Cousin of Beagle Posted February 7, 2009 Report Share Posted February 7, 2009 here's more Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueB Posted February 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 7, 2009 Still liked te shot of Dave the best! Junior couldn't wake up at 6:30, for ua to be at the parking lot before the crowds. So, today's ski lesson - canceled... See you guys tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueB Posted February 10, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2009 Unbelievable! I expected the mad house, with the WC going on + reggular Sunday crowds, just to find semi deserted hill. WC actually had a day off and no one in the city realised that, so majority stayed off to avoid the crowd/no parking. It remained quiet whole day. That resulted in no other carvers but me... Conditions were somewhat tricky - nice "hero" looking buttery medium hard groom, varying in thickness form 3" to 0 over frozen base. Late in the day it got pretty rough. Runs of the day Rainbow and Midway - solid grooming. Other side, Raven, was just pure disaster: No3 ungroomed for few days, mini frozen moguls and stuff, steepest part scraped to rocks, No2 bumps, No1 poorly groomed, frozen, with plenty of death cookies. I started the day on Roy's Kessler KST 162, aka "Ankle Cracker". He also gave me the TD3 yellow ellastomers to try out. They are certainly nicer and easier to set up then TD2 suspension kit, but I couldn't feel the difference in ride. I guess I would really need to ride them back to back for fair comparison. Back to Kessler - sweet, sweet board. Definitelly the best alpine board, of that length, I've riden. No crazy trampoline-like rebounds like old SL boards, but lively enough. No chatter, great edge hold, easy initiation and exit. Way more friendly for weekend warrior then the big bad GS! Surprisingly, I think it's a great freeride board too!? Huge taper + rocker floats the nose over all irregularities. Again, taper allows for really easy "slarwing" on steeps (actually easiest I've ever tried). Now, that big taper can throw a curved ball at you, especially if you are used to hookier tails. I wanted to lay one over on the flats at the end on Raven 1, nose overinitiated on me, but tail didnt hook up, resulting in heavy wipe-out on my chest. Fun. Afternoon saw me back to bunny hill, practicing switch on plates on the Stuf 164. Just as I thought that my heel side basic carve would come together, I had my worst wipe-out this season, so far. Just after a lousy transition, my heel edge got into a very rough spot, almost like a mini ditch, and flipped me over backwards. I took lot of impact to the back of my helmet - sparks in front of my eyes, nausea and that "bleeding" feeling in the nose... Thanks Good for the helmets... Surprisingly, hadache wasn't too bad later in the evening. Lesson learned: heel side turn is really blind when ridning switch on plates. I'll probably skip riding tonight - big meeting at the sailing club... My next outing: Friday morning Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tenorman Posted February 10, 2009 Report Share Posted February 10, 2009 Doug, been on the slope yet? Don't keep yr NEW Silberpfeil too long in the basement!;) Ruwi, we will be back on the slope before season ends or Whistler! Good luck bud! Hey what about full report on the NEW Silberpfeil? Email sent. Cheers Roy hi ROY hope you are healing up quickly. i've been on the slopes about 10 times this year since mid january but with the crummy snow i've just been on rock boards. i'm more interested in trying my new speedster than silberfeil--besides i've only got about 6 days on my old silberfeil so i can always get my fix on that while waiting for better snow. looks like we will get a bit of snow for this weekend so i might try out the new speedster on sunday.--hit the groom first thing in the morning before it gets skied out. i called RUWI last week and he seems to be recovering well after his surgery. he is hoping to snowboard again by march. he did try his new silberfeil just before his surgery and said he really liked it. however, due to poor snow coverage he only took one run on it so he still needs to give it a more thorough test. i think he was lucky he didn't hit a rock as i was up that very night and there were a couple of nasty looking rocks poking through on the steeper runs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cousin of Beagle Posted February 11, 2009 Report Share Posted February 11, 2009 Lots of pros on the hill. This morning, they were taking practice runs on the boarderX. Pipe still out of commission. Saw a few hardbooters freeriding. I plan on being there every day until Sunday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cousin of Beagle Posted February 12, 2009 Report Share Posted February 12, 2009 Got this email from Cypress: ================================================== Dear Cypress Mountain Alpine Season Passholder, As you are aware the 2009 World Cup competitions are currently underway at Cypress Mountain. As part of the