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John Gilmour

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John Gilmour last won the day on August 12 2020

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  1. I think it’s ranging from 9.5 to 10 if I had to guess because I won’t buy a performance softboot board with a side cut under 9 and I wouldn’t have bought it if it were say a 11.5. I couldn’t stand the overly tight sidecut in my old hovercraft which was 8.5 and was looking for more it’s likely 9.5. I will say this , this is no beginner board and it’s not for the guy who gets 5 days in a year . I ended up buying the new Hovercraft 2.0 at 9M (though aI can flex stretch the side cut at high angle carving so it’s ..ok) , wishing it was an Ultra craft carbon 2.0 with a 9.75 but alas … no. I just get too much powder when I ride to not have a powder nose and I’m a pretty boring left right only carver , not doing all the flip about spin around stuff like the Koreans or Japanese .
  2. The new flagships seem more like hovercrafts with flagship tails now . I do consider that to be a huge improvement . Also I think the new mindexpander looks a bit better . it was a big tossup between the 9000 and the Hover 2.0 , the old hovercraft was really too tight to psycho radius at 8.5 the lowest I ever felt you could go in psych cut radius and still have a board carry any amount of speed. If it was a stiffer, flexing board was 8.8 m in the 158. Any wider than that and then the board really wasn’t useful for slalom. But the spoon nose - might make it a quicker flick into a turn. I’ll demo one in the coming weeks - but I’m pretty sure it’s too wide for my high angles and 9.5 feet.
  3. The shops all use ceramic edge, grinders anyway. They don’t have much of a problem following the magna-traction. As an owner of 3 d bases for 40 years starting with the Sims FE Pro 1500 with similar channel bottom and also the Winterstick swallowtail ….the 3 d base is a PITA which almost makes you go for those awful heated scotch bright waxing machines - except you get everyone’s dirty base wax mixed in . And frankly even my Madd boards with the 3D too carbon sheet needed an insert when base grinding so you didn’t end up edge high. For some boards it’s a joy and pain relationship. Ive been on a hovercraft for a long time now. And the non spoon hovercraft didn’t ride nearly as nice as the later spoon knows that came out. I’ve always felt the tail was a bit sticky on both of these models. didn’t ride nearly as nice as the later spoon knows that came out. I’ve always felt the tail was a bit sticky on both of these models So even though I look at those tail pockets on the new hovercraft, 2.0 with dread for. Scraping …. It’s gotta be worth it . It wasn’t worth it on the sims to have the spoon nose , but after riding the spoon nose hovercraft for the past five years, I can assure you that Jeremy Jones put it there for a reason that’s worth the hassle . The 6000 will have no overlap with the 9000. i wanted versatility in the made boards which is why we had a 8.8M in the 158 and a 1050 in the 170 (really a 168cm deck). And then a massive gap for the 22M 180cm. Because if you wanted it to be versatile you had to know how to bend it… or you would quickly find it unmanageable with lesser skills - we made it that way on purpose because no dork should be going 60mph if he can’t ride well. I do worry that the 9000 for some soft boot riders unfamiliar with carving might find that deck frustrating - but for some of the carvers (myself included) who are older with arthritic fingers - suddenly soft boots with easy closures and step in Supermatics on a 9000 seem reasonable .
  4. I sold quite a few of them IN 1992-1994 when I ran the snowboard dept. for Boston's Back Bay Bikes and Boards on Newbury St. Never a complaint on those- and of course I carried the Aggression Stealth, some close out checker pig G6, F2 Beamers, F2 Speedsters in every size, The F2 Asym freecarvers, F2 M.A.D. II (kinda like a softer hoovercraft) , so it was a good shop with carving, race, freeride, and twin tips. Jake came in one day and asked "Why the heck aren't we in this shop?" Not even realizing The Burton regional rep was taking kickbacks for doling out the right to carry Burton. It was pretty much us or just one other shop in NH , and the Starting gate that had anything that could carve. That Stealth kinda had it right with deeper toeside sidecut than heelside most manufactures of asyms gave you deeper sidecut on the heelside which tended to overload.
