sic t 2

Well, now that u hav them. How much lateral stiffness does that setup hav ??? With a 1 being a soft boot (strapped in tight) and a 5 being a hardboot all buckled up and clipped in. What is yur initial impression on the carpet.

I got the GNU Mullair 159 this season. Best softboot carver i hav ever ridden. Even better than last years board: the 159 wide Arbor A-frame. Goodride.com has a detailed writeup on it. I do not find it quick edge to edge though (c3 btx is not full camber by any means). Its got a poor switch too (feels like a kids 135 board in that direction). But it rules the hardpack. And it absolutely kills the moguls w its big nose and setback (impact absorption) and little tail (sets itself into next bump line expertly). I ride 21" at 21/9. Hav not been in pow w her yet. The GNU did the 3 but it was a weak spot for it. But u can get a pic here at least :)

Id say 18/6 from 1:40 in mov

I always tell rank beginners this, when they are trying to imagine the hardboot experience: "Getting the carve on hardboots is the easy part. What you need to worry about is how you get it to STOP CARVING. Think tree, think snowgun, think the metal pole holding up the snowgun". Of course, once you get it down its awesome but the beginner days do have their challenges. The great part about this is all the little ski areas, the ones you used to thumb your nose at, become triple black diamonds for u. Saves travel money and hotel rooms $$ (so the alpine setup is not as expensive as it may seem over the long run).

Fish is one of the most awesome boards ever made. Every year I get a new board and then all my previous boards become junk. Except for the Fish. I need not elaborate on its agility in the trees. But I will add that its a ripping mogul board !! That big nose absorbs the hits and the little tail sneaks into the mogul groove. It also carves really well on groomers on surpringly stiff conditions, until... it doesn't. Then you got your hands full getting down the hill. I have done 360 carves on groomers with it. Mine is soooo old, soooo beat, core hits from Snowbird, bigger core hits from Jackson Hole :). Lousy switch in powder, but I guess that 's obvious. Enjoy !!

Nice !! 2 thumbs up !! makes me want to dust off my alpine gear again :). I like extreme carving only when it comes natural (from g-forces) not not some contrived dive for the snow (which is the case with soft boot carving). Ok, god can do it on a hero day. But you know, everybody else can't :)

A hardware thought: First is highback adjustment... but that seems to have been completely covered above. Second thought is something that has never been mentioned on this site. When you are carving with low angles you want a binding that sits the boot as low as possible in the toe and high as possible in the heal,, if you expect to get a decent healside. Since a real carving softboot binding has never been made (well, maybe catek freeride but that was a classic example of overkill) its not easy to accomplish. So I always remove, or grind out, the all-so-popular toe risers. And then i raise my heals about 3/8" by visiting my local hardware store. This may seem subtle but its a huge contribution to healside/toeside balance at low angles. To prove it to your self just get into a proper low-angle softboot stance (the slight crouch) in your stocking feet on a hard surface. Try and raise your heals. Now try and raise your toes. Now go to the marble saddle that separates your bath from the rug in the house and put your heals on that. Get into your stance again and repeat the rest. No need to explain further. It would be GREAT if Bomber made a low angle softboot binding. 1. Light Light Light Simple Simple Simple 2. Constructed out of metal and rigid as all hell. 3. w various industry OEM strap offerings. 4. w various OEM (or bomber custom) highback options. 5. offering various heal lift options (and, yes boot fits in highback propertly after the lift). 6. no cant options as that is the overkill part. 7. price doesn't matter since binding base will last forever. Only the parts attached will change over riders lifetime. 8. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE make this binding. I am so sick of the garbage that is out there and the planned obsolescence of it all.

Burton does not even attempt to manufacture a serious softy carver. If they did they sure as hell would not have a sketchy slot binding . So why criticize them for not making a WIDE softy board for dedicated carvers? Its not their market. Seriously , none of you guys see that ?? And when you do turn to a serious carving manufacturer's stock softy inventory,, uh oh ... Houston, we got a problem . Or maybe you just can't sell those really wide boards. Obviously the latter.

Well....what you are not noticing is that in hardboots your legs tend to be very tightly wound. This limits mobility but greatly enhances the carve you admire so much. Taking a big twisting/flipping fall in soft boots is a moment for self deprecating laughter. Same fall in hard boots is dancing with the injury devil. The whole concept is not a great idea. I hope that answers your park question. As for trees, yes a godlike, word class hardbooter can do it. Most mortals no way (cause of lack of mobility/stability at zero speeds when you are debating how to miss the big oak, yet turn before you hit the granite boulder). In fact, just remaining upright during that moment of thought is a task. Basically, for the first year or so, think only wide open trails (blues) for new hardbooters.

I could not voice more support of this safety video. It is OUR responsibility to look uphill because we carve. Kudos to Ryan !!!!! Practicing what I preach: note the 3 "head turn checks" before the carve.

