csquared

Thanks for sharing those. Eat your hearts out, you lot that missed the event. It was a great day.

Where would we be without our regular dose of Ross Rebagliati. In today's adventure, Ross carries the olympic flame while riding a skateboard and goes mushy about what he is going to tell his son when he is old enough to know about Ross' olympic medal controversy. Not a trace of irony seems to surround the statement that a "cloud was always following him" after the olympics (this not doubt had to do with the cloud that seems to have surrounded him before the olympics). http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/golden-boys-liberal-muzzle-goes-up-in-smoke/article1443928/

The boys from Apex Composites will be on hand for SOS 2010. If you are asking yourself "Where have I heard that name?" think top secret plates being used by the Canadian World Cup / Olympic snowboard team. For months I was wondering what that paddle-like thing was on Jasey, Matt, and Mike's boards seen on world cup podium photos. This device has been in the media over the last few weeks and here on BOL (see this thread). The Apex boys may know how to build a highly competitive plate system but they've never been on alpine boards so they're going to give our sport a try at SOS 2010. If they survive their day, you might buy them beers and pick their brains about what makes their plate tick.

Just to make sure this is seen by all, I am cross posting here. I have had a number of questions about whether the event is still on so I am clearly not messaging enough. However, you may be sure that it is on. Its almost here: Friday January 29 is less than a week away and things are looking good for the event. I now have over 45 confirmed for the event so this should be the biggest yet. Below is the list of people who have confirmed that they are coming Friday. If you're not on the list below and you're planning to attend, you had better let me know pretty darn fast. If your name is on the list and you are NOT going to be with us on Friday please let me know so that I can remove your name. Shoji Adachi Darrell Babcock Tony Boros David Binder Adam Buitenhuis Geoff Calman Chris Couse Kevin Cowan Rob Cox Monique Cox Darren Eagles Gabriel Erdelyi John Hevesi Chris Houghton Peter Halsall Keith Hodgins Stewart Hodgins Eric Jensen Henry Kim Jimmy Lam Joe Lindsey Ian MacKenzie Beth McNally Graham McNally Mike McNally Simon McNally Dave Morgan John Nakashima Dave Niblett Lisa Niblett Craig Nogas John O’Brien Matt Osler Derek Peeling Victor Plopeanu Mark Rattenbury Chris Smith Tabatha Soltay Arthur Tateishi Gabe Tung Bruce Varsava Terry Vaughan Dr. John Vu Imo Weinert Scott Williamson Wojtek Ziolkowski A few notes about for Friday: 1. You can find driving directions to the Osler Bluff Ski Club here: http://www.oslerbluff.com/site/index.cfm?DSP=Section&ID=8 2. Enter by the lane where you see the large Osler Bluff sign (there is a secondary parking lot down the road at the foot of the Orchard Chair so don't be fooled). You will be coming to the Clubhouse which is the white stucco building that overlooks the main parking lot. You will find the ticket windows in the breezeway under the clubhouse that leads from the parking lot to the hills. 3. Your name will be on a list that the ticket ladies will have. The name of the event is "Southern Ontario Session" and the sponsoring member is me, Chris Couse. Tickets are $65 (yes I know, that sounds expensive, you won't regret it though). You will be asked to sign a waiver (standard procedure for mid-week days unless you can produce evidence of insurance). 4. Beside the ticket windows is an entrance to the clubhouse. Across the hall on the lower level is the boot changing area. There are open cubbies to leave your boots, spare clothes etc. There are no coin lockers so it might be best to leave valuables in the car (you should not need to worry about boots, clothes, etc in the cubbies as there have been virtually no thefts in this area). Please do not bring your board inside the clubhouse. It will be quite safe on the rack outside. Upstairs from the change area you can find breakfast if you wish. 5. Many people will be arriving between 8:00 and 8:30 but your arrival time is really up to you. If you arrive past this window, we will be starting our day on the south end of the club on the Orchard chair. Go the top of the main chair (the foot of which is adjacent to the Clubhouse) and turn left where you will see the landing area of the Orchard Chair. If you wish to reach me or locate the group, I will have my cell (416-525-5902) and my FRS radio (tuned to 7-7). 6. The whole club is full of carving friendly terrain and the snow should be good for Friday. Generally the grooming is as good as it gets on the escarpment. Please remember to obey signs especially orange closure tapes and "slow riding zone" signs. We have left a good impression from past events and I would like to keep it that way so that I can continue to hold this event. As I am no longer a Director of the Club, I can't offer you diplomatic immunity. 7. We will gather for lunch at 11:30 at the Upper Chalet (old log building to the right at the top of the main chair). There is food service at the Upper Chalet and even beer in the fridge. However, it is not a full menu and you will have to be satisfied with soup, chili, a burger, grilled cheese, etc. If you wish to bring lunch, that works too. Last year, we ran into major line-ups at the kitchen because of a staffing problem so packing a lunch can be a good idea. 8. At 3:30 there will be an apres in the Clubhouse in the bar area sponsored once again by our friends at YYZ Canuck. We won't be seeing the smiling face of Andrea this year because she is due anytime this week. However, we may see Dave if the baby is cooperative for a little longer. Come and join us for a beer or some other restorative and as much hardboot chatter as you can stand. 9. Lastly, if you are photographically talented or even better, videographically talented, it would be great to capture the day. We have been lackadaisical about this with past events but having 45 people on the hill should be pretty spectacular and it would be great to record it. So don't be shy about offering your skills. If this is the first time you are hearing about the event and you are interested in attending, please contact me through my profile. The numbers are very high this year and I am at my quota but I will see what I can do for you.

