bigwavedave

Oh, to get back on track with board porn, I have to photobomb Jack's 180 custom Kessler porn shot (remember the Coiler Safari Rev?) My first modern metal race board, a custom 180 Kessler. Never ever rode my old glass board again. (well, maybe once, just to see) 2011 ptex top, Burton Reactors, Catek WC...and my brand new gopro-on-a-pole

Found one in my old jacket...

Mark (Thirst) turned me on to it. He might be selling it now, so maybe contact him. I believe he puts it on all new boards he builds before they go out the door. Maybe it was on your SF? The swallowtail PCjv he sent came with it. It was so slippery I had trouble getting my board to stop sliding just so I could get into my bindings. https://faststik.com/

Yes, it's the Faststik®. I've been experimenting with it since last spring. There's just cold & warm (above or below freezing). The cold is the slipperiest stuff I've ever used, even in the subzero temps. I used the warm a few times last spring and it seems to be pretty good too. I think warm days in spring can be the most difficult for glide. This stuff might be the answer. The nice thing is that you can carry it in your pocket and easily rub some in on the hill. I'm finding that I need to apply some after each day of riding. Good thing is that it's easy, just rub it on, no heat required...And no flouros.

I bought these from Le Feet Lab at the end of last season. They were supposed to be the GrandPrix/Free Ride model. They turned out to be LeFeetLab's own custom version without full lace up! I was unable to stuff them into my shells without being laced up. LeFeet Lab never returned my calls about exchanging them for the normal laceup version. So, this Fall I got out my sailor's palm and awl and some whipping thread, and sewed some webbed loops for laces and installed longer laces with slide stops. Only then was I able to ride them to find out they were stiffer than I liked. Since I'd already made them mine, I decided to go ahead with some surgery to try increasing the flex. I cut the stitching that anchors the stiff plastic cuff into the heel of the liner. I know, sacrilege. But desperate times call for desperate measures... And it worked! I did not cut stitching forward of where you see the knife. I used contact cement to glue the black textured rubber back to the green plastic cuff and then tucked the tabs back into the leather slits so everything would stay put going in & out of the shells. It increased the forward flex just enough. I'm an oddball here in that I like a softer and greater forward flex than most. For comparison, this boot/liner combo is a bit stiffer (especially laterally) than my UPZ10's with Alpine wraps and DGSS springs. The other reason I'm posting is to say that these are the most comfortable liners I've ever worn. No issues, no minor discomfort anywhere, great heel hold, roomy toes. I even had enough room in the floppy lamb's wool toes to put some hand warmers in there on a subzero day. I'm just not aware that they're there at all. And at the end of the day, there's no sigh of relief when I free my feet. I have been starting each day with the boots warmed so they mold to my feet. The fit seems to remain unchanged through the day. The moldable cork material doesn't seem to move around or pack out while riding.

Don't start the season ridding a new setup. Start on your old familiar, favorite, easy rider, maybe something short & turny. I flaunted that this year, anxious to ride a new stick and I felt like I forgot how to ride.

Have fun! I consider it a great day when I get to ride mine. I really like to have good snow, visibility and plenty of room to socially distance in order to enjoy the ride. It's the one board in my quiver that I haven't ridden yet this year. All Thirsts love (but don't need) to have downward pressure as you enter a turn, crouching down and gently (or forcefully) extending through the turn, and as the man from Doofusville says, focusing that pressure between your feet. The board has a playful push back coming out of the turn. I just got back from 3 hours riding hero snow on my 175 Super and I'm still feeling the turns.

The fog moved off early this morning leaving trees coated in rime ice. High humidity made the groom set very firm. Great carving was had leaving only 1-1½" deep trenches. Two other carvers on the hill, @khoward and a college racer, Collin? on a 163 Donek FC. Rode the 175 Super for almost 3 hrs today. We all rode til we were too tired, but it was hard to stop because it never got crowded. Maybe weekdays will return to normal.

You want to try for equal wt on both feet. @barryj Focusing on this^^^ really gets you there.

Thick fog all morning. Couldn't see the hill from here. Went xc skiing on the river in the afternoon when the sun burned through. Could see several guns blowing snow that billowed up to a ceiling and drifted off to the east for a mile or more.

Sometimes feels to me like I'm gently feeding a bill into a change machine, and then it takes off.

...of course, good technic has to become ingrained into muscle memory to achieve mindless carving bliss. I find riding icy conditions less blissful requiring concentration on my best technic and a deft touch on the edges. Here's what I work on in challenging conditions: Shoulders and hips aligned with feet. Angulate. Focus energy into toes and heels of both feet on toeside & heelside turns respectively. (not sure if this works well with high angles) Some vertical up & down movement, weighting/unweighting coming into and out of turns. No rotation. Keeping the front hand over the nose of the board can help with this. On hero snow I throw all that out the window because...well...heroes can do anything.

Zen and the art of carving bliss.

