bigwavedave

I wanna see the sun again. Fog this morning Tired of flat light and holiday crowds.

I've seen the nut on the opposite end of the adjusting screw (on the underside of the inner end of the slider/block) come loose and then the binding will work itself loose over time.

Where did you use threadlock? On the nut affixed to the end of the adjusting screw for the slider?

Thursday The best thing about Bob's post above is finding out that inside his "Minnesota Nice" exterior is a raging Nick Cage (not unlike most Minnesotans, that "Minnesota Nice" has a dark side). I drove to the top for first tracks today. The parking lots were already packed, but I still had the hill to myself on the first run. Everyone must still be in that ticket line . Overcast, with flat light and near freezing temps. There was a lot of moisture in the snow today so tracks compacted into hard ruts. I switched to a plated board after several runs. I'm a little tired and sore from yesterday and was done after 2 hours. It was just as busy as yesterday. Russ was there. The boarder patroller rumor is that 2 of the 3 groomers are down . Probably because they've been working for days in the tubing and BigAir parks. Also, the Atmore FIS ski race is this weekend, so the upper lot will fill up early and the Gandy side will be extra busy.

Wed Wow! 4 hrs today. The freezing rain never really happened and the flat light became almost bright enough to make a shadow. I got 3 runs on fresh zipper-cord while Bob waited in line for his ticket. The grooming is getting better everyday, soft and consistent on 4Pipe & ScissorBill, crunchy but carvable on SkyHooker, DoubleJaw was hard and Gandy had race courses. Everything is open except for the BigAir park. Rode the Thirst XC all day . So much fun. First day in a while that I didn't want a plated board under my feet. Despite the crowds, we managed to get free & clear carving on many runs with a mix of strategy and luck. We used the single lane to avoid wait time in the lift line. Met a young softboot carver woman on a Donek Saber making very nice long clean carves.

Yea, like the rubber block under the center. Still looks like he's using the same type of male-female hex connector that protrudes into the hole in the plate. Was hoping it was an off-the-shelf item 'cause I misplaced my mini lathe (it's so small). Frank's look nice, but they are pricey and I think I want more flex, like 4mm. So I was considering making my own copying the Geckos to start and probably add that rubber pad under the center, as that looks like a good idea. The 4mm carbon plate and bumpers are easy enough to source. Who was it that made their own similar version? slapos? pokis? Whoever it was mounted the carbon plate differently, but couldn't find that thread. If only@lonbordin could point to the thread i seek using his magic searching skills.

The closest thing I find is a male-female hex stand-off from McMaster-Carr, but it doesn't have the short round threaded section that comes up through the plate. https://www.mcmaster.com/standoffs/for-adapting~gender/shape~round/shape~hex/system-of-measurement~metric/metric-to-metric-male-female-hex-thread-adapters/thread-size~m6/material~stainless-steel/

Look who showed up... Tuesday Above freezing, overcast with flat light and softer more consistent groom today. There were lots of people to navigate on the hill with SL practice on Gandy, several lesson groups criss-crossing the slope, along with occasional grooming features hiding in the flat light, all made it a challenge to get a clear run without having to make evasive maneuvers. It was still quite fun and we managed to get a couple of hours in before too many people on the hill and in lift lines forced a couple of spoiled weekday carvers to call it quits.

Monday Sunny, subzero, no wind! Drove to the top to make first tracks and as I suspected the hill had been scoured and polished down to a hard surface from days of high winds. Spirit's cursory "surface grooming" was soft enough to carve 1" deep in places but hard ridges and depressions between the groomer passes made a plated board necessary. It got busy quickly with straight liners and beginners and @bobble's favorite FXR clad hazards out for their sole ski and snowboarding adventure for the year.

I woke up very early, thought about making the drive to SnowRiver, then rolled over to get a few more hours of shut-eye. I drove down to the cities and back yesterday for xmas, so a bit tired today. I looked at the webcam—BlackRiverBasin looks empty while JacksonCreek looks very busy. I rode for an 1½ hrs this morning at Spirit on a hard and uneven "surface" groom. Plated board only.

Anyone get out on all that new snow today? @Algunderfoot

Spirit closed today due to wind. Maybe tomorrow too. They seem to post updates on facebook more frequently and earlier than on the website. They're still blowing snow 24/7. If we had new snow last night, I'd hike up today. The U.P. (Snowriver) is getting hammered with 35-45 kt winds producing lake effect snow through Sunday morning.

Thurs From the shortest day to the longest, at least for me, so far. 3-4" additional fine polar powder last night finally softened up the slopes. There were even fresh tracks to be had in 4-6" of powder on the ungroomed sides where wind blown snow accumulated. Minus 10 to start and warmed up to -5°F, but sunny. After a few runs on the 181 PC swallowtail, I switched to the XC. The PC was a little more fun in the soft stuff, but the XC just slayed everything from the chalky groom to the fluffy side pow. Rode for 2½ hrs. So nice to be on soft snow! Had every run to myself along with boarder patrollers Russ & Don. Of course patrollers have to be there, no matter how cold, I have no excuse. Made some of the prettiest tracks so far this season and I forgot my camera.

Heard you got 7+ inches. An opportunity to hth and get some fresh tracks? We only got about 3".

