Sean

Allrighty now... Stirring the pot again here, but just for giggles, have you gear fiddlers out there considered doing like frunoblax and trying a non-lifted, non-canted setup? You will probably have to tighten your stance up a bit, but you might be pleasantly surprised. Seems like we are again tempted to split the atom on this when perhaps we should ultimately be seeking a neutral centered stance tailored to the way we are built. For some knock kneed or bow legged riders this may be inward/outward cants. For other riders this may be a bit of pure heel lift (BTW, this is how I usually start out new riders), but for many this may be plain old flat bindings- kinda like the way we stand when we do nearly every other sport. I will apologize in advance for the hit & run posting. Won't be able to reply for a bit as I am headed up to B.C. this morning but I'm sure someone out there might want to add to this discussion. Everyone have their slide rules out? Good. Ready, set, go!

Liking this thread, so here is another blast from the past: Again, teaching a ski lesson at Eldora back in the 80's. Get assigned an afternoon private with an older fellow who just got off the plane from NYC that morning and wants to cram in some skiiing before he gets to business. He is 5 foot nothing and resembles a fireplug- not in the best of shape. He lights up a cigar on the lift ride up, and when I suggest that's not such a wise move, proceeds to lecture me on how he was a Golden Gloves champ, street fighter, general stud...probably back when Jack Dempsey was fighting...Anyhoo, get off the lift at the top of the hill which is way high up altitude wise, at least for him. Next thing I know, his eyes roll into the back of his head and he is down for the count. Best part of the story- ski patroller was sitting in the shack at the top of the lift, sipping coffee, gazing mindlessly out the big plexiglass window facing the lift. Saw the guy get off the lift with me, took a sip of coffee, then only saw me. Needless to say, Mr Golden Gloves champ got the toboggan ride back down the hill. Airline ticket: $500 RT Lift ticket: $30 Private Lesson: $50 Yuck factor: Priceless :o

- the salomon slushy only occurs when they steal my boots. boys will be boys...

must be the wax, eh? 1-2-3 waaaaah!

Now that we have are closing in on the half century mark with posts on binding angles, perhaps its time for some comic relief. Might I suggest a new thread on epic moments in sliding history. I'll kick it off with a couple of my most memorable moments: 1st memorable moment: Teaching a ski lesson at Eldora back in the early 80's. Springtime, sunshine, BBQ on the deck and Reggae tunes thumping. I have my group of adoring acolytes lined up behind me following their way cool Vuarnet clad, corduroy CB jacket wearing instructor down to the lodge. I whip around to check on their progress and proceed to ski backwards into and take out about 50 yards of orange fencing. I quickly look up to assess how bad my cool factor has been tarnished only to see my ski school supervisor and the director of the hill standing on the deck directly above and shaking their heads at me. They were obviously enamored with my superb impression of a fork twirling a neon bed of linguine. Honorable mention: At SES a few years ago at Beaver Creek. Sean Martin hands me a brand new unmarked deck and tells me to ride it- new secret skunk works project that he needs feedback on- but won't tell me what it is. Run into Lowell Hart (carving guru, author, examiner). Ride lift with him and have a great chat about alpine technique. Ride down the hill with him and after about three turns, start doing a combination of eskimo rolls and spin outs most of the way down the hill. Later find out professor Martin was experimenting with new epoxies, and obviously I was the crash test dummy, because the epoxy gave up the ghost right quick after about the first turn (BTW- Sean chucked that project.) Bet Lowell was impressed... Anyone else want to narc on themselves with other memorable moments?

BTW, special props go to Mike "fer or agin" Tovino for starting this thread, then dragging me into it. Way to go you rabble rouser

Damn! I was just working on my "Jane, you ignorant slut" retort! Luv you too, man- think the best part of this post is that while we were "splitting the atom" we also started a discussion on styles and corresponding setups which ultimately may cause someone out there to be a bit of a mad scientist and tweak their gear in a way that suits them, not their buddy. If you want to get super geeky I think you could break the setups and styles into all kinds of subspecies, but I think the bottom line is that because of the dramatic difference in the gear out there and riding styles, we have an abundance of options available to us. I do think that starting newbies out with fairly mellow angles and lifts gives them a good point from which to start. Bottom line is that its all good. And yes, you could definitely say my genus (as opposed to genius-none here...) is more "raceresque." I have noticed lots of elite level racers using elevated, non canted binders, softer angles and softer boots than one might imagine- just wish I could ride like them. See you at SES. -Sean :D

