bigwavedave

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/05/sports/olympics/ioc-russia-winter-olympics.html

She trained with Thedo Remmelink and the SSWSC in the early season. Here is some drone footage from Copper Mt, pre-season 4 years ago. Ester's in the white suit, very fast and smooth, even at 18 years old . I think Justin Reiter is in the next shot and the woman in turquoise after that is Mimi Wiencke, who was the top US woman racer at the time. Skip to the 1 min mark if it doesn't start there.

Same here, as tempting as it can be to get on some snow now, I'll probably wait till after Thanksgiving when there's fewer people and more terrain open. Of course, if I were Bob with the hill just across the street, it would be a different story. Plus, I have an arbitrary rule--to ride at least as long as it takes to drive to and from the hill, otherwise it's not worth the drive.

Looks like Buck is opening tonight with a couple of runs. Always impressed with how quickly they can cover the slopes with just 2-3 days of snow making. It's looking like winter all over the north and most places should be opening before Thanksgiving this year. Just have to make it past the warm-up next week.

I've been using the same low-tech cork block for years to friction-rub the wax into the base for daily replenishment. It fits in the palm of my hand and looks easier to hold than the proglide. Do you think the proglide/skimd is better than cork? I still hot wax once or twice each season as needed and always loosen binding screws to prevent base suck.

Thanks for the info, sounds like I should check out PR sometime for variety. Like Wild, it might be best to go early on a weekday and plan to leave once the afterschoolers start arriving by the busload and setting race courses everywhere. RE Wild: I worked there for a few years about 20 yrs ago, so know it well. Around the same time I did some work for "The House" which allowed me to acquire a quiver (small-med-large) of Italian "Generics" race boards, so I got in the habit of switching boards to make the best use of Wild's terrain. Those short steep runs way on the left (facing the hill) are fun with a 8-10scr, which allows you to do several complete turns, but still not much room for mistakes. Weekday mornings are pretty sweet for carving. Rarely more than a handful of skiers and as they gradually open up more of the hill through the morning you can get first tracks on several of the runs. Expressway...late morning, last January...This one is nice for relaxed, rhythmic GS turns...

I've never been to Powder Ridge. How would you compare it to Wild? It's about the same distance drive for me, but I've assumed, from what I've heard, that Wild had better terrain for carving. When it's cold like this they can make enough snow to cover a run a day, although it's not worth going there until they get a few more runs open, and best to avoid weekends and evenings. They opened Expressway today. It's short, but sweet for some nice big turns on a moderate pitch. If this weather pattern continues, it will be interesting to see if any of the northern hills will be tempted to open before Thanksgiving.

As I transition into retirement, I'm putting finishing touches on my little-house-on-the-trailer (it has a sauna!), which I hope to park within walking distance of the base of Spirit Mt before winter sets in. Should be better positioned for getting on the hill on a powder day, getting first tracks and for making day trips to Indianhead, Lutsen or Giants Ridge. Also, hope to make a trip to Sun Peaks in BC this winter!

Intuition Alpine with custom orthotics, not a race fit, as I like to ride all day. This is the UPZ thread from last year, which reminds me that I also got those new replacement buckles and cut my tongue to make getting in and out easier and eliminate the buckle smashing.

Looks like our northern territories are getting a good base of snow. Lake effect has been dumping on da UP and Indianhead. Giant's Ridge has several inches on the ground and should be getting their new chairlifts installed. Maybe we'll have a "normal" winter. Of course Wild opened over the weekend with a small patch of snow for jibbers. Spirit Mt is supposed to have live webcams this winter, which will be nice for checking current conditions. Indianhead today, snow guns are poised to supplement motha Superior's bountiful lake effect.

After 2 seasons, the stock liners packed out while riding several days in a row. My local shop only had the "Alpine" or "ZipFit" in my size. The Alpine was on sale (50% off) and seemed to fit my foot and the shells. Sometimes a limited choice (and a good deal) helps make the decision for you. I've seen both the "Alpine" and the "Power wrap" recommended for RC10's by members here, otherwise I don't know much about the difference. By the manufacturer's description it sounds as if the "Power Wrap" might be stiffer. The "Alpine" seemed similar in stiffness to the stock liners, which was fine with me. I've only ridden a few days with the new liners, but I kind if wished that I had gotten them sooner as they have made a huge difference in the power transfer to the board. I had to dial way back on my input (apparently there was a lot of play between the old liners and boots!), as I found I could ride with much more subtle input. There's a thread somewhere here that talks about the various liners folks have used in RC10's.

