Mark.Andersen

I bought the "S0313-0640" version; the shortest of the three M6 versions under the "Welded Eye Bolt - Metric" link. They are 1.5 inches from the bottom of the eye to the end, plenty long to easily clear both the Bomber and Catek lower assembly. Enjoy! Mark

I ride at a resort where leaving a 2nd board in the car is a hassle (tram ride and a good walk from the best carving). Here's my solution. It works best with Bombers coupled with a board with 4x2 inserts (the eye bolts screw right through the center disk into the empty inserts). However, on 4x4 or 3d boards with Bombers or any board with Cateks, you can get by with just removing two screws. It's still as secure and you don't need to fumble with stance width. The M6 eyebolts were rather hard to find, and not all that cheap ($3.50 each), but much cheaper than a new board and 2nd board kit... Find the eyebolts here: http://www.highlandrigging.com/products/bolts.html I suppose there is still the possibility of some punk bringing bolt cutters up the tram, but given that board theft is a crime of opportunity, I think the bolt cutter risk is rather low. Here are some pics:

Burton is probably much more aggressive in defending their patented 3hole pattern on soft bindings. Since they don't produce alpine bindings or boards anymore, they probably don't care on the alpine side.

I've got a pair of nearly new 6* TD2 disks to sell or trade for 3*. $50 for the pair - shipped. Could also be a 2nd board kit with soft rings and 4x4 disks for $75 shipped. Mark andersen_m (at) yahoo (dot) com

Hey Lonerider, forget about ACE, you'll never find a good selection of metrics there, especially if you want stainless. In the Bay Area, the best place is Global Metrics in Belmont. They've got what you need and won't make you by 50 pieces when you need 8. They are super friendly. I often bring bikes or boards with me and they just let me wander about the warehouse trying different stuff until I find what I need. 650.592.2722 Call ahead, they have wierd hours (weekdays only and close early).

The 168GS was 13M while the 172GS was 14M, so it's probably one or the other. Waist width is 18cm I believe, while the "stock" Protons were/are 19.5cm

Thanks slopetool. Does it look like this? How much? Shipping to 94404? Many Thanks!

Slopetool - What are the specs? Good all mtn board? Any rise on the tail? thx Mark

My wife was having terrible pain on the outside edge of her front foot last season. I thought that maybe it was a result of poor alignment of her foot and lower leg. I stuck a Burton "Clamshell" cant (i think they were called UniCants?) under her front binding to give her a better platform. I put a riser under her back foot to compensate for the thickness of the cant in front. She loves it, problem solved. I know the UniCant has durability issues so when I stumbled on a couple at REI for $5 I snapped them up. She should be properly aligned for years to come. Unfortunately the fixed cants that come with late model Burton plates don't work nearly as well. They are angled for a hardboot stance and softies at low angles aren't supported in the right place. Mark

Hi David. I've got a set of 26cm Raichle 124s. Conventional Raichle wisdom says you can typically go 1cm down from your measured foot for a good fit. I got the boots as part of a package deal at a swap meet and will sell them for $25+shipping. I can take a picture if you'd like. A couple of notes: -These are the old style 124s that are *not* INTEC compatible. -The shells are in good shape, but the liners are just marginal. They are servicable but not great. They aren't stinky though. :) -The cuff cant mechinisms were stripped out when I bought them, so I replaced them with some spares. -All buckles and straps are in good shape. -They have the 1-position walk/ride lever, not the 5-position forward lean adjuster. -They are a 4 buckle boot. Mark

Here are the details on the Proton SL 149. The KR was nearly identical. KRs were from around 97-98. Overall Length (cm): 149 Running Length (cm): 132.0 Effective Edge (cm): 133.0 Stance Width (cm): 20.1 Tip Width (cm): 24.8 Waist Width (cm): 19.5 Tail Width (cm): 24.8 Tip Height (cm): 4.0 Tail Height (cm): 0.5 Side Cut Radius (m): 8.5 Stance Range (cm): 40-48 Stance Offset (cm): 1.5 Weight Range (kg): 40-65

Anyone out there with a Nidecker Escape 165 that's getting lonely for lack of snow time? I'll consider other boards with a narrowish (~22cm) all mountain shape in the 165cm range. I've got a few more race oriented boards if you'd like a trade... andersen_m "at" yahoo "dot" com Cheers!

Hey Randy, I've been mulling the same idea, though I'd probably be on late spring corn much more often than midwinter powder. I'd rather ride the lifts/snowcat/helicopter when its deep and fluffy. :D For bindings, I'd probably end up with plate binding toe/heel pieces mounted directly to the Voile slider plates with a healthy portion of drill and dremel work. I've got a set of old F2 Intecs waiting to be cannibalized. However, I also think I might prefer standard toe clip bindings and AT ski boots (better for climbing). For a plethora of homebrew splitboard interface ideas, check out the forum on Couloir's website . Be careful there though, the Softie vs. Clicker vs. AT Skiboot vs. Snowboard Hardboot vs. Plastic Mountaineering Boots arguement never fails to encite a holy war. Finally, if you're ever intersted in borrowing my AT Ski Boots for a test ride, let me know. I used them when I climbed/rode Shasta this spring, and they were great. Mark

Sean, are the Donek BX riders running plates or softies (or both) in BX races?

I've flown Air Canada a couple of times from SF to Vancouver. I didn't have any trouble with as many as 5 boards between two people, though none were over 175. Just smile and offer to carry the boards around to the conveyor. Also, when returning to the States, customs is in Vancouver, so the counter people are just tagging your bags, not loading or weighing them. You go through customs with your bags and then dump everything on the conveyor yourself.

