tufty

It's one of the "benefits" of working a small resort. *everyone* knows you, and if it's not your colleagues that see you making a tit of yourself, it's the bloody clients :) Sometimes they have video cameras, too.. http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x14s6u_big-air-air-guitar_sport

I've probably posted these before, but hey. Day off work, it's been dumping all night. Woohoo. Off we go, my mate and me, and open the slopes with my colleagues. Most of the slopes have one or two groomer tracks down them, and the rest is neck deep powder. Only downside, it's still dumping, so visibility pretty much nil Anyway, we hit the best drag in the resort, about 900ft vert with the first 100ft at 100% or steeper, and with a blazing fast lift to get you back up. Groovy, and it's floaty curves in virgin pow. Aces. Then we decide to go over to the other side of the main slope, where it's steeper and faster at the top, forgetting that about half-way down the groomers turn. And so it goes "floaty pow, groomed, floaty pow", but you can't see what's what. I hit the groomer track at mach schnell, in a turn - as I went weightless I realised what was happening, managed to land the board without wiping, only to hit a 1.5m wall of show on the other side - whoooomph! As usual when I wipe out in a big way, there's a bunch of my colleagues going up the drag not 20 feet away, all laughing fit to burst. Another one. Another day off. Lousy weather, raining at low altitude, snow at high alt but really really zero visibility and cold as a witches tit. So I figure "fuggit, there's nobody about, I'm gonna go hit the big kick the local kids have made, it'll be all fluffy and nice underneath for a soft landing, and it's on the way to the bar as well. DOUBLE WIN! Get to the top of the drag and find a bunch of extremely disoriented looking tourists peering at a map, and then trying to work out what they can see in the murk. As I have my resort jacket on, no question of leaving them stranded (not that I would), so explain to them "follow the pickets and you'll get to the main chairlift, then you can follow that down". Fair enough. So, I say goodbye, and head straight off-piste for the kick, which is about 50 feet below. Of course, I miss the kick by about a yard, and end up buried in a bowl of neck-deep snow. A bit of a bugger, but kinda funny. So I'm laughing to myself as I crawl myself out, and then suddenly realise *I'm not alone*. The tourists had decided to follow me, 4 of them ended up in the bowl and their 7 year old hit the kick full tilt, having completely lost control on the way down. As ever, at the moment I'm helping them out, checking the kiddie is okay, and trying to find their lost skis, the fog lifts for a brief instant, and there's one of my colleagues, laughing fit to burst. Or the time I'm running down the big red run (on skis, this time) one morning, tapping the markers with my batons to get the snow off them on the way - this is loads of fun - big carve, tap, big carve, tap, etc. Until the last marker, which is, of course, fully visible from the lift. Foul up my carve, dig a tip, BLAM, both skis off, slide on face until the marker, breaking my goggles in the process. Colleagues on the lift - you guessed it - laughing fit to burst. Simon

I generally carry at least one set of AT skins in my rucsack. As it happens, I was out with a mate last year at the same time I had an half-repaired set in the bag, where the end loop had torn off, and I hadn't had time to sew it back on. So, he needs to stop to answer the call of nature. Leaving his board with me, flat on the snow. Yes. Yes I did. How I laughed, as I climbed back up the slope and waded through the snow off the side of the piste where he'd thrown it after realising what was going on. Funny joke, though. Simon

Nah, it's a dilatant or "non newtonian fluid", the most common example of which is a mixture of corn starch and water known as "oobleck". Basically, it's something which is fluid when moved slowly, but hardens under sudden shear forces. As such, it's the exact opposite of what you want for a helmet. A helmet has 2 parts. One part, the shell, exists to protect against abrasive and puncturing forces, this bit wants to be hard. It's not the most important part, though. The important part is the part that cushions your head from the shock of impact, reducing the "G"s applied to your precious grey matter. This bit needs to be more or less rigid under normal usage (to mould itself properly to your head), but to allow your head to decelerate slowly in the case of impact. The guy in the video, although protected from the pain of the initial shovel impact by the product, in much the same way as he would have been by having a hard shell bonded to his head (load spreading), would not be protected at all against the *real* danger of the majority of falls on bike or snowboard, which is to say, brain damage. Dead handy for body armour, though. Flexible when you want it to be, hard when you need it to be. The stuff used by the US and Canadian teams comes from a company called "d3o Lab", they can be found here : http://www.d3o.com/ Simon

