snowmatic

Was it lack of funding for US Alpine riders only, or was there even something more around for boosting medal prospects at Sochi home Olympics? Just an other sight of view, read this: Russia faced explosive allegations of corruption and systematic doping Russia was leader of overall medal-table on Sochi Olympic winter games (13 gold / 11 silver / 9 bronze medals) We take now a look to Vic Wild's Fis-Ski Biographie: 2009/2010 season (USA): 10 Worldcup races, reaching 5 finals, best ranking was 8. 2010/2011 season (USA): 12 Worldcup races, reaching 3 finals, best ranking was 6. 2011/2012 no races 2012/2013 season (Russia): 10 Worldcup races, reaching 5 finals, best ranking was 3. 2013/2014 season (Russia): 8 Worldcup/Olympics races, reaching 6 finals, 3 victorys including double gold winner Sochi Olympics We will never know how he did it! and for to compare: His Russian wife Olympic bronze medalist Zavarzina Alena: 2010/2011 season: 7 Worldcup races reaching 5 finals, best ranking was 1. 2011/2012 season: 10 Worldcup races reaching 3 finals, best ranking was 8. 2012/2013 season: 10 Worldcup races reaching 7 finals, best ranking was 4. 2013/2014 season: 8 Worldcup/Olympics races, reaching 2 finals just only the ones on Olympic games, winning bronze medal at Sochi Olympics Isn't that amazing? Discus throw gold medalist Jewgenia Pescherina said, 99 % of all athlets did it, You can get everything You need. Wladimir Putins law from 2010: foreign doping hunters have to report every transportations of any probes. Customhouse is allowed to open all the probes when leaving Russia.

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32 bids have force up price of Northwave hardboots! .950, Mondo 27.5 / Eu 42.5 to US = $4,026.74 http://www.ebay.com/itm/231381167042 There is one other NW auction: Point .950, Mondo 28,0 / Eu 43, ends 11.26. Seller wrote he can trade on demand one more pair of Northwave Point 900 in grau-blau bei mir zuhause / Mondopoint 290, entspricht Gr. 44 http://www.ebay.de/itm/Northwave-Point-950-Mondo-28-0-Eu-43-Hardboot-Raceboot-Alpinboot/331383035443

A Croatian company (Adriatic state, close to South-Eastern Alpes, next to Slovenia) build the "Immortalis" carving snowboard. Product line see here and here. Prices are between €849 and €989 (Immortalis)

I would say the "SB 413 flex" is on the mid to upper range of flex, like SB 124 / 324 on Raichle hardboots. SB-shells became more stiff that Years (2001/2002). Go to SB 123, 113, 133, 313 for a good flex on powder boards. Bomber BTS are way to heavy for climbing high mountains. Use "eco-mechanism" and light thermofit liners on Raichle/Deeluxe boots. I recently compared some Scarpa's ski-mountainering boots to an SB 223 (4 buckles, 1997/1998). The Scarpa's had been as stiff on hike-mode like the Raichle SB-223 with locked forward lean mechanism! Yes, the Scarpa's are amazing light, like all ski-mountainering boots are. But flexing them to the side, thats what we need on wider powder-boards, is wired - way to stiff. I can not understand how anyone can talk from snowboarding if wearing Dynafit TLT's or similar. They don't realy perform on snowboards. They are not build for hardbooting. For sure you can downhill a mountain on them with snowboards. But that's not fun. Myself I like to ride with power, speed and fun on any snow-condition, even if riding down more than 7500 ft at once.

