Slow Eddie

Releasable bindings are not a requirement - otherwise, most tele skis and virtually all snowboards would not be allowed on the hill. All equipment, however, must have smoe means of preventing it from becoming a gravity-powered missle should it detach from your feet, hence brakes on alpine ski bindings and leashes most everywhere else.

Snowdance is a super-wide blue that is usuallly well-groomed and a lot of fun for BIG turns. Even if it has lesson traffic, there is usually plenty of room to maneuver and a few nice knolls to enchance the carving experience. Just remember to carry enough speed at the bottom to coast through the relatively short traverse back to the Standard chair.

I live in Burlington, VT, and am spending a two-month rotation commuting between Rutland and KBL. I've got these (well, the version they put out two seasons ago, anyway) on my Impreza, and even though it's light for a 4WD, I confidently navigate the roadsup here, even during Sunday's ice storm that left many a NJ-plated SUV off the side of the road ;) The nice thing about them is that I don't have to take them off in the summer; good grip, quiet, and they seem to be wearing well. Caveat: the best tires in the world are of no use if you can't adapt your driving style for winter conditions. I would say experience or a winter driving course are as valuable, if not more so, than a set of Hakka's. Hope this helps.

So I tried to sell these on eBay a few weeks ago, and the winner happened to be a fellow BOL member who took pity on me and told me to see if I could get more for them in the Classifieds than what the final listing price was. So... For Sale: Burton Reactor Hard Boots, mid-late 90's vintage ('96 or so, I think). Navy Blue with 4 bronze buckles and armadillos on the power strap. Liner is stamped 26, shell is stamped 25-26.5. Boots are used, but in good shape; liners are in great shape. One of the cant adjusters has been replaced but is fully functional. Another cant adjuster is included, as is the adjustment tool, butterfly pads, and manual. Please email me with questions or for pix: esplanti@yahoo.com. Asking $75 plus shipping. Happy New Year! Eddie

Scott, you are a madman.

Most take-along size tools for cycling include at least 4,5,6 mm allens plus flathead and phillips screwdrivers. The more elaborate ones incorporate bike-specific things such as chain tools and tire levers. Check out Park Tool or Pedro's (which is now owned by Swix) to get started, and all the major mail-order catalogs have online presences, but having worked as a bike mechanic for a long while, I would suggest you patronize your LBS (local bike shop). Hardware stores and your local Home Improvement Box Store should have fold-up allen wrenches in Metric sizes that might be bulkier in your pocket, but will allow for greater leverage than most bike tools can provide. Hope this helps.

Hmm...the Carrabassett Valley Expression Session...Yessuh!

20 minutes left and they're still at a dollar. Oh well.

There is a carver on the top page of SkiHelmets.com . I thought it was in the Photo Archives, but couldn't find it.

Okay, this is one of the skills I have yet to master. Any tips on how to get it done? Is there a particular speed, technique, or terrain feature that makes it easier? On a groomed East Coast blue that is relatively "level" with a single fall line, I can initiate a toeside turn at 12 o'clock (let's assume that 12 is the highest point of this turn), come into, across, and up the fall line, but I run out of gas at about 10 o'clock and pretty much fall over at low speed. If I had some magic hands to help me finish the turn, I think it would be a pretty mild, but decreasing radius, i.e. I would be coming back to 12 o'clock only a yard or two downhill of where I started. I start the turn by pressuring the nose pretty aggressively, and then swing my weight further back through the turn so that by the time I fall over (I always fall over), I am loading the tail pretty good and could wheelie pretty easy. Oh - the deck is usually a Nidecker Tornado GS 168, and boot-out isn't an issue. Thanks!

Ending this afternoon; stiffer soles than the Intec-compatible Burtons... Edit: Sorry, they're not ending for a few days yet - Eddie

I, too, have been BASE-jumping my way into frustration. So I've taken to TiVo'ing every Fearless episode as well - maybe the one about the naked amply-endowed bodysurfer in shark-infested waters will end up being about Klug ;) I'll let y'all know if that's the case.

Pine (tree), shine, dine, dyne, stein, line, fine, mine.

