Shops that demo Alpine boards?

[Guest StonedRider]

Are there any in Big Bear? I've had no luck finding anything down the mountain in Redlands and San Berdoo.

[Bullwings]

demos in CA

or, rather, demo... and you missed it

as for alpine stuff out here in SoCal, good luck with that. alpine boarding isn't quite as profitable as freestyle/freeride boarding, so there's really no reason for them to carry the stuff. it's a niche market.

alpine boarding isn't perceived as cool to the teenage male demographic, which is pretty much where marketing has aimed freestyling/freeriding to.

oldvolvosrule said that there was some guy in the wrightwood area by mt. high that carried alpine gear, but i can't remember what the name of the place was.

[Sinecure]

If you venture up to Tahoe, go to www.tahoecarvers.com. There are some folks on there who have spare gear they'll let you use. That's about as close as you'll come, unless there's someone in SoCal willing to do the same thing.

[Guest StonedRider]

I know Burton was up in Big Bear last week demoing boards, unfortunately none of them were made for carving or racing.

[Neil Gendzwill]

Burton no longer makes boards for that market. Big Bear is kind of the anti-carving hill, isn't it? Jib City, USA. I wouldn't expect there to be any alpine equipment there.

[AaronG]

Stoned, you will find locating a alpine deck in Southern Cal an impossible task!! There is simply not enough demand for it out here in jibberland. There are two places you might try, they may have a few old boards that they will let you try, not necessarily demos. One shop is located in Big Bear, that is Goldsmith's Boardhouse, they are right on the Boulevard right before you head up to Bear Mtn. Another shop is located in Wrightwood, that is called Mountain High Sports, I spoke with them a few weeks ago and they were carrying TD2s and Head boots, not sure what they have in the way of boards. The connection there is Tim, he rides alpine gear. Again, they may not have demos but they may have something in the back room collecting dust that they may let you take out.

Hope this helps, Where do you live in So Cal? I see in your post that you mention Redlands and San Berdoo.

[Guest frenchy]

I dropped by Goldsmith yesterday in the hopes they would still have some boards and bindings. A couple years back they actually were still selling brand new F2s. The lady noted that they were the only one who knew what an alpine board was, but that they had stopped, after a few people ordered boards, and when finally having to shell out the cash, decided not to buy. Leaving goldsmith with expensive boards with no one to buy them. My understanding is that they still have a few board(s) for rental, but that they do not have new material anymore. It's a shame, but when you hear the kids on the slope asking whether your board is a snowboard, or some weird monoski of sorts... I have to say I'm impressed with the way soft boots have been marketed to wannabe skaters, as a sport that required pretty much no technical skills. For the few ones who learn to go down a slope decently, there are legions who have no idea what they are doing, and barely keep their balance. I find them to be more dangerous than any beginners on the slope, since they no longer have a preferred direction of motion: when one of them is sliding, grooming the slope with no aim, and you're arriving form above, there is a 50/50 chance they will go left/right. ..annoying..I use to be able to predict trajectories, but slow trajectories are the worst.

[Guest StonedRider]

Sweet, Goldsmith's is the only shop in Big Bear I go to, they all know me because I've bought so many replacement straps from them and they always hook up the prices. I had no idea they carried alpine stuff. I will definitely ask about it on Thursday when I go back up.

I live about an hour away from the mountain down in Redlands.

[AaronG]

I live in Redlands also. Goldsmith's used to carry alot of alpine gear, now all they have remaining is stuff left over from years past. I think they have some Deeluxe boots and some Raichle bindings. As for boards, nothing they have is new inventory, it will all be older stuff that is just shoved into a corner somewhere.

As for Mtn High sports they do have current TD2s and also 06-07 Head boots, demos for boards would be something that is from years past again.

YOu won't find any dealers around here for Donek, Oxygen alpine, Prior, Coiler or F2.

[D-Sub]

:lol::lol::lol: @ frenchy's post. Can't quite see where the transition from shops to yet another gripe about those !#$!#$@# kooks on softboots came from.

[Guest frenchy]

alpine boards => goldsmith => no more alpine boards there either =>impressed by marketing of non-alpine boards => no technical skills required is reason => bitching about lack of technical skills preventing me from having fun on slopes

it's all very logical. Plus I'm not going to post twice for different streams of consciousness, it's not like the forum is so crowded that my posts get lost :)

[D-Sub]

see the summary was much easier to follow. thanks for that :)

youre new...Im obviously not...so I've heard the "damn jibbers" thing SO many times. A lot of alpiners remind me of skiers almost.

