bigwavedave

From 1st track last Tuesday...

Yup, came with my recent order of BP 2nd board kit.

Wed Dim sun and intermittent flat light. Just above freezing. Snow not here yet. Met up with@nelsonboat and wife at the bottom of the express. The first turns were the smoothest, but they got a bit crunchy and rutty later on. There are still pop-up grooming "features" scattered around the hill. 4Pipe had the nicest carving, as usual. I narrowly avoided a large seam crevice on DoubleJaw and dropped off a 6" high seam curb on SkyHooker (unseen when the light went flat). Otherwise it was pretty good. While these new groomeer drivers are learning, you really need to be prepared for accidental grooming features that can trip you up. We went over to Gandy later, which was better than it has been. It was well tracked by the time we got there, but like Zorro, we left our mark...

Tuesday 1pm opening Sunny and temps above freezing We had 4" of wet snow yesterday and it groomed out real nice for today. There are still bouncy groomer seams on Gandy and SkyHooker, but the Express side was great and so was the bigair park (I'm just in it for the groom). Ken and Russ were on it. Jane said she found soft ungroomed on CinderSnapper. 2½ hrs for me today. No lift lines and wide open runs. When the west coast gets 5 feet, we get 5 inches from the same storm. Come on @barryj, stop hogging all the snow!

btw I ordered a set of Virus Isolator plates with extra hardware and bumpers. The hex mounting nuts are virtually the same as Gecko Carves and should be interchangable. The bumpers are the same 1cm height and have about the same hardness as soft Gecko bumpers (compared by squeezing in pliers) and they're definitely softer than the red (hard) Gecko bumpers. The Carbon Isolator plates are the same 5mm thickness as Geckos. There is a hard plastic piece with 4 holes that fit over the hex nuts and under the plates. I only took a few runs and they felt virtually the same as Geckos. I'm still planning to make a modified design to go on my XC. Similar to a Gecko Stealth with 3 bumpers per side. I've been using td3sw with the BP base for a small circular footprint. In comparison, the larger footprint of F2's seems to restrict the flex enough to make the ride feel stiffer.

I'm thinking you need a longer board. Either the TSm² or 8rw. Of course, as you would expect from Mark, they both carve really well. And being longer, they really smooth out rough terrain and both turn tighter than you'd expect for their length. If you mainly want to carve groomers, get the 8rw. Like the Super, it will handle some powder, and it's a little less intimidating than a 202cm board. If you want effortless powder/soft snow performance, I'd get the TS. While it carves nice on groomers, it's most fun when the snow is softer because you can push it harder than a stiff carving board without burying it. And, once you get used to it's length and speed, you don't think about it any more. Both boards have a wide range which overlaps quite a bit. Many days I could be happy on either one. *I'm having trouble getting all my Thirsts into the same frame for a photo shoot.

I didn't realize how much I missed this place by not having a pass this year. I picked up my 23-24 season pass with a spring add-on for this year. Good for both Lutsen & SnowRiver. Local informants told me that JCS plans to close early this year on April 3rd to begin the lift replacement project. BRB will stay open til May? I arrived late morning to allow the freeze/thaw groom to soften. JCS has the same issues with ridges at the groomer seams. Even skiers were complaining. Still, there was great carving to be had once you figured out where the bad seams were not. Hung out with Al & Beth after some riding. 8rw was the board for today, except at the end of the day Al let me ride his 9sw ! at first...but then I was like... 195cm long, 17cm waist and 17-19m scr... It was so smooth on the late day crud it felt like it was levitating. I'm gonna have dreams about riding this board until I get one. Who knew Thirst World Wide enterprises had a rep in little old Bessemer, MI.

FWIW I have done that (1-2cm forward) on the longer "modern race" boards since my first Kessler 180 12 years ago and have done it on subsequent modern race boards, ie, Donek Revs 180 & 175, Coiler Rev 180. It was my work around for boards that require you to dive forward into turns. I'm lazy and like riding centered. I did not feel the need on 3 different Contras, even the 180, or any of my Thirsts. Ride 'em all centered. BTW, Geckos work great on my 166 "ice" Contra. I mount them symmetrical and use the softer bumpers all around, except for hard bumpers under the middle fingers*. I like the way it rides with a little flex modification. For my Thirsts, I found that simply removing the bumpers from the end fingers (1st and 5th toes?) keeps it from interfering with the board's flex while still getting the benefit of dampening vibration and bumps. *this is with td3sw on a bp base.The BP base being a 5" diameter circle under the center of the binding has a smaller footprint than F2's which allows the Geckos to flex more freely giving a smoother ride.

