bigwavedave

Will do!

Getting excited about Lutsen on Friday--should be good! (pun intended) Heavy snow here in the north metro--about 1 1/2" in the past hour and coming down hard. Looks like it will be near a foot for Duluth and a little less for Lutsen by the time it's done. I'm planning to come up early afternoon tomorrow and take in a few hike & rides at Spirit.

Last days for lift serviced groom for us this weekend...from earlier this year...

Thanks for the heads-up on the 1/2 price tickets. Just put my order in. Friday still looks good! I just heard something about up to a foot of snow for Duluth this week?!

We've been riding slush (fresh snow when it first melts) which is fun up until it starts to get slow, but after a few freeze/thaw cycles it turns to granular/corn which is really fun. You want something between your hard pack carving stick and your powder board in flex. A softer, wider carving board , like a soft "all mt" board, would be best. Wet or frozen granular snow is softer than hard-pack yet firmer than powder. A soft powder nose is likely to over flex. I've been having the best ride lately on an older (traditional camber) 180 Donek Incline, although I think the decambered nose/tail would be an improvement. You need some stiffness in the nose to punch through the late day crud. I would think something like a BX board, an old Alp/Wire/Coil, ATV, Incline or anything that the riders in the Pacific NW prefer (Tankers, 3800, steepwater etc...) would be good.

Last day at Giants Ridge was a great way to spend a Sunday. Bright overcast with occasional snow showers and a nice deep granular corn snow that remained fast all day. Wonderfully surfy groom in the morning turned to lumpy mash in the afternoon. Too soft for stiff carving sticks, Russ and I rode the 180 Inclines until our trenches started reaching about 1/2 foot deep, then switched to softer more nimble boards. Riding the Nomad above, not the best tool for corn snow--a bit too soft in the nose, so it was flopping around a lot. Note the deep trench under my toe-side knee (top photo)--left by the Incline on a previous run. Also ran into old friends from back in the USASA racing days of 15-20 yrs ago, Jim and Dave Rothman.

It's actually $16 for us 60+ geezers. Forecast for 1-3 inches snow turning to rain later...jeez, looks like I'm going to Giants Ridge tomorrow!

or...you could go to Giants Ridge this weekend. Sunday is their last day and it looks like the better day weather-wise. I heard rumor that a certain carving patroller may have plans to go on Sunday. I'm considering it. They have some rain/snow in the forecast for Saturday and partly sunny Sunday. All the freeze/thaw cycles and moisture should turn that sticky slush into some nice surfy corn snow. $10 bucks off with a Spirit pass!

are these all sold?

I would avoid the meltdown party this weekend and go the following weekend if the long range forecast for temps trending lower at night into the teens and 20's pans out. Their website says they'll be open April 18, 19, 20.

Nice tracks you guys. Sunday had that last-day feeling for me, but I'm still thinking Lutsen. Long range forecast shows below freezing nights next week which should make for nice freeze/thaw conditions to make corn snow by the following closing weekend. UPS delivered my UPZ's today, and I'm excited to try them. Don't put the storage wax on just yet!

Perfect groom Saturday morning turning slarvey and slow afternoon. Rode with Russ and Jim all morning, then ran into nelsonboat in the afternoon over on Gandy. Stuck it out till closing at 5 finishing the day surfing the slush on the 180 incline. Today started out where conditions left off yesterday--soft, surfy and slow...

- the dudes who ride with you 'till the motherf*ckin' end: ...and it ain't over yet! About 8" of wet, sticky snow from last night's storm - planning to be out both Saturday and Sunday. Russ 7" here this morning and already melted down to less than half that. I'm planning to come up tomorrow and maybe stay for Sunday too. Big warm-up for next week should create full-on spring conditions, but makes me wonder if Spirit will call it a season after this weekend. But then we might have to do this again... ...if we get lucky

We had a nice session at Spirit yesterday. Started out with "mid-winter" type conditions--below freezing and fresh snow, groomed. Started to soften up about noon and became "slarvey" later, but not slow. Rode with Russ for a good part of the day and we had Gary with us for several runs mid-day. We still haven't seen "spring" conditions yet this year. Still forecasting 6-12" of snow through Friday. Should be good this weekend!

Thanks for the comments. Cory, definitely worth bringing a board with you next time you're in St Cloud. Just post on the Spirit ride board when you're coming. Often patroller rwmaron has lift passes for visiting carvers. Spirit is the Buttermilk of the mid-west, gentle open terrain, great grooming and room to carve.

I'll be up tomorrow, Wed. Looks like Duluth got a few inches of snow.

We had drizzle here this morning, now dim sun. Forecast for rain turning to snow up north through Tuesday. Wednesday, sunny, looks like the best day. Thursday might be good too, but there's a good chance I can make it up on Wed. Anyone (Russ), want to go to Giants Ridge?

Shot this yesterday at Spirit Mt. I like the way it came out. It's just us old guys making some smooth carves on perfect cord, nothing fancy, but I think it captures the mood of a typical morning for us. Normally our last weekend at Spirit, but the snow's so good, they're staying open til we stop showing up. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFeAR4t2sK4&list=UUwxXgnOFnEXeyYTFlI4lrAw&feature=share

Yesterday afternoon was the busiest I've seen it all year--all 5 lifts running. I still managed to have clear runs, mostly Double Jaw, 4pipe and Scissor Bill, rode the C & D chairs to avoid the lines on the Express. Snow got soft but stayed fast.

Those look nice, but kind of pricey compared to a used pair of SB's. Do they work with Bomber bindings?

Saturday March 29 at Spirit Mt. You have to suffer through 1 1/2 min of MeTube before it gets to YouTube. click on the gear lower right for HD quality

So, I got my hands on a pair of Raichle 323's, which should be the same as the 413's Brian has. The cuff is about 3 inches taller than the Burton freecarves. Super soft plastic (compared to my T700's and reactor/furnace boots) with lots of flex in all directions, similar to the freecarves, although nicer fore & aft flex with the yellow BTS. I've learned a lot about boots from this thread and think the "soft" hardboot may be a good way to go for a powder board--I only have to get a 2nd pair of boots, not new bindings too. I didn't know they made such soft hard boots and suspect they are similar in flex to a stiff soft boot. I found this thread helpful in deciphering the Raichle boot numbers: http://www.bomberonline.com/VBulletin/showthread.php?3655-how-to-decipher-Raichle-numbers&p=27432#post27432 So, for the SB series boots you get: older...............................newer Soft: 123 = 223 = 323 = 413 Medium: 124 = 224 = 324 = 423 = Lemans Stiff: 125 = 225 = 325 And for the AF series boots you get: Stiff: AF600 = Susuka Very stiff: AF700 = Indy 323 compared to freecarve:

I plan to come up tomorrow, might even stay on the boat overnight and ride Sunday. Looks like a good chance of more snow Monday so I'm thinking Tuesday might be a good day for a Giants Ridge adventure. Russ, I will bring the boots for you to try.

Mostly rain down this way today, turning to snow late in the afternoon. Looks like Duluth got mostly snow today. Could be nice tomorrow for those planing to get out... I plan to come up on Saturday. I think I found where our friend, Mr O has been focusing his "couch" carving time: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=10152421779394155&id=169923041393

Website confirms rumor, extended season as long as the snow and interest is there--$15 lift tickets, open 9-5 daily.