Are You writing about Deeluxe boots? If Yes, please add "Deeluxe" to thread title, thanks. I visited my country supplier of Deeluxe last week to get some paper/written informations. Only the Deeluxe standard liner Performance Liner comming with boots supplies with such a heel harness. They said to me, this harness binds the liner (I remember me to SB-121), secures the ankles in right place and protect them too. Well, now-a-days Deeluxe liners are no more that heavy-duty and expensive-to-seam Raichle HPD liners (red, or blue color ones) like we know them from earlier Years. Around me no stores did sell anymore Deeluxe hardboots with standard liners the last Years. The newer Deeluxe liners (Made in China) are of bad reputation. Deeluxe was forced to find a patch for known problems. So I think Deeluxe of Kufstein (Austria), try now to get/hold back heels in the boots, but customer back to Deeluxe too. Myself I sold one of my last NOS & orginal Raichle HPD liners to another carver and he was very happy of that "new" and perfect heel retention he got with that "old" type of liner. Heel Harness like this new type from Deeluxe we can find in Burton softboots since Years too. The Burton heel harness are fixed on outer boot.

That Santa Cruz GS 167 N by 11.8m SCR and 20.5cm waist is from 1994/95 season. It seems it's similar build to 1993/94 and 1995/96 too. The "R 167 XN" is narrower on waist (190mm instead of 205mm like on "R 167 N"). It was the longest raceboard of SantaCruz that time and designed for competition RS (giant slalom) and competition SG (super-G turns). The narrow XN one was best choice for rider with small feets, while the N was the choice of riders with bigger feets, or rider who like to go on less angulation. The Santa Cruz GS 167 was the board for/from Bertrand Denervaud, several time World Champion and winner of countles titles (Halfpipe/Boarder-X/Slalom-gate-races). Berti Denervaud became than president of ISF, later Head Judge of Freeride World Tour and now he is head of sport and resort-services on FWT. I can see ones board (Santa Cruz R-type) many days during summertime in a garage if door is open.

Santa Cruz GS 167 N, or the GS 167 XN ? Yes, they are stiff! The date of the board (Year/Month/Day) You will find on the second line below the "R167N" / "R167XN" Please post a pic. There are all others board specifications too!

Tomorrow Tuesday and following Friday, the first 2 PSL races (FIS-race) of this season are hold by http://www.snowpepper.com/ The Landgraaf Snowworld races are the annualy place for to go for many WorldCup riders. There they can do the first real tests. We had sad-to-terrible snow conditions on the Glacier of the Alps this autumn. Maybe only a hand full of inches of fresh snow since July this Year. So many national-teams had to go to foreign countrys to highest Glaciers for gate-trainings. Global warming is 2-3 times stronger at 10'000 ft in Europe then we know it from lower areas. Well, Landgraaf Snowworld is located in Holland. Even if it's sounds very strange, they do there in-house skiing and in-house snowboarding. So there is a poor downhill, artificial snow and artificial light only - no sun, no powder, no trees, no rocks at all. Tuesday schedule: Qualifying runs = 8:00 to 9:45 GMT Finals = 11:15 to 13:45 GMT Friday schedule: Qualifying runs = 6:00 to 8:00 GMT Finals = 8:45 to 10:00 GMT Try to get some pictures on livecams: http://www.snowworld.com/en/Ski-slopes/Ski-Slopes/Webcams-SnowWorld

The largest Swiss snowboard-shop (sells snowboards only, no ski at all) offers a hardbooters test camp of 4 continual days at Switzerlands high Engadin valley this Year. You will stay right on the famous lakes of Silvaplana - St. Moritz with fast access to Corvatsch Glacier ski area (located on European Alps). Starting December 4. (Tuesday) and ending December 8. (Monday) Huge range of actual boards available for to ride and test: Kessler - Oxess - F2 - Pureboarding (boards for softboots on demand only) Clinics by 4-time! World-Champion woman Ursula Bruhin (F2 alpineboards) On demand/ ask for it/ ask for your size: the store can offer (so I hope, because they sell the items) - boot range: Head 2010/11, UPZ, DeeLuxe - binding range: F2 CNC, F2 Titanium, F2 Titanflex, F2 Carve (all w/wo Intec). - binding plates from F2 and Vist/Kessler (sells at less than $600) - ask for Radical Carbon carving snowboards. All-inclucive 4-day camp package (cablecar/accomodation on uper-class hotel/breakfast/dinner/test-boards): 700.- SwissFrancs, which convert to $ 740 900.- SwissFrancs for deluxe single room, which convert to $ 950 Snowboard school lessons / Clinics for hardbooters available (add $160) Details here - German language only, use google translator. Restriction: On high Engadin-St. Moritz valley we usualy drive Bentley, Rolls-Royce, Aston Martin and so on. Rather you reach high Engadine by rail (Zurich airport /ZRH) or bus (Milan Malpensa airport /MXP) then by a Ford Pinto.

