SnowFerret

I knew a guy that skied in Apex boots. He said they were the only boots he could wear all day long and not feel pain because of all the surgeries he’d had on his feet over the years. He skied well in them and was a good instructor, too, and never got any heckling.

I was just at Gore this past Sunday. Conditions were pretty good after the 11 inches or so they got a few days prior. There are definitely some good trails for carving and it wasn’t crowded even on a holiday weekend and after a decent snowfall. Also, to the person riding the Donek Rev: if you’re on this forum, nice turns.

“Nice turns!” - Passing skier ”There’s always one of you guys (hardbooters) on the slopes and you’re it today. Do you slalom waterski? I bet you’d rip at that.” - Skier at the top of the lift. He was shocked when I said that there was at least one other hardbooter on the mountain. ”I like your skiboard.” - Little kid “Dude, are those ski boots? I’ve never seen a setup like that before. Pretty cool though.” - Snowboarder in the lift line

Looks like it would be good protection for travel. I use a soft case when I fly but it really only has substantial padding on the bottom to protect the base. To safeguard the edges I use pipe insulation and secure it with string. It works good enough for a trip or two and it costs <$10. I think pool noodles would be a longer lasting solution. It’s a neat idea but I can’t see paying $65 for it. I’d rather put that toward a better case or a more reusable padding system.

Yeah, a late bump to this thread but I thought I’d share my experiences and also add a request myself. I’ve only been to Gore and it was one time. The weather wasn’t good (mixed precip, foggy) so I can’t give a good assessment of the conditions. It wasn’t crowded and there were some fun trails, but there are a few extended flat areas where you would likely need to unstrap. I would certainly go back and try it again. I’d like to know more about Whiteface. My brother and I are trying to plan a weekend trip in early Feb and the choices are between lower/mid VT and upstate NY. I know the mountain has a reputation for being cold, windy, and icy but I’d like to get some input from people who have skied it in recent years. The conditions in the northeast have been poor as of late so I’m trying narrow down our choices or make the call to forego the trip altogether.

There’s a story somewhere about how liftees used to ride similar contraptions from station to station a long time ago. I think that was the inspiration for the “ shovel race” during the first winter X-Games.

Ah, the old “ one degreela, two degreela, three degreela, floor.”

This is more of a “what the heck did I just watch” video than a video of worthwhile hardbooting. You need to skip to about 7:20 for any actual riding. Can somebody explain the ridiculous lift and canting?

I visited Elk Mountain for the first time this past Monday. There were hardly any crowds and the lines moved pretty well for a holiday weekend. I thought that the grooming was very good. It was a bluebird day so I didn't have to deal too much with shadows and flat light, but I could see where it might be an issue at different parts of the day/season. The place has a neat, old-school vibe. I would definitely consider coming back.

The upper/middle section of the skicross course seems to have some sections that match those characteristics. Some of the turns remind me of a super g course.

“My brothers used to make me eat dog food.” - Mother to son while riding 6-person lift.

Excellent video! The progression really takes off around the end of year 2/beginning of year 3. You look much more comfortable and relaxed.

"That's awesome!" - Ski instructor on lift line. "Look at his shoes! What are those?!" - Kids behind me on lift line. I also had a nice chat with a guy at my local hill who was really carving it up in softboots on a Donek Knapton Twin. He asked about hard boots and how it felt to ride them, I asked him about how he liked his board.

Not splitboarding but similar enough https://youtu.be/JPC0NEvvnZ0

I probably don’t now what I’m talking about, but I think that the demographics to target are ski racers, ex-ski racers, and rec skiers that are interested in carving. I am friends with a few very good skiers that tried boarding but greatly disliked the feel of softboots. They weren’t aware of alpine snowboarding, but the idea seemed intriguing to most of them since it aligned with how they already skied. A few slalom waterski and were a little more interested.