Being old enough to remember when helmets became compulsory on bikes in the UK (1973), and all the "oh noes, if I have a little accident the helmet is going to break my neck" type wailing the anti-helmet crowd came out with at the time, I can agree with this. Since the introduction of compulsory helmets on bike, neck trauma has not noticeably increased, despite more riders surviving "big offs". Admittedly, a full-face helmet has more chance of "digging in" on snow in certain cases, but, again as Bola says, if this was a major (or even minor) issue there would have been lawsuits already, and not just in the land of the free. Having seen the sort of "little facial scarring" that an open face helmet can leave you with on a bike (mate of mine who had an "off" that left him bouncing his mush along the tarmac for a significant distance), I ride bikes *exclusively* with full face lids, even offroad. I can see how boarding with a full-face helmet could be a bit of a bear for instructors though. Simon

Nope. To get good quality, you need to find a helmet that fits. That's all. If it's on sale as a helmet that meets the various standards, it meets the relevant standards, and it fits you, it doesn't matter if it cost you 3 bucks or 300. The extra you pay is for "added features", looks, looks, and looks. Remember, one accident, with *or without* visible damage -> your helmet should go in the bin. A helmet is a disposable item, and it's designed to degrade on impact to reduce the impact absorbed by your grey matter. The degradation that the helmet experiences in an impact is irreversible; using it again means that the next shock may be your last. There was an interesting article backed by new research on motorcycle helmets released this summer, which pointed out that the majority of expensive fibre glass, carbon and kevlar helmets, although theoretically capable of absorbing more shock in a high speed accident (which would most likely be fatal anyway), transmitted up to twice as much energy to the head in low-speed accidents relative to the super cheap "bargain basement" plastic helmets. In other words, the more you spend on a crash helmet, the more you're likely to end up with brain trauma in a low speed fall. The manufacturers and one of the standards bodies were less than amused. Article here : http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/gearbox/motorcycle_helmet_review/ On the other hand, I'm not one to preach, when riding I wear a tibetan wool hat, and then only if it's cold. In full carve mode, the ear flaps make me look like a bassett hound in a wind tunnel :) Simon

I've had a heavy spending year, and the season hasn't even started yet. I bought a new pair of skiboots[1] yesterday. Well, not "new" exactly. "New used" Nordica K5.1. 39€ total[2]. The spend isn't finished yet though, I'll probably shell out for some wax later in the season[3]. Simon [1] I wouldn't have bothered, but my TR9's cracked across the sole last January, it was getting a bit hairy skiing with them, and they finally gave up the ghost on the last day of the season, but then doing the last 1200' of descent on grass tends to "stress" your gear. [2] That's about $700, right? [3] Unless I can make do with "borrowing" like I usually do, of course.

<flamebait> Aerosmith, "hard rock"? Bwahahahaha!!! </flamebait> For me, I simply can't ride with music. I can't drive with it either. When I'm working (summertime, at a computer), I can't work without, it helps / forces me to ignore any external stimuli, which is probably why I find it screws me up when riding or driving. But I'm odd like that, I guess. Simon

Yep, they're "interchangers", only really useful if you are changing the angles all the time. They have, IIRC, the same bails as the low-end snowpros (4.5 or 5mm, I forget) as opposed to the ones on the race model. As stock, they are ****e, expect to mangle the bails the instant you start pushing at all hard. I had a set of the "twin" bindings on my Hot for a morning before returning them to the vendor in a completely "destroy" state and asking for a refund, and then fitting my old set of race bindings. It'd only be worth buying them (even at a reasonable price) if you had a set of race toe and heel blocks to mount on them, could deal with the extra failure point brought in by the adjustment mechanism, and wanted to change your angles every 2 minutes. i.e. not at all, and certainly not at that price. Going rate for a set of used snowpro race bindings over here in yurp is about 40-50 euros including shipping, and brand spanking new, with warranty, from a real shop, they go for between 120 and 199 euros. The snowpro race bindings are a bloody good cheap binding. The snowpro cheap bindings are a bloody awful cheap binding.

I really wouldn't like you to think that I, or anyone here, thinks you're a wuss. I've not managed to completely smash myself on a board yet, modulo the odd sprian, dislocation, grated face and ACL injury I've got off pretty lightly over the years, and certainly more lightly than you have. Motorcycle-wise, it's not the same, I very nearly died in a 100mph+ highside that ended up in the armco, but it didn't stop me riding - I didn't let it. Didn't even stop me riding fast, for that matter, but what it did do was get me to do a refresher advanced riding course. Your accident will change you - it can't *not* change you, it's an experience after all and all we are is a collection of experiences. Just don't let it turn you into something you don't want to be, is all. Simon

You're on a slippery slope there, and I'd advise you to get off it. It's not far from "is snowboarding worth the risk" to being terrified to go outside your house in case you get run over or mugged or shot or slip on a banana skin and break your back. It's natural to have a certain amount of trepidation before getting back on the board, and even when you have got back on the board, but it's something to get over. Sure, balance the risks, but get out there and enjoy yourself, live life to the full, each and every day. Remember, when you're doing something dangerous, the major risk is something that you are exposing yourself to, in most cases the fault is your own when something goes wrong. You control your destiny. The same is not true if you're run over by a drunk driver, shot in some random driveby shooting whilst coming out of a restaurant, etc. Life is short, it should be sweet. If I die snowboarding, or doing trapeze, or tightwire, or stacking a motorcycle into a wall, I'll die happy, with no regrets. This doesn't mean I take unnecessary risks, all it means is that I do the best I can with everything I do, and enjoy myself doing it. Grab life with both hands, and don't let go. Yeah, it's natural to be afraid. That fear won't go away unless you make it do so. Get back on the horse as soon as you can, give the fear a good kick in the balls, and get back to doing what you enjoy. Simon

Tom... I hate you.

