Miguel

They have one four-five person lift that exits right at the edge upon reaching a sheer cliff with nothing but jagged rocks hundreds of feet below. (or so it seemed) I just about messed my pants when they lifted the bar! Of course, I was the unfortunate soul sitting in the middle position with nothing to grasp but very thin air! If that thing had jerked to a stop, I'd have been a gonner for sure. Of course the people sitting next to me would have also been gonners! Either that or their jackets would be in need of some serious repair resulting from a 185 lb man hanging from them! The thought of it still gives me the "willies". :D

You all don't know what flat light really is until you've ridden a mile in my boots! You see...I'm blind in one eye and that means my depth perception sucks in all conditions! Of course it's even worse when it's overcast. The good side is that I get to blame a multitude of sins on that particular shortcoming.:D And wouldn't you know it, my blind eye is my lead eye, which makes me a collision waiting to happen!

Do you think there would be any problems using regular TD2 in the front and TD2 step-in in the rear? I have two boards set up that way and have experienced no problems. Miguel

D-Sub....it worked! Am I feeling enlightened or what! Now I can post with the big dawgs! :D Miguel

actually, it worked just fine OK D-Sub...one more time. This time your entire text appeared, the first try it didn't. I used Foxfire as my browser this time and Internet Explorer the first time. I'm going to check out IE again and see if your text appears this time. Thanks for your help. Miguel

As you can see...that was a failure....plain and simple! I guess I just wasn't cut out for this new fangled stuff. Miguel

D-Sub...This is a test. I hit quote like you said but your text doesn't appear...just some gobblygook about

Being somewhat cyberly challenged, I have a question. How do you take lines from someone else's post and put them in your own, in order to respond to their question? To answer Kamran...because the snow was heavy and cold. Why else would I do it? Miguel

I used to wonder about the merits of a leash until last year when my board disengaged from my boot while riding the lift. It was hooked into a pair of regular Bombers and I was attempting to knock snow from my front boot. I'm still not sure exactly where I hit it to make it release but release it did! Fortunately I had a strap and it held. I was unable to place my boot back in the binding so the lift had to be stopped when I got off. I also had a board take off once when I was doing an on mountain adjustment. Fortunately again, it didn't hit anyone but man that thing was moving like a raped ape! I'd say leashes are a good thing. Mine's just a short little thing that connects from my boot strap to one of the bails on the binding. You can hardly see it.

Jack...I agree with you totally. I have found that it is very difficult to obtain proper angulation when turning the upper body into the toeside turn. By facing the front of the board I can get much more angulation. Perhaps I'm not getting low enough or angulating as much as I think I am. I remember seeing a short video clip of myself last year and being somewhat surprised at how tall I was standing. I was under the impression I was getting much lower. Any toeside tips from anyone would be appreciated! Miguel

On the Carver's Almanac site, Flo Jayme and Doug Dryer both recommend rotating the body into the turn and leading the board by about 30 degrees. They actually say you should be looking uphill, not to the side or downhill. What's your take on this? I've looked at many pictures of carving and never recall anyone looking up hill especially on toeside turns. I want to improve my turns especially on the steeps and thought perhaps this might be worth concentrating on. My goal is to tighten up my turns in order to scrub off speed on steep runs. My heelsides are tight but my toesides are less. I know I tend to naturally lead on the heelside and have attributed that to the tighter turns on that side. I'm not a beginner (15+ years) but my toeside has always been my downfall and I've never been as comfortable on the steeps as I would like. Should I be rotating more and if so is that going to effect angulation on the toeside? BTW...this is a great thread! Thanks for any suggestions! Miguel

Are these still available?

Sounds like an interesting article that would be of interest to many of us here. What's the chance of having it posted in the articles section here on BOL.

