darko714

Confirmed. I moved the bindings back about an inch and the next day the board carved better on all types of snow but was too slow to come around. My turn initiation could use improvement. What is the 'sneaker in the clothes dryer' approach?

Dan gave me good advice on sizing and accommodated a last minute shipping change.

The current, and generally accepted theory is that spreading (and sinking) of various regions on the ocean floor is caused by plate tectonics, not the weight of water. While such dynamics might affect the shape of coastlines and undersea features, it's difficult for me to imagine how they would affect the overall sea level. I wouldn't trust Live Science as a source -- they are owned by Purch, a digital marketing group which edits their articles to appeal to news outlets like CNN, MSNBC, and Yahoo. The article sounds like someone trying to defend a climate model that isn't supported by data. For what it's worth, the oceans have been rising at a rate of about 1 to 10 mm per year since the last glacial maximum about 20,000 years ago. The activities of mankind have not affected that significantly.

I've been riding soft, tracked up stuff out here in Whistler on my old Donek Axis all week and find myself doing more bouncing and skidding than carving on steeper pitches. Also suffered the rear leg burn, so this forum is on point Anyway I'm moving the bindings back an inch today, so I'll see if it heips. There must be a downside to this. Does anyone know what it is? I'm about to head out so I guess I'll find out.

I ride the lift with my skiing wife all the time and we usually decide which way we're going on the chair. She's an expert skier so she can follow me down, no problem, although she seldom takes the same line. If I wipe out she'll pass me. On big mountain runs we stop a few times for a 'quad break', with whoever's in front initiating the stop.

I just ordered the UPZs, went with same mondo as my old Deeluxes. If I don't like the stock liners, can just stuff my old Deeluxe Thermoflex liners into the UPZs? I understand that after a day or so of riding, they can mold to the new shape. Should I also scavenge the BTS from the Deeluxes?

Once on Mt. Hood I forgot to fasten the leash to my boot after unloading from the lift at the top of Magic Mile (it was summer, so you had to carry your board off the lift to get to snow), and I thoughtlessly unsnapped the front binding. Just like that the board slid out of my reach. I watched in horror as it raced down past the lift, past the porta-potties, and into a canyon, where it launched off a cliff, and went end-over-end into the volcanic rocks. It took me 15 sweaty, leg-burning minutes to hike down, recover the board, and hike back up. Both my ego and the board still bear the scars.

After weeks of frustration of skidding early-season ice sheets, bouncing off moguls, and awkward balance checks through snowgun paste, new snow and a February sun combine for a hero day and I feel competent again.

Go to the lost and found at your local hill and ask if they have a box of unmatched mittens, gloves, etc. that they will be throwing out since no one has claimed them for at least a season. Rummage through them and pick out every one that fits, regardless of how ugly it is. Sort them rights and lefts, and then pair them up as well as possible. Don't worry that you burn through a pair a week, or that one wears out faster than another - they don't match anyway.

Weight training 2-3 times a week with an emphasis on legs (squats, lunges, and leg-extensions). I'd like to do more but I'm awfully busy this year. If I'm able to go 5 days I add elliptical or cycling (10-20 miles, brisk but not killer pace). As the season approaches I intend to replace the weight training sessions with Tim Grover's Jump Attack formula - a masochistic program of plyometrics designed to increase explosive power and flexibility. I found it worked well for me last year in getting some of my vertical jump back. It seems like it should translate well to snowboard racing but I didn't get out enough to give it a fair test.

Question (sort of on-topic): Is it okay to lean your boards against the wall and leave the bindings on all summer?

I wondered, why did so few people choose the third option (most terrain)? Softboots would seem to be a no-brainer on powder days, right? But then I realized some us don't even have a softboot setup. And, maybe it's moot -- do we even get powder in the northeast?

Sean is right on. There isn't any real crisis here. The Times article is primarily about a drop in sponsorship money at the very highest levels of freestyle riding - not surprising in the current economic environment. But a look at demographics show that more people are turning 40 (or 50!) than are born each year, (Wikipedia - Demographics of the United States) and participation in snowboarding among those over 25 remains strong. As the population ages, it makes sense that skiing and snowboarding will actually grow (in the near term) because middle aged adults have more time and money. It's also possible that the ranks of hardbooters will grow. I didn't get involved until I was 49, and, at 59 I'm still improving and still as stoked as ever.

