Sharkey

If anybody has some opinions, i'm looking for some guidance on doing a weekend trip to this area. We are looking at lodging at Snowbird because of concerns with what appears to be a pass from SLC closing down in bad weather. Is this the case? worth worrying about? I'm from Michigan and would hate to have bad weather/good snow keep us from the resorts. The price for lodging is up there, but it is what it is I guess. How is the nightlife, or is there a nightlife right at Snowbird? any help or suggestions are appreciated!

Thanks for the tips. I'm glad to see my idea up upsizing seems to be on target....

I have an older F2 SF, probably purchased in 04/05. It's a 168. I have enjoyed the board, but as I progress I find it to be a little too short/soft. I get over the front more than I care to, and on harder snow I don't feel I have the edge hold I should. I live in Michigan and find the sidecut and the turns the board likes to make to be fun and acceptable. That said, what might a good next step be? the Donek Freecarve metal in a 171 looks like a nice step up and may be a better option for certain days. I weigh about 195# in street clothes. I would say i'm an average carver and am fairly light on my feet.... i think. :rolleyes:

That sounds about like I expected. I can't go to Loveland because i'll be out there with a few others, but someday I want to meet up out there. I will likely bring my board, but probably won't use it much. My Line Prophets are too much fun out there.

Hey guys, Heading out to WP end of next week for spring break. I'm just wondering what conditions are like this time of year. Typically in the past we have skied the summit county area, which could be spring skiing and warm or even 6-8" of fresh stuff any given day. Just curious! We just spent a few days at Jackson Hole and it was "unseasonably" warm while we were there. 2 days later they got like 17" in one day!

no brace makes perfect sense. I really like the idea of having one on for MX/woods riding though. My issue should hopefully be minor and fix itself over time with a little bit of rest and downtime. Both the asterisk and pod look nice and not super expensive.

to all you guys out there with 20 something years on snow (this is year 22 for me)... I haven't really ever worn a knee brace and am resistant to it. Riding my alpine isn't ever really an issue, but when I ski I sometimes have issues. A few weeks ago I dumped it whilst trying to get the feel of some new skis. I felt my knee come out of place and snap back. Everything functions fine (for now) but I am 90% sure damage was done. Most of the time it's ok, but when I don't move for a while it stiffens up and I can't move it. The walk to the jon in the morning is interesting as I have steel/screws in my foot from an old MX accident... anyway, what's the best inexpensive brace for something like this? I need to get through a trip to Jackson Hole and Winterpark before I can get it looked at or have any sort of repair done... Mid April.

Does your rear bail have a spring in it? I can't remember what setup you have. My TD2's have a spring that 'normally' holds the bail up about 90* to the board. You'll get better at just kinda helping/holding that rear bail and picking places to stand that are flat while you do it.

Clebner what board do you run? There was about 5 hardbooters up there a few weeks ago. I was on my Prophet 100's giving them an initial thrashing.

My feet hurt all the time too. Which is probably why I only ride for a couple hours at a time and then throw on my skis. Plus you have no "rest" time at the ski bowl. You're on your feet the whole time and the run is so short. I recently changed my stance and canted my bindings more toward the center of the board, and my feet felt much better. I had that same cramping feeling.

I might be up to Crystal on Sunday w/ the board. I ski a lot too, but I have an F2 Silberfeil and Blue Suzukas. i'm generally the guy that is trying to lay it out on Buck or Thor, unsuccessfully many times in a row!

i'll probably get new liners too. thanks for the recommendation. I also changed my cant/stance some, and that really helped. I think my legs were kinda coming off the boards in opposite directions which wasn't helping matters any.

I have to stay late tonight at work, but i'll slide down there when i get out. if you're still there i'll flag you down. If you have been carving in softies you'll have no problem.

