kathy brower

Thank you Bob! - The pics will definately help - I have a very clear idea now of what I am doing and what I want to be doing It is amazing when confronted with reality how different it can be from perception.. (although I was prepared for this phenom having seen videos of myself skiing and windsurfing) Ursle - not ignoring your thoughts - appreciate them (although I confess I did not understand everthing you said) - I have been told by others last year that forward lean would increase my power and worked on increasing it - I just got the Deeluxes last year and learned about forward lean then - initially I did not like it and had my boots fairly upright - now I have them about halfway (set on 3) and will try your suggestion to increase that Also planning on trying lower angles (boots are 23 and width of board is 18.5cm so I have room to play around), and more and less toe lift and canting my back foot out... But - I got some good advice to try one thing at a time - so I am starting with a big increase in my stance width - I finally got all the locktite out of my Kingpin and my bindings back together so will try tomorrow. Thanks once again everybody!

Thank you again everybody for your thoughtful answers... Thursday at Sunapee did go better - Partly from using my back knee more to drive the turn and partly from following Bob, Geoff and Eric ripping down the hill. Also working on using my hips more. Phil - 100% agree with you and if anything I tend to err on the ride and ride some more side of things - generally not a fiddler - I am on day 37 or 39 - this season (not all on carving board) and the only change I made so far was slight increase on toe lift in front (big step for me). However I kept feeling like there was something unnatural going on with my front knee - and techniqe may well have been a big part but if setup changes can help too then I'm all for a little fiddling. AND you hit the nail on the head - with help from Bob and Geoff - my stance is way too narrow and I am widening to 19" (would have tried that Friday - but my super sweet husband who tunes my boards at least once a week forgot I said no locktight and put some in the center bolt on my Cateks so I need to scrub it off before I can get the bindings back together - todays chore) I have some good drills to try from Bob Jenney and from what he has said I am leading with my head and not keeping my upper body upright enough - so will work on that too. Also I am going to take a lesson ? next week Keep the tips coming - I will try what I can! Thanks, Kathy

1 Burton Amp 5 2 Rossignol Throttle 149 3 Ride - Kashmir 149 4 Donek Marley 154 Still have all four - haven't ridden the Amp 5 in years, the Throttle is about done but has sentimental value (1st xmas present from my husband!) And I am getting a new board this year just not sure what....

thanks Bob Not too much of yours and Geoffs time analyzing though - I know especially Geoff hasn't been out in a bit - we can do chair lift analysis and I will try out later... :)

thanx for replies I think it was something attached to me that I hit - so maybe the back of my front boot as Jack mentioned - the day was so soft I don't think there were any death cookies - more like wet cement.... Not interested in super stiff racing boots - I ski in softer ski boots as well despite being an agressive skier - I think it is a fallacy that you need super stiff boots to ride or ski well - stiff boots are good if you are racing or they complement your style of riding - I like the flexibility in a softer boot (and I am not that big in any case to have the power...) Thanks Geoff - I will be there Kathy

Todd and Jim, Thank you - good point. PSR taught me that last year and I think I have been only using my back knee intermittently - I will try tomorrow to use back knee more

Is this possible? And if it is what do I do to keep it from happening (ride more gently?) - When carving recently in some fairly soft snow I dug in fairly hard and whacked my rear knee into something - it felt like the front toe piece of my Cateks and it was hard enough to bruise my knee - this happen to me once or twice before in similar conditions - I looked back and saw that I had dug an especially deep trench when this happened - any ideas?? Thanks Kathy

First I think I need more lessons - but anyway here goes - what I think I should be doing is driving my front knee in the direction of my turns (in addition to using my hips etc) - works well for me heel side but I struggle to drive my knee to lay down a toe side turn - I can do it but it feels unnatural like I have to force my knee over - I think it might be a binding set up problem. I do not have this problem on softies (which I am currently at 36 / 30 although I think I like 33/ 27 better and am going to move back) which I can carve on when not too icy - the problem feels especially pronounced when switching from softies to carving set-up (something I do often ...) My board may be too stiff also (Donek Marley - slalom board 154) with Catek bindings and Deeluxe Lemans currently at 60/ 57 with heel lift in the back more pronounced than the toe lift in front. I recently increased the front toe lift a little bit but now I feel like I need to widen my stance. Any suggestions of things to try? I wonder if I need to widen my stance and have more toe lift or cant my foot - or is it just technique? Or what about bring my angles back some? 57 / 54 ? Please do not respond if you are just guessing - It will only confuse me - I am looking for the expert opinion - Thanks! EDIT: Bob has posted some pics see below

