John Gilmour

I had a TAC core board with Channel bottom in I think a 167 length or 165. The tapered asymentric core was neat because the board had a symetrical shape- so you had no asym lock....but it had a asymetrical shift in the core. So the thickest point of the core was to occur between your heels on your heelside (shifted aftward) and then on the toe side it was shifted forwards. The channel bottom idea was to separate the board into two distinct flexing planks- remove extra drag surface off the snow, break up suction, and make it cheaper to wax. Cool idea. And in some conditions it worked. Fawcett used to ride these as well. The idea would have been far better executed if the separated ski idea could have been done as a cap construction as opposed to a v-lam. For once the cap construction could have been used properly as the torsional rigidity of a cap goes up as the height of the cap approaches the width of the area capped. I suppose he could have blended a cap in so it would be v-lam at tip and tail- and cap in the middle. the board I had I think it was the 7GS was super stiff. The conditions that favored that deck were chalk- or very hard surface where you would not sink in more than 1/4 inch. The board had very thick sidewalls so if you railed the deck more than 45 degress- you felt extreme sidewall drag- and you ended up with more pressure on the sidewall than the edge- which ussually ended up as a blowout.... for racing- it was fine. The problems were riding that deck in looser snow- or horrors ...in softer snow or wetter snow- you had to get the edge to engage to bend the baord...and if the snow was too soft you couldn't get enough hold on the snow to bend the board- but who cared??...it was made for racing in hard conditions anyhow. The channel bottom made turn intiation very difficult in soft snow and the board would lock. You had to edge the board with no pivot at all- and high enough to free the channel from the snow- I have photos of me dragging the board through softer snow on a headwall at Squaw valley and then through moguls....don't try that at home...lol... the board came with double density inserts. I think the asym core was not super shifted....so angles couldn't be too high. ________ LIFE SABER

You can put a wet hand in it and it is dry in 5 minutes. The leather lasts and lasts....and when it starts to go you'll find shoe goo bonds well to leather- very well- ............sure it will look like you blew piles of snot on your gloves, but- I have had a pair now for 4 seasons...and most others won't last 1/2 a season. warm and dry- and if you can believe it..I think warmer than mittens because your fingers sweat together in mittens and the wicking of the gloves keeps each finger dry. I might consider making a new glove (In the 1990's I spec'd one with Kevlar, waterproof breatheable liner, gel palm, wrist support, removeable fleece liner- cordura outer..etc..). Recently I started conversationsagain with Marmot about designing a new line for them..In the 1990's I did all the technical specifications on the Marmot "Tough collection" as well as my favorite jacket I still ride today...The Marmot Climbing Jacket 3- which went on to become their best selling alpinist jacket ever. I hope they go for the ideas this time around. ________ Yamaha dsp-1

