bigwavedave

Pas de la Casa - ANDORRA...Had to google where this was. Looks awesome RoroSnow! Today at Wild Mt the snow reminded me of a certain wave in Aspen....

@bobble Saw two pairs of Rosemounts on display at Wild today. I actually remember when these first came out. They were futuristic compared to our leather lace-up boots.

Best snow I've carved this season! Think 2nd day groom in Aspen, like buttah!For the first 2 hours there was one other skier riding the chair. Made first tracks on several of the runs─Sunshine, Wild, Expressway and Bear! EgoAlly, a favorite, was closed for snow making─yea, they're still refreshing the slopes. Rather than complaints, there were compliments for all my trenches from patrollers and lifties─As I was leaving I overheard one snow ops guy saying to a coworker, "Did you see that guy on the alpine board making those beautiful carves? I almost hesitated to go over his tracks with the snowmobile." ...and much, much more. I was quite the sensationBlah, blah, blah.... And it was a nice cold and sunny day.

Planning for a Thursday sesh, starting early. Gonna be a little warmer. Should be nice with the new snow! Hoping for a few hours of carving before it gets crowded. Kids snow club shows up at noon.

Heading up to Wild tomorrow, ½ price Tuesday. 4" fresh reported since yesterday, 2nd day groom, should be super! Will be kinda cold. Might keep the slopes less busy.

Best looking pic you've posted from P.P. Sometimes the park is da best place 2 carve! Tho not enuf room for the Kessler?

I can only speak to the Incines: I have two Inclines, a 2001 and a custom one built for me a couple of years ago. The old one has the standard fixed upturned nose and tail that all boards had back then with a full camber between. The new Incline has a more shallow upturn in the nose and tail with a subtle decamber at both ends, a little more in the nose. This was the "new standard" flex profile for the Incline. I can feel how the new flex profile carves a smoother line with less resistance. The old upturned nose profile plows a fatter line through the snow.

January 2018 Rode up the chair at Spirit with a patroller who had been to Giant's Ridge this season and reported that the 2 new chairs are installed and working. A high-speed quad over Sarajevo and a fixed quad at the Helsinki race hill. According to the website, lift ticket prices have gone up ($47 midwk) and no more late season or senior discounts. A Spirit pass still gets $10 off a weekday ticket.

Ha! Was just looking back a few posts and saw this...got your wish!

They had it sort-of working earlier this season. It would direct you to a YouTube site with a brief clip looking down from the express lift─basically watching folks getting ready to get off the chair I suggested a view up the hill from the the chalet at the bottom of 4pipe. Make sure you check their new hours next time you go, they don't open until noon on Mon & Tues, 10am Wed-Fri.

I asked the other day and they said they're "working on it"? How difficult can it be? If the cam was on you would have seen a couple of carvers on their own private hill for the first 2½ hrs today. Same as yesterday, blue sky, started out at 15 below and got up to zero (hand warmers, many layers and no exposed skin makes it well worth it). Firmer cord today. Their were a hundred or so racers over on Gandy and Cinder Snapper, and they tore up Blue Ruin and SkyHooker as well with practice runs, but the big air park had some of the nicest groom today. Otherwise, we rode by ourselves (@rwmaron and me) over on the Express chair side until about 12:30 when some other people showed up─so we left You kinda get spoiled when you literally have the hill all to yourself. It will be an adjustment when it warms up and we have to share the hill We had a lot of fun on JugglerJoe which has a river of rollers on it this year (like waves) and each run is a surprize as you find a different line.

And later that same day…

First tracks and then some more. 5 inches of snow yesterday groomed in overnight made for nice carving. A little soft in spots, should be good tomorrow. Started out at 15 below and got up to zero. As you can see, it was really busy.

Nice! Love that upper part of Ajax, but the lack of 02 at that altitude always limits my time up there. Python?...A Coiler. Bruce calls it a Boa, but it looks like a Diamond Back to me. It's gorgeous up close!

Planning to come up to Spirit tomorrow and stay over for a Saturday morning sesh. Hope it keeps snowing up there today. Atmore ski races Fri-Sat-Sun allow racers on the hill at 8am, so expect it to be busy over on the Gandy side. The subzero temps will likely keep most others away or inside.

