Dan

Hey all you MHM riders, any thoughts on this 9 a.m. start nonsense? I didn't think much about it last season - the total lack of snow was a bigger problem, but now that snowfall isn't a problem I'm finding other things to whine about. Seriously, how did they manage to get away with a 9 a.m. start without any reaction from their customers? It's not so bad on weekdays, but on weekends it means we lose the best hour on the mountain. By the time they run the chair at 9, the mountain will be full of jibbers and families with kids - the people that can't get to the mountain at 8 because you have to wake up before 6 to do so. Not to mention that I normally only ride until things start to re-freeze around 2 or 3, so this is taking an hour off my day. Am I the only person that's pissed off about this?

Hey Tcross, sure I'd be willing to send them to Australia, but by the time you pay shipping I'm pretty sure that you could have found something better locally. I mean, not to run down my own merchandise, but it's not exactly high-end gear. (Well, like I said I know nothing about Burton bindings - maybe those are decent. The board is pretty much a beginner board though, I think.)

Don't even know what model these are - I've never used Burtons.

So, here's the deal on this gear: I got this Nidecker Next Step new about 3 seasons ago and put about 8 hours on it over two days of riding before deciding it's way too soft for me. (150 lbs, intermediate rider). <u>Measurements</u> The length on this board is 159 cm. I don't have exact specs, but by my measure the nose/waist/tail measurements are 27 cm/21 cm/26.2 cm. Not sure about sidecut radius. <u>Condition</u> It's got storage wax on the base, so you can't see it, but there's one significant scratch on the base. However, it doesn't go to the core and I didn't notice that the scratch affected the ride. The topsheet is in nice shape with a few binding scuffs. <u>Bindings</u> The Burton plate bindings came on a Rossi alpine deck a roommate bought on eBay. He put on Cateks and never used these. I finally told him I'd sell them just to get them out of the closet. They are definitely used, but I don't know anything about their history. They come with adaptors for 4x4 inserts. The Catek merchandise is only in the pic as a joke, but you can have it if you want. (binding pics are one thread down) Prefer to sell both to the same person to minimize hassle, and cost for the bundle is $75 plus shipping. Thanks all.

Hi Barry, I should have specified: he was using soft bindings, not plates. He broke both boards using soft bindings from Preston - I think the LX model.

With respect, Bode doesn't know what it is to be hassled by the man. Being hassled by the man is receiving a $237 ticket for running a red light...on my bicycle. I was going to pay it in pennies, but the logistics of that are a bit beyond me, so I'm going to settle for the second most annoying U.S. currency: Sacajewa dollar coins.

I don't know about the Timeless. I have a friend who weighs about 150 pounds and is an aggressive softboot carver. He destroyed two of those boards in one season (I think that was '01/'02). After he wrecked the first one, Ride sent him a warranty replacement, which folded in just a few days of riding. Ride replaced that one too, but he decided to sell the replacement deck on eBay and switch to Salomon. He hasn't had any trouble since switching. Maybe Ride has their durability problems under control now, but it wouldn't be my first choice to mount plates on.

-Kevlar motorcycle shirt from <a href="http://www.dragginjeans.com/">Draggin' Jeans</a>! -SLI-capable motherboard with dual 7800 GTX cards (not that anyone will be giving me that) -Xbox 360 (see comment above) -Landyachtz carbon fiber drop-through and lowered downhill board.

In good condition, this board is a steal at this price. I have the 172 and it RAWKS! Astrokel, where were you when I was paying three times this for my 172?

"The National Weather Service said there is a 60 percent chance of warmer than normal weather" Is that a meaningful statistic? Isn't there a 50% chance of warmer than average weather every winter? (Assuming that average=normal, of course.)

Mail sent re: Oxygen Thanks!

Actually, I disagree. If you're tearing down the mountain laying pencil-thin trenches on every turn, blowing the doors off every two-planker on the mountain (not to mention the park kiddies), it really doesn't matter what you're wearing. In fact, if you're wearing comically out of style clothing, it's actually kind of cool. Because then the message you're sending is "hey, you know what? No matter what Burton wants you to think, this isn't about what you wear, it's about how you ride." So the interaction between riding skillz and clothing goes something like this: -Great riding+ugly clothes=cool -Great riding+stylish clothes=also pretty cool -Average riding+ugly clothes=oh well, at least you're not pretending to be something you're not. -Average riding+stylish clothes=tool that bought into the marketing message from Burton and other major snowboard companies. I've seen too many nincompoops drop the cash on top-end clothes and gear before riding a day in their lives. Screw that. I have a teal North Face parka with yellow trim from 1990 or so that's the ugliest thing you've ever seen on the mountain...cool.