Its almost here: Friday January 29 is less than a week away and things are looking good for the event. I now have over 45 confirmed for the event so this should be the biggest yet. :biggthump:biggthump Below is the list of people who have confirmed that they are coming Friday. If you're not on the list below and you're planning to attend, you had better let me know pretty darn fast. If your name is on the list and you are NOT going to be with us on Friday please let me know so that I can remove your name. Shoji Adachi Darrell Babcock Tony Boros David Binder Adam Buitenhuis Geoff Calman Chris Couse Kevin Cowan Rob Cox Monique Cox Darren Eagles Gabriel Erdelyi John Hevesi Chris Houghton Peter Halsall Keith Hodgins Stewart Hodgins Eric Jensen Henry Kim Jimmy Lam Joe Lindsey Ian MacKenzie Beth McNally Graham McNally Mike McNally Simon McNally Dave Morgan John Nakashima Dave Niblett Lisa Niblett Craig Nogas John O’Brien Matt Osler Derek Peeling Victor Plopeanu Mark Rattenbury Chris Smith Tabatha Soltay Arthur Tateishi Gabe Tung Bruce Varsava Terry Vaughan Dr. John Vu Imo Weinert Scott Williamson Wojtek Ziolkowski A few notes about for Friday: 1. You can find driving directions to the Osler Bluff Ski Club here: http://www.oslerbluff.com/site/index.cfm?DSP=Section&ID=8 2. Enter by the lane where you see the large Osler Bluff sign (there is a secondary parking lot down the road at the foot of the Orchard Chair so don't be fooled). You will be coming to the Clubhouse which is the white stucco building that overlooks the main parking lot. You will find the ticket windows in the breezeway under the clubhouse that leads from the parking lot to the hills. 3. Your name will be on a list that the ticket ladies will have. The name of the event is "Southern Ontario Session" and the sponsoring member is me, Chris Couse. Tickets are $65 (yes I know, that sounds expensive, you won't regret it though). You will be asked to sign a waiver (standard procedure for mid-week days unless you can produce evidence of insurance). 4. Beside the ticket windows is an entrance to the clubhouse. Across the hall on the lower level is the boot changing area. There are open cubbies to leave your boots, spare clothes etc. There are no coin lockers so it might be best to leave valuables in the car (you should not need to worry about boots, clothes, etc in the cubbies as there have been virtually no thefts in this area). Please do not bring your board inside the clubhouse. It will be quite safe on the rack outside. Upstairs from the change area you can find breakfast if you wish. 5. Many people will be arriving between 8:00 and 8:30 but your arrival time is really up to you. If you arrive past this window, we will be starting our day on the south end of the club on the Orchard chair. Go the top of the main chair (the foot of which is adjacent to the Clubhouse) and turn left where you will see the landing area of the Orchard Chair. If you wish to reach me or locate the group, I will have my cell (416-525-5902) and my FRS radio (tuned to 7-7). 6. The whole club is full of carving friendly terrain and the snow should be good for Friday. Generally the grooming is as good as it gets on the escarpment. Please remember to obey signs especially orange closure tapes and "slow riding zone" signs. We have left a good impression from past events and I would like to keep it that way so that I can continue to hold this event. As I am no longer a Director of the Club, I can't offer you diplomatic immunity. 7. We will gather for lunch at 11:30 at the Upper Chalet (old log building to the right at the top of the main chair). There is food service at the Upper Chalet and even beer in the fridge. However, it is not a full menu and you will have to be satisfied with soup, chili, a burger, grilled cheese, etc. If you wish to bring lunch, that works too. Last year, we ran into major line-ups at the kitchen because of a staffing problem so packing a lunch can be a good idea. 8. At 3:30 there will be an apres in the Clubhouse in the bar area sponsored once again by our friends at YYZ Canuck. We won't be seeing the smiling face of Andrea this year because she is due anytime this week. However, we may see Dave if the baby is cooperative for a little longer. Come and join us for a beer or some other restorative and as much hardboot chatter as you can stand. 9. Lastly, if you are photographically talented or even better, videographically talented, it would be great to capture the day. We have been lackadaisical about this with past events but having 45 people on the hill should be pretty spectacular and it would be great to record it. So don't be shy about offering your skills. IF YOU ARE JUST HEARING ABOUT THIS EVENT FOR THE FIRST TIME AND YOU WOULD LIKE TO ATTEND, YOU CAN CONTACT ME THROUGH MY PROFILE AND I WILL TRY TO ARRANGE IT. THE NUMBERS ARE WAY UP THIS YEAR AND I AM AT MY QUOTA BUT I WILL SEE WHAT I CAN DO.