This post of very rare RadAir Reto Lamm ProModel ltd. Edition drives me out this weekend to seek every flea market we had (around one dozen). And at least I found that board with that printed topsheet in a city where snowboarding isn't only just popular, but into the blood of every citizens too. (sorry for the white dots, behind them topsheet contains illustrations which are not legal to the forum rules) The price for to trade was around $ 15, bindings included. It was the only snowboard the seller had ridden since he was young. Now he is a 44 Years old man, so we can say very much to old to what people think about here in Europe age limit for snowboarding is. After two Days on that citys flea market (springtime and now), I was the only one taking hands on this board. There on flea markets we had a lot less old boards on better shape for buying. That board looks realy amazing. It's made in Austria, against all we know about Rad-Air which have been made at Voelkl factory in Straubing/Germany. The shape is outstanding, even for using in Halfpipe. The pointed tip is made of steel-edge, the swingle tail (like lips?) has ABS plastics, like sidewalls are. Don't miss to take eyes to the bindings (supported by Palmer PLS). They are the Rad Air [highlight]Camblock Tricks[/highlight] freestyle bindings, which build similar to F2 [highlight]Pro Flex Vario Soft[/highlight] bindings that time. The funny point is, the Rad Air Camblock Tricks bindings use exact the same central disk (stainless steel), like we know it very well from the F2 Titanium-Titanflex plate bindings these days, like we can see on this 200%-crop: [highlight]As one more information to F2 plate bindings, I should give mention: The anounced new F2 Race Worldcup and Intec Worldcup plate-bindings for 2014/2015 (page 48/49 on F2 dealers book 2014/15), will not be available for upcomming season in store. F2 didn't produce them at all for 2014/15.[/highlight]

There was a talk about the Alpine freeride board here the last Year. Refering to that snowboard on Prospect snowboards website (Madison WI), there are any riders here on BOL with some experience riding this board? The price is nice. $ 500.- only for an Alpine carvingboard is an affordable thing and it's made in USA.

New calendar for 2014/2015 showing 12 races (PGS 5x / PSL 7x) -> update: 14 races (PGS 5x / PSL 8x / team race 1x) 2014 December 13. - PGS - Carezza - Italia - (1745-2050m/5720-6720ft) shifted to Dezember 16. 18. - PSL - Silvretta-Montafon - Austria (1800m-1900m/5900-6200ft) 19. - team race - Silvretta-Montafon - Austria (1800m-1900m/5900-6200ft) 2015 January 10. - PSL - Bad Gastein - Austria - (1002m/3290ft) 11. - PSL - Bad Gastein - Austria - (1002m/3290ft) 22. - PSL - Kreischberg - Austria - (868m/2850ft) - Worldchampionships 23. - PGS - Kreischberg - Austria - (868m/2850ft) - Worldchampionships 31. - PGS - Sudelfeld - Germany - (1035-1235m/3400-4050ft) 2015 February 7. - PGS - Rogla - Slovenia - (1340-1490m/4400-4890ft) 8. - PSL - Rogla - Slovenia - (1340-1490m/4400-4890ft) 14. - PSL - Winterberg - Germany - (630-820m/2060-2690ft) 28. - PGS - Asahikawa (Hokkaido) - Japan 2015 March 1. - PSL - Asahikawa (Hokkaido) - Japan 7. - PSL - Moscow - Russia

If You are capable to join, go to Asahikawa (Hokkaido) February 28. and March 1. upcomming season! After a half dozen of never ending Years, PAR snowboard Worldcup turn to Japan again with two races. It's always fun to join events like that. You will be closer to countless good hardbooters then ever You can on other places. See FIS race calendar!

