Alaskan Rover

I am just wondering if even with my very wide board, if I would still be able to ride at 15/5 if I use binding such as the TD2, given my size 13 boots...as the toe-piece adds some length to the set-up. I may have to go with some riser plates to limit toe-drag. That's what got me into thinking about a different format for a binding in the first place...was that increased length that the toe-piece adds to it, causing problems with lower angle stances. :(

EXACTLY, B0ardski!! One of the biggest reasons I have stayed away from conventional hardboot/raceboard set-up is that they are designed principally for groomed runs. My current set up allows me to explore the WHOLE mountain...however, there are certain aspects of off-piste where a freeride board and softboots just SUCK compared to the AT skis/boots I normally use for such work...and that is steep, very icy, windswept crust. It would really be nice to have a board (like the splitboard I am think of ripping from an old board) and binding set-up that I can use my Scarpa Denalis on that I already use for ATing. And I would like to use those hardboots at my standard angles of 15/5. I have tried the high angles....don't like them at ALL...feels alien to me. But I am VERY intrigued to find out how much more control I would be able to beget from hardboots at that 15/5 all-mountain angle. The ONLY skinny boards I ride come in a pair. My wide board would be able to accept a hardboot (depending on the binding) at 15/5, I think. I am curious to try.

B0ardski: I too have plans to make my own split board by ripping a board in half, epoxying the 'cut' edges and devising a more efficient way to keep them together. Am worried about screwing up the board's lateral stiffness. I have never ridden a split before. Never have seen that Spark binding before....looks pretty tight!! I'll hafta look into it.

One would have to ask, Petrol, by which schools do you speak of that have 'alternate political personalities'? Berkely, as an example, could be thought of by some to have a rather 'liberal' political personality...and yet they don't seem penalized. Others, such as Duke, have a MUCH more conservative general outlook, but I don't really see them being penalized either...and they are about as opposite, politically, from Berkely, as one can get. By which side of the median do you speak when you ascribe "alternate"? Jes wunderin'. And on that same token..how do you define a school that is "biased" and why juxtapose that with "moderate"? Moderate in what way? I'm just a little confused.

As quoted by Jack Michaud: Originally Posted by Alaskan Rover "Profit is not evil, only its offspring: Greed. It is indeed the individual's right to embrace greed over altruism." :nono: Jack, you craftily left out the most important part of the qoute. Sneaky, sneaky. What I originally said was: "Profit is not evil, only its offspring: Greed. It is indeed the individual's right to embrace greed over altruism...likewise, however, it is society's right to seek redress when such embrace threatens the very makeup of society." The addition of the latter part puts what I was saying in a different context. <!-- / message --><!-- edit note -->

I actually ride TWO unicycles at once!! They are just connected by a frame, and the front one is hooked up with handle-bars and has no seat, and the rear one is connected to a chain drive. I find it a hecka easier than ONE unicycle...and is a BIG improvement!! ;) ;)

The season is NEVER over....it all depends how much time, energy or money you want to use to get to the snow. If money is no concern, you can get easily get to the snow using very little time or energy...just a plane ticket and a rental car is all it takes. Chile, Argetina, New zealand...blah blah blah. However, if you're like many of us, and money IS a concern, you can STILL get to the snow...it just takes more time AND more energy. Here in Virginia, where I am this year, this last weekend was the "last" weekend. The natural snow cover map looks pretty sketchy for the WHOLE east coast, actaully, except for northern Ontario. Next week or two will be the last of the riding in West Virginia (Snowshoe & Timberline). But air tickets out west this time of year are pretty cheap if you shop. Rental prices are do-able if you use www.carrentals.com . Plenty of mountain passes out there in Colorado, Wyoming and Montana with snow. A pair of sherpa or Redfeather snowshoes, some camping gear for a base-camp, a board-pack and a board & boots (think non-carve conditions, so soft-boots would be better, plus they work well with the snowshoe bindings). A couple of years ago, we drove out to Alberta and spent a week at closed-down Fortress Mountain ski area...not a SOUL there anywhere! We camped out at one of the maintanence parking lots and hiked and snowshoed up to to the snow...great riding every day!!!..and this was late June. Up in Alaska, of course, you can ride All year around....past May, it just takes effort to get to the runs, is all. Splitboards and skins would come in handy up there. There is actually a pretty healthy contingent of "ninja-riders" who ride Alyeska Resort after it closes for the season. Always PLENTY of snow on the upper bowls, and fairly easy to access..just watch out for the spring-time avalanches...and the snow cops. So, in short, where there is a will, there is a way. Gravity IS Life.

Thank you, Spil, for your reply. What you just did with the youtube help video above is EXACTLY what I have been trying to do...whereby one needn't post a simple link, but have the video right there. I have had a BUSY weekend....first snowboarding, then hiking and then sailing through a storm...not bad for one weekend!...but tired. When I get more time, there is a cool video I want to post, and your reply will hopefully help in that endeavor. Thanks.

