Vancouver Carvers' Diaries 2012/13

[BlueB]

Ho, ho, a good day!

Almost no crowd, for a Sunday! Very good snow in the morning, then new stuff accumulating during the day. Prior metal top in the Am, Proto in the Pm. Vis was so-so...

Raven was the run of the day, but Rainbow and JJA were good to. Humpy bumped up quickly. First Sun wasn't groomed. I also did Black on Black, Meteor and Shore Glades - pretty nasty those 3...

Perry was also there in the Am, killing it on the Atv, but somehow we couldn't get into sequence, bar for one run...

My friend from Toronto showed up way late, so only one run with him too...

[xy9ine]

had a fun morning, for sure. a refreshing lack of crowds.

speaking of the atv (great board, btw), i emailed prior to see if there were any new alpine designs in the works (there isn't), and they said they were dropping the atv for next year. i hope this isn't a sign of prior backing away from alpine board building...

[crucible]

had a fun morning, for sure. a refreshing lack of crowds.

speaking of the atv (great board, btw), i emailed prior to see if there were any new alpine designs in the works (there isn't), and they said they were dropping the atv for next year. i hope this isn't a sign of prior backing away from alpine board building...

My guess is that with the development of the Spearhead, Fissile, and other freeride models that Chris has come out with, along with the continued refinement of his alpine models and BX line, that the demand for a "jack-of-all-trades" model like the ATV has declined... Better buy them now and preferably beefed up with extra carbon stringers before he discontinues the ATV.

[Cousin of Beagle]

http://jibskikings2013.eventbrite.com/ They're having a contest at Cypress.

[pan]

Sorry for late reply. I was very busy with other trainings last 3 weeks.

About the Super-G/Downhill, I spoke with another coach. I will let you guys know if anything gonna happen.

For gate training at Cypress, I'm thinking to put one up this Sunday morning. In order to keep it simple, it will be a single lane course with 10-15 gate and it will be set below mid-way chair. In order to run the training, $2 will be charged for insurance purpose. Please let me know how many of you are planning to come out this Sunday. If you need a lift ticket, please let me know on before Friday so that I can arrange a 50% off lift ticket.

Looking forward to see you guys this Sunday.

[eastcoastcarve]

Sorry for late reply. I was very busy with other trainings last 3 weeks.

About the Super-G/Downhill, I spoke with another coach. I will let you guys know if anything gonna happen.

For gate training at Cypress, I'm thinking to put one up this Sunday morning. In order to keep it simple, it will be a single lane course with 10-15 gate and it will be set below mid-way chair. In order to run the training, $2 will be charged for insurance purpose. Please let me know how many of you are planning to come out this Sunday. If you need a lift ticket, please let me know on before Friday so that I can arrange a 50% off lift ticket.

Looking forward to see you guys this Sunday.

I wish i could join but already have plans for sunday but might try to change them.

[BlueB]

Pan, how are you going to do this? Ski club normaly has gates training on Midway... Now, with a U14 race going on the Coyotee, maybe no ski gates on Midway.

Anyways, I have to bring Luka for ski training, so I'll be around. Will participate only if the snow is decent.

[Gtanner]

Sorry for late reply. I was very busy with other trainings last 3 weeks.

About the Super-G/Downhill, I spoke with another coach. I will let you guys know if anything gonna happen.

For gate training at Cypress, I'm thinking to put one up this Sunday morning. In order to keep it simple, it will be a single lane course with 10-15 gate and it will be set below mid-way chair. In order to run the training, $2 will be charged for insurance purpose. Please let me know how many of you are planning to come out this Sunday. If you need a lift ticket, please let me know on before Friday so that I can arrange a 50% off lift ticket.

Looking forward to see you guys this Sunday.

Pan, this is great. Unfortunately, my plant is offline for a maintenance outage and I happen to be the lucky guy on nightshift. I'd love to join for gates though, but it won't be until the latter part of March now.

-Gord

[eastcoastcarve]

Today was the best day of the year for me!

Almost no crowd, but that wouldn't have mattered as I spent almost the whole day in the trees. Sky chair was not open yesterday so the top was completely un tracked for the first few runs everywhere. The visibility was not good but with powder everywhere who cares.

After a few runs on the actual trails spent most of the day in the OB riders left of sky chair and OB riders left of Topgun, as the day went on it was snowing enough to fill in our earlier tracks.

I just picked up a Dynastar 3800 169 so that was what I was on all day!

[Cousin of Beagle]

Weapon of choice was the Dynastar 3800 - 163 cm at Cypress today. Should be a pow day tomorrow!

[timmytard]

Eatcoastcarve, I'm sure you must have read all that's available about the 3800?

Which is only about 2 threads in here, that's it.

Sure does ride nice eh? Pretty much exactly as described, wouldn't ya say?

It did for me.

Curious if you put your rear binding in the farthest back inserts?

I imagine you did? If not, you need to.

Must have been a Dynastar day?

Took my new 163 3800 out for its maiden voyage today as well.

Didn't see any others though.

Much easier to toss around. Super happy about finding a 163.

If I hadn't I would have probably kept the 69, even if it wasn't ideal.

Was there until closing tonight.

Close to a foot on the car & puking heavily when I left.

Tomorrow should be a good day!!

I'd say "see ya on the hill" but, nobody seems to want to come down my new favorite run with me?

