johnasmo

Closing weekend at Big Sky. Snow or no snow. Rain or shine. The Montucky crew will be there. (dredman, myself, big dog dave, maybe skwalguy and other Whitefish locals too)

I leave it mostly on 1080p 60fps and medium field of view for following other riders. I only use wide field of view if trying to capture myself in the video. I think wide looks unnatural for following a subject; not only is the subject far away, but the speed is distorted and distracting from the subject when ground underfoot is in frame. I haven't used Protune yet. Not out of any dislike for it; just being lazy. I'm not sure I want to put the time into adjusting the look in post processing. I fully admit to NOT being a professional and approaching my videos as recreational editing -- quick and dirty edits with just enough quality so that I'm willing to watch them again as a collection of home movies. That means not spending much time on image corrections, and mostly just cutting out the obviously bad shots and not spending a lot of time deciding what is actually good. Long edits are A LOT easier to make than short ones -- sorry. I wish they looked better on youtube. The lower bitrate is one thing, but the lower framerate online makes them look choppy. Lately I render my edits as 15 kbps of 1080p at 60 fps and they look really good as home movies on my home TVs. The slow-motion looks alright online, but normal speed looks a lot better if you can see it at 60 fps.

Here's how I dealt with the wet. Double onsie day. Wool base layer, Strafe Sickbird suit mid layer, Airblaster Freedom suit outer layer. Funny, I too chose to chop the slop with a Burton 157 Factory Prime. Cosmic unconsciousness.

snowreport: sun mar 23, 2015 Filling in for Aaron. Back to spring skiing. Cruisin' under blue skies. Getting thin, but lucky to still be riding.

snowreport: wed mar 18, 2015 A belated report from Wednesday to highlight the fact that winter returned for at least one day. Two really, Thursday was good too. First real off-piste days in around 5 weeks. Finally a chance to hit the face, good med, freebird, flower point trees... https://youtu.be/IWjoUIS9uDI

POC Cortex DH. Not the Cortex Flow, but the Cortex DH. I Have been using one for years; love it. Very light for a full face helmet. Well ventilated. Not a lot of size selection, so it either works for you or not. It's mostly marketed/stocked as MTB gear now, but when they first came out it was equally snow sports and MTB because it's light enough. http://www.pocsports.com/en/product/1219/cortex-dh-mips

We can give lots of advice, but in the end, the best advice is probably to listen to Bruce. He's been playing with T+ for few years now, and if he thinks combining T+ with vCam is the best way to accentuate the positive aspects while minimizing the negative aspects, then that would be the hot ticket. We've had a lot more icy days in Whitefish this winter since a rain event hit the hill while I was at SES. It still hasn't recovered three weeks later. When so little edge hold is available, you can't push too hard, so it helps to be on a board that is willing to stay decambered while you complete turns. I.e. a fairly balanced flex and not too stiff. My Monster 185 has been good for that, and I imagine the lastest generation Stubby would do well too. Nevertheless, I still find myself grabbing my latest Nirvana more than anything else, and I think it would generally be considered a Nirvana balance T+. It feels more racy and exiting on hero snow, but can still be reigned in enough to be delicate on the boilerplate. I'm not sure the energy version is willing to be as delicate. So I'm with Bruce on this -- recommending Nirvana vCam T+.

Heh. I do have another tweak to the torsion-plus layout that I want to try. I call it the Nirvana XXX (Triple-X), but we haven't prototyped that yet. I haven't tried a NFC Vcam. Most coilers have very good slide characteristics, but the torsion-plus treatment does increase the possibility of chatter when you break loose. It's quite possible that a Vcam torsion-plus would compensate. Hmm....

All the Aspen resorts have exceptional grooming. I've never seen them leave scalloped swim lanes up the hill like lesser resorts, and seldom any track marks left from grooming when it's too soft. So adding the torsion-plus option is quite viable if that's your home hill. At lower elevations, when wet snow comes the resulting afternoon crud on the groomers is anything but powder, but at Colorado elevations, I expect the crud is still loose. The added composites of the torsion-plus are just a problem when the crud is of the "wet cement" variety. As I said, a torsion-plus model have been my favored board this year even though it's a compromise on harshness -- I still have my non-torsion-plus if things get too rough in the afternoon. The plus side of the torsion-plus is a more aggressive, exciting ride. The resistance to twisting gives the tip and tail better bite, so you feel like you can really charge with it. And I think it adds more overall pop (energy return) than the energy core profile does. When I ride them back to back, the torsion-plus encourages a more aggressive run -- shortened transitions; just bang, bang, bang from turn to turn. Early-in, early-out turning. You can look like a racer, without being one. When I say "harsher ride", don't worry too much. It still rides less harsh than any Donek or Oxess I've ridden when the going gets rough, with their full lengh, full width carbon layout.

