yyzcanuck

Corey, you are correct. Bomber Industries carries the IBEX products and therefore we can't ship into the USA. Similarly, we don't ship DeeLuxe products into the USA for the same reason. Sorry for the problems Jim but I see you found a way around the market restrictions as this one slipped through the system.

Thank you Chris for once again putting it all together for us. I'm sure it's not easy but it seems you've mastered it. Thank you Henry (Mr. Apex) for co-sponsoring the Apres food with us. The event grew quickly in numbers over last season! Maybe next season we can do a 2 day event to include one of the other local clubs? Thank you all from Andrea & Dave at www.yyzcanuck.com.

I was asleep at the wheel this morning and missed that opportunity. Luckily Jack (Offset) was able to pinch hit for me.

Here's a link to the current RADAR that covers the area... HERE. You can customize the map to show 3 hours of data and then hit the 'play' button to see how the precipitation is progressing. The regular forecast information is HERE.

Thanks for doing that SEB and... congratulations on the podium finish.

Is it just me or... did anyone else read that as 'groping' rather than goproing? ;)

Guys & Girls... drop by the Quebec Ride Board and take note of the Demo Days being put on by La Boutique Sharks. Would be a good time to check out some new gear without having to actually buy it!!

Guys & Girls... first let me appologize for only posting this in English. Perhaps someone could translate it to French for me? Once again, La Boutique Sharks will be hosting some demo days this winter in an effort to increase awareness of alpine snowboarding. This year, they will be hosting the events at: Mt. Habitant: January 23rd Mt. Blanc: January 30th Mt. Orford: February 6th Mt. Blanc: February 20th Give them a call at (450) 663-5543 and ask for Michel or email them at info@sharksco.com to find out details on equipment available and during what hours they will be available on the hill.

I didn't want this to fall off the ride board so... just a bump. If you haven't already done so, please contact Chris with your affirmation of attendance! . . .

For past 2 seasons, F2's Equipe version of the Speedster has been made with multiple SCRadii and decambered nose/tail (vario-camber) in a wood & glass construction only.

