tpalka

Thanks, Carboncarver. The kite is an Ozone Frenzy, 11 meter. I had a pretty tough time flying it there -- the winds (in the video) were quite gusty, and it took me a while to figure out how to use the board. I'll be soon trying it with a regular SLE kite, a bit more time to set it up but I think it'll deal much better with the gusts.

I had fun riding on smooth gravel roads around where I live. My board (MBS Core 95) doesn't have springs, so I'm going with a looser setup but more tire pressure. The way that the board drifts on the gravel is pretty fun -- it feels like carving, although there's a lot of slop. I have video of the first day, not super exciting: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=For8r4tfwpI Later last summer I had a chance to kite with it, and it was fun when it worked. Punchy and gusty winds made it pretty hard though, and the mechanics of boarding are very different than on the water: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZxqD8XyTX8 I haven't ridden the landboard this season yet, but will break it out soon... besides everything else, I think it's good for carving cross-training.

Ha ha, revert :) You're only a revert if you _started_ on softboots and then moved to hard. I started on HBs, and after riding lots and lots of days at our not-so-big local resort I switched to riding primarily softies. In between there were years where I rode lots of fakie, worked on jumps, riding boxes, trees, etc. Could I ride better? Of course, but I plateaued a bit, and fun factor decreased. These days I ride hard boots almost only when snow is crappy. Or at other resorts with HB'ing friends. In a way, HB's are too forgiving -- it takes no effort to make a carve. Using a softer interface gives me lots more ROM and requires a lot more precision. I've been riding with just the front binding (back foot free), and carving that way is a blast :) Sometimes less is more. I won't forgo HB's completely, they're great at what they do -- but softies have their place too. It's all about your own progression, and where you want to take it. I think carving on one of these would be pretty hard :)

Nice summary, SunSurfer. Yes, the cropping is nice -- I used another stabilization software which over-cropped. All in all, I personally prefer the iStabilize method -- I like how in that version you can see how the carver leans and turns. After a while I focus on the rider and forget the black borders... Three years ago I tried to make a movie out of a bunch of followcam footage -- trying to make the riders blend into each other. Didn't work too well, I was pretty new to the whole video editing. But the stabilization part worked fairly well. Wish I had all the sources so I could play with it again... <iframe width="425" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/9M1QUqa5NZs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

The youtube one seems to work OK. But the stabilizer I use, iStabilize from pixlock, does a much better job. Hope the original video author won't mind me posting a stabilized version -- I'll remove it in a few days, it's just to show the difference. <iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/24323895?portrait=0" width="800" height="456" frameborder="0"></iframe><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/24323895'>http://vimeo.com/24323895">Stabilized version of: alpine snowboard carving, Russ following polecam</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user1570026'>http://vimeo.com/user1570026">snowytom</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>

Three turns per second.

Thanks, but that's a bit far for me -- at least 2 hour drive to Golden, another 1 - 1.5 hours to Boulder... I'll bring my stuff next I come to SLC and look you guys up then. Thanks for the offer though!

That looks awesome, wish I lived closer so that I could join you!

Carvedog: have you used the firewire connection for the camera? Seems it should work ok. OP: I use iMovie and iStabilizer on os/x. Good combination, not expensive (100 for iMovie and 50 for iStabilizer), very easy to use. But you do have to have a mac.

If binding stiffness is an issue, you can also get the Ibex binding with the 7* cant -- Fin sells them -- and you'd be closer to your current setup too.

Not with a windsurf sail, but I used my Dervish with 2M and 3M trainer kites. Lots of fun on small parking lots... What would be even more fun I think, though I haven't tried it, is a kitewing -- more maneuverable than a windsurf sail, and easier without the kite lines...

Does this count? <iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/1_taCntslzE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Why not go talk with Joerg from Pureboarding? He has a shop with a bunch of boards, lots of boots, and bindings. Shop is right outside of Zurich. That way you can feel the various boards etc... Tom.