I ride a Blast 160 (slalom board), it's snappy and evil quick on the turns (8.9m radius will tend to do that). I love it, but if you're after something a bit "calmer" the Hot / Hammer GS boards are pretty nice, too. I can't compare to the more exotic gear being touted here, but I certainly prefer the Hot to all the F2 boards I've ridden (Silberpfeil, Speedster) and vastly more than the FP, although that latter is not a fair comparison, the FP I rode was "ridden out" and my Blast was next-to-new. Simon

I am by no means a good skier, hell, the guys I work with still laugh at me, but when I learned I did one run down the bunny slope doing that snowplough thing, thought "that sucks" and moved straight on to parallels. Admittedly, I was learning on 195cm almost-straight skis, and trying to snowplough made me feel like I was destroying my knees. I still can't do it, even on little shaped skis. I'd say that anyone with reasonable snowboard experience could pick up basic skiing (parallel turns, skidding turns to slow down and stop) within a day, and on modern skis be into carving turns very shortly afterwards. There's 2 things to learn when skiing (at least when learning to get down the hill), one is how to control the planks and the other is what to do on the mountain; if you have reasonable balance and co-ordination the first bit isn't too hard, and if you've alredy boarded the second is there already. I should add that my 6-year-old is already way better on skis than I will ever be. But I will have my revenge. I picked up a 130cm snowboard with his size boots (soft, sadly, but I know where to lay my hands on a set of kiddy plates) and bindings at a ski sale a couple of weeks back, that'll even the little sod out. Well, for a week or two, anyway. *sigh* Simon

An alpine board, or possibly a really stiff BX deck. There's a fair number of alpine boards available, depending on how much money you want to spend / can afford to spend; you're going to need not just a board but bindings and boots as well, because you're going too find it very hard to get anywhere near the photos posted in softies. Unless you're falling over, of course, and I've yet to see anyone in softies fall over with as much style as that :) The problem you're going to find is that alpine boards are not only expensive and "hen's teeth" in most ski stores, but they are varied, probably more varied than freeride / freestyle boards are; without some expert help and advice you could end up stuck with something that simply doesn't work for you. The same goes for boots. Which means you probably need to be borroowing or hiring gear, but that means knowing someone with gear to lend / a shop with gear to hire. Personally, I'd suggest something like an F2 Silberpfeil as a reasonably docile first alpine board. Simon

I don't mean to doubt you Bob, but are there really many people like that? If so, all I can say is "Wow". Maybe it's an "over the pond" thing; the only people I know who have significant quantities of old gear are people who horde their own old gear which they have generally bought new or nearly new. As a "liftie", I see pretty much all types of riders and skiers coming through; alpine riders are relatively rare and seem to be split between the local lads who, like me, run older gear, and the tourists, who run newer / brand new stuff. There's a few tourists who have to make the choice between a pass or a board, too, they tend to be better riders than most of the guys on spanking new gear... Much like the skiers, there are 2 distinct groups; those that do it because they love it, because they couldn't _not_ do it, and those that do it because it's a bit of fun. And that's where you start talking about people who are dedicated to the sport; it's not about money. The guy might be running an old asymmetric with ghetto plates and boots, but if it's a choice between that or not riding at all... You and Bordy and pretty much everyone here obviously fall into the group where you couldn't not be doing it. You're lucky to be in the group where you can afford the gear as well. When I was in London, we would leave work on Friday night, drive overnight down to the alps, arrive at dawn, ride all weekend, sleeping in the car more often than not, then drive back Sunday night to be back at work on Monday morning. Every other weekend. Why? Because the snow was there, but we couldn't afford to fly every other week. Boarding is a major part of why I left London, left what was a reasonably paid career, to live in a house with no heating, hot water or indoor toilet, in the Alps. A move from a comfortable life with guaranteed work to an uncomfortable and, frankly, very hard life with no job in an area where work is seasonal and generally manual and the salary barely covers living costs. I went from systems programming to wielding a pickaxe in the summer and driving a chairlift in the winter, and spending pretty much every spare moment either riding or making my house livable. So yeah, laugh at my gear, even laugh at the way I ride, but don't ever say I'm not dedicated. Cheers. Simon

