Oes 2008!

[Randy T.]

Russell and I are back in Reno now. I'm bummed that we couldn't stay for the last day. I can't even begin to say how much fun I had!:D

OES 2008 absolutely rocked and I'm already looking forward to OES 09.

I met so many super cool people and every one of you is just awesome.

Special thanks to Mike, Bonnie, Buell and Rebecca for everything you did to make this event so great. I had the absolute best carving day of my life on Friday.

Thanks to RJ for loaning us the great Tanker and SG boards to play with. There are now 2 more happy Tanker owners in the Tahoe region.

Thanks to Bryan for getting us the tickets and getting them to us via Tim. Thanks Tim for the tickets, the rumplements and the stoke.

Baptiste and Allen I look forward to seeing you at Mt. Rose.

[RussellC]

Randy's comments go double for me. I really wish I were back on Mt. Bachelor right now, but I am here in Reno and still have a smile on my face. It was really great to meet so many great people in one place! I'm looking forward to OES 09 already. Now if I can just get Bruce to build me an AMT...

Cheers!

[shane groshong]

Thanks everyone for the great four days. I look forward to this each year, and OES 08 did not let me down. Better than I wished for. The riding was great and the sessions at the bar were just as good. The pitchers all went down well, and the rumplestiltskins were the best.

Thanks again to Mike, Bonnie, Buell, & Rebecca. Bonnie thanks for wrapping Jenny up some cake last night.

I am tired, but I am so stoked I think I am going Monday morning for a few laps.

Thanks again, Shane

[Steve Prokopiw]

What a great time ! I rode out of my skull most of the time.Probably motivated by being around so many other hardbooters.I had some of the most fun riding one of the most surprising boards I've ridden.It was a prototype made by Diablo Composites,Abel and Eric's new venture.These guys can build boards.This awsome 188 with a (Texallium?)topsheet maneuvered more like a 175 and carved through everything I encountered with shocking ease.A blast to ride.Quentin and Tool Can had similar experiences on it;in fact Quentin hogged it the rest of day four.If this board is a clue as to where they are headed I will be first in line to have one built for me.The real deal.

Ps,Bryan ,you were sorely missed.I will look forward to riding with you next year.

[Hagen]

...another thank you note. I had a greate time, even though I only got to ride 2 days. Will have to make that at least 4 days next year!

:D

[dshack]

Looks like great times. My broke ass was on hood last week, and cascade was groomed as nice as it's ever been, but damn! I gotta make it down to Bachelor.

[trikerdad]

Had a great time! Thanks to all responsible for putting the event together and, to those I rode with for the camaraderie that is a good part of what carving is all about. Only breaking one board and going home uninjured after five days of riding is a milestone for me. Rebecca, Meggan says hi. Bill and Raylin

[C5 Golfer]

Had a great time! Hoping to shoot my age playing golf (it's looking like I'm going to have to live a very long time)

trikerdad -- Good meeting you there --How close have you come to shooting your age? I have been 12 strokes away, and I think that round included a "hole in one" so I have a bit of work to do.

[cassandtim]

OES 2008!!! WOOT!!!

What an incredible time. It was so great to be able to participate in such an amazing event! The days riding at Mt. Bachelor were some of the best I’ve ever had anywhere and the people were definitely some of the most wonderful I’ve ever had the pleasure to meet.

I have many thanks to give here for this awesome event:

Mike & Bonnie – Thanks for organizing the event and making it all happen. Thanks for getting so many great people together on so many awesome days and opening up your house to us all.

Buell & Rebecca – Thanks for making me feel at home from the moment I arrived in the Sunrise parking lot. Cassie and I look forward to future days of riding with you two.

Hugh, Jim, & Ron – The Cali/Hawaiian Contingent. What can I say; the stoke and aloha were epic. You guys rip! (side note: the Cookster is no longer cooked, he’s on his way with his wife to Costa Rica!)

