Alexa Loo's COPPER Experience

[yyzcanuck]

Just received this email update about Copper RTTC from Alexa Loo:

Snowboarding in Colorado

The Canadian Snowboard Team made its annual pilgrimage to Copper Colorado, about an hour and a half west of Denver. For me, this is my 11th season training in Copper in November! Before most of the other resorts have contemplated opening, Copper usually has nice firm consistent snow: perfect for race training in the early season. Ski and snowboard racers from all over the world flock to Copper to take advantage of the great snow and finish preparing for the season ahead.

Copper is also home to the best boot fitters: Ari and his team at Surefoot. We always go and visit them to get our boots dialed. Several years ago we discovered the foam injected liners that the Surefoot guys specialize in. With the custom orthotic and liner, we found that our interface with our boards and bindings improved tremendously and that we had much better control and power transfer - as well: happy feet made for happy girls.

At a camp back in the summer, I made a huge rookie mistake: I left my boots in the condo, 40 minutes from the hill! I ended up renting some ski boots and it turned out that they gave me far better reaction than the snowboard boots that I had been riding for the past two and a half years! Last season, I was happy to be in my old, soft boots, because they put less strain on my recently repaired knee. But now, after a great summer of dryland training, my knee is strong and I am ready for stiffer and more responsive equipment. A few of the guys on the team have been having a lot of success on ski boots and I thought that I would give them a try.

As soon as I got to Copper, I took my new ski boots in to Ari to get the liners molded to my feet. First, he made me an orthotic. Then he put me into the boots with the liners and mixed the foam and hooked the chemical bottles to the liners. The foam mixture expands and shoots though tubes into channels built into the liners. It fills in all of the spaces to conform to the contours of my feet. After a few minutes the foam begins to harden and set to the shape of each foot. Voila! Custom liners! Normally, we go into the Surefoot shop a few more times in order to fine tune the liners, ensure proper leg alignment and make sure everything is perfect and then we are set for the season (for boots, anyways)!

Copper is the last chance before the season really gets going to test things. Not only was I testing ski boots (which I later decided not to use), but I tested boards and some different binding setups. Sigi Grabner, who has been racing for about 16 years started to produce his own line of race boards a few years ago. I picked up a few of his boards on my last trip to Europe and I decided to give them a try.

Every day, the coaches set up timing on our training courses and we had a video guy to capture the footage. Every evening, I pored over the video and the times to try to determine the equipment setup that was the fastest for me. After two weeks of serious testing, some broken equipment and a few falls, I finally settled on the Sigi boards with new snowboard boots and my regular binding setup. By the end of the camp I was exhausted from testing.

The Copper camp wraps up with two Continental Cup races. This year was the biggest ever for the number of snowboarders and the number of nations represented. We had athletes from USA, Canada, Switzerland, Serbia, Hungary, Japan, Philippines, Australia and Great Britain! The first day we held the PGS event. I was riding strong, but, in the round of 8, I made a mistake in my first run against one of the Swiss girls and looped out of the course. In my second run against her, I did not beat her by enough to make up for my mistake in the first run. (Drat!) I ended up 6th and she moved on to win the race. (Double drat!!)

Fired up from my mistake in the PGS (and the chewing out I received from my coach), I attacked the Slalom course with no mercy. I moved through the knock out rounds with a cold intensity (Mark, my coach, described my look as, “Blue Steel”). No big mistakes, 10 runs with lots of athletic riding and I won my first race of the season!

Now I am feeling buoyed from my win and ready to hit the December World Cups in Europe!

Cheers,

Alexa

[inkaholic]

It was fun to watch Alexa ripping up the courses. She was running away from her competitors on the PSL.

Ink

[Sinecure]

It was fun to watch Alexa ripping up the courses.

Most of us would find it fun to watch Alexa doing almost anything. On the hill or not. :1luvu:

Cool report. She obviously needs some good, stiff hard snowboard boots with good custom liners.

[yyzcanuck]

She obviously needs some good, stiff hard snowboard boots with good custom liners.

She's now using DeeLuxe Lemans 325 boots. These are the team edition of the SB shells manufactured with the stiffest materials that DeeLuxe has.

FYI, before someone completely embarrasses themselves... Alexa does drop by BomberOnline and read the posts sometimes.

[J'suis là]

FYI, before someone completely embarrasses themselves... Alexa does drop by BomberOnline and read the posts sometimes.

So back in 2003 I had no clue who Alexa Loo was. I only talked to her because I took a telemark clinic with a friend of hers and saw the bunch of them at a mtb consignment sale at Crankworx in Whistler. She gave me her business/promo card by Sundog. Ah well. . .

Home-grown heroes that I've met; it'll be fun to watch the team leading up to the 2010.

