Dave*

I am in whistler right now (about to eat lunch) Bumped into my old neighbor and a hardbooter , he owns a bed n breakfast and can get deal from him. PM me if anyone wants the details,....put something with hardboot in title or ya get spam filed. He will be coming up on the 20th also, Chris P also might join the herd with a hangover. Dave*

In the Imortal words of Frank Costanza " Theres got to be a better way!!!!!" I started with a full size carabiner on my belt, ony problem was it pokes out that way and having to lift jacket to attach helmet via chinstrap, I then built a 4 inch loop of 1 inch nylon webbing which the belt goes thru on one end and the carabiner on the other. "biner" sits flat , mouth of biner sits just at bottom of jacket. This has become my third hand for attaching gloves, wrist guards, helmet, grocery bags, , goggles etc while walking to and from the vehicle. As I generally carry boards on safetly leash over my right shoulder , I run my biner set up on the left so the paint on my helmet doesnt get chipped by boards edges. I have crashed with biner on belt more times than I care to count and never have had issue with it. Dave

Can not comment on the Dupraz, would love to try one though, +1 on Bobs sugestion of the 4x4, for your size and weight go 179cms , the 10.5ish scr should handle any tight trails and trees, you might find the 21.5 waist a bit narrow for 27-28 m AT boots depending on prefferred angles, other than that great board I own two 179s , oh yeah get the quad glass or the titanal "blackjack" version if durablility is not a concern. so +1 on Newcarvers suggestion of the Prior ATV with one caveat, get it built specifically for you on the stock 171 dimensions but get it stiffened about 20% over stock , that is what I did and I am about your size in both feet and weight, in fact 90 minutes ago was poking around in knee deep freshie with no probs whatsoever ( ATV has much more powder friendly nose shape than 4x4) , the board also carves like a demon and would handle the AT boot width. or Prior 177 "fatjack", 23 cm waisted titanal built off the 177WCR core that was widened, same nose /tail/ and 11.9 scr, if this thing had a more ATV style nose it would be a true quiver killer, With the WCR nose and stiffness she dont get up on plane quite as well as I would like in the deep stuff , but holy %^&* on everything from ice to 15cms or less of powder this thing is a rocket. Would also handle AT boot angles. There you go my two cents Dave*

The March 28 2008 report Dave* will be sleeping well tonight. High overcast, below freezing all day, a bit windy, and approx 5 cms new overnight with maybe a few new cms over the course of the day. Hero cord to be had all day long, off piste remains soft pack with the odd patch of fresh from days past. Took spare gear up for Rod ( the coppertop helmet), turned him loose on an old 163 Alp with raceplates and 413s, he took to it well , a few soft boot tendencies to break per usual, looks like he has put HB gear on the to do list. We put him back on the softies around 1130 and started poking around in the trees, Got introduced to a secret not so legal tree stash that I can not believe I have missed the past two seasons ( that will teach me to listen to signage),,, something tells me my pass is going to get clipped before seasons end, ( note to self: make sure no ski patrol sees me going in or coming out),,, stellar Ended the day on Raven, #1, #3, #4 were all groomed well ( as was upper bowen), as we have had consistent sub zero there has been no melt freeze so things are staying very tasty indeed. Rode continuously to 1515hrs, no lunch break, Damn those wings and beer tasted good at days end. Roy: you must have scored that Rossi U/T off craigslist, I would say take it up to try , I have one and the only way it would come out tomorrow is if we had 30cms and minus 8 degrees C, I stuck with my 79 4x4 today and it was doing just fine in 60cms of steep tight trees, so bring your 4x4 up as primary ride. Joey the liftie , he still needs bindings I believe, his days off are mon/tues so I wont get to ride with him. Dave* will be riding tomorrow and sunday, legs getting a bit thrashed , have been on board 17 of the past 18 days ( squeezed two days work in with a grouse night ride after work that one night) George is now hooked up with some 125s ,,, we are expecting big things from you now buddy...Bring inclinometer on sunday, Dave* is very curious about Raven 4 aka back on black. End of Dave* report

The Mar 27 2008 report Up early to about minus 2c, high overcast, no new, Corduroy stellar some great carving, Off piste still some very smooth soft pack with the odd stash "O" fresh in the tighter stuff, rode the 179 4x4 , should have snagged the 171 ATV for todays ventures off piste. Started snowing/hailing around 12ish, got about 2cms of accum Fog rolled in around 1330ish and stuck, legs were shot so quitting time about 1415hrs. It was still just below zero at quitting time so tomorrow should be very good regardless of snowfall. Things to note- PGS/Fork roped off for BX track construction today, not sure how long that will go on for. Run of the day Raven #1 aka crazy raven ( the only groomed over there) Looks like Joey the liftie now has boots and a board and is ready to join the ranks.

