Slow Eddie

Now that I have your attention, I've been hunting around for a link to the video in which a guy goes from sit to stand on a Swiss ball, then does a single leg squat back to sitting on the ball. I thought it was in one of the threads on this board, but I can't seem to find it despite several searches. Hook a brother up.

Hey Todd, In that same issue, there is an article about snow pro's (snowmakers, groomers etc.) with a "dawn patrol" photo of a skier and a rider starting off down a trail. I'm sure that rider is a hardbooter, but I'm not sure if it's anyone recognizable.

Does it really stand for Fun & Function? That's almost as lame as Hooger Booger.

My first hardbooting experiences, like those of several other members, were on asym boards. When I made the switch to a symmetrical board, my riding improved, but I didn't feel like I had to "unlearn" a lot of things, merely adapt them to a higher-angled stance. In fact, coming from snowboards of the late 80's and early 90's, an asym alpine board seemed like the perfect transition between my Sims Blade and the first FP I got. While I agree that the OP will probably learn faster and "cleaner" if he rode a symmetrical setup from the get-go, what if the asym is the only alpine deck in the stable? What would be the lesser of evils to learn on - an outdated alpine design, or a freestyle/freeride-type deck? Lots of us made the transition from asym to symmetrical without lasting ill effect. To be clear, I much prefer riding modern symmetrical designs. Large-radius turns, harder snow conditions, and steeper pitches are all made easier for me with symmetrical boards. But if you are used to really shallow angles, maybe coming from a freestyle background, or just don't have anything else to ride, don't make a park bench out of your asym just yet.

Except for when you can.

It still is a haven. I think they shut the chair down in the springtime when the bears start waking up.

I might be at Bolton in the evenings more often this season since it may work out better with my work schedule. Never thought about chasing sticks, though - soul carving is where it's at for me.

there is a shuttle bus service.

I rode at North a fair bit two seasons ago - could have been on anything from a Nidecker 168 to an FP 178 to a one-off FP 184, but I probably would have been wearing the same orange jacket as in my avatar pic (which, incidentally, is from the 'Bush that season).

I just posted a similar comment on Catek's forum. Hopefully, Jeff will oblige with more photos and explanation.

While plastic 4-hole disks may be cheap and plentiful, the aluminum ones are worth the extra time and expense of obtaining, especially for plate bindings. Another option, if you cant or lift your bindings, is to find the Universal Cant/Lifts. these are 2 interlocking black plastic disks, circular when viewed from above and wedge-shaped when viewed from the side. they stacked one on top of the other to give various combinations of lift and/or cant. The binding attached to the board via what was essentially a ball-and-socket joint with mounting plates on either side that were both 3 and 4 hole compatible. That is to say, you could mount 3D bindings on 4x4 inserts, and vice versa. The disks have zero overhang on decks 19 cm and wider; the two disks have about a degree of rotational play in them, so you might feel some clicking underfoot, but I've never noticed any loosening of the screws between binding, disk, and deck. Hope this helps. Oh, and if you want to stay true to the big B, keep an eye out for boards with names like E Deck, E Wire, and Coil. AM decks built for plates and carving, and can be found pretty cheap, expecially at ski swaps. Think of them as the poor man's Axis.

There are also very good articles on this site - one that is specific to TD2's and an earlier one devoted to TD1's. Both well-explained by one of the forum moderators, and reading the Td1 article will shed some light on the reasoning behind the evolution into the TD2. Hope this helps.

Tunes on the chair, only when riding solo. Never during the run.

I wonder if the Gold Medal Boards will use the Alumafly Core so as to be as Kessler-esque as possible. I can see the feedback being passed along right now: "Hey Dude, I got another e-mail from one of those alpine guys saying how we should start selling race boards again." "Dude, doesn't he know that Eurocarve stuff is totally lame?" "Yeah, like those old guys care if they're lame ot not. Whatever. Dude, let's go smoke up." "Right on."

I started snowboarding because it was different from the skiing I had been doing for a few years. I picked up skiing pretty quickly and my family had always used to ski at smaller hills (Butternut Basin and the like - Noah, you know what I mean :) ) Snowboarding "made the mountain hard again", a theme that echoes through a lot of crossover snowboarders' histories. But I was also into racing at the time (on skis and, when possible, on snowboards). This being the mid-80's, good racing form in one discipline did not necessarily carry over into the other discipline. Plus, no matter how much duct tape I used on my boots, I couldn't go as fast, in as much comfort, or with as much control on a snowboard compared to my skis - in or out of the race course. So I decided (and was told) that if I wanted to improve my ski racing technique, I should quit snowboarding - after all, that sport's going nowhere fast... Fast forward to the mid-90's. Whatever ski racing aspirations I had in high school had long since evaporated, and lo and behold, snowboarding didn't skate off into the sunset. In fact, it had evolved in the competitive Petri dish of Europe, where racers had discovered the advantages of stiff plastic boots and (gasp!) asymmetric geometry for maximum efficiency and control on the course. Now, I could carve my skis as well as anybody I knew, and this was before words like fat and parabolic entered the ski shape lexicon - but what I witnessed the first time I saw hardbooters laying it down was jaw-dropping. 360's around "SLOW" signs, recovering from laydown, arm-dragging turns, edge changes so rapid the board would "pop" off the snow during the transition - you couldn't do any of that on skis. And the trenches - oh, the trenches! Long, sinuous lines snaking down the hill with impunity, daring you to try not to follow them with your eyes while riding up the lift, and daring you to try and follow them with your boards on the way down. For the first time since I had started snowboarding ten years earlier, I felt a stirring in my soul. This is what snowboarding was supposed to be. I scrounged up a set of closeout gear and never looked back. When the shaped ski "revolution" happened a few seasons later, I wasn't fazed - I had already tasted the sweetness of the carve, and trying to replicate it on skis was just a poor substitution for the real thing. Sure, I have a pair of shaped skis in the garage. I even started telemarking a few seasons ago with eventual backcountry aspirations. But nothing has replaced hardbooting as my primary winter fix, and nothing probably ever will.

