Dan

Well, Vail and other destination ski resorts have the luxury of a steady stream of tourists willing to pay big bucks for 5-day passes. They subsidize the locals' cheap season passes. Heck, works for me.

Seriously, what the hell is wrong with people that 1) drop the bar without any warning 2) on your head 3) and then don't apologize? The total lack of basic courtesy is actually kind of fascinating: what could these people possibly be thinking? Occasionally I say, "you know, it would be nice if you would let the other people on the chair know when you're dropping the bar." Almost every time this gets a look of surprise. What's going on with that? I got a good one the other day at Meadows. I'd brought two boards up to the mountain, and was waiting to put one in the board check. The ski corral is divided into two sections, one for boards, one for skis, so I was standing by the gate to the ski area when the bubblegum-chewing teenage girl working the ski check said to me with a nice teenage mix of boredom and contempt "skis are over there." I really didn't hear her, so I said "what?" "Skis are over there." she said, louder, this time indicating the direction by jerking her head. I looked at her...really not much you can say, is there? Finally I just said "this...this is not a ski." "Skis are over there"...heh, in retrospect, that's pretty funny.

About three seasons ago, a U.S. Web site was blowing them out (both 168s and 178s) for around $100, if I remember correctly. The subsequent season they were showing up on eBay for around $150 - that's when I got mine. :-) It's awesome to get these boards so cheap, but if you think it probably means that O-sin is going to stop selling this stuff in the U.S. because they can't get anywhere near full retail for it, it gives a slightly different cast to the situation.

Hey, don't forget I'm the other Dirtsurfer on this board. It's a cool toy, for sure, and the brake is a lifesaver (literally?) but I haven't seen anything that matches the elegance of drifting a corner on a longboard skate.

Thoughts on putting these things on a large powder board? I've got a 178 4807 that I'd been planning on riding with plates, but it might be interesting to try some three-strap bindings - I never got to try them back when Burton still made them.

I'd actually go with a skateboard, maybe something with some flex from either Loaded or Landyachtz. There have been a lot of threads on this, check out the search function. I think longboard skateboards are still ahead of the alternatives in terms of fun per dollar spent and their ability to mimic snowboard carving Allow me to also recommend full pads and a skate helmet - I learned this summer that asphalt carving has a little bit of a learning curve. :)

Hey Ike, I'm sure that you'll be ready for boards that long - and longer - in a few years. I have a friend that's your height that's a great softboot carver and rides boards about that size. But you're kind of lucky because the lengths that you seem to want usually come a little bit cheaper: check out this eBay auction for a 149 Oxygen Proton with bindings. http://cgi.ebay.com/Oxygen-Proton-Slalom-Race-Snowboard-149CM-with-Bindings_W0QQitemZ7200244139QQcategoryZ21250QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem Or, if you're interested in Burton, there are some shorter boards here: https://www.klugriding.com/‘98-‘99-FACTORY-PRIME_1010-snowboarding-gear.php

New old stock Sims Burner 197...starting bid is 38,000 yen (about $320). Drool...too bad I just bought a house, thereby destroying my toy budget for the next few years. Wasn't someone looking for one of these? http://page4.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/d57840441

I played around with it, but didn't see an option to limit the search like that. Also tried using search strings like "will ship overseas," but it looks like their search function doesn't hit that field. Maybe someone else can prove me wrong though.

Hey Gecko, are you still in Japan? I thought you were back in the U.S. now, but your profile says otherwise.

日本語がややうまく話せる。 ...I speak Japanese fairly well, but for most of this stuff, I was just looking at the pictures. :)

I was wondering the same thing - they haven't updated their Web site since the '02/'03 season, I believe.

