MNSurfer

For years I used to deal with this glasses/goggles situation; fogging, pressure points, general product unavailability. Then I found this brand called 'Lasik'. They're like $2600, but it'll completely change your life. In all seriousness, any OTG's are a compromise, and at least for me, it was finding something that fit over the particular frames.

If I had a dollar for every time someone (typically a younger softbooter) in the lift line said, "Man, I want to try that!". A few words into the conversation, comes the inevitable follow-up of, "How much does a set-up cost?". I always reference those folk to Donek, with their fantastic packages. However these are (youthful) softbooters, who can't quite comprehend the $1000 entrance fee. To absolutely no fault of their own; they're used to going to REI or Dick's, and walking-out with a much less expensive setup. And $1K just to try something? That's a tough sell. I've thought about this subject quite a lot, this season (not sure why, but probably due to fatherhood); How to get youth (call it sub-29) involved, and interested? After a season of observation in the Midwest and Rockies I've come to the conclusion that, for better or worse, kids like jumping, spinning and going through the woods. Occasionally you see a kid laying-down some Ryan-esque carves, which is awesome to see. However that's just on his/her way to the next set of ramps or woods. And I'm not sure how, or if, you can change that. Kids are kids. Another observation I get is in relation to the hardware. There is a lot of it, and a lot that can adjusted, tweaked, etc. The sentiment I receive is kids (sorry, I keep using that word) just want to jump on a board and go. They don't want to spend days, weeks, a lifetime, worrying about tweaking cant angles, constantly checking screws and hardware. For us, that's part of the fun; Finding the perfect setup. Kids don't have time for that. Yes, I'll echo @snowjob1 sentiment; Boots are the hardest part. I have a friend who's been wanting to try this, but our boot sizes are way off. Again, some $350 just to try it? There is no easy answer.

Admittedly, I'm pretty apathetic when it comes to "working on" things. I thought about this thread, today, and tried this, for my last dozen runs. They were the smoothest (feeling) runs I made all day! I went from acknowledging every little bump that was in-front of me, to no t knowing/caring, and just letting the carve work itself out. Amazing. Thanks, Jack!

It makes me happy for the snow-covered bump we have, here. I used to hate on MN hills, but hey, at least it's cold, and they're covered in real snow for 5-months of the year. Kudos to you for sticking to it.

29+ age group is closed. Drat. Well, got out one last day on 7, before they turn it into a course. At least I think they're doing it on De's Dive.

https://www.aftonalps.com/events/events/hill-of-the-north-banked-slalom Anyone ever run one of these? On hardboots/alpine? I'm somewhat intrigued, and have the weekend free.

This thread is my brevity.

A fantastic couple of days, at the old 'Mill. Just a ton of snow. The groom was so thick, you could really put the screws to it. Though that also means it got banged-up pretty quickly. While it was arseholes-to-elbows at other local places, this Saturday, it was mostly me an the ski patrol, at Coffee. Perfect.

My guess is it's right here. https://www.google.com/maps/@45.0914377,-92.7308854,481a,35y,39.32t/data=!3m1!1e3 Not much vertical (260' max, according to Google Earth), but a great location for the east metro. And being part of the golf course, the facilities (less the chair lifts) are already in-place.

For one, single lift, and a whopping 240' of vertical, it's actually pretty fun, and technical. I had that lonely lift to myself for almost two-hours, on Saturday. Snow was incredibly good. Bonus: Two Hearted on tap, for $5.

At Breck, some liftie says; "Why don't you just ride a snowboard?". No comment.

7:35 - Pure awesome.

Had to jam early, due to last minute notice of hosting in-laws, for dinner. And my legs could take no more. So. Always fun to see a variety of style and gear. Love that duct tape knee patch, Trent! A few pot-shots with my Point-and-Shoot, before the battery abruptly quit.

Right?! Still need to convert two more TD3's, and this problem will be over. Yeah, these are out-of-the-box; No snow/board abrasion to speak of. I went through two pairs of leather Swany's in one season. Granted they're not the best gloves, but still. Apparently this is a Me problem. Grinding sounds like it might be the best option.

