bumpyride

http://forums.bomberonline.com/index.php?/topic/20614-walk-mode-anecdotal-really-doesnt-cut-it/ Been riding in the walk mode for 21 years, but I'm more of a light weight and off piste most of the time. You can draw your own conclusions.

Big Sky dissection. Pros Zero, don't come. Cons Too numerable to list. Don't come. Tongue in cheek

On a side note, I live over on Dash Point, just North of Tacoma. Would be happy to give you a hand.

This is exactly the same scenario that I faced. I have a 9 1/2 US shoe size D width and am using a 26.5 boot. I had the option of using different thermoflex liners that I've picked up from Play it again sports out of snowboard soft boots. Chose the thinnest one. I cut the toes off of 3 fairly heavy socks at the middle of the ball of the foot. I then put on a medium weight ski sock and taped the 3 sock toes to the sock, so they were in the right position and wouldn't shift during the molding process. That effectively thinned out the front of the thermoflex and allowed a perfect boot fit. I have plenty of room in the toe box and never hit the front, unless I release the buckles and walk. On a side note, when the thermoflex liner wrapped around the front, the sewed seam fell right on my ankle. I cut a half moon section out of the liner where my ankle bone was, used a blanket stitch to reseal the liner, and it worked perfectly. I'd be glad to give you a step by step if you PM me.

Powder, powder, trees, powder, bumps, more powder and trees. The last 2 days here were some of the best of the Winter. Headwaters had a good 2' today. 2nd chair up and pretty much untracked, and then the lines started. Will be glad when they get the new chairs in the Bowl and up Challenger. Busiest day of the year, but on the Moonlight side, it was pretty clear of the crowds. Only 1 lift line on the six shooter of any consequence The tree runs were all to ourselves. Saw almost no one and conditions were excellent. One more day left. Will be early out on the lifts and planning on doing at least one trip up to the peak before heading to Shedhorn and Dakota.

Rode up with Pussbag and enjoyed talking with him. My son and his friend have hit it form opening bell. 12 treed bumps runs and 4 or 5 groomers. Trees have a light foot of fresh and it's still snowing. Probably the best glade runs of the year. Someone had a business meeting at 1:30 so we skied back in for lunch. Legs are getting close to toast. Maybe have to save it for tomorrow. This has been a fabulous day.

Sorry to hear about that. I came close, but luckily it wasn't a hard tree and I wasn't going very fast. I feel your pain. On the bright side, your cartilage is excellent, and coming from a guy with a new knee, that's absolutely great.

Hey Art, It wasn't directed at you,but anyone who thinks about trying to get by. I know you have a catastrophic policy. I did do some checking on insurance rates and when we were talking about the increase in your rates, and you were the lucky recipient of age. You went up 2 age categories which accounted for pretty much doubling your rate, and then added to the annual increase between 2000 and 2012, we were pretty much screwed. When I moved out to Washington state in 1989 my insurance was $40.62/month, and by 2006 my insurance was up to $330/month for worse coverage. I was in the 55+ age category. It gets much worse at 60 and 64 the last year they can screw you is confiscatory. My wife's policy is around $500/mo with a $10K deduct. We need a national health care policy.

Going without insurance is pretty much asking to go bankrupt (somewhere it said up to 60% of bankruptcies are caused by medical bills). I went in for an ER trip, and had a series of things that all piled up and manifested itself into worrying if I had a heart problem. I was going to tough it out, but a Doctor friend and wife insisted I go and get checked. Urgent care wasn't an option. Was in the ER for less than 2 hrs., just sitting on a chair waiting for test results. Had an EKG that lasted about 5 minutes, and they decided I needed a CT scan. $7500 was what they were going to bill me (I have insurance, and it cost me $90). I knew what was wrong--cracked rib from surfing and Statin Drugs for Cholesterol reaction--but I couldn't take a chance. If you get by for less than a couple of grand ($2000) for a trip to the ER, consider yourself lucky.

I'm so far from the mainstream hardbooter, that I would tend to confuse anyone new and interested. However, if I can get the support of super delegates I would be happy to convolute the off-piste section.

Absolutely, you're correct, I did leave out skill. Developing skill is conditional upon whether or not you're able to practice the skill needed in an arena where you're not hopelessly overwhelmed. If I had started out boarding on a very narrow race board and headed out to the bumps or powder, I would have that experience "ingrained in the brain", and would be very reticent to try again. It seems, for me, very difficult to get fellow hardbooters to even try off piste, even with the offer of using some of my "free rental fleet" to try it out. I would be very excited to have the rest of the mountain shared with others on an alpine set-up. When speaking with other snowboarders (non-alpine), they're pretty incredulous that an alpine set-up will work off piste. The usual comment is how fast can you go, or limited to the trenches and turns. While I agree with you in general, and especially in skill levels, the whole of the ski industry (aside from making more money through obsolesce ) has been dedicated to making equipment to tackle more difficult terrain easier. When you take Rossignol skis in the 7 series with the early rise and honeycombed nose and compare that with cambered stiff skis of yore, it has opened up more of the mountains for many more people with less skill, and those with a high degree of skill are absolutely crushing it. Powder, crud and bumps on skis that have the new technology are similarly being handled the way fat bikes and suspension bikes have handled the same in the biking world. What I ride through bumps depends on the conditions. Soft fresh snow, I ride a softer flexing board. Spring heavy wet snow, I ride a longer stiffer board that can cut through the corn and offer a straighter line through the slower conditions. In hard conditions I ride a shorter stiffer board in order not to catch the tail in a tight trough, In powder, I wouldn't even consider a stiffer board--why fight it. Again you're absolutely correct about a titanal board. In theory that should work when you have the opportunity to scrub your speed and choose your line in a well thought out set of bumps. Personally I would never buy one for off-piste. Dexterity somehow goes out the window when shoulders are perpendicular to the fall line and you're threading your way through a mogul field that has bumps that have formed pretty much willy nilly according to the drops and trees . And of course, again, you're right about skill. A good pool player can shoot good pool with a broomstick, but then again he can't put much English on the cue ball., I would welcome the opportunity to open up the hill to hardbooters. In the last couple of days, I've been able to offer gear to 2 other hardbooters here at Big Sky and actually have some takers for the next year. And I do have a grand old time, but it's much better-er on the right gear. Thanks for mentioning the skill factor. It was something I was not considering when looking at equipment.

