Dan Posted December 26, 2006 Report Share Posted December 26, 2006 Visiting my girlfriend's folks in Bend over the holiday weekend, and what do you think I saw when I opened the paper this morning? http://www.bendbulletin.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061225/SPORTS05/612250310/1013/SPORTS&nav_category=SPORTS Schweet! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dano Posted December 26, 2006 Report Share Posted December 26, 2006 And I thought I had long tinkler! Thanks for sharing and Merry xmas to all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sinecure Posted December 26, 2006 Report Share Posted December 26, 2006 Wow! What a well written article. Its so rare to read something about snowboarding at all, let alone Alpine riding, where the reporter doesn't completely mess it up. I'm going to quote the whole thing here in case it disappears over there. I hope I'm not violating copyright in any way (I probably am). Longer and faster Central Oregon man's 'Big Kahuna' snowboard might be the longest in the world By Mark Morical / The Bulletin Published: December 25. 2006 5:00AM PST The "Big Kahuna" is propped up against a wall inside Mt. Bachelor's Sunrise Lodge. Every skier or snowboarder who walks by stares up in wonder at the towering innovation - all 8 feet 3¤ inches of it. "Is it a ski or a snowboard?" one young boy asks. The Big Kahuna is most definitely a snowboard. And at 252 centimeters, it's quite possibly the longest snowboard in the world. Doug Dryer of Bend carves his unique board down the freshly groomed slope near the Sunrise chairlift. It's obvious he is riding a snowboard, but his carving motion down the mountain is a rarely seen art form: He digs the edge of his board deep into the snow, leaning so that his body is parallel to the slope and his face barely a foot from the corduroy lines. Dryer places his hand on the slope, "caressing the snow," as he reaches nearly 40 mph and his board cuts a deep track, spraying snow several feet in the air. "It's the ultimate turn," Dryer says. "You're up close and personal with the snow." Alpine snowboarding * Doug Dryer of Bend, who rides what might be the longest snowboard in the world, is trying to promote the fading sport of alpine snowboarding. * In alpine snowboarding, the focus is on speed and carving the perfect turn. For more information, log on to www.bomberonline.com or call Dryer at 385-8304. Dryer's form of snowboarding is basically alpine, in which riders wear hard boots with their feet pointed more forward on the board than freestyle boarders. But Dryer tries to get his body closer to the slope than most alpine snowboarding racers. He calls his form of riding "extreme carving." "Doug's a very good rider," says Mike Tinkler, who custom built the Big Kahuna for Dryer. "He tips it over pretty radical. A lot of pros (racers) don't do that because they need to get to the next gate." Tinkler and Dryer are part of an alpine snowboarding community that has grown smaller and smaller as freestyle and powder riding have come to rule the snowboarding world. At his west Bend home, Dryer, a woodworker who has lived in Central Oregon for about four years, has a collection of nearly 30 boards, many of which he uses to help alpine boarders get started at Mount Bachelor. Equipment for alpine snowboarding is now difficult to find, because most manufacturers no longer make it. Many alpine riders must go to custom-board makers, like Tinkler. Last year, Dryer ordered a board from Tinkler that was 201 centimeters long. Then he upgraded to a 222-centimeter board. But that just wasn't long enough for Dryer, and next came the Big Kahuna, which Dryer rode for the first time this month. "It rockets you into the next turn," Dryer says. "Most people do not ride a board longer than 200 centimeters. With length comes more speed. Everything is intensified." And as far as Dryer and Tinkler know, the Big Kahuna could be the longest snowboard in the world. They posed that question in forums on several alpine snowboarding Web sites and have heard from no one who knows of a longer board. "We have not found anyone who's built anything longer," Tinkler says. "Our only competition would be a powder board. The longest powder board we heard of was 8 feet long." Tinkler, who lives in The Dalles, was a competitive surfer and windsurfer in Hawaii. He's been in the alpine snowboarding industry since the early 1990s and has worked with World Cup racers. Tinkler needed about three months to build the Big Kahuna, which he says would cost about $3,000 retail. The board includes a wooden core of poplar and white ash with a high-grade aluminum as the laminated top plate. Tinkler also implemented his "Snow Stix," a flex adjustment system that allows riders to alter the stiffness of the board, depending on how aggressively they want to ride. "I crank them," says Dryer, who likes to ride as aggressively as possible. The Big Kahuna also features a split tail, which provides shock absorption for smoother riding. The board can often be mistaken for a ski because of its long, narrow design: 18.3 centimeters wide at its slimmest point, at the center - or waist - of the board. Conventional boards are 25 centimeters or wider at the waist. The narrow design allows for quicker turning from one edge of the board