Enzo

What a great weekend!! After receiving about 6-8 inches of fresh snow this past week, conditions at Loon went from bullet proof boiler plate last weekend to epic packed powder!! The conditions were pure hero snow and perfect for ripping turns on the carving board--especially on steeps!! My wife and I were messing around with the digi-cam and when I got home I played around with my movie editing software. As a nod to all of my favorite Extreme Carving videos, here's my rendition from the backwoods of NH with Thievery Corporation playing in the background. http://www.metrocast.net/~gpeters/snowboarding_0002.wmv The clip should be played on Windows Media Player and is best viewed at 200% (go to View -> Video Size -> 200%). I'm still trying to dial in the "Movie Mode" on my camera so the quality isn't Spielberg just yet. Enjoy!

The idea of counting hard booters at your local hill isn't really that far fetched and would be the most statistically sound approach of accurately estimating the total carving population. Although this would be rather difficult to implement, hypothetically, if a hundred or so people from a variety of different sized mountains and from various regions around the country took part, they would keep track of the number of hard booters to the total number of skiers & snowboarders on the mountain for a number of days across a whole season. With these figures, you'd actually have a decent size sample set (~1000+ values) to work from. With basic statistical calculations, you could then estimate the population size to certain levels and degrees of accuracy. Although my local hill may not be reflective of your local hill, here's an example of my approach with a rather unscientific surveying technique, some fudging, and a simplistic method of calculating. Obviously accuracy would drastically improve with more reliable data as mentioned above and by using more statistically sound methods. This past winter, on the weekends I observed approximately 4 hardbooters (including myself). At max capacity, the local ski area has an uphill capacity of 11,865 people per hour. Say a person averages 3 runs per hour, then the approximate total number of skiers & snowboarders would be around 4,000 on the mountain for that particular weekend day. So that means hardbooters made up .001 (or .1%) of total participants on the mountain. According to this website: http://www.thesnowtrade.org/sia/media/industry_research/fact_sheet there were approximately 12,991,000 snow sport participants (alpine skiers & snowboarders) in the US in the year 2002. A snow sport participant is defined as a skier or snowboarder who is 7+ yrs old and who went at least once during the year. So .001 (.1%) of the total number of participants yields......drum roll.........12,991 hardbooters in the US based on 2002 figures. In order to accurately estimate international figures, one would need data, like mentioned above, from ski areas in Europe, Asia, etc.

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I just got back from a week vacation in Jackson Hole. This was my fourth time to the mountain and this trip blew the last three away!!! The weather was great--temps in the 30's and the mountains got close to 2 feet of snow across the whole week. I spent three days on the mountain and two days in the backcountry. While at the ski area, surprisingly, I saw some other hardbooters riding carving boards and powder boards. I was riding my Burton Supermodel 172 and it performed well on groomers and off-piste. I widened my stance and set my bindings back a few inches for better stability and to prevent cart wheels in the powder. I kept my angles moderately steep around 55/50 and had no problems in powder conditions. The highlight of my trip was venturing out in the backcountry along the Teton Pass. There is so much terrain in the Jackson area that you could probably spend years exploring and never board the same line twice. My brother took me out on his snowmobile and we were able to access vast amounts of terrain in less than a 1/2 hour. No hiking was necessary, we were able to power up the backside of slopes and along ridges to the top of the terrain that we were boarding on. Here's a bunch of pictures from our adventures. Enjoy!! This is the view from the top our runs. mmmmmmm virgin powder!!!

On the topic of Coilers..... I just placed an order for a 173 FreeCarve. Based on the description, the board sounded like a perfect fit for me since I'm 165lbs and ride mostly on narrow New England trails. What are your experiences, opinions, and impressions of the FreeCarve model? Also, anyone have pictures of a Coiler with blue flames?

That's a great idea. I would definitely be up for it sometime later this season. Weekends also work for me since I have a Mon-Fri job. Unfortunately, I can't make it on the 25th.....I'm headed out to Jackson Hole for a week vacation. :D Anyone on this board have a Threedom Pass? How about a late March/early April trek up to Tuckermans?

