WinterGold Posted January 8, 2011 Report Share Posted January 8, 2011 This is an appreciation thread :D ... I have been on a snowboard for almost a quarter of a century. I always try to take what the mountain has to offer. It doesn´t matter to me what kind of equipment I use. It just has to fit the conditions. I have just spend 11 straight days on my boards. Riding a freestyle board (yes, in duck stance ), a BX board, an SL alpine board (SG Full Race Pro Team 163) and an allround alpine board (SG Full Race Titan 170). Therefore I think that I have a certain feeling for what can be done in the different areas of this sport. I will never understand why alpine underwent such a strange development. There is so much potential in this sport (but I guess this is the wrong place to emphasis this fact ;)). When thinking about the development, a certain ad from Burton always comes to my mind. Victoria Jealouse doing a nice laydown frontside carve at the top and the bottom read "Alpine is dead." in big red capital letters. Back then I thought it was just meant as a provocation. But now I understand that many people already had this opinion in 1995. We still kept up the alpine spirit in those days :D ... see the picture below of a frontside in 1998 (on a red Burton FP in 157 - that was a really small board ;)) ... In 2001 I wrote my diploma thesis on the influence and development of freestyle and alpine snowboarding. By then alpine had been pushed out of the limelight almost completely. The alpine market made up about 3% to 5% of the whole snowboard market. Not sure about the numbers of today, but I guess they haven´t improved ... But then something else comes to my mind - the being different, the feeling of doing something special, the other people on the slope staring at you in wonderment (they still don´t know what they are missing ...), all the new friends, the great community (like the one here!), the few but extremely dedicated companies and the passion behind their efforts, etc. All this would not happen if we were mainstream ... so I guess the development is not that bad after all ... Keep slicing the frozen wave! (The second shot is from this November - going fast on my SG Full Race Pro Team 185) This video is from the last few days - I´m on the SG 170 - Alpine is dead, right? <object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMMOVl4FBhw?fs=1&hl=de_DE"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMMOVl4FBhw?fs=1&hl=de_DE" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowrider Posted January 8, 2011 Report Share Posted January 8, 2011 Riding my pr 186 coiler with a bright orange split plate (peddle plate) garners lots of interest from young people but nothing from their parents. I explain it to the kids but the parents don't quite get it ? Interest is there but not support or encouraged by parents.By the time they encounter snowboarding again Burton seems to have them all sewn up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WEBSIGHT360 Posted January 8, 2011 Report Share Posted January 8, 2011 Awesome video. You just put a HUGE smile on my face. Packing up the kids right now do some night skiing and carving. It's year 22 for me, and I just love it more and more each year. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kinpa Posted January 8, 2011 Report Share Posted January 8, 2011 What is the song / artist that you used in the video? I had one of the Hear No Evil videos from years ago that had all the freeriding stuff in it and I think they used that song too! I loved that video, but VHS doesn't last forever :( Great video! Looks like it's very obvious that you enjoy doing what you do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shred Gruumer Posted January 8, 2011 Report Share Posted January 8, 2011 Sorry its supe dragons.... Im Free.. Rss Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buell Posted January 8, 2011 Report Share Posted January 8, 2011 Nice Wintergold. Words and video. Yes, Rebecca needs that jacket to go with her board! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caspercarver Posted January 9, 2011 Report Share Posted January 9, 2011 I agree very good video! I especially love the air between transitions, not something i normally do but i think i will start working on it next time i am out. Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tex1230 Posted January 9, 2011 Report Share Posted January 9, 2011 love the video Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leeho730 Posted January 9, 2011 Report Share Posted January 9, 2011 Alpine is almost dead... So it's up to us to make a difference. What I plan to do in a few years is to gradually introduce alpine gears to some adults when I teach in a small resort. I'll probably use wide alpine boards with catek soft binding to give them a "feel" of alpine snowboarding. Would be great if each of us can "convert" at least one person per season.... BTW, nice video, wintergold! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Prokopiw Posted January 9, 2011 Report Share Posted January 9, 2011 and cudos from all types of skiers and riders,alpine is as alive as we make it.Yeehaa! Long live long boards! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loc Posted January 9, 2011 Report Share Posted January 9, 2011 We'll always be on the fringe. Being a hipster isn't easy!:o Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
