Dave*

The Monday Feb 11 2008 report Didnt head to whistler, checked the snow report and figured no sense dukin it out with the crowds. Off to Cypress then.... Blessed be the hollywood parking , the freestyle comp over, they are taking stage/scaffolding etc down, still occupying some valuable parking space .. Minus 1c, snowing light to moderate, medium overcast with good visibility. Snow was approx 6-8 cms over top of some firm groomed, or off piste a bit of the old dust on crust. All chairs running even "old rickety" the sky chair was spooling. Most of my morning was spent over on Raven, #1, #3, and #6 ( aka the catrack of death) were groomed, I guess all the people were abusing Lions and Eagle as very few people over this area, nailed first tracks down #3 which was run of the day for me( so good had to do 5 more), also was the first person down #5 at about 1100hrs admittedly dust on top of lumpy taters but still nary a track on it at that time of the day. Took the MP3 as I knew I would be riding solo, sure makes the lift ride a lot more entertaining, even riding with tunes kind of fun on a deserted hill day. Time to redo the playlist for riding I think. If the snow keeps up overnight could be a good day again in the AM, might have to throw bindings back on the old option Northshore for some arboreal spacial bisection. The days counts Average songs per Lions lift ride= 1.5 Average songs per Eagle lift ride =1.5 Average songs per Raven lift ride =2.5

The Sunday Feb 10 2008 report Once again the damned frestyle comp forced me to park in the nosebleed section, Dave* is unhappy aboot that. Temp hovering around zero to plus 1 c, no new, mild to moderate fog ranging from a 4/10 to a 6/10 depending on section and altitude made for some challenging visiblity issues, at least it wasnt raining. The snow was a firmish intermittently lumpy cord, definitly firmer than yesterday, more groomer wales/divots in sections telling me certain sections done before it froze last night. Fun snow when you could see, although almost dislocated a finger on a little lumplet of something, Note to self keep the hands off the snow a bit more. Favorite run of the day , bottom half of Raven #3, best vis of the day and no one there. Did a few laps with some of the usual suspects, Boris/Ruwi both in twinkie suits. I am sure Boris will add on to this. Quit at noonish, gear maintenance/tinkering day, contemplating whistler tomorrow. The days counts TD2s on top of small brown cars=1 (Roy??) Average speed down cypress Bowl road=30kmh ( damn you school bus!!!) Meters of traffic jam at road check bottom of road = 500