Harrison, I live in Spring Lake. I rode at the ski bowl 1 time. it's tough to get enough speed there to lay out a carve. what you might not know, if this is your first time, is that you're going to take up waaaaay more slope than normal. That's a busy place w/ the pipes/jumps/rail crowd. IM me or something and maybe we can go to bittersweet or Crystal. I have a season pass at both. I can help you with your stance if you are having issues.... Or at least show you what works for me. Either way, welcome to carving. Get ready for strange looks and comments! they change to gawks once you get your carves down! Ken

Hey guys, I have some Deeluxe Suzuka's that I bought back about 6 years ago. Time flies I guess. I only had them heat molded once because of some serious cramping, then I was good up until about last season. They seemed to fit great, nice and soft, but tight in the right spots. Now this season it feels like my foot is a 1/2 size smaller. The toe box is huge, and I get cramping along the top of my foot because I have to buckle it down so tight just to get any performance and not feel like my foot's going to come out. Bottom line, could/should I replace the liner or get a new boot? I ski too, so these things should last quite a while, but I don't mind buying new boots if that's the way to go. thanks for any help, ken

conditions were descent. I skied on Saturday, rode yesterday until about 3ish. Plenty of crashes on the Loki/Thor side, so my shoulder is a little f'ed. We'll see you next time! K

i'll be up here on these days, on my F2 and skis throughout the day. I'll say hey if i see anybody on a long and skinny!

I'm going to try and get some video in a couple weekends. if I can i'll post it. Maybe you guys can use it as a comparison for your riding, even if it's not exactly your style. If the guys I saw at Crystal are there again, i'll get them on camera too. I've never posted video, seldom pictures. we'll see how it goes.

I am goofy, but on my best days, when i'm driving my left arm to the front of the turn, my front/inside hand will occassionally drag on a heelside. the back arm is nowhere near that side of my board, but ususally not behind my body in relation to travel.

I am not sure how my binding angles got so steep. I may have started to go steeper to stay a little more square with my board, but just went too far. I probably carved better before I started messing with my stance, and my heelsides were always better than toe. Only this season has it been different. I'll back them down and mess with the cant to try and set it up for a little more angle on the backside and just plain old comfort in the ready position. A solid tune up might not hurt either. I think my upper body position is good for the 2nd half of the turn, but probably because i'm fighting a poor 1st half and need to get back uphill to slow down. I'll try the drills and see where it goes from there. Thanks for all the comments. I knew the bomber community would pull through!

I thought maybe some of you experienced guys might be able to help me out a little, as my carving has suddenly stopped progressing. Right now i'm on a 168 F2 Siberfeil. It's a 168, and I bought it new about xmas time in 2004. I have approximately 25 sessions on the board, of 1-6 hours each. (I switch between this and skiing about 50/50). My problem is that I can't seem to control my speed and my carves on any slopes over about a midrange blue run, especially when the conditions are hard or ice. Soft snow is, of course, waaay easier. i have td2's, 68*F, 65*R, purple disks, and cant plates basically at 0* and my knees can almost touch. My rear leg/foot kinda gets a cramped, but not painful, feeling when i'm locked in. My toeside turns are descent on most any slope, but i gain so much speed on my huge heelsides that i pretty much end up hauling too much ass to get it slowed back down. I feel almost like i'm overpowering my back foot in the heelsides. I can push it into a skid at anytime, but on the toe everything feels pretty balanced and nice tip to tail. i've folded the front end a few times. Any suggestions? less angle? maybe more?? have i outgrown my board? It feels like it doesn't have the edge hold that my slalom skis have. I weigh 185. the board just feels like maybe it's a little soft. i don't know. I seem to be working backwards. I saw a few guys at Crystal Mountain (michigan) a couple weeks ago making perfectly controlled and layed out turns top to bottom on the black runs. I want to do that! I have some interest in riding all day, but if i need a board that works primarily on groomers and hardpack, i'm fine with a lack of performance in crud/etc., which i pretty much deal with already. Thanks guys, Peace out.

"It's called an alpine board. No, I don't ride backwards."

I go there during the week, usually about once a week. I ride an F2 with the woodgrain front end. I met ghostrider down there a couple years ago before I started hardbooting, but haven't seen him since.

I'm from Grand Haven, but usually go to Bittersweet during the week and Crystal or Boyne on the weekends if we head up. We're up at Boyne 12/21-23 so hopefully there's some snow! If you see an F2 Siberfeil it's probably me. I heard a rumor yesterday from some old friends that Sugarloaf might have a buyer. Let's cross our fingers. Even if you don't go that far north, it would surely shorten the lift lines at Crystal. Ken

I started in mountaineering boots with forward angles (compared to freestyle riders), on an all mountain board. The switch to hardboots was the next logical step. I would think softboots would be better to start if it's your first day on snow. But with the skiing background, your friend may have enough of the knowledge of how/why a board carves, so maybe the intermediate setup isn't necessary.