Hey, I'm just trying to get in some pow turns when I can. My boss is kind of on to me, since he watches the weather fairly closely. I just updated my video library with TB 3,4,5-6 on DVD. they don't make'em like that anymore, do they? Season Greetings - Best of Turns To You

At the speeds we are going its so smart to wear some sort of head protection. And the only reason to take it off is for the Safety Meeting!

Is the gal that got third place from Austria riding a K2? I saw from the podium photo its kind of hidden by a sticker. Then in another shot when she is riding, I could see the logo on the tip. Maybe I'm strange for noticing such small details. but its interesting. K2 Inc. is becoming a monster!

That is wrong to bust anyone for smoking weed. Especially in this case. Losing their passes over it is ridiculous. Lets look at the abuse of alcohol while skiing and riding. And you can do that in the gondolla. There is a double standard. Moderate pot use is harmless. Smoking weed on the slopes is the hidden secret we all know is going on or participate in. And if any of you pass up on a joint or hit being handed your way thats okay too. I would definitely have the pipe ready to burn before getting in the gondi. I'd smoke in there just to say I did it. Its really too bad those riders got busted. They should have kept it down. Maybe smoked a bowl instead of a joint to reduce the smoke content. And for the record, "I don't think I ride better when I'm stoned, I know I ride better when I'm stoned." That was a quote from Jonny Thrash in the Ski Bums doctumentary I own.

Yes, the good old days. I can just see myself now. Stretch pants with padded knees. Red Nordica 386 racing boots. Burton plates with the heel clips on a Hooger Booger 175 with an asym. tail. I also used to ride an Avalance Flex 160 with primative plate bindings. those also had heel clips. I'm sure glad the manufactures started making toe clips. way easier to get to.

I also use the Clicker bindings with the Palmer pro-link system underneath. I use the K2 trasformer boot. Its the stiffest one I could find. K2 still makes that model too. Eventually K2 will phase out the Clicker, but I hope not. I used to use the Shimano Skylord boot and have admired the Nitro Aura boot too. My Transformers are much stiffer than the Skylords. Finding a pair of Clickers are easy and less expensive. Its allowed me to mount a pair on all my freeride boards with out too much $$. Good luck with whatever works for you!

Thanks for the picture, Jim. It looks sweet. The snow is on the way, bros! Maybe MHM will be open on Sun? Please, Please, Please. Ed

Those Volant skis that McConkey designed and skis on - the Spatula - sure is the reverse theory that we have. If you haven't seen them they are fat, wider sidecut in the waist and have reverse camber. and have a piece of melting butter on the topsheet design. kind of cool. those skis are the opposite side of the scale compared to a race board in powder. another toy for someone to try out. Would we dare even try them and step outside the box?

Wow! those are some great responses. I knew it had to have happened to someone else. In the early nineties, my Hooger Booger 175 GS used to see lots of powder. its all I had at the time. I've shown up at Bachelor with all but my Option 165 freecarve and rode trees and glades all day. There was about a foot of fresh and it dumped all day. I have tested my MLY 183 in about 8 inches over near the Rainbow lift at Bachelor. man, that board is soft and loved it. Its so subtle when one rides powder with hard boots, then the sensation of the sidecut of an alpine/race board. its awesome! just don't let the nose dive.

I'll bet there have been times where you had no choice, all you had brought was the race board. And theres a foot of fresh. Or maybe more. Its happened to me a Bachelor. But damn, sometimes its got to be done. I would love to hear some stories. I was watching Hear No Evil today. Remember that video? yes, its sparked my interest. thanks

Now that Bush is President again, I want to spend more time up in Canada, obviously. lol What would it take for me to move up there for a while. Could I work in your areas doing landscaping or sales getting paid under the table? Whatever it takes. No seriously, I would like to travel to Rossland and Nelson for a multi-day vacation. Any comments on those places? They both sound like great resorts with laidback local vibe and fun terrain. Whats the real story? thank you

One of my favorite names for a run is - Ed's Garden at Bachelor If you know me well, its fitting. Roach Bowl and Yoda Bowl at Mt.Hood Meadows are good names too. Those runs named after musicians like Hendrix and Garcia are classic.

Friday was great at Timberline. Mike and I tore that place apart. I feel cleansed. Although the terrain was limited we sure made the best of it. My '96 Option Freecarve 165 worked well for me. The gully on the lower half of Palmer was awesome, dude!

I used to own a pair of black soft plastic lace-ups that were for snowboarding. Koflach had just changed to their new snowboarding brand - Oxygen. This was in '94. The boots gave me a wicked hot spot like blisters on the back of the heal. So brutal I gave up the moleskin and sold them. Those ones that Damian wore with the gaiters were kind of weird but I still thought he was the coolest dude.