I haven't ridden the other 2 boards , but I have a stock Donek Axxis 162 from 2008 which I learned on and has been my 'go to' board for 8 years. It does great in fluff, mush, chopped and groom. It performs quite adequately through bumps and off-piste. I love its versatility on busy weekends when I have to alternate carved turns with slarving around traffic. It's difficult to carve ice and frozen groom on it, however. It's also may be bit stiff for my weight (165 lb.), with all that that entails.

"BTW, gates are ski gates, which were surprisingly not that painful when I drove through them." That hasn't been my experience. When I've hit a ski gate, I've hit it too low for it to flex out of my way. It stays planted, like a 1" sapling, and I end up cartwheeling into the safety fence. I don't think I can improve on Beckmann's post, except to 1- stress that it's not only okay to skid the board, but in some circumstances it's absolutely necessary, and 2- transition early -- after completing a turn, get over to the other edge quickly and decisively. If you hesitate, it’s easy to be “late” and then be stuck having to carve uphill to round the next gate, Practice aired transitions when you’re out freeriding.

I'm with the consensus here: Never unload clicked in. I put my back hand on the chairlift seat to steady myself as I stand, and get my back foot on the board between the bindings, letting the lift push me the first couple of feet while I get balanced. Then I like to go straight until the other riders begin to peel away. I have trouble making a heelside (left for me) one-footed turn without sliding out - so there's still potential drama in those chairlift unloads. =================== Speaking of T-bars, has anyone ever tried the one at the municipal hill (Hammarbybacken) in Stockholm? The first 100 feet or so are on a very steep incline. About a dozen consecutive failures induced frustration, rage and self loathing until my understanding GF convinced me to relax my death grip and let it pull me up while using my legs to keep my board firmly on the "wall".

I have a High Sierra double ski bag - it fits a 183 plus another board. Got it cheap online from ebags. It has survived 3 trips to Europe and 2 out west . The padding isn't great but it's roomy, so I pack the bag with clothes. Loaded up, it's heavy and awkward as hell to schlep around -- but, then, there's really no easy way to travel with a six foot long snowboard.

Sad, but I suppose there's a logic to it. I just don't see the logic of adding big air when they already have halfpipe. Now, they could make up for losing PSL by designing SBX courses that are less about the huge jumps and more about carving and turning skills. Making SBX competitive arena for both hardbooters and softbooters would add a dimension of strategy. A change in that direction could make it safer (fewer serious wrecks), and with more close finishes, too.

ablapia -- Your first day sounds about like mine: Horrible! It was a warm slush day in spring, and my brand new board kept locking into heelsides sending me rocketing towards the trees, way in the back seat and out of control. I bailed or fell on every turn. My feet were in total pain, my glasses completely fogged and useless, and I was soaked and sweating. 1. I think the first problem you need to solve is the boots. Lower your stance angles until you feel comfortable enough to make decent, skidded turns, then see a good bootfitter for remaining issues. Less pain and more fun are critical to the learning process. Also, keep in mind that once you start carving, a lot of that foot pain will diminish since some of it may be caused by the impact from too much skidding and braking. 2. For the first year or so, take your softboot setup to the hill and switch to it in the afternoon once your feet and legs are begging for mercy. Better to be out riding than sitting in the lodge. 3. Work out. Thousands of leg extensions, lunges and squats in the off season will give you the endurance to keep you out on the hill practicing and the leg strength to recover from bad situations. 4.. Avoid narrow traverses. 5. Read Beckman's posts.

