Sultan Guy

Tuesday was COLD. Like 18F cold. Top of Skyline icy, Broadway decent. Hogsback was the best. Tye Mill needs more snow. Too undulating. Much warmer on Friday morning. First 2 hours were excellent everywhere. Railing the Donek FC 179 until snow was getting sticky. No crowds both days! Going up 12/20 and 12/23. Maybe 12/24 also.

I am not too good at catchy slogans, guess that is why I don't work in marketing. I am an avid Stand Up Paddler and some local guys here made up some cool T-shirts that showed a Stand Up Paddler with the slogan "If it was easy they would call it kayaking" Damn funny!!

NOPE. Could care less. There is no races in my area and I have never seen one except for the Olympics. Prior, Donek, and Coiler brands all serve up everything I could ever want for boards and Bomber has the rest.

Surprising Good! First day of the season and the snow was very good for carving along with minimal crowds. Skyline a bit icy up top. I will be up Tuesday and Thursday mornings this coming week. Leaving Sultan at 7:30 and leaving the mountain around 12:30. If anyone wants to join.

Check this out. Bought this sweet "Durabench" at Costco for $99, bolted a 2 x 8 to the top and clamped my Toko vises on the side. Sturdy and lots of space for tools and stuff.

Kram- You are welcome to stay at my house for a night or two. Carvers helping other carvers!

Last season I used my Garmin GPS watch one average morning of carving. Shows 39.6 MPH was the fastest speed. I could go faster but I like to turn too much. <iframe width='465' height='548' frameborder='0' src='http://connect.garmin.com:80/activity/embed/77982251'></iframe>

Yep...had this exact issue a few months ago and changed to "Standard".

I am four weeks today from shoulder surgery and hope to be on the hill 12/11 for my first time. Working hard at physical therapy and am crossing my fingers the doc gives me the green light on the 9th. Setting up my work schedule for one or two weekday mornings each week (Tuesday/Thursday) and Sunday mornings. Weekdays I would be leaving the Sultan area around 7:30 and departing Stevens for work at 12 noon. Sundays I usually stay until 1 or 2 unless the crowds are bad. Let me know if anyone wants to ride up together on those days.

Well now my wife has also bowed out but....I have a free hall pass for that week. Art moved to CO this past summer so I need to rally some others from the Seattle area to share driving expenses or drive solo.

So all summer my left shoulder was in pain whenever I would lay on it in bed and especially after a long session on the Stand Up Paddleboard. MRI back in May showed a torn labrum. While doing SUP on my right side my left hand has to cross my body completely. The bicep tendon was pulling on the labrum and the repetitive motion was really KILLING! The solution is to cut the tendon near the labrum and then attach it with a screw into the bone. Pulling eliminated. Two weeks later and I am working hard on my therapy. Hope to be snowboarding by late December.... Have to be careful not to fall too soon and pull out the screw. DOH! Has anyone ever had this type of surgery?

Clever. As anyone tried this or something similar? I use the large commercial grade horizontal belt sander at my work. http://tognar.us2.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=83a9d7a68c3c5d031de261347&id=dd1a075e1f&e=5d8ce08e27

This is a flatwater racing hull shape and is designed for minimal drag. Have not had it out in any waves larger then a few inches, but one of my lakes is big and can get pretty windy so I will find out soon. Using my GPS sport watch mounted on the board I can see my forward speed in real time while it is recording. No problem to hit short stretches at 6.4-6.6 mph and a full 2 miles at 6.1-6.2 average. One lake has a speed "limit" of 7 mph so looks like I am legal :)

More pictures of the cool fin system. Built in carbon not removable. This design has minimal drag, does not catch weeds, and really helps with tracking.

Local trade pending.....

[quote=b0ardski;351848 The condo with seven beds will be available again. I will work out a definitive cost breakdown with Fran to avoid last years confusion:confused My wife is interested in joining me. Casual skier type. Any chance for me to book that upper bed/loft area? Thanks!

Next season bump. Trade or sell.

I thought some of the forum members would like to see pictures of my new custom carbon Stand Up Racing Board. This thing cruises along at 6+ mph. Specs: 19' x 24.5". Weight 26 pounds. My wife says that I should name it. Was thinking something sinister like Intruder or Penetrator. Any ideas from the carvers!

Had a great time last year. I will try and make it again and hopefully bring others from the Seattle area. Thanks for organizing this!

A tale of two 180 degree opposite days was a fitting end to the season... Saturday 4/16 Very warm in the morning. Arrived to find about 1-2 inches of very wet snow on top of the groom. Picked up with giant wet flakes going splat on my jacket. All the runs were so soft and wet that I was making 4" deep trenches. Basically uncarvable. Oh yeah visibility was nil. Sunday 4/17 Temperature at 5 AM reported at 21F. What happens to slush at that temperature? Ice! Morning runs were bumpy frozen hard-pack ice. Basically uncarvable but for a different reason. Tried to lay over some turns and got bounced out several times. Took 3-4 hard falls before deciding to back off and just work with what the hill would give me. Weird weather day. Alternating sun breaks with heavy bouts of intense snow. Lots of flat light with bright blue moments. Big crowd for closing day. Biggest in over a month. Pond skimming was the usual great entertainment. Still cannot believe they are closing with so much snow cover. Kind of a shame! So...ends my second season of carving with 44 days total. It was a challenging season at Stevens this year. Lots of sub par carving days will only make you tougher! Ready to move onto kayaking and stand up paddling :)

Yesterday was day 42 for me this season. I can get two more before my hill closes for a total of 44 days. Just missed my age of 48. :D I was thinking I need to have a goal of getting my age every year on the hill. Might get tough in the 60's! :)

Second bump.

Fast changing conditions today on the mountain! From 8:50 until 10 it was HERO. Half an inch of new on perfect hard groom. It was snowing very hard and became quite wet. By 11:30 it was getting very chopped up, like piles of cement. Changed to rain at the base but still snowing lightly up top by midday. Left at 1 PM whipped. Ran into Jon Dahl who was struggling on his 182 15 meter board with plate. He switched to the big Tanker and liked it better. I stayed on the 172 Axxess all day. One week left!

Crusty morning after all that sun the day before. Light was very flat the first two hours and also cold out which kept things crunchy. Grooming subpar but expected. Still a decent day of carving.

I am in for sure. I can meet you at the Sultan Park and Ride at 7:30 and you can ride with me if you want. I may leave by 1 or 2. Otherwise see you up there! I will be in grey pants, brown coat usually on Skyline or Hogsback.