No.2

Hi everyone. I hope you have had a wonderful season up there. So who's comming down under this summer. The exchange rates are great and if you go through Aussie they are doing crazy packages to get people to the South Island including $29 flights. My self and other carvers will be doing Queenstown / Wanaka eairly August. Hope to see some of you there.

So who's coming to ride with me in South Island New Zealand! Exchange rates are GREAT! First two weeks in August? I'd love to see some of you down here.

Hey Tex. -21.5" Widest stance -24" My stance according to JG -Catek OS1 with polycarb protection plates. My bindings.

Just trying to decide whether to T-Nut my new board or sell it to some one that might fit it better. Just had a session with JG and my stance width isn't going to fit on my board. Yes I have stupidly long legs. Specs 179cm, 11.5M, 18.8cm waist, 6.8 + 4.5 Flex, Race Carve, Titanal Elipse top sheet see here for photos http://www.bomberonline.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=21938 The flex is good for 180 - 200 lb riders. The insert pack is slightly wider than standard. The base and edges are untouched not even tuned yet. If any one is keen let me know how much it might be worth. P.S. Shipping from New Zealand will be long or expensive. Cheers. Jas

-Lower profile toe bail. More clearence at lower angles. -Feel more solid. Esp when adjusted up tight. -Love the dismount and go even before the skiers get their poles sorted. J

Just plastic welded my cant holes up on my UPZs and re drilled. It seems that the stiff tongues, thermos and blown out toe boxs put my cant WAY out when I flex. It's not perfect but my stance is much less of a fight now. :) Jas

Just had a little break through with this so I'd thought I'd share it. I noticed that this has alot to do with rotation of my upper body lagging which is exasperated on the steeps where the rotation delta is higher. So what I did was held on to my knees and went riding. Awesome! Great in bumpy white out like to day. Found my self dragging my elbows and popping air in total 0 vis. Fun but where the hell am I? :) Clean runs Jas

Hey Hans. Yeah thats me. :) It's about an hour and a bit to the summit and the guys that did got some great snow. Not bad for this time of year eh. Maybe you could bring the family (boards and people) over for 09.. See if we can get you out for a sail on an Americas Cup yacht. :) Jas

Wow thanks guys. Thats just great stuff. Good to have another look at those drills Jack. I use alot of them for my warm ups. Some of the more challenging ones would work great with Hammering the blues Rob thats great advice. :))) I'm back up in Auckland now. But I'll give that a send the next time I'm down. Sorry but GF wan't up for getting cold videoing me boarding who'd have thought... Got these pics for you though. :) J

Thanks spil yeah read that. It was a great help esp when I combined the hip down and forward with Rob Stevens "Think about tipping water out over the front of both cuffs toe side" esp the front one. Seraph you're right on the money thank you. The relaxing / breath link is gold. And recreating the situations on moderate terrain and then doing the instinctive and then the relaxing / balanced combined with muscle tension and breath is what I'll try to day for a warm up, should be funny to watch. Nice visualization for my COM position too thanks :) Cheers guys. Jas

Thanks Guys. Thanks for your thoughts carvedog, maybe you could be a starter for New Zealand in 09. We are have such an insane season here at the mo. BTW I think I need to get my front ankle working on steeps cause at the mo I'm over finishing my turns when I panic and loosing to much speed to effectively initiate the next turn. And getting on tippy toes and weight back sure is a great way to freek my self out for the next plunge downwards. What I'm trying to archive is a nice cross under turn that doesn't run away from me on the steeps. I need descent pace in to help me keep my balance and a really sound initiation that sticks hard and gets me around before I hit warp speed. Looks like you found my Stance Q thread Cuban. The boots are 26 and my feet are 275mm long, very wide, and high volume so the toe box is rather tight ;) I will try that though, might give me some more proprioceptive feedback. What I really talking about is when my ankle technique breaks down. When I'm not freaked out ie not tight, steeep, really bumpy or trying to dodge rocks / people etc I feel like I've got nice, ankle flexing, board angulation, steering input. Great for snappy cross under or cross through turns. Like counter steering on a motorbike. How ever when I'm in holy poo! mode I stand on my tippy toes and actually loose angulation. My instincts are trying to increase angulation and turn back up the hill to slow down or dodge something but that don't work on a snowboard hence I need to reprogram. Same as what Hans said I also get back in arrrrgh mode but I'm working on this :) Nice tip to the fire your hands where you want to go especially when it's down. So any tips, drills or some of that inspired vague but meaningful coaching talk on reprogramming a stand on tippy toes instinct. Or the get back instinct for that matter. I might try to get some video tomorrow. I'll see if the GF is up for it.... NOT like that! :D Thanks again. Jas

Help me O Bomber. When ever I get freaked I stand up on my toes esp my front and out comes my arse and there goes my line. Is there any thing I can do to reprogram my self to flex into my boots more rather than go tippy toes when things get spooky. This will help me sooo much to control my speed on steeps. Thoughts, inspired "think of poring water out of you cuffs" sentiments, Drills? Cheers. Jas

Just let it loose amongst the masses and had a ball. No incidents and lots of laid over arcs around parked groups :) I found another carver that I had heard about but never met and we were carve for carve all over the hill. The first time I have ever had to privilege to do this, SAD eh. I'm sure it hasn't been seen on Turoa for many a year as well. Lots of interested comments and compliments from the lifts and ques. + "So do you snowboard as well?" Had to laugh at that one. James I think most of us, well, the majority any way, have already got that particular ticket. ;) Clean Lines J