@bobble Yea, you were heading out. I had just taken a short break to change boards and ran into MNsurfer clipping in at the bottom of the lift. I have to say, I had a lot more fun than usual at Buck Monday riding my new "baby" Coiler with a tight 9-10scr. Made it much more interesting to be so maneuverable. Milk had the best snow early, but as it got busier I found more room to carve over on Olympic and Warners. Not as much fun when I hopped on the big board.

Hey Bob, Looks like a little fresh on top. Are you finally getting some snow?...and what happened to all of @softbootsurfer 's past tracks photos? Here's a track-thread-worthy shot from Monday morning at Buck, layin' down the first tracks of many that day...the headless rider

Has anyone mentioned Angulation! Sounds like it's not boot-out or edge tune. If you reach down for the snow as in Sunsurfer's and Jim_s's avatars you're more likely lose your edge on ice. Reaching for the outside edge as in Workshop7's and Jack's avatars keeps your edge hold more secure. Anyone who learns to ride on ice knows how unforgiving it is of poor technique whereas soft snow is very forgiving of a more relaxed technique. Also, the advice of really focusing on heel or toe pressure from both feet with shoulders/hips facing same direction as your feet is helpful.

I was really missing having a short turny board since I sold my 163 SG. I told Bruce I wanted something similar, but with a near radial sidecut. Something for riding when space is tight or crowded, or when I just want to ride slower, like when visibility is bad with flat light. We emailed back & forth over a couple of weeks discussing design variables─essentially Bruce educating me as to how (especially with a smaller board) all the variables (scr, taper, camber/decamber, relative stiffness between nose, mid and tail) affect each other and that it's a challenge to find the right balance between all these things for the board to ride well. Thinking about it later, I suppose I could have simply asked for an Angrry, but instead I asked for a short, turny board that would have similar qualities to the 179 REVelation (race-board inspired) he built for me a couple of years ago. Keep in mind that I wanted to start with a "race" board design because the conditions here in Minnesota are often hard like a race course, ie; groomed hard pack snow (often man made), not uncommonly with an underlying ice layer, and less commonly natural packed powder. This covers 90% of my riding. According to Bruce, since he wasn't working from a set pattern, the final dimensions evolved on the bench. It ended up being 165cm long; 20.3 waist; nose 27; tail 25.4; 1.6cm taper; 9-10m scr; ; built for a 185lb rider. I've been riding this board a lot this season─sometimes all day, which is unusual for me, as I often like to switch boards to keep it interesting when riding at the local small hills. This board is very well behaved. It will do sharp, whiplash-inducing turns or more drawn out across the hill, or quick slalom-like linked turns. I can get hypnotized by how it likes to do rhythmic medium sized turns, using half the width of the hill as my other boards, so it's always good to change it up. It has enough camber and stiffness in the mid section to catch some air in transitions when you want it. It's very smooth and quiet and absorbs terrain variations (like it's bigger brother) and has exceptional edge hold on ice. Bruce has a gift! He has a knack for deducing from conversation about what you think you want and creating something you're sure to love...and thankfully he shares this gift with us all. Another very enjoyable board... I like this view of the flex pattern...lots of camber under the feet, large decambered nose and slight decamber in the tail.

Combination of the first two, although I voted for #2.

Rode for 1st season in my new UPZ10s with no change to bindings (3°front/6°rear) and really felt like I was riding great. Early in 2nd season I got some pain in my front knee after hitting a small bump and it persisted. I switched to 6° front and 3° rear after reading @Corey's post where he measured the forward ramp in UPZs at 9° and felt way more comfortable and balanced, although I now feel like I have to be more conscious of "stepping on the gas pedal" (front foot) to initiate turns.

Bend it? (with a little help from the fish-eye)

Roder over on Olympic a lot before anyone else got over there. Got a shot Bob looking smooth~under the chair~ Tried to catch up with you, but I was just a few chairs back! A selfie on the first run... Snow was nice! ...oh yea, ran into @MN Surfer out for a few turns (right after you left @bobble)

You might be closer to Powder Ridge, near St Cloud, about 2 hours from you. @DonPablo rides there sometimes. Buck might not be worth the extra 1½hr driving, unless you're looking for a carver to ride with. Wild Mt is about as far as Afton from you and also pretty good for carving (assuming that's why you're here?).

Russ & I have tentative plans to get over there for a couple of days, likely Jan 22-23.