  5. I'm a Union man, but Id like to see if there are better things out there. I rode a 2007 Force DLX and loved it. They were ragged with duct tape and replaced buckles at the time this was shot on a crappy Rossi Judge 168 and Burton Andy Warholds. The force DLX can be put way up on heel side without having a lot of drag. This was a late afternoon shitty condition day of looser snow on stripped, and it can be ridden a lot harder than shown. I got 2014-2015 ISPO winning Union FC bindings. And after broken highbacks and replaced buckles and straps they are now almost 2019 FC as only the baseplates have not busted. A lot more chatter on hard snow and frankly less grip than the DLX , but better response and you can put a lot of power through them if the snow is not too chattery. I typically ride bindings a few sessions until nearly everything has broken and been replaced except the baseplates. Then I replace it all as it has typically become a frankenbinding of whatever replacement parts they had. The only real benefit of the FC (but important to me) was making the board lighter to carry. The DLX were boat anchors. I often ride an electric unicycle to the lifts in my boots while carrying the board. I AM NOW ACTIVELY looking to replace them.. thinking about the Atlas FC or oddly maybe even revert to the union force classic. The new union force highback is mush. I was even thinking of moving the classic highjack onto the Atlas FC for carving and comfort and still having light weight. I ride the Thirty two TM-2 double boa now and even though I greatly preferred the flex pattern of the softer 32 Double Boa from 2019 the 2023 TM-2 do a much better job at preventing ankle sprains and preventing binding boot crush which over a long season kills my feet.
  6. I flexed both the other day- at Wave Rave in Torrance. I felt for my 9.5 boot with a 45 degree front angle in soft boots...this board was too wide for me. In 1992-1993 season I ran Back Bay Bikes and Boards snowboard dept. That flex reminded me a lot of the Aggression Assault boards I stocked , Like this one, https://www.ebay.com/itm/175643870992 I have always believed that the vast majority of snowboarders out there would enjoy riding more if they had a directional boards with a free carve flex pattern and a powder nose. All the way back to the F2 FII-M.A.D. which is I sold a ton of. which is a lot like the Jones 6000. way too tight a sidecut and flexy. I still prefer Alpine boards and great firm firm groom- but I haven't been able to find comfortable boots or firm enough QUALITY GROOM at Aspen and so have to use more forgiving boards and boots and bindings. Beaver Creek is now a far better choice for carving.... put my money where my mouth is and bought the EPIC pass too just so I could get low on the Beaver. So after flexing the 9000, and wishing I could have good consistent groom (Like say Attitash or Bretton woods back in the day), I opted for the Hoovercraft 2.0 156cm. However, Jeremy Jones as a vintage racer, always has carving in his blood, - and at many mountains Jones boards outsell Burton, so Jones is the new hope for carving new blood that may eventually migrate to Alpine.
  7. I've nearly been violently assaulted at Beaver Creek by Ski Ambassadors..... betcha its Vail Resorts.
  8. Any report thinking about the 2023 model?
  9. Yesterday -Grooming was about average for a 2nd tier New Hampshire resort excluding Sunapee and Gunstick which are pretty good. Looks like we got 4 inch’s of snow instead of the piles we had . However, the grooming was not consistent, and as a result, I came down one trail carved over a knoll expecting everything underneath that knoll to be groomed as it has for 20 years death cookies and lumps - cartwheels at 35 mph and face plant . . End result ripped the visor inserts and cracked the visor on my Troy Lee helmet . getting back from Chiropractor and spinal traction today . Probably out for 2-3 days and I fly back yep Aspen Grooming is dangerous . But it was ok in spots - bottom was sheet of ice despite the tons of snow we got. bought my epic pass .
  10. Snownymph in da houz' Still snowing, higher winds today. I'm going to take some decent iPhone shots of the newest grooming product tomorrow... High hopes here... the snow should have some good cushion. The RFV is still on my list for places to buy a home despite this thread. Edited yesterday at 03:57 PM by Odd Job My oddball solution is to electrify an Airstream.
  11. Tons of snow now … bottomless in a few spots . i can’t imagine they could mess this amount of snow up . Should be amazing for the next two weeks .
