dmc

For sale is a F2 board bag that fits 155-183cm boards. It is non-padded and opens on one end. No rips or tears and in excellent condition. Asking $30 plus shipping.

For sale is a set of F2 Intec Titanium step-in bindings, size medium. They were mounted on a second board and rarely used. Less than one season old. Minimal wear on the heel receiver (as pictured), and all hardware is in great shape. Includes wedges and mounting bolts. Asking $200 plus shipping.

For sale is a Donek Pilot 172cm in excellent condition. The board was used lightly and has plenty of edge left and no damage to the base. (It is pictured below with storage wax that has yet to be scraped.) I replaced it with a Coiler not long after I bought it, so it has seen very minimal use. Asking $250 plus shipping. (Note, I also have a pair of F2 Intec Titanium bindings and an F2 board bag for sale as well.)

Pics for views. :P

So I'm currently in Colorado. The check-in went pretty smooth. I managed to fit two boards/bindings and a pair of soft boots into a Series 3 Sportube weighing in around 45 pounds. The baggage handlers lost the wire case pin and I'm surprised nothing fell out when I found the case upside down on the oversized baggage carousel at the Denver airport. Spent my first day here at Aspen Highlands. The hard boots and Coiler AM were a lot of fun on the morning groomers—I swear Colorado groomers are 10x as wide as those in the northeast. For the chalky spring bumps on the steeps of the Highland Bowl and stuff off the Deep Temerity, I caved and switched back to the soft boots and Prior. G-6 and G-8 were awesome. Maybe it's just my lack of ability carving bumpy terrain on a 45 degree pitch, but the (intended) slop in the soft setup seemed ideal for pumping down the tracked out bowl. Does anyone ride this kind of terrain on plates and hard boots? Isn't it considerably more demanding and difficult?

I'm beginning to lean towards the last three days at A Basin. I'm seeing lift ticket deals for $148/3 days, which is half of what it would cost at Aspen. I'll be on the hill at Aspen and Vail for 3 days beginning Monday, 12-March. It's the latter of the week I'm on the fence about at this point...

Wow, tons of great travel and packing tips here. Thanks! I'm going to get that fishing scale and try my luck at packing both the Coiler AM and Khyber with one set of boots and bindings each. Not bringing a complete edge/wax toolkit like I normally do should help me make weight. So far I'm spending the first three days divided between Aspen and Vail. I'm now debating where to spend the last three days of the six day trip. Options are either more Aspen (possibly slopeside), or back in Denver with daily commutes to Loveland, A Basin, etc. Is there enough epic terrain at Aspen to warrant spending practically all of my CO trip there? Or is variety the spice of life?

Oh crap. I'm booked with United...

Hmm. It might just come down to that... Can any comment on how suitable either setup would be for mostly-inbounds CO? I have no idea what conditions to expect. Probably lots of soft chopped up crud (e.g. in areas like the Highland bowl)? So better to to power through it on plates or the more forgiving softies? BTW sorry for the gratuitous pic whoring... I figured I might as well give people something to look at in hopes of drawing responses... lol

Long story short, I'm headed to Colorado this weekend to visit Aspen Highlands, Vail, A Basin, etc. I went back to my pow board/soft boots today for the first time in quite a while and I was shocked at the difference. (Prior Khyber 160, Burton Custom bindings.) It took a few runs for the softie carving muscle memory to set back in, but even after trying various angles (up to 30/25) and railing 8m SCR turns at (relatively) low speeds, all I kept thinking about was the difference in power, control—and ultimately, my confidence. Around here, I ride a 165 Coiler VSR AM-T with UPZ boots and F2 Intec bindings. I seem to be able to throw it at everything—bumps, Vermont glades, groomers—but I have yet to ride it on a "real" mountain, i.e., the big stuff out west. I've done high alpine bowls, deep pow, pillow lines, cat... but it was all years ago on softies, and with much less bravado and skill than I think I have today. I know, shouldn't reach for the snow... Anyway, because of the airline weight limit on checked bags, I don't think I can take both a soft and hard setup out west with me. I'm don't mind the slop of softies floating around on bottomless pow. But what is the likelihood of encountering this stuff next week in CO? Would a Coiler AM and Prior Khyber on plates be a good two-board quiver for a trip like this, assuming I want to spend most of mine time riding steeps, bowls, and trees? I've never tried the Khyber on plates, and I don't think I'll have an opportunity to do so before I leave. Or should I just suck it up, crank the angles on the soft setup, and hedge my bets with only the Khyber? Any advice is appreciated!

I've spent this season trying to dial in a new set of RC-10 boots. After about 30 days with them, I'm convinced a foam-injected is likely the only way to comfortably accommodate my EE wide foot, narrow heel, and odd boney bits. I've had the shells punched and blown out in places which alleviates some pressure points, but as you allude to, this only creates more problems with increased movement. Since our season in Southern Ontario is pretty much over now, I'm going to wait until next October or November to visit Surefoot in Killington. Hopefully throwing a few hundred bucks at a proper custom liner and orthotic is going to do it. I'm also interested if anyone has any experience with the UPZ foam liner...

So I'm a little late to the game, but here's my new Coiler 165 AM (21w, 10/12.7/12) with a custom "white rice" topsheet: The 182 NSR and 180 VSR asym aren't mine, but I thought it'd make a nice family portrait. :D

Without a doubt, Toboggan is my favourite carving run at Tremblant. Agreed that it's an early catch, but you can't beat the weightless feeling transitioning over the countless rollers all the way down. Fast!

Wow, awesome advice. Thanks everyone. No love for Tahoe huh? It seems Colorado is the overwhelming consensus for snow and variety! I'll do a bit more hunting for airline tickets and I think that will be the determining factor between Denver and Calgary. (SLC is so tempting with how close it is to everything though...) I'm going to aim for mid-week to avoid the crowds and will definitely post on the ride board if I'm headed that way.

I'm thinking of a mid-March trip out west for some "real" mountains. 3 or 4 days of wide-open groomer carving, mixing it up with pow and trees on a pow board. Since my plans are pretty spur-of-the-moment spontaneous, it'll likely be just me. Here's what I'm considering: (1) Tahoe. Fly into Reno, rent a car, and explore South and North Lake. Heavenly, Alpine Meadows, Northstar, etc. I anticipate accommodations to be on the expensive side since I will likely have to stay near resorts. Flights are also on the expensive side. (2) Banff. Fly into Calgary, rent a car, explore Lake Louise and Sunshine. Like Tahoe, I anticipate accommodations to be on the expensive side since I figure I will have to stay near/at the resorts, but the flight to YYC is cheap. (3) Colorado. Fly into Denver, rent a car, drive to Breckenridge et al. Is it feasible to stay in Denver instead of paying the high price to stay in Breck? I've driven those I-70 passes in the summer, but never in March. (4) Salt Lake City. Flights are cheap ($600 from YYZ). Stay in a cheap hotel downtown SLC, rent a car, and spend a few days driving to Park City, Powder Mountain, Snowbasin, Snowbird, etc. Probably the most economical option because I can stay anywhere in SLC. I guess what I'm asking is, from a bang-for-the-buck (and snow!) standpoint... Any suggestions where I'm better off going?