kmartshopper

Thanks for the update yesterday... sounded worth getting there early this morning and you were right. Nice and cold to keep the crowds down today too - and still lots of nice snow and tight packed powder. ________ Marijuana medical

Anyone manage to get out today? How's it holding up? ________ Female Advice Advice

On the Tanker 200. ________ ZX14 VS HAYABUSA

Decadency is having a riding partner that cute! ________ FREE VAPORIZER

Is there something different about the strap design that I'm missing, or are they just nice straps? And on the topic of booster straps or 3strap bindings... Since most highbacks are locked vertical (cept the old burtons), the main benefit you'd be getting would be lateral. I wonder if this would end up breaking your highbacks over time... not designed with lateral flexing like that in mind. And don't forget... although I still actually like carving softies better myself (at this stage)... just because Michael Schumacher could still probably beat me in an F1 race driving a Mustang GT - it doesn't mean the cars are equivalent. ________ E12

The video looks like a heck of a lot of fun, but you'll probably need to be ready to turn a bit more frequently in New England. ________ Andrea de adamich

This site has good details on all gear related things. http://www.alpinecarving.com/bootfitting.html#liners Not sure of the exact answer to your question, but that link will make sure you understand the Thermoflex/Thermofit difference (I didn't for some time!) FWIW, I have 324's, and although I got them used, they had the "Thermoflex CPD liners" described on that page. Red cuffs, and the liner looks more like it's made of the same material all over, rather different peices put together. ________ YAMAHA MUSIC FOUNDATION SPECIFICATIONS

Ditto what Tom H. said. Last saturday was cRazY at Lincoln peak, and this weekend may be worse. The conditions are outstanding though... groom, powder, bumps. One thing that is killing me with sugarbush is that the best carving run is always closed for racing (under Inverness lift). And then they don't run the lift midweek. Not to whine too much... but they could do a better job with the groomers between passes too... sometimes some really rough transitions between each groomer pass. Anyway... those are minor details... you'll have awesome conditions. ________ Reviews Iolite Vaporizer

I have to agree on the toecaps, although I admittedly haven't tried any firsthand. Even though they look good in theory, I don't think your boot moves in that direction in a decent binding. I'd concern myself more with heel lift. I have older missions on my light mogul board. They are really basic but pretty light compared to FR2's or Salamon SPX Carbons I have. They are noodles relative to either of those though... but that's all fine for a bump board. ________ FULL MELT BUBBLE HASH

Cool thing with that site is that they superimpose the same green, blue, black, double black scale across all the mtns. Interesting that notable steeps in the east... like the end-wall of Ovation at Killington isn't even 40deg/80% - a modest double diamond. Looks like the drop under the tram at Jay is about as hard core as it gets... pushing 45/100. Castle Rock at the bush and the upper mountain at Sugarloaf both have some short steeps that look legit. Poor Okemo doesn't even have a single black diamond on that scale. (no offense... it's a fun carving mtn). Arapahoe basin looks like it could tighten up the sphincter. I'm too chicken for that kind of stuff anyway... no complaints here. ________ KID DEPAKOTE

One of my favorite sites.... Kind of puts the east coast / west coast thing in perspective. http://3dskimaps.com/ ________ California Medical Marijuana

Yesterday was a HUGE powder day at the bush. Had to recuperate at work today, but am definitely expecting hero groom tomorrow AM. I'd expect the same throughout the north. Got some FR2's today - perfect timing - won't need hardboots to walk the line tomorrow. It will be interesting to see what the remnants of my rear quad can handle though :rolleyes: ________ Lovely Wendie99

Aye caramba! 4 hours! I need to get an RSS feed to this forum! I think I'm more likely to win concert tickets calling a radio station. :o ________ Suzuki Tl1000R History

http://www.sugarbush.com/ That first picture that comes up is from today. That must be the 'variable' part ;) I bet they'll even even pack down a few groomers for those of us who's widest board is 17cm. :D ________ Lexus Hs

I think I have the same year.... maybe a year older, but as you say - the strap is still attached to the shell. The problem is that once you tighten it down, the loose end of the strap gets attached by velcro against the stock liner. Sounds lame/weak, but it actually holds tension just fine. New liners though, no velcro on them - so no attach point. I thought of gluing a little velcro to the new liners with some hard core glue. I figured that the worst case, if it doesn't work out, I'll reform the liners into my hardboots to replace the aging thermoflexes. ________ NO2 VAPORIZER REVIEW

Hey Budge. I was just about to try this... I just recieved some power wrap liners and was going to do it this weekend. So you aren't having heel lift issues even without the ankle strap being used? That was my only worry. I've been really trying to think of a way to be able to still use the heel strap, but haven't come up with anything yet... might actually route the strap up and over the tonge of the boot shell... but still nowhere to secure it externally. ________ Lovely Wendie99

