Cypress Diaries, 2007-08

[Dave*]

The April 12 2008 Report

Totally different day than yesterday.

Sunny, very warm started off around plus 3 c increasing to plus 10-15C I would guess.

Ended up going to truck for a "poor mans hotwax" ( aim black base into sun , dry rub n let er melt in ) getting rid of jacket etc, went back out in short sleeves thought better of it, so back to gift shop , now have souvenier hoody, even that was to warm. Also went incognito in the half shell bucket.

On piste = schmoo

Off piste by 1200hrs = bottomless isothermic schmoo

Things got very choppy quickly, also very sloppy, gotta love spring bumps.

Of course a perfect day for picture taking , guess what I forgot....

Bumped into Roy for the later morning early aft.

Got to try the racers line from launch platform to finish after they were packed up and gone, I just wont say how I got there. Its amazing what a little ?rock salt? on the snow can do to firm things up.

Not sure what to expect for tomorrow, heard rumors of rain, that could put a damper on Beer Hunter and more pics, pray for sunshine and wax em up for schmoo. Am leaning towards 4x4 or atv for load up tomorrow.

Dave*

[BlueB]

Well, our little brotherhood assembled for the last bang at our local mountain: Dave, Roy, Ruwi, Rod softbooter and myself. We charged hard, we took it easy, we played beer hunters, we ate, we filmed, we rode every single lift on the mountain, charged frozen cord, shmoo, moguls, steeps and greens, hell even the superpipe and bunny hill - we did everything that makes a day in the mountain a great day! Mostly sunny skies and no crowds made it even better.

Thanks brothers, as much as I like carving, it wouldn't be the same on my own.

I'll see you all next week on Whistler.

Pics to follow (Dave)!

[ruwi]

Thanks to all Cypress Brotherhood. Your riding tips for sure I will keep in mind for the next season. Can't sleep early on time due to that huge poutine serving we had, so I made use of the time waxing my boards for storage. 4WD still in service for the Whistler trip.

ruwi:eek:

[Dave*]

The April 14 2008 at 1045 hrs Whistler Telecom Room Report

Its 1045hrs and Dave* was freezing his a## off, so in to the com room we go.( heat, blessed heat,,,,,,, note to self dress warmer )

Its full on winter up here, minus 2 c , snowing, about 10cms accum on top of some very firm pack underneath ( I can set an edge so its not ice ) , it was apparently very warm yesterday so this is day one of a melt freeze, tommorrow should be great carving if it stays below zero.

Creekside deserted, village busy, mountain very quiet today.

Ending Dave* report

[Dave*]

The April 15 2008 Whistler Telecom room report

Cold, minus 8c +- in the alpine, sunny with cloudy patches, better cord today, still dust on crust off piste, if this keeps up should be stellar carving conditions for the 20th.

Demoing the Dupraz D1 6.0 ++ , this is an impressive piece considering I am hammering it on stuff its not designed for, look for full report on it when I get back to Van.

Ending Dave* report

[mr_roboteye]

Cold, minus 8c +- in the alpine, sunny with cloudy patches, better cord today, still dust on crust off piste, if this keeps up should be stellar carving conditions for the 20th.

Ending Dave* report

That's the best news I've heard all day.

Dave R.

[CarvingScooby]

Email sent - check your email

Cheers

Roy:ices_ange

[CarvingScooby]

I guess I'm not the only one has the Cypress post syndrome:p?

what gonna do in summer...??.:sleep:

:rolleyes:

[crucible]

Roy,

You could still get your Cypress fix by hiking up the hill with me and carrying your board- it'll take two hours uphill and we'll get a single 20 minute ride...

It's as old school as you're gonna get.

George

[CarvingScooby]

You could still get your Cypress fix by hiking up the hill with me and carrying your board- it'll take two hours uphill and we'll get a single 20 minute ride...

It's as old school as you're gonna get.

George

Is 2 hours going up with softy or hardy? Or u using yr tele..?

Lemme do my calculation here ...

if I want 2x 20 min playing = 4 hours climbing & no ticket fee;).

Now compare to Whistler : 4 hours commute and we can get 6 hours playing + $59 (@ 7 eleven), isn't better to Whistler for now?!!?:rolleyes: So r u coming George?:D

But I can consider that offer? Powder & trees, isn't it?

Cheers

Roy

[crucible]

It's two hours uphill with softboots and snowshoes- I have two or three pairs that you can borrow- as well as avalanche beacons, probes and shovels.

It's different than snowboarding during the ski season- for starters, it's more of a nature experience- no crowds, no lifts, no noise - it takes a minute or two to adjust to it.

Geo

[Dave*]

The April 16 2008 Whistler report.

Fresh home from up there , the traffic gods were on my side on the home journey , as well as the construction gods, only one 2min delay.

Did my usual routine of loading at 0815, up top by 0840hrs

Temps at roundhouse ( 6030ft ) around minus 8c.

Groomers were a beautiful smooth, fast, firm hardpack. Nicer than yesterday , if it continues below zero c it should just keep getting better,

Visibilty in general good to moderate, a little fog hanging in the red chair valley from upper franz's down, clear once over the hump to Garbo side and down.

Chris P came up for a few laps on a new proto 183 titanal WCR, sweet looking deck, very different than 1st n 2nd gen titanals.

Rode to 1330 at which time legs tired so one last rip to valley floor and back to Van, at 1330 temps around minus 2-3ish at roundhouse, zeroish at bottom green, plus 1 at midstation, plus 4-5ish at valley floor, snow starting to schmoo up from mid down.

Dave* out

[Dave*]

The Dupraz D1 6.0 ++ ride report.

Got a fresh Dupraz straight out of the wrapper from Yohann of Underground Tuning (604-905-9892), he gave it a fresh coat of pricey race formula wax and let me do my business for set up.