Just off the "mountain", with A/B comparison of Proteus and Voyager. Of course it's not the same, but I'm guessing the Voyager has a pretty similar feel to a FC. Best I can tell it's almost identical in shape. So... Both 175, 21, where the Voyager has a 11.5 SSCR, this Proteus has a 12.0 SSCR. The Voyager having more flex, softer, than the Proteus. So both extremely similar, as far as specs/dimensions. Shoots, even the top sheet is identical! it was really fun to be able to ride two boards that are so, so similar. Honestly, it took very little, if any, time to get used to the Proteus. Never once did I have to remind myself that this was a much different board. The transition between the two just felt very natural. I'd been riding this Voyager exclusively, this season. I was really expecting the Proteus to just buck like a horse, but instead it simply provided a next-level experience. Turns didn't feel forced, and the board never ran away. Surprisingly easy to flick/mid-turn, when compared to the Voyager, which does that on a dime. Fantastic pop out of the pocket, and super easy to correct. Once the snow got kicked-off, there was so much more confidence in the Proteus. Unfortunately I didn't have my (again, identical) REV on me, but if memory serves me, the Proteus is a very similar ride. Far from an expert mind you, but I'd have a tough time pointing out any differences. Maybe the Proteus wants to turn more, where the REV, with the same SSCR, wants to draw a longer line? Not sure if any of the above helps. Love the Proteus! Love the Voyager!

Pretty fun, today (Monday). Looks like a rinse/repeat for the next several days, albeit a little colder (so that that should help). As long as the sun doesn't come out, which it shouldn't, MES should have some good snow. There were a lot of grade-school kids out. Not sure what that's about, but hopefully not an issue for Wednesday. Yeah, the snow was great. Though with these "warmer" temperatures, and a little help from a Proteus (thanks Alex!), it only took me about 45-minutes to make a mess of 7. MES crew will need to keep it moving. Maybe give Afton a heads-up, so they can have a groomer follow behind us.

Nah, it's definitely the clip(s). All the edges of the aluminum are just sharp-sharp, but the corners are the worst. And I love my (Hestra, lobster claws) gloves. I'd much rather fix the problem.

Yeah, I guess it would be the Toe Clip. The big part on the left. Every pair I have of these (3, now) the edges are so sharp, they just rip your gloves apart. That sounds like a lot of filing.

What do you use to keep Bomber bails from tearing your gloves to pieces? In the past, I've used electrical tape. It works, but it's unsightly, and needs to be re-applied once or twice a year. After just wrapping a new pair of bails, I got to thinking, there must be a better way. Maybe several layers of flex seal? Would that even stick to aluminum? It's like $15 a can, but if it doesn't work a guy could always finish making that screen door into a boat. Cheers!

My guess is it would depend on your specific snow conditions. If you have a luscious, deep groom, a little drag wouldn't be (physically) noticed. If conditions are hard-hard, a heel/toe bite is more noticeable, if not potentially destructive. I drag (toe) a little bit. But I also have M30's. I'm chalking it up to boot size and comfort, as opposed to my schitty carving skills.

Agreed. I take my REV (175/21/11.5 SSCR) everywhere; Groomers, deep powder, trees/glades, back bowls. Doesn't matter, as that board does it all!

16JAN19 -8F at lift open. Empty, obviously, but I won't complain. Fantastic, grippy groom. 7 Lift was closed, but you could still make the run from 6, with a couple of hops. Kind of neat to look up, at 1:00, and see only your turns. Bonus: 5 coach busses of women's ski club. Paul's Pub looked like a scene out of an 80's ski flick, albeit minus any sign of dudes.

Yeah, I ride Buck once a year, just to remind my myself why I ride Buck once-a-year. Finally, a cold day! Fantastic groom that held-up all morning. Best of the season??? No patrols, no ski schools, pretty much empty.

Thank you! This has been especially obnoxious, this season. Couldn't they just pick a run that no one uses, and rope it off?

Thanks for the input, @lonbordin! I have two other Doneks, and all of them have a lot of camber, so I guess I assumed the REV was the same. I'll see if the shop can put a new, 3-degree edge on the board. Take it from there. Though I still feel like there's something to the sharp, squared-off tail of the REV that keeps it locked-into hard, icy conditions.