bjvircks

Hello all.... it has been quite a while since I've hung out here and I'm really, REALLY out of the loop! A friend has just arrived back in the states (lives in Moscow, Russia) and wants to snowboard during the Thanksgiving weekend. I'm guessing that it's a real longshot... but I'd like to know what the outlook is for any areas being open that he might be able to drive to relatively quickly from eastern Iowa. I suggested he might consider taking the train to Winter Park, Colorado... but would probably be totally packed if open. any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks for the insight, St_lupo. From what I can see online Santa Fe does look like a good option. I know better than to think I'd find any kind of carving gear rental anywhere... so I'm planning on setting up a softboot rental as close to alpine as it will let me.

I've been away from carving for 2 seasons... so please be gentle! (short track and long track ice skating) My wife and I will be in Albuquerque at the end of January and are looking for a good place for us to do a day together on the 28th, and I will be on my own for 29, 30, 31. She'll be on skis the 28th so I'll probably ski also. For the 29th, 30th & 31st... where would be decent places under 2 hours from ABQ? We are traveling light, and so I will probably not bring any gear of any sort. I went to the Ski New Mexico site and got a list of resorts.... looks like Santa Fe and Pajarito are OK, an hour and a half away. Sandia Peak is right there, but looks tame and depth seems thin (just opened couple days ago). I'd like to try Taos... but seems too far for a solo day trip. So... any suggestions? Which places have good rental gear? Any places I should stay away from? Thanks in advance! Brad edit: just read the 'no snow winter' thread. Been really warm and rainy here in Iowa too, local resorts cannot open. Got our 1st real snow yesterday but I don't expect it to hang around long.

Wife & I will be in ABQ late Jan. She'll be working... I get to play! Where are the best places to carve near ABQ at this time of year?

On inline skates (roller blades) my wife and I do marathons. Road ID is super important because there isn't anyplace to carry a wallet when you're wearing a skinsuit!

Hey, Fin... it would be great to get in a few turns with the guys responsible for my setup (TD3 & Donek FCII metal) but I've been out voted. We were at A-Basin on Saturday and I found some stuff I liked. We've decided to head to Winter Park and make use of our 2for1. It is kind of tough finding my legs again. These are the first days back on a board for me since mid-season last year. Wife and I have been busy speed skating ice short track, long track and inline marathons and so carving has taken a back seat. There is just something exciting about setting the edge and laying it over, whether it is on a board, skates or skis. It is strange adjusting to a different weight management paradigm. On speed skates you push thru your foot center, on a carving board I drive my shin forward which can spell disaster on skates. gotta run, bus is leaving in 10 min.

Jim... if you found BC 'lacking' that might mean to a snow starved flatlander things would be fairly OK. What do you think? Would my wife and stepson enjoy BC? (see my post above)

Thanks, folks... keep the information coming! Some guys in the hot tub tonight said Vail was very good. (one guy was skier, one was softbooter... said back bowls were good. I'm with wife (skier) and stepson (softbooter). Me... I switch between skis and carving board. How far and tough is the mid-week drive to Winter Park? We've got a few Shell gas station buy-one-get-one-free coupons that are good at Copper, Winter Park and a few other places.

BC still got cookies? The last time I was at BC I had a humerous thing happen. Background: If I have a long way to walk and I have both board and skis to carry I will strap board to my pack vertical, strap skis to pack sides 'A frame' and sling hardboots over top of pack. Then I hoist the heavy load get going. I was on patio at the base and had just started to walk out. The walkway was about 4 people wide. Coming straight at me three across, filling the whole walkway, was a three-some of the most beautiful women I have ever seen. They were decked out in furs, etc, hair was perfect and makeup stunning. They would yield absolutely nothing in their strut. They would not make eye contact as they approached, filling the entire walkway. The attitude I percieved from them was "We are beautiful!!! On this alone... the whole world must get the hell out of our way!"

Please forgive me if this subject has been beat to death already... I've been away from Bomber for quite a while. I find myself in in Breckenridge Jan 5 thru Jan 11 (out of the blue a friend of my wife is letting us have their condo for the week). Anyway... We get here and find mountains not fully open, etc. What resorts within 1 hour drive at most from Breck are in best shape for carving?

three responses and zero help for Dano... I don't know what exact part number to use for the tee-nuts... but after a few years of use and corrosion I had trouble with the UPZ-provided nuts. I switched to a different size thread and now use socket head cap screws to hold my heel to the boot. The socket head helps reduce problems getting the screws out when I need to switch between my DIN heels and Intec. In order to keep a phillips or posidrive screwdriver engaged you need to apply pressure... which for me pushed the tee-nut off and allowed in to spin.

Here's the setup... Tuesday nights we have beer league ski racing and I run the gates on skis and alpine board. To get to the course with both skis and board I carry the board as I ski down the hill to catch the lift that takes me over to the course. As I get on the chair to take me to the course the lifty asks "Did you just find that board on the hill?" Feeling like a smart-a$$ I answer "Heck no... some dork cut me off so I ran him down, beat him up and stole his board." The stunned look on the speechless guy's face was absolutely priceless. Later he figured it out when I'd come thru alternating skis/board/skis/board. Earlier that evening I had another smart-mouth moment. I had just propped my skis/poles in a rack and put my alpine board down to clip in. A kid was watching and I could see him look to my skis, look to my board, look back at my skis, then look at my UPZ boots. With a somewhat confused look on his face he pointed to my board and asked "what IS that?" I responded "It's a bicycle!" We both had a good laugh and I went on to explain that is was a alpine snowboard used for engaging the edge and carving powerful turns.

Its all about the edge: Carving Tools for Perfect Turns

Shell Ski Free in the big mountain state of.... Wisconsin? What's up with THAT ?

Rocks are already in our boards and skis and have been for years! What the heck do you think fiberglass is? Glass is silica. Silica is SAND. ROCK. Now we've got a different flavor of rock with different properties. yawn.