I'm such a gear junkie that the Bomber classifieds and Racebooter.com's eBay search aren't enough to satisfy the cravings...I have to go overseas to slake my unbridled lust for ogling alpine gear. Yahoo Japan Auctions is more than happy to feed the addiction - it has alpine-specific categories for boards and boots, with over 500 alpine boards up for grabs right now. Here's some of the more interesting finds. Note that most of these sellers aren't willing to ship overseas...is Baka Dasai still in Japan? :-) <a href="http://list4.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/2084032367-category-leaf.html">Top page of alpine board category</a> -The often-mentioned but rarely-for sale phantom board, the Sims Burner: http://page6.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/f37948172 -Lots of skwals - what's going on in Japan? http://page7.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/g35600590 -Another skwal: http://page7.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/g37927731 -More skwal: http://page7.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/g35642274 -An Ogasaka - this company also makes high-end skis. I visited their factory outlet in Nagano once and even there everything was still way more than I could afford. http://page9.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/k21412348 -Another Ogasaka: http://page6.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/f37743216 -Anyone ever heard of SG Snowboard? Anyway, this is a really cool-looking shape: a long skinny board with a boat nose: http://page11.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/n29250362 -Here's a Gray, another Japanese board brand: http://page9.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/k25097030 -A Wild Duck - old school! http://page2.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/b61015683 (Wild Duck - old-school) -Here's a GS board from BS Stream, another Japanese maker: http://page9.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/k24868722 <a href="http://list4.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/2084032332-category-leaf.html">Top page of hard boot category</a> -G-style boots - I guess these are a homegrown Japanese brand. Does anyone have any experience with these? http://page4.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/d57376405 -Some Blax/Head boots: http://page4.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/d56703184 -More Head (you can never have too much, right?) boots: http://page4.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/d56700564

Has anyone been up to Meadows recently? I'm going up tomorrow morning to build up my appetite for turkey:-) Can I ride my good board, or should I stick with the rock board?

Just a guess as I've never ridden a skwal, but would you be able to pressure the edges adequately? Leaning side-to-side works on a skwal 'cause they're narrow, but when you're leaning side-to-side on a 18-cm board and your feet are a couple of centimeters in from the edge, you're not going to be able to turn well. At least, that's how it seems to me.

I always thought 8-01 ("BOL") would be good, but I assume that channel gets pretty crowded. Would be nice to standardize on one though. TahoeCarvers is the only group I know of that's gone so far as to post a channel on their Web site - that's as good a standard as I think we'll get. Randy, what's the new channel you guys are switching to?

Ken, that's awesome.

Hey guys, a friend of mine is looking at picking up one of these in the 169 cm length. He's a bit over 6 feet tall, 170 pounds, has biggish feet but I don't remember his shoe size exactly - maybe around 11.5 or 12. Does anyone have experience with/comments on this board?

My O-Sin Sinner is my rock alpine board. $75 off eBay 4 years ago; I'd say I got (and am getting) my money's worth. I don't have a beater board for powder though, so I rode my Arbor Munoz 162 on Saturday at Meadows. Found a few roots (sorry PTC!), but nothing too bad.

Raphael, j'aimerais bien d'aller aux Pyrenees (that's not correct French, is it?), but like everyone else is saying, it's just a little too far to travel for a week of riding. I'm on the West Coast too - Oregon - so I'd want to make at least a four-week trip out of it. :) That means that it will have to wait until the next time I'm in between jobs, which could be awhile. I guarantee you that everyone on this board would love to accept your invitation though, and if you post videos of your event we'll prove our enthusiasm by sending your bandwidth charges through the roof. :-)

The shop that had one of the eBay sales also has a regular online <a href="http://www.evogear.com/outlet_item_1078.aspx?CMP=KAC-YahooProducts">storefront.</a> They're asking $379.

Board linked to above is a Rossi Undertaker...description reads "The Undertaker, in this case, is the one who will take all the tricksters and handrail polishers to hell" :lol: Awesome!

http://www.nwac.us/~nwac/products/OSOMHM Awww hell yes! The first payment in a series of attempts by Mama Nature to make up the the hardship of last winter :-)

The chairs don't run until 9. That could actually be nice on weekdays, but it sucks for weekends: 8-9 a.m. is the least crowded time of day.

Thanks for the moral support guys. :( What's a season pass cost over there anyway? I posted a question about this on the Dave Riley blog on the Meadows site, and it didn't even make it through moderation. Apparently you have to be a 13-year old "stoked on shredding this season, dude!" to get your comments on his blog. Grrr.