Wed A short day on the hill today for me. -10°F by the river, -2° just 200' higher at the base of the hill. A fine mist of arctic powder made the sky silvery white and made for flat light on the hill. Near impossible to see the occasional hard ridges between the groomer passes. I was surprised that the groom was still so hard, it just has far fewer ice chunks. It's getting there. The new snow should help soften it up. Yup, not a great carving day. Just 2 runs on the shortest of days

I think I'd better get over to the U.P. next week!

I'm thinking he would have to modify his core design to work with the Geckos so that they don't change the "Thirst" ride. I'm more interested in the Gecko buffering effect of uncomfortable vibration and bumps on hard surfaces than any possible improvement of edge hold, since Thirsts already have that. But, I think you should give it a try in the name of science.

I have a non-metal XC and it is the Thirst I prefer to ride on ice. I think mainly because the scr is tight enough to keep my speed within my comfort level for riding ice while still carving and a long enough EE to smooth out the ride. I'd like to see an XC (maybe metal &rubber) with a modified core tuned to work with something like a Gecko style vibration buffering plate. A metal 9sw? I don't get on my 8rw until the snow is soft enough to sink my edge at least 1 inch, so that the whole edge is engaged. Any day I get to ride the 8rw is a really good day.

~3"+ past 24 hrs here. Thought about going up to Lutsen today. They got ~7". But, I'm still a little sore from my crash. Saw the Chiro yesterday. Planning to be out tomorrow for winter solstice. Another big storm on the horizon! Looks like the U.P. will get the lion's share from this one with significant lake enhancement, so merry xmas to @Algunderfoot and Beth.

The SG163 is also fantastic and can be found for a good price from racers. I think it's quite similar to the REV 163. Probably because they were developed with input/feedback from the Steamboat team, many of whom were already racing on SG's. I picked up a used SG163 several years ago and loved it. I sold it to fund a new board and then regretted it because it was a few years before I found anything that measured up to it. I actually tried 3 used K162's that I never connected with. They were all custom built for women WC racers and apparently differed quite a bit from a stock 162. Way more turny than the SG 163. BTW, if you're looking at used K162's, one clue that a K162 is likely a custom women's board (and there are a lot of them out there) is the narrower waist (19-19.5 cm as opposed to the stock 20cm). Yes! I couldn't remember if I tried Geckos back-to-back (K168 vs C166) last spring , so I just did it the other day. This was on snow groomed wet and frozen into a somewhat uneven surface, not quite ice, but rough & hard enough to want a buffer under my feet. Did 2 runs on the K168, then transferred the Geckos to the Contra 166. The difference between the two rides was very apparent when ridden back-to-back. The Geckos made the K less compliant enough that it was more work to keep turns tight. I never really loved varible sidecuts and this made it worse for me. I liked how the K rode best without a plate. I love how the Contra, (mid-tight, Thirst-like) sidecut makes a nice round, complete turn. It makes it easy to control speed while carving on challenging conditions without needing to do speed checks. Geckos on a Contra is a great combo*. I think it makes the sidecut work better, plus you get the extra buffering on rough terrain. Later, I rode my F-plated (11-12scr) (EE 164.5) REV 175 and decided to sell the Kessler. Yup, it took 2 boards to force the K168 out of the line-up. *at least on my 1½ yr old Contra model. Bruce said he had been redesigning his cores in order to work with the "mid-tight" (Contra) sidecut and that they were evolving with each new version. He felt pretty good about this one. The design may have evolved since then. The one I have seems to really like how the Geckos modify the flex.

I know there has already been a lot of praise for all the subtle (and not so subtle) innovations Mark has put into Thirst boards. I’ve been riding mine for 4+ years and haven’t tired of them one bit. And they feel just as lively as they did the first season. Has anyone else noticed how much faster these boards accelerate through turns compared to their metal boards? I’ve ridden them back-to-back with mine, and I don’t think it’s my imagination. If you haven’t ridden a Thirst, but think you have….you haven’t. ***I know that sounds like a paid endorsement, but I’m just a very happy customer and a fan. NOT compensated by Mark or Thirst in any way. No discounted or free boards, even though, he once said that I was his favorite customer…but something tells me he says that to all his repeat customers....I am however working on getting my repeat customer punch-card filled.***

To refresh your memory (I know you suffered a head injury) ....

My 8 year old 175 Safari REV has gotten new life in my quiver since mounting a Donek F plate. Brings the edge hold to another level and more importantly for me, absorbs knee rattling bumps without loss of board feel (like with an isolation plate). Though the F-plate was designed for use with a shorter (163-ish) slalom board, it's a perfect match for my 175 REV. Better than any other plate I tried on it. And the nearly radial, 11-12 progressive sidecut is still working for me. Wouldn't change it.

Yea, I want to see that movie, not just for the dark, but all those rocks. Sunday I was out for the first tracks today. 1°, sun, very firm groom, a bit uneven. Enough to make me ride a plated board—175 REV (11-12scr) with F-plate. My neck and upper back are a bit stiff and sore from planting my head in the snow doing a somersault yesterday. My thumb didn't hold me back much. Just can't use it for anything. Especially, no petting the snow today. The light went flat after about 1½ hours. Even though it wasn't too busy yet, I was done. It still feels like early season. Good snowmaking weather ahead along with some natural snow. Spirit is still making snow on DoubleJaw and JugglerJoe and on CinderSnapper and BigAir park. I expect all will be open by Christmas. 11

To all the Rastafarians that celebrate Christmas....please inhale responsibly...then sing along in harmony...