csquared

...with my fluorescent orange Coiler. However, I've been hit from behind three times by a snowblader, a ski patroller, and a skier. The moment of impact was almost always at the transition when I was moving almost perpedicular to the fall line. I don't think there is any form of colour-blindness or light condition that renders fluorescent orange less visible. That's why its called safety orange. But still, I always seem to have been invisible to the skiers that hit me. I think the psychology of skiing embraces the "I own the road in front of me" stance. Each skier mentally projects his or her own zone ahead down the hill and woe to anyone who encroaches on it because they are not prepared to slow down. Even though they can see us and can easily grasp the amplitude of the turns we make, they are frequently surprised when we show up on 'their' side of the hill suddenly and they are shocked that our velocity across the hill about equals their speed going down the hill. I think we just have to accept that we move in ways that are incomprehensible to skiers. So look behind you and give way to overtaking skiers. Its just self-preservation.

I'm only making of fun of his avatar. However, I agree with you: a trip to the doctor in Quebec can be a long and unproductive experience.

Patagonia Rubicon pants bought this year at MEC. Stretch high denier nylon fabric (very course). No signs of wear to the fabric but some of the seam stitching is going fuzzy with wear. Very flexible with no movement restrictions but slender in the leg rather than baggy jib-monkey look. I had them altered to create a long slit through the lower leg for my Intec pull handles. I had the slit reinforced with heavy duty basting tape and covered with a velcro patch. It was a long search to find the right pants and get them altered but I'm very content.

Unable to give a damn. Stopping. Like the doc said, see a doc. A message presented by your local medical professionals' lobby.

... you've reached some of the same conclusions I have with the BTS. Yellow springs seem almost too soft to be useful. This was not my year for SES, Buggs. But thanks for thinking of me. Next year I am hoping to make the trip again. Hope to see you there.

Before the BTS can be installed, it needs to be assembled with the desired spring strengths and therefore to change springs (or at least the lower rearward lean spring), the BTS must be removed from the boot. The BTS are fixed to the boot by two pins that are driven through the heavy plastic wings on the back of the boot shell. These are the same pins that hold the standard Raichle/Deeluxe mechanisms in place. The pins are simply friction fit and are retained by knurling on one end of the pin. Removal of the pins requires a hammer and a bolt or some other shaft to drive the pin out. I would anticipate that repeated removal and reinstallation of the retainer pins would eventually cause enough plastic wear that the pins will get loose. The pin can be inserted from either end of the hole so you have two ends to wear out before you are in trouble but after that, you might need to find a suitable machine screw and nut to replace the pin. The BTS is not designed for frequent removal and changing of springs. However, changing the 'pre-load' tension on the springs is quite easy (just trun the compression nuts down on the spings from both ends to compress them tighter) and perhaps this would offer an easy way to obtain the range of flex for different conditions.

Yeah, I know I'm late to the party Brian. But if you do a search using 'Boot Tuning System', it only turns up half a dozen threads mostly dealing with guys disappointment at not being able to get their hands on the few released last year or impressions based on one or two days of riding. I just thought there would be more feedback by now.

Okay, I am taking up too much bandwidth on this thread but here goes. One of the reasons I started riding unlocked was that locked boots were placing a strain on the muscles in my lower back. It was too easy to just drive the weight of my body forward into the rear boot cuff to initiate a turn. However, anything that drove back (crud, bumps, augered nose, etc) was transmitted right to the soft tissues of around my lower spine. I rode with back stiffness for years thinking I was just constructed badly. Then I tried riding unlocked and, voila, no more back issues. Plus my technique became necessarily more correct in terms of turn initiation. In theory, the BTS should offer a little more shock isolation and give back a little of the forward lean turn initiation which should increase control. Geez, for one of the most anticipated hardboot products of all time, there don't seem to be many opinions on it yet. Where are all the BTS riders? (SES probably )

