RDY_2_Carve

NewMax my reply wasn't directed towards you just a response to some of the general complaints I've seen on this thread and other threads. Yes I read your post...my example of the hardbooter guys was a general statement. The point is that this is not a money making event for the sponsers!!!! Sure they are promiting their brands and stuff, but the free kegs and such are coming directly out of their pockets. Not to mention the costs of staying in Aspen, buying lift tickets, buying food, etc. How much would a group lesson cost from somebody of the likes of Billy Bordy, Alex, or Sean M.? I know I didn't have to pay for a few perks to include these clinics...and the biggest free perk I didn't pay for would be the chance to actually carve with other hardbooters and see some of the best riders in the world laying it down. Like Mark said: this stuff is priceless. Who cares about a floating keg, lack of house party, or no T-Shirt. That's not what SES is about for me. Oh yeah I'd like to think the reason why everybody left after the schwag was given out is because the banquet started at 530pm and the schwag ended after 9pm!! Not to mention some of us had 9+hour drives to start after the banquet ended... FYI-If I want to respond directly towards you I will quote your text via quote tags or PM you directly. Not trying to attack you or anything either...you have every right to voice your opinion!

Lift tickets in Aspen @ the window are up to $96/day just for reference. I purchased three days of lifts through Michelle for $201. Pretty good deal IMHO. $55 for the banquet was money well spent. IMHO the banquet is about being with your fellow carvers in a social enviorment and getting a chance at some SERIOUS schwag. All it takes is one Donek/Coiler/Virus/Prior/etc voucher to pay for 15 years of banquet tickets... I do agree the food was disappointing, but that's not what it was about for me (Yes the keg was floating too by the time I got in the door). I probably had more issue with lack of seating since me and my best friend arrived a little late and the whole place was filled up. The bathroom situation was even more rediculous...one bathroom for 100+ people? And btw thanks to whoever rocked the bathroom 1/2 way through dinner...I'm sure Fin loved having to deal with that! Lesson learned, and I'm sure Michelle is well aware of these issues and will take corrective action for future events...not to mention Fin and Michelle were the ones giving up THEIR dinner table seats for me and my best friend to eat dinner. How cool is that? I demo'd Thursday only and since I didn't buy a package I paid $20 to demo that day. $20 to demo the latest and greatest boards is nothing. I was asked to pay $30+ to demo a Lib Tech board from a local snowboard shop in comparison... The after hours events are generously donated by folks like Bomber, Hardbooter, Pureboarding, etc. These shouldn't even be mentioned as part of the package so there are no expectations. As far as I know this is coming straight out of these guys' pocket. If you think Billy and Dave (for example) are getting rich running Hardbooter.com you are mistaken so I would say this is coming straight out of their personal cashflow. If you want more sponser funded after hours events then perhaps we should look at having this event at Ski Cooper instead of Aspen? Then you guys can see what really slow lifts are like! :) I'm sure they would give us package $20 lift tickets and such...hell they probably would give us the whole moutain!

Alex: I would say do the "classroom" stuff online so there are no lost days on the hill! Aspen lift tickets are NOT cheap, even at the bomber discounted rate!!! Also I thought the EC clinic was spot on. If it was any more advanced you probably would have snowballed us. I didn't think anybody was much beyond intermidiate level as most of the "experts" can already EC anyways so they skipped the clinic? I know I had never done "double arm on the snow" heelsides before your clinic so :biggthump for your tips! SES was also the FIRST time this season I have rode with any other hardbooter... The only suggestion I would have for the EC clinic you did was to really get into the basics starting at the board/stance/angles and working your way up to head positioning. It seemed like the clinic focused on upper body positioning via shoulder turn and arms (very important mind you) and didn't go into any detail on lower body movements like push-pull, where your head needs to be (looking uphill), etc. As far as the SES friendlyness stuff goes I can't really comment because I'm a pretty shy guy anyways...at least until you get a six pack or so in me. I know I didn't feel like I was being shunned by the community or anything?!?! I think a good idea for next year is to get everybody together for something like the group photo then afterwards ask folks to seperate based on skill level. Have expert/advanced carvers on one side and then beginner/intermidiate on the other side. Then ask people to choose a partner and everybody go with their buddy for a couple runs. I must confess to having a man crush on Mr. Ken from Cali (KJL?) as I aspire to ride as smooth and efficient as he does (Don't worry Ken I won't stalk you). This could promote people meeting each other and give everybody a chance at a "1-on-1 lesson" from other fellow carvers. Asking a complete stranger to help with my techique seems a bit far fetched...epecially when most of the upper tier riders are so focused on demoing everything under the sun. It's a busy enviornment to say the least and I would feel like I'd be taking away from those people's time @ SES. Not to mention a good handful of the "advanced" riders are probably from the East coast and they are enjoying probably the best conditions for their entire season @ Aspen....so it's a lot to ask. IMHO just 2-3 tips from Alex gave me plenty to think about during the whole SES to help take my riding to the next level....which I thought actually happened too as I had a couple breakthroughs in my technique! Still a long ways to go though!