I've definatly found more forward lean esp on the front boot = more thigh burn. esp when traversing. Sorry to do every thing backwards here but today was such a good day that the only stance I played around with was MORE CANT and more forward angles. I certainly noticed that my heal side initiations were easier. All this cant just seems to be necessary with these asym tongue UPZs. I'm beginning to think that may be it's just what your used to and stance maybe doesn't matter that much. I've tried all sorts flat, heeps of heal lift, 70s 45s even duck on my BX board and every thing seems do able. I guess I just need to build up enough body awareness to notice when I'm fighting the stance and when I can just relax into it with and still keep clean. The only stance that I have really found hard was 57F 54R. I really didn't know what to do with that... Might be telling I'm not sure. Thanks again for all your input guys. If any one has got any gems then I'm still very interested. Jas

Owwa you guys are so nice.. :) Thanks Jack nice Klub. Counting on you Allee for next years South Island mission and Hey Kip hows your Yacht? 'bout to go and let her rip on the last Saturday of the school holidays on a blue bird just after some new snow. :)) Now we'll see how turny she is! South Island 09 bring it on. :) Jas

Thanks guys. Regarding cant I didn't run cant on my old 325 Raichles with the center tongue. But with my UPZ with the Asym tongue as I flex into the boots they fire my knees outwards especially with the stiff grey tongues in. Which is kind of nice toe side as you mention in that great cant article Jack. How ever with the UPZs it was way too uncomfortable with that stance width/angles. Even with all the cant I'm running I'm still knees apart even when I'm draging my rear knee in the snow toe side (ie too much in the back seat :) My inseam is 38" Thanks heeps for you thoughts I'll try a narrower stance, more forward angles, less toe and heal lift today. Q for the guys riding flat. What do you do with your boots forward lean adjustments? :) J

More On Board shots. Note the outward cant from the front when I flex in to the boots. Also What do you think of the over hang on my rear boot?

Photos

Can any one help me optimize my stance. Specs are 20.5" 61F 57R Heeps of toe and heal lift and cant, Catek OS2s, boots slightly back from centered over binding, 26 UPZ RTRs with thermos, well down sized and blown out all over the place quite straight on the front boot with more forward lean on the back boot. Hips seem to be further towards the front than the bindings... Bigest Q is should I cant my boots. Standing up they feel fine but with the stiff Grey Asym tongues in my shin gets pushed out when I flex in to the cuffs. This may be a result of blowing out the toe box so much... (where the tongue attaches) not sure. I'm running a lot of cant on the bindings to make it comfortable on the hill. Any thoughts would be great. There's no one over here in NZ (North Island at least) that can help me with this. Now no laughing at the tights and stockings. I wasn't even going to wear shorts but then I remembered 'this is the internet' :o J

Hey Silver. Hamiltron eh? There seem to be a few Expat Kiwis on this site. It sure would be awesome to ride with a few of you legends. It is so frustrating how hard it is to get any worth while feed back, there are no instructors here that do this stuff. Here's a photo of my new 'precious'. Down at the mount ATM. (Please excuse the boot fitters foam for stomp pad, couldn't let the UPZ toe piece bolts at the top sheet) J

Hello from New Zealand everyone. Just rode my first Coiler. And I hostly can't believe how much of an up grade from my 168 F2 Silberphile it is. It's left me breathless and speechless and surprisingly with unsore feet. It was with some trepidation that I jumped on the thing this morning. Fellow carvers here were saying that it would be to big and to fast for our tight and sometimes crowed slopes. But after my first run... lost for words... sooo much edge hold, even when I'm flapping in the breeze trying to hold on, beautifully damp in the after noon crud yet poppy in the tail (some gorgeous air out of the turns) lush initiation, uber turny and super easy to skid around. I just can't believe it. It actually made me look half good! I know lots of people have raved about carving on Coilers. But I just had to share this here. You guys and girls are the few people I know would understand! :) Thank you so much Bruce, I'm utterly stoked. This has totally made my season. Specs 180 RC T 11.5 side cut 18.8 waist 90kg riding weight with 20.5" center holes. Sorry no photos yet will try to sort that out tomorrow. So who's coming to NZ in summer 09.... ;) Jas.

Just been talking to a guy here in NZ and he was saying that the desinger of these liners gets a Raichle Oven, takes the thermostat out of them and heats the shells of 100% P.U. Race boots up to over 110 deg C before fitting the liners and that molds the whole boot to you feet, bumps and all, with out the need to punch or hydrolic anything. May be a little bit of a dremmel on the thick stuff but no punching.. What do you guys think.

Hi all. Bruce is buliding me my first Coiler. :) I got a 179 * 18.8 Race Carve Titanal with that punky retro Ellipse top sheet. I'm stoked! Can't wait to ride it over here. My girl friend would love me to save some of the $280NZ (ouch) postage. Is anyone coming to New Zealand in the next few weeks? Jas

Nice one Alex. Maybe see you soon!

Not 100% on this one but the impression I've got is that the UPZ RTRs are about as stiff or maybe a fraction less than the stiffest Deeluxes with out race kits and that the Heads Stratos Pros are a little softer with slightly lower cuffs. Any one got some first hand experience with this?