Guest Aspen Carver Posted December 6, 2007 Report Share Posted December 6, 2007 Hello All, I have been wanting to get into carving for a while now, and I finally took the first step by buying aydx001's UPZ boots off of Ebay. Board and bindings are next, but I wanted to get some opinions on both before I went looking. I'm six feet tall and about 185 lbs (sounds like I'm looking for a date) and I currently ride a 165 Never Summer T5 Premier. I really crank on that board and can put a LOT of pressure on the edge when I get a good carve in. What length/ style of board, and what type of bindings, would you guys suggest for me? Is there somewhere on the site that I could look that information up? Also, I did a quick member search and it seems like we have a few hard booters in the Aspen area. Hopefully once I get all set up we can meet up and you guys can show me how to really lean over on these things. Thanks for any advice. Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louis Posted December 6, 2007 Report Share Posted December 6, 2007 Try out the welcome center http://bomberonline.com/articles/welcome_center.cfm or the FAQ on the forum :) edit: just reading the welcome center should give you a good start, in the links you can find the carving almanach that can help you further more later.. edit 2 : Oh and welcome on BOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiveBomber Posted December 6, 2007 Report Share Posted December 6, 2007 You can start with the Oxygen 170 I have Ill bring it out to copper if you want to meet me up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mopoet178 Posted December 6, 2007 Report Share Posted December 6, 2007 welcome to bomber! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeW Posted December 6, 2007 Report Share Posted December 6, 2007 welcome to bomber, indeed. well, im about the same spec bodywise as to yours, but an inch shorter. i use 184, 173, and 158. im more comfortable with 158 and 173. but yes, somebody above (Louis?) mentioned a faq, so that'd be yoru best bet to check it out. or go to the links of this site and go to carver's almanac site to find what's really right for you. Bomber in silverthorne has fleet of demos for you to try on, as well as bola out in Boulder. dont know about pitkin county area for alpine board rental/demos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Aspen Carver Posted December 6, 2007 Report Share Posted December 6, 2007 Thanks everyone for the welcome and information. I'll have to get into the FAQ and almanac sections and do some research on board length. I am REALLY looking forward to getting my setup and leaving trenches all over the mountain. DiveBomber - thank you for the offer of your board, but I don't get out to the front range much. Actually, I have never boarded the front range, so I may have to take care of that this year. LeeW - I rarely see hard booters out here, and have not found a shop yet that sells, much less rents, carving gear. Hopefully I'll get to meet up with some of you on the slopes one day. Until then I'll see you on BOL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiveBomber Posted December 6, 2007 Report Share Posted December 6, 2007 Thanks everyone for the welcome and information. I'll have to get into the FAQ and almanac sections and do some research on board length. I am REALLY looking forward to getting my setup and leaving trenches all over the mountain.DiveBomber - thank you for the offer of your board, but I don't get out to the front range much. Actually, I have never boarded the front range, so I may have to take care of that this year. LeeW - I rarely see hard booters out here, and have not found a shop yet that sells, much less rents, carving gear. Hopefully I'll get to meet up with some of you on the slopes one day. Until then I'll see you on BOL. actually Ive never been to aspen, though copper isnt the front range, the front range is what runs N-S just west of denver Let me know if you make it out. Id like to go to aspen but costs and distance yada yada. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
todd Posted December 13, 2007 Report Share Posted December 13, 2007 Hey Mark, Welcome also. There are quite a few riders around area. Keep an eye on the rider board to see any official outings. If I was you, I would plan on attending the SES this year - there you can try a huge variety of boards, and really get a good feel for what you might want. I work at your local grocer (early am) in your town, say hi sometime when you are in. Or see you on the hill, Todd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoelP Posted December 13, 2007 Report Share Posted December 13, 2007 Hi and welcome, there is actually quite a few of us carvers in the RF valley and mostly carve at Buttermilk or Highlands. You can usually find a small gang for 1st lift at the Milk and then we migrate over to Highlands for late morning or early afternoon. You will not find any shop carrying new gear but mosey over to Replay Sports (the used gear shop in Aspen) and they have quite a selection of used gear. Best to see what's there, take notes and come back on-line and ask questions about the stuff. Everyone here is pretty straight up on gear advice. Some of the stuff over there is dirt cheap too since it's been in inventory for awhile. I'm pretty sure you can find a full set up to get going on and then from there you'll learn a lot more about new gear at the SES and asking more questions. So be sure to show up for a day or 2 at the event and try some first rate