Jack M

Again, look at that picture of Paul. He made the edge change before the board pointed down the fall-line, and is carving the downhill edge.

toe lift on the rear foot?? Wow, I've never tried that. I do use some negative canting on the rear foot though. My stance angle is 65, but my cant disc angle is only 55.

from Bruce: "For SL he was using an identical shape to his previous models. It is a 164cm (146 RL) x 18.5cm x 9.9m with 3mm taper . The static stiffness was pretty much identical to his old models when I tested it but the dynamic stiffness is different as the metal seems to have different flex properties when actually in use. The PGS model is a 185 ( 165 RL) x 18.8 x 15m with 6mm taper. Also similar static flex to his older boards. Both have radial sidecuts and the secret mix of ingredients!"

I wouldn't worry about it on heelside if you feel like you're carving well. It's just evidence that you are really driving forward and pressuring the nose, which is a good thing. Paul K certainly knows what he's doing. Knees together is more of a problem on toeside. Having knees apart on toeside is waaay better for balance and power, like this and this. "Old school" would be if your knees were touching <i>each other</i>, which is not what you're describing.

Human/Octopus hybrid desired for composites assembly and general factory work. Must have own respirator and coveralls. Some late nights required. Apply to Coiler Snowboards, Etobicoke, Ontario.

It's not a metal board. See Bruce's comments in the World Cup Watch. It is a pretty conventional construction with a wood core and everything, but with a layer of Titanal alloy added to the sandwich for dampening and I believe torsional rigidity. Volkl actually uses Titanal already.

"the Swiss and their high tech metal boards" -- what are the Swiss riding? Kessler?

Umm, I take it you haven't seen Ray's thread: http://www.bomberonline.com/VBulletin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=4596

Seth Wescott wins boardercross!!! my Sugarloaf homie!! http://www.fis-ski.com/uk/604/610.html?sector=SB&raceid=4643 And on a Dynastar too! http://www.transworldsnowboarding.com/snow/news/article/0,13009,832534,00.html

Cool! Got any pics? I once rode at Sugarloaf with a guy on a UFO who raved about it and the customer service.

interesting choice of words. :p

I got the same impression from that TWSB article.... but the list of his claimed inventions is so long it almost becomes suspicious. I wonder if he can document it all.

Burton would tell you to put it on the rear foot, but you can try it on either. See which works better for you. Whichever foot you put it under, make sure that it is sloping towards the center (waist) of the board!!

Check out the Bomber Files for two new articles about alpine snowboarding: A Brief History of Alpine Snowboards and Bastard Child. Hope you enjoy them! ps- there's also a new article on Practice Drills in the Tech Articles

don't worry, I'll only rub it in <i>a little</i> on monday.

http://www.bomberonline.com/ses/content/schedule.cfm THANKS DAVE!!

I think as soon as there is any news, it will appear here: http://www.fis-ski.com/uk/disciplines/snowboard/fisworldcup.html?cal_date=&cal_suchseason=2005&cal_oldsector=&cal_codex=&cal_suchgender=&cal_suchcategory=WSC&cal_suchplace=&cal_suchnation=&cal_search=Search

I'm stoked to be headed out for my first SES this year. I've ridden the Aspen area once before, 10 years ago, when Ajax was still on the black list. I have this fantasy that there is some amazing carving to be had on Ajax, that the skiers were previously hoarding. Is there?? I'm hoping there will be a posse who wants to ride Ajax one day. I'll be on snow Thursday through Saturday. And which mountain has the best steep groomers? I'm craving some armpit dragging on flawless western snow. Edit: I see now from The Official Schedule that Thursday, Friday, Saturday we'll be riding at Highlands, Aspen/Buttermilk, Buttermilk. So looks like I'll get a taste of everything. I might want to stay at Aspen all day on Friday if it's good. Anyway, the event looks like it's shaping up to be killer! Can't wait! Beer on Dave Morgan, that's awesome!! I'd still like to hear a description of the terrain though - where are the best steep groomers?

thanks. you could just bookmark the article itself, no?

my avatar will return to its normal self after the Patriots win Superbowl XXXIX. :D

One of our most popular threads has now been archived in the Tech Articles section of the site. The article is here: Carving Practice Drills I hope to snap and add more pictures, and possibly add more drills. So if you have any pictures that would go along with the article, or other drills that haven't been covered, please feel free to submit them for consideration. Thanks to all who have contributed already. Hope you enjoy it!

you know, where you carve up on a bank and you feel like your head is below your feet.

That's interesting about Jasey Jay's carvy style. I wonder if that has anything to do with his success - if it's "better" or just "different". I have a theory that as soon as more suspension/dampening gets put in the boards, we'll see more racers adopting stiffer bindings like Bomber and Catek. Using Burton's or whatever else is like using a flex-stem on a mountain bike. It's a band-aid treating the symptom, not the cause.

see the World Cup Watch for his comments.

http://www.bomberonline.com//articles/feel_the_carve.cfm Also there is some other beginner info in the Welcome Center Be very careful with your attitude towards what you see in Opus 3. Those are very advanced maneuvers done by expert, seasoned carvers. Notice how it doesn't even look like they're <i>trying</i>. Well, they almost aren't. That is, they're not <i>trying</i> to touch the snow, the snow comes up to them. In other words, don't try to touch the snow! Bending over at the waist towards your toeside edge, and excessively sitting down into your heelside carve are to be avoided. If you can avoid this, you will prevent yourself from learning a very common bad habit that is difficult to unlearn. Good luck! Report back here!