The Feb 09 2008 morning report Arrived to "parking lot" at 0820 , got directed to 1/2 way down 1st lot down cypress bowl road, that made me a bit cranky, I had forgotten about the freestyle ski comp this weekend, does not bode well for us vancouverites when the olympics come. Conditions were plus 1degree celcius, lightly raining, light fog about a 3/10, calm winds, snow was wet softish corduroy. fun stuff to carve on just hard to see, required goggle squeegee every 2-3 turns, Did my usual midways, lions, eagles, ravens circuits before calling it a morning at 1130 due to extreme wetness leaking down the pants, to much hip dragging finally took the seam out of my pants making big scoop for water, there were very few people up actually riding most likely due to the rainy conditons. Note to self put wallet in ziplock baggy and pack the rain gear on days like this. **Two gear reviews** 1) Princess Auto neoprene "horizon" gloves, best 13 bucks I have spent in a while, hands were bone dry and warm after 2.5 hours of rain riding, I actually started with my Drop brand spring gloves which were soaked after my first three laps. The neoprenes get two Gnarled Dave* thumbs up for wet weather riding, unsure of long term durablity on real granlular/abrasive hardpack. I can see some strategic Shoe Goo'ing and Ptex palm plates being done on these. 2) 177 Prior Titanal Fatjack mounted with burton carbon plates. 23cm waist, 11.9 SCR, Shortish almost kessler style nose, Quite stiff compared to the other titanal boards on Priors rack ( compares to 177WCR with quad glass stiffness wise)..... This is a board that I imediatly felt very comfortable on, was dragging elbows in the first six turns, That could be that I am just very familiar with the "Prior" ride and spend a lot of time on ATV/4x4/177WCR or the fact that I think the Fatjack is just a widened/stiffer Ti 177WCR, none the less great edge hold (( will be even better once I go 0 base, 88 degree edge)) with the stock 0 degree 90 degree setup and no detuning, Less high strung than my 177 WCR, could be the lower angles ran on fatter board or the titanal. I had it set up at about 53ish Fr/ 45 R flat flat back binder as far back as possible front up 22 inches center to center ( my standard set up 22" with 8+- degrees splay). Fatjack was quite content loafing around nice and relaxed , was also very happy being smacked on the a## and being ridden hard. Slightly less manueverable than my ATV set with similar angles, Fatjack stiffer with about 15cms more effective edge due to length and much stubbier nose profile. Still an easily boony basheable deck. Much easier than 19.5 waist 177WCR or 21.5 waist 179 4x4 just due to slacker attainable boot angles with wider waist. In the soft wet corduroy there was no fear of burying the nose after a few turns, and this thing has enough beef I dont think my 240 lbs will be able to fold it, The short nose may prove to be less than ideal for deep powder but time will tell , hoping enough width will give float. Hopefully things will drop in temp tonight, am curious to see how this will work on icier/hardpack conditions tomorrow. I would describe the ride of the Fatjack as being an ATV/4x4 all jacked up on steroids, completly different feel than WCR due to angle difference, I think my stiffened ATV may be hitting the pine a bit more , there is a new favorite in town. The 177 Ti Fatjack gets two gnarled Dave* thumbs and an uprised hairy big toe up. ( am withholding one hairy toe for the next gen Fatjack with bigger ATV style nose) ** end gear review ** The days counts Other Hardbooters spotted=0 Hummers spotted=1 Plastic Cypress Bags worn=1 ( Thanks Jarrod) Hours plastic bag worn before tearing=1.5 Average turns between goggle squeegee needed = 3 Dirty Looks from gas station guy after being handed soggy money=1

I have been riding full face MTB helmets for quite a few years now, FF helmets have saved my teeth a few times, cut a lot of sun/wind exposure, I find no different than a standard helmet if wearing goggles which are the limiting factor to vision anyways. Started with Bell Rythm Pro, then a sixsixone, now on to a Dainese Raptor the best of the bunch for comfort on me. Buy based on fit, not looks or brand, vents can always be plugged with open cell foam, look into quick straps for your goggles, Dave*

Hello XY Dave* of the orange full face is actually up on hill saturday to tuesdays ( once in a while I miss a day if whistler bound) , if you see me just yell and say its XY As to the boards I have a blue and orange 164 palmer channel Ti and I can say with confidence it rides nothing like the 4x4. The Cannel Ti is very skittish and nervous at high edge angles unlike some of the other wider BX decks I have ridden. Now the Prior 4x4 I cant say enough good things about, much like C5 or Boris, I personally own two 179s, it is for me a do anything board except for powder ( I am fat , it sinks ), I have a few different WCRS, two old gen 185 WCR square tails, long SCR, stiff not great in tight traffic, ton of fun if enough room to let them do their thing, way too much board for me at my skill level. I recently purchased a 177WCR trad construction with the metal style spoon tail. great little deck, lots of pop, 11.9 SCR lets me do anything with up to and including boonie bashing, not as forgiving as the titanal version that I demoed but it is quickly becoming a "go to" board on hardpack days. It rides like a very high strung 4x4, it likes to be flogged hard, if you relax on it it will punish you , I have a stiffened up ATV that is a personal fave, think fat 4x4/skinny BXer, probably a closer ride to the palmer just way more stable on edge, it is however getting close to duplicating an existing ride of yours. ( I ride fat BX style decks all the time just with a bit of underhang, not an issue, just a bit more effort to roll on edge, bonus you never boot out) Based on your statement of riding you cant go wrong with an appropriate size 4x4, I would reccomend demoing a few WCR before dropping cash and see if you like the "high strung" WCR vs "mellower 4x4", square tail vs "spoon" tail WCR, titanal vs trad construct WCR, and try a few different SCRs and lengths, if doing a lot of local hills ie Cypress the 177 WCR with 11.9 is worth short listing if you already have the palmer ready to go. I ussually have 2-3 boards in my truck so stop me and we can turn you loose on something ( very easy if normal foot and riding 27 mondo SB series at 295mm, dont even have to monkey with binders) Dave*

