neil sunday

I believe Fawcett's Sims had them in them circa 1996. I know a guy that still has one and it still rides well even in race courses after 9 years....

to ensure level shoulders, try riding with ski poles. they act as height indicators and will tell you how out of alignment your upper body is...

Yup Kathy- I was at that race. Remember the days of Ski Liberty very well. usually pretty bad conditions.... hahahhaa

USASA supports grass roots snowbaording, and has age levels all the way into the 60's and even 70+ or something like that... The nearest race for you living in West Virginia is probably the Mid Atlantic Snowboard Series, which will be held March 5th and March 6th at Ski Roundtop, PA. That is my home mountain, and we work very well with the MASS staff to have super well organized races. Come on out and try it!

this season's LEVEL gloves are great- the leather ones esp... almost like REUSCH gloves, which are by far the most superior glove for riding IMO. the new SPYDER World Cup gloves are the worst gloves you'll ever pay $75 for. I used them two days before they were shot. two days!!!!

i've been carving perfect groomers ALL season. I live in central pa and freeride 2 days a week and train gates an additonal 3 days per week. the other two days are rest days!!! you're not looking hard enough. ice simply tests one's body positioning on the board... but this season, i've yet to encounter it...

any t nuts to mount the Booster Straps can be found at any hardware store. I ride the raichle af 700's with booster t-nutted to the back to the boot and then secured over the front of the toungue...

Barry, It was great to meet you. Hopefully next time it can be in the morning , when there's still corduroy on the hill! send me an email and we can hook up. I'd like to ride with you guys. Neil

how old is the Rossi world cup? the last i saw any rossi race board worth it's camber was in 1997-98. all the one's i've seen lose their camber in about a month.

when i ran the "modified" set up, we had only the 6 kids on our team and two coaches running it. the heaviest kid i think weighs in at a whopping 130 pounds.. it was fine for a three hour session..

nice heelside carve- this technique will work fine on nice, packed snow. your technique is perfect... change these conditions to less than favorable, and you'll find yourself skidding/sliding the turn. note the c.o.g. in relation to the heelside edge of the board. bent knees would allow his c.o.g. to remain closer to the edge providing more edge grip in bumpy, icy conditions. also- the knees are together- reads "separate Zee knees" to explain why separted legs are stronger and provide a "platform" of stability to place your weight on... the same goes for toeside turns. the c.o.g. of this rider is about 24" from his toeside edge. this will equal skids or chattering on any other snow than this... that being said, again- nice technique for the snow conditions. we call this stuff "hero" snow, as it allows for easy carving at all times. My Final Comment about JJA would simply be, that undoubtedly he one of the finest racers in the world. his technique is perfect- when faced with winning a world cup race, racers focus on one thing- going fast. technique is sometimes thrown to the wayside in lieu of being quick. this is why the front leg is almost straight, and the shoulders are angulated into the hill.. when winning is priority, the years of perfect technique willtake you to a certain level. pushing that technique even further gets you faster... in JJA's case - a couple WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS!!!!

I have a friend of mine that will probably never ski again when he was involved in a collision with a fellow snowboarding friend of mine. Life-line helicopter trip to the hospital, broken tib/fib, torn acl, broken tailbone, and broken pelvic bone that was separted 6cm at his pubic bone. along with this two fractured vertabrae. several infections, blood transfusions, and operations later- he walks with a limp. this was two years ago. Both guys involved in the accident are friends, and excellent riders and skiers.... Be careful out there- we generate alot of speed when carving.

I'm a Ski Roundtop carver as well, mostly these days it's just coaching, racing and training for me. maybe someday i'll get out and freeride again... we have about five hardbooters on the team that can carve very well for a bunch of kids! Mark from East of Maui Surf SHop joins us sometimes, he's out of Annapolis, MD...

Nate- It's a great idea, and one we've used on our team to teach the kids to crave turns, beforethey learn the race "skitch." we use a combo of stubbies, follwed by "feather" gate below the stubbie, which forces them to fully complete the turn. we've only had about five consecutive gates set for this exercise, but it's fun to watch. usually, a freerun on the groomed race hill will help dictate the set- just follow the tracks! Have fun!