...anyone else? Let me know as soon as possible if you are planning to attend. I need to finalize my list by Sunday.

Story and video posted here today. Enjoy: http://olympics.thestar.com/2010/article/748006--snowboard-wizards-aim-to-turn-carbon-into-gold#comments Looks like we won't be seeing this for sale on BOL any time soon.

das fugly! (in a fascinating way of course)

...that Nicolien wears wooden boots painted to look like plastic. This makes up for the lack of a plate system:rolleyes:

...TOP SECRET. It was developed for the Canadian Team. We'll call it "the paddle" or "the beaver tail" for now. The rumour is that it may become less secret after the olympics.

He's back... Ross talks about how winning the first olympic gold medal in snowboard racing was not all it should have been for him. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/family-and-relationships/ross-rebagliati-coming-round-the-mountain-of-infamy/article1417502/ Here is the text if the link gets lost. Sarah Hampson From Monday's Globe and Mail Published on Sunday, Jan. 03, 2010 5:42PM EST Last updated on Monday, Jan. 04, 2010 2:06PM EST .Ross Rebagliati knows what you think of him. He's “that guy” – the dude who tested positive for marijuana in 1998 after winning the gold medal for Canada in snowboarding, the first year the sport was included in the Olympic Games. And he knows that mention of it will always be there, often in the first sentence of articles written about him. It doesn't matter that he had 17 billionths of a gram in his blood – the result of secondhand smoke, he said – or that days later he got the medal back when it was discovered in the appeal process that marijuana was not on the list of banned substances. But it's only now, more than 10 years later, that he is managing to fight his way back from the infamy that he says devastated his life. He has written a book, Off the Chain: An Insider's History of Snowboarding , released in November, in which he puts the issue in perspective and takes the high road, describing his love for the sport from its early days in the late eighties, when snowboarders were banned from ski hills, to its inclusion in the Olympics. “If I had written this book any earlier, it would have been much darker,” he says. In the fall, when approached by the federal Liberal party, he jumped at the chance to run as a candidate in the next election in the Okanagan-Coquihalla riding in B.C., currently held by Stockwell Day. The Vancouver native also speaks openly about how the Olympic committee continues to shun him. “They hate me,” he says unequivocally while in Toronto recently on book tour. “They called me a liar. They didn't want to give me my medal back. They never use images of me.” Is he bitter? “Oh yes,” he practically snorts. “Because they use images of athletes who won medals, and they deserve it. You don't get anything for being an Olympian.” The assumption that Olympic medal winners in Canada make a lot of money is “a huge misconception.” Mr. Rebagliati was not asked to be a torchbearer in next month's Winter Olympics, despite filling out an application, until his exclusion became the subject of a Twitter fight between the CBC's Rick Mercer and Heritage Minister James Moore after the TV host asked Mr. Rebagliati if he was going to be involved. “The call came after that,” Mr. Rebagliati says. “And I'm really excited.” It has been a long road to this particular podium of self-worth. “I had PTSD after,” the 38-year-old states bluntly, referring to post-traumatic stress disorder, commonly