FTA2R

are you on the MAC mailing list? if not, welcome to join. prolly about 10+- a few, it's great way to communicate. MAC = Mid Atlantic Carvers (our main mountains are Liberty, 'Tail, and 'Top. not sure where I'm going yet this weekend but maybe we'll run into each other. === Barry

i may be putting my Burton Alp 157.5 '98 up for sale. It's in decent condition, I bought it used off of Ebay. 20cm waist 9.23 sidecut. considered quite soft for an alpine board, perfect for a beginner. i probably won't know what i'm going to do with it until a week or two though...

so...my .02 on this topic. I don't "preach the alpine gospel" or try to convert anyone, but I do think you should educate him about the different styles and their advantages and disadvantages. Maybe he already knows he wants to do pipe and park, maybe he's not sure, maybe he wants to carve just like you. I personally don't really understand why a starting a never ever beginner in plates is a good idea (unless he really wants to, etc.) I thought that skidding was a crucial skill, esp. for teh beginner. Our boards, some more so than others, are not designed to skid. I've never ridden an AT alpine board (like the Axis), but won't it be hard enough for a total newbie to keep his/her balance as it is, let alone the super steep we ride. We are very technique oriented, more so than a lot of newbies may understand or even want to understand. Technique overload the first time out could be frustrating, no? I'd say the most important thing is for him or her to have fun and let them do what they want, develop basic muscle memory, get a feel for different terrain, etc. i am not at all saying it's not possible, esp. with a stronger or more athletic person, but a picture is worth 1000 words, so make a good impression on him with your riding (like we all hopefully try to do, at least most of the time) and I'd say he'll be interested in alpine. I guess it also depends on teh age, too. please keep the heat from the flames bearable :D

"But is is admittedly rough; poles can and will be used as "weapons", what!!! LOL funny but f that. I never had the chance to ski in Spain when I lived there (or any of the other countries i visited). how does this work? do they actually swing the pole and make contact? or do they use teh pole as a sword/light saber to keep you at bay while they move fwd? European carvers, please describe this comical phenomonon === Barry

please wear these for comic / poking fun at self only other possible uses: -large paperweight -decoration -feel like burning something -making money (by betting a friend you'll wear them for a whole day of riding) buyer should not attempt to be taken seriously while riding with these. :lol:

being a teenager not so long ago (I'm 27), that's a huge part of it! The attitude, the testosterone, etc. etc. Respect your elders doesn't apply to slopes, lol! But we must make them respect the Old Skool! (us) - or take them to skool! hehe... ps "respect my author-o-tai !" - SP

good find! the whole "flapping like bird" comparison hilarious. one GINORMOUS set of cojones! (or one real dumb mf'er who didn't realize what he was doin'!) either way, gotta love it! === Barry

OK, I edit my statement. I would agree that, as the back of lift tickets say, "skiing and snowboarding is inherently dangerous." I'm sure the lawyers had something to do with that statement, but I just don't consider snowboarding under "normal circumstances" to be a "dangerous, dangerous sport." as you said. You have a greater chance of getting into a car accident (and probably a greater chance of being injured from a car accident) As a general statement, I respectfully (but totally) disagree that riding a bike may be more dangerous- it is. How many snowboarders die a year? A few. How many bikers die / are seriously injured each summer? A lot more than a few. The impacts, forces, and speeds, involved in bike crashes are generally much greater than those of riding. Again, I say this under "normal" circumstances. There are, of course, exceptions. There are many days here I would consider driving far more dangerous than riding.

I would disagree with a previous post that this is a "dangerous, dangerous" sport. This is not a sport of physical contact (shouldn't be, anyway!). In general, I think it's as dangerous as you make it. Certainly, riding a motorcycle is MUCH more dangerous (hence why I chose not to ride even though I have a license to and I would probably love it. having several speeding violations doesn't help either though ) A helmet still does not gurantee anything, I believe a rider died @ Loon a few years ago (and it was his first day ever wearing a lid). I am pleasantly surprised at what seems to be an increasing # of riders wearing them every year. Possibly one good thing to come from the integration of high fashion / style into snow sports. I have been involved in at least 3 collisions, none serious. One was years ago with another boarder, before I rode plates. I am goofy, he was regular I beleive our backs facing each other, going towards opposite ends, we collided when our paths intersected. No concussion but I was definitley shaken up. I did not wear a helmet in college when it happened. 2nd time was my fault I took out a little kid right in front of one of his parents. of course i felt like a total jackass and apologized sincerely and made sure everything was OK before continuing. I'm sure she didnt' think too highly of me but I was very apologetic and sincere so I think the parent just realized it was an accident pure and simple. 3rd time wasn't too big of a deal. it was at carving camp in June with a much older guy. can't remember all teh details, wasn't very high impact, but was probably my fault. hey, accidents happen, people make mistakes. to leave the scene enters another level entirely, one that may warrant "opening a can" IMO. The helmets really are pretty comfortable too. I wear an underarour Skully cap underneath so it doesn't itch my head and I rigged up headphones. Some will argue that's not at all smart, which I admit it's not the smartest thing, but it greatly enhances the riding experience for me. Driving with loud music has helped me to use my eyes more for being alert. you get used to it. My Boeri is at least years old and I use it for longboarding too if I'm going fast.