If this thing truly uses random movements with variable force and direction, it might be of benefit. Research has shown that subjects trained with random balance perturbations have faster reaction times and less postural sway and loss of balance when confronted with successive rounds of random balance perturbations. Most force-plate setups are about the size of a golf cart, though; I wonder if this thing has the chops to seriously train anyone's balance. If you could hook it up to a game system, though - now we're talking.

And I thought the wallets were cool. Riding in Sorels with ski boot liners was just plain uncomfortable until you wound 'em up with duct tape. Then they were...um, I guess they were still uncomfortable, but toesides were easier.

Riding since '86, plates since '96. First board was a Burton Performer Elite 150, first alpine board a Crazy Banana Rush 168 (asym). I've tried to sell the Crazy B a couple of times, but something always seemed to kill the sale. I guess the universe is trying to tell me to hold onto my "first" boards, since I still have both of 'em, and now I wouldn't think of selling either.

Oh, those Gnu bindings with the pre-"Kelly Tongue" tongues. Mmm. And don't forget the Hypercarve, epitome of all things Gnu. When I got my first pair of hard boots, I bought replacement (i.e. non-ski-boot) liners for my Sorels, and I still use them for shoveling snow and driving to the hill. Those things just won't die.

Turned 33 in June. Physical Therapist / Bicycle Mechanic. I can think of three others (one of whom is a member, two others who may lurk) who are within either side of me be 1 year and are variously sales reps (pharmaceuticals and outdoor hardgoods/softgoods) and a luthier/furniture craftsman. You have to be a little bit of a geek to love hardbooting, and it doesn't hurt to have enough income to afford the hardgoods. Like others have mentioned, most of the equipment available (and desired by the majority of the participants) is at the high end of the quality scale compared to other sporting endeavors.

driving in hard boots is just not possible. ;)

I ride Burton's Physics system (the Speed version, with the hooks up front instead of bales). I would strongly recommend NOT using any sort of lubricant on the boot/binding interface, i.e. the posts on the receiver and the rings in the boot heel. Think about it. Friction is what makes this system work. the rings in the heel are meant to slide down the posts (like when you step in), but not up the posts. Pulling up on the heel without first pulling on the release cable actually causes the rings to grip the posts more tightly (hence the name of the system. Any sort of lubricant would decrease the coefficient of friction of the interface. Lube would be appropriate at the pivot and spring of the lever/ring portion of the system, and the release cable within its housing (like Intec systems). Bomber Butter would be an excellent choice for the pivot application; for any other bike mechanics out there, Finish Line/Grip Shift Jonni-Snot grease is formulated specifically not to damage the internals of SRAM twist shifters, which are mostly plastic. Good stuff, at least in above-freezing temps. Don't know how it would work below freezing. For the cable, a Teflon-based lube that sets up with a "dry" finish (Pedro's Extra-Dry comes to mind) can be dripped down the cable into the housing. Since the pivot and spring of the Physics system are located within the heel, unbolting the heel from the boot might allow for easier access to the pivot and spring. Using a needle-type applicator for the cable lube would also get more lube on the cable and less on your pants while you're riding. All that being said, I too have found that the rings sometimes feel "stuck" at the first pull of the release cable, especially after a hard-charging run. I think this is a side-effect of the design of the system - load up the rings hard enough, and they lever against ths postso tightly that you risk breaking the cable trying to pull them free. I have found the best solution is to make sure the receivers are set at the right distance from the toe block (easier to do with Speed Hooks up front; there is a visual indicator to tell you if there is enough forward pressure on the toe piece) - I have found that if the receiver and toe blocks are too close together, getting out will be consistently difficult, and backing the receiver up (or moving the toe bloc forward) by one notch on the baseplate usually solves that problem. I also make sure to "unload" the boot/binding interface as much as possible by rocking back on my heel before I pull on the release cable. I have experienced consistent release and no equipment failures after 4 seasons on 1 set of heels across three different setups. I am no lightweight, coming in at about 220 lbs. Boot shells are 27.5, angles are 60/60 with ~7 degrees of lift fore and aft. Hope this helps.

There's a photo of a hardbooter on his home page

...what if you ride goofy? Can you switch the Snow Stix around? Do they stay that way no matter what? Is the board set up for a goofy rider already?

Wasn't there an "Explain Your Avatar" thread? Sugarbush North, on the same day my screen name was coined (but that's the other thread). Somewhere on Cruiser on a spring weekday, laying out big, surfy treeline-to-treeline bottom turns for the camera. Still have the "cheesy" jacket, still have the yellow FP, still not Tommy D ;)