suffered by soldiers returning from the battlefield. “I came back from the Olympics in Nagano as somebody known for something other than athletics. I wasn't able to function normally. I didn't have the mental capacity to do anything.” He credits his wife, Alexandra, with helping him pick up the pieces. “My wife was really the beginning of the rest of my life,” he says without hesitation. He proposed to her two weeks after they met at a charity hockey event in Toronto in 2004. A nurse who also had a degree in marketing and public relations, she “was able to rebrand my brand. Alexandra just wanted me to continue doing my snowboarding thing and live up to the celebrity and use the gold medal for positive reasons, for kids and stuff like that, rather than stashing it away and hiding it and hopefully never seeing it by accident because it didn't represent anything good to me. It represented the demise of my life.” Almost all of his endorsement deals dried up post-Nagano. Even the snowboarding community, known for its renegade reputation, shunned him, he says. His wife, who is seven years his junior and the mother of their six-month-old son, encouraged him to do more charity work. He opened a snowboarding camp. His father-in-law, an American lawyer, helped him get off the no-fly list in the U.S., on which he had been placed because of his positive-drug test. Having always supported himself as a real-estate agent, he tried to use his name in other ways – for possible reality shows or in the media. All those efforts, including a bid to provide commentary on TV for the Olympics, have been met with silence. Starting in 2006, when Vancouver's bid for the 2010 Olympics was successful, Mr. Rebagliati spent two years training to make a comeback in his hometown event, on hills where he had spent his youth. But he found it hard to get support from sponsors and couldn't afford the investment required to build up points through racing on circuits around the world – the system by which athletes qualify to be Olympic contenders. “I was disappointed, but I was also relieved,” he says. “It's a very stressful and anxiety-ridden affair to go for the Olympics.” Still, he had regained his desire to prevail – even if only to win back his good name. In 2006, he sued CTV for misappropriation of image when a blue-eyed, blond-haired snowboarder, who had won Olympic gold, was introduced in the drama series Whistler . “The character was a real loser. … I didn't like it that people would think that's me. And I felt I had been ripped off already – and to be ripped off again?” The suit was settled out of court; he won't disclose the amount he was paid. The idea of running for political office came as a surprise, but he has always been interested in political issues and in the game. “It's not like if someone says something negative about me that I'll be shocked the way I was when I came back from the Olympics,” he explains. “I was getting death threats. So was my family. … Some Canadians thought I was the worst thing ever.” And even though he is unsure how his reputation might help or hinder him in politics, he is ready for the challenge. “People think they know me because of what they read, because of that first sentence,” he says. “But I feel I am just like everybody else, and I've had good times and bad times.” With that, he takes his Olympic gold medal out of a little pouch clipped to his belt, and places it on the table. Why is he showing me that? I ask. “Because I knew you'd like to see it.” He smiles proudly. “People do.”