Okay, here comes another typical long-winded csquared post. I apologize in advance. There does not seem to have been a lot of comments yet about BTS experience so I thought I would start a thread for all of us test-pilots that are starting to understand how to get the most out of them. I have only had two days on mine. I installed them on a pair of Raichle SB 324's. Previous to installing the BTS, I was riding with my rear boot unlocked and the front boot unlocked in the forward flex direction but locked in aft direction. In addition, I was riding race tongues from a pair of 225's with a yellow (soft) tongue in the rear and a red (stiff) tongue in the front [this always precipitated the most interesting questions from skiers]. I liked the free-flexing feeling that I had experienced with the unlocked slider on the rear foot but I was hoping that the BTS would give a bit of resistance and shock-absorbing effect so I bought yellow (soft) springs for the rear boot. Being accustomed to a stiff feel for the front foot, I bought blue (medium) springs for the front boot. The installation was very easy but I had a bit of trouble getting the holes in the BTS to align with the holes in the shell and I could not get one pin in. Eventually, I jimmied the BTS down enough with a screwdriver that I could get the pin through. However, I was impressed that a one-size device would fit a boot that must have been made about 6 years ago. Testing the flex was a disappointment initially. I felt more restriction on the rear foot than I wanted and that was with the softest spring and the most minimal pre-load. There just seemed to be too much resistance somehow. The front foot flexed more freely but I could not feel any difference in flex even with different springs and the front springs having considerable pre-load. However, I have since realized that these issues had nothing to do with the BTS per se. Rode the boots for two days with the second day having a generous helping of hero snow conditions that leave you with a glow. I was starting to feel better about the BTS though the benefits seemed intangible. When I went to put the liners back in the boots today (I always remove and dry them after riding because so much snow ends up inside my boots) I started to look the boots over more carefully. I realized that that the upper cuff is cut so tightly over the buckle strap and hump at the instep that the upper cuff has almost no travel room and bottoms out quickly. In the case of the back foot, my forward cant setting (which is not terribly agressive) ate up any travel allowance that existed. Any flex from that bottom out point came through boot deformation (crushing) rather than cuff rotation. This was why I could not feel any real benefit from the BTS on my rear foot. The solution was pretty simple. First I checked catalogue images of current Deeluxe boots and found that, yes, the cuff is cut much higher above the instep buckle these days so that the interference point is avoided. Some careful cutting with the Olfa knife and I amputated portions of the lower cuff to permit a greater range of flex (I probably get a range of about 30 degrees from neutral now which seems about right). Now the boots have much greater freedom of movement (although they do bottom eventually) and I can feel the spings actually controlling the flex. I guess one observation I would make is that unless you can obtain some softer tongues for your boots, the springs can only make the boots stiffer in their movement. Some of the free-carve SB boot styles that Raichle made had quite soft tongues but the race boots typically had stiffer tongues so it might be worth finding some softer tongues if you intend to get the achieve a semblence of your current flex feel. Also, the stiffness differential between the yellow and blue springs is just noticeable so if you are looking for a very stiff experience, you probably need to use the red springs. You may also need to do some boot carving to give the boots a greater range of movement. Anyone else have any thoughts? Problems? Anyone get their pants pinched in the spings yet?

