Dave Pushee

Taking a trip in the way-back machine, I recall having read a Dave Barry column about learning to snowboard. I think this must have been close to 15 years ago. I was sure Barry must have watched me try to take my first run on a board. He pretty aptly described the impact of body slamming into New England hardpack after catching the heel edge. That's a move I like to cal the Power Snow Angel.

Thanks, that's good to know. Wow confusingly similar names (I had totally telescoped them) yet very different design.

Uku, I don't know if the liners for the Stratos are like the thermofits. If they are, you can mold them yourself. There are some other discussions here about molding liners - good advice from yyzcanuck on his website. The way it works is that the thermofit liners expand when heated. You put your foot into a hot liner. Then put foot and hot liner into boot, tap heel to form a pocket, and buckle loosely. Stand quietly in boot for about 15 minutes while it cools. When done it fits perfectly. The toecap is a way to ensure that you have room to wiggle toes when the molding is finished. You could probably cut the toe out of an old pair of heavy socks. I made my own from bits of cloth and little strips of duct tape. The idea is that during the molding process, you want to make your toes (but only the toes) take up more room than normal so that there will be extra space in that area of the boot. In addition to the toecap, also put a little tissue between your toes.

People talk about the ice coast being good training for carving elsewhere. If you can carve on Callisto, then I imagine you really can carve anywhere. :D

I always talk to them and point them to bomberonline for more information. I'm getting more questions than ever lately - probably because of the olympics. The people asking the questions now seem more informed, and are looking for information on where to get the equipment. I sense that there is a resurgence of hardbooting about to take off.

I voted never been, but I'm in for ECES this year. Schedules just didn't fit for me previously. This year, the wife wanted to spend a week at Sugarloaf anyway

There appears to be another carver (lady?) in the thumbnails (bottom left).

Brad, How is your son? That sounded pretty serious. I hope he's going to be ok. Was this a hit and run, or did the other person stop? In collisions like this, there should be an attempt to identify the individuals involved. If a skier is involved, it's a good idea to ask them to remove the skis and set them up in a cross signal uphill of the victim. This accomplishes three things: protects the victim from more injuries; signals that help is needed; and keeps that potentially responsible person there until ski patrol arrives (and gets identification). Snowboarders can be asked to remove the board, hike uphill, and provide protection. Anything to keep them there until a mountain employee can collect info.

Offer is in the mail

Snert is my bird hunting buddy. He's named after Hagar The Horrible's rather inept hunting dog.

Umm, for a real man, wouldn't that be the other way around? Beer first, iron second?

Hero snow Saturday morning at Bromley. I was there accompanying a Boy Scout troop. Fate in the Sun Lift line paired me with a young lady skier (mid 30's is definitely young when you are almost as old as PatMoore :D ). I was floored when she immediately said "I was admiring your form earlier - I mean on the snowboard". I really don't think of myself as all that great a carver, and I was riding my K2 Recon and not my Axis, but I had been slicing some reasonably clean lines under the quad anyway. I think I talked her into taking some snowboard lessons with her son.

The original liners in my SB225s (MP 25.5) have been used hard over the years, and had seriously packed out - they were cold and uncomfortable. I finally bit the bullet and coughed up the dough for Deeluxe Speed liners (MP 25). I wondered if these would fit - my longer foot measures 25.8 cm. It was with some trepidation that I attempted to mold my liners. I started by printing out the yyzcanuck directions on molding. I then read them carefully a couple of times. My wife was kind enough to donate some scraps of quilt batting (used about 3 layers and small bits of duct tape to build a toe cap). She also provided some used knee-highs to pull over the foot/liner combo for insertion into shell. I really couldn't bring myself to believe that I needed to preheat the oven to 250F, and so I set it to 225. I then turned off the oven, tossed the right liner in, and set a timer for 9 minutes. I thought the molding went well, but the liner didn't expand as much as directions seemed to indicate. For the left foot, I increased the temp to 250. Sure enough, the liner puffed up more. After the molding was complete, both boots felt great. When I actually went riding, it became evident that the right boot (lower temp) did not have a good heel pocket. The left boot was perfect. I have since remolded the right liner and the heel pocket is much better. These are such an improvement (even after the initial attempt) over the old standard liners that I wish I had taken this step long ago. Some notes and learnings: 1. Pay close attention to how the liners wrap before you cook. When they do puff up, the correct wrap may no longer be evident. 2. The toe cap and padding between toes gets to be a bit uncomfortable during the 15 minute cool-down period, but its worth it in the end. 3. The cooking process does release odors - turn on the hood fan - especially if the wife is around when you do it.

