Dan

Macau is a short trip to Hong Kong (via ferry), and you can get to Guangzhou within a few hours as well (ferry plus bus or train from HK/Kowloon). Personally, I wasn't that enthusiastic about Macau, but each to his own I guess. I agree the food is good and there's some interesting architecture, but I'd rather hang out in HK and eat the yummy Cantonese food. The only Macau casino I visited was pretty seedy, and the heavy and very visible security didn't help things any. There's some worthwhile hiking both on the mainland and on the islands near HK - people talk about Lantau a lot, I believe. I biked into HK from China a few years ago, so I can vouch for the fact that they have some pretty ***** big hills, with some interesting very steep trails that would be nice for hiking and were rotten for cycling.

Pics/video please!

Yay, a video game thread. I played HL a lot and CS occasionally until I started grad school two years ago and that took over my life. Now I'm graduating, so I'll have some gaming time again...which means I'm picking out parts for a new gaming rig that will stand up to HL2 and Doom 3. This will be the first PC I've built from scratch - any recommendations?

The Wheelman looks awfully cool. I'd like to see a non-motorized version for about...oh...$1,350 less. What do you think the chances are? Having your feet through the wheels like that limits the steepness of your heelside turns pretty sharply though, doesn't it?

I have no idea if this is a spoof or not, but you have to check out this video. Hong Kong is built on a hill and the Mid-levels Escalator is part of their public transit system: 800 meters long with 135 m of vertical. (It's not a straight shot though - there's landings along the way.) Apparently some kids decided it would be a great idea to ride the escalator in size XL woks. http://www.chiseen.com/vidshare/sm/wok_boarding.html

Just to second Randy's comment: Lisa rocks. I was at last summer's carve camp at Timberline too, and you couldn't ask for a better, more patient coach. And this goes without saying, but she's a fabulous carver too - great to watch and learn. I won't be making this trip to Chile, but for those of you that can put together the money and time, I'd highly recommend it.

Arrrgh! I am ready to be done with grad school in Seattle and working in Portland again, thank you very much. (With a nice boss that turns a blind eye to my persistent absenteeism on powder days, of course.) Well, hope those of you that can make it up there have good turns.

Hey Thomas, I've got a Nidecker Next Step that I'd be happy to let you have for $35+ shipping from Portland, OR. I picked it up last year on eBay 'cause they were scandalously cheap. It's kind of an entry-level carving board I guess - it's in storage in my folk's garage right now, but I believe it's a 159. It was just too soft for me - I wanted a twitchy little slalom board and that is definitely not what this board is. I've ridden it about 3 times for a total of maybe 5 hours - there's a scratch or two but basically it's in great condition. Let me know if you're interested. I can get you pictures the next time I'm in Portland, or if you're in the area and you'd like to take it for a test ride, let me know. Cheers, Dan

Thanks for the rec - if I can find it out here, I'll definitely give it a try. Chubz, here's a drinking game for you. My college track team ran an event called "The Beer Mile." It goes like this: get five beers and go to a track. Chug a beer, run a lap, chug a beer, run a lap, chug a beer, run a lap, chug a beer, run a lap, and then chug your final beer. No time penalties for throwing up, though of course it will slow you down. I seem to recall that a friend of mine on the women's track team turned in a sub-8 minute beer mile, but even given our heavy drinking/high tolerance in college, that seems impossible to me now. I'll have to look into this. Oh, and Beer Miles are sometimes followed by "Naked 4x400s", but that's a whole other, much more sordid story.

Not that I mind thinking about/talking about/drinking favorite alcoholic beverages, but this topic is a repeat from last spring. Someone should take a survey and see if increased alcohol consumption is really correlated to closure of area ski hills. Nice to see so many high-end tequila drinkers here. Yum, there's a taste that I'm glad to have acquired. Otherwise, it's gotta be the NW microbrews. Bridgeport's Ebenezer (winter ale) is a classic, and so is Rogue Dead Guy. On the Canadian beers, I'll see your Maudite, and I'll raise you a "Fin du Monde." Something that tastes that good has to be good for you, right?

Hey Gdboytyler, would you mind sharing your height/weight? A short board sounds like fun, but I'm wondering if 149 might be a little too short for me. Do you happen to know the side cut radius of the 149? Thanks!

I had a lot of fun on a demo Prior 4x4 at Whistler last year. They charged me $25 CD to ride a brand-spanking new board for a day. Heck, if I had enough money and I was flying (rather than driving) to Whistler, I'd consider asking them for a week of rentals and not bother bringing a board at all.

ahem...that's <b>moot</b> point. ...I was almost an English major.

Well, I couldn't resist the lure of those bargain-basement eBay prices on the Original Sin 4807s - i should be getting mine next week. This is board #5 for me, leading to snide comments from my non-riding/non-carving friends like "how many can you use at one time?" I'm defending myself like this: (purchases in chronological order) Board 1: Arbor Munoz 162 - a freeride/tree-riding board. Also used to be my powder board (but no longer now that I'm getting a beautiful swallowtail powder monster). Board 2: Original Sin Sinner 167 - the board I learned to ride alpine on, now I'm holding onto it as a loaner/rock board. It's on loan right now, as a matter of fact, to a softbooting friend that wanted to sample the dark side. Gotta love spreading the gospel through a little alpine evangelism. Board 3: Oxygen Proton 172 - my primary alpine board, 'nuff said. Board 4: Nidecker Next Step 152 - bought for $50 on eBay 'cause I thought it would be fun to have a short board. Maybe it would be, just not this short board. Looking to unload this one, which would bring me back down to 3. Board 5: the afore mentioned Original Sin 4807 in a 178 length, this is going to be my new dedicated powder board. I could see adding two more boards: a better slalom board than the nidecker turned out to be, and an Axis/4x4 style free carve board in the high 160s. Is six or seven boards too many? When does a board acquisition habit cross the line from "gearhead" to "packrat?" -Dan

