John Gilmour

I wanna ride Snow summit tomorrow... Anyone in?

"Yeah, this video looks entirely wrong. He's on a Durpaz Powder board, with tree-less powder all around him, and he's trying to carve on the groomed snow. " ha PSR. The idea of carving on a powder board is to use it to get to the next pow stash. That's why I carve on one.

Snipped.... Hmm snipped the wrong section.. Sigh, anyhow I think soft boots are finally becoming like a sifter flexing Hardboot . It's a good thing it took over 30 years of hardbooting wouldn't have gotten attention. That being said...the BEST OF soft boots are - well , leaps and bounds better than even 5 years ago. When a soft boot can handle an alpine deck..... That day. It's here . Ride the Thirty Two Focus. Boa... It is stiffer than a Koflach Valluga 4000 lite or an Albona, and close the being as responsive as a Nordica SBH. At 1/2 the weight. And with far better heel retention and lose lateral foot roll. Still, in a race course, in all but deeply rutted race courses... You are better off in hardboots. There comes a point where the surface gets too hard to find softboots too squishy to hack into the surface. That's when hardboots turn a hard day in softboots into a fun day in hardboots.

..........

I just talked with Sean, and I'm glad there is a board getting everyone's interest going. He asked about graphics for a MADD Killer,mans I think...well MADD has always been an odd company, first snowboard company with a website, first one to do pre-orders and crowdfunding, first to use carbon properly, first to promote forward weighted riding, blah blah blah.. So I think MADD should be the first to encourage the most "Graphic" of killer images on the MADD killer. It's been 23 years... Wow that went by fast, since I rode the first 158 Prototype. Since then Prior, and Coiler have made boards to try and replace it, and...well it seems so many companies tried versions of the butterfly topsheet. Paul Anderson, a Regular rider...even had a bunch of buttefly topsheet S laminated on boards because he couldn't get enough of its characteristics and wanted an more user friendly board with the same edge hold. As for the image, I hope it's a good one...like the MADD flower 23 years later as a tree getting chainsawed and milled into Doneks, or a Narco style execution for the little boy - now Graduate school aged... --- some odd history In 1995 I did spec a higher performance 158 which was raced on the World Cup Circuit by Anton Pouge with great results < he begged us to make him a limited run of them) . It was slightly less user friendly as it took more energy to power it up and did very poorly in soft corn snow, so we never officially released it. But it is proof that it is very possible to make a board with more edge hold. I did notice that the MADD Killer is bigger than the 158, and if I were to make aboard that was 5 cm longer it would be Obviously better with grip and stability.. Last 8 days of the season I rode an Original MADD 170, and last two days of the season I rode with one of my childhood skate heroes Henry Hester. I still need a shoulder rehung, and have to fix my back and put more muscle on my bones... So maybe next season if I decide to do another season of Aspen. I'm still not sure if my back can take it (insane car accident two years ago- which separated both shoulders knocked me out, hurt by back, and well I ended up with brain swelling which sadly has affected my writing) I would ride for a day and take 3-5 days off. And even those days I rode lightly and very few runs, nothing like I used to ride. However, if my shoulder gets repaired and I ramp up the season slower maybe I'll be where I once was. I definitely would like to try a MADD Killer and see if I had any input on it. I always thought the real board of interest for the masses would have been the MADD 170 because it rides so incredibly well without much rider input. Plus has ridiculous edge hold at speed. We made only 15-20 of the original 170 . I was forced to race open in the US Open in 1996 because I couldn't get the 180 back up the hill in time. It was a hair ball 70mph+ course on an iced up Upper standard . I was running the shortest Alpine board by 20 cm. We called it a 170 for marketing reasons..it actually is a 168cm. The original MADD 158 had more edge hold than the reissue MADD 170. I did ride a MADD Reissue for a bit, my avatar to the left shows me on a reissue 170 , riding Copper with a photographer and Ray S. Of Virus. When I compared the edge hold to the MADD 158 and found the 158 had more grip I gave the 170 reissue to one of my students would really needed a miracle board that was easy to ride. I like the aggressive nose flare on the MADD Killer - good for getting initial bite from airborne I would guess. Afte getting my old Nordica TR-9s ( my favorite boots) I decided them out with a set of F2 bindings and the used MADD 170 original ( I think this original was a tiny bit softer as we picked the softest one for Paul Anderson at the time) . I had a puffy winter jacket, no wax, first day out of bed in 3 weeks from the flu, and really the first time I have been in hardboots that I liked since my Nordicas died 16 years ago. Signed up for the NASTAR and got dual platinum - at the time first place in Aspen, and 23rd overall . I attribute that completely to the board. As my legs were jello since my season started Feb 7 and I was a big parachute with that jacket and fatty insulated pants. Aspens NASTAR. Is a bit harder than most, certainly significantly harder than the East Coast NASTARs Which are more of glide courses. The best I could do in soft boots and a powder board that day was a Silver. Definitely the board and boots made all the difference. The bindings sucked compared to original Cateks. There is a shot of me making a mid air transition with those F2 bindings and you can see a huge 1"+ gap between the heel plate and my heel . I'll see if I can find it. So Sean , if you would like me to loan you a Orignal MADD 170 and dupe I'd be all for it.

