kieran

it shouldnt be painful, but the liner will pack out with use, especially at 185#. i'm not judging. ;)

cairngorm and lossiemouth, not precisely world-class.

both get busy, i think nevis handles a large attendance better. glencoe has camping/glamping + facilities onsite. nuts as in fun factor, glencoe is a hoot. not really suitable for slick smooth carving but if you just like to zip around on edge then it's fine. possibly the steepest lift-served run in scotland too. nevis has the back corries, which are a lot of fun indeed. precision trips to scotland are best when there is high pressure and it's midweek. norway is even more expensive than here. never been to austria.

nevis and glencoe are the better ones most years, certainly the most customer-friendly, nevis is a relaxing day, 'coe is comparatively nuts. both are great fun. snow conditions vary, ice only really comes after march. https://www.facebook.com/GlencoeMountain/photos_stream https://www.facebook.com/NevisRangeSNOW/photos_stream

i have a 183RTGS. it's slightly too much board for nevis range in anything except exceptional snow cover, but once i got going in the alps, it wasn't 'enough'. might be different for you in the alps since you're not so podgy. nice board and a proper laugh, but possibly not best for a reintroduction.

i have snowboarded (awesomely) and surfed (poorly) on the same day. the joys of scotland. ;)

take up slalom waterskiing for the summer, save the pennies for a proper winter trip and subsequent gear purchases.

come to nevis range when the snow returns. or if you've the misfortune to be going to glasgow, visit the fridge.

maybe a proteus-type at 171cm and ~12m radius? at *ahem* 224# my daily driver is a 172 silberpfeil.

i always find it odd to see people being shorter than their boards. ;)

that is a great shame, as it's a well-recognised fact that the green boots are faster. even if you're colourblind.

if you learn the hard way, the hard way gets easier. if you learn the easy way, the hard way stays hard.

don't neglect to factor in the built-in angle of the boots. with the 3° disc up front, the sole of your foot may in fact be parallel to the deck of the board. with 0° your heel will be higher than the ball of your foot.

goofy eh? can i interest you in a virus asym? :D

new to me. when i was in the alps earlier this year i felt that the völkl 183 wasnt enough board. this should be an improvement in that particular case.

going to blue tomato seems extreme. do the shell test on your AFs and if you've just enough room, go with the same size track 700 and a thermo liner. any competent ski shop should be able to form them for you, or there's alan baxter in stirling who knows a thing or two. if you dont have stubby saxon feet, try and find some rc10s

anyway, having looked i know of nowhere in this once-great land that provides the services you seek. what length are your feets?

totally stolen my thunder.

so you're saying instead of measuring the highest speed, they should measure the briefest brown smear?

zoom! plates clearly improve straightlining stability. now maybe everyone will shut up about völkls having a speed record

nah. he doesnt even have the danger of picket fencelines to contend with.

last years from pinkbike, but still a funny read; http://www.pinkbike.com/news/cane-creek-double-barrel-energy-suppositories.html

sounds like an extruded material rather than a sintered one.

if lateral compliance is your aim, the 'f2 carve rs' binding might be better than intec titanflex. intec adds stiffness, and the titanflex comes with a height penalty.