  12. Rode today Nov. 30th waited until 10:30 for it to soften up . The conditions were what you might expect at 2pm at Killington on a holiday weekend . except … there is no one here . It’s not a holiday weekend , it’s not the east coast . And frankly it’s not Aspen Mountain brand . New CEO typical Aspen opening day conditions are really good sometimes bordering on amazing early season groom. this year …. Sigh. Only the top of the mountain was open so no top to bottom skiing forcing downloading . 1 hour lift lines , and we are not Vail. That was Ajax. snowmass only elk camp lift - pretty much one trail . The new CEO grade so far it’s an D- , F would be if he didn’t open .
  13. It also depends on how you ride. From my style of low to the snow high speed carving , I really benefit from having a very clean, even grooming suface with no groomer ridgelines, and no unexpected bumps or death cookies. If those sort of things exist, I can’t ride at the speed I typically ride at safely. I’ve loved Aspen grooming for as long as I can remember, I was even there opening day at Snowmass with my mother, I’ve always loved Aspen. However, the new grooming machines really squish the air out of the snow it feels more like East Coast conditions on some days and frankly, a lot of the East Coast groomers could do a lot better job than the current staff at Aspen. If you want to ensure a great time, I would split your time between Aspen and Beavercreek There also used to be low-cost eating choices in Aspen you could eat at little Annie’s, the red onion, and a few other places there are no low-cost eating options You should budget for about $180-220 a night for two people with a single glass of wine . And unfortunately, the food quality has gone downhill. The attitude has been. Let’s throw a little stale trust truffle oil and fried parsley on average french fries and charge $23. For me, the big draw for Aspen has always been that almost every day has a few hours of sunlight without flat light and many days are just bluebird days start to finish that has also changed in recent years but still it’s probably your best bet in colorado for a sunny day. Last season we had good early seasons now and good late season now but from Christmas to the third week in March it wasn’t very good. which was shocking because many nights it snowed a few inches overnight, so I was expecting fantastic conditions. I’m kidding I’m really debating whether or not to buy a season pass this year or to go to other resorts. That’s really hard because I’ve got a fantastic place to stay for free in Aspen..
  14. https://shop.virus-snowsports.com/products/virus-boardercross-worldcup-kopie?variant=36678506709150 https://shop.virus-snowsports.com/cdn/shop/products/BX-2_1500x1500.jpg?v=1627209448 A helluva board , if you ever read my review of the larger UFC free carver you will understand its construction and grip. Selling with or without Virus Isolator plates. I personally was drawn to it for its Madd like Carbon butterfly and of course because its similar to the other UFC. Your normal cost for this board is $1299 + Then there's a 19% import tax. Less if you have an exemption or are a shop then its 2.8%. ......and normally you have to wait for it to be built. So the board can run about $1700 yikes. And shipping from Germany. Selling for $875 and with the plates it is $1075 if I still have the plates which are listed elsewhere. This board is doing really well in the World Cup according to Frank D. of Virus. This is what those carve flipping Koreans rip around on. I took 3 runs on it on good firm snow, and it looks as new save for some rubber marks from the isolator plates. I need more nose lift for Colorado dumps and I tend to use a quiver of 1. Raising money for car audio DJ PA System to use for announcing Aspen races..... another addiction. text me at 347-263-7238. Pacific Start time 10am -8pm Shipping about $165 from Germany . So shipping within the USA it's a lot less. If you are anywhere from San Diego to Malibu I can arrange for delivery by courier at no charge.
  15. Used and effective, tun out I create enough performance and don't have to have them , but for those without 40 years of carving, they will give you more cutting power. For Aspen snow its a bit overkill... for Hard slopes like the East Coast and cold Europe- a nice thing for your arsenal. I however never intend to leave great Colorado snow. If you need photos- Hutch had some up for sale mine are the same. If you buy it with this board- https://shop.virus-snowsports.com/products/virus-boardercross-worldcup-kopie?variant=36678506709150 Which I used for 2 runs. I'll knock $100 off the plates.
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