bigwavedave

I need to spend more time trying different set-ups on the hill. I'll let you know if I have something to sell.

Couple of good days at Indianhead and Blackjack. As forecast, hills were refreshed with lake effect snow prior to our arrival. Blackjack had some ungroomed runs with about 5" of fresh fluff. Thursday was pretty empty at both hills, Friday at Indianhead got busier as the day progressed. Got to make first tracks both days Met another carver on the hill today, Brian. Al was nowhere to be seen, so we left the carver's calling card...

Indianhead today. Another upside down mountain. Accessed from the top. First tracks anytime and every time.

Uh-oh...mono-ski madness at Spirit the next 3 days Get ready for jokes about having your bindings mounted wrong I'll be on the hill for first tracks tomorrow

Gflex looks like it comes in small packages too, and prethickened. A skier slammed into me at the bottom of the hill as I was coming to a stop at the end of the lift line. Rode up the back of my brand new Rev! and peeled away part of the edge and bottom. Repair and two years later still holding. I had to cut away 1 inch of the edge as I couldn't persuade it to return to original shape (it's not on the snow anyway):

I think fiberglass chopped up very fine would work. Hoigards did a nice repair of deep base damage next the edge on my Kessler. They did a very good job that held up for years. Pretty sure they had to use epoxy to glue in a patch. I would imagine they could do a similar repair to a topsheet.

West system makes a 5 min/two part/easy one to one mix epoxy that is pretty strong and comes in a small package. Hardware store epoxies are not as good generally. For a simple repair I would use some kind of "filler/thickener" mixed in, like cabosil to give it some structure. Rough up the surface as best you can for a good bond and get some epoxy under those loose edges. Use plastic to keep clamp from sticking to the repair. Then file and sand smooth after cure and then put a stomp pad over it. You should definitely seal it somehow, so that moisture doesn't get in there and start delamination. ...Or you can send it to Donek or Coiler if they built it and have it done right!

Last year at ATC, I happened to catch the first chair one morning at Buttermilk with Cliff Ahumada "the milkman" , the surfer who started the expression sessions at Aspen back in the late '90's, along with PureCarve boards (which he was still riding). http://snowboarding.transworld.net/photos/carvers-converge-on-aspen-for-the-pure-carve-expression-session/#2Kz7wAdEFYroskxy.97 He's no longer involved with the carving sessions, and I asked him if was kind of proud of seeing how the carving sessions have grown and continued to attract carvers from all over the world (both ATC and Pureboarding gatherings). He was kind of ambivalent, and expressed some regret at having invited the whole carving world to his quiet home turf and being invaded by 2 groups of marauding carvers every year. I definitely got a sense of that California "surfer" mentality of not wanting to share their turf (surf?). But then he invited me to ride with him and about halfway down disappeared in a cloud of Aspen powder. I steer people that seem truly interested toward BomberOnline for all the good info there. I used to carry Bomber cards to hand out. I've seen few folks take that next step. rwmarin has equipment to loan at Spirit and has converted only one patroler that I know of in the past 10 years (and he is still riding the borrowed equipment). We've had the same small crew of carvers at Spirit for several years. I am seeing more soft boot carvers than ever before and that might be a likely source of new hard booters. We'll see.

I was just playing with adjusting my boot cants. Now I think I should put some thread lock on those screws. Replacement cant disc and screw $9 from http://upzboots.com/shop/upz-canting-disc-black/ Maybe a screw and washer for temporary fix?

Thinking of coming up to Spirit tomorrow (Sunday). Depending on snow conditions. Gonna wait til Wed after the new snow. Then it's over to the U.P. for Thurs & Fri.

"Hey Al, How are things in da U.P.?" Well, I guess we'll just hafta go see for ourselves Russ and I are planning to head over to Bessemer Thurs-Fri. Mother Superior turns da lake effect on for the next several days.

Thanks Bob. Your line tells the tale. Must still be some hard and bumpy stuff under the new snow. Hopefully improves with a few grooming cycles.

Your post here will likely find it's way back to the management of Spirit Mt from one of our crew that is on the board of directors. I have seen some heavy drinking in the bar there so usually get off the hill by mid afternoon if I notice them filtering out onto hill. Pancho and Lefty...great song. SO...anybody been out lately...since the big thaw?

Did Buck get enough new snow to refresh the hill?

I need one or two 6° cant disks (TD2/3). Will purchase, or I have 3° cant disks to trade. The Bomber store is out of stock Nevermind. Bomber came through with a couple of disks for me Might have some 3° disks to sell or trade after I experiment a bit more with a new setup.

Rode up with a young guy who asked a lot of questions about my equipment and carving...then asked if I ever rode a "normal" snowboard. I knew what he meant, but I couldn't help myself from asking, "What's a normal snowboard?"

Thanks Corey. I enjoy the process of creating a board with Bruce. I know this is a Rev review, so sorry for diverting the conversation a bit. I love my custom Rev too! and the contrast between the rides. Different animals for sure. I had the same thought that a modern SL race board is a great all around the mountain carver. I felt like I could do anything on it. One thing I've noticed is that race boards in general, and "beefier" boards like the Rev & SG in particular, are not as great on Aspen soft packed powder as on harder and icy surfaces. Whereas I feel that Coilers have more in common with a Kessler (at least the black ones from a few years ago) feeling a bit mellower and maybe more forgiving of soft snow.

Hey Corey, how does the Rev163 compare with your Angrry160. I've been talking with Bruce about building a SL type board, but with a near radial scr. I used to have an SG163 FullRace (a very similar ride to the Rev) and want something similar, but that doesn't want to send me down the fall line with that 7-12scr. As much fun as that board was, it required constant attention and effort if you wanted to keep turns tight.

"touch the soft thing with the fingers" (Lennie in Of mice and Men) This one photo makes Aspen look like heaven...

I found the stock liners perfectly adequate (no pain, no movement), but not perfect comfort. To avoid developing shin-bang with UPZ's, I found it important to keep the top 2 buckles tight enough so that the cuff is in firm contact with my lower leg (no play), which usually means retightening after the first run. I tried putting a 6° disc/lift in the front and it immediately felt way more comfortable (carpet surfing). The true test is to see how it rides when winter returns (serious January thaw happening here)

Wow! I've been riding with 6° rear and 3° front (or equivalent b/4 switching to td3's) for many years. Got some UPZ's last year to replace my old reactor/furnace boots (tried Deelux 700's, but they killed my feet). Just developed front knee pain this year. Thinking I should try using a 6° lift in the front. Thanks for providing that measurement.

Bob, you should try and get up to Spirit while lonboardin is here. We could welcome the "king of crap" with a mini Spirit SES. Are you going to Aspen this year? I decided not to go so I can work on a winter project. Dave, did you buy a new/used Nirvana?