sealcove

I remember seeing a bit of that in the 90's too, but it seemed like there was also steady flow of skiers that were interested in alpine riding. That was also when parabolic or shaped skis were making their big debut, so there was a new awareness of carving in the skiing community. I also remember teaching out at Mt. Bachelor a half a season in 1996/97 and they kept me pretty busy just teaching alpine. I was at Sunday River the rest of my time, and while there were far fewer alpine students there, we had a pretty solid hard boot community and some really good riders. My remaining question on this subject: Did the hard boot population go into decline in the early 2000's, which caused bigger companies to drop the discipline, or did the companies bail on an already small subset of snowboarding, which made it prohibitively expensive to attract many new participants, thus causing the decline in riders? There probably isn't data to support a definitive answer, but I do wonder which came first.

I am going to throw out my 15 year old perspective on technique. This goes back to my days as an instructor; I have no idea what current thinking is, so please chime in if outdated. The general rule is the same technique is used for all conditions. You can get away with bad technique on great snow, but good technique is essential when it is hard or icy.

Very helpful for getting some understanding on the new boards. Thanks.

I live down on MDI, and with work and other obligations, I doubt I will be getting out too frequently. It is also hard to come back to it after 8-9 winters of being paid to be on snow to having to pay $70+ for a day on the mountain. It's the kind of thing I would likely do only a few times a season, though if the snow bowl has good conditions, $27 with the new chair is pretty reasonable (granted the terrain is pretty limited). ECES does sound like a good time though, so perhaps a week in VT would be worth considering. Are the dates set for 2016?

The goggles are brand new, but that helmet was purchased on my last riding trip in 2001. I just checked, you are right on the boots. I remember now that I had a pair of Burton Fire boots (all red), but they were stolen from the pro room where I taught. I got the ones I had now to get me through the last bit of riding late in 2001. They felt okay on Friday. The Prime would have been purchased as a pro-deal along with the bindings. So I bet I have less than $350 into it for the combo. BTW, the bindings have TD on the toe clamp, so I assume Trench Digger (didn't know that there was more than one option back then). Here is a shot of the prime with its friend. A 167 Rossi Race with Burton Race Plates. I remember loving that board and it still looks to be in excellent condition.

Thanks for all of the thoughts and updates on the sport. I don't foresee getting out too frequently, so the gear I have is fine. The gear combo I was riding probably has less than 10 days on it and it felt darn good. I am sure a modern board would be that much better, but i probably would not bother unless I had a big lifestyle change down the line and was able to ride frequently. Hoping I can find one more day this season, and will be sure not to let 14 more years go by before I get out again!

I have been boarding at some level since 1986, and rode hard boots and alpine boards 90% of the time from 1993 to about 2001. During that stint in the 90's I was teaching boarding full time each winter, but after that, work and life changes moved me away from it and I had not touched it until last Friday (no boarding for 14+ years). I went to a small local hill and had a great time! It was hero snow, which helped, but it was like I had never stopped riding and I will try to get out from time to time now that I have the bug again. Question, what happened to alpine riding during my 14 year hiatus? Other skiers and even boarders were looking at me and asking questions about my rig like I was an alien. Quite a few riders wanted to know if that was some kind of new setup! When I got home, a quick web search revealed that more mainstream companies had long since dropped the discipline. Looks like what is out there now has progressed nicely, but is probably too costly to attract many new riders. So what happened? I know alpine/race was always a small subset, but it must have really taken a nosedive, which is too bad. If it were not for alpine boarding, I would be on skis! Here is a shot from Friday. My 44 year old body can still arc turns! That is a 1999 Factory Prime 173 (almost new still) with Bomber bindings. I forget what those boots are.