I just asked Curt Debartolo to see if he could get me some parts. I met Jeff's wife some years back, and apparently Becky wasnt exactly kind in the end. So I'm just going to patiently wait.

Not sure if anyone really cares..but..I was on the hunt once for the firmest soft boot, to simulate the power a hard boot would give me. What I found was very similar to when I ride a very stiff hard boot on a freeride board. The flex profile of the boot is out of step with the flex profile of the board and the boot tends to "override" the board flex. So I find that stiffer freeride boards aren't always the answer to more edge hold when ridden with stiffer soft boots. In part because the mechanics of a soft boot binding lend to more rear stiffness than front flex stiffness ( flow bindings excluded) . I do like a firmer soft boot and I find more important for edge hold is a true articulated cuff as opposed to a non articulating cuff like on certain burton boots and my circa 1995 Solomon Malamutes. The boot ' binding /board interface should flex as a unit without any sudden changes.

Nope that was an old one. This one is red.

I need the F2 bindings for the pow deck.

Call me 949-243-4377 I have a Powerboard for you. 168 swallowtail Rossignol . " Google Gilmour Doppler" to see me riding it.

Just saw this thread. Looks like I found a mint pair of my old boots in my size for cheap. Like under $20! The Madd base was DOUBLE SINTERED PTEX 5000. The bases were dangerous to make and apparently some guys died making that batch so they stopped making it. The secret was multiple colors so it heated up at different rates and in theory was less likely to wet over at exactly the same time and rates so there would be less surface tension.like black transmits heat faster than white and every color is different. The speckled base was actually made of shredded scraps from die cuts that were then resintered to be recycled though the material was Virgin. I only did the flex patterns and sidecuts and material layup changes on the originals, I had no other input whatsoever on the re- releases. If I had, they would have ridden differently. The original molds were destroyed, but I certainly could ride and spec a better product as I ride significantly better now than in the early 1990s. Is it possible to make a better board ? Sure it is . I rode and spec'd one proto which was much better performing, and the World Cup riders liked it better too. I could still make it. I decided against making it publicly available because at the time the bulk of the good riders were not skilled enough to ride a less forgiving board and likely did not have the power to take advantages of its strengths. Yes I moved to California, Laguna Beach ( sicko 5 million dollar home next to the best dive spots, I walk from my house to dive) but I am planning on moving back to Aspen this season only for winters ( leave us up Jan 31) . My joints , save a separated shoulder are great, and I have been scuba diving nearly every day to get in shape. Here you are only allowed to catch lobster with your bare hands, and let me tell you, they put up a huge fight. I've been using an ocean reef full face mask which I modified that is awesome. Hiking up thousand steps beach wearing 70lbs of gear in wetsuit , it's harder than the dive. As for hitting the slopes. My 2nd godson is now three, I rode with him and his mom when he was two..he can ride top to bottom at Buttermilk by himself and clips in his own bindings by himself. I'm going to have him carving and laying it over soon. I need a vintage pair of old Cateks, the ones with the Doberman graphic, or at least the CAD files so I can make a pair using Chris Chaputs CNC machine. Or curt why don't you dig through Jeffs basement and find me some bails and what ever spare parts you can find. I could never make the Olympics work as well for me, nor the step ins. I broke my soft boot split tail powder deck Rossignol Judge 168 , it's just barely rideable though delammed with core damage, cracking tail and collapsed sidewall. And for Hardbooter I have a mint original 170 and 158 plus an older 158 all original. But knowing Aspen, I'll still need a soft boot board for pow days. I'm also trying to sell my Mercedes to buy an EV. I want to get a Gold Pass and tour every decent resort next season. Back in the 1990s I had to sleep in an unheated Audi wagon in minus 5 to -15 weather, now, I can have the heat on ( it uses about 30 miles of range)

http://escueladesurflasdunas.com/bottom-turn/ Will someone attach this image?

