Marker

I feel kind of silly for not remembering names, but there was a guy at the SES, who was almost 80, and was laying down some beautiful arcs. These weren't on green circles either! I only saw him at Buttermilk, but he was truly an inspiration.

As a (very) general rule, between Coiler Race and Coiler FC boards of the same length, the FC will be stiffer. At the SES, most of the Coiler owners got together at one time or another and compared board recipes. All week long I was saying "How much do you weigh?" then "Give us a look at your board" Now most people had an idea already of how stiff they wanted their ride to be, and mentioned that they asked for it to be more stiff than what their weight predicted the board should be. I think that there is a positive correlation between snow quality and board stiffness. If I lived near Buttermilk, you can bet that I would have a special 'Buttermilk board' and that it would be quite stiff. Of course, at Buttermilk, you can lay down carves on a lunch tray it's so good.

I know this is sometimes difficult, but try to change one thing at a time so that when you nail down something that you like, you can repeat it again on a different board. I agree with Nate, the placement of the stance in the running length seems to be quite sensitive. I can move it around half a centimeter and notice different behaviour. Also, I agree with the other poster that suggested trying stance angles that are closer together. I find running the same angles both front and back, really helped my healsides. Just keep at it. Finding a comfortable stance is a very satisfying feeling.

Well, not exactly - at least with Coiler boards anyway. Both the Freecarve and the Pure Race go through the exact same production process and have identical options. As far as the templates go, take the 184 Freecarve and Pure Race. The difference is 4mm of taper with almost identical sidecut (the PRII has a sidecut 1m larger). Certainly I hope you would agree that 4mm of taper is not like a shortfall of 100hp in a car? It's more like preferring one brand of proven tires over another. I understand that your analogy wasn't meant to be an exact comparison, but the Freecarve/Pure Race distinction, for boards of the same length, is a subtle one based more on preference than performance. The most important consideration would likely be in the flex, but that is more suited to the rider than the template.

Yeah, I am sitting on a 5X7 myself, so please report back if you do make it out. I was spoiled at the SES and now I am experiencing some major withdrawal.

I had this conversation with Bruce when I ordered my last Coiler, and as far as I know, the only differences are in the published specs. The usual suspects are taper, flex and sidecut. Also, with the Coiler boards, there are things like WCC and 'Superboard' to decide on. With any luck, you'll attract Bruce and Sean to this thread and know for sure.

Your boots were kick a$$, but I think you should work on platforms for next year. Mark

Have you measured your feet in centimeters? When I rode soft boots, my first pair of boots was Burton Moto size US15. However, I am in a mondo 30 shell with no problems at all. If your feet are wide as well as long go with UPS or Head boots - the Deluxe (Raichle) are more narrow. A good boot fitter is worth the cost.

I have big feet too. What I would suggest is finding a good deal on some hardboots and plate bindings and then put them on whatever board you like. With your feet, you are going to boot out with almost any board, in softboots. With hardboots, you can ride without any overhang and still choose whatever kind of board you like. The best thing to do is demo as much as possible to see what might work best for you.

Yes - they are intec ready.

This will be a solo mission for me, but I am looking forward to it with giddy, school-girlish type anticipation. Count me in 100% Mark Rattenbury Toronto, Ontario -Don't have a pic handy, but I might dig one up later.

I'll second the helicoil option. I have not done it myself, but I watched a competent person install one on my board. It is neither difficult nor time consuming, but requires a great deal of commitment. Once it is done, however, you should have the equivalent of a new insert.

Actually, I think she is/was a member of a National Snowboard Team in Europe somewhere. It was a tactic to try and get sponsorship from what I remember. Anyone still have the original story?

Thanks everyone. Perhaps we could keep this thread going until we get a decent break in the weather. I read that it is supposed to get colder near weeks end, but it is sounds like it will take some time for the snowmaking to catch up. We definitely need to do a snow dance or something. I hear it's totally puking snow out west . . .