Buy polarfleece gloves and waterproof (goretex or similar) overmitts. I've used mitts from both OR and EMS. If you need to use fingers, remove the mitts and you still have the fleece gloves on. You can drop a heat pack into the mitts if it's really cold. On warmer days, use light polypro glove liners instead of the fleece. You can carry a spare pair of fleece gloves in an inner pocket and switch if you have sweated up the main pair.

I started wearing a helmet a couple of years before the high profile tree hits (Sonny and Michael). I immediately noticed that I stayed warmer and my goggles no longer fogged when they were pushed up on my head. My first helmet had very little ventilation and got hot on warmer days. Newer models have much better ventilation and removeable earflaps for those spring conditions. I have observed that increasing numbers of snow sport participants have taken to using helmets. That said, the almost 94% using helmets as shown in the current poll is amazing. - Dave

OCD, What boots are you using, and how do you set them up when you ride? When riding trees/bumps/crud, I used to use walk mode. Now that I understand the powder setting, that's what I use. I think the backward flex allowed by walk mode can allow your leg to leverage the foot forward and jam the toe. No, I don't want to see pics - Dave

I'll round out the fleet on the short side. I have a 162 Axis. I'm often at Loon Mountain.

get plates and boots, mount them on the recon for a while - then get a Donek Axis for the next step. At your weight, you would probably be OK on the Raichle Xbone plates. I use those on my K2 Recon (162, not riser) for days when woods and bumps are on the menu. I'm in the 155-160 weight range, but probably older than you (58). I ride an Axis 162 most of the time. If I were younger and more aggressive, I would probably want the 167 Axis. When you move up to the Axis get Bomber plates, and keep the Xbones on the K2 for the woods.

mirror70, I suspect the 1:1 ratio (adult:littleperson) may be area specific. I think the chair in question was loaded according to local rules. Agree, kids under a certain size need to have an adult on the chair - and this chair had an adult.

Witnessed an almost incident Sunday. A lady and two young girls (about age 6?) arrive at the unload station on a fixed grip triple chair. One of the girls doesn't stand up quite quickly enough and the ramp drops out from under her skis. As the chair starts around the wheel, she lifts her skis up and to the side - clearing the stop switch wand. The attendant was definitely paying attention - the lift stopped quicker than if she had triggered the wand. The quick stop bounced the youngster off the chair, but it was only about a 4 foot drop and she was fine. This was a lot better than the alternative as another second and she would have been a lot higher off the snow. As I helped her to her feet, I gently explained that the little stick was her friend and that if she ever saw it again, she should stick her skis down and not lift them up.

how much does wax really matter - it's only the edge on the snow.

I'm 5'6", 58 years old, and weigh about 155. In March '04, I demoed the 167 at Copper. I liked it on the groomed, but when I got it in the steeper bowls, I kept catching the tail whenever I tried jump turns. Sean graciously added the 162 to the bottom of the lineup. I bought it and it works great for me.

Agree on the trails. The Boy Scouts (Green Mountain Council) sponsors a massive ski event at Bromley in late January. I believe it will be January 20 and 21 in 2006. Expect slopes and lodge to be super crowded that weekend.

My board for trees, bumps, etc. is a K2 recon 162. Bindings are Xbone. With this setup, I tend to ride with the boots in walk mode. I'm heavier than you (155), so the bindings should handle your weight (135?), and I don't think you are likely to do any damage to a reasonable board.

Yes, we are, and we are fiendishly clever. I cheated and looked up the answer It wouldn't be fair to give it, but I will say that the tribe mentioned is the Mescalero Apache.