I’ve ridden nine out of my 10 boards so far this winter. My favorite one is which ever one is under my feet. The same trail feels different with each board. Makes a small ski area feel big. I used to have just one board and then I started hanging out here.

Up to the top again today for first tracks in patchy silver lit fog, hoarfrosted trees, and very nice Minnesota firm groom. One and a half inch deep trenches riding the 171 XC. I rode for a couple hours when thick fog rolled in. Jolson and khoward were there. Word was that the snow is still icy hard over on the Gandy side. my Internet is out, but my phone is working and I hear there’s an insurrection. Chairlift to heaven...or into the abyss. What a day!

Went for a walk up the hill today. A skier was skinning up too. Warm and sunny, chickadees were singing. We had about ½" of big sparkly flakes yesterday. The hill hasn't been groomed since closing Sunday, so leftover tracks were frozen solid and made for a rough ride back down. The walk up was more pleasant, even though there were a few nice turns at the bottom of 4pipe coming into the groomed xc ski area. Snowmaking came to a halt yesterday with the warmer temps. The BigAir park appears to be groomed out and looks ready to open. It'll be nice to get those "yutes" that ride straight down the hill backwards off in their own playground. And we will surely find some soft groom over there when we need some soft turns. The Mt crew spends an awful lot of time over there massaging the snow til it's nice and supple. It's irresistible for carving.

The "new modern" boards developed by Thirst, and now Coiler Contra's, have what you're looking for. They accelerate thru the turn, but keep turning as long as you keep it on edge, yet have all the smooth ride magic of the modern raceboard. They have taper and they don't get locked into a turn like the old school single sidecuts would.

Not at all. The heel & toe of each boot are equidistant from the edge of the board (be it a little overhang or a little under). Sometimes I allow for a wee bit of overhang on the rear boot, and with my 5° splay, the front foot is just in from the edges. If you feel you're pushing snow with your boots in a carve, or not getting a solid edge, check your tracks from the chair lift. Should be equally thin lines, easy to spot if one is wider. If you feel it's interfering with your carving bliss, make an adjustment. I believe G bias was front heel, and rear toe closer (biased) over the edge. I never found it useful or necessary, at least on modern boards. Talking you into a skinnier board is just a way for him to save money on materials and shipping. He may be right about skinnier boards, but my old knees prefer the angles I can ride on a 20-20.5 waist. p.s. I use standard bails. Don't know if you'd have the same issue having to shift the toe & heel blocks to the extreme ends of the base plate using stepins.

I remember this discussion in another thread too. In order to get boots balanced on a board, all my sidewinder setups have required that the front foot have both toe & heel blocks moved almost all the way forward on the baseplate, and all the way back on the baseplate for the rear foot. Not sure if this is a UPZ/MS recessed heel thing or if it's the same for Deeluxe. @barryj I thought you liked wider boards, like 20-20.5?

I'm just using a Carhart poly/spandex balaclava. I pull it up over my nose in line at the bottom and during the ride up on the high-speed quad if I ride up with 1 other (no more). I pull it down when riding so it doesn't fog my goggles. The risk of exposure is virtually non existent while flying down the hill, and I'm usually trying to keep my distance from others on the hill anyway. Spirit Mt is enforcing masks in lift lines and won't let you board the chair without proper covering. Gaiters and such seem to be okay as long as you have your mouth & nose covered. They will clip your ticket each time you don't comply and pull your ticket after 3 times or suspend your pass for a week. Most Minnesotans are rule followers, so there have been few incidences of non-compliance (probably skiers from WI ). Minnesotans are excellent passive/aggressives and are more likely to wear the mask and no pants, just to make a point. A soon as a case is linked to a ski resort it's over for everyone. It's so easy to cover up. Plus, it's usually so cold here we're doing that already.

I heard that you decked some guy in a bar, but this story makes more sense.

Spirit's not open on Tuesdays this season. Maybe try GR...or plan to hike up.

Now you need the 185 Monstah version for some big Colerader size turns. Mine has an 11m scr, which works great in soft snow and powder, but I think an 11.5m scr would work a little better on groomers. Since you're likin' that sidecut, maybe somebody has an 8rw you could try.

Took yesterday off due to thick morning fog. Went xc skiing on the river instead. Forecast was for more of the same today, but when I woke up I could see the moon shining brightly--clear skies! So, hurried myself to the top of the hill for first tracks. Best day of the season so far. A more consistent groom without ice chunks, more terrain open (everything from Gandy to DoubleJaw). That helped disperse the crowds. Still blowing giant mounds on JugglerJoe. Looks like they gonna make it into a roller coaster ride. Rode the 175 Super for 3½ hrs. I had good luck getting unfettered runs, avoiding traffic and keeping options open to alter course for the trail less traveled. Yeah, it was Minnesota firm, but it was pretty good... Oh, and Ken was there...And I rode up with ski patroller David who told me a tale about a one armed boarder patroller. @rwmaron?

Is the Rev custom? If so, what weight rider is it made for. Waist width? Nice looking board.