JJFluff

People sure like calling powder, pow. You'd think it was a really long word or something. I think I might start to call it "der". -Der used in a sentence.... Man, there is nothing like riding in waist deep der. After a big storm, standing on the top looking down into a bowl of untracked der. It just doesn't get any better than that. Fresh der. Love it, Live it.

Your nuts.

I Wish I was from Aspen.

Jim, When I said how can one feel comfortable when constantly switching, I didn't mean comfortable in the sense of feeling pain vs. not feeling pain. I meant more along the lines of "comfortable riding". You know what I mean. Like if your heelside seem to be sliding out a bit, when you have a great toeside working. Than in that case maybe riding through it might be a better solution vs changing the setup and thinking it must be a issue with equipment. If something hurts, than change it, obviously. Now, I have been riding on hard boots for 13 years. Just to help my credibility a bit. I just think to somebody new to the sport and new to this forum, they probably get the impression that they need tons of equipment, boards, bindings, boots, boot springs, cant plates, lift kits, etc. etc. I don't think everybody on these forums realize that not everyone has nor can afford to have all of this "stuff." I think it actually holds some people back, having all of this "stuff." People are so quick to blame their sidecut that there isn't enough time to get better. They just pick up a new board. I have bought my last two alpine boards on ebay, than adapt to it. I am one of those people who has to decide, spend money on equipment, or take a trip out west, ie. SES. So I figure save money on the equipment, work hard with my Burton FP and Variplate bindings, go to SES, and try to win some TD2's in the raffle. Oh yeah, Bullwings, I would try what you have, see how it feels, and go from there. I think I use 6 degrees on the back foot to help push my back knee forward. It's a good start for sure. I don't buy into the front canting back towards the middle. Of course after riding for so long one way, any other way would feel crazy. So obviously, whatever feels "right" is the way to go.

I'm sure that they're fun Jack. I guess the main reason I never looked into giving a longer board a go is the fact that most of the time I am riding a hill and not a mountain. I also find that I can change the types of turns from tight slalom to as large of a radius I want with a board in the 160 to 170 range. The board is nice and light and you can pull it through a turn and really drive it. I would think with a longer board you would be more contained to making a larger arcing turn, and on some of those monsters out there, 180's and up, I would think the board is driving you more than vise/versa.

I agree jnshipiro. I actually think there are more than one solution as far as binding setup goes. I think to many "tweak" there bindings too much, and get hung up with the technical jargin waaay to much. Intstead start with a setup that feels comfortable. From their, focus more on riding that setup, than constantly trying to change. How can one expect to get comfortable when constantly blaming the setup, and changing angles, etc. I'm sure I'm different than most, I chose a setup and stuck with it. I may have gotten lucky. But it works great. If i change it up a degree or two, it feels totally foreign to me. Of course if your way off as far as where you need to be to perform, be comfortable, etc. Thats different. But once you find yourself switching this and that and the other thing, over and over. Well thats when it's time to switch focus more toward getting better, getting comfortable with where your at. The rider is much more important than the gear. When setting up, I would start with a setup that eliminates all toe/heel drag. Thats the most important factor. Then switch your stance width until you feel a comfort where you don't feel stretched apart, on the other hand it's not so narrow that you don't feel stable. You want to be able to flex your knees comfortably as well. I think that is where canting comes into play the most. I only use canting on my back foot. I would tell you how many degrees, but I have know idea. Better yet, just try it, and find what feels best, than look at what degree it is. Once you think your close. Stick with it for awhile. See what happens.

I have never ridden a board longer than 167cm. I have been riding for over 13 years on hardboots. For most of them I was on a 160cm board. Then tow or three years ago the new board became a 6.7. I am 6ft tall, and weigh anywhere between 175-180 pds. I have no problems riding as hard as I need to with this length of board and love every minute of it. Large boards seem like a waste to me.

I use the Smith Rhythm goggle. I have a small face as well, and I found these fit the best of any goggle I've tried. They retail for $55. There are a few different color choices, and lenses to choose from. Replacement lenses are 20 bucks and up. Great goggle, not to expensive and reliable.

Sunburst Ski Area near West Bend, WI is going to open a run this weekend. Obviously, nothing to get too excited about. But if you want to get on some snow, here's your chance. Just make sure to wear a helmut, look uphill, and pray you make it down alive.

The endless slopes of Sunburst Ski Area, near Milwaukee, Wisconsin will be opening one run this Friday at 4pm. If you really want to test your abilities, try to make it down a run of icy november manmade- with about 150+ kids and highschoolers. Of course, all they do is sit in the middle of the run and line up for a 12inch "kicker" that little bobby constructed, to try out his new board he got on ebay for his birthday. After waiting all summer to ride snow again, it is a very hard decision out here in wisconsin. Dodge bullets on popcorn snow. Or be patient and wait a few more weeks.

I've been using these burton variplates forever. I replaced one bail in the 10+ years of use. We've been through so much together, how could I ever relplace them. Giver hell, I say.

