Dear Buck Hill Diary III

[Scuff]

Riding Concrete is no fun... although I still like that *VRRrrrooommmmp* sound from skidding across the cord.

[Speedzilla]

Snowmaking underway on Milk Run, wind should carry some of it to Crossroads.

[Mr. T]

You may be out the door already but check out skinnyski.com, it's a great trail report resource. The nordic conditions at most centers are even dicier than alpine conditions in most places. Hyland might be a good place to check out also as they are pretty good about frequent grooming. I went out and did some nordic yesterday and it was sort of like an ice baja in underpants, luckily no one got hurt, physically at least. Tom

[bobble]

<table><th width="125"></th><tr><td>Date</td><td>12/28/08 </td></tr><tr><td>Temp</td><td>10F early, 27F leaving</td></tr><tr><td>Visibility</td><td>blue bird sky</td></tr><tr><td>Conditions</td><td>hard snow, thin cord</td></tr><tr><td>Hardbooters</td><td>8 (me, karl, kent, bruce, ben, steve, mimi, bill)</td></tr></table>

Morning

conditions were better than yesterday but that's not saying much.

german high command gave orders to implement scorched earth policy against the general public. at 07:00 the ski team rolled out and set up gates on milkrun near the lift towers and over near the trees. after they rutted the crap out of the hill they moved troops over to picnic dreams. they set up a line of defense on crossroads using the orange ribbon of death that took up 1/4 of the hill adjacent to the snow fence. fortunately for us there was a narrow swath of decent snow down the centerline of milkrun. must be where the snowguns dropped their snow. the top portion of the run was a little sketchy but once you got to the decent snow it was consistent.

crossroads was hard and fast. the snow around the first and second roller sucks. need some fresh snow.

warners... it was groomed but it didn't feel great. no love lost.

steve broke his bale on his binding. bill took out a skier. ben got yelled at by an over protective parent.

life is good!

[bobble]

<table><th width="125"></th><tr><td>Date</td><td>12/29/2008 </td></tr><tr><td>Temp</td><td>27F</td></tr><tr><td>Visibility</td><td>blue bird sky</td></tr><tr><td>Conditions</td><td>slightly better than yesterday</td></tr><tr><td>Hardbooters</td><td>2 (me, ben)</td></tr></table>

Morning

when i got to buck the ski teams had already carved up all of crossroads. the conditions were better than yesterday but not a whole lot. in the beginning i could hold an edge. later in the morning i kept blowing my toe-sides near the middle of the run.

the ski team set up gates on milkrun too but had taken them down. the top 2-3 turns were icy. after you get past those turns the snow was carveable inside the ruts. ben and i went thru it a few times. the Nastar ramp is glare ice. i didn't go down it but ben did.

warners was okay. it had some cord.

[Scuff]

Date: 12/29/2008

Temp: Brisk - dunno, 20-something°F with windchill.

Visibility: Clear evening sky

Conditions: Fast snow! Hard and crumbily most everywhere, but snow for the course was firm and carveable.

Pretty exceptional really!!

Hardbooters: 15+ (Me, Ben, Jessie, special guest star Mimi, Rufus, 10 G-team riders, and a couple more riding freestyle gear.)

So right away I see a guy ripping down Crossroads. It's not one of the regular Sunday morning crowd,

but I did recognize the style - CheddarShredder? Nawww..

Two runs later, just after setting the course for practice I see the same guy again,

walking down the hill near the towers... board in hand.

I shouted down from the chair, and it was Rufus! :) ...he busted a bail... :(

That's two people this week busting bindings!

