inkaholic

How could I forget? All the team vans are pulling up to Sugarloaf and you and I are pulling 180+ sticks out of your stepmother's Jaguar that she let us borrow while in town. Rollin' in style! Then you got a ticket on the return to Boston in some little town. PM about stickies and I will see what I can do. Ink

you fellas don't listen to me. +2 My work here is done, time to play this year. My coaching is ova for yous guys, it is time for yous to take ova with the instructional proccesses put forth in previous seasons and pass them on to the masses. I am now no match for your wisdom and cat like prowess. May the forces align for more great carves from my protege this season. :) Ink If you get a wide open section then try carving your turn with nothing happening, stand up, inclinate and trust your edge to do what it was designed to do. Realize that the board will turn with minimal input then when you push on the board see what it can do with input. Oh yeah, make sure that you look through your turn. I see many people who forget this, me included, and just look down the fall line. It can make a big difference in your line. Don't move your weight back, push your feet through the turn and you will get a well completed turn that will want to put you on your a$$ at the end. Be ready to pull yourself forward for the next turn. This is a small, subtle move that will increase in speed as you tighten the radius of your turns. Like you said, practice good habits now and you won't end up with bad habits that you need to eliminate. I'm all for that one! Have fun and be safe. I can't wait to make my first carve turn of the season.

shin, Is your dad still running his old custom prior or have you updated him? I bet he would love one of the newer titanal boards for their dampness in hard conditions. Ink

My preference is sandwich. I like the ride better and they are more durable to side impacts. I currently have to fix a blown edge on my Tanker 200. A cap board would have been demolished with the force of the impact with a tree that my Tanker took. A true cap board, with a structural cap, may have some significant benefits but most are lower end production to save a buck. I will say that I do also like my Dualtec Rossi and make every effort to not cause damage near the edges. Ink

HB much of the time however SB for freshies without thinking twice. I rode HB exclusively for to long and won't do it any more. Carving soft can make your HB riding better and it is fun to show people that carved turns aren't only done on HB. After competing and coaching on HB for many years I only rode soft for a few years. DT and Big Mario got me back on HB and I love to split my ride time with types of boots. It is a different feel and different fun. Ink

BW, I don't think any of our guys are going on Saturday. On another thread Big Mario and Accidental Chef said that they are going on Sunday. If you don't get 4 paks for Lovey get the Lovey Pass Card - http://www.skiloveland.com/ticketsandpasses/loveland_pass.aspx This will at least get you discounts when none of us regulars aren't around. The discount is similar to what our pass can get you. Have fun and keep it safe on the WROD! Many kooks will be out on the little fs boards jibbin' anything and everything. Ink

CC, I love the heel toe overlap from the narrow stance. I can remember riding boards that way in the late eighties and early nineties but had started moving away form it by '95. Fun vid! Ink

AC In the future make more good turns than bad ones, it is way more fun. Good to see you made it back from the WROD in one piece. It may be a while till I am out so you have some time to relearn what we showed you before round 2 starts although Big Mario will probably start the tormentoring as soon as he sees you. Ink

Really cool, All the stuff on sl/dh skatin' lately makes me want to try it out next summer. If only I can find some funding. Thanks for posting that vid. Ink

Great to hear about your new venture Phil. I wish you all the best and hope that it grows into a really good program for you guys. How many riders do you already have signed up for Copper? I will need to come check out your operation when I get a chance. Ink (Derek R.) This is really good news for CO riders wanting to move up in the ranks of racing. Phil is a great coach with a lot of experience.

Biggerwrangler, Are you looking for coaching or just wanting to know? Steamboat has the best program with world cuppers on the roster. Eldora has a program for most ages coached by ex world cupper, Matt Drinker. Copper has a masters style program at http://www.coppercolorado.com/ski_and_ride_school/race_programs/alpine_snowboard_training/index.htm These all compete in the local USASA events. Ink

Dave, Glad to hear you are doing well. Keep an I on the CO ride board for more info and antics going on in our area. Ink

Phil, In honor of DFJ you should do some coaching from the mid mountain lodge while drinking a fine glass of red wine. Similar to what he would do at Howelsen Hill late in the day. Thanks for the info and I wish our racers the best of luck! Ink

Coach Dave, How is it going? I primarily ride Loveland these days and my 5yr old wants to ride the mountain this year. Good to see you on the board and we will need to ride together some time this season. Ink (Derek R.) For those who don't know, Dave was an original US team racer and the coach for Eldora in '98.

Cool, walking is fun. Seeing them figure out how to balance is pretty neat. Kai is BMX'n and skateboarding quite a bit and told me that he wants to "ride the thing that takes me to the top of Loveland". I said that he will need to ride down then and he is up for that. I can't wait! Definately keep me informed and "hey" to reamus and his brother (chris?). Ink

Very cool vid guys! JD, any idea when you may come out to CO this winter and will NJB join also? Ink

+1 for D.T.s suggestion about the 4 Paks. It took me a few minutes to figure out who this was since the forum is messed up. Glad the Proto is working out for you. As far as your heelside chatter goes, don't park and ride. Keep your feet moving by pushing them forward as you pass the apex of your turn. Remember the old initiate with your weight slightly forward, apex centered, finish back of center? This is a very subtle, slight movement. Keep those feet moving through the turn and your chatter problem should go away pretty quickly. See you at Lovey, Ink

+1 I rode the board in Malamutes and Flows on both a firm day and a 1' pow day. I didn't like it as much on the firm day due to the short edge contact. I could rail turns but it took much more effort and wasn't, IMO, what the board was designed for. That said, the board is an absolute blast to ride in powder. The float and manuverability is very good and I would definately think about having one in the quiver if I had the funding for it. Ink

From what I have heard Bola is out of the country til the 3rd. I got to demo the 6' D1+ last season and really liked it in a foot of powder. Since the Dupraz has such a short effective edge is takes a bit of work to really make it carve on firmer or compacted snow. I was using the board with Malamutes and Flow Eleven bindings. I never tried it with HBs since that is not the way that I would use that type of tool. I am at 175-180lbs, D.T. purchased the 6' D1+ and is a bit heavier than me. Maybe D.T. will see this thread and chime in, I don't recall his reasoning for going with the + over the ++, he did have one after flexing and talking to Bola for some time. Like SVR said the D1 is too soft, works best under a lighter rider, the + worked well for me but I have not tried the ++. The ++ just might be the board for you. Ink

Steve, Wasn't that an all night drive then like 3 or so hours of sleep then join us for turns? Fun day! Ink

Doh, I didn't look at the site well enough last time. http://www.arapahoebasin.com/ABasin/mountain/calendar.aspx is where it talks about it for $109. It looks like they will be available at Larson Ski and Sport 04-05 Oct. They are listing CSM Pass Blitz at Larsons on the 3rd but I think that is a mistake since CSM has it announced for campus. I didn't find anything about being able to purchase them online for you out of state riders. Thanks for posting this thread OA, don't forget to join us again at Lovey this season. Ink

OA Have you received any confirmation that this offer may exist this year? I am interested but don't want to take off work time to find out that it isn't available. If you find any more info please let us know. :) Ink

There are shuttles from Keystone to the Basin but you would need to rent or hitch a ride to get to Lovey. There is no lodging in or near enough to Lovey. Ink

You can get a 4pak of tickets at Lovey for $119. Order online at http://www.skiloveland.com/ These are actual tickets with no blackout dates that you receive so you can share them or use them all yourself. :) Copper has 4 packs for $129 but I don't know if you get tickets or a punch card type of thing. A-Basin doesn't show anything on their website for 4 packs. Check other websites to see if there are other deals before coming out. Ink