Scott.Creer

2/24 I went out in the AM with the family. Conditions were actually really good in the Hyland for carving. I have been out carving maybe 1 time this season. Hard to be motivated.

Well this is depressing thus far. I went yesterday 1/1 with my oldest. It wasn't great for carving. Snow guns running. Only select trails open in the alps and meadows. Not worth it yet. Hopefully things will improve before next weekend.

1/28 - Snow was great. I was mostly in the meadows, watching my little in lessons. 7 was amazing. The highlands looked really good as well, I didn't really spend much time there. The run with the tunnel is open, and there is a really cool mound after the tunnel that is a lot of fun.

Wholly cow, $730 currently? I am tempted to post my clews, but I love them. I hope the bid goes good for you and the person who wins actually makes payment.

Took the family to Mount Como today, because I didn't want to pay $80 for a day pass for my 6 year old to just take 2 runs on the carpet then call it quits at Afton. Mount Como is a great little rope tow hill in Como Park. It was $15 per ticket. The lessons reminded me of a classic rope tow ski school. High School kids helping littles use the rope. Conditions and grooming was really great. They had a legit groomer, which also serviced the cross country trails. They do rentals there as well for the lessons. Good times.

I went out this morning and only stayed 45 minutes. Place was pretty empty. There light though was extremely flat, and I couldn't see a dang thing. I felt really uneasy, and conditions were less than perfect. I need to figure out something better than my high yellows. Side adventure yesterday, I brought my oldest to teach him in the meadows. Went to take my boots off at the end, and my left lower boa exploded. Broke at the boot not the dial, no repairing it. So, I went to the house board shop to compare boots like I used to. First time since they renovated. It was terrible. Apparently they went to a more distributed inventory model, and it sucks for those of us here in MN. They only had 2 of the 6 boots I wanted to compare (even though they were available online) and they had 0 in my size. Tried to talk to the kids working, and they were terrible. I get that 99% of their business is online, but does that mean that the in person shop has to suck? I liked it way better before.

I got my clews this week. They are pretty great. In and out works really well. Their performance is really good. They feel solidly connected. There is no repositioning the high back to match the angle of the bindings. So for angles above 15-17 degrees I would not recommend them. The ankle retention strap is uncomfortable. I can't tell if it is the strap itself or the position of it. I rigged up my Burton Genesis straps to it to see if they are better. Obviously, there is not a way to adjust the attachment points. The genesis straps are the most comfortable straps I have ever used. I like to ride my bindings super tight, then loosen them for the chair ride. These don't change that habit really. But they do allow for hot entry without stopping on some chairs.

I made a few turns yesterday testing out the new clew bindings. Review on them coming soon. Conditions were excellent, flat light wasn't though. 7 was open and great. Only easy 2 and the murder bowl were open on that part.

So I made some turns at Afton this morning and conditions were actually surprisingly good. The bad is when you realize that much of the terrain was still closed. It looked like they were getting good coverage with the snow guns on, but I think it'll be a while before a day pass is really worth buying. Only easy Two was open, Murder Bowl, the one right next to seven. Chair 7 was turning but under 7 was still closed and then some of the meadows were open.

It was a great time. Good last day on snow for me probably.

Leaving the house now. What a ticket buying process for a ticket I still need to get at a ticket window.

So it was good today? I got cleared from to boss to go to buck tomorrow morning. Worth it?

3/12/22 Sugar snow on solid ice base. End of report.

2/25/2022 Top 10 day for sure today. It was amazing! I had 7 all to myself from 10am-10:40, and that is when Trent showed up at 7. We thrashed that till my better half got there at about 11:30. Stayed till about 1. 13 wasn't that great. Took some gopro footage that was utterly terrible. Totally unwatchable.

Not sure I am young enough or in shape enough for that.

Thinking about doing a morning at buck maybe next week or the week after. Did they put moguls in the middle of the lift run again?

My experience with the OES TT Kevlar is that the board really doesn't pop at all at the finish of the turn. You really need to pull your legs back up to make the transitions work. I don't know if it is the kevlar, the camber profile, or a combination of the two. You get used to it. If you want to air transition you need to weight the tail and give it a slight Ollie. Other boards, soul Titan, knapton, etc I could just pressure in the turn then let the board pop up off the snow. The OES is not the same. Don't get discouraged the first few times on it. It will feel different. Once you figure out how to weight it right, it is a lot of fun. I had a heel side turn last week and my butt was rubbing on the snow in a turn. I thought "oh crap I am booting out" but nope, I was still locked in.

I am not a fan of the yoga I would need to do to get to the release location. I like the release location and pull type of the clews better. I don't have issue with a single lever design. I also am not a fan of by the base location due to snow pack and icing at that location. 20 years ago that was the same location and pull direction as the rental step ons used at my local mountain where I worked. There were issues with icing getting into the lever mechanism. Lots of accidental releases and issues with the lever not allowing for locking. This might have been solved in 20 years. I would have liked to have seen something similar to the clews or just a pull wire handle set up maybe, threaded through the Highback. I am excited to see these in person. Being in the Midwest, strapping time is a large portion of snowboard time. So I am all about quick entry solutions that match strap performance. I did preorder some clews for next season to give a try.

2/18/2021 We were out for about an hour today before crowds and before they had to close because of winds. It was really good on 7 and 13. 13 was sporty to carve though due to people. Saw Trent briefly. We will be back out tomorrow to do laps on the meadows carpet.

Have fun with it.

As an update, rode this setup today and it was rock hard. The board didn't chatter or lose the edge once. It really performed well. My dream version of this board would be a 155ish, 27.5 waist, 8.5 radius, Kevlar, with a little more pop between the bindings (to be more easily able to pop in the transitions). This board is perfect for someone looking for a stiff board that doesn't chatter in variable conditions. The larger radius is really nice for those looking to be laid out for a while in the turn. My 2 cents.

Michelle and I rode this morning for a few hours. It was hard and fast on 7, variable on other spots with the wind driven snow only sticking certain places. under 13 was the only enjoyable place to ride. 7 wasn't that bad, but it was fast. The new OES held an edge great! I was super pumped, because a day like today would be miserable on the other softie set ups.

This has been sold. Thank you.

Impulsively I decided to order a OES 158TT. It came really quick, and I was really impressed with the build quality out of the box. The board is a 158TT Kevlar medium stiffness. This is an initial review and I will update after variable conditions can be tested. Today was on the softer side, with disorienting flat light. I rode it today for a few hours at our local hill. The first 2 runs were a struggle to be honest. I was feeling the 28cm waist and the 10m radius. It was a struggle to feel in control of the beast. Then I switched up the terrain and boom! This board rails very similar to how my metal alpines did. Once it is on edge it loves it. Transitions take a little more work, which is to be expected somewhat with the width. The board is flat, there is virtually no camber between the bindings. There is a slight de-camber profile on the nose and tail. Going across the fall line you feel the groomer laps going along the board, however it absorbs them nicely without chattering. It feels just as stiff as my other boards, but the profile is such that it really doesn't pop in the transitions. I worked hard to have the board pop up on the back sides of the turns. It does take some adjustment to get used to the radius and the width, but it is worth it. Very stable and just locks into the turns.