Baptiste & Allen – Thanks for letting me ride with you guys on Day 1. I’m not really used to riding with others but you guys made it super fun and you really fueled the stoke.

Shane & Dustin – You guys know the deal – Coos Bay style! Pass the Rumplestiltskins and watch where you’re pointing those six-gun tattoos! We’ll be catching up with you guys real soon.

RJ – Thanks for yarding all of those boards up from down south and bringing them to the mountain each day. Thanks for the Tanker, the awesome demo days, and being a great guy to talk story and drink beer with.

Randy T. & Russell – Great to meet and party with you guys. I’ll be out there tearing it up with you at OES ‘09 and with any luck I might make it down your way before then.

Greg – The Big Dog! You may not know it but you offered a lot of subtle encouragement. It was an honor to meet, talk, and ride with you. I promise that next year I’ll ‘get off of the porch’ and run the summit with you.

Abel & Eric – Keeping it local, keeping it real! Here’s to Damien Sanders, T-Line, Hood Rats and the ‘Man Cave’! I know where my next board is coming from and so do you.

Galen – My wife and I thank you for the boots. They worked out great and made her first time out in the hardboot world very comfortable. It was also great to see Ariel so stoked on the hardboot scene.

My biggest thanks goes out to Bryan; without whose assistance and guidance I wouldn’t have been able to meet all of the wonderful people and have had one of the best times of my life at OES ‘08. I am completely indebted to you for being such a great friend and resurrecting my love for snowboarding and carving. The greatness of ones character can be measured by the company he keeps and you are a man with excellent character and wonderful friends.

Sorry for the long post, I’m still not over the excitement of the event!

Viva OES Forever!!!

[Mike T]

I just wanted to thank everyone for coming to OES, hanging out, ripping hard, and making it an awesome event. The weather was great and the vibe was even better. The organizers have received many thanks over the past week, but the real credit for the success of the event goes to each and every person who came, carved, partied, and made new friends. Thank you very much for coming from near and far and riding with us.

Having said that, I'd like to shout out thanks to some people in particular.

Bonnie, Rebecca, and Buell - thank you for helping to organize the event. Rebecca arranged all the details for the Chan's night, Bonnie designed and built the website as well as the business cards and postcards. All three (and many others - I'd like to give a shout out to Bryan Sutherland and Tim Carter as well) have been helping me promote the event on the mountain and at local snowboard shops. Generating stoke for the event over the course of the season is a huge component to it's success.

R.J. Sakson, thank you for "loaning boards to friends" and being the sole industry presence at the event. I am very pleased that your presence at OES was mutually beneficial. I know a number of people - myself included - very much enjoyed trying out some new toys, and I know that you did some business with several attendees. There's nothing like being able to try before you buy. I really like the way everything was run from the parking lot and how R.J. got to spend a lot of time riding. R.J., you have an open invitation to do the same at all future OES's.

Don Richter, thanks for putting on a killer carve clinic on Sunday. There were a wide variety of skill levels present, and I think everyone learned something. I have the pleasure of riding with Don frequently throughout the course of the season and get tips from him all the time, but I'd never seen him in true instructor mode before. I was blown away by how much he was able to teach the group in such a short time, and also by how much fun he made the clinic.

Thanks to Allen, Dennis, Etsu, and Bonnie for sharing their camera work. It's great to have a record of the event - photos and videos go a long way towards getting people excited for next year.

Thanks to Bryan for hooking us up with Chan's. Bryan is a personal friend of Chan, the owner, and worked with Rebecca to make it a successful evening. Many of us missed Bryan on the snow and wish him a speedy and complete recovery from his injury.

Finally, and most of all, I'd like to thank my family - Bonnie and Jeana - for their support and patience. My daughter Jeana does not see much of her parents during OES, and Bonnie is fully engaged with the event as I am, I want to thank them both for being patient with the impact it has on their lives. Jeana has started snowboarding - in a few short years she will be able to hang with us!