[bobble]

<table><th width="125"></th><tr><td>Date</td><td>12/30/2008 </td></tr><tr><td>Temp</td><td>19F, extremely windy up on top</td></tr><tr><td>Visibility</td><td>flat</td></tr><tr><td>Conditions</td><td>decent. there's new snow on top of cord</td></tr><tr><td>Hardbooters</td><td>1</td></tr></table>

Morning

got onto the run at 8:30 AM. ski practice was going on.

all around the snow was really decent. more good-ly then yesterday. there's a new jump on milkrun.

the flat light wasn't too bad. i could make out the lines in the snow.

the biggest compliant was the wind. it was coming in from the east and blowing straight up the hill. my eyes were tearing even though i had goggles on. it was slow going down the hill.

the new lift stopped for some reason. i saw people on it earlier but they shut it down. made the lift line on crossroads unbearable. couldn't take it any longer and left around 10:45 AM. long lines at the ticket office when i walked out.

weather says tomorrow is sunny with -4F at 9AM, then rises to 5F at 12PM. i'm thinking the snow should be excellent tomorrow. if only my toes wouldn't freeze.

[powell1.8]

I wish I could make it out this week, but with Zoe out of school it makes it tough. I might make it out friday morning, and hopefully sunday. All my sore muscles are healing though, which is nice.

[Speedzilla]

Two runs later, just after setting the course for practice I see the same guy again,

walking down the hill near the towers... board in hand.

I shouted down from the chair, and it was Rufus! :) ...he busted a bail... :(

That's two people this week busting bindings!

I talked to Rufus as he was leaving. His old Cateks are toast. It wasn't just the bail, but the baseplate. It blew apart where the heel piece bolts to it.

[Scuff]

Ugh! Broke the baseplate - now that's hard-core riding!

Buck is having the "Zombie Big-Air Comp" on New Years Eve...so think Jess and I are going to ride at Wild Mtn instead.

[bobble]

Ugh! Broke the baseplate - now that's hard-core riding!

Buck is having the "Zombie Big-Air Comp" on New Years Eve...so think Jess and I are going to ride at Wild Mtn instead.

... but its in the evening. checkin at 7PM.

i think i'll be at buck tomorrow morning. probably not too early. going to see blue man group at mystic. the drive is gonna be a bitch with the snow.

moira and i might watch the buck's fireworks from crystal lake beech or the little beach parking lot. that's if we can stay up beyond 9 PM. getting old sucks.

[bobble]

<table><th width="125"></th><tr><td>Date</td><td>12/31/2008 </td></tr><tr><td>Temp</td><td>-4F</td></tr><tr><td>Visibility</td><td>blue bird skys</td></tr><tr><td>Conditions</td><td>decent. fast and firm</td></tr><tr><td>Hardbooters</td><td>4 (me rick, ben, bobd)</td></tr></table>

Morning

firm snow. seemed fast despite the cold. my turns were scalloped on the apex. ran into some problems which is a real pisser.

the new chairlift was down. i overheard one of the lifties say something about a belt overheating or a fan breaking.

Boot Heels Are Cracked

must be "Equipment Failure Mode" week. i went inside to warm up. took my liners out and discovered a crack in the heel of my rear boot where the bale wire wraps around. when i got home i saw i had a crack in my front boot too.

i believe they cracked recently. on monday i chattered out on a turn. when i got up it felt like there was movement on my front boot when i leaned forward. i was tired, called it quits, and went home.

i must not have my bindings set right. this is the second time this has happened. on some days they feel loose, some feel too tight and i need to hammer the bale.

i feel fortunate that i found out before i really messed myself up.

photo is my front boot. the rear boot has a crack identical to the front.

advice???

[Scuff]

Oh no!!!

I had a similar heelcraking issue once with a pair of Nordica SBH boots.

Are you going to replace them with the 325's or the

's?

I've got a pair of UPZ's in a 27-28 for sale or rent.

[bobble]

not sure what i'm going to do.

my boot/liner says size 26 which is hard for me to believe but it is (i wear size 10 shoes). its going to suck getting use to new boots. these worked great.

what was ironic was i telling rick that i don't ride softboots in cold temps because i've broken straps.

[Speedzilla]

Duct tape.

[rhaskins]

I have a set of Deeluxe 325's in a size 26 that I can loan to you to try/use until you get a new set of boots. Your liners may fit.

I also had a problem today with my step-in's. I am going to post that in the general discussion forum. From reading the posts today, today was equipment breakage day nation wide.

Rick

[powell1.8]

I think you should join the Storm Trooper club.