That thread I remembered me too. Check http://www.snowjapan.com/ also. They list hundreds of ski resorts in Japan. Further you can find some reviews. Check-out any informations about how-to-go-skiing. Weekend-packages by bus are popular in Japan. Indivdual travel by car expensive. Snow and slope can be for long time soft. So to ride a soft Kessler 185 wouln't be the best choice maybe. Take a stiffer one. Many resorts are on Australian hands. For to buy snowboard and ski gear visit: Ochanomizu district in Tokyo

Thats easy to answer: Ride a Hot Blast, which has horizontal lamination too, even if riding gates and You will know why! If anyone don't like things like forward thinking freestyle influence, they rather should stay on metal boards. Photo is from Kaunertal Glacier Austria and the hill/Glacier-wall behind is epic to ride. High speed and only 3 to 5 turns are recommended for to help to pass/jump the wide opened crevasses in autumn by enough airtime.

We are now off-season on Northern hemisphere! So less 2.hand boards for to buy. You know, we have a lot of rain here clearing ice on Glaciers, and muddy trails for to go mtb - now snow at all. Try again during October and November. Carvers buy some new boards that time and than they let go the ones from last season. Did You ever ride the Kessler The Alpine 168 ? What's about Your weight? Actual 168ies stock-boards are quite stiff and made for man at 65kg to 95 kg. I think at less than 75-80 kg You should go to another board. The board is heavy in weight. On Continental Europe 2.hand Kessler are gone compared to 350-470 and up to 600 Australian Dollars. Sometimes they woun't be sold higher than compared to 300 AUD. Example: 287 AUD for a 180 GS Kessler, but with remaining edge thickness down to 1mm only.

NY Times needs a login! It looks America stands sometime aside from hardbooters world. Europeans daily printet newspaper had some headlines and/or articles about the chute in crevasse of La Grande Dame of snowboarding. Examples from France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, Austria: http://www.lequipe.fr/Snowboard/Actualites/Deces-de-karine-ruby/36485 http://www.ledauphine.com/haute-savoie/2011/02/23/accident-de-karine-ruby-deux-ans-apres http://www.lefigaro.fr/sport/2009/05/29/02001-20090529ARTFIG00460-snowboard-chute-mortelle-de-la-championne-karine-ruby-.php http://www.lastampa.it/2009/05/29/sport/sport-invernali/cade-nel-crepaccio-muore-la-stellafrancese-di-snowboard-karine-ruby-tWOvmjpwmX6k7mQJpHpoSK/pagina.html http://www.gazzetta.it/Sport_Vari/Sport_Invernali/Snowboard/29-05-2009/muore-monte-bianco--50466403584.shtml http://www.20minutos.es/deportes/noticia/karine-ruby-snowboard-471379/0/ http://www.spiegel.de/panorama/alpen-olympiasiegerin-stirbt-bei-kletter-unfall-a-627757.html http://www.blick.ch/sport/wintersport/snowboard/olympiasiegerin-faellt-in-gletscherspalte-tot-id22858.html http://derstandard.at/1242317068123/Snowboard-Olympiasiegerin-Ruby-starb-bei-Bergunfall Well, late May 2009 American hardbooters had been strongly absorbed for all the preparings of the 2010 Vancouver rain Olympics, which was hold some months later. Even transporting 300 truckloads of snow from 100 miles away to a melting mountain needs some well done planings before. So America couldn't take focus to things which happens on exciting powder snow conditions of Mont Blanc during summer time. Even Simon Schoch was training that summer to be ready for 2010 Vancouver rain Olympics. On the second run on quarter finals, as I saw it on TV, he left the start-gate with moving his arms like swimming and he had swim-goggles on, instead of snowboard goggles, which was also remarked by others. Edit: some pictures from Karine Ruby [highlight]Nagano Olympics 1998 Gold[/highlight] [highlight]SLC Olympics 2002 Silver[/highlight] [highlight]how to carve on a smooth and proper way a giant-slalom raceboard on desired steep terrain[/highlight]

Actual Wmns Worldchampion (2013) Isablla Laböck (Germany) switch to Rabanser snowboards (Italy) for season 2014/2015. So we would see more brands on the top of FIS Worldcup upcoming winter. Last seasons she was on Black Pearl snowboards (Japan) and sometimes earlier on SGsnowboards (Austria).