I really haven't had much to do with this run- other than give Mike a list of orders from the last time we tired to do a pre-sell run. Madd boards are production boards. Actually you are paying for a rerun of production boards spec'ed to match boards that first came out in the Early 1990's. The only time there were Madd Customs.... it could be said...was when we changed perameters of the topsheet Carbon Fiber Wing tip lengths , flex patterns and perhaps sidecuts to our personal liking. We are merely middlemen between the laminator and sometimes we give input to things we would like changed- or in my case I might make a suggestion to change something about the board to increase durability. Things I personally wanted to change over the First run of boards were 1. The outer diameter of the inserts 2. The way the tail was assembled 3. The sidecut on the 170 4. The length of the cf wing on the 158 5. The base material (from P-tex 1000 to the ultra hard base we used) 6. The type of rubber used in the nose (the originals used ....gasp... closed cell foam ruber) 7. Going from single density inserts to double density inserts 8. Adding more inserts for increased stance width. (At the time everyone was riding ridiculously narrow stances due to the core profiles that dictated that- which were originally derived from ski profiles) 9. Firmer noses so that more weight could be put forward for more aggressive nose loading for tackling steeps. (this was done by lengthing the cf wing). 10. Aluminum tail block to prevent delams. From jamming the tail into the snow. I haven't had any input over this run of boards due to me being incapacitated- I have yet to see one of the new Madds. I won't be able to test them this year. First time on snow for me will be July or August in New Zealand. I regards to what is better...depends on what terrain you ride and what the snow is like. In conditions like softer snow and wide open Western style terrain I would rather ride a Donek. On a super firm race course I'd probably like a custom Coiler. If you have size 30 mondopoint boots you certainly don't want a Madd and should go for a wide DONEK OR COILER OR PRIOR . If you have size 25 mondo point boots you should likely be trying a virus or other thin decks. If you weigh over 270 lbs...... please don't buy our boards! Buy a Coiler, Prior or Donek custom built to your weight or perhaps a Pogo production deck! And if you weigh under 130 lbs again buy a custom deck. I am forunate enough to personally know Bruce, Sean, Fin, Jeff, and Chris....and I can say this for all of us. We all want you to ride the board that makes you ride the best you can- even if it means not buying the product we individually make. For those in the north East riding Narrow trails on icy crowded weekend days if you weigh about 155-195lbs and have size 26.0- 28.5 mondo pont boots sure I would like to see you on a Madd 158....but if you ride better on a Prior with lots of taper...I would rather see you on that. By making boards that make you guys DOMINATE the slopes- all of us manufacturers wish you a happy holiday season. So don't worry about what is better...try them all- then decide for yourself. I rode a 158 cm Madd through a speed trap in aspen at about 65mph with Vin Q. doing about 60 in soft boots. So I borrowed Sean Martins donek 185? cm deck- and I started Way way way up above where the speed trap started.....by the time I went through the trap It sounded from the air rush that I was doing over 80mph. So if I wasn't nervous about trying a variety of different boards for different riding conditions- you shouldn't be either. As far as I am concerned there is Zero rivalry between the brand owners- just open handed support for the sport of Alpine carving. the only carving I'm doing this season is on Thanksgiving..sniff- but at least it's prime rib. ________ SUBARU HISTORY

Not bad 39 posts for only being up for a day. I guess there is demand. i wouldn't mind touring around the USA to do this if there was enough demand...but until then perhaps internet video is the next best thing. There is nothing like being there though- it makes it easier to guage how much freedom of movement and muscular support you have for each joint. Anyhow I think I should try to do some sort of online streaming thing which I hope we could then put in a bunch of mini movies. I can host them on several different sites as well. I've got a Sony top of the line 3 chip mini dv video camera that has a firewire output....but alas no way to edit the footage. Which BTW I'm selling to hopefully get the newest Sony hi def camera. twice hte price and twice the resolution hopefully- good for digital zooming in on those "off center corner frame" shots. ________ FORD EXPLORER SPORT TRAC

I do go to the West coast on a semi regular basis. I used to go to La 4 times per year in the winter. I suppose I could do one on the west coast...but pacific Northwest...Not unless I'm riding. Anybody in Florida? I'll be there next week. ________ Babi Mac Breakaway

Not that that was a dis on Burton- I'm just using Burton as a reference point most people know. The same sort of blow out could occur on any board with a soft nose ridden aggressively- or riden by a rider that was way over the weight range for that model. For instance one of the boards I really like- and rode for a long time The Checker Pig G6 was stiff at the time- but I have gotten back on it after riding other decks....and it sure is easy to fold the nose of that now....and that was one of the stiffest nose decks at the time except for the Aggression Stealth 165sl, 175gs, and I think the Rossi 173gs with external VAS as well as the horrible riding Kemper Screamer. BTW I thing the Aggression Stealth was one of the first decks to get so many things Right that so many companies were getting wrong. (ie Narrow, stiff, aggressive flex pattern/firm nose, durable base, and compensating toeside cut (to help toeside on high stance angles) in combination with a nice ...."we mean business look".) Still probably one of the better asym decks that were produced in the last 20 years. Problem was that it was considered too extreme and retailers often tried to discourage their customers from it. Had there been even a few crazier looking decks....maybe people would have tried it- extremes scare most customers and make them wary. Its only true drawbacks were free mounting plate- which was a bit small- and really strong ASYM drift and ASYM lock. You had to be like a shark on that board- constantly turning and moving .....or die. Glenn- I'll certainly let you know. Your boards might be on the plane with Mike tomorrow. ________ AVANDIA CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT

Oh- and the body angles part...That will be simple- just a easy checklist to remember while plumeting down the hill at 40mph. You won't have to check everything while riding- I'll make sure it is automatic. You'll just have "boot destinations" in mind and to learn to "feel the float" with your upper body- when to drive and when to float. It won't be a complicated thing to learn...and there are lots of simple cues I'll install in your head so you don't forget them. Most things will only have three basic steps- then as you progress we will add detail to those 3 steps. But you'll always be practicing what you just learned as you progress to the next step. ________ Maine medical marijuana dispensary

I've been teaching Inline skating since 1988- and have taught over 15,000 skaters to inline skate and NEVER has any of them had an injury. How can this possibly be????? No Injuries???? Some other interesting things...I didn't know how to Inline skate very well before I started to teach. I just skated better than my students. So a primary concern for me was making sure my students were not going to wipe out because I likely would not be able to catch them.... and IF they were to wipe out that they should not get hurt. So over the years I developed a few drills with Jon Sullivan who was the head of Sunday River's Ski school (He even ran the hiring clinic choosing instructors) . I developed the balance part of the class and he developed the body angles part. We merged this into a logical learning progression where each step reinforces the last step you were learning.....even if you did not completely learn the previous step it would be continuously reinforced throught the class by the subsequent drills. Very throrough....in Just (3) 1.5 hour lessons students learned how to skate backwards, do cross overs, stop on a steep hill, skate forwards on flat land at about 15-20mph, do parallel turns, spin stops, t-stops, spin backwards to forwards and forwards to back, and of course how to fall without injuring yourself as well as how to recover your balance when you were out of balance and indentifing when you were too out of balance and had to fall. I also taught students their center of mass control and the biodynamics of strength and efficient use of muscle and combining multiple muscle groups effectively without muscle conflict. Most of this was through very simple drills with only 1 new movement pattern introduced per drill. The course was so effective we could have taught Norton and Ralph Kramden, Gilligan, Don Knotts, Happy Gilmore's Adam Sandler, Herman Munster, Norm from Cheers, Jack Tripper, Newman + Kramer + George Castanza (No relation to Jeff Caron) , to skate well. A big part of getting people to skate well was teaching them balance (balance is a learned trait- nobody is born with it or you would walk out of the womb) and setting body angles.....all while in non threatening terrain ie...... The grass. It is a lot easier to teach people body angles while stationary and holding onto something. One nice thing about Inline skates as opposed to skateboarding or Snowboarding was that students were already dialed in (no trucks to adjust like in roller skates). All you might have to do is adjust the tightness of their skates and teach balance and then body angles work EVERY TIME- immediately with 100% success. Its one of the reasons inline got big and later when the inline Manufacturers demanded more balance input from the novice skater by going to unsupportive soft boots- the sport quickly died. In skateboarding stance is part of getting dialed in but you don't have to worry about the sneakers tightness. And flat terrain is easy to find. Carpet makes for an easy learning surface. In skiing we worry about stance, but since it is dynamic in nature you don't have many issues with it being "stuck" in the wrong position securely anchored by 8 steel bolts. In Alpine snowboarding we have almost EVERY problem possible when it comes to being dialed in. 1. Boots must be adjusted correctly 2. Boot flex should fit rider weight, agressson level, strength, snow condition 3. Cuff height should also fit the rider 4. Cant must be correct 5. Orthotics should be used if needed 6. Stance angles must be optimized because you can't alter it when riding as in skiing 7. Stance width must be correct 8. Binding cants must be correct 9. Binding slop should be correct 10. Board flex should be correct 11. Knees and hips and shoulders should align correctly 12. Turn initiation should be done in proper sequence 13. Adjustments made mid turn should be within the range of the rider whether fine tuning adjustments or huge "saving bacon" adjustments 14. Finish angles should be executed matched properly for snow condition 15. Cuff pressures and internal boot pressures must be applied for each phase of the turn and blended smoothly. 16. Arm postion must be correct 17. Selected riding height of rider must adapt to terrain 18. Turn sequence and speed should be planned in advance by at least 3 turns. Or its la de daa...... scape scrape scrape your way gently down the hill...merrilly merrilly.............. Of course once you learn all the steps its pretty much automatic like driving a car.l (Actually its likely more like flying a fighter jet) But the getting dialed in part... its over 10 of the steps....its more than 1/2 of the steps towards being a good rider. And it can be Done FOR YOU. Dirty little secret- # 108749 When I used to "demo" Madd boards I trained the staff to dial people in to the Madd Demo boards- to force people to do what worked and to check the stance settings + possible body angles while the rider clipped into the demo board. Then a Madd Rider took the rider on a "Guided Demo" which was nothing more than showing a rider how to set proper body angles for a Madd board (which admittedly at the time was RADICALLY different from today as back then ~1995 other alpine boards were designed with very soft noses and everyone was a "tail rider"). We showed people how to get low and stay low, how to hold their arms, how to position their knees- how to get the most out of a Madd board- (actually the same techniques today apply to any well designed Alpine board, Donek, Colier, F2, Pogo, etc. etc. etc...) A big part of the success of the "Madd Guided Demo" was just showing people proper body angles and letting the board do all the work. People bought into it because they believed that this riding style was a requirement for Madd Boards (actually they also tail ride quite nicely) but I knew since you could be EXTREMELY DYNAMIC with a Madd board and not get your face driven into the snow, that people would enjoy this newer type of riding and embrace the boards as a result. (If you tried this on say a Burton Stat or Ultra Prime your front part of your edge would either blow out or you would fold the nose and land on your neck). If you bought a Madd 158 and are new to riding it- you should think about taking a clinic on setting body angles. That board is a different animal than most of the stuff out there. ________ NEW MEXICO DISPENSARY