1. It helps to plan your attack on the steeps. Lead with your best suit (as they say in Bridge) and make your first hard turn on a pitch a toe side. I personally find it easiest to set up from a relaxed heel side (skid it if you must to keep the speed down) cutting perpendicularly across the top of the pitch at modest speed and then throw down a very hard toe side that initiates from about perpendicular to the fall line at the middle of the pitch. This is a moment when you need to suspend anxiety and just rip the turn. If you blow it, you're only going to be a few inches above the snow and you won't be going at any great speed so relax and give it a shot. Hold the turn until you are travelling perpendicular to the fall line and try to exit the turn at the same speed that you started it. 2. This is when you need to execute the 'cross under' turn much talked about here. That is don't stand up to unweight - relax the pressure on the edge of the board and let your body translate over the board down the fall line until your board is on the heel side edge (all without coming up from the stance in which you finished the last turn). This maneuver is critical to execute a fast transition between turns failing which (as you know) you are going to be rocketing toward the side of the run. 3. The upcoming heel side is just as critical as the toe side. However, this is where you will need some finesse because it is much harder to execute the quick tight radius heel side. Proper stance is critical but nervousness is going to destroy it. Two simple rules to remember are: keep your back hand forward of your front boot, and drive your knees apart (this effectively gives you the drive into the front boot that Gord is talking about and keeps your weight centered during the critical parts of the turn). These are not really technique principles, they are artificial ways to get the feel for what works and improve your confidence because riding the pitches is all about confidence. Again don't stop driving the turn until your board is pointing across the hill. 4. Once you have cycled through these two turns, you should have a feel for what works on the particular pitch you are riding and this should give you a bit of comfort to keep going. It is always hard to maintain discipline over your speed but you have to keep exiting each turn at the speed you entered at. If you let speed build, you will find it harder to drive your turns around and will no longer be able to control speed by carving. 5. Pitches can be treacherous when they get clogged with junk snow in the middle. This typically happens because of skier traffic which favours one side of the pitch or the other and tends to execute all small amplitude turns, causing a pile of loose snow just where you want to finish your turn and execute a delicate 'cross under'. You are most vulnerable at this point. I don't know really what to recommend except to say that if you have sunlight it makes the terrain more readable and you can anticipate some of the chop. In dull light, it can just be brutal and even dangerous. I would say, stay away, especially with a shorter board that has a short sidecut radius and tends to be a bit nervous. 6. I don't know anything about your board but stiff shorter boards tend to be designed for slalom racing and trying to make them carve a pitch with complete carved turns would be difficult. Although having a longer board with a longer sidecut radius may seem a counterintuitive solution to riding the steeps, here are the benefits: more effective edge that won't let go when it is pushed hard; more stability when driving the board through less than perfect terrain; more predictable reactions when initiating and executing a turn. Although this is somewhat controversial, the point has been made previously on this site that sidecut radius becomes somewhat less relevant when the board is at an extreme angle to the snow. If you know how to drive the board, even a 16 m sidecut can be made to execute a tight radius turn. Even though you are trying to control speed, length is your friend. Don't get discouraged, it will come together with time and work. I think a great place to gradually develop skills and confidence is Mont Grand Fonds which has an interesting series of hills that have progressively steeper pitch as you go from one side of the mountain to the other. Find your comfort level on one pitch and then move north to the neighbouring run until you can conquer it. This is probably out of the way for you but it is worth the trip to find no crowds and affordable lift tickets. Sorry about the lengthy post. I'm sick in bed and bored out of my mind. I wish I could give you this in french for maximum clarity, but my french is far worse than your English (my compliments on your bilingual skills).

Scraper sharpener, Jack. SCRAPER sharpener. I think its clever. A worthy addition to the communal body of knowledge. Beats holding the file down on the table with one hand and dragging the scraper over it (approximately square) with the other. That's a sure way to nick a finger or two.

The snow is still a bit thin. You might need this more after the session than befoer.

Just a Freudian slip. I guess I really, really wanted both Beth and Derek to come. But I guess Collin would be a reasonable alternative.

I mean it! Okay, it was sloppy, quite chuckling.

Sorry for the long wait on this update. I have been watching the conditions and trying to decide whether to let this happen or call it off. At the moment, the weather over the next week or so looks promising (at least for snow-making) so I am making the call to go ahead with SOS. I think we would all welcome some time on snow even if the conditions are not optimal and not all of the trails are open. So let's make this thing happen. The following have confirmed for the event: Chris Ball Chris Couse Rob Cox Monique Cox Henry Kim Peter Halsall John Hevesi Justin Hines Chris Houghton Greg Marsden Ken McCutcheon John McCutcheon Beth McNally Mike McNally Evgeny Minkevich Andrea Morgan Dave Morgan John O'Brien Julien Bouchy-Picon Derek Peeling Victor Plopeanu Dan Stewart Rob Sydia Arthur Tateishi Gabe Tung Bruce Varsava Leslie Varsava Imo Weinert Derek Peeling Beth McNally Let me know if I have overlooked anyone. Otherwise I am calling the list closed as I have hit my target of 30. If you have not been to the event before you can find driving directions here. It is always good to get an early start so aim to arrive about 8:30 to be on the hill before 9:00. You will need to pick up your ticket at ticket window that is located in the outdoor passage under the main clubhouse. Boot changing and lockers are through the doors on your left off of the passage (there are no coin lockers, only cubbies). I will be carrying an FRS radio tuned to channel 7/7. A number of others will do likewise and it is a good way to find us if you get separated or arrive late. I would recommend that we break for lunch around 11:45 (this will give us a good run at the hills when they clear over the lunch hour). We will use the upper chalet (top of the high speed quad) for lunch. Bring a lunch if you wish to or you can buy a lunch at the Upper Chalet. Expect less than ideal conditions. Some runs will not be opened by then but I am guessing about half will be. Certainly all of the runs around the high speed quad will be open and some at the Orchard Chair may be open (hopefully Exhibition). Hope too see you all there.

