utahcarver

As I got off the lift this morning the guy in the lift house (shack) came out to greet me and said, "You and that other guy you ride with are the best snowboarders I've ever seen here. I think you two have figured it out." On the next trip up he sez to me: "I've got 3 rules I live by: 1. Don't get dead; 2. Don't get pregnant; and 3. Don't ever make an ugly turn. It looks like you've got two of the three rules down." and waves me off. I continue to exit the chair and then begin to get rebooted into my binding. I start thinking, "sheeez, I don't know which two of the three rules he's quoted to me I've 'got down'. I wonder if I should see a obstetrician, a mortician, or a snowboard instructor?" :) The other guy I ride with is my almost-17 year old son who usually makes me look like a clown on fire; he does those 'pop' transitions like Will Garrow use to do in Warren Miller movies. Mark

Last years Xmas vacation I rode an old Burton M8 with plates in 16 inches of new snow one morning. The board is so long, wide, and stiff that it would've worked in 3 or 4 feet of powder, too. I got some great looks in the liftline, too. The reason I tell you this is that the M8 was great if you want to go fast in powder. It absolutely is no good for making quick turns. This past weekend I rode a medium flex 172 freeride Rossi with TD2's and loved it in deep snow. But, I rode a bit slower and bounced more with each turn. So, what would I look for in a powder board?: Application (what do you want it to do?) Length (see application) Width (wider is better) Flex pattern (see Nils post here) Stance setback/setforward (see Nils post here) Heck, looks like you could buy an alpine board using a similar formula. Mark the best thing I have ever ridden IN powder is this:

I'd go with the swallowtail... One of the most overlooked reasons for using a swallowtail is a more forward (read: centered) stance on the board. Instead of a rider pushing snow with his stance (aka braking) a swallowtail trims out and rides more flat and will go faster and be more agile. Nothing against the Fish but, try using one on low angle powder runs and see if it compares to a longer powdergun like a swallowtail. I should also be more specific and state that a Winterstick Swallowtail has a very broad shoulder which gives it additional float in low angled runs. With an effective edge around 153 something with an overall length of 185cm, the Winterstick Swallowtail can be very agile in trees, too. Sorry, not trying to promote Winterstick here, my example is what I have the most experience with. Flamers welcome. Mark

First in the liftline this morning. First tracks on several runs including one i've never ridden before. Nope, didn't get the expected 16 to 20 inches of snow. Only got 13 inches on top of 10 new from the day before. TD2's rock on a freeride board at lower angles. I put my Raichle's in walk mode and it felt too much like softboots. I eventually rode with my rear leg in walk mode and front leg in regular mode. Another great thing about riding plates on a powder day is when you use the groomers to get to the next pow shots. Superb control by just powering up the tongues a bit and a little less upper body involvement. Oh, I gotta get up tomorrow morning and do it all again! Merry Happy New Year's Season 2B Jollie, Mark

I rode today in some well-needed 10 inches of new snow and still snowing. I lowered my angles to 50f/45r on a PureCarve Maverick 175 with TD2's. I really like the 10mm lift on the TD2's but I'm noticing some binding suck on the base of the board now. Could the extra 5mm of lift be giving me enough leverage to cause this deformation as I ride? Or, more likely is the board not holding up to the pressure the binding is able to create on this deck? Tomorrow morning is supposed to be bringing 16-20 inches new snow. Time for the Undertaker 198 already? Mark

....is there anything they can't do? Though I think Mark Anderson's donut is a better suggestion here, I'll offer what I've done in the past until I can afford to send the bail to Bomber for a retrofit. I use one of those micro bungees (from a dollar store or ChinaWal-Mart) and hooked one end to a bail stem and ran the cord underneath the baseplate (and in front of the disc) and hooked the other end to the opposite side's bail stem. I also use a set of needle nose pliers and close the hook ends of the bungee around the bails. They usually hold for a season and then I change'em out. PSR taught me that one years ago. Now that I have TD2's I don't have to worry with this problem anymore. Mark

Armon, You've been given some great ideas here by several riders and I'm sorry I've not been clear with my terminology. 'Pearling' refers to the nose of a surfboard diving quickly under the wave thus launching the rider into the surf. Trimmed out refers to a centered stance tip and tail that results in a snowboarder riding powder without digging in either nose or tail. Since you are riding softies and in full addiction mode, I suggest to just get out there and ride and form your own style. There isn't so much a right and wrong as there is a freedom to find your own flow. Just go ride dammit! Experience is the best teacher. What I like others find boring. What you like about powder is a result of your experimentation and your own physical abliity. Might I add one more thing? The real hook of riding powder is the Sh#t-eating grin it can give a rider at the bottom of a run. The tool you use doesn't matter so much as the charge you can get from a session in the deep stuff. many happy turns, Mark

Use one of these to 'Step Into Powder'....