gear. Getting some cheap used stuff is a good way to start but be sure to ask here before buying. There is gear that will help you and gear that will not. there might be some boards at the Gear Exchange in Glenwood too. I think they had 1 or 2 last year but I haven't been in this year yet. JoelP (Glenwood) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Aspen Carver Posted December 13, 2007 Report Share Posted December 13, 2007 Todd and JoelP, Thanks for the welcome. It's great to see some local guys here on the board. I can't wait to get my setup and get carving. I bought a pair of boots (red UPZ's) from a guy here on the board, and they should be here next week. I'm still a little fuzzy on the best board and length for me, but I'm getting through it. I've taken a look at some of the bindings and the Trench Diggers seem to be really well built (and expensive), but they may be a bit too much for me to begin with. I may try and meet up with you guys before getting everything just to see how it all works. I will definitly check out the Gear Exchange in Glenwood and the shop in Aspen to see what they have. I do have a question; both of you talked about the SES, what is that? Maybe I've been out of the loop, or hiding under a rock, but I've never heard of it. It sounds like a great chance to try some new gear so I'll have to keep an ear out for it. Todd, what grocer do you work for? I actually live in Carbondale, work in Basalt, and occasionally have meetings in Aspen so I figured that I have you covered somewhere. Thanks for the advice so far. Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoelP Posted December 13, 2007 Report Share Posted December 13, 2007 SES is the grand daddy meeting of carvers in Aspen hosted by this site BOL. it's on the home page but here is the quick link. http://www.bomberonline.com/ses/index.cfm you must of missed it meaning you haven't had a chance to look around the whole site yet. There is a lot to learn here so roam around the site as much as possible. Quickly on bindings, there are 2 types, SI meaning step ins and then Regular meaning bend over and snap in. You can only use SI's if your boots have the correct hardware on them. So pending how your boots show up then sends you to finding the correct bindings ALTHOUGH you can have SI compatabile boots and use the old method of bending over to get in your binding. SI compatabile boots will work with any binding but non-SI compatabile boots will not work with Step-In bindings. We will need to hook up for demonstrations. I may or may be out on Sat. at the Milk testing new boards....maybe...the boards just showed up and I need put some finishing touches on them first and I'll try to do it before then otherwise I'll probably be skiing with my other better 1/2 on Sun. She don't board :-((( and she HAS to ski Highlands. It's tough on a carving board trying to zoom around the steap bumps there, so it's easier on me to work her "A" off on ski's :-)). You can try my cell on Sat to see if I'm on the hill. 970-948-3348...but be warned I don't answer it and check the messages on the lift only. so leave a message and I'll get back asap. Joel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Furi Posted December 13, 2007 Report Share Posted December 13, 2007 Hey Mark - i'm brand new to hardboots as well and i'll be in Aspen from 12/15 till 12/26 if you want to hook up. We can go be newbie carvers together and try to figure out all this gear :) If you don't have a hardboot board/bindings by then maybe you could just bring your hardboot and we'll strap you into my bindings/board for a few runs to try it out. I'm also bringing my Tanker with softies as well if you just want to ride the mountain :) Pop me an email if you are interested and we'll see what days we could hook up for riding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle Posted December 13, 2007 Report Share Posted December 13, 2007 Joel I'll also be at Highlands on Sat for an on snow tele demo. Stop by and say hello! PS. I still have your kite.....just let me know when you want it back. It's helped not only me but quite a few other people as well! I should just buy one...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pow Posted December 13, 2007 Report Share Posted December 13, 2007 Cranking the edge? sounds like an ECer to be. you might be in the market for a wider alpine board to help you master this type of carving. just my 2 cents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lstzephyr Posted December 14, 2007 Report Share Posted December 14, 2007 I'm also a newbie local hardbooter(live in carbondale, work for buttermilk(lifty) I'd be up to ride a couple days but I'm only off on tuesday/wednessday. I'm begining to get it now, and had a great day ripping it up with my friends. They are all jibbers though so I stand out. I work either west or summit usually. Top of west most likely. I'm a tall red bearded skinny guy named Alan, drop by the shack and say hi. Send me an email if you want to ride and try to figure this all out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle Posted December 14, 2007 Report Share Posted December 14, 2007 work for buttermilk(lifty)Lucky guy! you work at one of the best places for carving in the US! You'll learn fast being there every day. I'll be at Highlands this weekend if anyone is interested in coming by to say hello, ask questions, etc. Look for the Bomber Chick in the Bomber Tent :p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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