Wow, quite the hornet's nest! FWIW here is my two cent's worth: First of all, everyone is built a little differently and has a different style. They also have a particular binding setup that they like. Power to em- that is why this sport is so cool- everyone has their own distinctive signature and binding setup from the way open swoard guys (aka the bail benders...) to super steep binding guys like Ken Tower and Stormin Norman. They all rock and all can turn the snot out of the boards. I spend alot of time working with alpine riders and especially putting new folks on alpine gear and always use a "bottoms up" approach. I start out with balance and stance and devote alot of time messing with their feet and tweaking their setup until it is comfortable and IMO makes the board work most efficiently for them. Consequently, I have found that when I start folks out with moderate angles (it usually ends up around the 45 to 50 range) they are able to begin edging the board by actively using their ankles -opening and closing them- (dorsiflexion and plantar flexion for you PHD types). I understand that the binding is rigid and that is transfers force to the edge. I just feel that this force transfer must be accompanied by a movement of the center of mass from one edge to the other and this is more efficiently accomplished with a less steep binding angle if possible. I have also observed that when riders become more active from the hips down through the ankles, the upper body often sorts itself out and I never have to talk about shoulders, hands etc... When I encounter folks who are riding steeper setups and having to tip, hop and twist to make the board turn, alot of times just taking 5 degrees or so out of the binders and softening up the boot can do wonders, as it did with Galen K in the lesson I did with him last week. Another huge factor is what kind of gear you are on and what kind of terrain you like to hang out in. If you rip down some of the monster wide super groomers in the Rockies, a steep setup and very directional stance should work out fine as you have plenty of trail space to let the turn develop and you can seek a long, pure carve. I live and ride primarily in the Pacific Northwest and like to ride all terrain (tool of choice 90% of the time is my 172 Axis). I like carving, skidding, trees, bumps, riding switch, ollies, nose rolls and small jumps. I ride 35/35 on my Axis and 50/50 on my FCI with no cants or lifts whatsoever and find those settings to be my most comfortable and efficient setup, bar none. I also ride with my boots much softer than I used to (thank heavens for my intuition liners) and find this gives me a much softer suspension and happy knees at the end of the day. Despite what I think I know, there will always be someone out there who will make a very good case for why a different setup is better, and if it works well for them, that is great. So the bottom line is that there are good points being made on both "sides"of this issue. OK- 3 cents worth from a guy who spends too much time looking at feet. :o

Fleaman, The binding angles on your AM should be determined by the length of your boots and the width of your board. Ideally you want to have your toes lined up just over the toe edge and your heels over the heel edge without any overhang. As far as lifts and cants go, believe it or not, I ride with none whatsoever on my Axis. I am not suggesting you do the same, but you might want to flatten out your front foot and maybe try 3 degrees of just lift on the rear to get a more natural neutral stance, especially on your all mountain ride. You will probably also have to reduce your stance width when you do this. Now onto the steeps: The heel to toeside transition can be tough because we all tend to drop our hips back and ride defensively on our heelside when we are on the steeps- I know I do it. To transition smoothly into the next turn we have to relax from the hips down and allow our center of mass to move across the board as you initiate the toeside turn. If you are not staying soft with your ankles, knees and hips and moving down the hill into the turn you will most likely try to jump or twist to compensate and get the board around. Try tweaking the bindings a bit, then find a moderate pitch to give it a whirl. Once you can smoothly link heel and toeside turns in a tight (one snowcat width or so) not too steep corridor with easy bumps, then you can start adding back in the pitch and terrain. Hope this helps, Sean

All, It looks like we will likely have one spot re-open for our carve camp next week in Sun Peaks due to one probable last minute cancellation. We have 18 folks signed up of various riding levels, three great coaches and awesome carving conditions. If interested in joining us, please check out all the details on our web site (follow the alpine snowboard links to the Sun Peaks camp) and call Gavin at 253-569-3713. Cheers, Sean snowperformance

