johnasmo

Cool. The zip here in Whitefish is 59937. I got the Factory Prime set up by using a set of Burton Elevator binding risers that can convert from 3 to 4 hole, but since they're plastic I did want to let my friend ride it that way so I took it out instead and set him up on a 173 Renn Tiger. I don't trust the Elevator riser, so would much prefer a real 3 hole disk. Are you coming to WTF again? We just had a great carving day today.

Cold it was. I'm sure everyone was jealous of my Arctic Cat leather bibs. Wind? What Wind?

Big Mountain (Montana) just had a cold snap. Sub-zero and howling; right in your face on the lift. I was quite comfortable, however, and looked quite stylish, in my snowmobiling leathers....

Nah. I'm done with TD1's. Already sold all of mine. I'm not going to acquire a set of obsolete bindings just to outfit an obsolete board. I'd rather throw some old TD2 bases on there and slap on TD3s when its time to use the board. It's amazing what a set of sidewinders can do to breath life into old glass boards -- same can't be said of TD1s. I figure someone out there must have retired all their burton boards after trying new school metal boards. I thought I had, but occasionally they're still fun to thrash about, ... or lend out to newbies.

I have a beginner that wants to try carving. Not going to launch him down the hill on any of my long (expensive) metal boards just yet. I have a small burton factory prime that would be fine, but I need a set of TD2 3 hole center disks to set it up. Bomber still sells them for $28, which is more than I paid for the board. Must be $20 or less plus reasonable shipping.

I finally got around to uploading some video from a spring 2010 weekend at Grand Targhee. The usual suspects, dredman, Two Ravens, Big Dog Dave, plus a newcomer, notarealname, and lots of footage of Casper Carver doing that switch carving thing that he does. There's even some clips of me since I included the video from Casper's camera. Enjoy. <object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFq6zVkfO_w?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFq6zVkfO_w?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object> <object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PC_0jn_tMpA?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PC_0jn_tMpA?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object> <object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QBMEwSlLDo?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QBMEwSlLDo?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>

I have really flat feet. Anything with arch support hurts like I'm standing on a rock. My feet like UPZ. I've had the RSV and the RTR, and I'm told the RC10 is the same mold. I also like the Flow liners; wish I could buy them separately to refresh since my shells are still good.

+1 on the Dakine Concourse Double Ski Bag. It comes in 185 and 200 cm sizes. Sure it's for skis, but it fits alpine boards just fine. A few towels and/or bubble wrap and you can easily get four or more boards in the sucker. And when you do, you'll appreciate the wheels. I have one and would buy it again.

"A candle that burns twice as bright burns half as long, and you have burned very brightly..." - bladerunner 1982 I find my VSR to be a bit of a handful in soft snow and crud. But it shines so very brightly on hardpack that it can be forgiven. Mine is a 177 Medium. I have to lean back and ride the tail when the going gets soft, but I have the normal (soft, relatively speaking) nose. The full carbon turbo nose might help with that. Some previous VSR threads: http://www.bomberonline.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=289245#post289245 http://www.bomberonline.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=28009

Not to rub it in... oh hell, yes to rub it in... Here's Dave demonstrating some of what you miss being injured in the fall (and not living here). <object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zykj-rWmbS4?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zykj-rWmbS4?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>

Paul, was it displaced much? I did a number on mine a few years ago. Even with a plate I was still recovering at 12 weeks. It happened at the end of March (snowboarding), so luckily I had all summer to heal for the next riding season. Hope you have better luck with recovery time, else it'll be SES before you're cleared. :)

36 days 'til opening day...

What a difference a day makes. Well over knee deep at the summit, and more than a foot of fresh top to bottom. WooHoo!

Looking white at the top of the Big today... Shred, I'll take a tee, size large. One for dredman too, size large. For local pickup. Think snow!

