bigwavedave

1st tracks before the hill is open have a special dream-like sweetness. I was "board" yesterday. A little snow in the morning and a cold, blustery day, so I spliced a few clips together of layin' down some of those 1st tracks at Indianhead from this past season.

Just drove by the bottom entrance to Spirit and they have closed the gates to the parking lot. Looked like it was padlocked. There were a couple of cars parked at the entrance, maybe hikers or maybe a guard. There was a cop car watching all the activity on my final day there a couple of days ago. I suspected they might shut it down. There were even more cars in the parking lot the next day when I drove by. Once the word gets out it spreads like a virus. btw, I never got within 30' of anyone and that was in the parking lot.

Rode everything!...well, except the Fish which is for sale. I've got 9 boards in the quiver now, but I know I can get at least one more if I live by Mario's example. I'm in the same boat as Corey where riding a variety of boards makes a small hill way more interesting. Mostly rode my quiver of 4 Thirst carving boards. Rode the 185 (my favorite) and 162 the most. The 175 was a close 3rd and the 171 probably the least. When conditions are good for carving, I'm riding one of these boards. And if I'm having fun on one of them, I'll ride it all day, but sometimes going up or down one size can make a difference in the level of fun. I still have my 175 Donek Rev (11-12scr) and use it as my dedicated ice board with a 3° edge bevel and boiler plate. I can't quite crank the same tight turns with the plate, but the ride is amazingly smooth over the roughest terrain. Really saved my recuperating knee from further abuse. My 180 Coiler Revelation (13-14scr) is mounted with Gecko Carves and td3 sw on bp cant discs. Often I don't have enough sense to go home, so this set-up really smooths out late day chop with an imperceptible change to board flex and handling. A 185 Coiler Contra AT (23W, 11scr), replaced a 20 yr old 180 Incline for soft snow carving/surfing, when a carving board isn't ideal. Rode it a few times, and only once in about 6" of pow over soft groom. It has the soft and surfy feel I was hoping for, for slush, pow, soft groom, yet carves remarkably well on firm groom. Liked it so much, Bruce made me a smaller version, a 165 with a 10m scr, to replace a 163 Squash. I've ridden it exclusively in the post-apocalyptic viral hike & ride season. So far, it's a great slush slasher/carver/surfer. Really like this one! Will have to wait til next season to ride both these boards in some real powder. Already thinking about that 10th board....mmm...Mark has been developing some new designs to expand his offerings in the all-terrain and powder carver realm. A board to ride into the End Times? @Kneel said, "they're like potato chips, you can't just have one". I'm thinking they're really more like a box of exotic hand-made truffles, each one different and even though you're not really hungry (or thirsty in this case), you just want to try another one because they're sooo good.

That's an interesting question. Like Sun says generally yes, but you might be thinking of chicken pox and the virus that lies dormant in nerve tissue to later cause shingles. There's a lot we don't know yet about this new virus. Treat everyone you don't live with as a potential carrier. ...and don't touch your face!

One run and done today. Never seen so many people on the hill post season. The word has gotten out! Maybe 10-20 on the 4-pipe side plus a snowmobile ripping up and down the trails There was a dusting of new snow after the rain yesterday. Conditions are deteriorating. Some deep crevasses and holes appearing where water is flowing under the snow, along with more thin and bare spots. I should have a rock board for any future excursions. Getting pretty soft today! Ice is out of the river. More wildlife sighted; Hooded Mergansers, Whistler Swans, beaver, mink and tracks of the Spirit Black Bear out of hibernation and playing in the snow on the hill. Might have to take the Shellback out for a row on the river tomorrow...

....so they can protect their stash of toilet paper?

Will also accept guns and toilet paper as payment (I'm kidding!!) ...bump

How am I doing @big mario , am I getting close?

Hiking up different trails each day and finding untracked snow.Still 1½ feet of slush and ice, but with some thin or bare spots. 4-6" slush on top. Home for lunch, but going back up for one more---there's rain forecast for the next few days. Hiked up JugglerJoe for one more run this afternoon. Much of the snow is gone in the woods and I could see that snow on the trail was 4-6 feet thick in some places. I think it will be around for awhile. Saw several tele-skiers, a few nordic skiers and a boarder. 4pipe seems to be getting the most traffic.

Thanks for clarifying that. You can see why I thought you Montuky boys just bought a new board when your edges got dull and rounded...

One big dog! On the hike up today. Had to make my own tracks too...

Some new snow and the river is opening up. Otters, Goldeneyes and swans seen on the river today. 1st tracks of a couple of runs today. Eagles soaring overhead as I was hiking up. A good omen, better than seeing vultures circling overhead.

I haven't read through all this, but I'm pretty sure you can ride whatever you want in USASA races. I haven't been in quite a while, but you used to see a lot of competitors racing gates, some placing pretty well and occasionally winning, in softboot set-ups. These would often be competitors whose "specialty" might have been halfpipe or slopestyle, etc, but they were going for the overall snowboarder award competition. Do they still have that in USASA? You also used to see alpine boards racing and winning in BX, but I think they banned them along with speed suits and ponytails.