Since I am hoping this will be a year of crazy carving- I want you guys to look as low and bad ass as possible. Totally ...........most of carving is setting body angles quickly and efficiently -without hesitation, the rest is up to the board and your legs. Besides with a bunch of you on 170's going "stupid fast" I want to make sure you are ready for even the most hairball situations. (I don't want to have any of you competing with me for my orthopedic surgeon's time- or for my rehab therapist..) What I really want to do is hook up with BU and snag a tramp so you all can practice landing a jump directly into a low slung carve. ________ Uhwh

To be announced...Just like in College. We might do it with the Boston University Snowboard Team (BUST) facilities...just waiting to hear back. JG ________ Buy vaporizer

Well I have a high speed connection in mass but not in CT. I don't think it would help that much to try and film it- as you won't get the depth perception to see what is going on. But why not? If you want to handle the computer stuff by all means feel free to do so. So which week is better? 1 week after Thankgiving or 2 weeks after TG? And what works better weeknights or weekends? First thing is the get dialed in clinic. Which would be a good thing to do before the pre-season clinic. I figure we could start the preseason thing the week after that. 2 sessions per week for 4 weeks. Wait until you see the leg burners I've got for carving.....it's all stuff I'm developing to help my return to carving. ________ Acura specifications

I am totally FORBIDDEN by my surgeons and physical therapists to set foot on any snowsliding device other than a bobsled this winter. Sux. On the bright side the shoulder surgery is PERFECT - tibia plateau fracture miraculously healed perfectly (no one else in rehab with tib plateau fractures seems to be able to walk very well at all in comparison) and they have a second shot at my right knee (miniscous and MCL) when they go in to reatttach the PCL on the right knee in March. Left ACl is being done Jan 20th. I should start a brisk business of selling my unused narcotics- I prefer ICE it isn't addictive. But I thought I would still stay connected with all you guys this way. I am going nuts thinking about how all you guys will be tearing up the slopes with green sidewalls this winter on your newly minted Madds. Ski Patrollers will be trying to clip a lot of passes this year.....if they can catch you. Even though I have to sit out until July in Argentina or August in new Zealand.....I'm still looking forward to seeing this season go well. I know how you all feel - My board "Grand Prix" 170 was born 4 days ago. I can't wait to have the adoption papers processed and see her arrive stateside. ________ Vaporizor

The Connecticut location would be in the North West corner near Hotchkiss school. ________ JAGUAR XJR-15 HISTORY

Why in "Bahhston" Massachusetts of course! I could consider doing a clinic here And/or in Connecticut. ________ FORD RANCH WAGON PICTURE

I'm not positive but I believe that deck was produced in teh grand Chavin factory in France. And if I'm not mistaken it was one of the few alpine boards that was made of a core which had the center made of horizontal plys which were actually cut in a curve prior to lamination- the board should never lose its camber as a result, The side rails were done in traditional V-lam. I really liked the ride of those blasts and for the rider ability level I never felt they ever got out of date. As I recall the retail on that board was $550- you got a STEAL! Have a blast. ________ NEVADA DISPENSARIES