These Boards at -skipass.com- are all exact the same like from Nideckers collection 2009/2010. Nidecker didn't show the Proto anymore on 2010/2011 official collection, but on demand you got informations. They left then some boards on stock in Rolle. Maybe there are still some vew boards available, but I don't think so. Ask them by e-mail. Sometimes you can find them still on store these Years in the Alps. The short one ( 162cm ) you can get on Germany's E-Bay site for € 299.- The longer ones (167cm) are pretty rare and hard to find - I wish You good luck. These wide Proto's have been introduced on a time where market for Alpine snowboards was down. So production lots remained small. Nidecker Proto's are very special shapes (3-D). I think it's impossible for custom snowboard makers to re-build that board for to be similar to ride. Nidecker has used magnetic resonance detectors (similar to MRI) for the selection of wood stringers. More then this Nidecker is reporting on interviews a long development process for that shape. Nidecker build many prototypes before they found the right solution. The goal: Nidecker Proto performs on any kind of snow, even on-slope/off-slope. Did You know, Nicolien Sauerbreij (NED, goldmedallist Vancouver Olympics) and Marieke Sauerbreij have been long time ago members of Nidecker's ProTeam? Sylvain Dufour (FRA) too. Alternate You can choose a Nidecker Megalight which is wider. Take an older non-camrock board for a more precise ride. You will be able to carve hard even with softboots on them, riding deep powdersnow too.

Yes I know, there are long winding roads on the tour of France. What a great Saturday! One day after the tour was passing the town of Grenoble, the tour starts in Grenoble itself. Then the tour is passing one of the most famous freeride resort on the world: La Grave ! Go there, the view of glaciers is amazing if You open the windows of your hotel room early in the morning. After that, the tour went trough a city where all the carvers world knows to buy carving boards in the Alps: Briançon ! And at least on the finish line (ski resort Risoul) we had an interview with Pierre Vaultier, Gold-medalist SBX of 2014 Winter Olympics Sochi on TV. Even Yesterday Saturday we get some bad news. 6 victims of a huge avalanche in the Alps. A British woman and a Swiss man died. The avalanche went down just only 4½ miles south of the slopes of Zinal. Zinal is a small village and known by some Alpine snowboard carvers for doing extreme things. for photo 14Mp 4Mb click here, keep eyes on the left upper corner, where You can see some skiers/snowboarders climbing up. On the left hard on bottom you can see the rescue team on work. I think the avalanche went down about 1980-2000ft of high.

Ooops! 2010 and up? Winter 2010/2011 was the last Year, they build them. After the production lot of summer 2010 Nidecker didn't produce Proto's anymore. (Source: salesman from Nidecker) You know, there was no more demand to such boards which are superb to ride, so Nidecker turns Alpine Boards out of the product line. Even all the lots some Years before have been small, so it's hard to find them. But I have an idea. Just ask user www .oldsnowboards. com for a substitution. He wrote to me: We need to be open to new products. For to be "positive", I'm sure he knows, which "new" label/board will give You (maybe?) a better selection.