to the other. Dryer uses step-in bindings, with his feet at a 65-degree angle forward. He focuses on keeping his hips straight forward down the mountain, more so than most freestyle boarders. Because Dryer likes to run his hand and arm along the snow when riding, he says he goes through gloves and jackets rather quickly. He reinforces the palm of his right glove with black silicone. The best terrain for the Big Kahuna is a wide, freshly groomed slope, Dryer says. He can ride it on two to three inches of new snow, but any more than that and riding the big board becomes dangerous. "If there's a pocket of soft snow, the nose will penetrate a soft spot and just dig in and stop - and you keep going," Dryer says. He notes that Bachelor's Thunderbird run near the Pine Marten chairlift and Beverly Hills run near the Summit chairlift are some of the best slopes on which to ride the Big Kahuna. But he says he can take it on most places at Mount Bachelor, just not on a run that's too narrow - and definitely not in the trees. And with the speeds Dryer reaches on the board, he is ever cognizant of other snowriders. "It's about yielding and being real smart," Dryer explains. "You pick and choose your line. If it (the slope/run ahead) is cluttered, I stop and wait. I never want to scare a beginner. It would scare the living daylights out of them." On the slopes, skiers and snowboarders don't have much time to catch a glimpse of Dryer as he rips down the mountain. But inside the lodge and on a chairlift, there is no shortage of curiosity and dropped jaws. "I get questions a lot: 'Is that real? Is that legal?' " Dryer says. "Someone at West Village Lodge thought it was a decoration. The feedback is just hilarious." But the sport is extremely serious. It takes concentration and commitment when flying down the slope at such high speeds. Crashes can be catastrophic. "There's no holding back in this sport," Dryer says. "If you get timid, you'll be in trouble. You have to make very quick edge changes between turns or else you'll be in the sidelines. Getting on edge, you need to completely tip the board - all or nothing." Photos by Andy Tullis / The Bulletin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh Posted December 26, 2006 Report Share Posted December 26, 2006 Tinkler and step-in TD2's...strong combo Nice article! Doug is an all-around great guy too --Hugh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuban Carving Gooding Posted December 26, 2006 Report Share Posted December 26, 2006 That is WOW!!! And I thought the F2 196 was big. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nekdut Posted December 26, 2006 Report Share Posted December 26, 2006 Lengths- 252cm / 222cm / 201cm Wow, Bryan, its just odd to see a 201cm board displayed as the "short board" in a lineup Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuban Carving Gooding Posted December 26, 2006 Report Share Posted December 26, 2006 What is the weight of one of the 252?:lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdgang Posted December 26, 2006 Report Share Posted December 26, 2006 at 5'6" that board would make me look like a midget....but I want one anyways Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djtrussny Posted December 26, 2006 Report Share Posted December 26, 2006 I agree, great article. Wasn't too dumbed down and very informative to hopefully get some more people/manufacturers involved. P.S. I want one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Gendzwill Posted December 26, 2006 Report Share Posted December 26, 2006 By "flare" do you mean it has reverse taper? Looks like it from the picture. Why that shape? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuban Carving Gooding Posted December 27, 2006 Report Share Posted December 27, 2006 Details:Length-252cm SCR-19.5-20 M Waist Width-18.3cm Weight (without bindings) 17lbs +1cm(x2) Flare Color Scheme, Similar to my 203cm Board is silver , driver plate charcol. Heavy Duty carbon fiber "Snow Stix" 1-1/2"-2" of camber Price? Approx. 3000$ --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 17 lbs sounds like A lot of weight how does that feal hanging on one leg? The bindings look like eight lbs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheffy Posted December 27, 2006 Report Share Posted December 27, 2006 Cool looking board but the length is ridiculous ..... its way too long :p :p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pow Posted December 27, 2006 Report Share Posted December 27, 2006 *Ahem*... "Tinkler and Dryer are part of an alpine snowboarding community that has grown smaller and smaller as freestyle and powder riding have come to rule the snowboarding world." ohh, and that picture of all the tinklers made me think Doug had gone nuts and mounted a few bindings regular and one goofy... then i realized theyre not all his:smashfrea Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tim Tuthill Posted January 5, 2007 Report Share Posted January 5, 2007 Where is the video??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tpalka Posted January 5, 2007 Report Share Posted January 5, 2007 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeW Posted January 6, 2007 Report Share Posted January 6, 2007 OMG this rocks!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.