[powell1.8]

I wonder if this is why you had snow in your boot the other day. I was thinking it was just frozen condensation because it was wicked cold, but maybe it was leaking in from the cracks. That was a while ago, which is kinda scary if that was the cause.

[bobble]

I wonder if this is why you had snow in your boot the other day. I was thinking it was just frozen condensation because it was wicked cold, but maybe it was leaking in from the cracks. That was a while ago, which is kinda scary if that was the cause.

i was wondering the same thing this afternoon. very scary.

i am extremely fortunate that the boots didn't pop out of the bindings.

lately my toes seemed to get really cold quick. it should've been my first clue that something was wrong.

if i shine a flashlight outside both boots and look inside i can see the crack is right where the sole meets the wall of the boot.

last monday on my last run i chattered and fell. when i got up i felt like there was some extra forward lean on my forward boot. at the bottom i pressured the cuff and it was feeling funny. i thought that the lean adjustment must've somehow unlocked (front doesn't have the BTS). there was snow around the mechanism. when i got home it looked fine but i failed to notice the crack.

[bobble]

I have a set of Deeluxe 325's in a size 26 that I can loan to you to try/use until you get a new set of boots. Your liners may fit.

I also had a problem today with my step-in's. I am going to post that in the general discussion forum. From reading the posts today, today was equipment breakage day nation wide.

Rick

i'd like to check them out to do the bomber 2-finger test. i don't want to deprive you of your boots. bobd may have some boots that could work in the interim.

i was on yyzcanucks site. they show the material specs for the suzukas and 325s. not an ME but the plastic has an elasticity modulus between the boots is different. the suzukas have a lower number, 190. the 325s are 240. i'm assuming higher means stiffer? i was wondering if there was a temp range for plastics but i didn't see anything.

[rhaskins]

I can't find my regular heels for these. I have intec's on them right now. Just went to switch, but no can find. I'll bring them with anyway today.

Rick

[rhaskins]

HEH, found them on the way out the door. The heels that is.

Rick

[powell1.8]

I thought the plastic on all the new Deeluxe boots was new and improved. I thought I read something about it being more consistent over a larger range of temps. I know you are not a huge fan of the white, but I have read that the Track 700's are softer than the 325's. I saw it somewhere on Bomber, but couldn't say where. If I could do it all over again though, I think I would go for Head boots. I think the thermoflex liners for the Deeluxe boots suck the bag, at least at the price they are charging. I really like my 700's now that I put the Intuition liners in though, but that bumps the price up quite a bit.

[bobble]

I thought the plastic on all the new Deeluxe boots was new and improved. I thought I read something about it being more consistent over a larger range of temps. I know you are not a huge fan of the white, but I have read that the Track 700's are softer than the 325's. I saw it somewhere on Bomber, but couldn't say where. If I could do it all over again though, I think I would go for Head boots. I think the thermoflex liners for the Deeluxe boots suck the bag, at least at the price they are charging. I really like my 700's now that I put the Intuition liners in though, but that bumps the price up quite a bit.

yyzcanuck has a detailed spec of each deluxe boot. i thought 700s were more stiffer than 325s. maybe i misinterpreted the specs. 07-08 here and 06-07 here

anyways, the 700 has superseded the suzukas. both have asymmetrical flex. the 325 has standard flex. i'm not sure what the ride difference would be.

when you read the specs it talks about aggressive freecarve, power flex, performance flex. what does that all mean? my main concern is weight.

right now i just wanna ride. its a toss between 325 and 700.

was out on my softboots today. toe-side okay. heelsides need more work.

it would've been a good day to ride hardboots.

[powell1.8]

IMHO save some cash and go for the Head boots. The pair of Line boots I had, the pair I got from you, was great. They were very similar to the new Head boots. I regret getting rid of them. If I could do it over again, I would go for the head boots. They fit well, they cost less, I think they're lighter, and the moldable liners in the Deeluxe blow.

If yo do go for the Deeluxe, I'd see if you can get the better liners. Maybe if you order them from yyzcanuck they come with the better liners. The Deeluxe website says they do come with them, but the ones from Bomber don't come with them.