khoward

Dang...not officially announced on the website yet

Thanks, planning first chair noon tomorrow. Could do 2-3 hours before work.

Spirit posted that they’re closed all day Sunday due to Blizzard-like conditions

Carvable firm groom and good light. Great morning riding with Russ, Dave and Jim. Blew out another TD3 binding. They should hire me to test them. Felt a hard snap on my front binding and brought it to a safe stop with a toe side J-Turn. The toe side heel bail sheared off at the lug. Fortunately, I was parked at the bottom of the hill rather than at the top, but it was a long walk. Rode the Coiler the rest of the morning. Just invested in new TD3 Sidewinders and a whole new heel block assembly. Planning first chair tomorrow

Out today, groom was firm, but not icy despite the high winds on Thursday night. Planning first chair tomorrow:)

Good carving at Copper. Powder day yesterday, more familiar hardpack today

Very sad. Pretty much what is known about what happened is as reported. Apparently unwitnessed. Spirit Mountain has announced that the season is over and will not open this weekend. Financials for the season were good Everybody loves you when you're in the black. We finished our season at Copper with a powder day on Friday Thinking about boots for next season. Sticking with my Track 225s vs UPZs vs Track 325s. Not sure which would be better with very flat feet

Hmmm. I’ve been missing some features on PayPal. Wolf’s experience with the older lug shafts mirrors mine. Solved by the newer ones. More thought on the matter. I wonder whether the failures have to do with our riding extensively at sub-zero temperatures. The linear coefficient of expansion for aluminum is 23.1 and for steel, 10.1-17.3 It’s possible that multiple cycles of temperature from -10F to 70F caused the aluminum lug threads to contract with excessive strain against the steel of the bale threads leading to weakening. Have similar failures involved extreme temperatures? Corey probably rides at even colder temps. Switching to a corrosion-resistant steel would correct this, but would be more difficult to machine and expensive. Interesting to see what you all come up with.

Trick question...Joel's riding soft boots. Good riding with Jim and Russ today. Can hear the ice under the surface, but softened up nicely. Rode till about 3. (tried to upload the video, but the file was too large)

Which one of these is not like the others?

First chair tomorrow. Also, it's gonna be retro-neon Hot Tub Time Machine Day. Be warned :)

From a Board of Directors standpoint, what questions should we be asking?

I recently experienced a second significant failure of my older TD3 bindings. The thread of the bale stripped out of the lug. I ride goofy and this was the front foot heel bale on my right (backside). These were new 3/2011, and they have been ridden about 500 hours. It’s an area of repetitive high stress with steel on aluminum. They have never been transported on a roof rack or stored wet in the car. They have been ridden a lot in sub-zero temperatures. The depth of thread into the lug was as it was shipped from Bomber since these older bindings didn’t have a screwdriver slot, and I was never able (despite trying) to unscrew the lug shaft. Under bright light and high magnification there appears to be corrosion in the lug which wouldn’t be surprising for a contact point between two dissimilar metals in a wet environment. Perhaps this is an area that should be periodically inspected for corrosion or wear and apply fresh Loctite, or replaced. Revision of the lugs with corrosion-resistant steel probably would be difficult to machine and expensive. Anyone else have similar experience?

Another beautiful day at Spirit. Rode with Lonbordin and his son for a bit. Unfortunately, blew out another back bale hub on my TD3s on Gandy, but didn’t crash. End of day. Back tomorrow.

Thanks for the offer, unfortunately have to work Monday evening at the Salt Mine. Maybe Jane would be interested?

Beautiful day at Spirit, but a bit congested on the 4Pipe side. Rode with Jolson around lunchtime. Cool sun halo with approaching change in weather

Recent trip to Tamarindo

Jane and I were out for a few runs around noon today. Jolson has been sighted. Rode up the 4Pipe chair with him. Hasn't lost his smooth unique style with a year off.

We’re learin’ to surf in Costa Rica :)

Got out for a surf down Four Pipe today. Getting a bit tired. Might try again tomorrow :)

Thanks for the thoughts and wishes and miss being out for first chair. Doing better and recuperating. Neck is still moderately painful and decreased range of motion. Old-fashioned aspirin works better than all other pain killers. Planning to go back to work late next week, but doubt I'll get out riding again this season. Could've been a lot worse. Looking forward to next season. Ken

I would avoid Ski Hut. They detuned the front of my Donek Metal FC back about 6-9 inches despite written instructions about what I wanted done. Damage Snowboard shop in West Duluth is a good source of gear, but they wouldn't touch Alpine boards. Not aware of anyone else in town. Typically, I've had Gravity at Copper Mountain due my edges when were at USASA, but perhaps not this year.

Thanks for your prayers. Doing better, but that was the closest I've come to dying

Jane and I had a great time riding for 3 days at Steamboat, then 1 day at Copper. Steamboat was mostly hardpack, no powder while we were there, but Bluebird days. Unfortunately, I hit a different patch of Kryptonite on early Saturday morning while staying in Denver on our return trip. Short version, woke up in septic shock due to invasive Group A beta-Hemolytic Strep sepsis. Anyway, home now and recuperating with two weeks of home IV antibiotic therapy. Hoping to be back out at Spirit in a couple of weeks. Ken

Tuesday was bulletproof cord after a week above freezing then dropping. Wednesday improved with consistently below 32F temps and a night of grooming. Today was excellent and even had some blue skies. I will not comment here on the above other than to say it will be addrssed.