Sorry for the long wait on this update. I have been watching the conditions and trying to decide whether to let this happen or call it off. At the moment, the weather over the next week or so looks promising (at least for snow-making) so I am making the call to go ahead with SOS. I think we would all welcome some time on snow even if the conditions are not optimal and not all of the trails are open. So let's make this thing happen. The following have confirmed for the event: Chris Ball Chris Couse Rob Cox Monique Cox Henry Kim Peter Halsall John Hevesi Justin Hines Chris Houghton Greg Marsden Ken McCutcheon John McCutcheon Beth McNally Mike McNally Evgeny Minkevich Andrea Morgan Dave Morgan John O'Brien Julien Bouchy-Picon Derek Peeling Victor Plopeanu Dan Stewart Rob Sydia Arthur Tateishi Gabe Tung Bruce Varsava Leslie Varsava Imo Weinert Derek Peeling Beth McNally Let me know if I have overlooked anyone. Otherwise I am calling the list closed as I have hit my target of 30. If you have not been to the event before you can find driving directions here. It is always good to get an early start so aim to arrive about 8:30 to be on the hill before 9:00. You will need to pick up your ticket at ticket window that is located in the outdoor passage under the main clubhouse. Boot changing and lockers are through the doors on your left off of the passage (there are no coin lockers, only cubbies). I will be carrying an FRS radio tuned to channel 7/7. A number of others will do likewise and it is a good way to find us if you get separated or arrive late. I would recommend that we break for lunch around 11:45 (this will give us a good run at the hills when they clear over the lunch hour). We will use the upper chalet (top of the high speed quad) for lunch. Bring a lunch if you wish to or you can buy a lunch at the Upper Chalet. Expect less than ideal conditions. Some runs will not be opened by then but I am guessing about half will be. Certainly all of the runs around the high speed quad will be open and some at the Orchard Chair may be open (hopefully Exhibition). Hope too see you all there.

Hey Jack: I can't believe nobody has said this yet but on behalf of all the self-absorbed or inarticulate here, thanks for contributing so much time to such a thankless and invisible but very necessary job. I know you do it out of commitment to our calling and furthering the sport and I hope everyone appreciates you for it. Trailertrash steps into a very large pair of shoes (funny that they've been on such dainty little feet for so long). We all need to offer something to this sport to keep it going and Jack has set a pretty high mark for personal contribution. I hope everyone reading this can appreciate it. We salute you Jack.

Skategoat's report may have been a little too filled with optimism: Osler is closed this weekend. The gloom deepens. It will take at least two weeks of below freezing temperatures to rebuild the snow base to the point where there would be more than 4 runs open. I am going to be talking to the management about an alternate date for SOS. I will try to push it back into February while avoiding the SES window but this may be difficult. Stay tuned and appeal to whatever deities you worship for better weather.

... and that's all it is but your stance seems to be a bit back of center in the third photo. This could be appropriate at the completion of a turn but you still seem to just be crossing the fall line in the photo. With your weight further back on the board, it is going to start to feel as though the edge is pressured to the limit when you are just past the fall line and exerting the most pressure. You still need to be somewhat forward of center in this part of the turn. You could try keeping your weight further forward or you could try 0 degrees cant on the front or even 6 degrees on the back to force your stance forward.