In any liability case, the burden of proof is on the claimant to prove that the person at fault was negligent. In a ski/snowboard collision, proving negligence would involve proving that the other skier/rider failed to act with reasonable care. (Italicized items refer to legal concepts and are not used in their broadest sense.) The natural place to start would be the "Skier Responsibility Code" posted at most resorts in the lodge, at the lifts, and even on the lift tickets. In this case the relevant guideline would be "People ahead of you have the right-of-way. It is your responsibility to avoid them." Who is at fault in the scenario shown on your diagram depends on who the uphill rider/skier was just prior to the accident. If that cannot be determined, then, in my opinion, the two would share liability equally. As a practical matter, these kinds of cases rarely go to litigation, due to the limited resources of both the claimants and parties at fault.

I like carvedog's analogy that softboot carving is the "gateway drug" to hardboot carving. Softboot carvers posting on this forum are already addicts and will eventually reach for the hard stuff. It's human nature. Once they see what's available on this site, they will want it. If we really want to increase popularity of hardboot riding, a softboot carving forum would be the perfect thing. The biggest entry barriers are the expense (and initial discomfort) of the gear, and the new skills required. Most of us are converted softbooters, and reading the BOL forums helped us big time. Why wouldn't this be the case for the next generation of jibbers, as well? Who knows, a Bomber softbooter forum might even inspire a market for hybrid gear that would ease the transition to carving. Like a some of us, I've held on to my 1990s softboot setup, and still break it out once or twice a year to practice riding switch, spring rock dodging, and late season hikes up to the last snow after the lifts close. I've seen some great softboot carvers and would be interested in reading what they have to say.

jatkinson, My wife and I will be staying at Whistler Sunday through Thursday (coming from Toronto). Good to hear that conditions will make us feel right at home.

Your symptoms sound like Metatarsaglia, it's a common foot problem, probably from decades of toe-strike running and playing basketball. Or you may Morton's Neuroma, which is what I believe I have. Same causes. It's a thickening of nerve tissue between the metatarsal bones, which is irritated by compression of the end of your foot by a too-narrow toe box in shoes or boots. Bones crushing a nerve - ouch, ouch, ouch! I had the foot pain big time when I started out hardbooting. After about an hour of riding, the pain on the bottom of my back foot, between my third and fourth metatarsals, was intense. Especially when stopping, skidding or chattering on heelside turns. My first step was to change my setup. I opened my stance on my rear foot from 52 degrees to about 42, and added heel lift, toe lift, and inward cant, all to take pressure off the pained area. It helped, but the pain still came later in the day, and my carving suffered. My next step was seeing a boot fitter. I have Deeluxe Suzukas with the thermoflex liners. He used a moto-tool to grind out and enlarge the toe box of the rear foot to create more width. Huge help. So much that I was able to contemplate changing my stance back to more aggressive angles. Finally, my riding has begun to progress. Yes, better riding technique helps! Being able to get consistently cleaner carves, without chatter, in steeper terrain, has taken a LOT of pressure off that back foot so that now, even though the Morton's Neuroma (or whatever it is) has gotten worse, I can actually ride with less pain than walking.

Not me, theboarderdude is the thread originator. ============ Oops. Should have scrolled up further. =========== BTW I agree with you about courses with steep early gates. I tend to pick up speed too quickly and then, because there's less margin for error, I end up sliding and turning late. Way late. And it just kills my time. I've observed other riders, even very good ones, having trouble with this, too. They cope with it by skidding, slarving, chattering and windmilling to keep the board on the course. Check this out after about the 1:00 mark, once the course starts getting chewed up. Awesome. I guess that's the difference between carving and racing.

Sunsurfer, Yesterday my internet service crashed before I could finish my post If I may, I would like to suggest that you use ALL the times at a particular resort; including skiers, due to the fact that there are too few boarders at any single resort to create a sample large enough to statistically eliminate variations in rider talent from resort to resort. I.e. a few really fast snowboard racers could skew a difficult course to a lower handicap. For this purpose, the difference between skiers snowboarders is not significant. Since that would be a LOT of data to enter by hand, perhaps NASTAR would be amenable to giving you a copy of the data for each year, by resort, in a spreadsheet format so you could begin handicapping the courses at various resorts. Or not. Or . . . maybe if you pitched your project to NASTAR they will see the merit in it, and make it part of their handicapping system.