Don't get it. Just buy the board width that you want. That's why they make WIDES . I used to always softboot on a 243. Now I am up to a 266 for my little size 9's. Not because of major bootout issues, but because the drag kills the 360 carve.

Scariest thing I ever watched !! I thought for sure he'd catch that front edge and put that gopro branch right through his body. Seriously, you got to think this out a bit.

You know, the video did not strike me as that strange because its a common high speed wakeboard maneuver. And wakeboarding probably even hurts more if you catch the front edge "without a cup on" . Trust me on that one! What shocked me was the first slope shadow when you obviously did not see the terrain change and a spray came up from that front edge !!! Btw, I ride a wide board now after watching your vids from last season. A popout cheapie, A-Frame 160 wide, but its a whole new game of fun for my tiny size 9's. Thanks for those vids. I think it is the ultimate carving style.

As long as the 2x6 is cheap pine, the pow is deep enough, I'm allowed my own setback, and I can choose a really loose boot size.... I could definitely carve that ! :).

That was the sickest move !! 1:01 to 1:05. I am not worthy.

The reason the alpine community is so small is because of riders like me. I possess alpine equipment, alpine skills, the health, the time and a great mountain just 25 minutes away. I snowboard every day but I have not ridden my alpine gear in 5+ years. With virtually zero new riders entering this niche snowboarding discipline and a great many former riders losing interest (see prev posts in this thread for a dead horse beating of the often valid reasons why they don't anymore) and u have the reason u see less and less alpine riders on the hill. I think it unfortunate as the sport, when done right, is breathtaking to witness. It will never disappear but u guys r probably looking at really small participation levels for many years to come. Just saying... well, this east coast season is shot in the butt already. Did the valve clearances on my yz450 yesterday, had the vtr out already and will b riding the xc300 Sunday. And the Hudson river beckons the 454 big block on the trailer. Btw, I almost made it to eces this year on Friday. But a new grandson on Thursday blew up that plan :). Btw, I would NOT have ridden my twin. I was going to bring my Winds and demo the good stuff to try and spark my interest again. C u guys next year. Hopefully on alpine gear.

What is free skiing here? Is it also part of the alpine number? Part of the snowboard number too? Without knowing this I can't imagine how u figure out even the most basic trends from their efforts. I'm assuming a cross country skier is allowed to snowboard too. Maybe? I can't find the explanation. Hope it's not obvious and shame on me. http://www.snowsports.org/research-surveys/snow-sports-fact-sheet/

Geez... your biggest ambassador right now is a twin tip jibber (Ryan). Maybe there is a reason for the media's focus. It's exciting and dynamic to watch.

Jackson Hole: Skiers right, Apres Vous chair for a nice rolling blue trail w plenty of room for big speed. Grand Targhee: not a snowboard friendly mountain. Lots of cat transfer trails and aching ankles. And that perpetual fog.

Yup, softboots on a true twin (Travis Rice HP). Even works for us +65 riders too.

I spent 10 slope days there last February. Its hardly a carving mountain. Sure, its so big you can find good slope but that is blowing the Jackson Hole experience. Honestly, there is so much gravity there that the mountain is downright tiring (since you are either carving hard to shed speed, or skidding hard to shed speed). And that applies to any slope grade there. "Flats" is not in the Jackson vocabulary. And remember, there are really high end athletes there ripping that mountain at mach 11. You better look behind u as they will fly out of the woods and be on you like an F16. Attached is "three tower chute". I did it the run before the pic. No, I did not carve it. One misstep and its your life. Kick ass mountain !! :) Highly recommended.

Just an awesome carving video. Thanks for posting it here. I looked at your other motivational movies on youtube too. And now I know what a "slasher bomb" is What an uninformed dumb ass I can be after all the time I have spent on a snowboard ! Another enlightening (ie; embarrassing) moment happened to me 2 months ago. I was running my mouth off to a fellow rider about how duck stance is nothing but a hindrance to good carving... and provided all the commonly known arguments to support this. But to cement my point, with actual riding experience, I set up my Travis Rice twin in duck for the day. Well... yeah you guessed it, I am still using it !! Cause just like in your video, duck stance on a twin means tremendous toeside power and no more healside disadvantage, its all toes and 180's (unless one just wants to amuse themself with a healside now and then). But why bother :-) Keep making videos. I'll watch your channel.

Well, I'm a bit older now so here's a pic from when i was 64 years, 1 month & 2 days ! Ya never know when your last day is coming when you are this old so I better get the good pics out of my phone while I can :) PS: it really helps not to cross your old line as the slightest skid and you won't get back above the tower again. Later !

64 years old. Still enjoying my toys and my 7th year of retirement. And that means lots of days on the mountain to perfect silly old man stuff. Later....