scrutton

Raced slalom this weekend, in the Crescent ski cup. We use vertical poles, that have a flexy bottom. This is pretty much the first time, I've tried to 'hit' the poles to get a faster run. Results were mixed in that, of the ones I did hit, I hit some of them with my back (on heelside), most of them with my leading forearm, and one with my helmet. Obviously I'm not getting close enough to the poles yet. However, for those of you that do race slalom with vertical poles, what part of the equipment are you working to hit? Also, they are making us push off the start with ski poles, rather than rig up a decent starting gate. Does anyone sell an easy to transport starting gate? I'm thinking some large elevated hand grabs that could be drilled into the snow. Paul

I just switched one of the bails from old bindings - looks like positive results so far - fitment is excellent.

I have three sets of Cateks - two of the original ones (no detent ring), and a set of the Olympics that I just purchased, that I am mounting onto a new board. I just found out that the Olympics have a narrower bail (1/4" or so narrower) than the originals. And of course I'm running prehistoric Burton Megaflex boots which don't fit well in the front bails at all on the Olympics but fit fine on the original sized bails. (The rear portion of the boot fits fine though) Anyone know if Catek original sized (front) bails are still available? Anyone have a set they want to unload? I'll try the Catek site now. Think I'll switch bails on one set so I can ride this new board for now. Thanks, Paul

I am now on my 3rd pair of Cateks. I have Cateks on all of my Alpine boards. I've never had to order a spare part. All are still functioning and absolutely original. One set, actually my main stick is about in its tenth year of service. I've even pulled one of the bindings off of the board - after landing a jump, when attempting to ride boardercross. Screw length was inadequete for the board inserts - stripped the screws. I simply ordered longer screws, reinstalled the binding and kept on trucking. Comparing that to my experiences with Burton hard boot bindings or Rat Traps, well lets not go there. I'd wait 6 months for a set of Cateks..no joke. Paul

Nice video. I demoed one for about an hour, a long time ago. It was pretty tough, the leaning seemed all different. The guy in the video looks very sharp.

Ya sounds like someone's being a bit picky...you're getting Catek's. Where's the problem in that - it doesn't matter how long they take to come.

Check out :- The Sword Fu Manchu.

Testing my memory now, but yeah as I recall. the nose did fold, then sprung back, and I managed to ride it out. Think I was loading it up quite a bit for that photo. The nose bend - is that a common phenomenon? The board was fine, and I still ride it - its my main carving stick. Second question - now that I have three alpine boards, I just made the discovery yesterday, that the progression in length is directly proportional to the decrease in width. ie. my 190cm board is the skinniest, and my 166cm board is the widest. The Prior (175cm) shown in the photos is bang in the middle. Is this just a function of getting the similar performance out of a board, you have to have a certain amount of physical material to work with, in terms of providing stiffness and response, or is it perhaps due to short slalom boards working at lower speeds, that maybe you can get away with a fatter board; easier to ride at lower speeds? ie. everything is moving at slower speeds, so you have time to make the wider edge to edge transition.

I got two comments on last session. - 'What the f*ck is that thing' as I went past a female snowboarder. and - 'Is that one of the old school boards with the leather straps to hold your boots on?'. I replied, 'no sir, that is machined aluminum'.

Some pics shot at Whistler on my first week on my Chris Prior custom. These were shot about ten years ago, Id guess.

I was told that the Nastar courses are pretty close to a GS style gate setup. Tend to be a bit shorter in length also in my opinion. They mention this also in the history of Nastar gate racing :- 'Fry envisioned another possibility. "It didn't take long for the dim bulb in my cerebrum to light up and see that simple, open-gate giant slalom races on intermediate slopes could attract hundreds of thousands of people to measure their skiing ability." ' from http://www.skiinghistory.org/nastar1.html So, you may not need a full on slalom board. GS sized sticks are a lot of fun all over the mountain too, in my opinion.

I never had heard about the US ASA until I found them on the web last night, with a google search on snowboard race gates. It looks like a good series. I may try and make one of the dates in my area (NC/VA). I don't know how you reach folks, other than intense advertising. That right now is sadly lacking. I'm looking at the Massanutten event in VA, GS and SL, and there is no link to further info, and there is no mention of it on the ski-resorts website. Do they really expect folks to drive (4.5 hours for me), and not know if it's really on or not.... What's the deal with the $75 fee? It seems a bit steep to make a few race dates. Is it a one off fee, or yearly renewal. They charge $25 / day to race anyhow. That can't be helping participation. Paul

Got some nice looking Catek Olympics coming. Thanks Craigslist.

Try to find some Brooklyn Brooklynator if you can. It's a special reserve brew available only on tap at select locations. Should be served in a snifter. Delicious.

Need a set of Catek's. Long Plate. NON-step in. I'd like to get a set of the newer one's if possible (OS/2's). Drop me a line with what you have and pricing. I might be able to be talked into a set of Bomber bindings, if they are in excellent shape. Cheers, Paul

Based on what I heard here, I decided to take the plunge. I just sent payment for cfj04 's Coiler 166. I think that it will fit the bill nicely. 9m-ish sidecut, slalom oriented, suitable for my poundage. All the best! Paul

Yes, full skier gates....

OK, been riding plates for a good while. This year, I'm now competing in Slalom and Giant Slalom racing - Crescent Ski Council racing. I've really just started in this format. What I'm finding is that the slalom course setup is much tighter than your regular Subaru/NASTAR courses which are effectively GS style spacing. Not only do the gates require much tighter turning, the flushes are a nightmare to get round. My main stick for slalom and GS is a Prior Custom, 175cm, Mark Fawcett shape, but softened up a touch for in-resort riding; but built stiff enough for my weight. I've had it a while, and I love it. But it's too long, or has not enough sidecut for slalom. I'm skidding the turns like crazy. I'm 6'0, 215 lbs, size 12's. Anyone got any ideas on what length / sidecut to shoot for in a board purely for slalom racing? Of course, I'll keep my main ride for GS racing. PS - I did have a WCR in the 150's (I think), a few years ago. It felt way too short for everything, so I sold it. Paul