Well I don't think you have to be expert to EC. I don't even think I've broken through the intermediate barrier yet and I can borderline EC. As far as clinics go I thought the Wed EC clinic by Alexis (G-Force) was pretty good. Even if I only got 2-3 pointers out of it I thought I benefited from it as it gets you thinking about proper technique and you get to see it being done by expert level riders. I thought that particular clinic had novice-intermidiate riders. The only expert riders in that clinic were the instructors IMHO. Scott I think you did yourself an injustice by not carving Highlands. It's probably the most carver friendly place in Aspen! With carving it's all about pitch and Highlands has the perfect pitch for laying down some serious carves. Snowmass does seem to have the most variety but it also was the most crowded-especially near the demo tent area. Granted my idea of crowded is a bit jaded with our empty New Mexico ski resorts! My new nickname for Buttermilk is "ButterBomb". Oh yeah I got the most "natural" air ever for me on Adams Avenue traversing from Elk Camp to the Bomber Tent on Thursday. I guess that comes with not really knowing the run and going too fast? I stuck the landing though but my heart sunk a bit. Luckily there was no major wipe out...I'd say it was about 20 feet in length or so. I'm sure I'm exaggerating a little but I didn't land on any downslope...I flew over the rest of the hill! Scared the crap outta me! I normally don't do "jumps" on plates...at least not real jumps. I've done the little jibber park jumps on plates where you get a few feet length and maybe 12 inches off the ground... Good times! :)

Rider: Me, 4th year on plates, 5th year boarding. Intermidiate'ish skils. Carving Boards owned: Hooger Tuned 163, Burton Speed 158W, Burton 173 180s, Axis168, RT173GS, Coiler 172 WCC+Superboard+T&L, 172 AM-T (Gen 2?). Virus 173 EVO Titanium: Good edge hold but a noticably more chatter than my 172AM-T. Waist was skinnier but I didn't notice much as far as quicker transitions (AM-T=21.5 waist). Donek Blade 170 Med flex: This was an updated model with Sean's metal built in. This was my first try on a EC board. I was able to get it up on edge pretty well but there was some noticable chatter in the uneven stuff. It seemed a little less nimble than the AM-T and noticably slower during edge transitions. I seemed to noodle this thing (I weigh 170lbs) so perhaps I should have tried the stiffer flex? TBH I can get just as low or lower with my AM-T with less chatter, better edge hold, and faster transitions. Virus 162 SL EVO Titanium: I was trying to find a board in the tent and was thinking about giving the Alpinepunk Metalburner a go or the Gen3 170 AM-T. Frank convinced me to take this one out for a spin. This one here is a real winner folks. I've never ridden a Madd 158 but now I'm very curious to try one. I've never owned a SL board. This thing railed any turn I threw at it and was so much fun. Super quick transitions, virtually chatter proof, and eliptical sidecut meant I could do quick turns of big EC turns. Actually I thought I could EC better on this one than on the 173 or even the Blade. Other boards I wanted to demo: Coiler Schtubbys, Coiler Monsters, Metalburner, Hardbooter BSquared WCR-M. All of these boards were outstanding so Im being really nitpicky here. It's hard to get off my AM-T which made me feel really good about my investment in it last season!