I too will have a crack at getting up there tomorrow evening ,, earliest ETA for me would be 1800 to Grouse parking lot, ?? 20 minutes to top in gondy?? Where to meet, ? its been about 10 years since I have set foot on Grouse. Dave*

The Yesterday Mar 21 2008 report Sunny, about 10-15 cms fresh snow, and a lot of people, spent the day poking around in the trees to get away from them. The Today Mar 22 2008 Report Sunny, no new, about minus 2c in morning warming to around plus 2-3 by 1400hrs, Considering it was a sunny saturday there were "few" people on the hill Hero corduroy the whole day, a few wales to contend with Run of the day a tie between Upper Bowen Groomer and Raven 3 (groomed), Roy out and about both days

The Thursday March 20th 2008 report. I do believe that ULLR has hit the winter switch again ( and happy I am ) Again a few below zero c, windy, snowing, and another 10 - 15 cms on top of yesterdays accum. The only " downfall " to all this was poor visiblility, however for those who gravitate to the arboreal environs as a second backup habitat the day was stellar, once again travelling migratory pathways normally only done in Dec and January, . Joey the liftie popped the rope at 0837hrs, tagged the first chair up lions with two other guys, getting lots of first chairs lately. Very few people on the hill which was surprising considering its spring break for the kids, The wind and snowfall was covering tracks up back to virgin within 50-60 minutes Had about a 50 minute window of the fog lifting from 1200hrs to 1300 hrs on lions side ( eagle remained socked in ) then back to fog everywhere, The legs gassed around 1330hrs, pushed to 1400 hrs and decided a) I need food b) quit before I get intimate with a conifer c) save some gas for tomorrow. Looks like more precip tonight so bindings going back on the Option North Shore, and I will be taking it easy drink wise at the fundraiser tonight ( famous last words) Tomorrows a stat holiday, will the usual suspects be out and about? If so bring a tree/powder deck and something carve capable so both bases covered. Ending Dave* report

First off , sorry about missing last nights ride, the legs were out of gas, yesterday morning was a top 5 carving day for Cypress this season, about 2-3cms fresh on top of smooth groom and below zero until around 1400hrs when it softened to the "rubber ice" consistency( that 2-3cms got wet and packed down), the nitro lady also spotted by me. Conditions were so good I rode from 0833 ( first up lions), until 1530 when the legs gassed. Glad to see my "Dave* was here" marks on midway lasted until you guys made it up. Now the March 19 2008 report. Windy , below zero , with approx 10-15cms fresh and fairly fluffy snow, snowing intermittently, that wet stuff from the other day bonded well so todays trees were awsome, visibility variable from very foggy to decent visiblity, Run of the day any of the tree laps off Panorama that drop skiers right of the half pipe, across pipe road to second tree patch, much less worked over than moons to many skiers working that section today. Legs were hurtin by 1330hrs so home we went, Tomorrow should prove to be a good carving day if temps stay below zero and no new or another great tree day if some new snow keeps coming down. Dave*

The monday March 17 2008 report. A surprisingly good day First off no hangover, minus 1 c warming to about plus 2 c, snowing with approx 12-15 cms fresh "cypress Powder", its exactly what is needed to cover up the hard pack layer that has been formng up. Lots of racer kids on eagle chair , the provincial mini ski racer championships happening. Otherwise hill empty , tons of fresh lines, was poking around in the trees for the first time in a few weeks,. Hopefully another dump hitting tonight could make for a very entertaining morning tomorrow. Dave*

Something to be said for being a moving "tank" , thats why I wear "BOBB" the "big orange brain bucket", As to the near miss, I was like "where f*%k did he come from, he was behind me a turn or so ago", not used to people being able to catch up that quick. As to the crash a) your not having fun till somebody is falling down b) its always good to be on the front row of a good titser c) the Canadian judge gave it a 5.5 , 0.5 deducted from the perfect score of 6.0 as not enough amplitude/air between bounces Near miss aside , it was a fun morning Dave*

