lonbordin

I didn't know the conditions could be as good as they were at Pleasant this morning. Mind expanding experience... ... so... much... hold... Carves so deep... yet keeping speed... Is this real life? Definitely a day in my personal top five on a snowboard on a mountain. They got near 7" from the previous storms and this was the first morning after grooming... (I know BWD... second day groom... tomorrow!) I almost had a continuous carve from the summit down Jack Sprat, The Horn, The Headwall, East Slope. The Main, Pine slope, and West slope were covered with HERO snow. HERO. I overheard some locals talking with Mountain staff how the conditions were pretty good. All I can wonder is the conditions can get better?! Some tracks pics... https://photos.app.goo.gl/K99cGHdPKm5XwPwN6 There were two fellows there on hardboots. I said hi a couple of times... I wasn't a good ambassador today... I just wanted to carve... everything.

Day 2 of the Contra. Put a 0.5 base bevel in it last night and gave it the FastStick treatment. It's now 89 side, 0.5 base We don't talk about edge bevels enough on this forum. What a difference. Board is riding great, no grab, slarves are possible, can whack the tail on the side and throw the spray. Carves feel good. I'll admit yesterday I was thinking I went too stiff. Not so today. Couple of runs were alright... Board rode great. It has made me add a touch more forward lean to my boots and tighten the DGSS system up a bit. I've also tightened the cuff buckles on my rear boot a bit as well. The changes worked out. Still need a little more time but I'm happy.

LOL

Day 25 I think... New Contra. Several changes at once. -Much stiffer, really noticed the stiffness in the tail moreso than any other part. -Contra side cut... Ya' gotta arc it or park it... Does NOT like low angle slarving -Flat base angle. Really grabby. I changed it to. 5 this afternoon. Bruce set the side at 89. Most of PM was variable and crunchy. They definitely got some rain yesterday. Found out the skiers right of The Main was fantastic late in the day. In slightly softer snow I was railing it. The board is smooth in the carve and can carry a lot of speed. I need more time with this fine steed.

I ride the S5s... I like them. Find a bootfitter- https://www.bootfitters.com/find-shop

Yeah man... the latest shots JWST of the Phantom Galaxy would have been another contender for sure! Big feet... big socks... I've been riding a 165/26cm BXFR for most of this season and loving it... It doesn't feel big at all to me. But I've been real gentle with it... The Donek I rode a lot was 179/24 (Secret). This board is a culmination of those riding experiences.

Birth of a star. Yup, NASA's James Webb telescope shot of the Carina Nebula (aka the Cosmic Cliffs). It's criminal to put bindings on this board... I'm a criminal. My photo does not do it justice. Big thanks to @Carvin' Marvin for the inspiration to put a cool graphic on the board. Big THANK YOU to @Bruce Varsava for working with me and creating this board. It's a 173 AC Contra (~11.5 SCR) with a 26 cm waist with torsion pads under the inserts. I know it looks like a BXFR but it's not... this is a hardboot Contra. Here's a video of the unpeeling... no I don't know why my son did some slo-mo.... https://photos.app.goo.gl/LGrqHM6FYPd41DhS7 "I designed and left it quite stiff so hope that works out. Stiffest Contra ever!" -BV I know @johnasmo hand just hit his forehead... Look with all my gear on I'm 125kg... ok... Really, it's what I would call Donek stiff but not 80/90s race board stiff. Bruce's numbers- T173 AC 024 DW - 7.3 + 9 Looking to be a first chair tomorrow...

I have Link levers on my soft first gen Backlands. I have DGSS on my S5s (not soft). Link levers have a very small ROM and the springs are medium to soft. DGSS has a very large ROM and a large variety of spring stiffness choices. I wouldn't use my Phantoms for carving on hard snow. They are great on the soft stuff. I never see the soft stuff. DGSS is probably the best spring system out there... I've tried nearly all of them.

I enjoy 45/30 far more than 55/50. It feels more like surfing... I like to surf. (Not a slasher... more Taylor Jensen https://youtu.be/tUYSRRYSs38) I'm more agile in large crowds at 45/30 than higher angles. I need a wider board to ride lower angles, duh. Big person... big feet.

DM'd.

@Justin Pleasant is my local. Happy to take a look at your setup or shut-up and Ride with you. Mahalo

Paoli was open a total of 5 days this season and just reopened this weekend so not really following me @bigwavedave I dodged a bullet there!!! My season so far is: 19 days at my new local, PM 2 days at Sunday River Here's a shot from yesterday at Pleasant - 11f at open, warmed up to a balmy 5f when I left. Hard to fathom that I'm looking at a place that set those weather records just hours before this shot. https://photos.app.goo.gl/D2QK12kULkAvCvt69 Today was fun. I've really enjoyed Pleasant this season. I'm getting used to the gaggles of school kids moving like large schools of fish across the mountain. And my ski racers straight lining sensors are fully functional. My one complaint is their grooming is sub-standard and inconsistent. Like wildly inconsistent... I don't have an explanation for it yet. Still... it's so much better than Paoli... I'm so lucky to live here now. When I pass that Maine sign that says, "Welcome Home." it feels like it is speaking to me.

Only 4?! Whoa, we're at 10+ easy here in Saco and it's still coming down.

Presses F5 repeatedly...

When mine broke a long time ago I found a very long snowboard binding ladder strap as a temporary fix. I think I had to shave it a bit to fit but it worked pretty well. Something like this UP100® One Pair Snowboard Binding Parts Ankle Toe Ladder Straps & Ratchet Buckle for Snowboard Shoes White https://a.co/d/e1v85TY

Yeah free BUT you have to have a valid lift ticket to participate.

i just found out about Key Equipments' "Disruptive" boot. Another modified AT boot for snowboarding. https://www.key-equipment.com/shop/p/splitboard-boot-disruptive Instead of leaning into the spring on a spine method the Disruptive relies on the tongue for flex. Gotta' say I like the strap locations and the strap mounted on the hinge. So we now have the Atomic Backlands https://www.atomic.com/en-us/shop/product/backland-carbon-ae5027360.html#color=32231 Phantom Slippers https://www.phantomsnow.com/collections/boots Also a whole lotta boots fit the Phantom link levers https://www.phantomsnow.com/collections/boots/products/link-levers Backlands, Scarpas (multiple models like the F1s), K2 Mindbenders, Scott Orbits

The Backlands with the Phantom levers are really fantastic in soft snow.

BSL is the length of the sole of the boots. https://www.skiessentials.com/boot-sole-length

What's the BSL on those? Thanks.

Well... What's your opinions after riding those back to back?

Fantastic. Thanks for filming.

Oh yeah... Back again... Day Nine says the gate... Softer than yesterday but still really fun. Maybe a few more people out but the kind of room that let's a feller carve without fear. Low clouds all around the top of the mountain most of the day but only traces of mist. Visibility up top did drop appreciably at times... They didn't groom out the training course from yesterday but I'm not complaining. Another fantastic day and my last for a while as I'm traveling until the 21st. May the powder flow on the icecoast.

Had another great day at Pleasant this morning. The mist ended my session but really my quads were already begging to go home.

Was at Pleasant from first chair until the mist/rain started at noon. I think there might have been 30 people out and a large portion of those were a college ski team training. Groom was soft and fairly consistent. Weather was nice until it started misting like heck. I had a blast.