sic t 2

that was great. Ben certainly is a master of that art. and his ability to teach the skills involved is most impressive.

was there today (thursday). mega changes. lots of dirt beginning to show in areas. also, snowcats have scraped up lots of stones and distributed them in a big fan, downslope of what appears to be a "minor" barespot at first. if you are not on a rock board be careful. even approaching, and around, the cabriolet at the bottom is gritty. snowpack is rotten too. carves go too deep. the good news is lower straightaway and zeroG are in great shape. deep cover, snow is not rotten, it holds a nice carve. also, going left-left off the cabriolet at the top is good (if you are "a bit" careful on first descent). hopefully they are blowing snow tonight. if not by the weekend they may lose some of the easier main trails. have fun ! ding... scrape...

I'm at zip 10925 Will be at Mountain Creek Friday. Will be at Hunter Saturday. you know.... now I remember.... I thought the bindings held me in too loose. there is a simple fix. you can adjust it so it won't "mouse trap" anymore (ie; its too tight to close). and it requires a hand push to get it over the "cam hump" (much like a conventional toe piece). so... both bindings are adjusted tight. the front I have to push down on the lever to get it to lock in. no problem. because (after front is locked in) its nearly impossible to reach the rear cam to push it down manually I just REVERSED the binding so that the lever is up front now. that makes it easy to reach down and snap shut. I have experience on bomber TD1's now and I can say that the way those bindings are configured its easier to clamp your rear foot in (with manual push on lever) than it is to snap the TD1 toepiece shut. or maybe its the same at most. either way. it works and holds you in quite snug actually. probably equal to the most common burton hardboot binding. yeah, yeah, they were really not all that bad to ride. however, they just struck me as frail. that played with my head constantly. now the board is a real POS. anybody want a "fold the nose" Alp ? free for just shipping cost. I've had enough of that thing. ((btw, what I mean by adjusting the bindings tight is moving the heal and toepiece closer together. the mousetrap mechanism won't have enough spring strength to close the binding on its own. just give the lever a little hand assist and it will lock down snugly. and hold you in pretty darn good.))

I really recommend getting new bindings. however, if you are stuck and want a pair of Burton Mouse Traps I'll mail you a set for freebees. or the parts you want.

Looks like JT is taking off Friday. Waiting for his confirmation. If that's the case we will be on 1st chair Friday morning. Could be a fun time :)

you know, I never thought about pulling harder with the front foot than the rear foot (when doing a high g push pull turn). I am going to concentrate on that the next time out. anything to preserve the energy packet for the uphill climb back over the top is worth its weight in gold.

I have taken maybe 5 big head hits over the past 16 years snowboarding. One actually knocked me seriously unconscious with a quality helmet on. I was out so long that 4 ski patrollers had already gathered over me by the time I came too (probably a 4 minute "outage" at least ). Low speed, soft boots, non-park; caught back edge and the back of my helmeted head bounced off the hardpack. Think about the physics of low angles,,, I mean, how can it NOT happen? Unless you catch your front edge,,, but that's usually a different story, one for the dentist :(

bring the old Status Tuesday, and I'll bring bindings for it :) and I think that ECES reserve a great idea.

that's some fine riding on that website

I rode one. It was a really cool feeling. Very much like real surfing because you are not strapped in. You use a leash with it. Stepping off a high speed is a no-no (smash !). Works great for hiking small hills, really, really good for that.

you know, I always explain to the non-helmet mindset that you don't wear a helmet to save your head, you wear it to save your arms. I get that puzzled look, of course.... Then explain that when you catch your back edge and you know you are going to take a massive head shot, with a helmet you just grimace,,,, without a helmet you instinctively stick an arm behind you to protect your head. And then you have broken bones or a dislocated shoulder and your season(s) are done. of course a helmet lets you ride so much faster too. its way better than fresh wax

oh damn ... I missed out so bad today ! "epic" btw, I was in that snowboard race training class the last season it was taught at MC. i did in softboots but purchased my Winds and Alp as soon as it ended. but by next season it was all over. we used to get a reserved slope, once a week, and Kevin set out cones. MC has a lot of slopes suitable for snowboard slalom. not so for skis. I think JT would be a great instructor ! And I'm sure Kevin would make guest appearances. of course, I will demand ONE CONE be placed downslope of the course, at a point we are back up to 30 mph why ?? lol

I read the posts on FB. not so bad. That's why we need a video of you riding. We could have posted that in the responses :) I liked that one post about those bindings that would straighten out once you were ready to ride. Once, a million years ago, I saw a pair on the Cab at MC. I actually stopped by Saturday night for a few runs. Oh, did it suck. Slow, sticky, micro bumps everywhere. It was horrible. Zero G was "fascinating". :D Did one run and then just hiked the beginner lift once for exercise then went home. But on way home I stopped by Outkast and got a new pair of riding pants from Kevin

you know, JT, I never realized just how extreme your soft boot angles are ! or how tall your board is u need to post that to bomber ... (( I'll be missing out tomorrow, Sunday, bike race. www.tristateclub.com ))