Does anyone know sidecut/width for these boards? Hell though, how can I go wrong at these prices? Thanks

Hey Mike, good to hear from you. I'm doing pretty good - nice to be back in Seattle again. I really miss Mexican food when I'm in Japan. Of course, I guess some people would say the same thing about Seattle, but I'm not that much of a purist. I think I'll be down in Portland over Spring Break if not before then; let's try to hook up for some turns. As far as leashes, I don't actually mind using one...but I was pretty unhappy about the prospect of taking 10-15 minutes out of the morning of my first day of the season to go buy one (5 wasted dollars) or go back to the car and scrounge for a nylon strap or something else that would satisfy the leash law. Now, if I'd been told I needed a leash anywhere else in the last five years, I'd have had one with me, most likely attached to my board, but seeing as how this is the first time this millenium that I'd been told I needed a leash, I was taken by surprise. My impression that leashes don't actually do anything (which I now realize is only 95% true) just made me pissier. Whatever, I still have the box my bindings came in - checked it out and there was a cute l'il leash that won't slow me down a bit (I remember putting it away thinking "why would I ever want that?"). I put it in an empty pocket of my riding pants, so I'm ready for my next trip to Crystal.

OK, so maybe "Nazi" was overstating the case a little bit. But he was awfully humorless in the way he chose to enforce that particular rule. And isn't that what the vast majority of Germans did during WWII? Just enforced the rules like they were told, without questioning whether they were right or wrong. But I admit that now I feel a little bad about using that word frivolously - obviously inappropriate in this context.

I learned to ride in Japan, where all the resorts were pretty anal about leash policies (and riding off-piste, but one is easier to enforce than the other). But in the last few years of riding in North America - I've ridden at Whistler, Bachelor, Hood (Timberline and Meadows), Alpental and Stevens Pass - I've never had anyone say anything about a leash until yesterday at Crystal. Yesterday at Crystal, a 15-year-old liftie refused to let me on the chair. We had a short discussion, with me pointing out that leashes serve absolutely no function on a snowboard, and him pointing out that despite his young age he had already been brainwashed into mindless adherence to even the most pointless rules (plus I suppose his job could be at risk). In the end, I told him I would go to my car and get my (nonexistent) leash, but instead walked up to Quicksilver chair, then got up to Forest Queen and Rainier, where no one checked my leash the rest of the day. At the end of the day, I dropped into customer service to ask about the thinking behind their leash policy and the nice woman told me that that brakes/leashes on all equipment is an insurance requirement. So maybe this asinine rule doesn't originate at the resort level - it's imposed on them by their insurers. A ski patroller that was hanging out pointed out that sometimes beginners with step-in bindings will not click in correctly, and they'll drop their boards off the chair. Now that's a lot more plausible than both my feet coming out of my boots at the same time. He also pointed out that skiboarders and telemarkers routinely ride without brakes/retention devices, and they never get hassled, which was an interesting point I hadn't thought of. Anyway, when I got home, I dug out my Catek "legal minimum" leash...guess I'd better bring it next time I head to Crystal. What have your experiences been? Have you been hassled for not having a leash? Ever won anyone over to your point of view?

Hi all, I am 90% certain that I'll be there on Friday. I don't have a radio, so I'd like to set a meeting time: when/where should I look for you guys? I'm fine for demos - figure there's still plenty of unused potential in the boards I have already :-) Cheers, Dan

Oops - posted this in the wrong thread somehow. sorry.

Look at this site of course, and also <a href="http://www.blue-tomato.at/shop/FrameSet.asp">blue tomato</a>, <a href="http://www.oobsnowboards.com/">out of bounds snowboards</a>, <a href="http://www.startingate.net/index.php3?gallery=-43-Snowboard_Boots&info=Alpine">starting gate</a>, and <a href="http://www.surftheearthsnowboards.com/cgi-bin/ste_store/ste_store.cgi?page=alpineeq.html&cart_id=8736877_7413">surf the earth snowboards</a>. Then consider what it's worth to you to have an actual shop in your area where you can try on the boots before you buy them, and come back if you have any questions, etc. That's a pretty rare commodity in the U.S. (assuming that's where you are), and you might want to support them even if they don't have the absolute lowest prices you've found. happy shopping! -Dan

If the cascade chair is closed, then it's Shooting Star Ridge off the shooting star chair all the way. -Dan

Dude, I think you will have a tough time selling this particular board on this particular forum. Granted, lots of people here ride softies now and again, but this board is just too short and too wide to be very interesting.

Here's my take on UPS boots: great fit in the foot (for me), lighter than Raichles, shorter sole length for the same boot size than Raichles, but bad fit in the cuff (for me). I had serious shin bang problems with my UPS boots, and I never felt like I could get the forward lean far enough forward (probably there's a connection there). I can't remember at the moment the model name of my boots, but they were the lower-end, freecarve boots, not the high-end race boots. The race boots should be more adjustable and probably a nicer ride all around. If they fit you well, I think they're great boots. Too bad they didn't fit me quite right. -Dan

sorry weasel, don't mean to hijack your thread, but I just gotta test out my new avatar... ----------------------------- (edited to add) Schweeeet! Now I just have to sit back and let the ladies swarm me like bees to honey.