The Saturday March 15 report Hovering around zero to plus 1 c at 0900hrs and steadily warming to a plus 4-5 C by 1430. High overcast with a few afternoon sunny patches , so pretty good visibility all day. Early AM was frozen cord for about an hour , then about a 3-4 hour window of progressivly softening with great carving conditions, to a slow wet spring schmoo by quitting time at 1430hrs. A few of the usual suspects, Roy n Pierre, and we were joined by George ( Crucible ) for the morning. Apparently this was to be the "good" day of the 5 day forecast weather wise, not sure what to expect tomorrow be it Rain/Snow/fog or all of the above at the same time. Dave*

The Friday March 14 2008 report Temps hovering around zero C, wet snow coming down from arrival to about 1030hrs, approx 5 cms accumulation of the wet heavy on top of frozen firm cord, still very edgeable. About 1030hrs the snow stopped and a big cloud rolled in creating a fog bank with very poor visibility, gave up at around 1115hrs, If the temps go below zero tonight there is a potential for some good groom tomorrow. Lots of little ski racer kids over on eagle side, otherwise hill empty, only about 4 rows of cars in main lot at quitting time. See ya up there tomorrow in the AM Dave*

Crucible, I actually have two Raptors, the orange and a no paint version, Both from the North Ski and boardswap that used to live on the bottom of Mtn Highway by Marine, ( It has moved to the old Dollarton Highway) About once or twice a year they get in a bunch of Dainesse samples, its luck of the draw, havent seen any new stuff in a good bunch of months. The Raptor has proven to be my best fitting MTBhelmet so far. Dave*

The saturday March 08 2008 report. Woke up expecting a non stellar day,, I was very happy to be proven wrong. Temps started around plus 2 C, warmed to about plus 4-5 C High overcast with infrequent sunny patches. Fist thing in morning beautiful firm grippy just starting to melt hardpack, surprisingly free of groomer wales/divots, that lasted about 1.5 hrs The snow got progressively slushier as the day progressed to essentially 6-12 inch deep spring schmoo, Very few people on the hill today, golf clubs must be getting broken out or something. A few of the usual suspects out and about, Pierre and Roy, Roy looked pretty damned happy on his "new blue" ride. Tomorrow should be a fun day again Dave*

The Friday March 07 2008 report Woke up checked the report, wandered out front with the binocs eyeballed the hill and said screw it, back to bed, things were looking clear by about 1200hrs so off to the hill we go. Hit parking lot by about 1240hrs Plus a couple degrees C, high overcast, snow was a very soft layer about 6-10cms deep of spring schmoo with a very firm pack layer underneath. Things were very carveable if you had the huevos and the trust to tip the deck on edge and cut thru the top layer of sludge and ride the smooth hard pack underneath. The hard part was not levering the edge from hitting body parts on the lumpy sludge on top. Hand draggging not recomended lest you rip offending hand/arm out of socket. Gave my self a 3.5 hour session, quit around 1600ish when it started to rain a bit down low and a few snowflakes up high. Talked to one kid on the chair who came up early AM, sounds like it was a peasouper until about 1130 hrs, I guess I made the right call. There are two Johnnies , the park supervisor is the crazy tattoed Austrailian guy, he has been at Cypress a few years now, not the pudgy twinkie supervisor you are thinking of. Wish I could predict the condtions for tomorrow , could be snow , more likely rain ( that is Joey the lifties prediction ) ,

