workshop7

My family and I will likely squeeze out a few more weekend visits to Killington. They always milk the season for every last day they can. I'm not a big fan of the snow this time of year. I have so many friends that are all about spring skiing. Not me. It's a completely different sport for a carving snowboarder. Don't get me wrong, I do love the warm weather apres ski hang on the deck of the lodge with a beer in my hand. However, when the snow has turned to mashed potatoes I'm aiming for that beer after only a few runs.

As soon as the snow turns to mashed potatoes, I'm out.

This is the equivalent to blaming your steering wheel for the car accident you just had. It's all about rider input - period.

Can't remember who I sold it to. I should've kept it, but I was trying to bring my hardboot collection down in numbers from 12 to 3 or 4. Loved that board though.

When I had a MK my family spent a lot of our ski time at a small mountain. I would ride it all day. I loved the small radius for the quickness of its handling. Avoiding other riders/skiers on a busy narrow trail made it a great tool. Taking to a larger mountain tough on the legs. However, I also had Sean make me a MK variant that was bigger in all the right places. It was great for higher speeds, longer turns and more time on the trail. 172 length, 19 width, 11 M radius.

New (2 weeks ago) Contra BXFR 169, 27.5 wide, 9 SCR.

This makes sense, but it suggests a change in waist width based on a need for change in binding angle (or boot length). Again, this is a "boot out" issue. What @crackaddict is suggesting is that a board's performance on certain trails and their angle of pitch is adjusted by increasing or decreasing the waist width. Not only do I disagree, but in every conversation that I've had with Bruce and Sean with regard to waist width they both have stated that it's irrelevant. I've been told by both that changing the width to my preferred width will not change the ride characteristics. Don't get me wrong, I'm fully aware that if the only variable that is changed is the width than it will effect the ride. However, dictating a certain width to your builder for one board and a different width for another board based on the trail doesn't compute.

I understand where you are going with your point here. I just disagree. No disrespect. I just don't see where waist width has anything to do with rider's ability, trail steepness, turn radius nor rider speed.

The idea that a board's waist width and/or side cut radius is dependent on the riders skill level is absurd. Waist width is a boot size variable, plain and simple. The rest of the design aspects of a given snowboard, such as SCR, stiffness, camber profile and flex pattern, can definitely dictate whether or not that board is intended for the expert rider, but stating that larger widths and SCR is required for better riders just isn't true. One of the best riders I know was on a mass production K2 soft boot board with a SCR of less then 8 this season and tore up every trail he was on. For me, the board variables, aside from waist wide, dictate the ride characteristics of the board and help me decide which one I am choosing to ride that day. If I'm going to a small local hill on a busy weekend day, I'll take my Coiler 162 Contra 9 SCR or BXFR 169 8/10/9 SCR. If I'm going to a bigger mountain on a weekday then I'll bring my Proteus 180 13 SCR or my Contra BXFR 12 SCR. This is not a skill level thing.

Killington always has snow longer than any of the others you listed.

This coming season will be my family's 5th on the Ikon pass. Early pricing is over in May, I think. I've never truly paid attention to that specific deadline as I'm always buying our passes the first day they are for sale.

WTF! All that and your surround receiver is shitting the bed as well.

Great friend and super positive guy. He hoots and hollers like that all the time. You can't really tell from the video but he had come down the fall line and to the side of me too much. He then tried to come closer again, but from the side...my blind side. When I finally saw him he was headed right at me.

Try it now

A friend of mine took video of me doing some relaxed turns on my BXFR on our way to the lodge for an end of the day beer on the deck in the sun at Steamboat Springs. We came inches from colliding. Sharp eyes will see me change my turn radius with a lift of the front foot at the last second.