OES by the numbers:

50 hardbooters

4 days (plus 1 unofficial day)

3 sunny days

0 rainy days

1 powder day

0 injuries

1 broken board

Hundreds of beers consumed

Thousands of smiles

Dozens of pieces of gear bought and sold

Many new friends made!

It was great seeing riders of so many ability levels and styles get together and just tear up the mountain. There were many times when a run would be trashed, I mean trashed, after just two laps. I know many of us turn it up a notch or five when we get together with other carvers. Getting together with 50 other carvers and riding this hard and having nobody get injured (sore muscles don't count!) is something to be very happy about and very proud of.

If you have any ideas on how to make OES 2009 even better please contact me by email, or call me at 541.350.2255. OES has grown by leaps and bounds - in 2006 we had less than 20 all together last year we had just shy of 30 attendees, this year we have 50. I would be very pleased to see the event continue to grow in size. The OES crew does not, however, want to see the event grow at the expense of the good times, positive vibes, and camaraderie that made the event such a success this year. The main focus is on riding and fun. We try to keep the event reasonably family friendly while still providing an environment where people can let their hair down and party.

I am highly pleased with the way R.J.'s part in the event played out as it did - he was able to both promote his business and ride till his legs were about to fall off. We would be very pleased to see more members of the industry attend next year. If you'd like to come, let's work out an arrangement that will allow you to spend as much or as little time riding and as much or as little time doing business as you'd like.

The dates for next year will be set sometime in the late summer or fall - in the meantime, have good runs and be safe. I hope to see many of you on and off the hill between now and OES 2009, and will work to make it even better than this year. Looks for videos and photos on the OES website www.oregones.com, YouTube, and right here at BOL over the coming weeks.

[Buell]

the real credit for the success of the event goes to each and every person who came, carved, partied, and made new friends. Thank you very much for coming from near and far and riding with us.

+2 from Buell and Rebecca. You guys and gals are just amazing! Thank you for an incredible 4 days + day zero! Looking very forward to OES '09.

[noschoolrider]

What a great event!

Thank you Mike, Bonnie, Buell & Rebecca – OES 2008 was a huge success!

Thanks Bryan for setting up the tremendous feast at Chan's (we missed you and your expert camera skills – get well soon), and thank you R.J. for the demo of the SG Race Pro Team 178 Titanal, it was absolutely the best metal board I have ridden (100% race ready, super fast, rips every turn radius imaginable, plus it handled all conditions & all terrain and I even enjoyed carving it switch).

And, thanks to everyone who attended, it was truly a great group of people to ride and party with!

Don & Etsu

Here are few pictures from Etsu’s camera:

1. Some fine lines.

2. The girls (Rebecca, Bonnie & Etsu) showing some attitude.

3. The boys (Quentin & Mike) dancing in their disco boots.

[Steve Prokopiw]

A bus to bring the North Idaho/Eastern Washington contingent next year! Just finished a fantastic hardboot lesson with Sharon,who happens to be mother to Dillon.Dillon was the youngest participant of our little INWES session at 15 years old.They are already stoked to take part in a big gathering next year.I couldn't ask for a better event than OES to take them to.

[Sinecure]

Oh Baby! What a weekend! Mad props to Mike, Bonnie, Buell and Rebecca for all the organizational help. Thanks to all the riders for a great time. Thanks to RJ for the fun boards.

Here are a bunch of photos and videos for your enjoyment.

Top of the lift, Friday. A little overcast, but lots of smiling faces.

This RJ guy not only sells the boards, but he can ride them. He did work on getting his hand off the ground as the weekend went along.

Furi got a lesson on keeping his hand off the snow too, but I heard he had a little trouble keeping track of which hand to keep up.

The host with the most getting some on Friday:

Jim F shows off his Santa Cruz surf style:

More of the Santa Cruz crew - Hugh getting his carve on:

He likes it!