Hey Boris, google up "intuition sports" for the contact #s they are right in Vancouver, south side of Cambie bridge beside Maynards Auctioneers. Odds are you will speak to Rob and or Crystle, nice folks, They have the tube heater system that does not require removal from the shell. had a set done there a few years back by Rob, seems to have a handle on liner molding. They honour CASI for pro deals ( take your card) Not sure what they would charge but it would be worth a phone call and a quick detour enroute to/from Cypress one day. Hope that helps, see ya on the hill saturday. Dave*

As a " dozen board diva/board whore" I have to second what BadBrad said and that is you always need another board.................. However having the finest surgical instrument doesnt make you a surgeon, so technique (lessons) and mileage (lift passes) are probably better money spent than getting another deck ( it just kills me to say that ) If going second board route a Prior ATV ( think 4x4 but fatter and more nose) would be a worthy additon for those bump/crud/powder or even corduroy days,

My own theory on goggles is 1)buy a two sets of Identical gogs when they go on sale, and alternate the goggle instead of swapping the lens, added bonus if something breaks or wears out you got some spare parts. ( most come with two lenses so enough to last a few seasons), I dont think you need more than two lense tints but two sets of gogs could give you 4 different tints to play with. 2) I try to stick to brands common to my local shops and likely to be found if I travel, say what you want about Spy/Oakley/Scott but I guarantee you can find a spare lense at any resort in north america should something break, If I have to buy new stuff I like my old stuff to work for parts.. 3) I ride in rain or near rain conditions a lot so will only buy a goggle with a single plane curve, makes it ieasier to squeegee off, Had a set of Oakley A frames once with the compound curve lense real pain in the rain. 4) Mirrored lense nice in the bright but DO NOT wipe if they get wet, your mirror finish will scratch off quickly(Oakley/spy/arnette are what I tried with mirror) and be hard to see out of. 5) My favorite brands that I have used in descending order -Spy (blizzard model I believe, my current favorite) -Arnnette ( two different models both good, cant remember model) -Oakley (O frame I liked, A Frame I hated), the foam that contacts the face tends to delam on me more than other brands -Zeal unkown model, cheap, no complaints -Carrera , two sets unused still in boxes, polarized good in sun?, cheap, -Scott- one set hated em never buying again,never could get the lense to seat properly, possible cause of fogging on them 6) Should mention that I stay away from anything that has the strap connected by any breakable "widget" thingies, if the strap dont go thru a good old fashioned slot in the frame of the goggle I will not touch it. 7) Favorite tints seem to be light bronze, yellow, and rose for the bulk of my riding, (foggy to overcast most of the time) , not impressed with the light blue tint I tried, and a nice grey light blocking tint is nice on the spring sunshine days. 8) Alternating Goggles between days and proper drying technique is key if you ride multiple days in a row in moist conditions, also never store in duffle bag with wet gear if you plan on seeing the next day. 9) take your helmet with you when shopping to check for fit my two cents for what its worth on goggles Dave*

The tuesday Feb 05 2008 report. Its fricken puking up there, about 20 new and coming down at about 5-8cm per hour based on accum on truck. The only problem is high wind up top (100 plus kmh) and power outages to the chairs so things werent opening other than the bunny chair. Will be scrutinizing the web site and head up with flashlight and headlamp for some night riding. Should be some phenomenal powder if the wind dies off. Pack yer 4807s Boris n Roy. I think its time to start packing a good book , thermorest, and sleeping bag to hang out in truck and wait the storms out. The Canadian National team was up today , had a very quick chat with Fawcett, thats the most kesslers with hangl plates I think cypress has ever seen, probably the biggest single group of HBs on Cypress ever, Recognized a few of the faces from race reports. All the skinny race boards and "ski boots" is certainly throwing a bunch of the locals for a loop as I discovered yapping with some jibbers for the 1.5 hours sitting waiting in maze for chair to open ( they finally gave us the " no go" at that time). Havent done a count in a few reports Kesslers with Hangl = 12+ Other brand of boards spotted with Fawcetts crew= 0 Alexa Loo's hotness scale= 10/10 , gets an 8/10 on looks and 2 bonus points for being on HB gear. Dave* was to shy to wander over and do the Joey Trebiani " How you dooin ". Cute chiropractor girls met=1 People in common with above=8 Laps ran on bunny chair=6 ( see previous 2 items) The Dave* report