Here is the list of plates I own, not all are rideable due to breakage and lack of parts. Lacroix Emery 4-5 generations of Burton race Plate 1 generation of Burton Automat ( the heel slipper bail type) Last generation Trident Sports Rattraps(a few canucks will remember these) TD1s standard bails TD2s standard bails Voile split board plates Oxygen "step in" a funky metal catch that is on toe bail , allows step in capability, havent ridden em yet they came on a board I wanted, will try em out someday. Now I am a "clydesdale" class rider at around 230lbs and I have to say feel/ride wise my favorites are the burton race plates ( especially the carbon) -I like the bit of flex -I like the single layer interface to board ( less monkeying to adjust or swap the binders) -easy to modify -light weight -very few parts -large foot print on the board , unlikely to toast a board Having said that I admit to destroying a few bails both heel n toe and to shearing off a few M6s at the block tower plate interface, My next favorite is the old Trident Rattraps, about half way in stiffness between the race plates and TD2s with yellow and suspension kit, They are all metal and once set up for boot length very idiot proof, I wish I had bought a bunch before Trident stopped making them, and they were a local Vancouver company to boot. TD2s , then TD1s , are next in the preferred list, my only complaint is I like a bit of give in my binding, even with yellow and a suspension kit I just cant get truly happy for my varied terrain riding, I would like to see Bomber add an outward "bow" shape to the toe bails and maybe elastomer kits to go between all the layers including the bail block top plate interface which is what I did to my TD1s to make them rideable. My next change would be a much stronger bail spring, then the toe bail be made a similar profile to the burtons for less toe overhang. No flaming thanks its just my wish list. One thing I would love to see is one of the "major" players in this business come up with a bail retro fit kit for burton race plates , imagine a bomber style bail block and bail that could bolt on to a set of race plates, while we are at it get some one to cook up the old burton aluminum discs in 4 hole,,, F2 and Phiokkas are on the "to do" list jsut havent come across any at the right price yet. Dave*

The Weds March 05 2008 report Got the surprise call from work this morning, work overstaffed ( when was the last time that happened ) and do I want the day off, after a 3 millisecond consideration I was scurrying to get my gear together. Arrived at 0845 to sunshine, zero degrees warming to plus 2 c as the day progressed. Snow was a firm and very grippy corduroy in the morning warming to a nice firm spring schmoo by early afternoon. In summary ,,, hero snow. As a side bonus very few people on the hill. Funny thing happened , was shooting the bull with the terrain park supervisor when his two worker kids showed up, they as expected were full of questions RE gear/speed/etc, Johnny quickly threw the gauntlet down on them to follow me carve for carve down midway, next thing you know I have for the next couple laps the entire terrain park staff trying to follow me down a featureless blue groomer , their big question was how to get that low on the heelsides, ended up giving a few tips, sounds like the hardbooters antics on midway this season has been keeping the parkrat staff moderatly entertained. PS; to the tuesday night crew, sorry didnt make it, got out of work a bit late.

I seem to remember a thread along these lines from a few years back on the old BOL forums. Many a physics formula thrown down involving speed/radius/lean angle etc. What I seem to remember is the key points ( and they be very blurry) - on a flat surface carving at a lean angle of 45degrees is about 1 lateral gee ( lean angle is "plumb bobbed" thru your center of gravity) -on flat surface carving at a lean angle of 22.5 degrees is about 2.7 lateral gee give or take a few to account for my long term memory loss. - the gee forces go up exponentially the further over you lean - I think the gee forces were reduced a bit as flat surface got tilted to down hill. No flaming thanks, just firing that from long ago vestigial memories. Dave*

What type of powder are you hunting? Big open bowls with deep dry powder- something along the lines of a rossi undertaker/prior powstick/178 dynastar 4807, just be carefull you dont snap off a tail if landing cockeyed ( a big swallowtail design flaw IMHO), I own the undertaker and 2 4807s ( 168 n a 178), I must say the undertaker is a pain in the butt in tight stuff and bumps, not due to length but the square tail shape. Tight Trees with 15-30cms of coastal wet stuff- Option Northshore/Burton Fish/Prior Khyber, I own a northshore and have demoed the other two, fun little boards in the tight stuff, great float for their size, they do however suck monkey nuts if you end up on hardpack, to much taper and way to soft. The average in bounds resort powder day with 10-15cms of new, and you expect to do a few bowls, tight trees, a bit of groom, and the inevitible bumps to get to the good stuff, give me a 165-175 BX style deck some favorites of mine are my custom Prior Byzik BX(almost retired), Prior 167 playas BX(almost retired), F2 169 eliminator wide, Oxygen Supercross, Prior ATV, and even my old 165 Burton Fusion(thinking of retirement). Its these things I gravitate to for most of my mixed powder days, and you can hammer them on hardpacked. The Prior Spearhead in the bigger sizes looks interesting to me, havent demoed it yet. Its design seems to bridge the gap between the last two groups mentioned. Key features being,surface area for float, longish nose profile to get on top, lots of set back, and a medium amount of taper, The spearhead is on my next most wanted list. The Spearhead and the Dupraz shaped decks are what I would seriously look at studying and or modding for a versatile powder deck. For those that want to know I weigh about 220-230lbs and ride plates on all my boards , mostly on west coast conditions so my views are a bit skewed I guess. Dave*