Anyone have a LFF 9sw that they're not riding and willing to part with?

Saturday dim sun and near freezing & warmish day 3 for the monoski-ists , BX race on CinderSnapper , ski races on Gandy and BlueRuin. Had to arrive an hour early to get 1st tracks. Rode 1st chair with Ken. Snow and grooming were excellent (soft minnesota firm?) 1½" deep trenches. It got busy fast. Went over to the Gandy side and found long lift lines there too and only the bigair park with enough room to carve. Only 2 hours today. No lunch break lull in the crowds today, just kept getting busier. A top 3 in busiest days of the year. Thinking of heading up to Lutsen tomorrow. Looks like everything is open. I've never been there when the Timberwolf chair is running. P.S. The season pass sale moved from March 6th back to the 4th at JCS, so I might head to the U.P. tomorrow instead. Plus their forecast calls for more sun than clouds.

Fri Skipped 1st tracks today, but caught 1st chair. Nice 2nd day groom made for great carving despite being unable to see in flat light. Found some soft 1st day groom under the chair... Monoski-ism day 2 and home school friday. No sign of Ken. Around noon everyone disappeared for lunch just as the sun came out. I switched from the Super to the TSm² and went over to the Gandy side after a few warm up runs on the big beast. Gandy still has curbs and valleys on the groomer seams. A very bumpy ride when you happen across them. I found Jane riding over in the BigAir park which was really fun carving today. All the rails and hardware have been moved to the far right side, so the left was wide open all the way! 3½hrs today. This weekend USASA has a boarder cross race on CinderSnapper and a rail jam (likely on those relocated bigair rails). @nelsonboatthe conditions are the best of the season right now, plus more snow on the way Monday.

Thurs 1st track on 1st day groom It was soft, almost too soft I'm not complaining, but I rode up with a couple of ski carvers that did. They were from Afton Alps and know @trent . I see them up here often. Ken was on it today. It was also monoski day. Finally made a few runs on Gandy which was soft enough to make the irregular grooming less of an issue. The 202cm TSm² was killing it today! Bigger really is better. Smooths out the rough stuff and leaves a big trench... I rode my 180 CoilerRev with Virus isolator plates for a few runs and it wasn't as smooth as the 202cm TankerSpanker with td3sw. Started out on the 8rw and switched to the TS after a few runs just to compare. The TS didn't sink in as deep as the 8rw, though I would be happy on either board in these conditions. P.S. oh yeah, we ended up with about 8-9" yesterday. Nice dry fluffy stuff. It should be good tomorrow. 2nd day groom

Wed Holy moly! Snow! Wind! Refreshed tracks every run. Nobody around. Every run a clear run, no such thing as a lift line. Lifties playing surf music and doin' a snow dance. Lake effect snow is enhancing this storm. 202cm of heavenly joy. Might be my new favorite board!

It looked like it might have been nice today. I woke up feeling too lazy to make the drive. I'm planning to get over there soon. Passes go on sale next week. Looks like I can get one that includes the rest of this season and is good for both Lutsen & SnowRiver.

Tues 1pm opening We had a good coat of freezing rain yesterday and then about an inch of snow. Made the 1st track this afternoon. Nice smooth groom, but quite firm making only ¼" deep trenches. Despite being sunny & warm with temps to the mid 30's, it wasn't enough to soften the ice 1" under the groom. It was a rough ride once the surface groom was carved up. Conditions seem to go from one extreme to another one day to the next. Get it while you can. Expecting snow tonight and tomorrow! P.S. all the usual suspects were there...

One nice thing about ASB (Bomberonline) is that you can still buy a used board here and if you don't like it you can turn around and sell it for the same or a slightly discounted price and you've demoed a board for the price of shipping. Cheaper than a trip to Aspen, maybe not as fun, but you still have the $ for the next "demo". @1xsculler you should look at the PCjv. I think the PC's are the most "all terrain" of Mark's boards.