$31,313.13 for a board? It's amazing! 100 Years old wooden skis are way cheaper to get, even like they are close to "NOS". I think it's better to rip the good boards and/or drink some fine wine during your live. It's nice to hold some great boards ready to ride on storage for the best days. But it's also nice to hold some bottles of Premier Grand Cru Classé wine down on cellar like Château Mouton Rothschild (Pauilliac), Château Pavie/LaGaffelière/L'angelus (Saint Emilion), Château LaTour (Haut Médoc) and so on for the best days. I mean France has some realy great winery, even beside daily table-wine. Just take Your eyes now to the cycling-race "Le Tour de France" these days. You will see some beautyfull pictures from France covering great wineyards, but some great ski areas also. They use 5 motorcycle with cameras, 2 motorcycle with reporters on microphone for live-reports out from the peleton, helicopters and drones. As I remember me well, on tour-of-France we can find one US overall winner too. His name is Greg LeMond. The race of Tour-de-France is visiting Year to Year some great ski-area too. Ski resorts like Les-2-Alpes, Tignes Espace Killy, and for sure Alpe d'Huez. They are all open now for snowboarding these summer-days. And today "Le Tour de France" was passing the town of Grenoble, just check website www.letour.fr ! Grenoble is a town standing for genuine winter-sports for sure. And from there we can find genius and genuine snowboards too. Yes I know, we can find on many places of the world nice things, thats allright. Even Napa valley is great. (found some older bottles of winery Robert Mondavi - Oakville and Cuvaison on cellar too). But on many places on earth things are comming out of making business at first. In France it's different. It seems they make fine wine for to live a good life and other countless tastefull things too. And again for enjoing the life. Yes business is there too, but it's just only follwed by the good ideas for to enjoy life - wintersports and snowboarding. Folks are free to choose any poor copies riding any snowboards they want. Myself, i'm verry happy to have some orginal bottles of wine on cellar and even original boards made in Grenoble too. You know, a snowboard from a place where Olympic Winter Games is not known by words, but by life. Such boards are closer to origin than any newly on a cheap way introduced boards (e.g. OES) here on BOL forum. Shapers which are far away from any snow at all, would never been able to take the lead for excellence.

According to this announcement Snowboarding Championship turns back to America 2019. Like for first time at the World championship of Kreischberg (AUT) 2015, we will see a combined event together with freeskiing. Park City will hold the new snowboardcross team event too. What is very disappointing: there is not left yet one single word about alpine snowboarding !

FIS next season PAR events / race dates have been fixed the last week. All of them (10 races?) are again on Continental Europe only. December 2014 13./14. - PGS/TBC - Carezza - Italia - (1745-2050m/5720-6720ft) January 2015 10./11. - PSL(?) - Bad Gastein - Austria - (1002m/3290ft) 22./24. - PSL/PGS - Kreischberg - Austria - (868m/2850ft) - Worldchampionships 31. - PGS(?) - Sudelfeld - Germany - (1035-1235m/3400-4050ft) February 2015 07./08. - PGS/PSL - Rogla - Slovenia - (1340-1490m/4400-4890ft) 14. - PSL - Winterberg - Germany - (630-820m/2060-2690ft) March 2015 07. - PSL - Moscow - Russia 15. - PGS/TBC - La Molina - España - (1655m/5430ft) PSL= parallel slalom PGS= parallel giant slalom TBC= team event (national) announced here Kreischberg World championships is combined now for fist time with freeskiing - so no more pure snowboarding World championships anymore. FIS snowboard makes again the same mistakes for PAR events 2014/15 like last season. They go to lower resorts which are not proof against global warming. (rain in Rogla last Year) While higher Arosa (2005-2309m/6580-7580ft) March 20.-22. (PAR/SBX) disappeared now from draft, lower ski areas are joining the event-list. We will see what happens. After low/bad snow desaster of Bad Gastein January 2014 where WC riders are riding slope conditions never ever sawn since FIS was holding races, we can hope for an upcomming winter which is less warm than 2013/14. But if global warming proceed (we had several glacier lossing a massive length of 1100-2200 Yards on Continent Europe / Alps last summer) resorts like Kreischberg (AUT) 868m/2850ft and Winterberg (GER) 630m/2060ft will fail, like Jauerling hill did last season. Even Sudelfeld (Ger) 1035/3400ft which is investing now $ 60'000'000 to a new lake and 300 snow machines for artifical snow and some new chairlifts, would not be able to use snowmakers if temperature is above 30F. Even if $ 20'000'000 are subventions from German State and EFRE European Community it doesn't help for freezing.