Like this? The other white meat. Cool. Thanks!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=7121393505&ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT On a related note, how do I post a link so that you can click, for example, these words and be taken to the listing, rather than paste in all that horrible stuff above. Thanks, Eddie

Perhaps external application of industrial strength adhesive strips may alleviate your malleolar contusions.

Spent Sunday at Sugarbush North - the first weekend they weren't downlading from mid-mountain. The snow wasn't too bad, where there were few enough people to put down some good turns. Unfortunately, it warmed up after lunch and fog socked in most of the hill. They had snow guns running all day, and with the forecast for this week, I'm hoping riding in VT will be better. At least I didn't have to pay for that day, and I'm glad I was riding the rock board.

Indeed - Chris Karol and Mark Heingartner. Of course, I had no idea who they were a the time, until I stopped by the factory/store and saw them in the catalog. There was another lesson going out that day for a few riders who wanted to get their Upper Mountain certification. Marianna Fruhmann and Andy Coghlan were the instructors/evaluators. Man, did I want Upper Mountain certification - she was a hottie. I was also 14 at the time.

Riding since '86, plates since '96. Learned from a couple of guys named Chris and Mark at Stratton one spring...two guesses as to which Chris and Mark they turned out to be. The board was a Performer 140 (from under the clock tower), but I wanted one just like my instructors, so the first board I bought was an Elite 150 with Darth Vaders - the ones with the Fastex buckles. Sorels with lace-up ski boot liners rounded out the package, but I didn't give up skiing since I couldn't control the board as well as I could my skis. Got interesed again when I saw the hardbooting fringe in the early 90's; rented a setup in Vail on a ski trip in '95 and fell in love all over again. Anybody still have their "boarding passes" from teh bad old days? I'll show you mine if you show me yours...

Sorry if this has already been covered - I did a forum search and didn't come up with anything... What, if any, are the disadvantages of 10-packs of 4x4 binding inserts? By this I mean two columns of 5 inserts that are spaced 4 cm apart from each other along the transverse axis of the deck, but only 2cm apart along the longitudinal axis of the deck. I have heard of this referred to as the "4x2" or "2x4" insert pattern, but not with any regularity And, if there are no disadvantages, why is isn't this standard practice throughout the industry? It seems to me that in addition to more stance options in the middle of the range, those riders whose bindings expose more than 4 holes would be able to use more mounting hardware, theoretically reducing the load on any one mounting bolt.

Burton usually shows the cant installed on the rear foot, but if it works for you up front, then go with it. Personally, I use 7 deg fixed cant/lifts (The "Max" cant as described above) under both the front and rear bindings, each slanted toward the center of the board - think Leonardo's "Vitruvian Man". I have a 29" inseam, and doing this allows me to comfortably ride in a wider stance than with the bindings flat. Hope this helps.

I saw a piece on the resurgenece of ME ski areas on NECN last night, and there was a bit of footage that showed a skier and a carver riding under the snow guns at what looked like the Loaf. It was only a few seconds, but looked like Jack's red jacket on a regular-footed rider. Anybody we know? Anyway, it was a nice surprise to see a hardbooter in the segment.

I own an older version of this thing: http://www.geardirect.com/Products/Skiing/Accessories/ChinookSports/Port-A-DryerBootDryer/3286.cfm?cart_id=0655511001111034949571605720041411&store_id=1 It was called "The Evaporator: The Ultimate Boot Dryer" back then and I thought it only cost about $50. Anyway, it's quiet enought that I can sleep next to it - but, anyone who slept at the Bomber Condo at ECES '04 can tell you that I can drown out anything less than a 2-stroke generator :) Seriously, it is quiet, and efficient enough that if I put a pair of boots and gloves on when I get home from a day of riding, I can turn the thing off before going to sleep and that's still enough time to dry things out for the next day. It packs into a nylon bag about the diameter of a round tin of Danish Butter Cookies and half again as tall. I use it in the summertime for cycling shoes, inline skates, etc.

Killington is open - www.killington.com Woke up to 17 degrees in Brrrlington this morning - still 25 degrees at 9:30 AM.

On the "Products" page, it looks like the blurb for the Phoenix should be longer than the one line that is shown. On the "About Us" page, under "Technology Matters", the word "it's" should be "its". Otherwise, so far so good - excellent site, Sean (and Jen and everybody)! Eddie