More on the MMR "debate"... HERE Medical fraud revealed in discredited vaccine-autism study From Thursday's Globe and Mail Published Thursday, Jan. 06, 2011 8:06AM EST On Feb. 28, 1998, The Lancet published a research paper entitled “Ileal-lymphoid-nodular hyperplasia, non-specific colitis, and pervasive developmental disorder in children.” It was a blockbuster. Gastroenterologist Andrew Wakefield and associates examined the cases of 12 children with bowel disease, nine of whom suffered “behavioural abnormalities” shortly after receiving the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine. The paper suggested that the MMR vaccine triggered autism, particularly in children with intestinal abnormalities. The “new syndrome” they had discovered was named enteritis/disintegrative disorder. Dr. Wakefield said the vaccine was dangerous and called for an end to MMR vaccination – the cornerstone of childhood immunization programs. He wanted it replaced by three separate shots. The media – and Britain’s infamous tabloids in particular – were all over it. It was a perfect storm of a story, coming as it did when autism rates were soaring, parents were tiring of seeing their children become pin-cushions for vaccines, and a new communications tool called the Internet was booming. Scientists around the world diligently tried to reproduce the findings but never found any evidence of a link between MMR vaccine and autism. With the passage of time, it became abundantly clear that the research was profoundly flawed, scientifically and ethically. Still, Dr. Wakefield became the darling of anti-vaccinationists and a hero to parents desperately searching for answers to their children’s autism. He painted himself as a pioneering scientist who was being persecuted by Big Bad Pharma. Dr. Wakefield, it turns out, was something else altogether. He was on the payroll of a group that has launched a lawsuit against manufacturers of the MMR vaccine – at $230 an hour – and his research was going to be the centrepiece of their claim. He patented a measles vaccine that he wanted to replace the MMR shot. (Later, he founded an autism research centre in Texas.) We know this, in large part, because of the diligent work of a single investigative journalist. In 2004, Brian Deer of The Sunday Times published damning evidence about Dr. Wakefield’s ties to the lawsuit, showing that the children in the study were recruited unethically, and exposing other flaws in the published study. As a result of that exposé, Dr. Wakefield was eventually investigated by Britain’s General Medical Council and stripped of his licence to practise because of dishonesty. (The second author, Dr. John Walker-Smith, also lost his licence to practise medicine.) In February, 2010, the original Lancet paper was retracted. But Dr. Wakefield continues to insist the findings are valid and that he is the victim of a vast conspiracy. Yet he has never been able to reproduce the findings. Now, thanks again to Brian Deer, we know why. In this week’s edition of the British Medical Journal, the journalist shows, beyond a shadow of doubt, that Dr. Wakefield’s work was not just scientifically flawed but “an elaborate fraud.” It is troubling enough that so much credence was given to a study that involved only 12 children from a single clinic in the first place. But it turns out that Dr. Wakefield recruited them selectively to fit his thesis – largely from members of an anti-vaccination group called JABS. Mr. Deer found that every single one of the 12 cases reported in the original Lancet paper was misrepresented; medical records, diagnoses and medical histories were altered to ensure that the symptoms of autism arose within two weeks of MMR vaccination. Three of the nine children reported with regressive autism did not have autism at all. Despite the claim that all 12 children were “previously normal,” five had documented developmental problems long before their shots. In nine cases, the children did not have bowel abnormalities but the records were altered. Remember, the paper claimed that all the symptoms began, on average, within six days of MMR vaccination. In fact they occurred months, sometimes years, before and after vaccination. Parents of 11 of the 12 children blamed MMR vaccine for their children’s health problems before they were recruited. In fact, all were referred by anti-vaccine campaigners and the study was commissioned and funded by a lawyer who planned a class-action lawsuit. Perhaps most damning of all is the revelation that two years before the Lancet paper was published, Richard Barr, the lawyer who hired Dr. Wakefield to help with the class-action lawsuit against vaccine makers, sent a letter to his clients looking for children with bowel disorders and autism. In other words, Dr. Wakefield already had the makings of a syndrome he was going to “discover” two years later – and the “proof” he needed for a lawsuit – and recruited study participants accordingly. Research fraud happens, though rarely on this scale. The real tragedy is that many otherwise intelligent people have come to believe the purported MMR-autism link, and the health of a lot of children has been endangered as a result. In Britain, childhood vaccination rates fell to as low as 80 per cent, allowing a return of measles, mumps and rubella. Thankfully, those rates are climbing back up again. It is hard to imagine that the greed and arrogance of one man could do so much damage. Hopefully, the diligent work of Mr. Deer has put the final nail in the coffin of Dr. Wakefield’s career of fraud and deception.

Oh... it's going to make a statement alright!! ;)

It was old news almost a year ago when you alluded to it in your fashionably cryptic and "I know more than you" manner. If I had 'buddies' in the industry, I wouldn't tell you anything for fear you'd shoot your mouth off and jeopardize a business arrangement that was not yet ready to be announced.

Anyone at the race? What plate systems were on the podium? And off podium I suppose too. Edit: From photos... looks like 1st (Flander) and 3rd (Veith) of the Men's PGS were using APEX. And... 1st place is also using F2 INTEC bindings, not standard bail. . . .