[oldkey]

Funny to be reading this article. My son was at RTTC and tried out his new Kessler to then find out the extra stiffness pushed the limits of his soft (hard) boots. Watching all the racers on their Dibellos (sp?), I was convinced he should switch to them as well. Too close to the race to change we went to see Ari at Surefoot asking that he use padding and other boot fitter tricks to help get us through the race. While there we talked about the ski boot movement with the snowboarders....he told us of Alexa's switch back to her Deeluxe boots. I then went back myself to have my ski boot liners remolded and we continued the conversation. Who should walk in but Alexa and Jasey Jay. While I stood painfully in my boots allowing the liners to cool, Ari agreed to make a Surefit set of liners for Jasey. Watching both of them race - it sure seemed like a good move for them.

Last night we ordered my son a new pair of Deeluxe 325s from Michelle and intend to get the Surefit liners on our next visit to Copper.

As Alexa said, this RTTC was amazing - so many different countries represented.

[Seb]

dalbello krypton pro

[oldkey]

....many riders seemed very happy with that boot. As I understand it , very little side to side flex.....only forward....but stiff.

[Seb]

This video explain all the concept of the boots:

[BlueB]

Yup... I regularly get flamed whenever I mention there are some good ski boots out there, suitable for snowboarding.

Narrow Kryptons/Flexons don't fit my feet too well, but I'm very happy with Dalbello CRX/Carvex/Reflex series. Same shell as Head Stratos.

There are few other models/brands too.

[BlueB]

National Team Manager also confirmed to me that many team members are on Kryptons, but not necesserilly the stiffest version.

[Seb]

true: Lambert is on the Dalbello Rampage and Patrick Farrell the other rider on the national team that is on ski boots ride the Krypton pro

[yyzcanuck]

DeeLuxe has the FreeZone PRO that will get tested this season as well. The speculation on what's better about the ski boot vs standard snowboard boots is the lower shell rigidity. According to riders I've spoken to, the lower shell is torsionally more rigid allowing for a better feel.

[bobdea]

where are they gonna market that boot?

I've seen skiers with this boot in years past but with the ladder straps like the SB series. the boot was basically a lemans with ledges of a ski boot.

Might of been a product that Line was selling.

[yyzcanuck]

That boot is already commonplace in Europe. Our plan for Canada is to put it into stores for the 2009-2010 season.

It's the SB shell with some modifications. The most obvious is the DIN standard binding interface. The not so obvious is the reinforced dog-bone through the insole. Seems to add significant strength to that area.

[mr_roboteye]

Yup... I regularly get flamed whenever I mention there are some good ski boots out there, suitable for snowboarding.

Narrow Kryptons/Flexons don't fit my feet too well, but I'm very happy with Dalbello CRX/Carvex/Reflex series. Same shell as Head Stratos.

There are few other models/brands too.

Only a tool would flame you for that. Fawcett used to ride orange technicas on the WC tour. Ski boots don't work for me though. My fire's (and many others) have an adjustable click stop for forward lean. I couldn't ride with both boots at the same lean angle.

later,

Dave R.

edit: after scrolling up, I see that the boot in the pic above has adjustable forward lean, hmmm.

.

[BlueB]

Just as my Carvex do. Plus, they have walk/carv/ski modes.

The other Dalbelos, I've offered to you few weeks ago, have those features too.

[mr_roboteye]

I still like the short sole of a snowboard specific boot, so it wouldn't have really mattered anyway. I think some new boots are on the list for next year though. BTW, there is an outside chance that I may come this Sunday, I will decide the night before / morning of. The forecast still calls for rain as of now.

later,

Dave R.

[bobdea]

generally speaking ski boots are bad because most people lack the knowledge of how to make them work.

there's certain ski boots that are okay but still lack some features that range from niceties to deal breakers.

bottom line, ski boots suck for me and for most riders, in particular ones who don't have a ton of experience dialing in a setup.

most riders also would not benefit from a hangl plate for everyday riding either.

these boots decended from the SB series and the blax boots might be a different story but really don't help our cause either.

[bobdea]

these three, amazing

[Steve Prokopiw]

Wow!I gotta get my wife one of those suits. "Here honey,wear this!"

[tex1230]

back to the boots - (trying not to drool too much)

The Dalbellos are basically Raichle Flexons - Which quite a few of us were racing in back in the early 90's - not a big surprise that top level racers are still in that boot.

[yyzcanuck]

I still like the short sole of a snowboard specific boot,...

Dave, In an M26, the FreeZone Pro has an overall shell length that is only +4 mm longer than the SB shell and +0 mm longer than the AF shell.

[boostertwo]

Here's some slo-mo footage of Alexa Loo from semis and finals:

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[mr_roboteye]

Dave, In an M26, the FreeZone Pro has an overall shell length that is only +4 mm longer than the SB shell and +0 mm longer than the AF shell.

2mm at either end is pretty close. I think I'll end up going with the head stratos pro. I have burton fires right now so I know the stratos will fit because it's the same shell.

later,

Dave R.