The snow does get stickier and you can deal with this using the right wax of course but it also becomes less easy to displace and it holds an edge better. Some nice firm groom at -18'C is about as good as it gets with total edge hold from very delicate trenches. The runs tend to stay in better shape longer too. Thumbs up for cold temperatures as long as they don't come with wind or driving snow. Since what we do tends to require a lot more energy than what most skiers are putting into their sport, I find I need to manage body heat more than the cold most of the time. The vulnerable parts are the face, the hands, and the toes. I have found thermofit liners to be substantially warmer than conventional liners so my feet are usually okay in very low temperatures. Mitts are better than gloves for my hands. However, I still don't have a solution for my face and I usually end up with mild frost bite. I am doubtful one of those masks would work given the high level of respiration when I am really cranking. I am guessing it would end up as a wet rag on my face and then a frozen shell. Anybody ride with a mask that works?

Mark your calendar for Friday, January 29, 2010 and ask your boss for a mental health day. It's on. Once again, this is an open invitation to a one day event at the Osler Bluff Ski Club in Collingwood Ontario (go http://www.oslerbluff.com/site/index.cfm for more information) to join the core of the Southern Ontario carving community. Its a great chance to meet or get back together with dedicated alpine riders on great terrain with excellent grooming. We have had great sessions for the last five years and most of those who have been at the event have made a point of getting back each year. If you know other alpine riders that might be interested in the event, please bring this to their attention, no matter what their ability. The event grows in numbers each year and so does the love. As with past events, there is a soft limit to the numbers attending because the club is heavily booked with private members' day events each Friday through the winter. Please drop me an e-mail as soon as you know whether you will be attending so that I can start to get an idea about numbers. I can be reached through my profile. I will need your name and an e-mail address at which you can be reached so that I can send you updates.