From the news release HERE: PGS: Morison sixth at World Cup in TellurideDec. 16, 2010 MATT MORISON FINISHES 6TH AT WORLD CUP RACE IN TELLURIDE Morison lone canadian to qualify for elimination rounds (Telluride, CO – December 16, 2010) The seventh stop of the 2011 LG Snowboard FIS World Cup Tour begun on Thursday in Telluride, Colorado with the presentation of the second parallel giant slalom race of the season. Matt Morison of Burketon, Ontario, posted the best Canadian result in sixth position. Morison was the lone Canadian to qualify for the elimination rounds, posting the fifth fastest time of qualifiers. Morison won his opening race against Simon Schoch of Switzerland, but was forced to concede the victory to Rok Flander of Slovenia in the second round. Flander went on to win the race, edging Kaspar Fluetch of Switzerland at the finish line of the gold medal dual. Manuel Veith of Austria finished third. Michael Lambert of Toronto, Ontario finished 23rd, while Patrick Farrell of Oakville finished 36th. Matthew Carter of Maryhill, Ontario, finished 40th and, Darren Gardner of Burlington, Ontario finished in 44th position. Lambert made a return to competition today after sustaining a shoulder injury while at a training camp in Colorado this past November. In Women’s action, no Canadians qualified for the elimination rounds. Fraenzi Maegert-Kohli of Switzerland took the first place, followed by Isabella Laboeck of Germany in second and Russia’s Ekaterina Tudegesheva in third. Caroline Calvé of Montréal, Québec was the top Canadian placing 22nd. Ariane Lavigne of Mont-Tremblant, Québec was 25th and Ekatarina Zavialova of Calgary was 27th. The World Cup event in Telluride continues Friday with the presentation of a snowboard cross race, when Dominique Maltais of Petite-Rivière-St-François, Quebec, will aim for a third consecutive victory. Canada~Snowboard is the governing body for snowboarding in Canada and is committed to high performance excellence in World Cup, World Championships and Olympic Winter Games competition, Canada~Snowboard provides a wide range of programs and support services for long term athlete development and riders at all levels of snowboarding. In 2010, with support from LG Electronics, RBC, Ripzone International, Own the Podium, Sport Canada and other valued partners, the Canadian Snowboard Team won three Olympic medals, three FIS Crystal Globes and had 33 LG Snowboard FIS World Cup podium results. For more information on Canada~Snowboard and its provincial and territorial associations, visit: www.canadasnowboard.ca. RESULTS – WORLD CUP – PARALLEL GIANT SLALOM – TELLURIDE, CO – DEC 16, 2010 WOMEN POS NAME YOB NAT 1 MAEGERT- KOHLI Fraenzi 1982 SUI 2 LABOECK Isabella 1986 GER 3 TUDEGESHEVA Ekaterina 1987 RUS 4 DUJMOVITS Julia 1987 AUT *** 22 CALVE Caroline 1978 CAN 25 LAVIGNE Ariane 1984 CAN 27 ZAVIALOVA Ekaterina 1984 CAN For complete results: http://www.fis-ski.com/uk/604/610.html?sector=SB&raceid=9116 Elimination rounds ladder: http://www.fis-ski.com/pdf/2011/SB/7037/7037RLRF.pdf MEN POS NAME YOB NAT 1 FLANDER Rok 1979 SLO 2 FLUETSCH Kaspar 1986 SUI 3 VEITH Manuel 1985 AUT 4 KARL Benjamin 1985 AUT **** 6 MORISON Matthew 1987 CAN 23 LAMBERT Michael 1986 CAN 36 FARRELL Patrick 1986 CAN 40 CARTER Matthew 1989 CAN 44 GARDNER Darren 1990 CAN For complete results: http://www.fis-ski.com/uk/604/610.html?sector=SB&raceid=9117 Elimination rounds ladder: http://www.fis-ski.com/pdf/2011/SB/7038/7038RLRF.pdf

From the news article posted HERE: Wyoming Woman Invested in Unusual Snowboarding StyleWednesday, Dec. 15, 2010 By Brandon Zimmerman, Jackson Hole News & Guide JACKSON, Wyo. — As Lindsay Lloyd walks around Jackson Hole Mountain Resort clutching her alpine snowboard, curious eyes dart toward her. What's with the board, most want to know. "I get looks all the time," Lloyd said. "Everyone looks at me like I'm a freak." Lloyd, a 29-year-old Wilson resident, is fast becoming one of the top alpine snowboarders in the United States. Alpine snowboarding which requires hardshelled boots and thinner boards that help riders carve fast turns on slalom and giant slalom courses is common in Europe. In America, however, the sport is mostly ignored. When she's not training, World Cup alpine snowboarder Lloyd teaches at Jackson Hole Mountain Sports School. The 29-year-old was an alternate for Michelle Gorgone in the Vancouver Olympic Games and now travels the world on her own dime. Lloyd is trying to change that. Last winter, she was on pace to represent the U.S. in the Olympic Games in Vancouver, but she suffered two injuries late in the qualifying rounds that eliminated her. Now, she's healthy and poised to make a run at the 2014 Games in Sochi, Russia. "I could do it forever," she said of racing. "The only problem is money, but it's hard to quit when you're on top." Lloyd, originally from Salt Lake City, was on top when she made the 2006 U.S. Team. A lack of money, however, forced the team to disband. Now, American alpine snowboarders like Lloyd compete in World Cup races on their own dime. Lloyd said it costs her around $40,000 a year simply to train, travel and compete at events around the world, such as the recent World Cup race in Italy, in which she was competing. In spite of the high cost to compete, Lloyd refuses to give up the sport, because she has been so successful. Last year, she was within two races of qualifying for the U.S. Olympic Team. Despite not having a U.S. snowboard team, the U.S. Olympic Committee will select one female to compete in women's alpine snowboarding at the Olympics. That rider is chosen after a series of qualifying events. Lloyd was leading in points last year after three races. On the morning of the fourth race, however, she fell down the stairs of her apartment in Europe and twisted her ankle, an injury that prevented her from competing that day. "It was hard," Lloyd said. "It was brutal." Michelle Gorgone, of Boston, was chosen as the lone women's alpine snowboarder. Gorgone, however, has since retired from competition, leaving the door open for Lloyd in 2014. Nathan Emerson, of Jackson, has helped coach Lloyd since the U.S. team disbanded. He said Lloyd remains one of the top female alpine snowboarders in the country. "She's right on the cusp," Emerson said. Lloyd has been snowboarding since she was 3 years old. She got into boardercross while attending a camp in Mount Hood, Ore., at the age of 18. Several years ago, she moved to Jackson Hole to train full time. In spite of all the obstacles, she continues to push toward her goal of one day riding in an Olympic event. "That would be a dream," she said. . .. .