I haven't been to Gunstock yet this year, but I did hear that the new lift to the summit broke down again today. People were stuck on the lift in the bitter cold for up to three hours. They were forced into an emergency evacuation and had to repel off the chairs via a rope. Earlier in the season around Christmas the lift broke down and was inoperable for several days. Gunstock must be BS at Dopplemayr to have this thing break down a second time just before a busy vacation week. Are there lemon laws on ski lifts? :p

Sorry for getting a little off-topic, but if you like this type of electro-ambient music, you should check out the Delicious Lo-Fi Lounge radio station on www.live365.com The song "Breathe" by Telepopmusik is part of the rotation. While working at my desk, I listen to the station a lot. It's a good stress relief and very relaxing. Enzo

The weather looks sketchy this weekend. Mixed precip. on Saturday with temps in the 30's, then temps dropping to 15F on Sunday. There are three levels of the Threedom Pass and they are cheapest before the season begins. Sun - Mon (holidays blacked out) $279 (~$229 preseason) Limited (anytime but holidays blacked out) ~$339 Anytime (No restrictions) ~$459

I've been going to Loon every weekend this winter. Ironically, this season it seems that Sundays have been slightly busier than Saturdays since most people on the mountain have the Sun-Mon. Threedom Pass. Last Sunday, the lines on the Quad were approaching 10+ minutes and on the North Peak we were waiting about 5+ minutes. Even with the wait, the trails were not too crowded. Avoid the crowds by getting on the mountain early. Usually from 8am-10am, the lift lines are nonexistent. Conditions on the North Peak are pretty scratchy from the recent windy weather. You'll find better & more consistent conditions off of the quad on the lower part of the mountain. Enzo

I've been riding an older Hot Blast 171 with TD1's for the past couple of years with no problems.

C5 Golfer, Since we're talking cars here.....everytime I see your screen name I've often wondered if the "C5" is in reference to the C5 Vette. If so, it's a great car!! Enzo

Donek and Coiler are listed as sponsors of the ECES. Anyone know if they'll have any demos available at Sugarloaf? I'm thinking about a new plank for next season. After reading all of the high praise for these boards, I gotta try one!!!

The big factor this week has not only been the cold temps, but also heavy winds and obscene windchills. Today we're seeing steady wind speeds in the lowlands of 20-30mph range and gusts even higher. Wind speeds in the mountains are probably approaching a steady 40-50+mph. Justin, I teach at Plymouth HS. I have a threedom pass so I frequent Waterville or Loon on the weekends and vacations. I usually make it over to Gunstock once a winter--they have some fun carving runs. Chris_eco, In perspective, the long term alternative to cold temps--global warming--which will result in climate change and retreating snow lines is real and depressing. For now though, my concerns are the short term reality of frost bite. A few years ago, I experienced frost bite and don't want to endure it again. In college I spent a winter break working at Sunday River. Literally every morning for almost a month straight the temps were -20F. Brrrrrrrr. At least things warmed up to single digits during the days and working & boarding in those conditions were at least tolerable. Layers baby....two hats, two pairs of gloves plus silk liners, and every article of fleece I owned!! I've experienced these types of temps in Jackson Hole before. However, it just seems that the cold out west is slightly more bearable and doesn't "chill you to the bone" as it does here in New England. Who knows, maybe it's just the beautiful scenery, mind boggling terrain, and all of the great snow that distracts you and takes your mind off of the cold temps. :p Temps are supposed to warm up this weekend and finally get above 0F. Snow conditions should be spectacular.

The temps have been ridiculous up here in NH. All week long the high temps have not cracked the 0F mark. Concord set a record for two consecutive days with the high temp below 0. It's never happened before in the history of temp record keeping for the city. Conditions on Mt. Washington have made the national news....two days ago and then again last night actual temps reached the -40F range with windchills approaching -100F!!! Cannon and Wildcat were closed for a day this week because of the cold weather and wind, who knows if they'll even open today. Over 250 schools in the state are closed or delayed. The high school where I teach cancelled, but it's too darn cold and windy to leave the warmth of my house!! I guess it's another day of carpet carving. To paraphrase Jon Stewart..."it's so damn cold outside.....there's something jingling in my pants and those aren't my keys":D

I'm just browsing.....however, I do have a couple of questions..... When do you expect the board to be complete? Is it solid black or black with flames? If one was seriously interested in the board and since you haven't put a deposit down, could a person deal with Coiler directly in terms of payment and shipment? Thanks.

Jason, what day did you go to loon? were there long lines?

I was at WV on Sunday. Considering all of the rain we've had, I was pleasantly surprised--the conditions were better than expected. Overall, the coverage was fair and some trails were soft and well groomed. Trails on the Northside were hardpack and slightly scratchy. Most exposed areas and some ice patches were marked with bamboo sticks. Eventhough it was a holiday weekend, lift lines weren't too bad and the trails weren't overly crowded even with 36/52 trails open. Temperatures have dropped from the balmy March-like Sun/Mon, so I would expect conditions to morph into the good ol' fashion New England crust/hardpack/loose-granular for the rest of the week. Sharpen up those edges!! Your best bet is to be on the mountain when the lifts open at 8am. Most of the good snow will be scratched off and conditions will deteriorate by late morning.