In case the link disappears: "Ross Rebagliati is in the spotlight again. More than a decade after winning an Olympic gold medal for snowboarding, he's taking on a new opponent, International Trade Minister Stockwell Day. Rebagliati is the Liberal candidate who will be going up against Day, the incumbent Conservative in the federal riding of Okanagan-Coquihalla riding in British Columbia, where the former Olympian works as a real estateagent. He isn't afraid of a challenge. He made Olympic history by winning the first gold medal for snowboarding in Nagano, Japan, in 1998. And then again for having the medal stripped away after testing positive for marijuana. The decision was later overturned and the medal returned. On the slope and on the road, Rebagliati loves speed. That's why he drives two second-hand Porsches – a 1981 Porsche 928 and a 1984 Porsche 944. “The Porsche is more of a driving enthusiast's car. You see a Bimmer and it represents a corporate world. The Porsche is more edgy, more snowboard, more hard-core. It's a race car for the street. It's my style,” says Rebagliati, who won't be competing in the 2010 Vancouver games, but he will carry the Olympic torch in Osoyoos, B.C., next month. “You never see the 928. I remember when Risky Business came out – that was one of my favourite movies. It's one of those cars that I've always liked. “The great thing about them is they're a dime a dozen. It's not an expensive car to get into. You can find one for less than 10-grand. You can buy a Hyundai for the same price and then you have a Hyundai.” Rebagliati traded in his wife's Jaguar XJS convertible for the 928 last year. “The Jag wasn't very practical. Lyle Stafford for the Globe and Mail Ross Rebagliati with Logan (L) and Emma and his 1984 Porsche 928 in Vancouver. “The back seats weren't usable. There wasn't space between the front and rear seats and the trunk wasn't big enough to fit the real estate signs into – it was useless for what we needed it for,” says Rebagliati, who worked in real estate after retiring from competition a decade ago. So he turned to a friend who owns a collection of classic cars. “He always told me if I wanted to get rid of the Jag [to call him] because it was a rare six-cylinder version – most were a V-12 and not available in Canada. We picked ours up in the States ... “He had this really cool burgundy 928 at the back of his collection. So I called him up and I said, ‘What about a 928 for a trade?' He was a little reluctant but I managed to get the deal done.” “I just finished getting my extended winter tires on it – I'm looking forward to rallying it all winter. “The 928 has four seats and the engine is in the front – most Porscheshave the engine in the back. Because the engine isn't in the back, I've got this huge area for the two back seats plus the hatchback, which opens up. I can put in my mountain bikes and snowboards – they all fit inside it.” As does the car seat for his six-month-old son Ryan Enzo. Rebagliati bought the 1984 Porsche 944 three years ago; he tinkers with it often. Lyle Stafford for the Globe and Mail Ross Rebagliati with his 1984 Porsche 928 in Vancouver, BC.. “I took out the passenger seat and there's this bed that I've made for my two dogs. I've done a little work on it to keep it road-worthy. “It's a great little car. It's a four-cylinder – it's great on gas. I bought it when gas prices were super-expensive,” says Rebagliati, who just wrote a book on snowboarding called Off the Chain . Before the Porsches, he was a truck guy – he owned a new 2008 Ford F350 King Ranch crew cab with a twin-turbo diesel. “I used to have the big truck payments – $1,200-$1,300 a month – whatever. Who wants that? It's just a waste of money. … I always needed a truck for my snowboarding and my camper. But I always wanted a sports car. “When the price of gas got so high I went to get this little four-cylinder 944. All of a sudden my gas consumption went right down.” Plus, the 944 was more fun to drive. “It has the speed of a snowboarder. This thing is a brute,” says Rebagliati before boasting about his driving record. “I figured out I've clocked over 800,000 kilometres since I was 16. No accidents. Very few traffic violations. One time I rolled through the stop sign near my house, which was two doors from the stop sign – just minor stuff. “I have my full driver's discount. I'm 38 years old and I've managed to keep all of my cars upright and in the right lane.” He has also owned a 1972 Volkswagen van, a Honda Accord, a Toyota panel van, a 1991 Dodge Ram truck, and a 1999 Ford F350 pickup. He prefers buying second-hand cars to new ones. “Used is better than buying a brand-new car. For example, my 928 was $100,000 brand new in 1981 and the value I traded it in for was less than $10,000. This car is never going to be worth less than that unless I smash it. “You don't have to spend $50,000-$60,000 on a car to have fun with it. I'm a big believer in cars under $10,000. You can literally find any brand of car that you've ever dreamt about for around the $10,000 range and never lose money,” says Rebagliati who is active with charities Make-A-Wish Foundation, Big Brothers of Greater Vancouver and Kids Help Phone. “I've been enjoying buying these older cars and not wasting or losing money and having a ton of fun. “Because it's not brand new who cares if it gets a scratch. I drive my cars all year round – in the snow, rain or mud. “I don't care if it's a Porsche – that's all the more reason to drive it in the mud.” But if he had his dream car, it might be a different story. He's got quite a wish, though: he rambles them off: a Ferrari Scaglietti, a Porsche Panamera, a Porsche 911 GT2, a Spyker, a Lamborghini …

Just when you thought you had heard the last of Ross, along comes another bit of media to keep it all fresh. Ross answers one of our more pressing issues: "What is the ultimate car for a snowboarder? http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-drive/car-life/my-car/thrill-of-speed-still-drives-former-olympian/article1384657/ ...and look on the main Auto page for a picture of Ross, his car, and his dogs: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-drive/

Love the drill press / milkshake mixer for epoxy blending. The dress-maker's pins for alignment of the top titanal sheet are a nice simple idea.

