darko714

I'm going to guess as to your objective in this: you want to fine tune the handicap system to account inaccuracies due to 'handicap inflation' at certain resorts with more challenging courses. Or, if you will, 'medal inflation' at resorts with less challenging courses. Bravo! Good solution. As a frequent NASTAR snowboard racer, I've always been a bit suspicious of the consistently low handicaps posted by racers in my age group at certain resorts. After spending the weekend at the NASTAR Eastern Regionals at Okemo, I've finally started to figure it out. The courses where snowboarders (and skiers) get better handicaps are the ones with the easiest courses. You might think that this shouldn't happen giver NASTAR's system of using a par time based on Ted Ligety's time, and using local pacesetters times as a percentage slower than Ted's after running against him in a pacesetter time trial. But on an easy course (given gravity as a constant), the variation between the faster and slower racers decreases, resulting in what I would call "handicap compression". If I may, I would like to suggest that you use ALL the times at a particular resort; including skiers, due to the fac

Respect that you rode that thing and had fun with it. In about 1998, when I was still in softboots, a colleague gave me a 'Mogul Monster' that she had sitting in her basement. I noted the length (about 120), lack of sidecut or edges, permanently positioned bindings (about 45 degrees) and the integral buckles (to accommodate galoshes). I accepted it, but I didn't dare try riding it. I gave it to a collector about 4 years ago, who recognized it and was very happy to have it. What was it like to ride?

Daniel Tiede present, sir -- way down the list and will be off it entirely unless I can post better than 55.31. Note also Jack Michaud at No. 33.

darko714, on 14 Jan 2015 - 2:44 PM, said: Can you say a bit more about this? Where does the counter-rotation come in to play? ================================ When confronted with steep, icy, treacherous terrain, bad softbooter instincts (and fear) can come into play . . . counter-rotation results from initiating heelside turn, for example, by yanking the board across the fall line and rotating your torso to face down the fall line, rotating against the carve. The result is always to unweight the edge resulting in the dreaded "death chat" -- an uncontrolled chattery skid that ends either with an ungainly buttslide or a near stop. What the Pureboarding technique teaches (using their drills) is to initiate the edge with a torso turn into the carve. This quiets the chatter. It really works.

I've been to three of these events now and my carving has benefited each time. I have to confess that I'm not very good at this and still haven't succeeded in pulling off a layout (that didn't end in a fall). But, what Joerg and the Pureboarders have been able to beat into my thick skull is not so much the proper rotation, but getting rid of the evil counter-rotation. This has been a big help in carving on steeper sections of the hill and on ice, crud, and frozen cat tracks. The last two years I was able to demo their boards - and they really do work well in the crap snow and narrow runs we have on the right coast. When not riding the Pureboarding I plan to be there, it's always a fun event.

That never occurred to me, but you're right. Even though a lot of the ski patrol where I ride (Holiday Valley in NY) are boarders, they're all softbooters and may not be familiar with alpine bindings. If I think of it, I'll offer to demonstrate both the toe bales and the step-ins to them at one of their meetings.

Other boarders and skiers are a HUGE consideration whenever I ride. I usually like about 100 feet of space. Slower riders in front of me aren't really a concern, since I can usually carve or slarve around them keeping a safe margin. It's the faster ones coming up from behind that I worry about. I try to look uphill at each edge transition, and if I see (or hear) someone, I'll narrow my carves and check my speed until they are by. It's good for us to keep in mind that carving an alpine board is unusual, in that we are riding fast, especially across the fall line. Even good skiers can miscalculate us when they're flying down the hill. I go on full alert when I'm sharing the hill with someone going down at equal speed. In the words of fellow carver Bob Zing . . . "criss, cross, crash!"

58 for me, as well. 17 years snowboarding, last 7 on hardboots. I've noted that aging demographic of hardbooters worries some of us on this forum, but just think of all the softbooters turning 40 every year.

1) Never call it the last run. 2) Sometimes when we think we're done for the season, we seem find a place that has snow and is open for one more weekend. (And then there's always summer riding up at Mt. Hood.) 3) I'm 57, and a day will come when I have had my last run. I won't know it at the time, but by the next winter's snowfall, my soul will have returned to God's kingdom.

A short, wide all-mountain board that you can throw around to avoid the really bad spots.

A short board is best for the Italian Alps. I was just in Cervinia for the first time last weekend and found the conditions exactly as you said: Glare ice near the top, especially early in the day, narrow trails, and mushy near the bottom. I brought one board, an all-mountain Donek Axess 162 with me from the US and could barely edge it on the ice, but did fine in the softer stuff later in the afternoon. The 9m turning radius still needed some skidding on the narrower trails, though. God, that place is huge. Gotta love those Italians. They have excellent restaurants with good wine at the top of most of the lifts, and they don't hesitate to fire up cigarettes, even above 3000 m.

Originally posted by Corey_Dyck "Having said that, I'd look at a Donek Hazelwood or Nomad if you're looking for a powder board. I haven't seen a negative review of either." =============================================== Agree. Donek's site also says ". . . custom dimensions consistent with this construction available . . . " - at the same price (!). Given your size, that may be worth looking into.