Armon you've got to arm yourself with a powdergun! It might be a nice long Rad-Air Tanker or a swallowtail like I use. Short of that, you could do what most riders do and step your bindings back a couple of inserts. If you already feel comfortable in powder in your softies why not try plates in fresh or crud? Many of us here use plates for powder. You could also try riding with your buckles a bit looser, or your boots in 'walk' mode for more flexion. Try these ideas first. I would not recommend using binding setback at first, though. Learn to ride with the board 'trimmed out' instead of braking or pushing the snow with the board. You will go a lot faster and have greater control. You may 'pearl' more often by doing this at first but, you'll be a lot more faster and aggressive in crud and powder. My two cents.... Mark

Sunday afternoon I rode my all-mountain board with Raichle 123's and an older pair of TD1's in poor snow conditions. Before I could get down the mountain, I popped out of my bindings several times at slow speeds. This, after having stopped and changed my toe and heel bails (mid-run) to correct the problem. I tightened the bail lifts enough that it was difficult to close the toe bail with one hand. I also had both toe bails leashed to my boots. Needless to say, I was very nervous trying to get back to the lodge without disfiguring my legs. This was the first time I've used these Raichles in these bindings. In the past, I've worn Nordica SBH's with this binding. I've had to modify (per Bomber's instructions) the SBH's to fit the TD's in the toe bail of the binding. Could the width of the SBH's deformed the bail that much? My suspicion is that the SBH's have widened the bail stems and now allow the Raichle boot too much play in between the stems. And no, I haven't modified the bails with wider shoulder bolts from BOL, though I do have them. Anyone else had this happen to them when using different boots? I've also been riding a new pair of TD2's and I don't want to put SBH's in them if this is what's going to happen when I wear Raichle's again.

I feel like my prime snowboarding years are still ahead of me. Oh yeah, I'd like to be 24 and know what I know now, too. But, I wouldn't want to go back to age 24 without the experience of a 45 year old body and mind that I now have. I ride my bike daily and faithfully 6-7 months a year. I skateboard at my local park and also do longboarding up in the canyons near here. I lift weights and play racquetball regularly. I drink water to stay hydrated and I stay away from tobacco (except for a GOOD cigar every now and then). I don't hang out at my doctor's office anymore with chronic sinus infections because I gave up cow's milk and high carb intake. I look at the Federal government's Food Pyramid and know to do the exact opposite for my body/blood type. I keep my carb and fat intake low, eat lots of fruits, vegetables, nuts, and whole grains. I didn't snowboard for about 6 years during the late-90's. Now, I'm back and on my 4th season pass and 4th season of hardbooting. I ride with my sons and several buddies and we can't wait to get to the mountains every weekend. Mark

Kent, Oh, I'm sure there are better ways to teach snowboarding than the 'core four'. Your method is probably one of them. At the time that PD had given me the article I was unsure of the best way to teach my kid(s) to snowboard. I didn't want to spend the money on lessons. I was self taught and figured that I could pass my knowledge on to them (my sons). The article simply conveyed a way to do that. Very little information is given in TWS or other rags about basic riding skills. Hell, after all the ads, there's little room for anything else:) I did find Lowell Hart's book on snowboarding the other day. Wish I would have had that to work with, too. Mark

My season starts this year on 12.14.04 at my local area. That will begin my 4th season on plates and hardboots. I've got 3 pairs of soft bindings, 2 pairs of softboots and I've used them sparingly in the past 3 years. The majority of my time has been experimenting with alpine set-ups on all-mountain boards, powderguns, and freecarve boards. The first time I ever rode a snowboard was in 1982 (Though I met Dmitri Milovich in 1977 at his factory in SLC). It was actually not a snowboard then. My buddies called it Wintersticking. A blue swallowtail, followed by a roundtail, then a Burton Powdergun, Sim 1710, and a board which would show me the direction I would go: Safari 175. Too bad I didn't understand alpine technique in those days. The biggest factor which made up my mind for me was seeing a pair of Trenchdiggers on my friends' race board. I knew then I'd have to give 'carving' a go. I was ready to drop snowboarding until I found out about 'bombers'. Mark

Miguel, I'd guess that the copyright, if it's still in effect (due to Snowboard Life being defunct), would make posting the article here prohibitive. I'm doubtful at this time that anything from SNL would be applicable to a copyright. Or, at least, that anyone other than Kevin Delaney or Kurt Hoy might need to be petitioned for permssion to post the article here. Perhaps there is someone out there in Bomberland who knows the legal aspect of posting the article in it's entirety here at BOL. Mark

Thanks, Pat. That copied article has served me well. As well as the Maverick 175 I bought from you. You must come ride at Snowbasin again when it's deep and groomy. Mark p.s. I got some new TD2's to put on that Mav'!