Sunday Single digit temps, sunny up to 15° by noon and no wind―almost balmy. The upper lot was nearly full 45 min before opening. $5 lift tickets & rentals for locals today plus junior races on Gandy and BlueRuin. Made the 1st track. A little firmer today. You could push your edge in and get some rebound and leave 2" deep trenches. Not quite minnestoa firm, but it's getting there. Rode with Ken today. It got busy fast. 2 hours and done. 2nd busiest day so far, based on parking. The B lot was full when I left.

Sat 1" of dry fluff overnight, single digit temps to start, and sunny! Plus, fat bike races today. Best carving day in quite a while! Goodbye minnesota firm, hello soft Aspen plush. BindleStiff, ScissorBill, 4Pipe and DoubleJaw all great. I still found 5" high hard curbs between groomer passes on SkyHooker. Uncarvable! Rode the Super for 3 hours (no board changes!) and kept finding clear runs. The carving was so good! Despite being a weekend, it wasn't that crowded, but loading fat bikes made the lift lines much slower. The express was running at half speed and many chairs were going up empty due to the confusion of trying to load bikes and people at the same time. Ken was there, but with the lift line issues, it was every man for himself in the singles line and we rarely got the same chair up. Day 50 at Spirit. Tomorrow's another day and another track...

Try moving your bindings forward 1-2 cm. That might help initiate turns as raceboard inserts have more setback in my experience. The variable sidecut on a Rev is designed for the race course and demands more driver input to complete turns. And, yup, a plate won't make it easier to ride. What rider weight was the Rev made for? Year made?

Friday 0° at the start and up to 8° above. Sunny, no wind. Made 1st tracks then made some more with Ken. In one day we are already back to Minnesota Firm* (no soft 1st day groom for us), 1" deep trenches, somewhat inconsistent grooming with occasional surprise features like ridges & hollows at seams and more ungroomed areas than typical. a berm with a soft spot, one of the first turns near the top... Still thinking about how good it was yesterday and how I'm a little tired today. A couple of hours and done. Home-school Friday. Lots of kids on the hill. Parallel SL races for fat bikes, skis and boards tomorrow.

Holy Crap! I had so much fun on this board today. It's been a while since a board actually had me hollering on the ride down. 6+" of dry, fluffy fresh over a very soft & surfy groom. Rode 3 different boards and this one railed delicious turns so deep that it surprised me when the snow came up to meet my hand. The board felt alive and I became weightless in the transitions. And smooth through chop like it wasn't there. Length & width = float & suspension. Truly a surf-carver. P.S. Completely blown away by this board today. Any carving board I've ever ridden in similar soft conditions I would have to take my foot off the accelerator in turns to keep from burying the board. This board just grabbed onto a turn once on edge and whipped around. I could actually step on the accelerator and push into turns. It was so fast, it turned a wide open green run into a black diamond.

I rode my new Thirst 202cm TSm² (the TankerSpanker). It was a small pow day 6+" over a soft & surfy groom. As I dropped the board on the snow to clip in, a skier behind me said, "Woah! Is that a surf board?" "Yes", I said, "yes it is." I think I'm gonna need a bigger car...

Thursday 02-23-23 10°F and dropping, diminishing 15-20kt north winds. What a day!! Another wave of snow moved through during the morning. We pretty much had the hill to ourselves, no lift lines, no bodys on the hill. Wide open with 6" of wind blown, drifted fluff over soft, surfy groom. Dim sun by noon and a few more people started to trickle onto the hill. Rode for 4½hrs, mostly with Russ. Made 1st tracks before opening, rode both the swallowtails and the last couple of hrs riding the 202cm TankerSpanker. Oh my, the most fun I've had on a board in a long time. It had me hollering on the way down. Big, high speed across-the-slope turns. Amazing board! Deep trenches were made. See ya tomorrow.

I don't think it's any better, but I think the weather will make a lot of folks late anyway. Thurs Looks like we had 4-6" overnight, much of it from lake effect. A little hard to tell with all the blowing & drifting. The bulk of the storm is at our doorstep and will continue through most of the day. Should be fun. I just have to see if I can get out of here through the snow drifts. *update on snow depths (~6") after a test drive out. There are a few big drifts (2-3 feet) that are impassable, but I'm able to get around another way!

$5 lift tickets tomorrow and Sunday for Duluth residents. Don't tell anyone, it might get busier than a typical pow day.