I rode this morning, thursday, jan 19th, could no resist the sunshine. it was pretty decent actually. left about noon. hope it holds out for you tonight JT. I'll probably ride again Friday, maybe the evening too. and maybe saturday morning. sunday my club is running a bike race. we finally got our ICE ! www.tristateclub.com

that was a REALLY entertaining carving video :D "Look at those ruts ! You are creating a hazard" surely a great phrase for a board sticker

significant snow dropping up north. even hunter today got 3-4. COLD ... weekend ... http://image.weather.com/images/maps/forecast/ne_precfcst_600x405.jpg MLK Monday ? Hunter will be going off big !

its been 7 years already,,,,, :D funny how that goes... I just met a guy, through my off-road motorcycle racing, who persuaded me to give hardboots a try again. Given I still had my Burton Winds he loaned me the Donek and the TD1's. for now, I will be riding Bomber Style (or its kissing cousin, "race influenced carve") so that I can stay low and out of trouble on the board. Of course, being the nutcase I am you know that I am already trying to burn 360's on it. Getting about 270 now. If I can't get there with Bomber style I'll go back to my push-pull. That'll get-r-done

Its so hard to describe a style in words. I guess that is why Jack started this thread with a video. But I would not push softboots on this site anyway. I was thinking hb, assuming u still had your equipment. You know, the sun just came out, spent yesterday at Hunter on sb with 8 maniac skiers. I think I'll go hb locally right now and try to get some style back. Yesterday was just a bomb fest (and not the kind of bombing we have been talking about on here ! :)

Nice writeup. An an eye for detail that could only come from someone with actual race coaching experience You know, JT, your ability to precisely align your full body weight over your tracking edge has always been (in my mind) a very distinct style onto itself. Of course we all have our variations, day to day, even by who we are riding with, but overall; you really have something unique going on there. Perhaps we can shoot some video, the next time we ride together, and share it with the forum.

mountain has good coverage and most slopes open. racer's edge finally open and stayed good all day. claire's open top to bottom. temps stayed low but everything quite carvable except for clair'es which needs some sun on it BAD. only annoying feature is that there are a lot of large snowpiles everywhere that still need to be graded onto the slopes. just wish the sun had come out. it was a black sky all day. rode with a high end skier crowd. 8 of them and me. what's odd about skiing is that they did 2-3 beers in the parking lot at noon. then hit 4 bars on the way back ! before finally having dinner at the mexican place by the thruway (highly recommended !!).

well, my first day back on hardboots in 5 years (180 fc donek/td1 canted) occurred last week !! :D was a real eye opener for me. riding a quality hb equipment for the first time in my life was a pleasant experience. comfortable, precise, stable, damp. nothing like my old, "fold the nose" Burton Alp with its narrow stance and mousetrap bindings. As the day progressed and I started to put down some g's in the turns but had a few scary moments too. it seems that my push-pull sb style was a bit too much for the hb's. specifically, when I tried to execute a hard cross over the board would carve too deep, too quick and I would find myself executing an unplanned cross under ,,, never crashed but after 2 or 3 of these frights I started staying super low so the board could not carve out from under me. then, since you are that low its totally natural to square up the shoulders to be already prepared for the toeside. There you have it, Bomber style, out of nothing, because its what keeps you alive. (( high energy consumer though )) now the EC based style of push-pull did not just emerge in my sb riding from experience. I had to study the EC site for a long time (like years) to get the technique. And the reason it works so well in sb's is that it enables you to unload some g's from the board at the critical moment of a carve (mid-turn / perpendicular to fall line) so the board won't blowout but will continue to sweep uphill so you can bleed speed off. That, I find is the only way to carve super steep groomers on softboots. Of course, it takes nerves of steel to initiate as you have to go to full leg extension just before the board points straight downhill. That is really unnatural, spooky and that takes a lot of practice. So I do not hesitate in branding that technique a learned "style" since its not what emerges naturally, but something that takes a lot of guidance to learn. ((( Anyway, enjoyed my hb day. the TD1's are really nice in all respects. little works of art, a please to work on to get the optimal adjustment. And the Donek 180 / FC / 11.2 ... if I was blindfolded when I was buckled into it I would have guess it to be a 157 with a 7.6 it turns tight tight !! )))

best quote so far.

I rode MC today (Vernon), for first time. From like 11 to 12:30 when I just gave up and hiked the beginner lift for exercise. when I was riding the cab it was pretty intense. basically, just one stripe open from top to bottom. All kinds of abilities on it. From the helpless to frustrated park pro's. Most disturbing were the packs of these raging park riders, like 6 of them together, screaming down the hill like a stampeding herd. no problem with the front riders. but the last 2 should have been on the bunny hill (honing their still developing skills) but that did not stop them from doing suicide passes through the totally helpless. I was envisioning a compound fracture and thought I better get out of here while I still have two healthy femurs ! snow was pretty scratchy in the middle, at the edges it could get too deep for good carving (just killed your speed). bottom parts of slope narrow, you couldn't have any fun with your speed in the flats. lodge is nice ! real nice !! maybe next time I go (during the week) I'll get there at 9 AM sharp. I can see where the snow pack would be good then. maybe tomorrow. or maybe my YZ450 in the snowless mountains around the resort. ;) c u soon JT.

Mark, Got a season pass to Mountain Creek again. Will miss tonight but catch up with you soon. That Donek Freecarve, in the sig, is a long term loaner. Now we have to plan "soft boot days" and "hard boot days". Teach me how to ride one again :lol: