Jack M

AWESOME. Phil Mahre and Billy Kidd were my ski heros as a kid.

buy a pair of... ;)

Skwalling with poles is still skwalling. It's not a new sport.

ahh, woops... getting our signals crossed here. Pic's of Nolan and Prentice = good "C" this botched carve = bad "C" - what I meant by reverse C. http://jmphotocraft.smugmug.com/gallery/4484815_z4Kur#263833213_Q6F4o-A-LB

Yes, that is the key, imo. Heelside becomes the security blanket because the hips (c.o.g.) naturally drop into the turn, and the C-shape results. Making that happen on toeside is the key to unlock the confidence on that side. Furthermore, I don't see how that's possible while riding with a strict "face the bindings" technique. That stance sets you up to bend over at the waist and reach for the snow if you ask me. The "reverse C", if you will. You need a little hip twist towards the nose to drop the hip in. Like Nolan... http://jmphotocraft.smugmug.com/gallery/4484815_z4Kur#263836680_Awbtc-A-LB or Prentice... http://jmphotocraft.smugmug.com/gallery/4484815_z4Kur#263826491_AePBP-A-LB Cool, sounds like it's happening then. That's where snapping a quick cross-through really helps. Not much time to think on the steeps, gotta make it second nature.

Wow, thanks for the kind words Mark! Hearing stories like this makes it all worth it. Glad we've helped. Cross-through can really help if you are still gaining too much speed and you can't get rid of it without skidding. Aggressive carving scrubs speed. Simply leaning on the sidecut and waiting for the turn to come around does not. Cross-through minimizes time wasted in transition, and allows you to get that board up to maximum edge angle the quickest. Nice going!

I was staying in the condo with Bruce at the ECES. I showed him some plex spacers that Ben Schurman had made for me to put on my Prior metal 177 (now sold). Bruce quickly dismissed them out of hand. "Nah, you don't need those". So I didn't bother with them and the board is fine. I'm riding TD2-Ti SI with medium (purple) e-rings. Suspension kit - not sure why anyone would want to add a layer of mush to anything but an all-mtn carver or freeride board. Why take a performance hit when the Coiler metals are already so smooth and comfortable anyway? You might consider the Safari specs - 170cm x 155cm x 14m x 21cm. I am absolutely loving it. Had it out for a week at Sugarloaf on really fast chalk and also in an accumulating snowfall. The board ruled all. I'm loving the 21cm waist - feels like a snowboard again!!! I'm riding 57/57 - lowest in years and it's a revelation. The load is more balanced on both legs now and I feel like I can work the board better with both feet. On the narrow boards my front leg does most of the work. 14m, I wouldn't want it any shorter. It's perfect for me. Nice and stable but I can tighten it up when needed.

jumps only count if you land and ski/ride away without stopping.

And when that day comes... read this.

If you're primarily going to be cruising the mountain and carving, you should consider a BX style board or an all-mountain carver. They have upturned tails and are very versatile. They'll carve a lot better than any freeride board too.

it's just for fun. people complain about this every now and then, but nobody ever offers any creative alternative other than just doing away with the titles altogether. and what fun would that be? then we wouldn't get to laugh at threads like this! :p any suggestions? anyone? Bueller? No? didn't think so. If you want people to know a bit more about you, fill out your profile.

So if you see a patroller on your trail, just stop carving. Slide on by or wait for them to ski down out of view. If you get approached while not carving (in liftline, standing around, etc), say "that wasn't me. prove it." If you get caught in the act, and are asked to cut it out, play nice and kill them with kindness until they leave. Then resume. If you get caught in the act by someone clearly agitated enough to pull your ticket, carve a big gouge into their skis. You're going home anyway, may as well piss them off. I don't know that mountain at all, but at my mountain most of the good carving trails are black diamonds. I personally could live with being able to only carve on black diamonds. I don't know how they could possibly justify banning expert level activities on expert terrain.

KC, there is some info in the links below that you will probably find helpful. They directly address your questions. And, uhh... anyone care to clue me in as to why these weren't mentioned earlier?

I can vouch for both the condition of Ben's board and the quality of the ride. Ben's board has the PTC wonder tune, and the chamfered topsheet to reduce dings and dents. Mine had neither, hence the difference in my price. Also Ben's topsheet is in prettier condition. My initial thoughts after riding this model are here: http://www.bomberonline.com/VBulletin/showthread.php?t=9747 Very versatile board - damp but still springy, and the light weight will blow you away. Feels like you're flying. Jump on this deal - you'll get a like-new <i>metal</i> board and save $469. Ben is an old bro here, and a master ebayer - he won't let you down.

Haha, well... maybe I am being a selfish little boy but I'd like to enjoy this being unique for a while. Been dreaming of it for years. Besides, if I become the source of multiple Safari replicas out there, there's possible copyright issues that I'd rather not think about or deal with. ---- Cleanup on aisle 5... bunch of Madd Metal posts here moved to that thread.

30cm waist? 150cm length, 155cm running length? cloaking device?

To be fair, the only metal Madd demos were 18cm wide. Very different feel regardless of construction, and not a good one for the soft conditions. But yes, I was/am extremely impressed with my new Coiler. An eye-opening experience to say the least.

Ha! Let me think about that. 'course, I can't stop you from creating one like I did, but if you want my vector file that's another thing. Hmmm....

Haven't been on one. Asked for a demo back in November, didn't happen. There were two metal Madds (158 & 170) available for demo at the ECES, but I sure wasn't going to try one then, having just received my new baby.

yes, you can purchase downloads in 1mp, 4mp, and original (up to 8mp in some cases, most of mine are cropped to about 6mp) if you want a whole mess of originals, we can discuss a volume discount.

Bob's pictures are now up. They start at image number 138. Thanks to those who have placed orders already!

Thanks JD! Great to have the NH A-team in attendance. You guys rip. Next year... well, the ECES is bi-annual, so head to the SES if you need a fix. For 2010 if Geoff and I are running the show, it will be either Stowe or Sugarloaf. Huge PITA to reinvent the event at a new resort. We'll see.

Don't know about that, but Gecko is correct... Bruce assembles the board sans topsheet - he can even test ride the board without the topsheet - and then he can install the topsheet later. In my case, snowboardmaterials.com printed the graphic on the topsheet material and then shipped that to Bruce. Pretty sure the printing is done by sublimation.

thanks Dano! specs are in the first post. scroll up, dawg!

HUGE props to www.snowboardmaterials.com for the topsheet. I had a friend do the image in Adobe Illustrator, and snowboardmaterials printed the topsheet. The quality is top notch, could not be better. I WILL be using them again. $45 plus shipping?? Sold!!