Pureboarding II

Great suggestion, Bricky. My boards are -3 and definitely could use a tune. I don't have -4 edge bevel guide, but I'll pick one up from Fuxi at Hood this summer and try it on the bulletproof next season.

============== Goofy footed: try to reach the front boot cuff with the left on the heelside. For me, wipeouts in hardboots have been more common, but less serious, than the ones in softboots. I've been hardbooting 6 years now, but I'm only intermediate and still learning. I'm always trying to get faster and lower, and make quicker transitions, so I consider falling part of the game. My wipeouts are usually heelside buttslides and the result of lazy riding posture, then losing the edge on a patch of ice or an unseen bump. If I'm going fast on steeper terrain, I'll occasionally end up in a rotating slide (the starfish) like you did. Since I don't go near fixed objects, I just ride it out until I stop, since trying to dig the board in when I'm still moving might result it a twisted knee. I usually get bounced around a bit by sliding over uneven ice. Here's a euro-dude losing his front binding and doing a pretty nice starfish: The cartwheel is what you want to avoid. That can happen when you are going really fast and hit a roller and/or dig the nose of the board into soft snow, or lose your balance and catch a downhill edge. Like the name suggests, you get launched vertically "over the handlebars" and cartwheel down the hill end over end. Here's a friend of mine catching an edge in a USASA race: Here's Olympic gold medalist Jasey Jay Anderson launching off a roller:

============== You're right!! I meant downhill! A less ambiguous way to put it is: on the heelside turn, reach for the front binding with your right hand if you ride regular, and with your left hand if you ride goofy. Apologies for the ambiguity. I hope you didn't try it.

Welcome to eastern conditions. Don't worry too much about a 50 foot headfirst ice slide, done myself it lots of times with no injury. In ice country, we call that "doing the starfish". While unnerving, the starfish is loads better than the cartwheel. In terms of wreck management, I might question your trying to dig the board in. If you're sliding headfirst try dragging one elbow until you're going feet first. I was told to kill heelside ice chatter by reaching for my front-foot boot cuff with my uphill hand. It works as long as I remember to actually do it.

========== Absolutely agree. I've demoed 2 Pureboarding boards (the "II" and the "Bastard") at their events and found them great for all-mountain riding, including bumps, and you can still EC the hell out of them.

"Any cat can make cord. Only God can make powder." John E ============== There's a reason He made all mountain boards.

============= Wow! Thank you, Dan! I'm definitely bringing my boots -- and now my bindings. We'll probably only have 1 or 2 days on the hill before getting down to business in Milan. I noted that there are half a dozen rental shops in Campitello, so there's a fighting chance. I'll post about the results when I get back.

Thanks! We will probably be going to Campitello. A friend advised me to take my own boots. Perhaps I can rent a Swoard to get into full Euro mode.

Good luck. I've never seen hardboot gear for rent anywhere. You would think that they would at least have some in Europe, I've been checking (going to Milan next month) and haven't had any luck there, either. Besides the fact that not a lot of people are into alpine snowboarding, a big reason you don't see rentals is because the boots are expensive, and any rental operation would have to carry a large selection of sizes. The capital investment would never justify the revenues. In addition, bootfitting is a major issue for alpine riders. But . . . would it be possible design a board and binding system optimized for ski boots? Think about how much easier it would be to bring into the sport that way. I've seen posts by other riders on here who either use ski boots or started out using ski boots. They usually say the results are somewhere between unsatisfactory and horrible because the boots are too stiff.

A few years ago, I had exactly the same questions. IMHO, NASTAR is the best way to get started. I'm pretty sure Hunter Mountain still has a program. You can show up whenever the course is open, pay a fee, and get 1, 2, or unlimited runs through a non-intimidating GS course. There is an official timer who announces your time at the end of each run, and their website keeps track of all your runs. This allows you to evaluate changes to boards, setups, and riding techniques. Don't get close to those ski gates, even if it means crossing the skiers' ruts twice on each turn. USASA is the next level. They usually have a couple of regional races in your area each year. Their entry fees are higher and they run on steeper, more challenging courses than the NASTAR races. Maybe a bit much for a beginner, but great for the intermediate to expert level riders. The big upsides of USASA are that you get real snowboard gates, and you get to meet other competitors, most of whom are excellent riders and generous about evaluating your riding and giving you tips. Get some coaching. Some of what goes into racing is counter-intuitive, and can only be taught by a good coach. There a great ski and snowboard racing program out at Mt. Hood, OR in the summer called Mt. Hood Skiing and Snowboard Camp (MHSSC). A closer-to-home alternative is the Pureboarding clinic which is an annual event at nearby Labrador and Toggenberg. The clinic is not race, but Extreme Carving oriented. However, Joerg Egli, the instructor, is a professional with a thorough knowledge of snowboard dynamics. An hour on the hill in his group class will make you a better rider.

============= The meat gates.