The second rossi photo in the thread Gecko- That board was produced by Voiron, in France. If it is the 166cm board here are the specs. 235mm nose 19.cm waist, 235 tail . 10.5 M sidecut stance width 15-19 inches. Used microcell (A hard Polyurethane foam) it had dualtec cap which was a combo of a 90 degree sidewall and a cap (and a total utter failure...lol) The base was a R9000PE the MSRP was $464!!!! I rode that board at a demo and felt it was slower than much of the competition that year from edge to edge and wasn't as lively as previous Rossis- though its edge hold on super packed powder was lightly better. That year it was wider than a lot of its alpine competition. The its width and stiffness made it pretty stable at speed. Some people liked the dual tec more than the older rossi sidewalls- I didn't feel that way and felt it was a gimmick. (and in theory a dualtec edge would just reduce the effectness of cap anyhow) I prefered the damper ride of previous models- which I felt were more versatile in a wider rangle of snow conditions. That same year there was a model called the 165cm Rossi "Accelerator" which had hte colors reversed (where ever there was red you saw dark instead and vice versa) that deck was 21cm at the waist and had 10 meter sidecut with a R6000PE base and sold for a whopping $464!!!!! It wasn't dualtec cap it was a full cap. despite its tighter sidecut- it was almost useless for SL turns and prefered GS turns. Its shorter length and stable platform coupled with its preference for easy GS turns made it a decent board to learn on. ________ LUMINA Z34

I've always really liked the extremely user friendly and predictable hot Blast boards. I got my little 20 year old Korean Girlfriend to learn to carve on one of them in 94-96. I think you'll have a great time with that deck. When I ran a Snowboard store on Newbury Street I was the largest dealer in new England for Hot Blasts- never had an unsatisfied customer- the boards always got raves. The hot logical was a very user friendly SYM board while the blast was a symetrical. I always liked selling ASYms in my store because my feeling was that Asyms helped soft booters with low stance angles acclimitize themselves to hard booting easier ________ BUY HERBALAIRE VAPORIZER

Anyone interested in this? If you want to ride at a higher level of performance- having your gear properly adjusted/working for you, NOT hindering you is key. I'll help you set you boots, bindings, cants binding angles stance width etc...etc.. to optimize whatever gear you have. I'll explain the biomechanics of what you should be trying to shoot for. I'll be looking for alpiners joint angles which will vary somewhat due to people's inherrent flexibility and conditioning differences. I'll also set you up for proper body positioning to really let your gear do most of the work for you. This is NOT on snow...it will be done on carpet. It will focus on making the best of what you currently have. Price for admission? $15 per person (which will be put towards a 17" Apple laptop for video editing alpine footage) --------------------------------------------------- If that one goes well- well have a $20- tune clinic for the next one. And perhaps a $15 clothing/gear clinic after that. _______________________________ I also might consider an alpine snowboarding specific pre- season conditioning clinics as well. (8 sessions) To get you guys ready by X-mas- and to help protect extremities at risk (Shoulders, neck, back, biceps tendons). For half of the session you will be in your boots bindings and board, indoors wearing t-shirts- oh, and yeah ....you'll be sweating. Price to be determined. Looking to start the "GET DIALED IN" Clinic at 1-2 weeks after thanksgiving. Please post your availability and I'll decide on a date. I need a minimum of 6 people to do this. ________ Drug test

And Rick I don't want to discourage you from entering....(just giving you a "heads up" of what you are getting into)..in fact I would welcome it as the more start ups we have the better for Everyone in the industry. Strangley if we had 50 small, yet dedicated alpine vendors out there doing demos on each continent we would be in a lot healthier state. Strangely though...the Alpine industry always seems to suffer when the big companies come in (dumping product, pushing out smaller vendors with finance deals to the shops, and most making inferior products that turn off people to alpine). IF 50 small Alpine companies existed on each snowboard continent........... 1. There would be more hardbooters on the slopes 2. People would be able to find out info on alpine easier 3. There would be more sponsored contests and "expression sessions" 4. There wouldn't be such a drought in boots. 5. We might collectively have enough advertising clout that some snowboard mags would consider doing some editorial copy on hard booting. 6.The niche filling the need for large "sweet spot", easier to ride, intermediate level alpine boards would be filled. but as they say.....misery loves company- welcome to the fold brutha! If you want any input from me- let me know- be glad to help. ________ Michigan Medical Marijuana