We moved around all day. First couple of runs down the South side groomers, until it became the autobahn and I feared for my safety. Then popped over and did several runs through the glades which were in excellent shape till 11:30. Went down hangmans to go to lunch on groomed ice. Headed up the triple hit the bowl which was soft, submarined into a soft spot which was entertaining for the chairs, I'm sure. Did a bunch of runs down upper morningside which was excellent. Went up and sat at Everet's with a bunch of Canadians and our lovely neighbor in the sun. Was a good time and the Canadians asked what the F was going on in our Elections. They said they'd let me in if Trump or Cruz (who they disowned) got elected. The last run of the day was at 4:15 or so and was absolutely the best run of the day. Skiers right bumps were the best high speed squish that you could hope to find. The whole run was pretty fabulous. Hope to repeat the day tomorrow.

Granted I don't have foot problems, aside from being a little pigeon footed, but I've almost always molded my thermoflex liners without a footbed. There's been 2 times when I have had a problem. The first when I had a footbed in the liner. Was just plain uncomfortable (which may have been the fit of the footbed in the first place). The 2nd time is when I rocked back and forth a bit when I was molding the liner and a bump in my arch formed. Now when I mold my liners, I'm sure to have a least 3 socks (fairly heavy) cut off to the ball of my foot and duct taped to my full sock and don't rock toe to heel while setting up. An additional thought. When I molded one pair the inner wrap seam fell right on my ankle bone, and while it didn't bother me skiing the seam pressed against my ankle bone while walking. The solution was to cut the liner around the ankle and sew a blanket stitch to seal the liner back up again. Works just fine.

What you can do in all types of snow or conditions depends on several things: Board Choice, binding choice, boot choice and angle choice. A full blown race board with a fairly stiff binding and stiff boots and steep close angles works well in a slalom course or just carving on the groomers. The same set-up works poorly when off piste in the bumps or in powder. An all-mountain board with with a softer nose and around 20 waist, a flexy binding, flexy boots with a BTS or walk mode, and angles that have some difference (15 to 18 degrees) eg. 60 x 42 works amazingly well in powder and bumps, and still does OK on groomers. I have no problems with powder at Big Sky. I use an old Burton Coil all mountain board proflex plastic bindings, Raichle 122s or 123s 60 x 42 angles, and it works just fine in a foot of new snow. It's surfy when I want it to be and precise when I need it to be.

The only time I ever worry about getting hit, is when I'm on a groomed run. Off piste, it's not a problem. In the bumps, it's not a problem. Caveat emptor when you're on the groomers.

Done about 10 of them myself. No problems, can give you a step by step if you like. It's not hard, just a few tips make it an easy process.

Got it. Drains my phone and I'm too lazy.

I'm riding an old Burton Coil for powder. Bindings set all the way back. Works for all the powder we get at Big Sky. Probably not the ultimate tools, but I usually never have a problem. 18" today and it all worked out. 60 front, 42 rear.

Being at Big Sky for most of the ski season, unless there's some fresh snow on the groomers or there's another hardbooter on the slopes, I only use groomers to get to the lift base or home. Today we had a good foot of new snow and about 18" on the peak. Trees, bumps and steeps ruled today. Guessing I got close to 30,000 ft. I'm boarding a '98 Burton Coil.

Lifty, "I thought you were on skis."

Plain and simple: 1. riding bumps and steeps 2. shoulders perpendicular to the fall line 3. control 4, direction changes and absorption with the knees 5. arms not swinging like Don Quixote 6. thermoflex liners and riding in the walk mode most comfortable boots I've ever been in 7. the ability to click out of the bindings on the flat and step in when exiting the lift 8. with front foot at 60 degree plus angle you can scooter along about as fast as most skiers pole and skate 9. with Intec bindings you can run webbing up your legs and arms and extricate yourself in the most inopportune times-especially tree wells 10. people look at you like you've got equipment from 1980 and yelling "old school".

Hey Art Hope that finger holds well. I personally use straight super-glue. 3 layers and it holds pretty darn well.

Brand New Burton Coil 147. Same board I use for soft/powder days. 195 waist. PM me if there's an interest. I bought for my wife, but she never used it. It's a fabulous off-piste, soft condition board.

This exemplifies surfing on a board. Already posted a couple of places, but this type of terrain is what it's really all about for me on a carving board.

What the carving community needs is more emphasis on all mountain carving. I borrowed this from the Oregon ride board. This gets me excited, even though it's soft boots.