Hey Dan: I did a trip from Vancouver to Calgary back in '95. I went with a group and the route was pretty straight forward. Basically, "Get on Canada 1 and ride east for 700 miles until you hit Calgary". Riding on the highway wasn't nearly as hairy as you might think. Other than a few tunnels in the first couple hundred miles, there was plenty of shoulder to be totally comfortable. There weren't really any boring parts, though, of course, the highlight was the days in and around the National Parks. Banff, Jasper, Yoho, and Glacier are awe inspiring. You could easily kill 10 days of riding just around the parks. We went in early September and had *mostly* good weather, however, I believe we were fairly lucky. The weather in the Rockies can be unpredictable from what I've heard. We did the 700 miles in 10 days. I was fairly fit at that time and didn't have any trouble endurance wise. However, the day we climbed Rogers Pass it was torrential rain all day. Of the 15 in the group, 3 of us even got on our bikes that morning. Up was hard in the rain, but down the other side was miserable. I thought, many times, that I wouldn't make the next turn due to wet rims and frozen fingers. I just couldn't work my hands well enough to really slow down... Even if you're on a budget and camping mostly, treat yourself to a room and a bed occasionally. A real shower does wonders. With a bit of hunting, I could probably track down the detailed route sheets we used. Let me know if you're interested. Oh, one other thing. Don't try to be a hero and do any realy touring with a double crank. I was young and dumb, and my knees let me know the error of my ways. I would have given my first born for lower gears on some of the climbs. Where ever you go, don't get so wrapped up in "getting there" each day that you forget to look around. The best part about bike touring is the fact that you see, hear, smell and feel a whole lot more at 10-15mph that you could ever dream of experiencing in a car. As the saying goes, it's about the journey, not the destination. Enjoy the ride and post up some pics when you're done. Think about it in 10 years and you'll be amazed about the details you remember... Cheers! Mark

Hey SITO, check out www.archive.org for some old HeavyTools Data. http://web.archive.org/web/*/www.heavytools.com It looks like they stopped producing Snowboard around 2000. In the late 90's they produced the "Prince Albert" (race), "Patriot" (freecarve), and "Drive" (boarderX) in their alpine lineup. Drive Specs Alpine freecarve board with boarder X shape for all purpose use. Durable CAP-wood-compound with "Twist-control" laminate. length(cm) edge(mm) width(mm) sidecut(m) stance(cm) 150 1300 275/220/273 7,75 35-51 158 1368 282/227/280 8,5 36-52 165 1420 290/235/282 9,25 42-58 The graphics on Archive.org are spotty, but you can sometimes find text specs of old boards this way. Enjoy! Mark

Hey Charles, if you can't sell it locally, I'll take it and pay for shipping. Let me know. Mark andersen_m (at) yahoo (dot) com

Here's a pic to clarify. As you can see, the boots on the left are three buckle boots, but don't have much room for another strap. These are my wife's boots, sz 25. In the center are 123s (sz 28) with no mods. On the right are my 123s with the mods described above. As you can see, if you remove the velcro top strap on the center boot, you can easily fit a 4th strap into the existing holes in the boots. All that is required is to order two straps and buckles from the BomberOnline.com store, drill out the rivets that hold the velcro strap in place, and screw the straps and buckles in place. I even believe that all the screws and tnuts are included with the buckles/straps from Bomber. Get the parts here: BOOT PARTS

I like my 123s, especially with a few modifications. -5 position forward lean upgrade -epoxied cuff cant adjusters -4th buckle -Stiffer tongues I've also got a set of Thermoflex liners, but haven't gotten around to molding them. The standard liners fit me well, and in CA is never gets cold enough that the added insulation of Thermos is necessary. I'm using TD2 Stepins which stiffen up the lateral boot/binding interface, and I like the soft lateral flex that the 123s have. The addition of the 4th strap and stiff tongues give me plenty of foward stiffness for my taste. I'm not all that aggressive in my riding, so the 123s fit my style well. The above mods are pretty easy to make, the cuff cant fix is the hardest. The others are very simple with normal hand tools, the cant fix requires a drill and possibly a dremel. Mark

Randy, would you mind if I swing by and check out the liners? I need a pair of standard liners to resurrect a pair of shells to introduce a friend to plates. Email me and I'll swing by after work or this weekend sometime. Mark andersen_m (at) yahoo (dot) com

I tore the labrum in my right shoulder in Jan 99. It was torn on the bottom half of the socket, from about 4 o'clock to about 7 o'clock. It was tacked back together with two (or three, cant remember) consumable tacks. I was (unwisely) snowboarding again about 6 weeks later. In hindsight, I probably should have completed the entire 12 week rehab program before getting back on the hill. However, I was young and dumb. The silver lining was that this injury was what got me into alpine. I figured that I couldn't hurt myself if I stayed out of the park... Poor logic, by the way. You can do plenty of damage on an alpine stick.

Jack, where do you find Leffe Blond stateside? I love it, but can't seem to find it locally. I've resorted to buying Hoegaarden as a white beer substitute, and while Hoegaarded is damn good, it's not Leffe. They are however, brewed by the same firm...

Frappe: The middle hole serves no purpose that I can tell. Don't bother with it. Should I ship you the disk and the binding? Email me at "andersen_m (at) yahoo (dot) com" with you address. I'll pay for all materials, shipping both ways, and enough on top of that to buy you a few six packs. Derf: There is a rubber gasket in the binding hole that the disk sits in. I've got another set of F2s (TitanFlex) that the disks have no teeth at all. It is just a press fit into the rubber gasket that is tightened by screwing the disk into the board. I've never had them slip, so I think a toothless disk will work here as well.

Many thanks Frappe! Here are some photos. Cheers! Mark andersen_m (at) yahoo (dot) com Disk Top <br> Disk Bottom <br>Binding