I just couldn't resist. This has to be a classic example of this idiom.

Ari, thanks for taking the time to post here on BomberOnline. It's good to have a bootfitter, with plenty of alpine snowboard experience, add their knowledge to the forum.

Results for Copper, November 19, 2010 PSL LADIES 7293.txt PSL MEN 7294.txt

PGS Results for Copper, November 18th, 2010 PGS LADIES 7291.txt PGS MEN 7292.txt

Wow... she's getting her pilot's license too!!???

From the article posted HERE: Burketon snowboard ace Matt Morison takes flight again BURKETON, Ontario Pursuit of pilot's licence helps Canuck rediscover Olympic spirit thought to be lost in Vancouver Nov 21, 2010 Randy Starkman Matt Morison had only experienced fear like it once before in his life - before his snowboard race at the Vancouver Olympics. This time, though, the stakes were much higher. His mind was telling his body to relax, that he knew what he was doing. But adrenaline was winning the battle. It was time for fight or flight. Fortunately for Morison, it turned out to be flight. He completed his first solo flight as a helicopter pilot in Vancouver recently and could have his pilot's licence by the time he returns to the World Cup snowboard circuit in December. "I remember thinking, 'I think I need a courage pill right now,'" laughed Morison during a telephone interview. "And for me, I'm usually not scared of anything. Apparently, I had some nerves going out there and doing that for the first time." It's been quite an off-season for Morison after the crushing disappointment of finishing 11th in the men's parallel giant slalom race at the 2010 Winter Olympics. It was Morison's first Olympics, but the 23-year-old was convinced he would win. After all, he reached the podium several times at the World Cup, in parallel giant slalom and parallel slalom, and had won bronze at the world championship, in parallel giant slalom. He was devastated when that win didn't happen. He went to the stands to thank his friends for their support and then hugged his father Paul. "With the success, you just come to expect it," said Morison. "There's so much buildup for it, there's so much put into it, so much emphasis put on it by everybody, so much hard work. ... You almost expect to see the payoff. When it doesn't happen, it's a bit of a blow." And to this day, a mistake he made on the first run during elimination rounds haunts him still. It was a heelside turn, essentially a right-hand turn, just before the final pitch. He had the speed and the lead on his opponent, but he wound up going too aggressively on a straight line and it cost him time. He took the maximum penalty into the second round; it was too much to make up. "There was nothing holding me back on that day," said Morison, the fastest qualifier. "Everything felt fast enough. You have those days when you feel like you can win. I knew I was feeling like that that day. "There was just one turn. That's what keeps waking me up at night. I keep thinking about that one turn. It's amazing how everything comes down to one turn on one day. It's a crazy thing to keep thinking about that still. How many months ago was that?" Morison had focused solely on snowboarding since finishing high school in Burketon, Ont., a tiny hamlet near Oshawa. When it came time to prepare for a career after sport, he did some homework and signed up for the course at Premier Helicopter Training outside Vancouver. He didn't tell anyone there he was an Olympic athlete. "He's extremely humble," said Rob Wood, chief flight instructor at the school. "He doesn't run around flashing that at all. It was almost like pulling teeth. We don't discuss it a lot around here because I don't think he wants to be treated differently because of it." Now that Wood knows his background, he throws the odd snowboard reference to Morison during training. "I remember Rob saying the first few times we were out there, 'This isn't racing and those trees aren't gates, so you don't need to be going so fast and flying so close to them,'" said Morison. Since those big-time jitters before his first solo flight, Morison has been making out just fine and has impressed Wood with his demeanour. "It's very obvious he's been in very high-stress situations where he's had to perform at the top level," said Wood. "I see that in him every day. He never takes time off while he's in the helicopter. His focus is always 100 per cent. ... I don't know an awful lot about what goes into making an Olympian, but the sports psychology side of it is something I'm finding very interesting." Indeed, the focus Morison has honed as an elite athlete has served him well and soon that focus will return to what he does best on snow. "I think this has really helped me get things back together in my mind and really enjoying things," said Morison. "Now when I think about snowboarding and going back to it, I can't wait. I definitely got that appreciation back for snowboarding again. I start thinking about it and it's, 'Four more years (until the Sochi Olympics).' I can do it again."