Gosh darn-it, thanks for these. I have shared them with several friends. I still have never had an old fashioned. My parents used to make them back in the 60's at "cocktail parties" I would go around and eat the booze soaked cherries! I might have to just go and get the ingredients and make one. I was saving my old fashioned virginity for the experience of having one with a prime rib at one of the "supper clubs" that are all over Wisconsin.

About a ½ hour walk for a 2 min ride. Make every turn count. Beautiful sunny day, 45°. I got a sunburn while making my 2 runs! It was sooo fun to make some turns

Jeez, who's gonna pick me up at the bottom and give me a lift back to the top?....Oh, and thanks for putting those boards away. Have you seen the forecast for this weekend? ...So, I had to walk up, don't need no split-board, you just walk uphill. It was so fun, I had to do it twice. Slush carving at it's best. Best conditions Spirit has had in over a month! There's still about 2 feet of snow on the hill. No bare spots. They could've still been operating! When I was leaving there was about 10 skinners starting up the hill. It's such a different vibe when there is no activity on the hill. So quietTracks of the 165 Contra AT.

Yeah, I was thinking that was probably true and not unique to this sidecut. I just haven't ridden much else lately.

Bill Gates 2015... https://www.ted.com/talks/bill_gates_the_next_outbreak_we_re_not_ready?language=tlh#t-1348

My point was that an impression of how great the edge hold of a new board with sharp edges, compared to an old board with dull edges, is likely misleading. It wasn't meant to criticize your lack of edgyness. I admire that. Regardless of rider technique, a properly tuned board will perform way better than one that is not. It was an eye opener when I rode one of my daughter's race boards with a fresh professional race tune. It made that Kessler ride better than...a regular Kessler. She actually shipped her boards across the country just to get the tune she liked best. A good board tuner can work magic similar to what custom board builders do. But, that kind of tune is only temporary, and for me not worth the time and money. I do minimal board maintenance. Even gave up using wax this year (what a waste of time!). But, I do find spending a minute or two maintaining edges with a fine diamond stone worth while. My time riding deep powder is likely proportional to your time spent on ice. I'll gladly trade. I'd rather spend more time riding....only 45+ days this year. You'd think I'd be better.

When I get a new board I set a base bevel of .5° and a side bevel of 2° (88°). I never take a metal file to my edges anymore. I use a coarse, then medium, then fine diamond stone to set the edge bevel and then maintain it with just the fine diamond "polishing" stone after every few days of riding or when edges feel dull. I also like to de-tune an inch or so at the contact points at the nose and tail when I first get a board to help keep the board from hooking up when riding flat. The .5° base bevel helps with that too. My Thirst boards came with a .75° base bevel and 2° edge, so I didn't have to do anything but maintain them. To maintain edges, I just run a handheld fine diamond stone for a few quick passes on the base, always use a guide for the edge bevel, and only take the time if I suspect conditions will be hard or icy. I really only started experimenting with edge bevels about 10 years ago when I got my first used race board, a Kessler, which had a 3° side bevel and incredible edge hold on ice. Although, I found that a 3° bevel lost it's edge faster and maintaining it ended up wearing through the edge material faster. With my next new boards (Donek REV, Coiler Nirvana) I experimented by gradually increasing edge bevel from the "factory" edge (90°). I found a 2° side bevel easier to maintain than 3°, staying sharp longer, yet having noticeably better edge grip on ice than 1°. A happy medium for the flatlands between the "ice coast" and the snowy mountains. Now I have a bona fide quiver of boards, so I maintain one "ice board" with a 3° edge bevel and a full iso-plate. btw, my last 2 Coilers (Contra AT's) came with at least some base and edge bevel, as I didn't have to remove much material when I set the bevels.

John, I remember you and/or @dredman posting pics of your older boards with pretty rounded edges. Was that a joke, or have you taken to sharpening your edges. Just thinking untuned edges can't compare to the super sharp edges of a new board . Seems my last board from Bruce (the Contra AT) didn't have the usual 90°, but had a .5° base and maybe 1 or 2 degree side bevel. ^I found the same thing with my Thirsts.^ (supposedly a similar sidecut to the Contra) I have difficulty making them turn as tight on ice as I can on soft snow. I figured it was just because I'm old and afraid to really commit when going fast on ice.

That was kinda the idea with the AT. Carve and surf. It carves great and I have a good feeling about how it will be in softer, deeper stuff. I might hike up and try surfing some slush tomorrow. Update: It's great slush surfer/carver. Deftly does shallow, floaty, swishy turns on top of the slush, which I did where coverage looked thin. But did very nice smooth surfy carves in the deeper slush. I'm using a very soft and flexy hardboot/binding setup (Raichle 413's/ F2 carve RS). I think it works better with this board than a more rigid boot/binding setup.