SBS You mention surfing. In a sense all surfboards are too wide...they need to be too wide for floatation , and for keeping the edge rails thin enough to sink the rail. If you made then narrower they would get too tippy. When I started surfing I put both feet on the center stringer... Big mistake. Adding heel and toe bias made me immediately more stable. Look for this image. http://escueladesurflasdunas.com/bottom-turn/ I also ride modified parallel ..also known as offset parallel slalom skating for tech high speed courses... Definite Gilmour bias used there on Turner Summer Ski boards.

T nut it

Actually changing your boot angles will not change your bias. Bias means biased to one side. Lowering your stance angles means overhang increases equally on both sides. Bias is the opposite of this. IT MEANS OVERHANG IS INCREASING ON ONE SIDE ONLY. Of which ever foot. In this case heel overhang on the front and toe overhang on the rear.

You guys are funny. not in the hah ha way.. but in the... "what a bunch of dickheads" way... JK! Anyway.... Gilmour Bias goes like this... In my little warped mind (warped like a curved edge on the snow) You want the snow "to see" a perfectly curved arc made by a flexed board edge on the snow. So if you were to pressure both toes evenly then since at high stance angles both toes are far forward on the board... the two pressure points if averaged would put the point of force of flexion forward of the middle of the sidecut of the board (Assuming that the sidecut aligned with the center between the two points of edge contact front and rear. And with the heels... the reverse is true. (though your front heel is almost perfectly situated... which is why you should put like 70% of your weight over your front heel for heel side initiation) So if you evenly pressure both toes... you get quick toe-side initiation And of you evenly pressure both heels you get tossed way into the back seat with slower turn initiation. Which is why som many people have issues with carving heels without sideslipping first. The board wants to see certain things to work properly.. ASYM designs attempt to fix some of this but introduce other issues. So as with many turning objects... the weight should be forward in the beginning of a turn and naturally begins to shift rearward towards the finish of a turn. fore and aft weighting for the heel and toe could not possibly be more different IMHO. And it is completely counter intuitive at first. When I first started snowboarding..... back in 1983... I did nearly everything wrong. I and my forward lean set wrong, I had my angles and offset opposite,and I started and finished my turns wrong.I just muscled through it. I stuck with my wrong technique for at least 6 years....until I felt I had to rethink everything. Then I got much better. Applying too much weight forward for too long can result in a tail washout. So the key is... how should you apply pressure from either your toes or heels such that the board will do two important things. 1. Have the "perceived weight" be forward at a certain point of the board for turn initiation and end up at a predetermined "end point" rearward at the turn finish. 2. Flex the board into a near perfect arc CONTINUALLY during this process so that the edge can cut cleanly and effectively through the snow- deepening the trough, and causing less chatter. If you ride aboard that is very narrow....you might want to run reverse Gilmour bias...because if the board is very bnarrow your heels and toes can't really be far from the edges. If you run a normal width board for your foot size or wider (because you want some more versatility out of your boards to ride deeper snow and not want to be stuck on a submarine of a narrow carving board in 5 inches of snow) you probably want to use "Gilmour Bias". Running "Gilmour bias" does a few things. 1. It puts a section of your heel that you are capable of balancing on while still on one foot directly over the edge for more focus of power into the snow. 2. It puts a section of your rear foot over the edge relieving your rear ankle of leverage and makes you more powerful topside. 3. It shifts the angle of your hips to become more "square " with the front of the board enabling you to face downhill easier- giving your better vision into your blind spot. 4. Your feet end up slightly offset and not with each centered on the same "centerline of the board" this enhances your balance. For instance if you were to look at someone practicing martial arts- they do not have both feet straight ahead. 5. This makes you feel less "tippy" when getting jostled over uneven snow terrain at speed and adds stability. 6. Heel-side traverses become easy as you just slouch over your front heel and the board will turn slightly to the heel side (no more quad burn) 7. toe-side traverses become effortless as all you do is slouch over the rear 3rd and 4th toes and the board will turn slightly to the toe side. (no more calf muscle burn) So you can either wonder why it works or just do it. So move your rear heel to allow for slight overhang off the heeled edge of the board.. remember if you ride well and with authority... yo will form a trench... such that your heel might not hit the snow- but be slightly under the plane of the snow surface in the trench. You don't have to put the board over 90 degrees and set for no heel drag... first off.. you won't likely heel it over more than say 50 degrees... and very unlikely more than 70 degrees. If you go too far... it will be hard to get back to your toe edge