mrjamie

phil does the guy on the cloud from Mario 64 follow you around with a camera or what? ;^ ) Lovely shot.

Though the 4WD is hardly a `race` bo.rd, I feel that using 63/60 angles is going half the way. OK, maybe a quarter f^_^; Using the advice to plan my turns, push and pull, and use my shoulders, my off-piste riding seems to have improved !dramatically! in the past two days alone. Granted I haven't been back to steep trees yet, but steep lift-lines are now almost unbearably fun. On the less-inclined tree runs, again benefitting from the advice to practice popping on piste, I was turning with the smoothest motions and at a quick pace to boot ! (no pun intended) I feel you on the scratches though (T_T)

this phone loves eating the replies I spend 40mins writing! Anyways, dave's advice on looking a few turns ahead and hardbooters suggestion to use my shoulder's in initiating turns worked beautifully together. What's more, all this steep off-piste riding has given my on-piste riding a small boost (and the peasants rejoiced). Thanks to all those who offered their advice.

Gah-I just lost a reply that took 20mins to type on this cellphone. To sum tgat lost message up: - thanks for the advice - with my back foot instead of pushind down and leaning back I tried down and forward - at the same time I pushed back with my front foot, giving it the leverage needed to steer while helping to maintain balance & center of gravity - the above stance is the `norm` used in initiaing EC turns. hoo-ray, somethng transfers over - the new stance+Dave's advice helped a lot with swiftness in turning, but I still get the heebie-jeebies looking domn steeps into a thick copse of trees: like phil reminded us of common knowledge, practice! There is no try, as Yoda would say; only do or do not -big turns on steep deep powder are !exquisite! Voila.

In open bowls and blank faces waiting for the edge to mosey on around is no sweat. Even under lifts there's no great need to make quick, sharp turns. But in woods crowded with trees and uneven terrain I'm having an awfully difficult time turning the board (prior 4WD 168) with the swiftness necessary to avoid returning with a woodprint of my face. The `technique` I'm using now is leaping and changing the position of my rear foot: besides a really tired back foot this results in (usually) either the laws of physics and his friend momentum bullying my downhill edge in the powder as soon as I land, or as I lift my back foot in preparation for `switching edges` the nose deciding it's more suited to life as a submarine. At least with the former I get to do a neat little flip. So I beseech you, fellow borders, to lend me your knowledge and offer your advice! I leave you now to go flip-flop down the back-country. thump-thomp-fumph--ahhh

Sinecure> thanks for the suggestion, I've duplicated the post over there. Sheffy> It's hard to tell how big the guide pack is from 3000 cubic inches and the picture alone -- not very encumbering, I hope? bullwings> thanks, but if I was worrying about cotton clothes I'd be way out of my league going backcountry :p

I'm a student, so I only have one board, powder or pack. That board is a Prior 4WD 168. Hoo-ray for hard boots.

I'm going to be hiking up mountains almost every day come February, and gear that keeps me warm and dry without suffocating, and a backpack that's can carry a board, snowshoes, water, a video-camera, and some snacks--without being ungainly or cumbersome, are both indispensable. Any suggestions for either the wear or the back-pack, or both, would be appreciated! thanks, Jamie

Ah, thanks for reminding me I had those, matt -- the toe pad is all replaced.

While I was hiking up at Naeba in Japan to get fresh powder, the toe pad on my right boot came off -- anyone know where I can get a replacement, or if the pads that bomber sells will fit on Head Stratos Pro boots? thanks, Jamie

Yea, getting to know your hill can lend you more confidence than you would at first imagine.

If you have any huge (50ft+) waterfalls in your area, jump off of them if you can do so in relative safely. Helps a lot with reducing fear from physical feats!

I agree with Erik about Powder / Trees. That said, sometimes when I've had enough of the sounds of pow-pow, I'll put on some downbeat/laidback/smooth tracks. Roykskopp, certain Jamiroquai songs, 'chillout' songs -- anything that gets me in a 'floating in space' sort-of mood. I don't know if I like listening to music that much while I'm riding hard-pack...more often than not I tend to zone-out the music anyways, and if it's a fast-paced song sometimes I (subconsciously?) try to fit the aggressiveness of my carving to the beat, and that's a fall waiting to happen ;). -J

longboard larry! ;)

yea Japan was sort-of like that too. We had a ton of snow early in the year and then in mid-january places were having temperatures characteristic of early-mid spring. D'oh! Wish I had gone earlier. The first day I went last season it had been snowing for a month _straight_, and then I get there and it starts raining. :lol:

Now's a good time to pick up surfing and skateboarding.

glad you're not screwed anymore!

svr - Thanks for the info, I'll be in japan next season as well so definitely will check out those spots! Zach - if that's an offer I'll take it up next time I'm out of the far east.

Yea, you're right. Will take a course when I move to Tokyo.

are both screwheads you stripped for the same toe bail? if you only have one screwhead per bail stripped, then take out the other screw, put the binding in a vice, and spin the toebail (preferably with mechanic force). The local bike (motorbike) shop did this for me. This was after being told by a hardware store and car garage that removing the toe bail would be "impossible." The bike shop guy said 'Let me see what I can do' and had it done in maybe 15 seconds.

http://homepage.mac.com/mrjamie/PhotoAlbum16.html whee! avalanches not a big danger this time of year at this location. No weather changes for a week-or-so before either, so no big worries.

I just rode my first backcountry Saturday. At Tsugaike in Japan, took the Gondola as far as it goes then hiked up to the summit (2.5-3 hours? My snowshoes were broken and I ended up taking them off, heh). Nice ride down to the bottom of the gondola. Done in hard boots and a prior 4WD of course :-) Man backcountry is the pure stuff! Give me more! Need more... Pics up tomorrow! Movie too, but it's just me bubbling with glee at the anticipation of my first run ever down the backcountry. cheers!

nice backpack. 5 stars for you.

kipstar: yea, most of them extend through turns and tuck between turns. I saw some guys practicing push-pull turns, but it almost seemed like one guy had asked his friend to teach him to carve like I was carving...heh. They stopped after four or five runs and went back to the way everyone else was carving Rain: Yea, I always hit up the onsen after a good ride ;). We actually had an outdoor onsen rented out for the night, but unfortunately couldn't convince all the girls and guys to get in together. Boo! ;)

on a more funny note, I was told (in Japanese) by a liftie, 'Ah! You're the real thing! Thanks for coming to our mountain!' hah.