preparations necessary for the 2010 Olympic Games, VANOC is conducting operational testing with a number of its functions. Cypress Mountain and VANOC acknowledge that these events have created impacts on the availability of terrain normally accessible from Eagle Express for a period of three weeks due to the build of the Ski Cross and Snowboard Cross courses. We have not been directly involved in the planning of these events, however Cypress Mountain has consistently worked to protect the interests of recreational skiers and riders. At our request, VANOC has agreed to provide eligible passholders with a $25.00 PetroCan Gift Certificate (1 per season pass) in consideration of any inconvenience that you may have experienced. Eligible Passholders include anyone who purchased a Gold Unlimited, Gold, DayNiter, NiteTimer, OneNiter Season Pass or Adult Lesson Program holders. You may claim your PetroCan Gift Certificate by reporting to the Cypress Mountain Guest Relations Office in the new Cypress Creek Lodge with your Season Pass, anytime after February 18 th. VANOC has also facilitated special access to be a spectator at any of the events for Season Passholders – if your pass is valid at the time of the event you can ski or ride to the viewing areas and show your pass for admittance. VANOC and Cypress encourage you to participate in the activities and competitions this weekend. We would like to express our appreciation to Passholders for accommodating the impacts on your normal skiing and riding activities and with this fresh snow we look forward to an excellent second half of the season. Best regards, Cypress Mountain Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xy9ine Posted February 14, 2009 Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 i was up wed night. conditions were surprisingly decent. compacted fresh w/ a bit of ice here & there on the steeper stuff. made for some fun carving. the wcr is such a different animal in comparison to my antique deck. huge grip & confidence inspiring at speed. surprisingly forgiving & manageable in the tighter stuff despite the length. modern hardware rocks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cousin of Beagle Posted February 14, 2009 Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 Today was the SBX finals and HP training. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueB Posted February 15, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2009 Wow, the best carving day, so far this year! 2 smallish snowfalls last week, repeated grooming and mostly cold temperatures, provided for total hero hard pack - the kind where you can cut in 1". Sunny skies and surprisingly samall crowds... Dave and I have hit the hill early, and were joined by Rod the softbooter and Tony "Cousin". Tony was mostly after filming/shooting the SBX WC heats, but Dave and I were too busy trenching to waste the time on BX. Rod brought his SLR camera, so we did a bit of our own photoshoot, too. Late in the afternoon young instuctor Jeff joined us for few laps. We started on the Rainbow, did few laps on the Midway, back to Rainbow for the photoshoot, then across to Raven 1 and 3 and for quick chech of the BX around Panorama. Raven 3 was plain nasty - ungroomed for few days, not very bumpy but rough, ice showing through and barren steepest part. Raven 1 was to die for - empty, good groom, somewhat softer then Rainbow, but couple of small ice patches showing. I wish that run was slightly wider... Rainbow, just plain nice. However, the honnors go to Midway - widest and smoothest groom. Dave started the day on his trusty Prior FatJack T, then switched to my Donek AX Nyberg to try out. I think he loved it, as it remained in his car ;) I interchanged the laps between Vampire and Prior WCR T 173. This is worth a review: Virus Vampire 177 vs. Prior WCR T 173 showdown They heve quite simillar specs and construction, but are different boards. Both have medium to soft kind of flex with lots of torsional stifness. Edge hold and ease of riding are great on both, but it's the type of riding and personal prefference that would be crucial for the decision... Virus has elliptical sidecut, which is great for variable shape of turn. However, if you are not aware of what you were doing, it can surprise you sometimes. It's ubber smooth and rides variable snow conditions with ease. It's a total blast to ride on medium pitches, where you can force it into almost SL type of turn, or open it up in sweeping arcs, or pump of the tail at will. Smoother in and out of the turn then Prior. Prior has 11m radial sidecut and that's it. You are more stuck in the round shape of turn, but it turns in a way more predictable manner. It's slightly livlier then Virus, maybe due to more camber, or to more carbon fibre content? I was able to release more pop out of it too. It feels better on the steeper terrain, probably due to tighter SCR. Easier to EC on it, I think due to radial cut. Verdict: Both are the keepers! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueB Posted February 15, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2009 Another ski session with my baby ripper... We did the Easy Rider chair lift for the 1st time. Too much work for dad, trying to tame the little staightliner. Back to magic carpet... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruwi Posted February 15, 2009 Report Share Posted February 15, 2009 You make me jealous Boris, that is an awesome EC you had there. Can't wait for my Surgeon to give me a green light to ride again. I was with my wife at Grouse 48 Hrs Madness Sunday 0000 Hrs just to look around after our Valentines late night movie and it was an awesome condition, still plenty of people riding the hill and coming up when we went down at 0300 Hrs. ruwi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xy9ine Posted February 15, 2009 Report Share Posted February 15, 2009 sweet pic, boris! looks like the wc pgs has been canceled. what's wrong with the conditions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueB Posted February 15, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2009 Thanks guys. More EC photos in Photo section: http://www.bomberonline.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=236843 posts #155, #156. xy9, read more about PGS cancellation here: http://www.bomberonline.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=24692 I think just the lack of prep time between BX and PGS... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tenorman Posted February 18, 2009 Report Share Posted February 18, 2009 You make me jealous Boris, that is an awesome EC you had there. Can't wait for my Surgeon to give me a green light to ride again. I was with my wife at Grouse 48 Hrs Madness Sunday 0000 Hrs just to look around after our Valentines late night movie and it was an awesome condition, still plenty of people riding the hill and coming up when we went down at 0300 Hrs.ruwi hi ruwi must have just missed you as i was arriving when you were leaving. i was there on both days of 48 hour madness from about 2am until about 8am. it’s surprising how many runs you can fit in and how tired you get when the slopes are deserted. i was carving non-stop for 5 solid hours each day on practically empty slopes with an hour each day spent standing in the cafeteria lineup. there were more people in the lodge and cafeteria than on the slopes—which was okay with me. i guess the buildup of ice during the night sent all the softbooters scurrying into the lodge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xy9ine Posted February 18, 2009 Report Share Posted February 18, 2009 had the day off so went up for 1st lift. first day this year on fresh groom; holy crap, grippy cord is amazing! crank the board over & it just hooks up. cutting clean lines down the hill rocks. my legs are fried from the g's. so much fun, i'm amazed this sport isn't more popular. anyways, great day despite the lack of recent snow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crucible Posted February 19, 2009 Report Share Posted February 19, 2009 Welcome to the "dark side".... You'll be right behind the ski patrol for first tracks now, wontcha? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueB Posted February 24, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 24, 2009 Blue bird skies. Warm. Another ski session with Luka. He wasn't quite up to it after few days of flu... However, he insisted on few runs on the Easy Rider chair lift!?! Ouch, too much work for dad, controlling little monster who can not stop or turn. We still pulled our normal 1.5 hour session. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueB Posted February 24, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 24, 2009 Miserable day - lite drizzle at the base and snow ~200m higher up. At least there's a cooler front coming and more white stuff on forecast. We need it badly. Semi-deserted hil... Part-timers lessons canceled (mine)... Dave found me in the parking lot already. We started on PGS, shifted to Raven 1 after few runs. Very hard groom in the morning was transforming into something else very quickly. Snow speeded up, as well as the rain lower down. Ravens 2,3,4,5 unusable - not groomed and rocky... We wanted to switch to the other side and give Midway a go (looked so good from a far), just to find the chair out of operation. One run down Horizon (Rainbow looked beyond repair), proved to be plain nasty with scattered rocks, so we switched back to PGS. Dave retired pretty soon... I stayed for a while, changing the Prior M 173 (more I ride it, more I love it!) for Roy's ElDiablo and off to Easy Rider to practice switch riding. Small stance tweek I did made huge difference (or I'm just getting used to the board?). My heel side switch carve is coming together really nicely now. However, toe to heel transition is still very scary, as it is very blind. I figoured that one can not really turn around rear shoulder to see the heel side, as that opens the bum into full toilet seat. So, quick glance, then rail it like you would do your normal forward turn... By 11:30 rain was comming down full strength, so