The SG Pro Race board made this guy go so fast that the photographer couldn't keep him in the frame - and I don't think Randy could read the sign behind him:

Saturday dawned a little cloudy at first, but that wouldn't last. Amazingly, the powder lasted a long time. Here's from run number 2. Jim getting it under the Sunrise chair. This run held freshies for at least 5 laps.

Then it was time to head to the summit to sample the pow up high. Speaking of up high, I think this was a safety meeting. Ladia and Randy enjoying the crisp mountain air:

The ultimate powder board? Well, not exactly, but it does the job. And what a view!

Randy & RJ at the top, another SG Glamour shot:

Ready to drop in - it is as steep as it appears in this photo - but steeper than it looks in the next couple and the video:

Dropping and surfing a long toe-side:

Post-drop smiles:

Here's a video of the SG in action on the cirque, but from much later in the day (shot around 1:30pm - note the more cut up powder lines):

Credit for video goes to OhD - Thanks Dennis.

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RJ working on his slash turns in the powder:

It didn't turn out exactly as he probably pictured it would:

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But he was all smiles anyway:

RJ also shows that he can ride a natural wall rather well.

And even survive:

Furi poses with the SG Goods (he'd go home with another of RJ boards - that one belongs to Randy after he rode it almost all weekend).

[Galen]

I didnt get many pics. here's a few. Random gathering at the top of Rainbow on day 1, Tim, and "I forget his name":o

[noschoolrider]

Hi Galen,

Great photos, the last one is of Bill (trikerdad) on a sweet heelside carve that illustrates excellent balance/angulation.

P.S. Etsu loves the picture of her and Ariel in your earlier post.

[Hugh]

What an awesome event...the carving connection was unbelievable!!!

Huge props to the "Oregonizers", Bryan S. and all the attendees. I hope to carve with you all at the OES 2009. I checked my calendar and I am completely available for the entire first week of March 09 (Mon-Sat).

Everyday, there were carvers all over the mtn, everywhere I looked there was someone digging a trench or dangling a hardboot setup from the lift chair. So many excellent carvers to watch and chase down the mtn.

My OES 4-day summary: 3 days of killer groomed conditions (Wed-Fri) followed by 4-6" of fresh powder (Sat) with abundant sunshine on my birthday and also k_t's birthday (aka Kenny from Idaho). Tim Smith's good friend Matthew hooked me up with my own exclusive Cook's Tour of Mt. Bachelor powder stashes. 8am-11am of first chairs (Sunrise to Rainbow to Summit) and tons of fresh tracks...riding with a local Bend powder hound is the only way to fly On day 4, I was completely exhausted by noon, so it was actually a 3.5 day OES for me...then let the outdoor party begin ;)

Mega props to my carving buddy Jim Farr for securing the rental house in Sunriver, driving me to Bachelor everyday and also back and forth from the nightly OES parties.

Incredible memories of trenching with my carving friends from Hawaii, Oregon, Washington, California, Nevada, Idaho and Pennsylvania (Hey Chris, shouldn't you have gone to the ECES?), until next year...

"a picture is worth a thousand words" :D

--Hugh

[OhD]

First - THANKS to Mike & Bonnie, Don and everyone else who helped organize OES-08! A great event, thanks to their efforts and to a great group of participants. I even felt comfortable cruising with you in my softies Saturday morning. It was definitely worthwhile staking out the Summit chair!

Here are a couple of photos. I'm going to put the rest of my decent stills onto a Picasa site shortly. Does anyone have facility for hosting the videos at useful quality? There is just over 3GB of video. Some of it isn't all that great, but may be of interest to the riders. A few clips got tossed because they were of Sasquatch sighting quality - sorry to those who got Sasquatched... I have DSL so I could send them readily enough, but only a CD burner. I could post them all on Picasa, and send individual files to folks, but the quality of vids on Picasa is pretty significantly degraded and you might have a hard time even identifying yourself.

