Slow Eddie

...because it's this Macaroni-and-Cheese orangey color, and one of my riding buddies commented after a particularly sweet day that I was flowing down the hill as smooth as buttah..."or Velveeta," he finished, pointing to my jacket. Now I can't ever get rid of the jacket.

More than you think. Moved here from NYC in '01, and I'm finding that the cost of living here in Chittenden County (where Burlington and Burton are) is similar to most of Westchester County back home. Housing is especially tough to come by. But hey, Burton employees get season passes (Stowe, no less), and all the baggy pants you can wear :D

www.cyclingnews.com Good for the live blow-by blow updates and commentary, especially at work. www.roadbikereview.com Good forum for roadies, albeit with a little roadier-than-thou attitude from some of the members (not me, of course ;) ) 'Trash, any beta for watching the ITT? We're going to be in St. Etienne for the penultimate stage, too.

Are you over there now? I'll be there for the last few stages, including the finale.

Any idea of how to get Physics bindings on a Performer Elite 150? ;)

Brilliant.

No, I wasn't there - too busy being a wide-eyed freshman geek. What happened? Mules might be sterile, but you Bobcats are just a bunch of...well, it rhymes with "wussies" :P

Actually, Colby has a few alumni who crave the carve. Myself and four classmates ('94 and '95) - some of whom peruse this board but I shall leave anonymous - spent many a weekend at the 'Loaf, and create a mini-session wherever we get together and ride. I believe the infamous Erik Beckman is a Colby grad as well. Keep in touch with Jack M. and mirror70; I believe they ride there with more regularity than the rest of us. Good luck, and drop me a line if you've got any questions. Go Mules! (Sorry, Noah) Eddie

All Physics bindings came with the heels, but it might be worth it to offer them as a set of backups. I've never had problems with mine, but it would seem that I am in the minority, so backups might sound pretty tempting to some. As a reference, I've seen Race Physics bindings on eBay for ~$125 new, including the heels. Hope this helps.

Nice blues for carving; don't know about the trees, but not a lot of peeps on the Mt. Ellen side, so you can get freshies most of the day, especially with the new snow we've gotten this week. Plus, the tix are cheaper than either Stowe or Sugarbush North+South. Lot's of B&B's in the Mad River Valley; the Hyde Away is at the bottom of German Flats Road and maybe 10 minutes from the Mt. Ellen parking lot.

There's a patroller at K-Mart who rides an RT and TD1s. I could ask him some questions if you need anything east-coast specific.

Working at the Killington Medical Clinic until the end of next week - mere feet from the Ram's Head chair. Pretty warm today - saw skiers pushing powder around on Superstar (it's been groomed recently...), but it might have been mashed potatoes from the feel of the air. It will be warm for most of tomorrow rain changing to snow, even at higer elevations) before cooling down enough for them to make snow tomorrw night and through the weekend. Haven't heard much about the Big O, but I don't think it's substantially colder over there.

Eric is still fairly active on the freecarve.com and catek forums, but I haven't seen him on BOL in like forever. I'm betting he'll be pretty busy for the next week and a half, what with everybody and their kids converging on Stratton.

You know, every now and then, I screw in my T. Alva Edison protoype to see how it compares to the new stuff - they just don't make 'em like that anymore ;)

Grandfathers of the sport? Damian Sanders. Hardboots in the pipe, albeit Dynafit ski boots and (Sims?) baseplates without the highbacks. Name recognition? Alex Maier, the "Brothernator" of Hermann, or Ross "Nickel Bag"-liati, of Nagano fame (or infamy...) Famous in other arenas? Jim Zellers is one of the most well-known names in alpinism (mtn. climbing) and has bagged numerous first descents around the world. Just about anyone who climbs up serious mountains and then rides back down does it in plastic boots and plate bindings. Famous on the freestyle side? Victoria Jealouse and Mike Jacoby, one of the pioneers of inverted aerials, both have racing backgrounds.

Agreed. Those short boards came in "a" and "s" versions for a few seasons. But, being designed specifically for slalom, I wouldn't doubt that they are softer than their GS bretheren.