The moritz has common rooms for rent. So you rent a bed, and share the room with eigther one other or three.(two bunkbeds). They have a common public bathroom/showers that everyone on that floor shares. But they make breakfast, it has a nice pool, and if you don't mind meeting new people and sharing a room, you can't beat the price in Aspen.

My riding doesn't change much between the soft setup and hardboot set up. I try to keep everything working together. On the freestyle board I ride 0 degrees front and back. So I can't lean into each turn much further than what is shown here.

The ST. MORITZ has a pool and it's heated to the point you feel like your in a hottub. Here is a pic of some of SES's finest kicking in the "Celebrity hottub" in 2005. Names have been changed to protect the innocent.

Slope=rise over run. Anyways, I agree, when you commit early, and get low quickly, you may lose an edge at times. But if you have good body positioning you can slide a bit on the snow, reset your edge, and pop right back up, and actually make it look like you meant to do that. Of course the other result is sliding on your but directly down the fall line. Thats the difference between using good technique to control your momentum and anticipating losing the edge. When you anticipate it, you can continue your momentum through your turn, verses just washing out. When you lose an edge while using a more angulated riding style, it is a much less "graceful" trasition to get back on edge. At least thats my opinion/experience. I do agree that the inclination method is much more difficult on an icy, less ideal snow surface. But hey, I'm from wisconsin, and I grew up on a icy, less ideal snow surface. So I get a lot of practice.

First of all, the video is not me. Now, at the same time, I do like to think we ride very similar, which is why I put the video up on the space. Check out extremecarving.com. The guys you see riding are Partrice and Jacques. They actually produce snowboards in France. You definately won't be able to achieve what they're doing with a soft boot setup. Even with hard boots its tough. The right slope and speed also help to make these guys look so good. If you watch close at the edge of the board when the footage goes into slow motion, you can see a lot of edge chatter. (The board "jumping" or losing contact on the snow.) The thing is with as much slope as they are riding on, they don't lose much speed and use gravity to keep moving through the turn regardless. Nice to look at none the less. I believe it is the nicest style to watch and look at. Even if you are commiting yourself that low into the turn. Every thing just seems to be working together.

I use the inclination method. i learned by watching other hardbooters at the hill way back in the day. From that point, just kept working on my style, and tried to make it as smooth as possible.

The T6 is a great carving board. I ride one when I'm not on a alpine board and it it carves and snaps like an alpine board. I just ride it with a middle of the line pair of burton bindings, and some moto boots. I still can't understand why people hate burton so much. Their gear is reliable, thats for sure.

Wildfrogman, Glad to see you are going alpine. The board your using to start on will work out great for you. It flexy and forgiving. The size of the board will work great as well. Being a beginner, the difference of asymetrical to symetrical is a angled tail vs. a straight tail. So don't worry about the difference. I've been snowboarding for 14 years, started on asymetrical boards and have moved on to symetrical, the main reason? Because thats where the technology and demand moved towards, and thats what is now available. Honestly, switching between the two, feel no more ackward than switching from one symetrical board to another symetrical board. You just need to make a few adjustments. Especially at your level. Have fun, work on your riding by doing what feels right. I suggest getting lessons at first, so you don't pick up bad habits and go from there. Trust me, it's not rocket science. Unless you make it that way.

Here it is. Very simple and easy. I just went to home depot, and picked up some pre-cut stock wood. They sell it in these exact sizes. All I did was cut them to size, pre-drill and countersink the holes for the screws to make it look more clean. The three pieces are held together by a two screws ran in from behind. You could countersink the exposed screw holes deeper and fill the screw holes with putty or a dowel to totally hide the front bottom screw. Top screw is behind the board. I also sanded all the corners down to make them softer. <a href="http://photobucket.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f400/jonjansen15/IMG_1257.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"></a>

Here is my PJj6. I would use it more if it were a bit more stiff. <a href="http://photobucket.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f400/jonjansen15/pjwall.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"></a> But I am still riding the original variplates, minus one toe clip and bail that were replaced. You got to love the longevity of these bindings, they have been tortured. <a href="http://photobucket.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f400/jonjansen15/Variplates.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"></a>

I made these clips to hang boards on the wall, as you can see with this PJ6. Looks clean which helps in convincing your better half when hanging in the living room. <a href="http://photobucket.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f400/jonjansen15/spic.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"></a>

My truck and my wife and tons of snow, life is good. <a href="http://photobucket.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f400/jonjansen15/truck.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"></a>

My S10 Crew Cab works wonderfully in snow.

Looks like I am going to be able to get back out for my second SES this time around. Probably for the second half of the week. Tuesday on thru. Still haven't booked anything but looking forward to meeting up with the Moritz clan once again. So yes Bill, I've gotten permission to come out this year. I'm going to drive out this year, and stay as far away from the aspen airport as possible. Glad to see that Dan the man will be back as well. See everyone soon. Jon from Milwaukee..... Go Packers