I think that is great, what you are doing with your son. And there is a FAR more important benefit to that daily noon-time ride than just physical exercise. You get a chance to exercise the BOND that you have with your son. Sometimes, just spending time together, father and son, makes all the difference in the world...not single word need be uttered. In today's increasing hustle and bustle, I think perhaps those quiet times between father and son or father and daughter, are the dearest of all. Cherish those moments...each and every one. I, too, think "Lite beer" is an offense to one's taste-buds. Might as well eat yellow snow...as most "lite" beers I've had taste like the liquid version of that anyway! I've become a big fan of New Holland Brewery. They have this great brown ale called: "Log Cabin Ale". I also love this small Montana brewery called Kettlehouse Brewery....they make this ale called "Cold Smoke Scotch Ale" that is absolutely AMAZING! To me, a finely brewed ale is like a fine scotch, something to be sipped slowly, leisurely. Gravity IS Life.

I've searched and searched all over this forum, looking for a "Help section" or how-to guide for uploading youtube video DIRECTLY. like I have seen people do. I KNOW how to "Link" a youtube video...such that one must click on the link to go to whatever youtube video page. BUT how does one upload the actual video itself, as I've seen done on these forums fairly often, so that one need only press the "Play" icon?? :confused:

Actually, experiments have shown that in mammals, including humans, the mere presence of certain foods initiates the "drooling" response or "salivatory response" - the body's way of preparing for the ingress of food and its tentative digestion. Now, that doesn't necessarily equate principally to 'hunger'...but some have termed it part of the 'hunger response'. Sometimes even the mere aroma of certain favorite foods will set off this 'salivating response', even if one is indeed quite well satiated. Now, profit does not ALWAYS give birth to greed. There are no such absolutes. However, like the aforementioned salivatory response, perhaps the mere 'aroma' of profit can initiate the 'greed response' in SOME people...greed being the desire to obtain more and more profit, as a wild dog continues to gorge on meat WELL AFTER he is satiated.

Ha ha.....good one! :lol: That cracked me up! I love it.

I said it once, I will say it again: "Profit is not evil, only its offspring: Greed. It is indeed the individual's right to embrace greed over altruism...likewise, however, it is society's right to seek redress when such embrace threatens the very makeup of society."<!-- / message --><!-- edit note --> <HR style="COLOR: #3399ff" SIZE=1> Yeah, I know...that's pretty self-serving to begin quoting myself...but there is a reason. I just had an idea: The 'right' thinks they are seeking redress with the tea-party movement ...and the grandstanding in Congress, against what they see as a liberal bias in the government. The 'left' thinks they, in turn, are seeking redress against an overzealous, profit-oriented juggernaut of a health-care system...and perhaps corporate ethos in general. Maybe both sides will meet head-on like two opposite hadrons (say a proton and an antiproton) and annihilate each other....and then we can start the whole shibang over from scratch with a fresh chalkboard (or collider, as it were). Of course, that is a gross oversimplification, as BOTH protons and antiprotons are wholly unstable.....but maybe NOT quite as unstable as the two present political parties. What the heck does that make the tea-party?? Mesons? Gravity IS Life.

I TOTALLY agree with that. Ross basically got caught up in the whirlwind of media-hype...creating a duststorm that should have settled, but because Olympic athletes are thought of as Idols..."super-people", they are held to standards so lofty that they are hard to sustain. Snowboarding in the Olympics was an absolute anathema to many old-school traditionalists, and they fueled that fire. There were no absolute Olympic bylaws specific to marijauna-testing posted previous to those games nor DURING those games...thereby making the argument for revoking Ross's medal specious at best. He later sued the Olympic committe I think for defamation of character...I think the case was finally settled out of court a couple recently...the Olympic Committee did not want a courtroom loss affecting their 2010 games. I think Ross should have went a ahead with the civil trial....he would have WON! Under those circumstances, I don't think it would have made as much of an impact if it had happened now, but I may be wrong. I mean look at Obama toking it!!! But at least Obama had the fortitude to ADMIT that he DID inhale....unlike a certain prior occupant of the Oval Office!!! ;) ;)

Who said THAT?? Wudnt me...I swear!! :( ;) My God!!!!......They look like canaries! I have seen parrots with less color. What WAS it with NEON colors back then??? Sheeeshhh....where are my shades? And what the HECK are those things???....water-skis???? Gravity IS Life.

That's exactly the key to these harder bases nowadays, John. Warm up your board base ANY way possible...the closer the base temp is to the melted P-tex temp the better the meld. And you are exactly right, Keeping the P-tex close to the base is equally important. I actually keep a low torch flame on the Ptex stick, as if I was soldering a circuit board. That seems to help at least for me, and seems to bypass some of the carbon formation. I've got some BIG canyons to meld now....and have ONE last weekend of riding here in Virginia to prepare for (unless some drops a 'pot o' gold' in my lap this summer and I am able to fly off to Chile or NZ or even Hood...any offers???...nahh? Didn't think so....waaahhhhhh!!), so I am definitely going to get the Ptex and torch out tonight! After the last fiasco, I don't quite trust the local board shop anymore....and there is only ONE for 100 miles around....so I am back to self-repair. AA for a board.;) Bases USED to be hecka easier to repair...but one thing for a fact: these newer, harder bases take a LOT more of a licking BEFORE they need repair!! Gravity IS Life.