Should be a fun drive up US285/CO24 tonight! We are leaving three hours early just incase... Loading up for the trip: Friend let me borrow these: This SES I won't be forgetting to use this: See you guys in the morning! :)

For anybody interested this is what it looked like: Haven't heard from Bomber. Can't blame em' as they have 100's of other carvers to worry about right now... I'll be at Highlands early to help Fin setup and see if Bomber can offer a fix or replacement (Hello Fin-Tech if they are avaliable!). ;) Found the stock heels for my Heads just incase there is no fix? I don't own any standard bindings and I'm not bringing softboots to SES this time...

Topsheet: Bottom: Tail: There's some small chips and stuff on the topsheet edge. And some scratches on the topsheet itself. I won't be able to ship until after SES but I'm still offering SES delivery (I'm bringing it with me just incase).

I'm leaving tonight and I'll be there tomorrow morning...I might take you up on your offer though once I get back from Aspen? The heel is one piece away from being perfectly usable again... I'm hopeful that Bomber will be able to sell me a replacment at the base of Highlands?

Leaving tomorrow night...I'll be at Highlands Wed morning. Staying at Glenwood Canyon Resort cabins. If anybody has these I'll reward a beer for each mountain map! :)

I'll be passing through Leadville around I dunno...4-5am Wed morning? :P

While I think you have a good suggestions you need to understand we're lucky to get 5-6 people to race much less 5-6 coaches.... Everything is different down here. We are not overpopulated. I went to a ski area yesterday and sat on the side of a random run for ~5 minutes and didn't see a single person pass by. K2 skis had a demo tent setup yesterday at the base area and while I ate my lunch outside there wasn't a single person that came by the tent. Less people means less racers I'm sorry to say. There really isn't a market to cater too. It's basically non-existent as is.

3rd run yesterday at Pajarito. Was having a good time and get to the bottom of the run and my rear Intec heel won't do anything! I thought maybe it was just ice buildup but nope the thing was busted on the inside?!? Lucky for me my best friend brought his leatherman and I was able to get the boot off the board. Of course I sold my spare pair a year or so ago. So anyways it's the piece that the actual cable attaches to on the inside of the heel that compresses the springs. It's broke in half! I thought the cable would shear before that piece broke?!?! I've already contacted Bomber but Michelle is probably not checking email until tonight. I might need some help from the BOL community at SES once I arrive if Bomber can't take care of me (I doubt they bring much inventory outside of the demo fleet, no?)? So I might be in the market for some standard bindings or if anybody has a spare set of bindings I have my like new pair of TD2 SI's I can trade as collateral or whatever? Or if anybody has a spare set of Intec heels? I'm sure 99.9% of you SES'ers will be on Fin-Techs (which I plan on buying if Michelle has a spare set at Aspen). So I'll post updates here if I'm in need of some help. I'll be at the base of Highlands on Wed morning...just look for the guy with his orange Head SP's working on the heels!

Oh yeah...here's the latest forcast:

Yes I know all about the demo policies...it was more sarcasm because it's going to be powder for the entire SES!

Cause we're going to need ALL of them!

Edit: Measured the width on tip/waist/tail: Tip 9.75" (24.75cm) Waist 7.5" (19cm...damn I'm good!) Tail 9.25" (23.5cm) I only had a ruler so couldn't measure anything else... I took a couple pics and I'll get those up soon. If you want the high res version reply here with your email addy and I'll send them your way. If you PM me I won't be able to check that email until I get home from work. Hotmail is blocked on base... Or you can email me a john dot wynn at kirtland dot af dot mil JPW P.S. The board has a lot of camber! P.S.S. Not sure where it would fit into the quiver? It's a nice freecarve board for the more crowded days. I imagine you could use it as a SL board for gate bashing? I don't race so I can't really comment on that. The only reason I'm selling is because it hasn't been ridden yet this season since I started riding plates on my Lib Tech Dark Series...and my true alpine board is a Coiler 172 AM-T (so now you know why the Hooger isn't getting ridden...). :)

My best friend and I have a Cabin Wed and Thurs nights @ Glenwood Canyon resort. We are riding Aspen Wed-Fri and driving back to NM after the banquet... We have space for more if anybody is just coming for the last part of SES? PM me for details if you are making any last minute plans.