I ran away, too. I decided to do my consignment sports shops tour, and in our favorite one I bumped into Ruwi, followed shortly after by Dave. Ruwi looked good - operation was a success, he might ride soon. Great seeing you in good shape, buddy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cousin of Beagle Posted February 26, 2009 Report Share Posted February 26, 2009 My UPZ RC10 boots are a little too stiff. Dan Yoja at UPZ boots suggested I remove the bottom spring, so I tried it. Much flexier. However, the post has a little ridge that sometimes catches. I'll continue with this setup for a little longer. This morning was cold, about -8. Lots of new fluffy dry snow. Hero softpack corduroy. Overcast, so the light was a little flat. Saw another carver on Rainbow, riding goofy. Don't know who it was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueB Posted February 26, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 26, 2009 Was me! Well... probably, as I saw another h/booter Armen (or Arven?) on Oxygen Fr, and at least 2 softbooters riding steep angles pretty good. I ditched work hoping for freshies, just to find the hero groom! Luckilly, besides Tanker, I brought the WCR M, too! Most of the yesterdays 35cm fresh was already groomed tracked, while last night brought only 10cm or less. Rainbow was to die for, one could get away with anything on this "Colorado" snow. Midway had couple of soft spots... I had a big wipeout on heel side transition - caught the edge into a deeper spot - every vertebrae in my nack cracked! Couldn't quite get quite into the groove today - flu still hasn't left me :( Definitelly not going to Whistler tomorrow with Tenorman and Dave - don't have the lungs for it right now... Last hour I spent at Easy rider, riding my Stuf BXer switch. And drumroll!!! - my lines are nice, thin and clean now! Can't power it yet like riding forward or get very high edge, but, hey, it's the beggining... Might get out there with kid on skis tomorrow or Saturday, then riding/teaching Sunday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xy9ine Posted February 26, 2009 Report Share Posted February 26, 2009 sounds good. will be up this eve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruwi Posted February 27, 2009 Report Share Posted February 27, 2009 By 11:30 rain was comming down full strength, so I ran away, too. I decided to do my consignment sports shops tour, and in our favorite one I bumped into Ruwi, followed shortly after by Dave. Ruwi looked good - operation was a success, he might ride soon. Great seeing you in good shape, buddy! Right After having the green light from the Surgeon, Tuesday night I went up Grouse with my rock board FP 167 with race plates and Blax Boots and met Gordon and later George[Crucible]. It was snowing(wet) then later turn into rain and made the runs messy on top of that very poor visibility. That turn out to be a good workout for my legs after being sidelined over 2 weeks and Gordon having some nice coaching from George that pleased him. I clocked about 3 hrs of non stop gentle rides, no lift line ups, nearly deserted runs. Rode again Thursday night with nice condition after the snow dump on Tuesday and Wednesday made the runs carvable the next day and again met George. The hill was busy due to nice visibility that more people went up night riding and by the time we got down the base of the gondola, it was 1100 Hrs and another over half hour to get home. This time I rode my UP168 with Physics race and Burton Wind boots. It turned out to be a good set up that I was able to do some nice carve as George noticed that I was doing some EC. I feel great in spite of being off riding for over 2 weeks. I will be ready for Whistler definitely. Need to get more hours to get rid of that still wobbly legs. Will be back teaching as well this weekend. Thanks everyone for wishing me well on my speedy recover. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crucible Posted February 27, 2009 Report Share Posted February 27, 2009 Ruwi is definitely BACK- going for higher speed transitions and taking names. It was cool to see him grazing his forearm with his toe-side eurocarves. I can hardly believe it that it's only been 2 seasons since he first started carving... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueB Posted February 28, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2009 Ski session with kid... He can turn to the right now, but he just does it permanently!?! I guess left foot bias... Nothing special to report. Snow felt very wet, but compact at lower elevations. Ruwi, Well done on quick return to the snow! That's the spirit! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueB Posted February 28, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2009 They have a new hiding spot - Deer Ridge Drive, 1st little road to the left as you start your asscent up the Cypress Road. Saw them springing out of there to chase the car in front of me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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