I can vouch for this. Things are starting to fall into place a little more for me lately, and as I'm starting to carve a bit harder I'm realizing I have the quads of an 8 year old girl. ________ Can you get high off darvocet

Doesn't it suck that you finally get good enough to really appreciate the nuances of the different high-end boards, but there's almost no way to demo them :( I don't know if this is a consideration for you, but I'm borderline wide board guy, so I try to do what I can to stay on a standard board. I have ridden malamutes for a few years and I can get in to a really small size with them and they are pretty comfy warm and stiff. I had to return some Burton's (ION HD) because my skinny heel getting way too hard point pressure on the back of the boot on toesides. I finally shot the wad and ordered some FR2's just today actually. I've been booting out on the rear binding loop on heelsides (Salamon SPX Carbon). I like how the salomons ride, but no lift and a bit of a fat loop in back. Cateks should give some extra clearance on the heels plus a little rear foot lift... just in time to save me from wearing through the seat of my pants. We'll see. My wallet's definitely lighter now. ________ New relationship advice forums

It's funny though... These are the days when I really hope to see a good carver out there. I'm always reading about how great this board or that board holds on ice, and how certain technique allows you better control on ice. Thing is, everyone has their own definition of "ice". Today, the bare spots met my definition of "ice". Hardpack that was rained on and is now frozen. Not cold firm groomer or that chalky hardpack... that's not ice. Just this stuff, and possibly spring thaw/freeze groomer track on a cold morning... that stuff sucks too. I know even on my carving board, the best I'd be able to do would be to dig in enough to traverse across the trail without sliding down the face.... not even at riding speed, but just to get to the other side. Not leaving a track, but more like an ice skate.... wouldn't hold a lean or anything. I don't see a lot of carvers, admittedly, but in my 10-15 years of riding, I've yet to see a single rider - skier or boarder lay a track in what I'd consider ice. Not that I'm jealous... I don't enjoy the thought of doing it anyway, but the cynic in me always wonders how much of these statements are bravado or hyperbole. No offense to anyone... maybe I just haven't been in the right place at the right time yet. ________ Buy no2 vaporizer

Honestly it's not quite as bad as I expected - at least in VT. I was at Sugarbush today, and while the cold hard boilerplate abounds, there was quite a bit (5"+) of loose sandy sleet. Actually the perfect consistency to turn in and not have it just blow off leaving the bare ice underneath. I wasn't carving but there were some really fun soft lines. Not a beginner day though... gotta look beyond your tips(tip) and aim around the places where the ground is blue or shows cat tracks - I think it's just like riding trees. Don't know how that stuff will groom out for tomorrow though... a little too many ice-surprises for my carving abilities I think. ________ Nexium withdraw

You might go back through some of the recent SES photo galleries, then followup with the photog's and/or riders. I've been really impressed with a lot of those shots, but don't know the camera specs. http://www.bomberonline.com/ses/content/past_events.cfm ________ The Cigar Boss

Well I got a chance to try some of these great tips and I think it's helped. First off... my quads got destroyed! I think that's a good sign :o While I'm not dragging my hips yet, I'm doing well on trails that I used to have to skid/slow after a couple turns. I think my flippers are still out though... I can only focus on so many things at once. Interesting how addressing one problem can uncover another. I think part of my lazy posture was subconscious self-defense from losing my toeside edge. I hold heelsides as hard as my form will allow me to initiate. On toesides as the forces increase, sometimes I lose it at full tilt. The release-bite-release-repeat chatter feels like a jackhammer on my rear heel (pump-bump). So that got me focusing on why that was happening too - I think I'm edging the board more up front than in back (twisting). Focusing on balancing that seems to have helped as well. This last batch of discussion has me a little confused. I think the concept is the same - trying to get the body aligned (or at least keeping up with the turn), and introducing more pressure and angle to the edge to turn harder. It's the subtleties (to me) that I miss. I can relate to how tweaking the hip into the turn might have this additional pressuring effect - which is why I'm a little lost on the subtlety that WB disagrees with. WB, are you saying that you're hips should stay more or less in line with your toes, and everything should be done by driving knees and hips? ________ redhead girl Cams

You're going to need to learn to balance on one foot getting off the lift, cuz it would be a sin to step on that board. ________ LovelyWendie

The ONLY discount at all I found was tue/wed for VT'ers @$44. Actually an OK deal if you qualify. I don't know how they run it - if you could have a friend buy a couple tix if you went with them or not. ________ MOTORCYCLE TIRES

I'm actually a good softboot carver, and I've had some transition trouble. The rigid setup is very awkward to me. I'm getting better though, and it's certainly a blast, and is worth the effort. I love having both options and switching over after a few hours. I think I actually still carve better in softies, as long as the snow's not too crusty - but I'm sure that will change as I get more comfortable. ________ Babe Asian