Last Spring I wound up riding with my brother and his buds at Killington...all expert skiers. On that day the entire mountain was bumped up so I either rode the bumps or went home humiliated. Oh yeah...did I mention my brother regards all boarders with complete and utter disdain. Of course I was riding with my Tshirt which proudly proclaims..."A day without snowboarding is like a day on skiis"...that always gets him going. :) But I digress. Anyway, I fortunately had brought my Doneck Incline in addition to my freecarve. Long story short, I wound up falling in love with the bumps that day. I felt the 164 Incline was ideal in the bumps. I never could keep up with the skiers that day but steadily improved as the day went on. In fact, the next day the wives/girlfriends joined us and I found myself getting to the bottom of the run usually in the middle of the pack. I rode pretty shallow angles in hard boots...about 35f/30r which I believe helps. I later rode my 171 Freecarve in the bumps and found it to be far less manageable. Personally I feel the Incline is a great bord for bumps and I look forward to honing my skills a bit more this year. It's quite a different challenge on a board...very focused and reactionary with split second decisions being made with every turn. It's a hoot! PS...this year's goal is to be waiting for my Bro at the bottom! PSS...my favorite quote of his while running the groomers..."Doesn't that G-damned thing go any slower than that!" Gotta love it. :)

What's the waist width on the 168 Speed?

I was experiencing pretty severe shin bang and I pretty much eliminated it by adjusting the upper cuff in my boots. I use 3 degree inward cants on my Bomber bindings which put pressure on the outside of my shins. I'm also bow legged which I believe compounds the problem. By canting the upper cuffs of my boots to the outside it pretty much eliminated the pressure. It made the upper cuff more in line with my shin bone. I still experience a little from time to time but it's far less and usually none.

BTW...I'm not Latino but I do love Latin culture, music and especially my lovely wife from the beautiful island of Puerto Rico!

1. The venerable 171 Donek Freecarve II 2. My Coiler 169 All Mountain (with yellow/red flames of course) 3. Last but not least my trusty do anything/go anywhere 164 Donek Incline. FINALLY...this year...All are ordorned with Bomber bindings....bails in the front and stepins in the rear. No more wearing out those damned srews switching bindings around! Halleluha Brothers! Bring it on!:D

When a cable breaks (rare), it's a real pain getting out of the binding. You need to use something pointy (actually two pointy things), such as a phillips head screwdriver to push in the pins so the heel releases. Until you've located such objects, you're left with two choices. You either walk around with a board attached to your leg, usually the back one which makes for a very awkward walk, or, you take your foot out of the boot and walk around with one boot on and one boot off, also a bit awkward not to mention embarrassing! In any event it totally eradicates the hard boot skinny board kewl factor! Having said all that, I LOVE my step-ins and would never go back. Actually...I have three boards with Bombers, with regular heel/toe clips in the front and step-ins on the rear. It works really well that way.

There was once a thread here that gave everyone's age and I was quite a good distance from the top. Last year I logged sixty days on the hill....not bad for a weekend warrior. Riding nights and being a teacher helps. I routinely outlast my much younger compadres...always being up for "just one more"! I contribute my success to a religious devotion to a combination of yoga and weight bearing exercise. With that and a little luck I plan on riding well into my retirement days....he he...starting after next year! Can you say 100+ days on the hill!! Greys on trays forever!!:D

Grandpa.....40??? I didn't even start until I was forty-two. Innumerable bumps and buises, a couple of concussions, a broken collarbone and dare I say, bruised ego later, I consider myself a fairly proficient albeit not expert carver! I'm currently fifty eight, still laying out respectable trenches and looking forward to reaching "Grandpa" status....thank you very much! BTW...purchasing a helmet has limited my concussions to two. :) (knock on wood)

It's a terrific do everything board. I especially like it in the spring and when I plan on going everywhere on the mountain. It carves like a banshee but turns like a sports car with rack and pinion steering in the slop and bumps. I would think stiff soft boots would be a good choice for the Incline.

I have a friend who need a pair.

Gath Helmets at www.gathsports.com makes a helmet with a retractable visor. Windsurfers use them and we are starting to see them somewhat in whitewater kayaking. Has anyone ever used them for snowsports? It seems like it might be a good idea. I wonder if there are fogging issues. Anyone with experience/info with these helmets?

$229 for an adult. Last year it was $199. I'm mainly a weekend warrior but managed to get in sixty days last year. Let's see...199/60=about $3.32 a pop! Not bad! How does a weekend warrior get in sixty days, you might ask. Well...I'm a teacher with lots of vacation time...plus Greek is open for night skiing. Can't wait for opening day!:D