The Feb 04 2008 Whistler Report. Well woke up early and headed to whistler, traffic was light at that ungodly hour and made good time, ( only 5 minutes off my planned ETA to creekside) Off the top of Red chair at 0835 hrs to Minus 12 celcius, no new , and high overcast. The snow was a very fast glass smooth hero corduroy with nary a groomer wale anywhere , that was some of the best cord I have had all season, I tell you after riding Cypress's cord most of the year with the wales/ripples/gouges this stuff was too easy. Lots of terrain fenced off over red chair side as prep work for up-coming race going on, funky new tunnel installed on 86st/wild card intersection. Light snowfall and some foggy patches rolled in by quitting time, No other HBers spotted riding ( did see a "couple" guy/ n GF at the racks) and Prior said he was up for a couple hours in the AM when I stopped for a visit at the shop. As to the shop visit ended up coming home with a new addition to the harem, she's got a bit of beef on her bones and is likely to kick the crap out of me but I brought her home anyways, (177cm 23cm titanal fatjack ) should be an interesting ride, very stiff with Titanal, will update soon. Briefly eyeballed Chris's new test deck rigged with Hangl Plate set up, he said it rides very smooth but is quite a heavy set up. Sure looks Cool. Dave*

The Saturday Feb 02 report Minus 1 c to zero, overcast, decent visibility, a few cms (4-8cm) new. Lift lines light. ( I quit at noon, things to do) Cypress bowl road a bit slick on way up, lots of people having problems or going slow with chains ( Why do people not buy snow tires?). Road crews must have been busy while I was riding as it was pretty bare on my trip out. They continue to buff up the odd Raven lap ( #3 done today) , I have to admit I am unable to carve the steepest part of that pitch, need to work on the steep terrain carving technique. Did not see any of the usual suspects around today , Will be riding again tomorrow. Dave*

The past four days update ( I got lazy with the puter) Jan 26 2008- 10 cm new on hard pack jan 27 2008 - no new , nice powderoy, some raven groomeed jan 28 2008- no new, corduroy to die for, some raven groomed jan 29 2008-( today) , holy @#$% that storm puked down , approx 30-45 cms of new, tons of fresh lines , no line ups at the lifts, explored some new areas, lots of new big time blowdown over moons area after that last windstorm a week or so ago. Raven very good , finding some new tree lines in between the runs, as the snow goes up the conifers get further apart, tight but doable. Working tomorrow , more snow expected, those that can make it enjoy, it should be very good.

Jan 22 2008 report Another stellar day of carving , minus a few degrees C, calm winds , bluebird,corduroy to die for ( a few scrapy patches in the narrower high traffic zones, upper PGS esp, all the jibbers in the pipe qualifiers bombing it ), Broke out the 185 factory prime for the AM to about 1130, then broke out the 177 WCR for the afternoon till quitting time at 1445hrs. The old FP with race plates is way more forgiving of mistakes than the 177 WCR with TD2s and a susp kit, how much is board and how much is binding related I am not sure, next week will move race plates to the WCR and see. Did a little 30 min teaching session just for fun, am finding the CASI kind of handy lately. Bumped into instructor Geoff on his Ultra Prime and did about 10-12 laps of midway with him, his HB riding is progressing at a rapid rate with noticeable improvement after a few corrections/critiques today. Another lifty from midway chair now wants to have a go on HBs after watching the days performance, and according to Geoff whatever we were up to on Rainbow sunday morning was creating a bit of buzz on the chair lift. Need to start renting out advertising space and look like a NASCAR. As to riding tonight I am 50/50 legs are a bit scorched, snow should still be great for you two hooligans (BlueB/Roy), lets put it this way the left hip on my pants is wafer thin after today. Working tomorrow so no updates for a few days. The days counts Digits got=1 ( no I did not use my CASI powers for good ) Radar traps between Cypress works yard and LionsGate=3 Lunchbreaks taken=0

