Sean

... if you are around the Seattle and feel like wandering down to Tacoma I would be happy to take you through a basic setup. BTW I also own a 172 Axis. Regards, Sean rideon@qwest.net

One word: Sarcasm. -Sean ( lost count of the pins and plates in both legs) Cassidy

I didn't know the closing date but you have me kinda thinking about heading up for some turns Sunday. Best plan for mellow runs is to park in the lower White Salmon lot, hop on the beginner chair, then head over towards Hemispheres (chair 8). You can follow the cat track down the upper part to avoid the steeps then it opens up to a number of wider slopes good for laying some carves down to the bottom. An added bonus: Very fun to see the odd looks you get from the Bellingham softie crowd when you rip by on plates. :D -Sean

Gotta agree with Fleaman here. A sprained ankle will set you back a month or so. To get a replacement deck could take waaay longer. Besides, that's why they created health insurance, right? ;)

Anyone know how to get in touch with Jeff Cooper? If so I would appreciate if you could have him email me. Ran into him at the SES at Copper this year and did a lap with him. Thanks, Sean rideon@qwest.net

If you haven't done so already, you should check the welcome section on the main Bomber page. It has some great advice on intitial setup. FWIW, I train alot of new riders, I generally start out with some rear heel lift and flat to a bit of front toe lift with the front foot. I have also stopped running any inward cant altogether. I keep the front and rear feet angles within 3-5 degrees of each other. For stance width, a little over 1/2 of your inseam is a good place to start. I am always prepared to tweak things as we get some mileage and often do so during the first day. I will assume your boots fit OK and you don't have any severe mechanical issues (very bow legged/knock kneed, one leg longer than the other...). If none of that is the case, a good bet on why you have pain in your front leg is that there may be too much splay between your front and back angles and/or the stance may be too wide. This can create alot of tension and pain around the knee joint because the legs may be too twisted against each other. For instance, I am 5'11" and weigh 170 lbs. On my Axis, I run 45 front foot w/ toe lift, 43 rear foot with heel lift and a bit less than 19inches stance width. This is a very comfortable setup for me as it allows my legs to work together and also keeps my heels and toes oriented over the edges. This is by no means definitive, so play around with the setup and spend plenty of time on more mellow terrain until the tension goes away. Hope this helps. -Sean

- I have a full selection of alpine demo boots between 23 and 31 mondo as well as a whole lotta demo decks between 145 and 186, mostly of the Donek flavor (thanks go to Sean and Fin for being so helpful with the demo fleet). I will be at the first 2 or 3 days of the Hood carve fest this May so if anyone has any specific requests for specific demo gear, drop me a line. Cayenne- I will email you offline about getting you started out on a good newbie setup. -Sean rideon@qwest.net

Although it is just a point in time I think you can see alot of great things happening in this pic. For one thing, Chris is showing really solid alignment between his upper and lower body. There is a nice strong angle at the hip so he can maintain pressure on his toeside edge throughout the entire turn. Key in on his shoulders- level to the slope- and note the strong tall stance. If he was to just simply bend over at the waist and drive his torso to the ground he wouldn't be able to create as much edgeset and stay balanced on that edge as well as he is. The pic doesn't show it well but he does have separation between his knees as evidenced by his lower open back leg. The next thing that stands out is the fact that he is looking ahead into his next turn as opposed to right down at the nose. This is exactly the reason we teach racers to look ahead at the next gate- develops timing and fluidity. The biggest impression I get from the pic is that he seems to be in a very poised and powerful position, one from which he can make a number of moves from (retraction, up/down unweight, eurocarve...) It would have been great to see the whole sequence but I would bet a sixer it was very solid. -Sean

All, This will be our fourth summer season of the Snowperformance carve & race camps at Timberline. We have one camp set for July 30th thru August 1st and are able to add on additional dates if needed. The camps are for intermediate level riders and above and include : * Small group sizes. Max 6:1 ratio * Top notch training from highly qualified coaches * Private race lanes with snowboard panels * Lots of digital analysis with nightly video debriefs * Fun afternoon activities - Mtn Biking, river rafting, etc... Complete details as well as registration info can be found on our web site. Hope to see you at T-Line this summer. Regards, Sean www.snowperformance.com

Hi Guys- Just got back from Sun Peaks - too much fun. I'll be at the May Hood gig on Fri and Sat for sure and maybe one more day too if I can swing the kitchen pass. I'll bring a nice selection of demos. Randy - Not sure if I can persuade the folks at Alaska to let me take the MD-80 down to pick up the 210. They would charter it for the day for $30,000 or so (tax and tips not included) . Just think of the possibilities: you and your 139 fellow session riders could fly around, check the weather and drop in wherever the snow looked good... See you in May:p

...sounds like fun. I should be able to make it, so count me in. I will have our Donek demo fleet as well, so if the conditions look O.K. I could bring some down. Also - a couple of guys emailed me about doing a carving clinic/digital video kind of thing. How many out there are interested? Looking forward to May. -Sean

Big woop- my grandma can fly a jet. Show me a candidate who can rip some rail to rail arcs and maybe throw in a little air for good measure, and he ( or she) has my vote...

All, We do offer carve/race camps at Timberline during the summer. We have not yet finalized dates but will most likely do one or two camps beginning in late June/Mid July. Once we decide on the dates I will post it here as well as on the Snowperformance site. If anybody wants to be kept up on our scheduled events and be put on our email list feel free to contact me at rideon@qwest.net. We always guard our client's privacy and never distribute the addresses to anyone. Also, I know it is just ten days away but if anyone is interested we also have a few slots open for our Spring Carve camp at Sun Peaks from March 28th thru the 31st. We will have the run of the place and the conditions and carving terrain are fantastic. If you want to view comments about our camps you can search for some previous postings about Snowperformance. Client feedback has been extremely positive. Hope to see you at one of our events. Regards, Sean www.snowperformance.com

All, A quick note to let you know its crunch time – we have just a few weeks to go before the spring Snowperformance Carve Camp at Sun Peaks. The conditions have been epic and we are looking forward to lots of fun in the sun with a great group of riders. The event dates are March 28th thru 31st and the camp will feature the following items: *Extremely enthusiastic, very knowledgeable and professional coaches with extensive training experience. *Small group sizes: We run a max of 6:1 client to coach to ensure you have a personalized camp focused on your goals. *Basic intro to carve as well as more advanced free ride and race oriented training. *Superb slope side accommodations with fitness center, hot tub and wax room as well as kitchenette options. *Private hill space with our own course with snowboard gates. *Extensive digital video analysis with debrief sessions every evening. *Demos from Donek and Bomber. *Lots of socializing including a welcome party and mid camp dinner. For those who haven’t yet visited Sun Peaks, the resort is located near Kamloops in the B.C. interior and is easily reached via air and shuttle service. The mountain boasts acreage second only to Whistler/Blackcomb, superb carving terrain, top notch facilities and extremely friendly staffers. If you are interested and have not yet contacted us, please phone or email Gavin 253-569-3713 / gavalski@snowperformance.com or fill out our online registration on our web site ASAP as we cannot guarantee we will have room after this week. Hope to see you with us at Sun Peaks. Regards, Sean http://www.snowperformance.com

...and the thing that really impresses me is the fact that he is riding duck as well. No mean feat on an alpine rig. Ah, if I were only that flexible...

Thanks again to Marty, Bill, Jim, Art, and Charlie for their help with the World Cup race at Crystal. I talked to some of the folks who were in charge and they couldn't have been happier with how everything went. Hopefully this will lead to more alpine events in the future. As for the coaching question, we have our next carve camp set for Sun Peaks B.C. this March 28th thru 31st. So far we have 8 folks signed up and hopefully will have a dozen or so. Complete details can be found at www.snowperformance.com -Sean

All, A quick reminder that the Snowperformance carve camp in Sun Peaks B.C. is a little over a month away and we are looking to continue to build upon our reputation for unmatched training and customer service. For those of you who haven’t been to Sun Peaks, the resort features fantastic carving terrain, superb grooming and first class facilities in a very cool alpine village setting. Again, the dates are March 28th thru the 31st, and the camp will feature: Top notch, client focused training with maximum ratio of 6:1 client to coach. Basic intro to carve as well as more advanced freeride and race oriented training – you decide which area you want to focus on. Improved slope side accommodations with fitness center, hot tub, wax room as well as kitchenette options. Private hill space with our own course with snowboard gates. Extensive digital video analysis with debrief sessions every evening. Demos from Donek and Bomber. Lots of socializing including a welcome party and mid camp dinner. Additionally, if we have enough folks signed up early enough we will be able to again bring on Lisa Kosglow for coaching duties. Lisa is presently on the world cup circuit and has proven to be not only a superb athlete but also a very talented coach. Please let Gavin know ASAP if you are thinking about attending so we can begin to coordinate lodging, coaching etc. Hope to see you at Sun Peaks in March. Regards, Sean www.snowperformance.com

I picked up a 197 Burner still in the shrink wrap. The edge work was shockingly bad- so bad that you could look down the edge lengthwise and see burred ripples where the production guy gooned it up it on the stone. Needless to say I couldn't even take a guess at what the bevel was supposed to be, so I invested the bucks in a fresh stone grind and hand finished the bevel myself with a good set of file guides. I then did four waxings before it ever saw snow. I know Doneks Coilers and Priors come out well tuned but I would be wary of anything else. -Sean

FWIW, I always go with a one degree base and two degree side bevel on my boards and skis. Pretty good for all around the mountain and the edge gets a little more bite when things firm up. -Sean

Can't wait for another chance to make a gazillion deep little lines in the hill with everyone! Details: Sean Cassidy Crystal Mtn WA/Sun Peaks B.C. Summit portion Wed thru Friday Hey Garrett- I dropped you a line re the lodging offer. See ya soon -Sean

FWIW, Here is a perspective from a full cert US guy who also ventured northward last spring to pick up a CASI level II race coach cert. Ultracarve: you make some good points, and while I don't know the circumstances surrounding your experiences with CASI ultracarve, I can say from personal experience that I thought the examiners I rode with were quite open minded. I have also been very pleasantly suprised with the local level 4 guy we brought on as a coach at our last carve camp in Sun Peaks. We briefed him on the format for the week and focus points each day and he took care of the the rest. His name is Justin Garey and he rips. I know one rigid examiner can leave a bad taste in everyone's mouth and things can get very doctrinaire at the higher cert levels, but in all fairness I have found the CASI system to far more open than our AASI programs in the US. I am also very jazzed with the fact that CASI at least has a race coach program developed for and taught by alpine enthusiasts. We have nothing of the sort in the states. -Sean

Allee, Try out the Snowperformance Sun Peaks camp - you won't be disappointed. The dates are March 28th thru 31st. Not only do you get to ride with a great group of carvers but you also get some very personalized training from highly qualified coaches. The camp includes lift tickets and lodging, demos, digital video and a private race course. Complete details can be found at http://www.snowperformance.com -Sean

Between Art, Al and myself we ought to be able to get with you for some turns. Drop us a line when you know the dates and we can figure something out. -Sean

I'll be there Sat morning with an alpine setup for Kevin and perhaps a couple of demos as well. Drop me a line if interested in meeting up -would be nice to turn with another guy on plates. -Sean rideon@qwest.net

...probably is stiffer than the 4x4, but it still makes a really nice all around ride. I weigh 170#, have a 172 Axis that I believe was a intial run proto model and take it everywhere. It has rapidly become my deck of choice regardless of the conditions. Also, if memory serves, Sean made them a bit softer after the inital year of production. Any other feedback out there on the 4x4 versus the axe? PS- In response to Gecko's post, IMHO I think the deck is a bit too much to ride with softies.