1xsculler

I've been to Crystal about twenty-five times this season, mostly Tuesdays and Fridays, 8:45 to about noon. I saw one hardbooter about a month ago (Lothar from Essen, Germany who co-founded the carving website, "Frozen back side" or something like that). I exchanged emails with him but we have not connected and he's probably back in Deutschland and not available to ride in my neighborhood anyway. I was standing at the top of Forest Queen lift today and a couple of shredders and a skier looked at me and said, "great carving, nice turns, cool." Now, I'm in the very early stages of getting down, burying the sidewall and getting the tail to follow the nose for more than a few turns but I accepted the compliment with some bewilderment. The next time up the chair it all became very clear as I saw a hardbooter, the second one I have seen this season, really laying it down with very nice arcing turns on a pretty narrow run. He was doing just what I am trying to learn to do, and most of you already can do, and he proved that it can be done on runs I considered too narrow for nice carving. That WAS my excuse for my slow progression. I waited at the top of the chair for him to get his cell # but he never showed up so I went down to the bottom of the hill to try to find him. I could see his tracks continuing further on down to the lodge but he was not to be found. Who was he? He must be on BOL or some Bomber must know him. I'd just like to make a few runs with him as I am sure I would learn a lot.

So, what is the purpose, advantage, etc. of variable side-cut radii over a single side-cut radius?

I think, I hope, I have solved my problem. Big toe feels good in my boot in my shop. I used 1/2" galvanized steel plumbing fixtures from Home Depot, i.e. pipe cap, 6" section of pipe threaded on both ends, 90* elbow and a 12" section of pipe. I clamped one end of the 12" pipe in my vice, attached the 90*, then the 6" and then the cap. I placed the offending liner so the pipe cap put pressure on the inside where my big toe had no room, heated the outside of that area with a heat gun so it felt quite hot to the touch and then forced and worked the capped end of the pipe to stretch the liner as it cooled. Total time only a few minutes and I completely reshaped the toe box of my liner. I am pretty excited to, hopefully, have solved this problem which has plagued me all season. I now feel confident that whether I heat mold a liner at home or have it done professionally I can solve the one single problem of my right big toe. No amount of extra padding or toe cap would do it during a conventional molding and it was very painful.besides. Part of the problem is the offending toe does have some inflammation from a weird toe nail. It's not ingrown but due to a misshapen toe next to it I experience some discomfort occasionally which is exacerbated by my liner.

OMG ! Is there no one on this site who hard boots it there. I'm babysitting grandkids in Henderson, NV, and I think l'll drive up to Mt. Charleston on Friday and check it out. Pics appear to show runs conducive to trench making.

Anybody hard bootin' it at Lee Canyon, NV, these days?

Thanks for all of the helpful comments. I will get it figured out. Actually, my front foot is fine. It''s only my back foot that is the problem. No, there are no spots where my bare foot cannot avoid touching the shell. With a sock on my foot in the bare shell I have quit a lot of room to move my foot forwards and back wards. When I move my foot forwards so my toes touch the inside of the shell it is my big toe that touches first but I have plenty of room in the shell. I may get the boot punched as a last resort but I think I can solve the problem without doing that.

Pretty cool!

Thanks for the nice vid, Corey. Maybe I should take my Donek Axxess 162 off the market and give it another chance to remain in my quiver. Then will I be able to carve like you guys do? Oh......I still have to do the 100,000 turns....ok.

Very nice vid!

It can't be me or my skill level. There must be something wrong with my equipment. I should have known the answer to my quest before I asked.......of course it's only 100,000 more turns. Thanks for the clarifying responses anyway.

I also have two Alp 71s, one flat and the other with a .040" edge to edge concavity, a flat Ultra Prime 69 and a 162 Donek Axxess. I guess I am not sure why or what I am looking for. I want something to make me carve like Corey, et al.

Thanks for the tip.

Yes, green springs.

I have determined beyond any reasonable doubt that my shell size is 28. My professionally molded Intuition liners and self molded Thermoflex 131 liners fit great everywhere except for allowing enough room for the end of my big toe on my right (rear) foot. It's driving me nuts. I'm about ready to do surgery on the offending liner by cutting off the pressure point area and seeing if it solves the problem. If it does I would place a piece of Gorilla tape over the open area. I guess I could also have the shell punched out in the appropriate area.

I installed an Acss spring device I bought on Ebay on my rear UPZ boot and it really freed up a lot of nice smooth flexibility. I may try to buy a slightly stiffer spring, just to experiment, at Ace Hardware or on Ebay but I'm pretty impressed with it just the way it is.

I received Custom Coiler # 1 from Bruce last spring, a 172 NFCB for my 150 #s 6' 2" body. Bought Coiler # 2 from a great guy, SEJ, on BOL, a 2011 175 Classic. I'm interested in free carving only at this point, i.e. not extreme carving, not all-mountain, not riding switch and not soft boots although I have nothing against any of these. I'm looking for suggestions for adding one more new free carve board to my quiver. Something about 175, 19 to 21 cm waist and fairly soft for my 150 #s. Any suggestions?

Dgss for UPZ wanted. I have Acss on my rear boot and I like the range of springyness but I'd like to try the Dgss for comparison. I've sent an email to what contacts I could find on Extremecarving but not heard back yet. The stock UPZ springs have little range of flex and are quite stiff, IMHO.

Anybody using ACSS or DGSS on their UPZs? FWIW, the buckles in question are a little farther apart on RC8s.

Am I correct in saying that the PowerWrap+ is pretty similar to the Palau 141?

Thanks for the great vid. I loved watching Cliff on that Purecarve board as after a couple of Rossis, that was my favorite ride. I just can't remember why I quit ten or twelve years ago. Of those names you mentioned, how many are still riding at ATC, etc?

All for these comments from you experts and video clips as they are really defining the sport for me and giving me images to strive for.

My favorite carving to watch is on a slope with a bit of a bowl shape where the carver goes a little bit back uphill at the end of each turn and initiates the next turn while still pointing uphill making a perfect arc with each turn.

Thanks for all of those informative comments as they help me define what I am trying to do.

What is the point of extreme carving? I'd rather see/watch/try to perfect regular carving where there is no laying down on the snow.

I'm on Maui until March 7th so I can't get more pics than are in the ad until then. They are boxed up and my daughter can ship them. I bought these boots from Barryj on BOL about two weeks ago so go to his ad if you want to see more photos. Ask any questions.