The monday Jan 21 2008 report Just like yesterday but minus about 7000 people( literally) and with better corduroy, tonight and tomorrow night should still be very good for you night timers, The "bad" part two of the girls from work took me up on promise for a lesson that I made months ago, and who can say no to a pretty face. So the ATV made the cut for board choice. Still quite fun, alternated laps with them, taught one and let the other lap etc, got the one who much like Zoolander could only turn left to be able to tackle blue groomers after 2.5 hours , she still needs a bit of work on that whole fear of speed thing...... the other one who said she had ridden a bit turned out to be a bit of a maniac, no fear of speed there, she could hang with me on rainbow by straightlining while I carved, worked on her to the point she could do the odd carved toeside on hardpack ( apparently self taught and did not know the difference between a carve vs a slide) after a the few hours a much more controlled and safer rider, although she did pick up some extra speed after my tips..okay maybe safer,,she has also retracted her statement that "hardpack is no fun",,,. That one might be a potential future HBer. Off topic side note * quite interesting how many of the pipe monkeys heads snap around and fingers point when cranking low turns past the superpipe.* Turned my self loose and let it rip in the early aft, followed by beer n nacho's compliments of the ladies. Tomorrow I think one of the big boy boards will come to play, havent been on the 185 WCR yet this season....... The counts lifts running=6 jealous jibbers with XY chromasomes =50 Row of vehicle parking = 1 Dave*

The Jan 20 2008 report I am sure BlueB will chime in with his teaching day report but here is what the people having a ton of fun had to deal with Minus 4 to minus 2c, bluebird the entire day, occaisonal wind gusts more prevalant on the eagle chair side, no fresh over night so the groomers were able to do a very nice job, buttery smooth , grippy hardpack, cord was perfect so didnt even venture off piste today, cord was till very good by 1530hrs, legs could take no more. The only downside to the day was the lift lines, I have never seen Cypress so busy, so forced over to midway chair by noonish to take the vertical in 600 ft pieces. Probably should have taken up one of the WCRs/FPs today but the ATV performed admirably and I was too lazy to walk to the truck for the 4x4. The days count work people bumped into=3 heads turned on the chairlifts=100s Kms of Cypress Bowl road with cars parked on =2.5 hummers spotted =1 Overweight students wrestled by BlueB=2 (now I remember why I stopped teaching) dave*

TD 1s are stiff but they can be made to feel like TD2s with red elasomers with a bit of dirt bag tech for cheap, get some 1/8 th inch rubber gasket material and slightly longer M6 bolts, a quicklayer between board and base ( dont forget to add under the bumpers ) , a layer between base and top plate, then a layer between the top plate and bail blocks. Its enough to "take the edge off" I found and seems to keep al the bolts tight. Of my current fleet of binders in escalating order of stiffness/plushness Voile split board plates Burton race plates -various generations, they all feel similar to me Trident Sports Rattraps- wish they were still made TD2s ( +- with suspension kit or the yellow or red elastomers I have) TD1s, the stiffest in my collection

The saturday jan 19/2008 report After a stressfull and frustrating few days at work I guess I deserved to sleep in so didnt hit the hill till 1230 ish. Approx minus 2 c, calm winds , what appeared to be the morning fog was burning off to a mix of sun and cloud, lots of people had chewed up the groomers before I got to them so more than a few lumps, humps, and scrapie patches, carveable if tipped up on edge and plowed thru ( did I mention the 10-12cms of new that was on top that got pushed into said lumps n humps) Off piste interesting, the same 10-12cms of new on top of a slippery frozen crust, okay if at speed and floating, not so good if speed checking and bottoming out, the classic dust on crust scenario, . Tomorrow should have some excellent groomers with the fresh stuff mulched into the existing hardpack, that is assuming temps stay below 0c and no new tonight. All chairs including midway and sky chair running today, apparently Cypress management has pulled their heads out of their posterior orofices. The days count Roving bands of hot chicks=1 ( it was only partially sunny out) Me taken out by 5 yr old kid off chair lift=1 ( next time I just run em over) Hours rode=4