I'm looking forward to next year! Well - next weekend, then the next, then the AASI SYmposium at Bachelor (where Don gets to update his education requirement by taking a carving clinic - I am so looking forward to THAT! I'm going to have to wear goggles and a facemask - not a chance of keeping a straight face.)

Dennis

[OhD]

One more - way past bedtime...

[OhD]

And I'm sure you all know which one...

Great fun riding with you RJ!

[D-Sub]

couldn't help myself. dropped by to see how it went and all I can say is I missed out. Not sure how well an appearance would have gone over, but I'm really, really bummed I didn't come up yet again.

shoulda never left Bend.

back into the cave.

[RJ-PS]

Ahhh the infamous helmet carve. Sorry I was unable to stay and teach a clinic on helmet carving. Perhaps next year we can split the groups. Those that need help in that old school style of carving a board can head out with noschoolrider and those that want to try the radical new style of helmet carving head out with me.

Those of you that asked, remember to sharpen your visor with a titanal scraper, never plastic. It is much damper and will not gouge into the plastic.

[RJ-PS]

WOW.

Blown away by the OES vibe.

Epic....just.....Epic.

I couldn't have imagined having a better time with folks I didn't know, and now I consider family. Actually Bryan S. and I have been friends for years without ever meeting and so I was really saddened to miss him once again. However, he was definitely there in spirit as we all raised glasses and shared sadness over our bro not being there. We'll meet up soon bro!

I wish I could send shouts out to everyone, but I'll do what I can:

Buell/Rebecca:Most comfortable pullout ever! Way cool to stay with you cats...I mean dogs. Really enjoyed our conversations at day end. Each of your perspectives on life, work, play, etc were greatly appreciated. I am working on figuring out how to work 7 months and play 5, you definitely have the life. Unbelievably impressed with your riding skills. Are you sure you've both only been at this for a few years? Thanks for the part you played in making OES the event it was and thanks for everything you did for me personally and for exoticboards.com professionally.

Mike/Bonnie:Solid event. Great mountain, great eats, great house party, great tuning clinic, great everything. Glad that you have decided to put so much time and effort into putting this event together. Thank you!

Don:Mucho Gracias. Thanks for a great clinic, I've got tape in hands, ready for my next turns. Glad you were psyched on the Sigi as well, we'll talk soon.

RandyT/Russel:I'll be taking you fellas up on your invitation. I'm heading to the gym now to get my slot hand ready kiddin. Great spending time with y'all over beers and boards. Looking forward to repeating soon.

JimF:Definitely brought the mahalo vibe to the event. I enjoyed the surf stories and surfing the white with you. See you in Tahoe.

Ron:Thanks for the zen vibe. Smile production seems to be part of your nature. I know you always made me smile.

Hugh:Where did Hugh go? Oh, in the freshies with locals, cool.

Tim:You rock! Take care of our bro. Thanks for the horse trading and for the longboard love.

Hagen:Glad you made it back on the mountain. Great riding with you, enjoy your new board.

Shane/Dustin:bloody beer, wild boards, cool vibe.

Furi/Quentin:I still don't believe that this is your first year on plates, so stop selling swampland. Both of your presences made for a very amped session! Can't wait to kill turns in Tahoe!

Allen: Taking time out to video was way sacrificial, thanks. Beauty surfy style on the Tanker, unbelievable progression that last day. Either Tahoe or my place, your call.

Dennis:thanks for the pro photos. One foot....like a bird, nice skills. Way cool of you to make the session. I'll be in touch.

Randy:With so many safety meetings I'm glad you were able to stay safe:). Thanks for the glamour shots and video. Glad you decided to go with the Race T, you were rocking it on stuff I wouldn't normally allow "lender" raceboards out in. You made it look easy. See you in Tahoe.

JimM:We didn't get to hang out much, but I enjoyed our short talks. Ring me whenever.

Trikerdad: Great fun! Thanks for bringing the prototype SG back in one piece ;). Go easy on that Tanker now! If you need to unload that full Tink, lemme know.