I hate to do it but this board isn't getting used so it's up for grabs. I offered it to Bryan first but he said he had a longer version in the collection already so hopefully it will go to a good home. I personally loved the board and the shape is very unique (I love the tail). Topsheet material seems like some type of ceramic type material? I don't know what it is exactly but if has the same texture as stone tile?!? I guess you'd have to see/feel it to understand. Not sure on the specs either but if I'd have to guess I'd say it's in the 19cm waist range and 9.5-10.5m SCR? I can manually measure if you like and you can plug it into the SCR calculator. I'll post current pictures tonight, but here's the board in the condition I got it to give you a general idea: The board was basically NOS when I got it. I've put around 30 days on it since then. It's not perfect but it's still got plenty of life left in it. Typical binding marks, topsheet dings, and base scratches. Probably the best part is the base has never been ground and the edges have only been filed once. It could probably use a professional tune if you're the anal type? $150 + actual shipping from 87120. Payment via Paypal (I will eat all fees). I can deliver to SES...I'll be there Feb 11-13.

Hey Damion, I feel your pain. I know I don't participate in the racing stuff but I'm all about hardbooting and repping the sport we love. I think the best thing we can do is make a presense at the ABQ and Santa Fe ski swaps. I've thought about this but I personally don't have the resources or connections to do this? I would assume you would need some type of official sponser like USASA or a vendor backing like Bomber? I would assume having a table at these events is NOT free? I've always wanted to put up a table at the Ski Swap and have some videos like the Swoard EC stuff on display. I know those videos are what drew me into hardbooting and others would be equally impressed and drawn into the sport. I think people just need to be educated more about alpine as nobody down here really knows what it is. The only guys that ever approach me without confusion are previous/current hardbooters or people that are in the ski/board race scene. I met the owner of Experience at the end of last season and he immidiately spotted me on HB's which was cool! I think having a few boards on display and a nice projector/laptop setup at the Ski Swap could do amazing things to educate people on alpine. My flame Coiler with bling-bling TD2's attacts ALOT of attention, trust me! I don't think it's lack of interest...people just aren't in the know. You know as well as I do that HB's attract a lot of attention and questions while out on the slopes. I think there is genuine interest in the sport just not enough exposure.

Move to New Mexico Do not board Christmas-New Years Do not board on Spring Break Enjoy zero lift lines and empty runs all day long pretty much the entire season :) And in the summer you can skate our nice drainage ditches!

Hey Thor. Prob not a bad idea. I figured a lot of us would be at SES and I could save some effort just making this request... If all else fails I'll go that route! John

I own the Lib Dark Magne. Bought it here on BOL Classifieds and it's one of the best purchases I have made. Amazing board! I've only ridden it with plates so perhaps it's not the best comparison to other soft boot boards. With HB's it's just a notch or two below my Coiler 172 AM Titanal. Just wish it was about 170 in length and was a cm or two skinnier! Mine is a 161Wide. I ride it around 50/45 angles. I use F2 Intec Titanflex bindings on it. Those are awesome as well! I've never ridden any of the other boards in your list. I have owned a Palmer Channel 165 BX and it was a nice board but not even close to the Lib as far as edge hold. I rode the Palmer with plates a few times and it was nice too. I sold it to my best friend and he loves it! I wouldn't part with the Lib though... I will be bringing the Lib to SES if anybody wants to try it!

I am so in on this!!! Thanks in advance Alex for putting this on!

Looks like Sean and I will be staying at those cabins near Gleenwood Springs for SES. Perhaps you can come by one night for a BBQ and deliver those? :) Not sure how far Vail is from there? John