from a heel side. And Move your rear toe out to allow for some overhang over the toe side edge... realistically most riders when they get the hang of the heel edge will carve with higher heel edge angles than toe angles... you want your 3rd and 4th toes to hang slightly over that edge. You should have slightly more toe overhand than heel overhand because the trench by your rear toe would be deeper than the trench made by the front heel. So you have slightly more clearance for the toe... as more of the board cutting edge has had time to cut deeper into the snow. Now to turn it becomes a simple transfer laterally and somewhat diagonally across the board - akin to a stepping motion- it allows for very quick edge transfers- even across wider boards. The turning dynamics are completely different for heel and toe... for dynamic turns as opposed to what they would teach you in snowboard school.. it is a different style of riding. careful adjustment of heel side bias can allow for grip or slip in a turn to moderate grab of the edge- very useful with soft boot set ups and softer flexing boards as shown here. You don't have to leave a clean arc... you can also chance your arc shape within the turn-- here I flatten the "belly of the arc" to not overload the board's ability to hold an edge at speed. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F79nxoS8CU8 Heelside bias is adjusted so I can release or engage the edge on heel side so as not to overlaid the flex of the board with too much force. Too much bias and the board would break free at lower tilt angles, too little bias and I would not be able to carefully and "mildly" unset the edge to keep the board from grabbing too much and causing overwhelming chatter. its a fine adjustment- where too much by 1/4-1/8 " inch either way can completely blow the set up for laying it over at speed. Detuning helps but is not enough at these speeds.. the bias has to be spot on.. After a board tune it can take me about 3-5 tries to get my bias nailed for softies.. its easier for hard boots since there is less boot deformation and hence less guesswork. Or just buy a more expensive longer and stiffer metal board with a plate and only ride perfectly groomed snow... and let the gear do the work instead of you. to me-- that's sorta lame. but sometimes I like being lame too. The way I look at it... If I can ride a piece of crap outdated park bench of a split tail powder board with soft boots and bindings with broken parts.....at high speed carving. I must be doing something correct ....no? The only thing correct on that set up is my stance and bias. The board is shit, the boots are shot and cracked- the bindings are falling apart. I'm no 20 year old ... not particularly strong for my size, so believe me... it's not like I'm some sort of athlete. If I were a stronger athlete, I'd just muscle though it... but I'm not. and instead of training my whole life for a technique that only works if you are a strong 23 year old pro on the circuit... hell I wasn't even strong at 23. I'd rather learn a technique that will allow me to ride like this when I am 70. So for those who feel I am completely wrong... take my powder board set up ...out for a spin and carve it better than I do- film it with your iPhone. After I see that, I'm all ears to your input. for people that have ridden with me- had their gilmour bias adjusted ,seen me carve 360 carves.. etc. and learned how to present the snow with a proper curved edge...they know, felt it, understood, and did it. everyone else can just think it's utter nonsense ...until they try it. wonder WTF it works.. but why? If you wanna go fast- carve, and rip around like the hill is YOUR BITCH, you have to understand a few things about force. If F=MA or anything remotely close to it. Then you'll realize that once you faster than about 12-18mph... all the muscles in your body working in unison can't overcome the forces a poorly piloted board can deliver to your body. So you had better think about working WITH those forces instead of against them. Or you can just work against them at lame speeds like around 18 mph chattering and skipping through semi carved turns. Sermon done. Over and out.. ...

I used to design for Marmot. I freeze so easily that it is pretty ridiculous that I ever considered snowboarding. I wear mountaineering gear to ride...mostly because it is warm and affords the best heat management/venting, durability/freedom of movement/weatherproofness. I need the freedom of movement because I wear a lot more layers than others for the same temp. I moved to Aspen a few years ago. Geared up with the last of my Marmot credit. Bought the Alpinist Down parka...good for +10 f to - 30 f First 2 years ..never wore it. Sold it. Never missed it. I ALWAYS needed it in late Dec Jan and February in New England, The cold days in Aspen Jan 2- Jan 8th (not even zero hah ha) . and Feb- 2- 10. Other than that, you rarely need true winter gear, and can even run with spring skiing gear from Feb 11th onward. Our coldest day in February is like Mt. Tremblant's March 25th. I remember pumping gas in -40 at night in Quebec... the only reason there are smoking hot girls there was because of the fur trapper history where the trappers gave the great looking ones furs... and left over genetics...I think the ugly ones froze to death.

rode Fin's Pogo Blitz..what a rocket ride of stiffness- how about pics...unless you sold it 1/2 a decade ago. I love resurrecting ancient threads.

a 6 year overdue "You're very welcome". I enjoy reading your posts.