From the news article posted HERE: Mark Fawcett hadn't heard that he had won the 2010 Petro-Canada Coaching Excellence Award when reached. He'd been in the backcountry carving waist-deep powder all day and had just got off Copper Mountain in Colorado Wednesday. More than 30 centimetres of powder had fallen overnight. For Fawcett, heaven on earth. "It was unbelievable," Fawcett said of the conditions. "Didn't I win it again?" he said with a hearty laugh. "That's funny, this is the first news." The Coaching Association of Canada gave out the awards to 43 of the country's top coaches. Fawcett, a Rothesay native, won for his coaching work on the national team with Jasey-Jay Anderson, 2010 Olympic champion in parallel giant slalom. Now 38, Fawcett also won the award in 2009 for his work with Michael Lambert. The notoriety, said Fawcett, is nice but he's happiest for the sport. "It's been pretty honourable for the sport more than anything," he said of winning for the last two years. "Snowboarding wins the popularity contest every time, but sometimes it's not known to be a high-performance sport or that some individuals at the top level (don't) take it as seriously as say hockey or football or anything along those lines - and we (are)." And, he said, considering the Olympic medals the team captured in Vancouver it's surprising some still question the professionalism of the sport. Along with Anderson's gold in Vancouver, Malle Ricker took gold in the ladies' snowboard cross and Mike Robertson took silver in the men's snowboard cross. "We have a bunch of hardware from Vancouver to prove we are doing things in a professional manner. So it's come around in the last decade, the last 12 years it's come around pretty big in that respect. We have respect and we've earned some respect from the supporters of sport." Snowboarding, he said, is still in its infancy. "But it's progressed really quick and it's tough to keep up with sometimes." At Copper Mountain with the national development team, Fawcett was getting his 10 boarders ready for a NorAm event today and Friday. "We've always identified, as with a lot of sports, you can never have enough people at that base level and those base levels feed into the top-tier system." The A-supported national team has already competed in the Netherlands at an indoor World Cup event. "It's like a big hockey rink on a slant," he said with a chuckle. The team returns to Europe Dec. 10 for a World Cup race in Italy, but Fawcett won't be there. He's changed hats from head coach of the national squad to alpine director. After a recent chat with his family, he was told he was away from his B.C. home far too much. Now he will only attend North American events, slashing his travel days considerably from the usual 200. "I can tell you this, a lot of the ski coaches in the world are either divorced or single or they're short term (relationships)," said Fawcett, who along with his wife Shelly has a 16-year-old stepson and four-year-old daughter. Calling himself part of the old guard, he said it's been fun to be part of the sport's meteoric rise. "We knew it would be something that would stay, but we didn't know it would progress to this level and that's the technical level of the sport and that's the popularity of the sport and the contests and national teams, Olympics. There's so many things that 20 years ago weren't even a gleam in our eye." . . .

I actually lock the doors (& windows) on my vehicles, house & garage. I also don't leave "targets" visible in the vehicles either.

How about just putting a cable lock on? Let's see... $15 for a cable lock or... $1500 for new board & bindings. Me, I opt for the cable lock as the first line of defense. I love riding with others that don't lock their boards. Makes mine safer.