From L-R 2 Donek "Inclines" lively glass carving boards for when snow is too soft or deep for the race/carve boards . Blue-180, 23.5 waist, 11.5scr. Black-164, 23.5 waist, 9-10scr. Coiler "REVelation"; (Bruce's version of a race board, but with an almost radial sidecut); 180, 20.5 waist, 13-14scr. Donek "Rev" 175, 20.5 waist, 11-12scr And...3 new sticks picked up the end of last season that I'm looking forward to riding and deciding which SL board to keep: Coiler 165 race SL with 9-10scr and 20.3 waist. Told Bruce I missed my old SG163 and asked if he could make something similar but with a near radial scr. Only ridden a couple of times, and not sure if it is what I was hoping for, so looking forward to seeing if I can get it dialed in. Kessler 162, 19.4 waist. Likely a custom build as the waist is narrower than a stock 162 which may mean it was built for a lighter rider. 2006 Burton "Fish" 160, 25.8 waist with 3cm taper. Found this never ridden board (still in the plastic) last spring. Figure everyone should have a dedicated powder board, just in case. To be ridden with very soft Raichle 323 "hard" boots when the snow is too deep for the "Incline" . Having a variety carving boards (small, medium and large) makes the limited terrain of our small midwestern hills more interesting. Takes 2 minutes to go to the car and switch. If I lived in the big mountains maybe I'd only need a couple of boards...well maybe 3... Also, souped-up my boots last spring by replacing the packed out stock liners with Intuition "Alpine", some booster straps and replaced the stock springs with the DGSS. Just need snow!

Just came across this when looking for something to use from my sailboat. Know nothing about it, but looks cool.

Sorry, nothing left to sell or trade, except 2 sets of yellow epads.

I was only out on a couple of warm days this year, but I tried just going with the inexpensive paraffin storage wax that was left on my slush board (I think BlueB suggested this) and it seemed to work well. It's really soft stuff, much like typical warm weather ski wax. "Gulf" paraffin (canning) wax about $5 for 1 lb.

A longer version of your Incline made slightly narrower for hard boots. I stopped looking when rode an old 180 Incline (the Delrossi), 23.5 wide, 11.5scr. Everything people say about the Tanker seem to apply. The Incline might be heavier than Hazelwood and Tanker, but I think that's beneficial for busting through crud. Paraffin (canning) wax seems to work better than anything for warm, wet snow. I think blueb suggested that and it seems to work.

Thanks Peter, bindings and intec heels arrived today. BWD

Just came across Ryan Knapton's review of the Incline. Nice footage of him ripping turns on a 29.5cm wide version. Thought it should be here. I've owned and tried a few other boards of this type (all-mt carvers?) that get get rave reviews on the forum, but in my opinion, none of them gets it done as well as the Incline does.

Donek Incline. Lively, all glass wood core board, custom to your specs for $650USD. My favorite board for riding soft snow conditions with hardboots. One of Donek's cheapest custom boards, with all-mt versatility and it carves like crazy. Mine doesn't have the secret nose shape (which is where this thread started), but maybe it's an option.

What about using softer (yellow) springs. Seems it would be a better match for those med flex boots and a board designed for soft snow conditions.

Ha! I thought Bryan would have been the first to respond, but he probably already has a complete set PM sent.

I'm getting rid of stuff, figure somebody here might want these old copies of Snowboard Life.10 issues, 2 years from March '97 to Mar '99. Buy me a sixpack of beer and pay the postage and they're yours. Some great stuff; how to "Euro" carve, 2 issues listing carving capitals with lots of great shots of local carvers, an ad for the first Aspen carvers expression session and...

Was casually looking for a cheap, used, floaty board, suitable for the chance powder encounter and found this new, in plastic, 2006 Burton Fish on Craig's list, 2mi from my house. Couldn't resist, so made a low-ball offer that was surprisingly accepted. Kinda cool. Should do the trick with 3cm of taper. Anyone ever ridden one of these? Hope I haven't been infected by BlueB's woody affliction.

I found this today swimming through Craig's list, a virgin Fish, never ridden, never mounted, still in plastic sleeve from 10 years ago... ...it may be out of season here, but it reeled me in