Anyone got a copy of Snowboard Life magazine that has an article by Kevin Delaney entitled, "The Core Four"? If you do, I'd like a copy of the article. And, I'd recommend it for anyone who's teaching a grom to snowboard. I used this information to teach my now-16 year old son. I made him memorize it. I also made him do on-snow drills demonstrating each component. The first chairlilft ride of each day we go over the four components. The Core Four are: Foundation Suspension Alignment Level Shoulders I can send a SASE to you and some change for the costs of the copying, mailing, and all around expediting. Contact me here. I can't find mine because I keep lending it out to other riders. Thanks, Mark

Hey, anybody ever used one of these? The videos sure make it look like a lot of fun. There's a hardbooter using one in the instructional videos, I think it's in "downwind turn". It looks like it would be affordable, too. It helps to have a link, duh. Here's the link: skywings.fi Mark

Other than never wanting a releasable binding on a snowboard, I can think of one instance that I'd like a binding to FAIL. If I were to hit a log or limb of a tree that was just underneath the snow, instead of a traumatic compound fracture to my lower leg, I'd prefer to have a binding or more specifically, a set of inserts fail and allow my leg to not be big part of that encounter. I've maintained for a while that the obvious answer was to have a 'Burt' (I think it was Burt) type of plate binding that would allow a rider to 'bend without breaking' so to speak. A retractable cable under a plate binding that would 'release' or give under a preset load. When the rider stopped pressuring the plate, it would retract back into position as before. The next course to pursue would be to try to develop inserts/boards which would fail in order to save the riders' legs. Of course, inserts failing is not the same as a releasable binding for snowboarding. But, it is an added measure of protection where there is currently none. And boards failing, well, that's not very good for anybody now is it? Which would you rather hear snapping below your waist? Great question Fin, short of exploding bolts and LSC's (linear-shaped charge), your answer may be in a retractable cable. Orrrrrrr, how about an airbag? yeahhhhh, just get that awful grandma lady from Columbia to develop a unipiece suit that would puff up like an SUV airbag. Just a few sodium azide tabs strategically woven into the fabric, and WHAMMO! A skier hits you and you suddenly turn into the Hindenburg. Mark

No Johnny Winter? This is what happens when I don't give enough during my local PBS stations' fundraiser.

Phil, Yep, just 45 minutes from Logan thru Logan Canyon. For a mom and pop operation, this place is okay. For a ski/board community with conservative family values we sure seem to have a healthy sense of humor. Mind you, you're not gonna find a kegger every day but, sometimes you can 'smell mother nature' on the chairlift from time to time (think: burning rope). Mark

Greg, I've got a pair of TD1's that I'd sell for $125.00 plus shipping. The pair includes your choice of disks and bumpers: 1 zero degree disk with purple bumpers, 2 six degree disks with either purple or red bumpers, and one 3 degree disk with no bumpers. Includes all mounting hardware. I just sold two other pairs of TD1's in the past month/day or so if you want or need references. Thanks, Mark

My local area is : Beaver Mountain, it has a run called, Tunnel Of Love. The best run on the mountain has always been 'The Backside'. The lodge sells t-shirts/hoodies which say: "Wax Your Stick With A Little Beaver" (Little Beaver is a lift/run which services beginners). I feel so dirty, I need a shower:( If you are the first 5 readers of this post you get to read it before it gets pulled!:)

bindings are sold, thanks.

you've got mail!

For Sale: 1 pair of TD1's (you know you love'em) Includes your choice of cant disks: 3º and/or 6º (only one 6º disk), purple 3º bumpers (two sets if you want both 3º disks), 1 set of red 6º bumpers (if you want the 6º disc). One heel bail is spring-loaded the other is not (I had Bomber remachine one heel bail two seasons ago.) Includes all mounting hardware for disks and baseplates. All parts are gently used. The bindings have the usual scratches and dings but have not been abused. They need a new mountain home. $125.00 Firm/plus shipping (includes insurance) If I don't sell these TD1's I'll put them on a short (159cm) Rossi alpine board and let them sit in the basement for another year just waiting to be ridden hard. Thanks, Mark