Nothing fancy. Just two consumer grade pocketable cameras; no backpacks for me. A Sony HX20 for the hand-held shots, and GoPro Hero 3 Black for the follow-cam shots. I attach the GoPro to the chin guard of my helmet when filming, back to pocket the rest of the time. I used the Sony for follow-cam in the past, but it's not waterproof or shockproof, so that seemed risky. White balance doesn't match between the two, but I can compensate post if I'm not too lazy.

Snow conditions and riding style matter. Balance versus energy has to do with core profile, and I find that it affects how "balanced" the board is when softer packed powder gets chopped up in the afternoon. The balance profile puts a slightly forward bias to the stiffness -- a little stiffer nose and softer tail compared to the energy. The energy goes with a softer nose and stiffer tail -- traditional thinking for race boards -- and puts the thickest part of the core under the rear binding (i.e. not a balanced core profile). I find the balanced without torsion-plus to be the most versatile and comfortable ride in western resort snow conditions. Adding torsion-plus increases edge hold and returns more energy while the groomers are smooth, but is a compromise because it gives up some of the Cadillac ride over crud. More carbon makes for a "bouncier" board, counteracting some of the qualities of the titanal. A 175 Nirvana balance with a carbon version of the torsion-plus butterfly has been my goto board this season, even for late afternoon riding because its so fun to ride, but it's noticeably harsher (bouncier) than the one without the torsion-plus. The torsion-plus treatment narrows the comfortable conditions, but rewards conditions within that band. Both balance and energy Nirvanas can be ridden fast and aggressively, like faux race boards. Choosing between balance and energy has as much to do with your riding style as snow conditions. If you tend to drive harder with your front leg, go balanced. If you tend to drive harder with your rear leg, go energy. I prefer the balanced because I think I ride forward to neutral. If you tend to roll pressure to the rear through your turns and hop off the tail, go energy. Snow conditions still matter too. The stiffer nose of the balance inspires more confidence in softer western snow -- less fear of folding the nose into the soft snow, and the softer tail resists blowing out against soft snow or spring corn. The softer nose and stiffer tail of the energy rewards firm chalky conditions with faster turn initiation followed by de-cambering the middle and tail for the exit of the turn. If I could have only one of my carving boards, I think it would have to be my 175 Nirvana balance, no torsion-plus, medium sidecut (~12.5/14). Rides everything pretty damn well. I was on it the later half of SES after I dinged the torsion-plus at snowmass and put it on injured reserve awaiting a minor repair. I don't ride my Monster or old VSR that much anymore.

Playlist of my videos from SES 2015, as aired at the banquet last night. Having trouble embedding playlists, so link to full playlist HERE.

... and one from pre-season this season.

Ok. Fixed the old embedded videos for the new forum software. No videos from WTF 2015, but did realized that I forgot to post two more skinning vids from last spring.

Let's try this URL... https://www.youtube.com/embed/videoseries?list=PLL4G8SE-vkwBbdahYvp3mRyGqCOEvUSNL edit... Oh well, one at a time then. Here's the last one.

Did that. Selected media, pasted URL. Maybe it doesn't support linking to youtube playlist URL. No big. Just added the Day 7 antics (Rocket Man Ron, and the world's longest Euro-carve) to my playlist. Made it to Idaho Falls. Having a beer at Bramwell's now. Thanks to all for another fantastic session. I went into this with low expectations based on snowfall and warm temps, but in the end it was fantastic. Sunny almost the whole time, comfortable temps, and still good carving snow. Aspen never seems to disappoint. Just watch the videos of you don't believe it. Sorry about hogging the Coiler Skwal demo all the time. I think I put over 30K vertical on it alone. Would have took it home if Bruce had let me.

My SES 2015 videos. No soundtracks. Long edits as further editing takes more time. Will probably air them at the banquet tonight. Well, that clearly didn't work. Just click HERE.

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WzMuotnZWLU?list=PLL4G8SE-vkwBbdahYvp3mRyGqCOEvUSNL" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Hmmm... How does one embed frames in the new forum?

Banquet videos are almost done. One from Monday's first tracks is still rendering, but here's the playlist where they'll be. Editors pick is Day 4 at Highlands. Good tail gunning.

Party animal Matching suits and Ron's racing stripes Mini Me?

Wait, where's the fog? Flyin' Hawiian Killin' it Thanks for playing. Come again. Same time next year.

Chic magnet Frabert Wednesday at the Hellroaring Saloon WTF Tees Wearing our colors

Mana from Bruce, the 2015 Manic Nirvana. A little foggy up top, but the gangs all here. Steve in action Favorite on mountain lunch spot Snow and valley Spring-like weather made for huge pinwheel of snow

Steve and Aaron looked at the pro photos on a couple of days. Don't know if any were purchased, but I suspect so. Here are some of mine: Skwal demo day Allee in action Happy carvers Coiler, eh? Montana is just southern Canada.

Warning! After you try a Skwal, you'll want a narrower board! Even if you don't end up liking the Skwal, your favorite board will feel too wide when you get back on it.