THIS IS A REPEAT FROM THE MAIN COMMUNITY FORUM PAGE It's on: Friday January 26 2007; Osler Bluff Ski Club If you missed it last year, this is a great chance to get together with one of the strongest carving communities at one of the best hills in Ontario. Whatever your abilities, its a great opportunity to ride with others and share the gift. If you were there last year or the year before, you need to come this year for the terrain improvements. We have increased the width of three of the most carvable hills: Exhibition, Lookout, and Breakaway. And for those that start to flag at midday, there's a new espresso bar in the clubhouse. I am still organizing the day and I will post more info as it becomes available but YYZ Canuck and Coiler will be at the event and hopefully they can add some interest to the day (unfortunately the Club won't permit a demo tent though). If you are interested, I need to know with some certainty. Osler Bluff is a private club and I need to provide a count of guests prior to the event. I will be looking for a confirmation from you around 2 weeks from the date. At that time I will need some real names that I can put on the guest list. I would request that you leave your skiing friends at home for this event. I have booked space for about 30 at the moment and I would like the spots to go to those of us that ride carving gear. If you could e-mail me expressing interest, I will start publishing a tentative guest list in a few weeks. WE NOW HAVE 23 CONFIRMED AND I WILL BE PUBLISHING THE LIST SOON. STAY TUNED FOR MORE DETAILS.

..I think I could make the event a bit more worthwhile by getting you tickets for the Saturday and Sunday as well. I have to keep this offer very restricted though because I only have the ability to sign in 4 guests each weekend day. So this would be for one or two people really (I have family members that I have to buy tickets for). Pat Donnelly, if you're up for this you would certainly be welcome. I think I must have met you at SES '05 or one of the ECES events but I can't recall. Let me know. Thanks to others for the e-mail. Yesterday at MSLM was just a foretaste. Its going to be a great session.

...is now restored. Thanks D.

It's on: Friday January 26 2007; Osler Bluff Ski Club If you missed it last year, this is a great chance to get together with one of the strongest carving communities at one of the best hills in Ontario. Whatever your abilities, its a great opportunity to ride with others and share the gift. If you were there last year or the year before, you need to come this year for the terrain improvements. We have increased the width of three of the most carvable hills: Exhibition, Lookout, and Breakaway. And for those that start to flag at midday, there's a new espresso bar in the clubhouse. I am still organizing the day and I will post more info as it becomes available but YYZ Canuck and Coiler will be at the event and hopefully they can add some interest to the day (unfortunately the Club won't permit a demo tent though). If you are interested, I need to know with some certainty. Osler Bluff is a private club and I need to provide a count of guests prior to the event. I will be looking for a confirmation from you around 2 weeks from the date. At that time I will need some real names that I can put on the guest list. I would request that you leave your skiing friends at home for this event. I have booked space for about 30 at the moment and I would like the spots to go to those of us that ride carving gear. If you could e-mail me expressing interest, I will start publishing a tentative guest list in a few weeks. If I have contacted you by e-mail already and you have responded, there is no need to reply again. There are participants from last year that I have not been able to contact and would love to hear from: The Carveitup crew (alias the McNally clan) Imo Wienert (love to see any new carving creations from your shop) Anatoly (Tolik) Sleevez In the meantime, pray for snow.

There was some speculation earlier in this thread about why Jasey had what he had on his feet. There are a few reasons for Jasey riding a Kessler. 1. Bruce finally closed the original Coiler shop a few weeks ago and is still in the process of setting up the last of his equipment at his new location. That includes his press which also needs a few modifications. So, for the moment, he is unable to laminate titanal. 2. Jasey has been experimenting with the hangl plate system and has discovered that it works well with longer board lengths (185+). Before he began riding the hangl plates, he had been riding shorter boards (+/- 180) and had given his longer boards away to junior members of the Canadian team. Bruce could not furnish a longer board in time for the race. 3. Jasey and Bruce agreed that it would be good for him to spend some time on the Kessler boards and get a better feel for how they react. They both needed to do some first-hand research. 4. The funding arrangement with Sport Canada that Jasey had lined up to pay for boards has apparently fallen through and this has left Bruce on the hook for the cost of all Jasey's boards. Bruce has been finding it increasingly difficult to keep up with Jasey's need for boards given that it takes time away from making boards for paying customers. Also, Coiler is no longer just a hobby for Bruce because he has given up his day job. So the Jasey / Coiler affiliation may not survive which would be quite sad.

I am hoping to find a set of TD-1's with 0 and 6 degree cant plates and purple elastomers if possible.