Better pics, more pics with bindings... Great board too. Frank makes killer decks. I loved a metal deck I rode of his years ago. http://www.bomberonline.com/VBulletin/showthread.php?29624-wow-ultimate-dual-purpose-carving-board-Virus-183-UFC Want to buy a board...right off the rack? Figuring out a custom deck too confusing... don't worry , Frank D. has it figured out. My guess.. not knowing you.. You were possibly a good skier first (on older non super side cut skis) and like very high angles and bought a stiff high performance board for your current knowledge base of riding. Having higher angles combined with a stiff deck and knowledge of how to pre-load skis with stiffer boots makes this style of riding easier for you to adapt to because it is what you are familiar with...even if it is not optimal for you in the long run. The oxygen bindings are really soft for a virus laterally...might want to try other bindings for comparison.. the play in the binding makes the steep angles more tolerable..for the knowledge you currently have. If you are some really strong guy with big quads you probably just power through this set up as is, but could ride a lot stronger if you were to dial down and learn a new technique. The quick fix is buy a narrower board from Frank,... He has a lot to choose from. If you like the wide board for powder versatility....and soft corn snow... get softer boots, slightly stiffer bindings, and ride flatter. The amount you are inbound forces over commitment to toe side and raises your hip in a turn...both tricky and sorta dangerous if you need to change direction fast. Personally if you showed up for a lesson with this ...I would skip seeing you ride first, and immediately fix your stance and retain your movements on dry land on carpet. You'd spend 20 minutes fixing your bindings and 20 minutes in the lodge on carpet first. It's not that you can't ride well already, maybe you are one of the best on your hill currently (you would have to be able to compensate a TON to ride a binding set up like this- tons of fore and aft movement and board flexion if you were pushing a set up with this binding set up hard) .... but you could ride sooooo much better. Given the short board and stance width... if you use too much forward punch ...you will "pearl" (go over the nose in soft snow) . Or you might be just gently carving....lower speeds only on good fresh groom hero snow. Pretty sketchy set up... needs to be addressed. Just about as messed up as I ride my powder board...(haha) forces unnecessary over compensation... curious to see video of you riding.

Ok, too inbound on front toe...(but optimized to make up for your wide deck- you like your stance angles and don't want to give them up... so you are using "gilmour Bias" as a crutch to not have to replace your deck and run without the front toe inbound) . Rear toe can overhang more. If you like your angles show in the pic... ...board too wide... trade and replace with another Coiler. Bruce makes great boards.....and his boards have very high trade value post up to meet others with Coilers and swap around a bit. Bruce keeps all the specs and rides every single board he makes... he can figure out what board he made for you or what you bought. This is a HUGE advantage with Coiler as a manufacturer. Or you have to turn down your angles to adapt to your board and use a riding technique that suits those angles better (not saying you will like flatter angles long term...but you might) . Also your boards flex pattern might be pushing you towards certain angles too. No idea about your weight or how you ride from just 2 pics. You have this awesome forum... someone wants your board..and someone else has the board you want. Once you feel proper width and proper bias... buy a NEW BOARD in that width- WITH THE RIGHT FLEX PATTERN from Bruce V. and be better dialed in. Buying new random gear swapping manufacturers willy nilly without being properly fitted is a very expensive and frustrating way to find the right width board. Looks like you are running your front foot somewhere between 57 and 62 degrees don't get too hung up on angles... as angles change internally with boot changes and binding changes. As you have no bindings..I can't tell where your front heel is. I do dial in people over video cams BTW.