Jan 15 2008 report First off lets start with yesterday, woke up looked at report ( plus 3 raining with high winds) went back to bed. Today different story Bluebird skies, report said minus 11 c at 0700 hrs , felt like about minus 6 c at 0845hrs warming to about minus 3 c at warmest, no wind Corduroy was very firm and not to many holes, groomer wales, or other funky stuff ( apparently temps dropped below zero c around 1600 hrs yest and it got solid so groomers had good pack to work with), if you could set an edge you could have a ton of fun and this was the first time in about 2-3 weeks I could see where going. If this weather pattern holds tomorrows cord should be even better for carving, I sadly have to work. Off piste was a bit furball, on the cut runs non groomed it was frozen mashed potatoes with ice lumps, true off piste was frozen windpack with a 1cm layer of windpack powder that liked to shear off in mini slabs. Ran a few laps in the afternoon with Geoff the instructor kid who is learning the HB ropes on his ultra prime, got to see a couple good wobble/plant/slides.... "Now remember kids dont break/bend in at the waist it unweights the edge and will drop you on your head"..... Downed Trees = 5 new ( the wind must have been going pretty good yest) Hot Chicks = 10 + ( they seem to like sunshine and come out in packs)

Ahhh the quiver, sounds like you are about to take that first step down the slippery slope. I have fallen a long way down and am picking up speed. As you mentioned a step down in sidecut radius might be what you are after perhaps 11-12m is in order or depending on weight a softer flexing board to allow tightening up your carve and be a bit more forgiving in the traffic, or a combination of both. I am in agreement with C5Golfer, In my opinion you cant go wrong with a Prior 4x4 ( I own 2 179s, love em) as a great all mtn or tight traffic deck, I would say the 4x4 rides more like a very mellow race deck than a freeride, The 179 4x4 goes as fast as I ever want to go and can eurocarve pretty damned well. ( I have a stiffened ATV also, its closer to a freeride). I would say I spent close to 70% of my days last year on either 4x4 or ATV. The 4x4 would certainly meet the criteria of softer flex and tighter cut. Havent had the opportunity to ride the coiler or donek equals but hear good things. Something you may want to consider is something along the lines of a 177 Prior WCR with the "roundish" metal style tail ( or if you got the cash the 177 metal) . 11ish meter sidecut is a nice compromise for speed vs traffic, tail shape allows much greater versatility for bumps and off piste, although lets face it a 19.5 waist will never make a powder deck for me at over 200 lbs. This thing is a much easier board for me to ride on steeps or the traffic than any of my "big" sidecut boards ie 185 FP/185 WCR/ or my second hand 190 coiler ( that board still scares me a bit although when the planets align with the corduroy great things happen ) , , The 177 or below WCR would meet the criteria of same stiffness/width as your proton but have the tighter sidecut. As to comparing the 179 4x4 to the 177 WCR :: WCR is much higher strung than the 4X4 , carves better but less forgiving to mistakes ie much more likely to spit you on your head, and i find burns up my legs quicker if its ridden like its meant to be ridden. Hope that helps Dave* (pulling on flame retardant suit prior to hitting "submit reply")