Congrats on the child... shoot me an email at : neilsunday@aol.com and we can go out and make some turns one morning. i've been dialing in my 186cm GS board after riding my 163 SL stick for 15 days to start the season. (I quickly was reminded how small our hill can get.)

phil- excellent point regarding the ankles. just becasue they're in hardboots doesnt mean you can't flex 'em! i think every hardbooter should ride softies once in a while in order to realize what role the ankles do play during the turn, especially iniation... -- when have you been riding? i'm at the mountain on mon, weds, sat, sun.

carvedog, stand on the hill on your heelside edge with your hips right smack between your feet. move your weight forward- as in the direction of the nose of the board. perhaps i left this little part out, as it has been drilled some many times into our heads, which way "forward" is. "forward" is NOT "downhill" as i think this is what you are perceiving. anyways. with hips centered between your feet, you can side-slip down the hill... as you move your weight "forward" - also known as to the front foot of the board, feel what happens- the nose of the board will automatically slide down the hill. 100% of the time. repreat thhis exercise in moving your hips to the back foot. the tail will slide down the hill. this is a tendency of many carvers to make the mistake of getting caught on the tail end of the board, and simply tuirning off the tail. try it and see what you think.. good luck. by utilizing for and aft pressure throughout the turn you will increase the dynamics of a carved turn...

when i am coaching my young racers, i have them traverse on a toe-side edge, and then move all weight (or 75%) to the front foot, which starts the board downhill. They will then commit to the carved turn by "sitting" into the turn, while the "uphill arm is at their ear (preventing leaning into the hill with the shoulders=skidding out) and driving their "downhill" arm to the front toepiece of the binding. It all starts with the forward initiation like Jack is saying, followed by a smooth bending of the knees into the carve. In my opion, hips foward is where it all starts. Forward momentum to start the turn.

i find in the soft snow you can buckle them down a little tighter, as you dont want to hit chunks of slush that may twist an ankle in the boot. in harder snow ironically, i loosen them up just abit- there's still no wasted movement, but all buckles come undone when riding up the chair lift. the booster strap stays tight the entire time...

Sorry Kent, Alexa didnt make it to the finals ladder.

Klug has his work cut out for him-- up against #2 Andreas Pommegger from Austria. Too bad Justin Reiter and Adam Smith have been paired up aginst one another- oh well, the clock doesnt lie! GO TEAM USA!!! http://www.fis-ski.com/pdf/2005/SB/7110/7110SLRF.PDF Jasey Jay Qualified #3, he'll be in with Urs Eislen should he make it through the bracket!

Noah- Try a Donek 181 or larger. These boards are extremely lively when compared to the coiler damp, smooth ride. You may find it fun. I'd call Sean and see what custom molds he has made for bigger guys....

Peter- 1) don't think about it too much... 2) start with a stance that is comfortable, yet stable. i am 5'8" and ride approx 19.5 inch stance in GS and 19.0 inch stance in SL. Wide provides a stable platform. 3) board selection should take into many factors, mostly length is determined by weight and intended use. almost all board companies will have selection criteria on their websites. try and pick out what type of riding you will be doing the most, and fit your board to that particular style. (you'll achieve numerous boards real quick)... 4)angles. i personally ride 54 degree front and rear angles. i also ride with my knees, hips and shoulders in line with the angles of my feet. lower angles mean quicker edge to edge in slalom- that's the reason i do it. just make sure your back foot is not angled more than your front foot, as that will tend to oversteer on heelside turns. ( i know there are exceptions)... 5)binding cants... everyone is all over the place on this one. find something that allows your knees to bend comfortably and doesnt put them smack together- creating a weak "triangle." 6)start mellow with everything, or neutral as possible, and tweak from there. remember- small changes and only one change at a time... 7) good luck, make sure those screws are tight, and let 'er rip!

i especially like the part in the article when the season passholder would like the snow report phone to advise "which lifts are running on diesel" hahahahah. you'd miss first tracks and corduroy sitting on the phone for 25 minutes! get real.

Skategoat, I agree with your positive response to Klug's book. Having raced for 16 years, it was like a "timeline" of what has transipired for our sport. Klug still rides and works closley with Burton products. Check out his website at: www.klugriding.com for more info on that. You can also order his book directly from the site. The book has become required reading for the kids on my snowboard team this season, as I feel they can learn from an olympians perspective of what is really important in life, and that there are other things out there than just snowboarding. Klug's dedication to physical training is a positive motivator for all of my athletes (and myself) as well.