Fit n Finish, a cosmetic bleb in my test rigs top sheet, and a few uneven bevels on the top sheet around the nose. Otherwise per standard.

I did my usual routine, 50fr 45r, flat flat, with the back binding as far back as possible, 22 inch stance. Ran the Burton Carbon Raceplates.

Hand flexing this thing , if grabbed by the nose it feels very soft, if grabbed by the front part of the effective edge that actually contacts the snow its stiffness is about the same as a standard freeride deck,

Didnt have a tape measure that measured in mm only standard so you can do the math -nose width 12 3/8ths inches

-waist 10 1/8ths inches

-tail 11 3/4 inches plus about 1 mm

So lots of taper , with the widest part of the nose/start of eff edge only about 15-16 cms in front of my front toe which had about 3 cms underhang, front heel about 1.5 cms underhang ( think tight sidecut and where boot sits) rear foot just inside the edges.

To the slopes we go.

Very firm hardpack on piste with a few cms of dust on crust off piste, about minus 8 degrees C.

Started off on the groomies to see what this thing could do

It actually carves very well providing you ride it centered, by the second lap I was dragging body parts on some very firm snow, there just is not enough efective edge or stiffness out front to ride it "alpine" style, The board would actually finish up a carve nicely which surprised me considering how much taper it has, ( I am now rethinking taper, all other heavy taper boards I have ridden have been Khyber/Fish/Northshore which have soft stubby tails),

At high rates of speed on hardpack all that nose hanging out in front not touching snow could get to "flapping" a la the Rossi Undertaker/4807

Managed to find a stash of windblown powder about 15cms on top of crust, this thing has some float to it. not as much as a 185 Undertaker but more than a 178 4807.

Now me being me I had to go thru some trees ( not the smartest move it was kind of bulletproof underneath) , this thing flicks thru the tight stuff as easily as my 162 Option Northshore. Very maneuverable, and it can go switch unlike the Undertaker or the 4807.

At the end of the day down to the village got some slush at lower levels, this thing rips the schmoo, that gradual nose just smooths things right out in the chop.

So what we have here is a powder deck that can do hardpack reasonably well, has the float of a 185 Rossi undertaker with the tree ability of a Burton fish. Also no worries of snapping off a tail.

As to looks, sure looks cool, aussies love it " oy mate its a surf board", and some hippy looking back country dude stopped me to get a picture of the "old school board" ( I didnt have the heart to tell him it was a brand new fresh out of the wrapper deck)

I definitly prefer the Dupraz to the Undertaker, 4807, Khyber, Fish, or the Northshore for my riding style .

Would I buy one? Not yet, I have to demo the Spearhead this friday.

Dave*

[BlueB]

Dave, great job reviewing Dupraz, thanks. I'm looking forward to hear the Spearhead side of things.

How you find the super tight radius of Dupraz? That's about the only thing that wories me about it.

[skategoat]

I rode the Dupraz D1 ++ last Thursday and the 5'5" on Saturday.

First, major props to Yohann for loaning me those boards for two full days of riding.

My thoughts on the D1 ++:

It draws a lot of attention. Just walking to the lift, I had three people stop me to ask about the board or just to comment on what a cool looking board I was carrying. I rode the same board Dave did. I was the second rider to get a hold of it.

Snow conditions were not ideal. Freezing level was around 1000 feet. The top of the mountain was hard, sometimes icy. The middle was just about ideal carving snow and the bottom was slush. It would have been a real challenge to ride a race board in those conditions. The Dupraz handled all those conditions well. It is a great all-mountain ride.

This is a well behaved board. It never did anything unexpected and was generally easy to handle. It did not feel like a 6 foot long snowboard. Even when I hit some bumps, I was able to swing it around like a freeride board.

As for the nose, unlike Dave, I did not find it soft. In fact, I was able to load the nose and not feel like I was going to fold it.

The board carved very well in soft-ish snow and good, groomed conditions. I rode a few runs with a guy I met on the gondola and he told me I was leaving "huge trenches".

The 5'5", I was just not able to carve. It handled well in choppy conditions but when I tried to tip it over and carve, it just didn't seem to bend. It felt a little too stiff and a lot too short. It just seemed to skid on every turn.

I was going to go back on Sunday to buy the D1 ++ but after my crash on Saturday (I folded a 177 Prior WCR), I just wasn't in a buying mood. I will be back next season and bring back the Dupraz.

I think I could live with just the Dupraz and my Coiler Freecarve as my two board quiver. That would lead to a major garage sale of boards.

[Dave*]

Henry thanks for putting up your Dupraz thoughts.

Looks like we came to similar conclusions on the 6.0 , I think the only difference is probably our body weight ( I am sitting around 235 lbs right now) , there are a few freeride boards that cower in the corner when they see me coming with plates n HB s in hand.

To answer Boris's question as to tight SCR , not a problem for me, and for tree riding a bonus.

I did get around to trying out the 178 Spearhead for about 1.5 hours on similar condtions to what I had the Dupraz on, Not quite the float, more eff edge, slightly longer SCR, wider waist, and I think maybe a slightly softer tail than Dupraz.

I think the Spearhead might be a slightly more versatile all around board than the Dupraz. I think I would prefer the Dupraz for strictly powder/treeriding. The spearhead I can get built up stiffer with extra reinforcing around the inserts to handle plates, the Dupraz stuck with what comes from factory.

End verdict on a scale of 1-10

Dupraz = 7.5

Spearhead =7.6

Spearhead wins by a very slight nose just based on slightly better all mtn versatility, less changing of my riding style, and the fact I can get one built to my specs/weight.

**looks wise the Dupraz takes the cake for sure**

Which will I buy next season, whichever one is the least amount of cash

Dave*