bigwavedave

Specs From some old catalogs I wonder if the dualtec throttle with your grandson is a 146? I rode one of those for a while and it was really fun back when I was 165 pounds. I also used to have a 167 of the vintage in your top photo. It was my favorite board until I acquired a quiver of Generics race boards. Those Rossi’s had a foam core that lost their life after a few years of riding. The wire might be a good all mountain board. I think @bumpyride likes those. May be similar to a Coil.

Just heard about this today... http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/news/accidents/4429305-snowboarder-dies-after-spirit-mountain-accident

A few short clips from Indianhead April 5-8. First is Al on his split-tail skwal passing under the chair... Next is Russ on the lower part of FIS... and me on the bottom of FIS and a few slo-mo turns viewed from above...

SkiBrule puts up a daily video showing current conditions. Today's video shows some nice softboot carving... https://skibrule.com/brule-mountain/snow-conditions/ Saw something interesting on my drive home from Indianhead last night on highway 77, which happens to be the same road one would take to ski Brule... … And on the other side of the road… You don't expect to see a heard of Elk crossing a road in northern Wisconsin

That's pretty funny, I wonder if they know of him because he's originally from Minnesota and rode with the G-team, or is he just that famous for discovering carving? (don't get me wrong I love his videos and he's a great guy and awesome rider) But...so, were you doing the buttah's and riding switch and stuff? Al and I rode together for 3 days at Indianhead (one pow day and 2 epic groomer days). We put on a good show of synchronized carving under the chair on FIS, and at the bottom of Winnebago (with the tower in the middle of the bottom steep). On day 2 we came into that steep section with 2 skiers standing over on the right side as we came flying over the lip. These 2 women fell in right behind us (it turns out they were waiting for us to come down) and at the bottom said "that looks so cool, I wanna do that". Next day, Al brought a Burton Alp with bindings to accommodate ski boots and gave them lessons! We had lots of comments about how much it looks like surfing (yup) and how effortless and graceful those turns look.

Day 4, another spectacular day for carving. The first tracks and layin em down... Al demonstrated more of his exotic rides... Indianhead will be closed this week and open next weekend, and after that? Thanks to Al and Beth for making me feel welcome and introducing me to lots of their local friends. I think we should have a MES (MidwestExpressionSession) here next year, maybe 3 days midweek?

Day three of four at Indianhead. Plush 1st day groom, brilliant sunshine, mild temps 1st tracks... Rode with Al till early afternoon. Really fun following each other down the hill. Also fun is watching heads crank around from the chair as the first rider passes under them.

Thanks for doing such a nice job with the follow cam Cory.

For anyone who’s interested, ordering the DGSS springs was easy and I received them in two days, from Italy to Minnesota.

Last time I was at spirit they had a pretty rough icy base just under the loose surface snow and they haven’t had much snow since then. Indianhead, on the other hand has had about 15-20 inches of dry fluffy snow in the past 11 days and is spectacular right now and should be through Sunday and maybe beyond.

About eight or 9 inches of snow overnight turned Friday into a pow day! Al took the morning off to come out and play. brought his powstick! I rode my 164 Incline which floated at speed and found the underlying groom when carved hard─couldn't have been better! It’s like mid winter snow conditions here, maybe the best so far this winter. I decided to stay for tomorrow and Sunday which should be spectacular carving on all this new snow once it’s groomed in. And check out that board rack in the back of Al's truck. The man has his priorities straight....and now I know where to go when I'm looking for just the right board!

For what it's worth, a skier friend of mine was there last week and said it was "super icy". Indianhead has mid winter conditions. 10" of snow past week and 4" dry powdery snow last night!

Conditions were fantastic today-bright sunshine, smooth as silk plush powdery groom (no ice ), few people and temps just below freezing. Here are some first tracks… ... and now it’s snowing! See you in the morning Al.

Figured that link wouldn't work. Some skier hiked up and skied down twice, doing figure eights. When I looked at the webcam midafternoon I saw the tracks and was able to back up the video and see the skier coming down. Indianhead was great today!

Finally! Someone laid down some tracks in that fresh snow! Not sure if this link will work...

Coming up to Indianhead Thursday with Russ. I'm thinking of staying over for Friday too, depending on how the snow is and if Al can come out and play, or I might head over to check out Ski Brule.

I've got at least 7" in my backyard. Buck might have more? I think you'd better go hike up and see and report back

How was the snow coverage before this new snow? Were there any bare spots?

I think it was @b0ardski that recommended getting really soft hard boots like the Raichle 123, 223, 323 or 413. Turned out to be really good advice. I got a pair of 323's and I really like them. I like it much better than trying to adapt my carving boots which I found still too stiff laterally when in really deep snow─get a little off balance and you accidently get too much input to the board, and down you go. Although the 323's are way too soft for me to carve with, they are super flexible for soft snow surfing, probably similar to a stiff softboot. Plus they can use inec heels for step-ins which is easier to get out of if you fall in the deep stuff. Something like @bumpyride's extension for the step-in release cable would make it even easier. I'm not sure what the modern day equivalent of those old soft Raichle hardboots would be. @philw's advice for a board has helped steer me towards a good board─taper, width, set-back and some camber.

The DGSS seems to fix that, maybe because the boot no longer has to deform with ankle flexion. After upgrading to the strap and wire buckles I've had no issue with the buckles jamming. All I can say is I have more range of motion with a smooth graduated dampening as the flexion increases, but I only have first hand experience for one season with the DGSS and 2 seasons prior to that with the original system.

I've had 1 season with the DGSS and really like them. It allows for more motion in the ankles, which I like for getting lower and having the flexibility to disperse/absorb the shock of rough terrain evenly between ankle/knees/hips. The spring system seems to control the motion more (range, dampening and stiffness) than the original set-up which seemed to be more dependant on the stiffness of the plastic shell and tongue. They seem to negate the effect of warm and cold weather on how stiff the boots feel. I'm riding modified RC10's with the single screw (flip-up) tongue and strap and updated buckle design, similar to the improvements incorporated in the RC11's. I cant my cuffs also and can see evidence of some rubbing contact of the spring with the plastic boot, but no problem with function.

Lots of room to carve at IH, and the snow should be good. Voyageur and Chippewa are good runs for learning. A couple of photos from Thursday and Friday; tracks left on Chippewa at Indianhead and a selfie with the big boards at Giants Ridge in front of the new chalet...

Drove over from Duluth with Russ to ride Thursday at Indianhead. Started out with a crusty, but carvable groom (50°F the day before), the sun softening things up nicely by noon. Icy patches on the steeps kept us riding mainly on Chippewa and Flambeau. **Al, keep an eye out for patroller Cheryl (skier) who really wants to get on a carving stick.** Friday we were up to Giant's Ridge. Another sunny day on very firm groom. Again the steep sections were icy and made for dicey carving. Everything else was pretty good, especially my secret spot (Squaw Valley to Cortina) that is always untracked, even late in the day. Really nice 2" deep trenches Al, hope you're having fun in all that new snow (it looks great!). Looks like Indianhead has received the most snow, maybe up to 12" by tomorrow. (Spirit only 2"/ GR zero) Russ and I are already plotting another trip to Indianhead next Thursday/Friday. Looks like snow showers through Wed night with cool temps─it's gonna be great! @bobble, you should come!

The 164 FP would have been a mens SL board. They made shorter FP's (146, 151, 156) which were SL boards for lighter riders. UP and Alp were softer for their length and width compared to the FP.

Russ and I are heading over to Indianhead Thursday (tomorrow) and up to Giant's Ridge Friday. Hey Al @Algunderfoot , hope you can come out and play Thurs if you're around.