Sorry to hear your hoofs hurt so much. FWIW not only might the boots be too stiff but if your binding placement isn't ideal the situation will definitely be aggravated. The net result is you will spend 90% of your time fighting yourself and 10% riding. Before you give up I would recommend you play around with your stance width as well as softening up the boots if at all possible. I went with intuition liners on my AF600's. Best thing I ever did because the wrap around liner supports my ankle very nicely ( I use custom foot beds as well). This allows me to ride with lower buckle settings without sacrificing performance which translates into all day comfort. If you are out of ideas drop me a line and we can discuss some other options. Regards, Sean

personally, although I love the graphics and all, I am more concerned wih the working end of the tool- namely, the base. Spend most of your time worrying about the upside down part of the board and you will be very happy. Anyhooo, I think you should throw the binders on the deck, skip the payments to 3M and Tognar, and ride the snot out of the Coiler. If it gets bashed, cest la vie. I used to obsess about an M3 I owned until a wise old German guy told me that high performance machines look better with a bit of real world wear to them...

All, As of today we have 16 riders paid up for our Sun Peaks event. We are committed to small group sizes and will end registration as soon as we hit 18. It looks like we have a pretty good assortment of riders- guys and gals, teen athletes, new riders and masters level experience in the mix. The coaches will be myself, Mike Jacoby and Justin Garey (Justin is a full cert Canadian guy- alpine certified). Full details and links are on our web site. Again, we are nearly full, so if you are still thinking about joining the camp, please contact us ASAP. Regards, Sean Snowperformance

Tick, Lift is raising your heel or toe to create a ramp angle over the board. Cant is when you move your knees inward or outward. Again, I would recommend you start with pure lift (knees lined up over your ankles- no cant) before you mess with anything else. If you still have knee strain, then you might consider some canting (knees pointed slightly inward, assuming you aren't bowlegged...) to take away the strain. Just don't overdo it. Since your last boots were boats, you probably never got this kind of feedback. Consider it a step in the right direction- now that your boots fit well enough to transmit movements to the deck, its just a matter of finding your new improved sweet spot over the board. Hope this helps. Got a couple of days in already in some phenomenal conditions out here in the PNW. Have to keep convincing myself its not even Thanksgiving yet. :D

Tick, There is a great section on the Bomber files about setup, but here is my 2 cents worth: The pain in the upper calf could be a result of too wide a binding width. With too wide a setup, as you flex your knees, hips and ankles, this will create excess strain not only on your calfs, but more seriously it creates stress on the side of your knees. Too little width takes away the strain, but creates a less stable riding "platform" and causes you to throw your butt and hips around (think vedelling style for you retro skier types). Ideally you want to have a binding width that allows you to flex up and down without any inward or outward knee stress. This works out to around .6 times your inseam (ie I am a 32" inseam and ride a 19" width), but everyone is built differently so you will have to experiment with it. As far as angles go, again, everyone is a bit different, but I like to start with angles that put the boot toes and heels over the repective edges. This is purely a function of the board width and boot length. I put plenty folks on decks and always start new riders out with 3 degree heel lift on the back foot and no lift on the front but never start with canting until I get a feel for how the setup is working. OK- 4 cents worth. :rolleyes: -Sean

Better yet- take it out on an above par day, stand over the top of the sucker and don't even think about the shape. You'll have plenty of fun, not to mention lots of amused looks, even from alpine types. Those Sims were my first plate bindings- unfortunately I broke the step in spring mechanism right quick (OK- did it in the condo at Whistler trying to open a beer...) then went for normal bail types. Fortunately, Fin addressed that obvious shortcoming by designing a bottle opener right into the TD2 standard. :D

All, Its currently chucking down snow in B.C. and conditions are shaping up nicely or another awesome carve event! Mike Jacoby and myself are currently on tap for coaching duties and we already have 11 riders signed up including a few gals and some newbies. If we get another couple of folks signed up we will commit to a 3rd alpine coach, and Gavin is offering a discount for those who register by Nov 15th, so please let us know if you are interested. Again, the dates are December 16th thru 19th and full details are on our web site- follow the snowboard links. Hope to see you up there. :o -Sean Snowperformance

SUN PEAKS EARLY SEASON CARVE CAMP: Snowperformance will once again kick off the carving season in style at beautiful Sun Peaks, British Columbia. The resort has fantastic carving terrain and facilities and has become a crowd favorite. The camp dates this year are FRIDAY DECEMBER 16TH THRU MONDAY THE 19TH. Complete details are posted on our web site, and Gavin is currently offering a 5% discount for those of you who mention Bomber. We will also be running a skiing group during the same time as our riding sessions, so feel free to bring along your favorite two-planked companions. I am also pleased to announce that Mike Jacoby will be coaching for us at Sun Peaks. Mike's impressive resume includes extensive world cup and Olympic team experience, and he has numerous championships and podium finishes under his belt. Regards, Sean Snowperformance

Mike, Glad you are O.K. After two run ins with autos I'm much happier dodging them sneaky trees in the woods on my MTB. As for the merits of the previously cited injured wing=quiet upper body theory: Have to admit that while it did help Alex at Sun Peaks, I must give it the thumbs down as a teaching tool. After all, if you have your ride (or your bride- take your pic) in one hand, how are you gonna hold your beer with the other one? -Sean :D

All, Thanks for attending what I am certain has been our best carve camp ever. Special kudos go to the Tahoe contingent who not only are great riders but also alot of fun to hang out with. This was our first trip down to Mammoth and we were totally impressed with the terrain and facillities. I have already talked to Mike Jacoby and Mark Harris about a repeat next year, and Gavin is also behind it 100%, so I think this is a go for next season. My summer project will be to get a dvd out to the attendees and hopefully entice some of them to do Sun Peaks in December. Huge thanks also go out to Sean and Fin. Without their loyal support (and plentiful demos), these events would be considerably tougher to pull off. Regards, Sean snowperformance

Scott, Believe it or not, the military does have some awesome health care facilities, especially for folks who have traumatic injuries. I am a veteran of two orthopedic reconstruction type surgeries courtesy of the Navy and Air Force and have spent some time at Bethesa as well. The caliber of the work was very high and I got lots of good comments from civilian docs who did follow up exams. Don't be afraid to ask lots of questions, seek out the ombudsman if necessary, and tell Holly Semper Fi from a Navy puke who also craves the carve. Regards, Sean:)

Yeah- extremely psyched that we could bring Mike into the mix. If things work out the way I hope they will, we will have a great set of trainers to draw upon for more camps in the PNW. Can't wait to make some turns with him! -Sean

Gavin will be sending out an email very soon with detailed info on lodging, check in, ride share etc. Looking forward to the camp- Sean

All, I am very happy to announce that we now have enough folks registered to add on a third group to the Mammoth Mountain carve camp! Former world cup champ Mike Jacoby will be joining Mark Harris and myself for coaching duties, so we will be able to cater to a number of riding styles and goals. We also have one or two newbies joining us as well. If any of you procrastinators out there in carve land are still interested, we now have one or two slots available with the extra coach. Mammoth is still holding up nicely with a reported base over 9 FEET, so we are looking forward to hitting the slopes with some very motivated carvers. -Sean:D snowperformance

Summer riding is unique in that the conditions can and often do vary from nice firm hero groomers all the way to the slurpees- all in the same day. I have been at summer sessions plenty of times where we started out well below freezing temps and blizzard conditions in the morning and wrapped up in a t-shirt and shades in the afternoon. Given the epic amounts of snowfall the hill has received (and continues to get) this year and the size of the mountain, I think we will find plenty of stuff to keep us happy. Af far as the skills needed to ride the soft stuff, there are plenty of great tips in this thread. I think Bordy's comments about board prep take on even more importance when things get really wet and grippy. Solid two footed riding- balanced over the center of the board without overly aggressive moves forward to initiate the turn- will serve us well when conditions get really wet. It will be very interesting to see how our plan of attack changes and how we modify our riding style to meet the varying terrain and surface. Bottom line- plenty of stuff to play in and lots of stuff to work on. I don't think we will get bored. If we do though, we'll just have to grab a blender, tunes, and libations, locate the biggest slush pool around and have some of our CA beach dudes demonstrate some surf style riding. Gary- Mike Jacoby is eager to join in but we cannot commit to bring him down from Oregon for the extra group until we have another couple of riders. I'm pretty confident we will get another couple of stragglers so lets keep our fingers crossed & I'll stay in touch. -Sean