A few notes for RWMaron ( take anything Dave* says with a grain of salt) I have ridden a fair bit on my 4 buckle 28 mondo SB 413s ( just with out BTS installed more on that later), The SB 413s are noticebly softer in flex than my SB125s with race tongues, 225s, suzukas, or my AF 700s with the silver springs in ( gold is just stupid for me ),,, the 413s are still much stiffer than any softies IMHO .... The only "HB" that I have that is similar flex is my Nordica TR 12 AT boots, which now that I mention it is another option for you, I like these for hiking and powder riding as when put into ski mode the forward flex is not locked out, it merely stops the boot cuff from rotating back past a certain point, gives a very surfy feel It should be noted that for a "hefty" size person I favor a softer to medium flex boot, boot flex is a highly personal thing. Now since the latter part of last season I have only been on one set of boot shells, my SB 225s with BTS installed ( blue springs) , now that I have had a taste of BTS I cant go back ...... need to buy a few more units so the other shells can go into the lineup again. For freecarving/off piste/powder and especially if you are a lighter rider the yellow softer springs for BTS would be the way to go, over 200lbs blue springs. ( not sure about the red springs havent tried em yet) Now the pluses minuses of the SB 413 Plus -cheapest HB -soft flex, great off piste boot -Its Raichle/Deeluxe so breakable/wear outable parts can be easily gotten ie heel/toe pads. Minus -comes with single position lockout ( not an issue if putting in BTS) -SB series shell shape so narrowish toe box -the stock liner is non thermo fit at least when I bought mine( thats why they are cheap), bin the stock liners , get thermos your feet will thank you. -the heel n toe pads wear out quickly,,, this goes for all newer gen Raichle/deeluxe boots I find,,, they need to bring the older red or green ones back BTS Caveats -as they allow the boot to flex properly at the pivot and rely on the springs not boot shell deformation for the preload/tension I think boot shell stiffness is much less of an issue with BTS on, ( pulling on my flame retardant suit now:flamethro ) -they lack walk mode, so depending on where you like your cuff angled prolonged hiking could potentially be a PITA (pain in the $%%) , I like a fairly vertical cuff setting so not a problem for me. Dave*

Raichle/deeluxe SB413s , very soft flex, come in 3 buckles below size 25/26 , 4 buckles if over that(very easy to remove the top buckle), add a BTS with yellow springs and you would have what you are describing.

The tuesday Jan 08 08 report Minus 2 c, approx 15 to 20cms new , light to moderate wind prob 20kmh average, consistent fog at a 3/10 to 4/10 thru the day then thickening to a 6/10 by 1500 hrs. Silly season is over and done with so hill deserted yet again, many many fresh lines to be had and I even left a few in the trees for whoever gets there tomorow, didnt even look at any groomed today. A stellar day in general, The 171 ATV got the nod yet again. No updates from me till saturday, gotta pretend I have a job for a few days. Cypress days count=19 Whistler days count =1 Squirrels chased count=1 ( they move pretty quick even in powder )

Sorry focus off on that one, note to self back away from the item, the camera she no like being close. any ways you get the idea Dave*

I have two sets of CF race plates and all they have is a thin sheet of red rubber between the CF and the board ( not to mention the T nuts sticking below) As the CF does not have the little cut outs like the aluminum race plates the rubber gasket has a tendency to spin and work its way out from the binding unless a bit of rubber cement is put between binding plate and rubber. If you need to make something let me know I have a big sheet of 1/8th inch rubber gasket material that I picked up from princess auto( they also have 1/4" which I do not have) I can carve a chunk off for you if need , pretty easy to use the binding as a template. It also makes handy gaskets for TD1s and various other projects. Lets see if a quick pic of a non mounted CF race plate is worth a 1000 words Dave* Dave*

The Monday , Jan 07 2008 report Started my morning with a bit of CF factor, arrived in parking lot at 0815 hrs to discover they had reverted back to non holiday hours (0900) but was able to load on the lions (old sunrise) at 0845 so not all bad. About minus 2 c, 10-15 cms of new snow, a bit foggy in the morning ranging from a 3/10 to a 6/10 on the fogometer, clearing by 1145ish to the the odd attempt at sunshine. Lots of tree laps in the morning including a few pokes into some as of yet unhit sections on eagle chair side, fresh lines out the wazzoo in the trees and still lots left for tomorrow. Some laps of powderoy done after lunch , very soft got chewed up quick once people could see on it, got a good chuckle while on eagle chair watching skier not paying attention and falling into one of my ruts, not a crash but close to it. Very few people on hill today, I guess the kids are back in school and parents at work. Monoskiers count =0 Other Hbers =0 Whiskeyjacks=2 PS; yesterday also very good with a healthy coating of the good stuff,