omskates Posted January 9, 2011 Report Share Posted January 9, 2011 Thanks for the gr8 vid clip, gave me a big smile too. Glad I'm not the only one sporting grossly mismatched pants & jacket LOL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koldo Posted January 9, 2011 Report Share Posted January 9, 2011 Great video Gery! lookes even better LIVE Alpine is almost dead... Would be great if each of us can "convert" at least one person per season.... BTW, nice video, wintergold! I´m pretty succesful in this, and this is only my third season in hardboots:cool:Last season I convinced a friend of mine to swicht to alpine gear from softboots, now he says he´d never get back to the softboots.This season I started to teach another friend on alpine board, it is only his second year on snowboard at all. He already did couple carved turns on his first day on hardboots and he got really enthusiastic and he is already "hooked"! The next on my list was my girlfriend, she´s at least carving in her softboot setup, for now:biggthump Hopefully, I´ll make to try hardboots somebody else next year Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hans Posted January 9, 2011 Report Share Posted January 9, 2011 Nice vid! Love the SWEET clothing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WinterGold Posted January 9, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 9, 2011 Thanks for your nice comments so far!!! kinpa - I think the song was featured at the end of Burton´s Scream of Consciousness video from 1991. It was a classic scene where riders were going through a wood at an amazing speed. This images will be burned into my brain forever :D. The song is called "I´m free" and it was performed by "The Soup Dragons". Hans - Don´t spill the beans ;) ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hans Posted January 9, 2011 Report Share Posted January 9, 2011 Hans - Don´t spill the beans ;) ... I wear those beans also ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeoffV Posted January 9, 2011 Report Share Posted January 9, 2011 Sehr gutes video. Wo in Oesterreich wohnts du? I started alpine snowboarding in Austria at Hochkar This will be my go to video when I need to escape from my job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
softbootsurfer Posted January 9, 2011 Report Share Posted January 9, 2011 You can always spot someone in Love... Thanks :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willow 15 Posted January 9, 2011 Report Share Posted January 9, 2011 We'll always be on the fringe. Being a hipster isn't easy! My god Loc don't compare us to hipsters. Great vid Wintergold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murphy12 Posted January 10, 2011 Report Share Posted January 10, 2011 Nope, it ain't easy. "Out here on the perimiter, there are no stars"..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miltie Posted January 10, 2011 Report Share Posted January 10, 2011 Nice work Wintergold! Looks like you are having fun and that is exactly what this is all about. Strong! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
queequeg Posted January 10, 2011 Report Share Posted January 10, 2011 Fantastic Video and Riding!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lamby Posted January 10, 2011 Report Share Posted January 10, 2011 thanks for sharing the vid of you enjoying the slopes - nice stuff. Its a blast being in the mountains and sliding around on all sorts of toys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sultan Guy Posted January 10, 2011 Report Share Posted January 10, 2011 Damn...that is the widest groomed run I think I have ever seen! Wish I had something like that near me to really let loose on. Great vid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philw Posted January 10, 2011 Report Share Posted January 10, 2011 Nice video. Thanks to the people at GoPro I now have one of their machines so maybe I'll produce some footage to illustrate the same thing in powder. I suppose the message of the Burton ad was "you can ride fast in soft gear too". If that is what they were trying to say, then it's manifestly not so, to judge by most of their customers. It wasn't "alpine" that they killed, it was riding in the manner shown in their picture. I'm not really sure what Burton had in mind there. The same great team are pushing reverse camber very hard at the moment. To be charitable I'd say they're trying to sell more gear, by focusing on the largest sector of the market: beginners. The clever bit is the marketing which makes beginner gear cool and race boards uncool. Most sports have that the other way around. Do I care? Not much, so long as I can buy the gear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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