Sigi G:Thanks for getting those boards over here in record time. We all had fun and were amazed at how the race metals hook up and hold lines in any conditions! Look for Kildy and Alex Weare (upcoming rider) to be rocking them at the Worlds in Italy. We'll be back for more soon.

Harry G: keep making Tankers bro! You were responsible for a lot of smiles at the OES. One of the surfers who took one out said "I'm not going to buy this, just trying it". It's in his house now. Record number of folks taking them home and happy to have a pow stick that can carve with the best of 'em.

ALL: I'm sorry if I missed any of my new family. You all have an open invitation to come stay and ride my home mountain Dodge Ridge in the Central Sierras. Carve on!

[Jim]

Expression sessions have always taken low priority on my carve list...but no more for dis boy. Thanks to all for pegging my stoke-meter...

Mike & Bonnie. You two always had that everpresent smile though I know details must have been haunting you in your sleep every night. Thanks for opening up your home & garage to all of us. Nice garage wall Mike...drool. Oh yeah, I want to see Mike carve on that Schtubby again next year. What a wild board...and you ripped on it.

Buell & Rebecca. Mahalo for your generosity and time. It was impossible not to stop by to talk or follow you on the Mt. Great pics Rebecca. Thanks Buell for the board demos and advice for my next Coiler. Ordering that surfboard on the Rainbow chair by cell phone was too fun.

Don & Etsu. I suspect the two of you provided background support in this years OES. I know you were a significant presence each day. I don't know how I missed a clinic with Don, but I will arrive earlier next year if that is what it takes.

Thanks to the California crew for bustin out for this event. It wouldn't be the same without all of you. Thanks to Allen for filming in stealth mode to avoid my camera-self-destruct tendency. I will try and coordinate hotel arrangements in Bend too. Our Sunriver house was sweet but way too farr :rolleyes: away for the nightlife. So Randy T, Russel, Allen, Baptiste, Ladia, Hagen, Randy S and I know I missed a few more, but hey, thanks and no more designated driver.

Day one was killer on the Summit run with Kenny, Greg, Brett, Christian, Buell, Mike T, Don, Quentin, RJ and others I don't recall. Great carving on a very long run that was well groomed. Four runs on that chair did me in.

Always looked forward to riding with the Idaho boys, Steve & Sean. Maybe I'll have better luck carving with Al, Bill, Greg, Shane, and Dustin next year. Just too many carvers in too many places.

Big thanks to RJ for the carve stoke. That 192 Tanker finally showed up in OhD's group pic. It won't be the same for me if you don't show up next year. Watch out for Randy S. Head carving is mandatory in his presence.

My 170 Coiler EX found a new home with my favorite parking lot neighbor Tim. Sorry man, I cannot keep a secret. You noticed that I checked in before paying on the Tanker. You were always the first to show and the last to leave. And thanks for the Rumplestilskins. Don't leave the hill without one...or two....or wait, I was the designated driver wasn't I? Maybe Hugh drove back that day. Good to see that Matt made it ok. I'm sure you made Bryan proud.

Thanks to Hugh for taking time off a heavy work schedule (being a manager sucks) and Ron T for flying in from Maui.

Sorry for the drifting post before chasing the alligators while staying ahead of the steamroller.

Thanks again to RJ for the 192 Tanker. Allen, Rebecca and Randy for all the pics. I didn't deserve the coverage...but I'll take it. :D

Mahalo

[Jim]

couldn't help myself. dropped by to see how it went and all I can say is I missed out. Not sure how well an appearance would have gone over, but I'm really, really bummed I didn't come up yet again.

shoulda never left Bend.

back into the cave.

You did miss it D. I had heard mostly doom and gloom about Mt Bachelor this time of year and got three days of sweet carving conditions and one fun pow day, no crowds and way better runs than Kirkwood. Now add in all the great carvers. Yup, you missed it...this year.