SkoonyMcGroomer

Hard for me to say as I was there early and left early. It was still good, but I'm not sure how warm it got this afternoon. I have a meeting early tomorrow, so won't be able to join you.

In the starting gate for lap one on Willy's Face.

It is a special day when Shooting Star gets groomed. If you like to carve really steep chalk corduroy, this was the place to be...

I discovered that video can be a very effective tool for developing a better understanding of one's motions while trying to improve my tennis serve thirty-something years ago. I quickly realized that my serve looked nothing like John McEnroe's. So, I need an interpretation. Is this narcissistic... or is it GNARcissistic?

I might be able to make it. Will you be there early? Pm me your phone number.

Will do. I am in Edwards as well. Curious, who is your instructor friend?

I ride at Beaver Creek pretty much every weekend and occasionally during the week, depending upon my schedule. Rarely do I ride a carving board at Vail - just too crowded on the weekends. I'll post an update on my availability as the date gets closer to your visit. Will you be riding on Sunday the 5th? More often than not, I am the only hardbooter at BC. Though, yesterday was an anomaly where I saw three others, riding with one who I met up with in the lift line. B. Free, PC, and the Odd One also show up on occasion to carve as well. Paul

I find it preferable on the steeps where the tight sidecut radius and excellent edge control can be used most effectively to keep speed in check. Driving hard, tight turns, as the design is intended, scrubs too much speed on more mellow runs where I would prefer a bigger stick that wants to run downhill more. In agreement that cruddy chop and push piles later in the day are not friendly with the MK. For me, it's about having a reduced level of commitment to the turn on an irregular surface.

Standing in the singles line, I get a tap on the shoulder. I turned to see one of the Beaver Creek Park Crew who says: "I've been watching you all season... It's unbelievable how you lay it down so quickly from edge-to-edge... You're slaying it dude"! I told him - thanks dude, it feels good to be a 55 year old slayer.

Window price is $189 at Vail, $179 if purchased in advance online. They want you to believe that charging more improves the guest experience.

Now, with around twenty days on the MK, I can confirm much of Sean's marketing narrative: My riding skills have been elevated to the next level and this board outperforms every other board in my quiver. This board is so much fun to ride!

Cherish the moment! I certainly did while it lasted when my son only wanted to snowboard (like Dad, though not HB) until he was drawn to the terrain park, and now he only wants to fly through the air. I have not had the ability (nor the inclination) to keep up with him since he was 13. Might get him on HB someday, as recently we were in the garage tuning boards and his buddy was checking out my MK and said to my son, "we should try this". Interest/encouragement from his peers is probably the only way it might happen.

This is how I figured it out last year. I tried 10 different boards in one day and developed a better understanding of what board characteristics I liked/worked for me and what didn't. I purchased the one which suited my preferences and haven't looked back... er, except every turn to see if a straighliner is bearing down on me.

It must be challenging to maintain that level of modesty - when one does a Google search for Alpine snowboarding/images and your picture is at the top of the list.

Never Summer is marketing carving on their Shaper Series boards... Also Bob Ross style afros.

If this were my track, I would be blaming the lumpy grooming for blowing out the carve line.

Me too. More often than not, I am carving solo. Yesterday was exceptional having a crew of 4 carvers pushing the energy level into the red zone. Rarely do I come across anyone who is more than just curious about the hardboot setup until recently. I was in the local mountaineering shop and saw that they are carrying split snowboards. While checking them out, I started up a conversation with the early twenties attendant about snowboards and he seemed surprised that an old guy knew so much about the different types of equipment. When I told him that I ride with hardboot setup, he became really interested, so I told him to check out Bomber. He wouldn't stop asking me questions, so I told him that if he was seriously considering it, I have some extra gear and would take him out. It was fun to see someone so excited about the opportunity to carve in hardboot setup. He was thrilled and had a great time. Hard to say if he will be a convert, doubtful, but it was fun for me to share the stoke with a young guy who really was excited to give it a try. Back to the point, I don't see there being that many folks interested enough to convert to hardbooting so as to change the demographics on the hill any significant amount. And certainly want to see enough continued demand for Bomber, Donek, Coiler, etc., to prosper.

Glorious day at the Beaver with Pete, Andrei and Juwan. You guys rip!

Just picked these up and will take them for a test drive tomorrow am. Will post an update on how they hold up. I'm hoping that I'm not going to miss the built-in wrist braces of my poorly constructed Dakine gloves that are held together with black silicone.

My answer is: "I really only do it for the chicks..."

I always enjoy having company carving - hope you can make it!

Yes, this is not my normal toe side posture. The counter rotation came from reaching forward with my right/back arm in order to get the shot I was looking for.

I had to look at it closely myself, but it appears to be the Gestalt associated with the coincidence of lines - the crease in my pants on the front leg aligns with those of the back leg.

When reaching the moment of Zen... Exhale!

Now that we have had a few days break from record pow, I finally had a chance to ride the MK in firmer snow conditions. I thought that the Proteus held well on steep and hard packed snow, but Wow, the MK is an amazing turning machine! Love the way I can lay into the steepest run and make quick turns with total control and confidence. This board is everything that I was hoping for it to be, quick edge to edge and able to control speed on the steeps. I must admit that there is a downside to this board in that one has to be in much better physical condition in order to ride it to it's full potential. It is not really a day cruiser, but a high performance ripper that wears me out in about 2.5 - 3 hours of top-to-bottom hard riding. In softer or variable conditions, I will stick with the Proteus, but on consistent firm snow, I plan on making a lot of turns on the MK. Props to Sean and all those involved in developing the MK.