The Feb 29 2008 report ,,,,,,, Merry Leap Year Hit the parking lot this morning to temps of about plus 4 celcius and a fairly furious downpour of rain, so the rain gear got broke out, by the time I had hiked to the bottom of midway the rain had tapered to a intermittent drizzle for the rest of my morning. Snow was a firm spring schmoo, very carveable just watch out for the plethora of death cookies, divots, groomer troughs etc, amazingly very few wales in the overall picture. More grooming done O/N on Lions side but spent most of the morning on Raven side. Visibility variable, a few fog/lowcloud banks would roll in every once in a while, and a light wind kicked up by 1000ish, The ravens were going off in that very cool acrobatic show this am. Run of the day again was Raven #1, I give a tip of the hat to the groomer buffing that one up, considering its spring snow they have to work with some groomer is going above and beyond over there ( are you listening groomer guy that covers the lions chair side) Rode till 1100hrs, got bored , ran out of new tunes on the old 1 gig player so home for a nice nap. For those coming out to play tomorrow be prepared for spring conditions, get there early as the crowds will turn the schmoo into humps and lumps pretty quick. The Count Things worth counting today= 0

The Thurs Feb 28 2008 report It appears the big "spring conditions switch" has been thrown. Cut banks looking suspiciously brown, lots of conifer "heads " poking up off piste , . Dave* does not like this disturbing trend, dance for ULLR, dance I tell you, bring winter back. Hit the parking lot around 0830 to plus 2celcius, high cloud cover with very intermittent sunny patches. Lions chair side had minimal grooming done, collins only, decent enough shape but hey its collins. Eagle chair side much nicer, a firm spring schmoo in the start warming to a medium spring schmoo by 1300hrs at which time I was burying the ATV and the slush couldnt hold the lateral. It was a tie for run of the day, Raven #1 was buffed to perfection and had the usual lack of traffic so had to punch a few furrows into it, the co-winner was midway aka lower bowen, the midway chair was broken down but had a very nice 4 groomer wide strip beside it that was almost untouched, so back up lions boonie bash the trees to land at the top of the groomers for the money shot, took some before after pics need to upload and see if turned out. The off piste was quite entertaining as well once fully softened. The mountain was very deserted today, I think there were more staff on hill than customers, and most of the customers were familiar looking passholders. The counts Other HBers spotted=0 Rows of cars main lot at quitting time= 6 Eagle Chair laps per hour=12-13 ( it started fast then they geared er down) Chairs ridden with other people= 2 ( over a 4.5 hour span) distance wet gloves left in backpack for three days can be smelt= 6 ( woops)

I am back, after a near two week long stint of no internet, I am not at all impressed with Rogers Internet customer service and the fact that they have a contract with my most hated of all companies UPS. Got the new job so my days off are now thurs, friday, sat, sunday , one week ,,, frid, sat , sunday the next. So expect to see Dave* riding on tuesday evenings ( when not setting up new modem) as I now get off work at 1700 hrs on mondays and tuesdays, so could potentially be on hill by 1815hrs if I hustle and take the right route to mountain. Will restart my updates on thursday. Dave*

5'11' 32" inseem, I like a 22" center center stance , flat flat, and 5-8* of splay, I will go as low as 21" stance if thats all I can get from the inserts. I ride alot off piste and trees, I find the wider stance helps a great deal. I have lots of body mass so no problem bending boards, I do get made fun of by some with my "caveman stance" I dont care it works for me. Dave*

The tuesday Feb 12 2008 report Up bright and early to a nice fog bank with intermittent patches of rain and a temp of about plus 1 c warming to about plus 4 c by 1400hrs. No new snow, there was however corded firm spring schmoo progressing to medium spring schmoo by quitting time, fun stuff just couldnt see often enough to let er rip. Did I mention the fog at its lightest a 4/10 at its heaviest a 8/10 on the patented Dave* Fogometer Tm , that combined with a light misting of spring rain made for a challenge. Still very fun in the "semi seeable " patches , lasted to 1400hrs/ The counts Things seen = 0 ( it was to foggy)