Thanks Derek, hope you folks have a good time. I was out last Monday - the day before the rain - and the conditions at MSLM were pretty good. It was totally empty so that made it even better. I haven't been to Blue at all yet this year, but it usually takes longer to get up and running, so I don't even try until after Christmas unless we have really good snow early on. I will not be out this weekend, but perhaps a few days next week if the weather gets even the least bit cold, and heaven forbid, snowy.

Has anyone been out since the rain? How is it at Blue? MSLM? Thanks.

Before switching to hardboots, my last two pairs of softboots were sizes US15 and US14 respectively. Even with the widest boards that were in production those years (and believe me, I knew about all of them), I still had considerable overhang even at higher angles. Consequently, I booted out all of the time, when I wasn't breaking stuff. I know I am not the only one who found this aspect of softboot riding to be totally unacceptable, but big feet problems notwithstanding, if for some reason I even stood on a factory board again, it would be with hardboots and Bombers/Cateks. Otherwise, I am back to riding 28+++cm waist widths. Icky. Not to center out Vin Q, but it seems unavoidable in these conversations. From what I understand, he was an extremely talented/gifted hardboot rider before making the switch back/to softies. It seems totally reasonable that if anyone was to make a successful transition to softboot carving, it would be someone like Vin. There is no questioning the fact that a good rider is able to make any setup work at a high level, but I think for the masses, a hardboot setup allows access to a lot more control, more easily. There does seem to be a lot more choice in softboot setups now then there ever has been (especially with the Catek freeride), but not for this sasquatch.

I called a few days ago and the operator had neither heard of 'ECES' nor 'East Coast Expression Session'. With about 15-30 seconds of "digging", she was able to find the relevant info, however.

I voted with confidence and then forgot that I had more boards. I think I have a problem too. My wife, however, has more boards than me, so it's all good.

Thanks for all the suggestions guys. After doing some more snooping around, Midvale was looking pretty good. So that's it, I am booked for Feb 15 to Feb 20, and then it's off to the SES!!! It's shaping up to be an epic season for me. I have already started extra snow prayer sessions, but I am having a hard time finding a virgin.

I've never been charged duty by USPS/Canada Post/PBB, only GST. As has already been said, it's pretty difficult to sidestep the GST/PST. It can happen, however.

My best luck has been with USPS. If you are very clear on what you write in the paperwork, like 'NOT FOR RESALE' or 'REPAIRED AND RETURNED' or something (just hypothetically of course), you will be less likely to be hit with fees. It's always a bit of a gamble. I've used DHL and FedEx as well with great success in the 'condition of arrival', but they are more strict. Stay clear of UPS at all costs.

Well, that shows you how naive I was, I thought boards were permitted everywhere. I will definitely be on a board. Actually, I will have two boards, my all mountain and my soon to be had freecarve. I thought about staying in Salt Lake City, but I don't think I want to be that far away from the action. I don't need a night life, just a nice place that will serve as a good home base that won't break the bank too hard. Thanks for the Midvale tip, I'll check that out. I did check out the SkiUtah website before I started this thread, but I couldn't find a place that wasn't exclusively affiliated with one particular hill. Is there are section for general lodging that I missed?

I have a week to burn in Utah this February. I would like to get a taste of a few different places, but I have no idea how far apart the resorts are. Is there a small town that is central to most of the resorts, or should I just pick one and use that as a hub? I would like to get to Solitude, Powder Mountain, Snowbird, but I am not limited to those choices. However, I don't want to start a thread about XYZ resort being better than ABC. My real concern is staying someplace the will give me good access to most of the choices. Thanks.

Well, not quite. The numbers that you cite in your post require a lot of qualification. Without getting into it, the top speed of a skydiver (in competition) to date, is 494.37km/h. However, the speed I just gave does not include training jumps made by sport skydivers or anything that the military has tried. In the 60s, the US military dropped a man from a weather balloon (102, 800 feet) and his body came close to breaking the speed of sound at 614 MILES per hour! Still, 220km/h on a board is damn fast!