I think 'Goat might be talking about incrementally lengthening the distance between the toe and heel blocks. I could be wrong, though.

Limited choice of equipment in comparison to the rest of the snowsports industry. Don't get me wrong, what we have available is clearly the cream of the crop - most companies who still produce alpine products know that the consumer base is very quality-oriented - but a larger choice of equipment would go a long way towards making the sport accessible to more folks than the people who know the 5 shops between JFK and PWM that consistently stock alpine gear.

1. and 2.) I have heard rumors of Physics heel pieces being used on Catek baseplates. If that is the case, perhaps the Catek Intec receiver can be used on a Physics baseplate. the Intec heel uses 2 pins that stick out laterally from the heel into holes in the receiver, and the Physics heel uses 2 rings that slide vertically over posts on the receiver. The two systems are not interchangeable. 3.) The Physics heel has the same upper profile and bolt pattern as Intec heels, so any boot that has an Intec-compatible heel will accept Physics heels. 4.) The only step-in system I have used has been Physics. I have had no problems with it mechanically, but since Burton no longer produces the system, finding replacement parts may prove to be difficult. I prefer Physics to Intec for a few reasons: a.) The posts seem to clear snow from the rings as you step down with more authority than the Intec pins seem to clear snow from the holes. b.) The friction-lock mechanism of the system seems to hold the heel of the heel of the boot more solidly than Intec pins - less play, more stiffness. But this was a pretty subjective test using different boots, bindings and boards. c.) The ability to use the Speed Hooks for more stiffness and responsiveness than a toe bail. Unfortunately, this is only possible with Burton boots, AFAIK. Also, judging from some recent posts, Intec heels are not infallible. 5.) I'm pretty sure that the 3D hole pattern is 30mm on a side, but I'm not near a board rihgt now. Hope this helps.

Why carve, huh? Well, I guess for me, carving is the ultimate distillation of the snowsports experience. I fell in love with skiing because of the speed, fluidity, and the pride that comes with mastering new skills and taking my ability to the next level. When snowboarding came onto "the scene", it was a whole new way to discover the passion of learning and mastering something new. I guess that can be said by enthusiasts of any sport. What separates carving from the rest is the purity of the motion. One edge, one purpose - your line is not defined by gates or handrails, but by an inner sense of being connected with the hill. Toying with gravity, letting it caress you and slingshot you through your arcs, with evrything literally riding on a meter and a half of carbon steel. To ride the chair over a run you just took and to be able to see your trenches, where you instantaneously transitioned from one edge to the other, how you played with the knolls and lift towers on your way down - it's like leaving your signature all over the hill. Sure, you can get caught up in sidecut radii, boot-out and where you put your hands while you ride, but at the end of the day what matters most is how big the grin on your face is. And, by far, the happiest people on the hill are ALWAYS the hardbooters. Just ask any one of them. Eddie Plantilla

This is only true if you are using the Speed Hooks at the toe rather than the toe bail. For better or for worse, I think the Speed Hooks are only compatible with Burton's Intec-compatible boots. As a related question, does anyone familiar with Speed Hooks know if they can be retrofitted to other boots? I've noticed that some boots (e.g. Head) come with replaceable forefoot pads - might there be a way to get the hook plate fixed up in there? Eddie

I hear the way to go is to hot-scrape the gravy, then sprinkle the base with cheese powder and brush it in. Who needs Titanal when you've got Poutine ?

Do you mean to say that Coilers produced for export differ than those for "domestic consumption"? Are you pulling my leash?! What about pick-ups? I've got family in Toronto... Man, I thought I was upset when I disocvered the Molson Export they sold Stateside was piss compared to the stuff you guys keep to yourselves...

Who knew Volant had it right all along? ;)

is actually a 4x4 hole pattern. In fact, didn't Bomber Industries make a binding specifically for this application? Now, converting one of those to Intec-compatible would be cool. For a while, Dalbello marketed a boot for skiboarding that was virtually identical to the Reactor/Furnace boot they were making for Burton - right down to the beveled toe and heel. Talk about being cross-compatible...