Sounds cool -- I look forward to seeing the vids. If your aim is practice EC push-pull, then I think pumping would be the best. A bit part of EC'ing is the body rotation, too. I'd work on getting a good timing on doing the transition with bent knees, then extending the legs until you're max-rotated at the apex of the turn, then rotating back while sucking the legs in, so that you're in starting position at the end of the turn. If you take the extension/retraction to be the pumping movement, you'll be in great shape for EC practice on the snow... See Patrice around 0:18 in this video: I have a feeling that Emdee406 is the pump master, so he might have better thoughts on how to get there :)

I think that push-pull is a bit of a misnomer -- in EC you don't really pull the board back to you, you just allow it to get closer to your body, from the point where your body is max-extended. I think extension-retraction is a better term for this. That said, with my meager longboarding experience, I use a push-pull type of movement when I'm pumping the board -- but that has nothing to do with EC'ing...

My new powder board -- the "Slack Rocket X1"! Setup with softies for now, but I might end up riding it noboard-style, now I just need to wait for the next powder dump.

POC is great... If, along similar lines, you decide you'd like a Sweet helmet I have a good one for sale :) Picture: http://bit.ly/hYwzrh

A few thoughts: Helmet is a must. Make sure she's warm. We have a season-rental deal -- boots/skis for $50, and I can exchange them for bigger ones whenever. It's all about fun. We do 1-2 runs, have a chocolate brownie. That brownie costs him at least another run. Always keep it fun. No leashes or hoola hoops. Use edgy-wedgies to keep ski tips together. I ski in front, backwards, so that I can catch him if/when needed (hardly ever these days). Show her how fun things are -- my son loves powder and yells for it if I take him on a groomer. We include an easy tree run every time we go out :) Now we're playing with jumping up while riding. I started riding with my son when he was 2 years 3 months, and above things worked out very well. Now he's 3, and he's having a blast riding, snow plow no problem, now we're working on losing the edgy-wedgie. A few videos from this season: http://bit.ly/foOxqj and http://bit.ly/hsegbb Hope this helps! tom. PS. Lessons: we had him in the Snowmass Bears program for two mornings, so we could enjoy the powder days. Seems like that helped him breakthrough with snow plowing -- so a lesson is a good idea, but only once they're old enough to actually learn something?

Mine was caused by doing lots of tail-spins / pirouettes and nose-rolls, not really what the board was made for :) Using the two-part marine epoxy (long curing time, not 5 minute), working it in between the edge and the base, then clamping the whole thing down for a night in a warm place has been working well. I've had a few more of those repairs to do in different spots. You might also take some photos and contact Prior -- it could be worth sending the board to them for a professional fix?

Not sure if this is the same issue I had, but here's a thread with some pics and the way I fixed mine... http://www.bomberonline.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=15426 HTH, tom.

Yes, excellent deal -- we got the same, plus three days at Angel Fire, Red River, bunch more places and then some 50% offs too. I think Monarch season pass was voted best deal of 2011. Ah, I misunderstood you about your times. If you're up for riding Monarch on your way back, on Monday, let me know and it'd be great to meet up. If not then, let's definitely do it at Lovey -- it's been a few years since we got to ride together!

Hey Mario, would love to ride with you! We're out of town Fri/Sat though. If you're up for riding on Sunday, let me know and we'll meet you up there. We also have two more Lovey days left, will try to meet you there sometime later.

Paul, thanks for paying attention and keeping all the wolves and the vultures away. Of course, I had Jimmy as backup too :)

Flywalker! Niseko has been awesome for the past three days, Mats and i are riding swallowtails and having a blast. Any interest in joining us for some turns? Email me through my profile... Would be nice to meet you. We will be here for another week. Cheers, Tom.

The Kona is very stable and pretty inexpensive. Not good for surfing unless you're really good, at least I can't surf them. But for exercise and fun with kids it is very good. I paddle mine is whitewater too, so its not a bad SUP, just not surfy... Hope this helps, Tom.