Went up with Dr. D and his son, Ryland, on Thursday. Of course the skies cleared and I was compelled to shoot video. It's what I do this time of year. Today's experiment was with the deshaking software. I burned two versions from the same edit, one without visible frame edges but with therefore limited smoothing, and one with frame edges fully visible but with more freedom to smooth the image. Which do you like better? I think there are times when I like seeing the whole image. <object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qo9p1UkwjU4&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qo9p1UkwjU4&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object><object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8kqG-YqR2w&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8kqG-YqR2w&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>

<object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kleEIy2C5hQ&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kleEIy2C5hQ&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>

Good to see you and Stretch today, Doc. Conditions were wind packed and crustier than yesterday. Sorry I had to hustle out before noon. I hope you found some soft stashes on your way down; I did.

Hi Doc. Tuesday should be worth it. I thought today would be a bust when I left home in the rain, but I had a great run. The rain turned to snow by the village, the snow stopped shortly after I started hiking, then the wind blew the clouds away by the half way point. The wind remained and it was a blower partly cloudy day with gusts around 30 to 40 mph on top, then clouds snow/rain by the time I got back to the village again. The wind and snow have filled everything back in again. Clean slate. Cool wind drifts on Inspiration with untracked lines all around... My morning is a little tight. I'm not entirely free until around 2:30 PM, but I could try to squeeze a fast lap in between 10:00 AM and noon. Maybe we hook up, maybe we don't, but I'll be going up for sure.

I should have talked you into it Doc. Snowing, wet, and foggy on the hikes up, but it always managed to clear for my rides down. Oh, what a lucky man he was... <object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuZrr2F5ClM&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuZrr2F5ClM&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>

Looks fogged in at the top this morning, but it's not raining in town. I'm still gonna go, just not sure exactly when. How about you, Doc D? Weather service says cloudy with a chance of rain all day, but satellite images show some clear sky north of here that might get squeezed down in a couple hours. Or not... In the mean time, I did shoot video last Thursday. Gives me something to do on these hikes besides sweat and gasp for air... <object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASJD4Xd7zVc&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASJD4Xd7zVc&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>

I'm gonna play it by ear based on the weather, but for now I'm planning for late morning. I made two runs today, starting up at 3:00 PM. On the first run down, the bowl was good but things got real sticky from the bottom of the bowl on down. The second pass was actually much better, it was later (I took a break and hung in my truck a while) and the temp dropped a bit and some clouds rolled in. Once it stopped being sun baked, the speed came back.

The snow did settle a lot since Wednesday from mid mountain on down, though the summit and the bowl where still pretty good. It only picked up a few more inches overnight, so it looks like Wednesday was the best pow day after all. My signature rings true once again. But really, I had a pretty awesome run, top to bottom, though it was a wet and sweaty slog going up. Looks like today (Friday) will be drier, with improved visibility. It'll be nice not going up in the wet rain/snow/fog, but I can't get free until mid afternoon. Hope it doesn't get too warm by then. Doc, sorry you couldn't make it yesterday. I did get back in time to meet Rick and Eric at Sherwoods by 5:30 PM, so you might have made your dinner appointment, unless you wanted to shower first. :) What time you gonna be up there tommorow?

Aaron, I'll be heading up this afternoon. You'll need snowshoes or a splitboard. Boot packing will be exhausting until there's a well packed trail, and that won't be today. I've got some snowshoes if you want to give them a try. It could be the best pow day of the season...

Just when it looked like hiking season at the Big was beyond repair, our spring snow has finally arrived. Check out from last Sunday if you want to see how sketchy it was getting. Today we received a reprieve. As of 6:00 PM this evening, the village had about 6 inches of fresh, with a foot from mid mountain up. The summit was knee deep and I had a good powder run all the way down. Forecast is for it to keep dumping all night and tomorrow. Don't put away those skins just yet.Dr. D., you wanna break out that Voile swallowtail again?

Hiking season is winding down early this year. The lack of snow and early spring temps have it melting away almost a month early. Here's some pics from Friday. 1) The Alpenglow Inn is finally coming down 2) A patchwork of snow is all that's left on the lower mountain 3) The Flathead Valley is greening up nicely