I don't disagree with you about the lack of skill, but...if I look back, every single endeaver I've pursued has had its "kooks." Skateboarding (we called some of them curb critics, the others were just posers), music, golf...the list goes on and on.

rarely do people ever put the effort into truly learning how something "should" be done.

[Guest frenchy]

No problem.

I would argue that the state of things is particularly striking in southern california, go to any more technical resorts in the rockies or the alps, and there is just not enough terrain for jibbers. Now don't get me wrong, I truly enjoy soft boots and freeride boards for what they are: great in ungroomed, soft or of course powdery snow, and great for any sort of jumping. I have no problems with that.

As for being new, certainly new on the forum, sure, but I've been riding alpine boards since when they had swallowtails and Serge Vitelli was our god. Everybody was starting with ski boots at the time, and never considered moon-boots would be an option :) So, I'll keep venting whenever I feel something is wrong with the world :)

You're right about every sport having its kooks, but I think skiers make more efforts, cause they intuitively understand that sliding sideways is not the point of the sport, and that somehow having the edges parallel to the direction of motion is what makes it fun.

The main problem here is that the "organizers" of the sport, the one that normally make sure it is practiced in the way it "should" be ( i.e. instructors, ski patrols, resort managers etc...) just give in to the market model that makes jibbering the highest money-making choice (By the way, it is likely that, here in southern california, they hit a target that would otherwise NOT come on the slopes, so it's of course the right choice from an economic standpoint)

Therefore, instead of teaching even jibbers how to position their weight correctly, how to shift form edge to edge, BEFORE knowing how to slide on a rail or grab their tails, they effectively foster a culture of mediocre soft-booting, when soft-booting could be just as serious a sport. Then they would realize that by and large, unless your get fresh powder very often, skiing and snowboarding is mostly done on hard snow, at times icy, and that stiffer boards are better...

I personally always start teaching with hard boots, to get the body positions right, then go on to soft boots if they want.

rant..rant...:)

[D-Sub]

I definitely meant new to the forum. no way to judge your experience level (and I wouldnt try anyway)

good points.

[Guest frenchy]

I know, no worries. I just meant that having heard all criticisms before does not prevent one from still criticizing. I know I have, and I won't. I literally wish I could just help them all :) haha. Now that I find out we receive emails notification for every post, I understand seeing the same thing over and over again can get annoying. I'll stop now :)

[D-Sub]

you can turn off subscriptions. I dont get emails. I was just reading because Im in SoCal too...

[Guest StonedRider]

I don't think it's right to make general assumptions about people who ride soft boots. Sure, there's a lot of wannabe thugs who ride at Bear and sometimes at Summit, but you can't judge them by their appearances. A lot of these kids have alter-egos, and when they come up to Big Bear they're completely safe from real city drama. If these kids want to pretend to be bloods and crips on the mountain and then retire to their parents comfortable 4 bedroom home afterwards, more power to them. You'll find that most of them aren't as obnoxious as their clothing would indicate and just want to blend in on the mountain with everybody else. It's funny, I'll sometimes wear my Raiders beanie or my Raiders jacket up there and most of them will steer clear of me, thinking a real thug has arrived.

I happen to ride park also, but I'm not a huge fan of hitting jibs, just because I don't have the $ to shell out on a new board. I'll hit all the jumps though, bomb runs, try to carve 8's down the steep stuff(easier said than done on icy days), ride pow, etc. just because I LOVE to snowboard. I guess you could call me a downhill guy, but that doesn't keep me out of the unbound areas. Actually, I happend to find this website after looking for a community of people who are a little crazy like myself and like to bomb straight down everything. I figured that's why it was called bomberonline.com, but then I found it was a slalom/alpine board community. Since then, this site has peeked my interests in HB boards, and seeing more and more people on the slopes with the HB setup, now I'm determined to try it. I know I'll enjoy it to, just because I love to ride. I'm not particular about using the latest gear, if it came out in 87, I'll still try it. I just want something that can hold an edge on ice, that's a bit longer than the average freeride board, and can support a size 12.5-13 boot. If possible though, I'd like to try it first before I buy anything.