I just got my beloved but abused Arbor Munoz 162 back from the folks at PTC. Wow, I see what you guys were all talking about. I wish I'd taken before and after pics 'cause the difference is amazing - I found some pretty big rocks near the end of last season, and now you can't even tell where the damage was. Count me a convert - sure would be nice if there was a decent tuner/base repair shop anywhere west of the Hudson.

It sounds like you have a perfectly good Nidecker GS board - what do you want to buy another new board for?

ha ha, that's Virus' idea of a wide board, huh. Love their commitment to Kate-Moss-style waists on their decks.

It would be an incredible blow to the carving community and the sport of alpine snowboarding if Bomber and/or Bomber Online ceased operations as a result of the pending lawsuit. We have a few board makers, two or three boot makers, even another binding maker that arguably makes bindings as durable and reliable as Bomber's outstanding products. But we don't have another forum that compares to the online community that Fin has built over the last few years. We are practitioners of an incredibly niche sport, one that most people have never heard of. Only a tiny minority of us will ever visit a physical retailer that carries products for alpine snowboarding and can speak knowledgeably about its requirements. Bomber Industries and Bomber Online address that need: if not for them we'd be in a total vacuum. Where did I get my first tips on alpine carving? Right here on BOL. Where do I learn about gear? Right here on BOL. Where do I go first after an especially good day, or a bad day, or if I have a funny or cool or disappointing snowboarding story to tell? ...I think you get the picture. I might never have gotten into this sport without the support provided by members of this community - a community that exists only because of Fin's hard work. Fin and his colleagues have done nothing but nurture our sport. It would be a grave injustice if they're forced to cease operations for what I understand is a very tangential role in this case. That Intec heel could have been ordered from anywhere: Fin had no role in its failure and he (and we) shouldn't be forced to take responsibility for it. That's how I see it anyway.

Are Burton boots any good? Putting Thermofit liners in my Raichles made them 90% perfect, but there's still a little room for improvement (shell length could be shorter, for instance). Anyone in a position to compare these Burtons to Raichles and UPS/UPZs?

was probably thinking of me! :D

Ouch. I think this is the right thread for this completely off-topic article from the NY Times. <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/04/health/nutrition/04bike.html?pagewanted=print">Serious Riders, Your Bicycle Seat May Affect Your Love Life</a>

Hey Lee, I'd like to know more about those pads for sure. What are they and where did you buy them? Do you think that's better (or cheaper?) than just going with a heat-fitted liner? One nice thing about the UPS/UPZ boots that I forgot to mention is that they have really short sole lengths - much shorter than a Raichle with the same interior measurement.

I bought UPS boots a few years ago, maybe in the 02/03 season. They definitely fit differently than Raichle/Deelux boots. For me, they were a great fit around the foot, but a terrible fit in the cuff: I had a lot of trouble with shin bang and bruising. I held on to them as a spare set, but wound up going back to Raichles. Note that I had the freeride/freecarve boot (can't remember model name off the top of my head), not the race boot. No experience with the boards - I'm curious about them too. Hopefully someone can fill us in.

I walked out of my office yesterday and got a facefull of strong winds and heavy rain. I smiled like I just won the lottery. Early signs here in the Pac NW are good - it looks like a long wet winter. Hell yes! Thinking snow...

Darn Canadians slipping over the border and snapping up all our good American used gear. :-) Oh well, I really shouldn't buy a new board now anyway: I have two in my quiver that I haven't even ridden yet...(!) (4807 and a cheapie slalom deck) I'm sure that Dave will give your Maverick a good home. Thanks for the quick response.

Pure Carve Maverick? Nice... do you have specs and a picture? Thanks! -Dan

Hi all, Looking for two people to round out a 4x4 group for Mt. Hood Meadows. Respond in this thread or shoot me an e-mail. Thanks and let's pray this year is better than last year.