Patrice - it was very fun running into you again at Killington last Thursday and watching you lay down some beautiful carves up on the glades - I sent you an email Kathy

My computer is giving me difficulty about getting to the online store. As soon as I get access to another computer I will order a starter kit or two. In the meantime I have to state that Bomber bindings are incredibly sturdy and well made. I had a set of Emery Course bindings before I got Bombers. I snapped the bails on these twice. I was very nervous about riding plate bindings until I got a set of Trench Diggers. They are so strong I am sure they would go ten years with me riding them without a problem. I have ridden with several expert riders and have seen several intec heel malfunctions. I have yet to see a bomber (or the equally sturdy Catek) fail. I hope our warped legal system can mange to extract Bomber from this lawsuit. Good Luck to Bomber and to Joel. I very much hope the money from my order goes to Joel and not his (or Bombers) lawyers.

How could I forget - the glades! Good intermediate carving - now called North Ridge but everyone calls it the glades - under chair and to skiers right of chair

Easy / uncrowed : Mouse Run at Snowdon Anything at Rams head - widest - under the lift - easy more crowded-snowshed Intermediate: Chute, Bunny buster at snowdon, Bear Trap, Wildfire at Bear (be careful of jumpers rail sliders at bear) More difficult: Double dipper, Cascade and East Fall at Killington Peak (all of these usually groomed every night these days but they will post a list of what is groomed in am) Have Fun!!

thanks for people's thoughts - fairly certain I do not have a torn ligament - knee stable and strong all the rest of the time - maybe just a little weaker than pre-injury? I think I am just getting an overwork strain because I am doing somehing wrong either technique - set-up or both - I just wasn't sure what to try next Already much better cause now it takes 6 hours of riding instead of two to bring it on - Yes Bob I will be at Stratton and am very excited about the video - I think that is exactly what I need now to get better - I think if I can see myself and what I am doing I will be able to make some good adjustments - Curt and Eric have already helped me with some pointers and yes I will take a lesson - I thought I was lined up to take some lessons from another awesome rider / teacher but that may not work out in which case I will ask PSR... The counter-rotation thing may be somewhat better now - let me know on Friday what you think Kathy

D-Sub you may be right but if so the injury is years old - years ago I was at a night racing league event at Wachusett (of all places) and did a real boneheaded move - I was skiing on my Atomic GS skis and due to previous bad pre-release experiences set my DIN setting to 11 or 12 - not smart as I probably weighed 130 at the time and that would keep a big man in place - wiped out and torqued my knee ( I have had several other more minor knee injurys but that is the one that came to mind...) but anyway I doubt there is much an MD could do for me at this point - I do work at keeping my quads strong to protect my knees - ie go to the gym and lift, bike etc - and I believe good health depends on doctor avoidance unless you are really hurt

Well I wasn't sure with the frezzing rain how it would be - but it was great. Warm and all kinds of conditions. I started on my Throttle and rode from Bear to Needles eye to Skye peak to Killington Peak to the glades then Snowdon then back to bear until 12:45 and then my feet gave out from my new boots so I swtiched to my Kashmir and rode needles eye and Bear. THere was craving and soft bumps and corn weeeeee!!!

Does this happen to anyone? Does anyone know how to fix this? After a day of riding hard especially with very hard or very soft snow my front medial collateral ligament (forward knee on the inside) feels like I am putting too much strain on it during heelside turns. It doesn't exactly hurt but feels wrong and loose when I stop. THis problem improved some with changing my angles from 55f50r to 60f and 57r, adding lift and widening my stance (not sure which thing helped) Any ideas? Thanks Kathy