Look at the board manufacturers of alpine. Are any of them living lifestyles of the rich and famous? I've definitely lost more time + money in Alpine than made $ - if I had to do it again...I definitely wouldn't unless I was financed to the hilt- I couldn't afford to looking back at the opportunity lost. Now could you imagine if I invested that much time and effort and in the end the product didn't work well? That's why I have had zero involvement with this production run of Madd Snowboards (other than forwarding a few previous orders from a few years back), it doesn't pay the bills. To top it all off you have to know what feels right- you have to have flexed over a thousand boards and ridden hundreds at a high level- it takes years just for that part. There is a lot more to a snowboard than just any resin, any glass, any core, and any sidecut + camber... It's about synergy...synergy of materials, synergy of design, synergy with the flex, snow, weight of rider, foot size, boot and binding dynamics, rider ability. Unfortunately.... it is also about -price of labor, currency conversions, material costs, warranty replacements, theft, lawsuits, Materials becoming suddenly unavailable/discontinued, political strife severing a supply line of soft goods, fighting the elements during a demo while sick, broken down cars in snowstorms, not being able to find an affordable hotel room before a race, factory floods, factory fires, loss of key employees,,,, etc,,,etc,,,etc... you can't even begin to think of how many boards hit the trash heap in protos before you can even sell just ONE decently performing deck. The acceptable margins for error in surfing and skateboard design are much larger. The water and pavement. are slightly variable but not so widely variable as snow. Not that you shouldn't do it...but if your motive is profit- you'd be better off with a solid 401K. ________ Wholesale vaporizer

Its blue in front and black in rear with a rechargeable battery../ I forgot who I loaned it to. johngilmour@rocketmail.com JG ________ MERCEDES-BENZ SPECIFICATIONS

Fin did it already years ago. You could check his jet ski for snow out. ________ ST1100

Surfjet was another of Bob Montgomery's things...but rear mounted engines mde for weird turning....and it was way way underpowered. ________ BMW SAUBER F1.08 HISTORY

I also thought the project has been very long in development. They were willing to take me on board if I invested 75K. There are a few problems with the board that could be rectified- at least I think I have them solved, should at some time I join with them- those problems being heelside turns and slower moving on the water. They did figure out the air intake issues by themselves with the semi porus filter- as opposed to the silly snorkle. Also they have put a stiff teather on top so you can use the throttle cable to help tilt the board into a heelside turn... The real issue is that the creator- though a surfer- has had limited experience with other carving sports ie carving skateboarding, snowboard carving- to understand the body dynamics, biophysics, ergonomic issues that keep the product from intergrateing smoothly with the rest of aquatic traffic. Surfing isn't going to get this thing to work any better than surfing got snowboarding to work. Snowboarding did not get mass acceptance until we the gear performed better by drawing from models we know about. For instance- the Sims "Fish shape" which was still inherrent in the FE series and later the FE pro series- for which I was a dealer in Boston in the early 80's. Tom Sims would tell me over the phone how "snow was fluid and that the fish shape was better (waist far back of center) than the ski side cut model (Which of course we all use in a modified super side cut)." Tom was wrong. Snow does not see a snowboard or a ski when it is skied upon..... it only recognizes a curved edge. The flex of the board has to match the body dynamics of the person as well as the even pressure dynamic the snow wants to see. (That's why Madd boards have forward camber) Same with the Powerski- which should derive more of its hull technology not from surf boards but from powerboats- or perhaps even sailboards. A Surfboard controls its speed down the wave by the position of the rider......not so with the powerski which has throttle control. Rail thickness has an effect on turning dynamics of the Powerski- but in fact they should be looking to advanced waterski profiles instead. I might join with these guys at some point in time- but for now they making alliances and partnerships and licensing the technology. I know I could not only ride this at a high level - but make it a lot more fun for all users- and even cooler, make the stability user adjustable- so it could have a stable "learn mode" and progress to an "intermediate mode" and then an "advanced mode"....even on the fly. Later surfer dudes! JG ________ Clear trichomes