DSub, i understand. I myself am not much for "trends," etc. but, it seems to me that perhaps some hardbooters are very quick to bash certain very commercial entities simply b/c those entities are what they are today, meaning they have become so successful / commercial. i believe this "phenomonon" can be applied to other things, such as music. for ex: all the metallica haters when their stuff started becoming quite commercial (and they started taking a lead role in anti piracy issues). i admit, i wasn't particularly impressed with those last few albums, but one cannot deny their overall contribution to music (vh-1 labeled them as [xyz] generation's "led zeppelin."). basically anything commercially successful will usually encounter some degree of hatin', lol. my point is that i think some hb'ers have legit reasons to not like freestyle movement, and some don't. i wasn't exactly (and still am not) "pro-freestyle" per se, but I'm looking at it differently now, and I think (hope) it will make me a better rider.

highly doubt people are just gonna start going en masse to AK and not come back. It's a documentary. you could use that logic with "Farenheight 911," and i think it's safe to say there is no mass rush to get to iraq. call me a young punk or sympathetic to freestylers, but riding is riding, to a degree anyhow. don't flame me here, but we are all having fun by slicing / sliding / moving somehow through snow (or ice =) ) i'm just happy there's a mass release documentary on riding. for a few bucks, it will def. be worth my money to see great footage on a huge screen, and it will get me psyched for the season.

very nice! was just there for the first time in 3 years (homecoming) and it's still as great as ever. A bizarre mix of bikers, townies, students, and of course, white trash (esp. the waitresses).

other than standing up / extending hands to maximize air resistance, how do you stop when going 55 mph +(assume you have maybe a few hundred feet). I personally would be scared of trying to skid stop b/c catching an edge at the speed could be very dangerous. ps what up PSR! Barry

Since Jack actually apparently used to look like that guy, can someone take the liberty of photoshopping his head into that outfit, feel free to make it a hot pink neon 1 piece...hahahah Barry :lol:

very cool and original. would cause confusion among the masses. hardboot setup would have to be easily visible though. maybe BOL or stoked.at should sponser a t-shirt design contest?

i'm sorta down on it. i think i like the smaller waist widths (alp is 20) and more importantly, it gets a little squirrely when going faster. i'll prolly still keep it though. Barry

board for very crowded days, smaller sidecut, smaller overall length (157 at most), used is fine, able to hold edge well, 18 cm wasit width, not looking to break bank. no, i'm probably not good enough to ride the shorter Madd (and it's prolly too expensive), i'd buy used if in good condition. you can rec it anyway though. recs?

was a bit harsh. i guess it's all in the eye of the beholder. The analysis of the setup to his recending hairline is amazing though, lol. would you all wear it?

i will have to mess with you in my next video! like carvedog, my browser is frequently open for hours at a time to whatever site i'm on. i'm online all day for my job. today they just had a ping pong tourney and some clowns started playing beer pong (yes, at work) so i wanted to check it out. working for corporate america can be a blast! lol

some of you are imo. it's a freaking shirt. the seller said " I think it's anice nod to the oldschool and saying "Anybody can jib but it's hard to carve"

I agree with Jack, i think it's a joke, but whatever i'll wear it. it's cool. I just bought the shirt from this guy. it's new.

"more carve, less jib" got this shirt from a friend who knows some people there. see, Burton isn't the demon =).

look at these prices: 168W Speed, List $469 SOLD 159 Factory Prime, List $499, now $350 156 Ultra Prime List $499, now $299 157 Burton Alp, List $349, SOLD are you kidding me! and who would be dumb enough to spend that much on an Alp. All those boards were significantly cheaper on klugriding.com a year ago. I guess there are uninformed people everywhere who will pay these prices.

this has potential to be a wild thread hahah. ok, will this carver babe come forward or send us another pic you can hide your face in goggles or some other way. let's see a pic of you strapped in? dsub it is a bizarre story, hilarious and entertaining.

impressive. That is one fine ass. Is that a BOL user? keep up the good work