Here is the story in an excerpt from an interview done the day after the Nagano Men's GS (interview date 02/09/98) with Steve Jarrett. I think this was published in Snowboard Canada. I cut out the article but there isn't any identifier on the pages. "Jarrett: Well we're all feeling for you here at the mag. Do you mind giving us a quick snapshot of what actually happened with your equipment failure? Fawcett: Basically I have a Derby plate and a binding on top of the Derby plate. There were two inserts in the back of the board that I had put in to secure my Derby plate. They were like gnarly heli coils. I've used that board all year and the system all year, and have never had one pull out. But they just yanked out during the race. They failed first. They pulled out and then because of that, and there's only two up front holding it all together, and it just ripped the whole Derby thing apart. It pretty much simultaneously happened. The inserts ripped out and then the whole thing just ripped off the board. Jarrett: Yeah, that's exactly how it looked on TV. Fawcett: You can see how it kind of hinged forward like a telemark binding almost. Jarrett: Was that the plate that you have been working on with Mike Tinkler? Fawcett: Yes. They worked great you know. I rode afterwards so I could go up and get my stuff from the top. I rode down on a board I had set up there without the plates and took a run on it and it was running like **** in comparison. I feel a great benefit with the plate and I'm still going to use them. And it wasn't the plate that broke, it was the inserts that failed. Jarrett: What a bummer. Fawcett: Yeah, it was a bummer. And you can point the finger at a million different reasons. Like, oh it was my fault because of this or Sims' fault because they didn't put the inserts where I wanted them and I had to do that, or it was Tinklers' fault because of this, I mean there's no-one to blame really. If the inserts had been in the right spot it would have been all set, but they kept ****ing up when they were putting the inserts in." I remember watching as it happened in the TV coverage. It was one of the most disheartening things I have ever seen. My footnote: "Helicoil" is a trade name for a thread restoration product sometimes used to repair stripped threads in steel parts. I am guessing the inserts Fawcett was talking about are the type used for particle board cabinetry connections which have a 1/2" lag screw outside thread and a 1/4-20 machine screw interior thread.

Mark your calendar for Friday, January 29, 2010 and ask your boss for a mental health day. It's on. Once again, this is an open invitation to a one day event at the Osler Bluff Ski Club in Collingwood (go here if you want to know more about OBSC) to join the core of the Southern Ontario carving community. All ability levels are welcome but we do try to restrict the list to the alpine community. Its a great chance to meet or get back together with dedicated alpine riders on great terrain with excellent grooming. We have had great sessions for the last five years and most of those who have been at the event have made a point of getting back each year. If you know other alpine riders that might be interested in the event, please bring this to their attention, no matter what their ability. If you are interested in attending, please e-mail me through my profile and let me know. I need to keep a close watch on numbers because I have a cap on attendance.

Watch this video. I think our community needs to get in on this dynamic new trend by launching Nordic Alpine. Who's with me??? Can't wait to start discussions of new board shapes to facilitate the special needs that will arise. This could be bigger than teleboarding! http://northgeek.com/2009/10/cross-country-snowboarding/

Perhaps it would be good to weld a nut on the aluminum tubes rather than tap the walls for the set screws to hold the splined collar. You could turn a groove around the collar and put dogging holes at two locations so that you could either lock the collar to arrest torsional flex or let it rotate freely for a more traditional feel. The welded nuts would permit the set screws a little more travel so you could disengage them without having the come out completely. Clear as mud?

Are we ultimately headed toward a shock of some kind in the cylinder? I think if you could find the right gas shock you could probably dampen some longitudinal (flexure) vibration. I am guessing that a gas shock from the rear suspension system on a mountain bike might work but I've never had the opportunity to examine one up close. If you could combine this with a spring and a preload system, you could vary flex between the feet (only stiffening) but this would tend to increase camber. I am guessing this would probably be an undesirable combination but it might help edge tracking on ice. Hmmm... something to think about on the commute home. I am loving this thread.

Alexis: I responded to your post and wondered at the time where you were going with it. I was thinking that you were planning a dream tour of carving gatherings next year. The event was the Southern Ontario Session (SOS) You can get in touch with me through my profile. And I would be thrilled to be able to offer you images from one of our session but, frankly, we get it into so much that nobody wants to stop and take pictures. So unfortunately, I have little to offer but I may be able to track something down through one of the participants from a few years ago. I have a professional photographer that wants to ride with us next year so we may have a bonanza of shots in 2010.

Bullwings: They all work....in different situations for different people. You just have to be clear with Bruce about how you (would like to) ride, what the conditions are like where you ride, and your weight. Let the master lead you to the right board.

...I was referring to the vacuum cleaner. There's the press too...but it blows.

should have been the title of Bruce's second picture above:eplus2: