D.T.

The lucky family: Guardian Angel #1 - Gracie: Cancer took her at age 4 Guardian Angel #2 - Alfred Kidney disease finally got him. Shelly had him 15 years. He was 1 or 2 years old when she adopted him.

Thanks for the pics. I don't think they'll work for me.

not familiar with them, do they have cants or lifts? How much if picked up?

quit braggin' Mike

Interested in the bindings as well

Amen. I forgot, then was reminded after I rode the Schtubby and especially after his recent customer service with Shelly's board! :biggthump

Sorry, I was short for time and should have waited to post until I had more time to explain. Disclaimer: I am not slamming any manufacturers, just expressing my personal opinions. My point in my previous post was the board in the pictures that is peeling is nothing compared to the board you are buying. IMO you bought the best board that money can buy. Shelly's new Coiler metal is less than a week old and has three hours of ride time on it. Sadly it was damaged in a car accident this last weekend. I'm going to take some photos and ask for Bruce's advice once he returns from ECES. I think I know what he will say, but he is the master and I'll take his word. You definitely add complexities when you mix materials. And as discussed above, the aluminum has to be anodized in order to get the resins to adhere. If delamination occurs, the anodized layer is pulled off, air immediately oxidizes the aluminum and re-bonding is next to impossible. IMO, the best thing you can do is protect the metal with a topsheet. Bruce had done his research. Maintain your board. If you have questions ask Bruce, he'll take care of you.

While I love Colorado, you should checkout Idaho since it's a little closer.

You are comparing apples and oranges!

While there is no way to replace Malcolm, at least you have almost 15 years worth of memories. Shelly and I keep telling ourselves that it was the spirits of our past dogs that kept our current dogs safe during our accident this last weekend. The truck rolled down an embankment, the topper was destroyed and all three dogs were ejected. The dogs were balled up together against a chicken wire fence. One dog had a 1/4" long cut. That was the only injury to any of us. It was a miracle! I truly think Alfred and Gracie were watching over them.

I'll come see you on Saturday and get you input on some damage that the two Coilers sustained. :( Luckily the damage is minor in both cases... but sadly, one of the boards is Shelly's new metal with a total of 3 hours of ride time

Concussed = Mrs. Inkaholic aka Kai's mom :D (yes, Janet, I already know that I am going to HE!!)

PS - Tom and Lisa, you were great hosts! THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks for the inquiries and comments Aaron, Stan, and Richard! It wasn’t quite like the “Mario over the bars” scenario exhibited in the video, more of a highside, body-gets-launched-straight-down-the-hill type thing. It’s amazing how every time I try to prove physics wrong, I get slapped on the a$$. I don’t get it?!? Part 1: I started Friday morning riding the big board (15m SCR) and that was a mistake. The runs at Monarch are a little too narrow... Ink can get away with it, but not me. Ink was riding an 18.5m SCR 185cm SG Race in the video by the way. I switched to my Coiler AM and I was much happier. I pushed the board hard into a toe side, next thing I know I am sliding head first, on my stomach, down the hill, the nose of the board catches, I have this sensation of fire inside my left knee, I grab it and continue to slide another 20-30 feet. I laid there for a minute collecting my senses. By that time Tom has hiked up to check on me. I get to my feet, get the board off. I'm in pain, but it doesn't feel too bad, Tom says I'm probably full of adrenalin. I figure I had better get my a$$ down the mountain before the real pain starts. I rode one edge the rest of the way down, then proceeded to spend the next day and a half in the lodge with my knee wrapped in ice. I have no obvious swelling, and the pain is decreasing with each day. I anticipate it is just a sprain, but will check with the doc just to make sure. Part 2: My recovery was going really well until the drive home this morning. We were northbound on Hwy 285, just south of Nathrop when a truck headed southbound, fishtailed on the ice and crossed over the centerline. The car in front of us t-boned him, then both did piroettes as they started rotating clockwise. Shelly swerved left, slammed on the brakes, then the truck started sliding. Next thing I know, the truck is upside down, rolling down a 30 ft embankment. We came to a rest on all four tires. I look over at Shelly, at the same time noticing the light coming in the back window, while reaching down undoing my seat belt. She is cussing like a sailor. For those of you that know her, you know that is typical; I knew that she was OK. The light coming in the back window tells me the topper is gone, which makes me panic as I question the status of the dogs. I opened my door, spot my landing zone, jump, while in the air, spot dog 1, spot dog 2, spot dog 3, all of which are in a ball together against a fence, land on the upside down topper as planned, wrench my knee. In fear that the dogs will be scarred and scatter, I jump again, landing next to them, again, I wrench my knee. I wrap me arms around all three of them. I lift 170lbs of dogs onto the upside down topper to get us out of the knee deep snow, again, wrenching my knee. I then began damage control with Shelly. She started getting hysterical. I assigned her the duty of caring for the dogs, which was the most important job at that point in time. As for our condition, one dog had one small cut, that is all! I bet we all will be sore on the morning, but that is nothing considering what we went through. Yes, we are very lucky! I wrenched my knee several more times as I scrambled up and down the embankment. Lucky for us, our neighbors, Tony (in the video), LouAnn and Kate were traveling behind us. They were able to get Shelly and the dogs home while I stayed behind and delt with the technicalities and belongings. THANKS GUYS!!! While the knee was a big deal yesterday, is not that big of a deal now!

Thanks for the input

Anyone have recommendations of restaurants we check out while we are in town?

YES! I'd be in dem dar hills if I could. Another of Bruce's beautiful creations. It's a FC geared board. 165cm long, 18.5cm waist, 11.5m SCR, ~2mm taper, oh yeah, it's titanal (thanks Bruce!). Waxed, edged, TD2's and suspension kit mounted last night. Leaving town this afternoon. Will post pics after the Monarch trip. Got Shelly into the right size boot last weekend and she started tearing tearing up the hill on her 159cm Proto so I can't wait to see her on this thing now... I think it will be a whole new world for her. Didn't realize her Proto had a 7.8m SCR:eek:, granted when your that small it is more difficult to take a big radius board and decamber it down to a small radius turn.

not jealous, just waiting for HELL to freeze over any minute now :)

Maybe he'll find a woman and disappear?!? :D edit: sorry - fixed the code error. got distracted by the new Coiler showing up :D

Arne, glad you'll be joining us!Dustin

why'd you have to go there, Kimo? :D

Then Deluxe's are out as an option. Plan on Heads or UPZ's. If you ever want to go with step-in bindings, UPS's are out. Follow the advice above and go with heat-moldable liners, it will make fitting your wide feet much easier. Also, custom insoles will help with the fit. Not trying to make it sound like you have to drop a ton of $$, but you might as well have the big picture in your head because getting a comfortable fit with wide feet can become expensive. Also, buying quality products the first time around will save you money in the long run. I have size 9 EE width feet, so I understand the issues. ~$150, but they are 7 years old have been in three pairs of boots. My thermoflex liners are 6 years old and have been in two pairs of boots. I ride ~50 days per season, so I will get plenty of mileage out of the equipment before replacing. To date my insoles are fine, liners and shells might get replaced next season or the season after. Also realize that when comparing a mondo 27 and 27.5 boot, the shells are the same, the stock liner is slightly roomier on the 27.5.

I'll e-mail you my phone #. Shelly and I arrive Thursday night. Friday morning we'll eat breakfast, walk the dogs, then be on the mountain.

In an attempt to make my life easier:smashfrea, here are answers to some of the questions I have received by e-mail: Specs (from Exotic Boards): 174cm running length 19m sidecut 19cm waist 23cm tip and a bit (2, maybe 4mm) of taper. Core construction: It is mixed wood and foam. IIRC Bordy posted in the past saying Rossi ran wood down the center, for the inserts, and down the sides, and then filled the space in between with foam to keep is damp. The topsheet say “mixed core”.

nothing special base: no gouges, factory pattern plus a little from my brass brush edges: 1* base, 2* side, one 2" long darkish corrosion spot on one edge. I never took the time to polish it off and never rode it long enough to wear it off.