Sorry, I have to pull you up on that one: someone out, ripping and visibly having fun on a hard setup has to be helping the sport, especially if the person in question isn't an arsehole when people talk to them, points interested newcomers at places like this, etc. The cost of your gear has nothing to do with it. Now, I know where you're coming from, nobody buying new gear == no new gear next year cause everyone is out of business, but the point is that not everyone can afford to throw down 750$ on a new deck. Hell, what you're talking about throwing down on one deck without bindings blows my entire equipment budget 3 times over, and that budget has to cover *all* the gear I use over winter; i.e. skis, boards, bindings and boots to fit, plus poles, goggles, hats, gloves and other sundries. I, like most other people running a hard setup, though, spend a lot of time telling people what it's about. Why it's different to a soft setup. Why it's fun. Where in the area they can go to hire hard gear. Where they can go in the area to buy hard gear. What instructors in the area teach on plates. Hell, I've even been known to lend my own boots and board to people... My mate's shop cleared new 10 alpine rigs thanks to me and another friend pointing people in their direction last year. But no, I'm not buying much new gear. I might end up with my first set of new boots in 10 years this year, if I can swing a decent discount. But I might just get new liners. Again, if I can swing a decent discount. Or I might just make do with what I have for another year. So no. I'm doing nothing for the sport. Right. sorry, feeling a bit grumpy :) Simon

...says the man with a busted powder stick :) duck and run, duck and run. You do have a point, and I'm personally of the opinion that hell, you should ride how you feel like riding, without excluding doing stuff differently either. Keep an open mind, etc. Wanna carve with your knees together? Wanna carve with your knees apart? Go for it, either way, and preferably both. Simon

I prefer mitts to gloves, and can vouch for the shoe goo appraoch. Haven't had stomps on my boards for a couple of years since the last one fell off, but I bought one the other day. Dakine spike stomp. Dunno if it will be any good. Simon

Gloves (well, mitts, actually) and a hat. Simon

Hot Blast 160SL here. The way it turns you would have to be _very_ quick to get any eurocarving in on it, but other than that it is, indeed, a blast. For most riding, especially if there's a good few people about, I prefer it to a GS board. Simon

Thin fingerless or silk gloves with mitts over the top for cold days (-15c or below). Mitts get too hot (at least, good ones do) for me, I have to take them off on the lifts to cool my hands down, hence the liners. I've never had need for the "glove heater pouch" on my mitts. Lined leather work gloves for warmer days. What's more important is keeping them attached to you. All gloves and mitts stand a probability of being lost which is inversely proportional to the temperature and proportional to the square of the price you paid for them divided by their age in hours. Simon

It's an interesting experience running an alpine (or, to a lesser extent, BX) board through powder, and although I wouldn't recommend it for doing trees due to the massive speeds you need to maintain just to keep afloat it's worth doing once or twice just for laughs and to improve your technique; an alpine board amplifies all the flaws you have when powder riding, and makes them (often painfully) obvious. Of course if you want to go out and float the powder, you need a powder stick. Duh. Simon

Yay. That's niiiice. If you hike up, you've earned the ride down, the way I see it. Simon

I ride bails. Tried step-ins, didn't like them much; this is odd as I used to ride clickers on my freeride setup... There's pros and cons for both types of binding: For bails the pros are, as I see it and in no particular order: cheapness, extra 'give' and that failure points are likely to be visible, and the cons are convenience, extra 'give' and the toe bail flopping over when you're skating. For step-ins, you have pros of convenience, no need to worry about the toe bails when skating, and extra stiffness, and cons of cost, extra stiffness and potentially "hidden" failure points. There's not a compelling overall factor as far as I can see it; stiffness / give is a pro or a con depending on who you are, hidden / visible failure points are not too much of an issue if you actually take care of your gear and the toe bail thing is not an issue if you don't end up skating... So it comes down to convenience and cost. I can see the "convenience" side of step-ins, although to be honest I can clip my rear foot into and out of my bindings as fast as most people can get into step-ins, especially if there's snow stuck on their boots, and about the only time I have to do so is getting on and off the lifts or coming out of restaurants. For the moment, bending down to clip in is not a major issue; if it becomes one then I'm not sure I ought to be riding anyway :) Personally, I like the extra give, and the fact I can have a better set of "conventional" bindings for the same money (or, more to the point, that for a set of "equivalent level" bindings, I have money left over for beer). So it's all a matter of choice, really. Possibly the best bet would be to get a set of boots with intec heels included in the package and then try both. If you don't like the step-ins, you can always recoup some / most of the cost of the heels by selling them on. Or see if you can't rent / borrow a set of boots with intecs, although that changes all the variables at once... Simon