For anyone interested.... The Cateks I demo'd worked great (sorry Bomber) - - likely secondary to awesome assitance from Curt at Startingate - he widened my stance - twice (now 16 3/4"), changed my angles (60F, 57R) and gave me some riding pointers and the cant is now working for me - so I bought the Cateks - also got a pair of Deeluxe Lemans and am planning on getting a Donek Marley (154) - which I will make versatile! (after all I still have my Kashmir to fall back on...) I met Eric B (PSR) last trip to Stratton and he is great too... All this has had a great impact on my riding and although I am not totally comfortable on my new equipment it is all helping - SO everyone thanks for all the tips - and Alpine Girl - thanks for the two cents on width - I think the 18cm waist width will work well for me... I am planning on a banner year - I have the time and the gear!!! Still planning on posting a pix of the broken plastic toe peice on the Emerys to look for a replacement - it never hurts to have a back up...

Got your email Stephanie - and all I want to say is "THANKS!" What a great idea .... This is going to be fun and I am looking forward to meeting everyone and having pals that want to ride - we are even getting my friend Lauren out and she hung up her board awhile back! :D :D

Wow - thanks for all the help! - alot to think about - Let's see - I'll start with the bindings - Yes the Emerys are worn out - I think I broke the bail two years ago - I've also ground down the bailslots in the base and had to move the bails back to a new slot - so Bobdea may well be right - nonetheless I hate to part with them so Kent if you have an extra plastic toe piece I would love to purchase it - I will try to borrow a digital camera and take a photo... In the meantime I will demo the Cateks that Kurt at Startinggate has and buy those if they work - Given everyones comments on the stiffness of the bomber bindings - which make alot of sense - we will give those to my husband who boards but has yet to try plate bindings For the board - I was inspired and went and measured the waists on all my boards - The Throttle (my favorite) 19cm length 149, the Amp 5 - 21cm and My newest board a Kashmir (Ride) - freestyle is 23cm. I think I want something about the same size as the Throttle - The F2 speedcross looks beautiful and about the right length - but would I be giving up some carving ability ? It might also be a little wide? - My newest board (The Kashmir) may be similar and I can carve on it but it is not the same as the Throttle - I am going to the WES at Statton and hope to demo some boards there to get a better idea of exactly what I want. Someone else I know mentioned the Burton Alp to me - does anyone know where I could find one? No one commented on the Donek 154 at Startinggate - good board? I'm not sure of the model.... I am going to look at it tomorrow. My boots are Burton Winds shell size 23-25 and also need to be replaced or at the least a new liner - I want a rap around cuff (sick of tongue migration) - any thoughts on YYZCANUCK INTUITION ALPINE thermo liners? :D :D :D

I met Bob J last week at Killington and he told me about bomberonline - very informative. I think I got better just watching him and his friends ride. I've been riding in a vacuum without much knowledge so I am excited to see such a great forum for information. I have been riding off and on for about 8 years but except my first year riding ('95-96) this will be the first year I really have the time to put into riding. So I now have a bunch of questions... Here's a few of my questions: I've been riding a Rossignol Throttle 149 with Emery course bindings (F55, R50) and busted the front toe piece on the bindings yesterday (have also snapped one of the bales in the past but was able to pilfer a part from another binding and replace it) 1.) Does anyone have any old Emery bindings or parts or ideas of how to fix it? 2.) I really need a new board and am starting to look - I am going to Stratton tomorrow where Kurt has a Donek 154 - but I can't demo it - but he is going to let me try a pair of Catek bindings on my Throttle- Any thoughts on new gear (I'm 125 lbs and almost 5'5")? I have liked the Throttle but it is the only carving board I have ever been on... My goal is to be able to go on any lift service trail in any conditions - but my absolute favorite is still corduroy on a bright sunny day with no crowds. 3.) My first snowboard still has some life in it cause I only rode it for a year - a Burton Amp 5 - which now has Bomber TD (?1) bindings on it. I can't get the bindings to work for me - I have taken it out twice and can barely get down the hill - My husband ground the heel plate flat (ie eliminated any cant) and that helped some - (I have always ridden on the totally flat Emery's and have pronated feet) - I would really like to be able to use this set-up. Any ideas? Is the board to soft for the bindings?Should I make myself learn how to make some amount of cant work? The problem now feels like it is in my front foot but the only difference I can see now with my Emerys is that the TD is higher off the board (Kurt says also alot stiffer) THANKS IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR ANSWERS Kathy