icebiker

Hey Art, great riding without you today. Thanks for showing us around. We did more of moonlight then broke for lunch at Headwaters. Then hit the tram up to Lone. View was unreal, but the ride down liberty bowl was tough. We're knackered! Glad I had the Yukon today. The Axxess comes out to play tomorrow.

Awesome Art....you oughta earn a commission as a big sky ambassador! See u soon.

Holy cow...that is incredible. I get the fact that it's a camera (Phone?) attached to a string and whirled above his head like a lasso....but: a) how does he keep the lens pointed at him the whole time? b) I see several (at least two) "strings" leading off-camera...they seem spread wide apart...so not clear what they are attached to (two ends of the phone?)....maybe that's the answer to "a"? His editing (varied speed, etc) does a great job at preventing the vertigo/dizzyness one might otherwise feel watching this. Amazing the creativity out there in people!

What a loss. I met Matt for an afternoon at Vail a few years ago and we had a great time albeit short. And only just this fall he hooked me up with a great set of bindings, personally putting them together with the best parts in his collection. Super nice guy. May he rest in peace.

Hi Art. Great pics, and great style! Your posts are getting me psyched for my trip to Big Sky March 6-12 with my 18 year old skier son. Would love a chance to meet at fellow BOL'er, do a few runs together and and maybe pick up some riding tips. I'll PM you my details if you'll be around. Thanks -Greg

Welcome and glad to see you've crossed the line (er, trench)! I'm 6'3", 200 lbs and ride mainly east coast. Bindings: Agree with all that's been said so far. I can definitely vouch for the TD3's. I went with step ins to aid ease of clicking in, albeit they are a bit stiffer than the bail versions. Board: I think given the narrow width of most east coast trails I agree with Michael A that sidecut radius is important, along with modest length. I ride a 172cm, 9-11 sidecut Donek which I had built to custom width because of my big feet and desire for a tighter sidecut than stock, and find it good for quick turns to scrub speed (plus negotiate around the often crowded slopes). If you decide to order custom, I would recommend a chat with Sean at Donek as he is able to impart a lot of useful knowledge in a short amount of time that helps you get the perfect board. I kid you not my very first turn on my Donek felt magical...things I never thought much of, like decambered nose, tapered tail, variable sidecut, etc made a huge difference. I still ride my Yukon twin-tip board for powder and chop (with hard boots too), but I don't feel the joy of carving on it like I do with the Donek. Boots: Like Michael A. said, these should be your priority...the handful of major brands each fit differently. I tried Heads and couldn't get my high arches past the middle. I ride Deeluxes, and they fit my narrow feet well. I never tried UPZ's but many swear by them. What's your foot size? Ever get to Camelback on a weekday? I am in NJ and could meet you there with advance notice assuming conditions improve. Ping "Teach" on this forum...he frequents Camelback and has been known to offer sage advice and loaners.

Welcome back to the fold!!

Nice work (both the riding and the filming)!

Tres Bien!

I bought a pair of used Deeluxe Le Mans on ebay in the fall in excellent condition. I liked the liners they came with, so swapped them into my 225's. They were in very good shape when I bought them. However, after my first day with them, my front boot's liner got pretty shredded up in the area of the shell's cuff adjuster's inner nut. The silver surface of the liners is shredded and flaking off. I am not sure why one liner is fine and the other isn't, but there is nothing I can tell within the boot shell that looks different or off than usual. I don't mind the visual appearance of the damage, but I'd like to prevent further deterioration. Was thinking I could cover the worn spots with some form of tape...maybe duct tape...however that tends to get crappy over time...any suggestions on what tape to use (and/or how else to prevent further deterioration? Thanks

Troy, great enthusiasm...that's what keeps our niche sport alive. I think Allee hit the nail on the head. Those who really want to give it a go will find a way to do so, starting with carving on their soft equipment. If they feel a sufficient stoke and get proficient at it in softies, the transition to alpine will not be as difficult and it's communities like BOL that can help get them further along with advice and/or new/used equipment. I once had an instructor on softies ask me for advice in the lift line. I gave him a few pointers on binding angles and getting on edge. He emailed me a few days later and said both he and his young son were hooked and would be exploring a hard set up next.

Good on ya Pat! haven't hit the snow yet....there ain't none down here Jersey way....

Very nice Phil...very nice.....SO jealous!

Many thanks ETF. We booked Big sky today for March. Psyched!

Timely question, as I am planning to take my son out west again this year. He's an 18 year old intermediate/advanced skier. We had a good time at Vail and Breck last year. We're thinking of Big SKy, Whitefish or JH this year. I prefer the wide blue groomers, he prefers the bowls/glades. Of these 3, which in your experience would be the most "blue groom" friendly for me while giving him sufficient bowl/glad skiing? We are in the NJ/NY area, so availability of limited-stop (or non-stop) flights is key, too. thanks

Great find. Holy Teal, Purple and Yellow!!! (Guilty as charged:.....)

Funny, that. As for angles/foot size/board width....I have 31.0's, and run 55F/50R on a 26 waisted 172 board with a 9-11 sidecut. My rear boot is right in line with the edges (no under/over hang toe or heel). My front, however, has slight underhang on the toe edge because I put a little Gilmour bias into it (shifted front binding toward the heel edge) to better weight heel turns. LIke you, I'd like to go a bit narrower, maybe 24 for my next board, which likely will require a 55R angle. Hope this helps.

Conditions yesterday... https://youtu.be/vcB146_y5Fk

Looks like this was just a tease then... http://forums.bomberonline.com/index.php?/topic/41915-snow-in-sept/ Hope NOAA is wrong!

Sweet!

Thanks, great point. Perhaps the Japanese merchant mixed up their 1's and 0's. E.g. 2003/2004?

So this is strange...I found this post on a Japanese merchant's yahoo auction site...these are exactly the boots I have.....site to indicate these are 2013-2014....contrary to the info on Carver's Almanac http://page2.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/b168857298 They are in good enough shape to be more recent, but Deeluxe's website hasn't carried anything non-"Track" for a while IIRC. In any case, chalk it up as a curiosity. What's more important is that they fit, work, and - hopefully I'll learn when I take them out later this year - they have the "give" I'm looking for.

http://www.powder.com/stories/news/it-snowed-16-at-big-sky-today/#FhsrE5ZwzDzvahYj.97