HA ha...!!! LOVED that video. Priceless!!! "Smart Alecs"!!! Little did they know then that snowboarding would soon become a multi-billion dollar sport. Some things haven't changed, though...young boarder park groms will STILL swear at you and give you the finger, etc etc. But that is less a facet of freestyle boarding than it is simply being a teenager. I think I would be totally MYSTIFIED if the park and pipes suddenly took on the decorum of 55 year-old skiers...and I guess a little bit chagrined, as well. I think I would love get on my Sorels and take an old Snurfer or Burton Backyard (including rope) down a trail!! Although I don't think they would even allow them on a lift. Gravity IS Life.

Okay..I don't know if will add up to ten, since I am lousy at remembering song titles, but here goes: Presidents of the USA: "Peaches" Smashing Pumpkins: "Disarm"...sorta mellow. Smashmouth: "Hey now, you're an all-star" Sublime: "Santeria"...of course!..what else? Jane's Adiction: "Been caught stealing" Killers: "Mr. Brightside" Offspring: "Pretty Fly....for a white guy" Nirvana: "Smells like teen spirit" The Verve: "Bittersweet symphony" Blur: "Song 2" Probably my all-time favorite song....and a GREAT back-country freeriding song!!! I think that's ten. Keep in mind, that many of these song choices are based upon a freestyle/freeride background....but I think they will equally call up the mojo for carving. Gravity IS Life.

Excellent points and succinctly stated!! I couldn't agree more. I too, find it rather distasteful that I would be required to pay for someone else's largess and lack of medical foresight...however it seems that is just one of the ingredients of living in an organized, fairly structured society. I rather think that the positive facets of a societal system FAR outweigh a few negatives....besides I rather LIKE my NPR, and would shudder to think it were to be taken over by some commercial-intensive station filled with nothing but pop-culture static. ;) ;)

Well, I am sorta out of PORTABLE tunes, right now. I HAD a Sony Discman, but it rusted from sailing....then got one of those Zen mp3 things...put a bunch of music on that, but IT disappeared on a glacier never to be seen again. Gotta another Zen, 8gb this time, but IT got smashed against a rock chimney while rock climbing last summer....sheeessshh, I guess I am HARD on my equipment. :( But as far as tunes go....I guess I have pretty eclectic tastes: ANY Mozart or Bach pieces; Presidents of the USA: Miles Davis; Smashmouth; John Lee Hooker; Offspring; Roberta Flack; Jane's Addiction; Robert Johnson; Sublime; Debussy's "Jardins sous de plouie" (Gardens in the rain) for piano solo; Smashing Pumpkins; Enya; Bush; Deep Forest; Garbage; Pink Floyd; Nirvana; Edith Piaf; The Killers; Depeche Mode; Nine inch nails; Schumann; The Ramones; Otavalomanta; Counting Crows; Aine Minogue; Spencer Day; Jason Mraz; Jack Johnson; Willy Nelson; Johnny Cash; Astrud Gilberto....and on....and on.....and on........... Music is dreams put to sound.

Posted by Neil Gendzwill: "So you concede the argument, then?" Well, not necessarily a concession...however being a student of physics and the forces therein, I realize that the hardboot set-up allows one to follow a cleaner carved line. Sure. However, I make no concession to the "pureness" of the carve. I think that is more of a soul thing...and not one to be regulated by equipment alone. Gravity is the soul of life.

sailed lots of Hobie 16s and a few 18s. Never sailed the Nacra. Seen them but never been on one. I have, however, sailed an ex-olympic Tornado 20. That is ONE fast cat!!!! A pure JOY to sail. They're also good for 28 knots or so on a broad reach with the right conditions. They have spinnakers, now, which is silly...as the downwind is not their forte...but hey, they do over 15 knots downwind...amazingly enough. Hobie is a SLUG downwind. I would LOVE to get a hold of a Tornado, but they are EXPENSIVE! There should be many more on the used market now, though, since for whatever reason they have been disqualified from competition in the 2012 Olympics...what a dumb decision on the part of the IOC! But, yes, having sailed Hobie beach cats and then sailed on the race-car like Tornado 20, I know what you mean. Gravity IS Life....so IS wind.

Ahhh.....NICE chute!!!! A wee bit skinny and slightly sketchy there in the middle, but me likem it just FINE!!!!:)

Nonsensical, self-inflated pulp fiction of the purest form. :p

No need for sophomorisms such as "duh"...I understand the difference in mechanics and physics well enough. It's just the term "purest" alludes to "superior" in some people's minds....right or wrong. Old time long-board surfers used to have that same "purity" attitude, until they got totally upstaged by the the three-fin, dynamic, narrow shortboards. All I am saying is that the reader unfamiliar with boarding may detect a rather 'superior' feeling in the underpinnings of that sentence.