I agree this should be stickied. I often forget the name of this thread and have to hunt for it. Probably should have named it "Gilmour Bias" in the first place. Now "Gilmour Bias" is not a solution for riding a a board that is too wide for you. And Reverse Gilmour Bias is not a solution for riding board that is too narrow for you. Just like wearing thicker socks is not a solution for shoes that are too big- and wearing no socks is a solution for boots that are too small. "Gilmour bias" just helps your hips work more efficiently by giving you more Range of Motion (ROM) for recovery and allowing muscle groups you use every day assist more in balance and in power. I check this thread every so often.. it is a pretty old thread. I really like when people post pics..I'll try to address pics I see. YMMV according to your riding technique. Sadly some people ride such wacky set ups that they start changing everything they do - every movement pattern to accommodate a less than optimal set up thinking they are on the right path. A common thing people say...on the drive back from the slopes (I personally rather have other people drive- after logging so many ski trip miles- it also means they are hopelessly trapped to have to hear the long winded thorough explanations) is ...after they get in the car and we start the drive back... ..........long silence.... like 10 minutes...after they are absorbing what they lerned and trying to remember it all.... figuring out what they accomplished. Student: "So I've been doing this wrong for years?" (often several decades) "This has been the best day of riding I have ever had- finally I get it, and can really carve hard and confidently" Me: "Well you have been oh so carefully refining the improper technique and stance for what you are trying to accomplish. That's not to say there is only one technique that works or one stance, there are so many styles of riding...but for what you were trying to do your set up wasn't optimal, and it warped your technique into something uniquely weird that took away your ability to really control your board properly." Student: "Wow.... all those years.... wasted- all those lift ticket dollars wasted on the wrong technique" Me: "It's sorta mind boggling isn't it? If you tally up all the cash in lift tickets, gasoline, hotel rooms, and everything else- just to end up plateauing at a lower level of riding... I spent years riding wrong because bindings back then (1983- 1986)) didn't allow for any bias adjustment at all." (The first binding that did ....IIRC..., was the Avalanche plate binding (1984???) often seen ridden by Damian Saunders- that heavy crude metal plate binding had a long row of tightly spaced holes on each side that allowed the bails to be moved back and forth to allow for Gilmour bias...there may have been some other European binding that did this....but it was the first binding I found that made "Gilmour Bias" easy. The initial SIMS bindings on the SIMS FE (no metal edges) only had an arc of holes with the SIMS FE PRO with metal edges later having two arcs of holes to allow for a single bias choice that was too large to be useful- I think only perhaps 5-10 people on this site might remember this as snowboard historians) Student: "All those years, and I could have been riding like this in a single day." Me: Doesn't really matter...- you had fun every day you went snowboarding didn't you? It's not like you weren't having fun before. You just ride better now, and you are less likely to get hurt....and your ego will feel better. Student: So now I am fixed right? Me: (Depends on the student ) "Well your board is (fill in the blank) ________(too wide, too narrow, too soft to stiff, too long , too short, too advanced, too beginner, flex pattern is poorly designed, sidecut to flex inappropriate...etc..etc..etc... ) for your riding style which has evolved in part to fit your gear." "Getting a _________ board would be better for the style of riding you are pursuing. (could be a Prior, Donek, Coiler, Kessler, Virus, Burton, Boarder cross deck, used Madd, Oxygen, F2, free ride deck, etc...) one that suits your height, weight, foot size, and riding style." "Proper Gilmour Bias set up and the technique I taught you today just fits you better that what you WERE doing and the selections you made in regards to the gear you currently have. " (You gotta use what the student has ...and sometimes that means skewing a private lesson to fit gear that isn't optimized at all for the student...like a girl with a pink board that is too wide and long, or a guy with board with some killer graphic that is way too stiff with a stance that can't be made to fit. Or a guy that bought hard boots that are too stiff- or soft boots that are just worn out and too soft). Student: So I need to buy all new stuff? Me: "Not necesarily-... there is some good used stuff out there- you could probably trade for little money.... and you can also learn a variety of riding styles so you can adapt your style to compensate somewhat for gear that isn't suited for what you are doing- as you can see I rode a cracked powder board with an awful flex pattern and side cut that is too wide, with soft bindings that are busted, and old soft boots. I do this to prove a point... that once a rider has knowledge they can reduce the impact of improperly selected gear by adjustment and technique. There is no reason you can't continue to advance in your ability with gear that isn't perfect...and no reason you can't learn to compensate to reduce the consequences of riding crap gear...(like I do to prove a point.) But without a shred of a doubt... properly chosen gear will improve your riding and you will learn more quickly just like a better fitted prosthetic leg would help a handicapped runner run faster with less discomfort. You'll have more fun too. I definitely sacrifice a great deal of my personal fun when I ride this powder board in anything BUT deep wide open powderfields... but people tend to think that they can't have fun if everything isn't perfect- they assume that I ride well if I am on a race board I designed for myself only... that it was made specifically for me and that is why I ride the way I do. (I do advise people that if they can afford a custom deck... they should ALWAYS order it. A lot of people like riding a 158cm Madd even if it doesn't fit....and I cringed when I saw 6'6" 240b Todd Drechscher with his size 17 feet on one...so I had him order custom boards from other manufacturers who are geared to do this) So now I ride anything..rental gear- their GF's board, powder boards. Anything to not discourage people about their gear (which about 90% of the time isn't right for them and has been hindering their learning) . Just knowing you have the wrong gear is an excuse...and a poor one, for giving up on improving your riding...when confidence... makes a big difference. Obviously...you see I am still having fun, and lots of fun and so even if you aren't on the latest gear perfectly set up for you...you. can still have fun. Getting good stuff is always a great idea if you can afford it and select it and set it up properly. And You will absolutely have more fun on a killer set up that suits you and your riding. I would NEVER recommend anyone to ride what I rode today- powder boards are certainly not for carving or really anything but powder...." ---- I try to get people at least,,,,, into a "ball park" of good fit and gear quality. If they want to spend $$$$ to make it absolutely right it is up to their wallet. The best gear doesn't make the best rider...knowledge is a far more critical part than the gear. Once you have that knowledge..everything is more fun anyhow. The frustrating part for me teaching... is that often I only teach a person a few lessons...like 3 lessons..and they now ride MUCH better.... way way better.. but still could go so much farther if I could get past the ice riding technique and some of the other things. I would say most students- are happy with only 20% of what I could possibly teach them to be a better rider. I do wonder how good a student could be if I got to pass everything along... never happened yet. They always seem to just want to fly with 20%...i.e.. good enough for them???I guess if they are having more fun that is all that matters. I never get around to diving turns- upper body transitions... or any of that really fun stuff that is so much more fun and deeply soulfully satisfying that the boring stiff isolating stuff I teach in the beginning. Bu a soon as people don't feel a fear for speed anymore.... it's off to the races for them. So many coaches so little time...they think... but they should try to learn everything each coach has to teach....not just the fun stuff. sigh..... hopefully someday....someone will go through it all...before I either turn 85 or get into something else entirely. I hate to see it not get passed on... ....so many days of "right-left" (multiple ways to take this). ...... That "I've been doing it all wrong" comment I inevitably hear is always so awkward... but IF I DON'T HEAR IT... that is worse because it meant they did not learn enough. Like a shot of Bacardi 151 rum...it starts out harsh...but ends up giving you a warm feeling inside.

I couldn't get shot of me going 7mph. Here is a shot of me going 6mph with a big tailwind. I had several trained marmots toss snow up behind me and had Spielberg himself manning the mouse at Industrial Light and Magic photoshop in the rest. Actually the snow conditions weren't very good for roostertails that day... sorta wetter clumpier snow (actually true). This is pretty much average in this shot- likely around 50mph or so. it's softboots , Union bindings with a Rossignol Judge 168cm. Heelside (i'm twisted a lot here) Fastest I have gone going straight was also down in Aspen with a speed trap - Vin Quenneveille and Sean Martin of Donek were there (it was Sean's first day riding hard boots) . I had been riding my 158 and couldn't get much above 68 mph through the speed trap on that short a deck- Vin Admirably managed some 57mph in softies. I got on Sean's bigger Donek (I think it might have been a 175cm or larger maybe 181+ ???Sean might remember as he seems to remember most things) ) and I climbed way waaay up above the top of the start (which was not groomed- the speed trap part was silky smooth) I was really getting tossed about at around 30- 40+ mph through the chop and almost had to call it quits .... when suddenly...I hit the smooth groom of the start and the speed started building from there instead of Zero. That was really really fast. (made me feel an adrenaline rush and also quite stupid right after for going that fast) ... I couldn't hear anything through the wind roar. I had a good tuck on that run- and since the fastest prior to that was 68- this felt and sounded quite a bit faster. it also took a scary amount of space to slow down. I "Christ Airbraked"- gently standing up because of the lift.. and that drops you down to 50mph pretty quick so you can begin a regular stop.

That sounds possible... but I would head up at a later time.

They are both from the 1995 batch.The ones with the best flex and best nose rubber.