It awesome, its called "Danger Permanently closed"

Here's one of the hidden gems in there. https://vimeo.com/59635045

Edited February 27, 2013 by timmytard
forgot a comma

[BlueB]

It awesome, its called "Danger Permanently closed"

People die in the "Death Star"... We lost an instructor in there, several years ago :(

Do as you wish, but at least stay high on the sides, the bottom of the V and then the very end where you have to hike out, are the places where bad things happen...

I'm glad you enjoy the 3800. It's the seacret weapon of the tribe :)

[BlueB]

An awsome day!

Changing vis in the beginning, but cleared later, lots of soft snow, no crowd.

I had a buddy skier visiting from Ontario, we also ran into Tony and Kaz rode with us for the last hour or so.

Lots of nice softish groomers in the am, very carvable and smooth. Prior WCRM.

Later we swiched to chasing the steeps/pow/trees/bumps, as that's what my buddy doesn't get to ride in the flatlands of the east. Nidecker Proto.

We really covered lots of the terrain: Rainbow, Humpty, Horizon, Glades, Top Gun, forests around Moons/Slash, Raven, 1st Sun, Black on Black, Meteor, Shore Glades, Benny's, Panorama... Great fun.

Kaz heroicly went with us down the Top Gun and Glades, on his SL board!

Now the bad part - WARNING!

When I switched to the Nidecker, we headed for the steeps of the Raven side. Mid run, on the steepest part, my rear binding twisted around into duck stance. When I stoped I realised that the front was about to strt turning too - very loose. Now, on that board, I didn't change anything for very long time. The only possible answer to 8 loose bolts is: SOMEONE LOOSENED MY BINDINGS WHILE THE BOARD WAS ON THE RACK :(

Check your bindings every time you take the board from the rack!!!

[timmytard]

Thanks for the warning blueb.

I actually prefer to stay in the middle of that area, not the V.

There is a V on both sides of that area, the larger being the one to skiers left, but there is another one that runs almost the same length skiers right.

You can go through the whole thing top to bottom, without ever even getting close to the "Death Star".

If the V you're talking about is the one on skiers left.

I spent a lot of yesterday trying to get the 163 dialed in as nice as I had the 169 set up.

Still not perfect, hope I didn't make a mistake getting rid of the 169.

We'll see?

TT

[timmytard]

An awsome day!

Changing vis in the beginning, but cleared later, lots of soft snow, no crowd.

I had a buddy skier visiting from Ontario, we also ran into Tony and Kaz rode with us for the last hour or so.

Lots of nice softish groomers in the am, very carvable and smooth. Prior WCRM.

Later we swiched to chasing the steeps/pow/trees/bumps, as that's what my buddy doesn't get to ride in the flatlands of the east. Nidecker Proto.

We really covered lots of the terrain: Rainbow, Humpty, Horizon, Glades, Top Gun, forests around Moons/Slash, Raven, 1st Sun, Black on Black, Meteor, Shore Glades, Benny's, Panorama... Great fun.

Kaz heroicly went with us down the Top Gun and Glades, on his SL board!

Now the bad part - WARNING!

When I switched to the Nidecker, we headed for the steeps of the Raven side. Mid run, on the steepest part, my rear binding twisted around into duck stance. When I stoped I realised that the front was about to strt turning too - very loose. Now, on that board, I didn't change anything for very long time. The only possible answer to 8 loose bolts is: SOMEONE LOOSENED MY BINDINGS WHILE THE BOARD WAS ON THE RACK :(

Check your bindings every time you take the board from the rack!!!

Do you think they loosened it to try & steal it?

That is, if you had it locked up in the ski-key racks?

I sure see a lot of the employees @ Cypress that don't lock up their gear.

Be careful, I'd imagine some of your boards are worth quite a bit.

TT

[Cousin of Beagle]

9:00 - 12:00. 6" fresh off Raven Chair. Run of the day: Olympic mogul run. Weapon of the day: Dynastar 3800 - 163. Saw Boris & guest there. Hope you guys got the fresh runs off Raven.

Edited February 28, 2013 by Cousin of Beagle
I felt like it.

[eastcoastcarve]

Eatcoastcarve, I'm sure you must have read all that's available about the 3800?

Which is only about 2 threads in here, that's it.

Sure does ride nice eh? Pretty much exactly as described, wouldn't ya say?

It did for me.

Curious if you put your rear binding in the farthest back inserts?

I imagine you did? If not, you need to.

Must have been a Dynastar day?

Took my new 163 3800 out for its maiden voyage today as well.

Didn't see any others though.

Much easier to toss around. Super happy about finding a 163.

If I hadn't I would have probably kept the 69, even if it wasn't ideal.

Was there until closing tonight.

Close to a foot on the car & puking heavily when I left.

Tomorrow should be a good day!!

I'd say "see ya on the hill" but, nobody seems to want to come down my new favorite run with me?

It awesome, its called "Danger Permanently closed"

Here's one of the hidden gems in there. https://vimeo.com/59635045

I run a fairly narrow stance so I didn't go all the way back with the back foot but I think I put the front foot all the way back. It seemed to work like a charm for me. I was at cypress all day Tuesday and till about 1:00 on Wed.

I picked up the Dynastar for my less than perfect carving days and it didn't disappoint in the powder. As for it being 169 the last free ride freestyle board I had was a 166 so it didn't seem big at all. I have not really just bombed around the hill on it yet but I think If I center the binding out it would carve well on the groomers. On the one groomed section that I did try to carve hard on it I over pressed the nose and slid out twice before I remembered I would have to put way more pressure on the front foot to utilize the whole edge since the stance was set back.

I have been through the Permanently closed area a number of times and understand why the powers that be don't want people in there. But if you ride in pairs, keep track of where your going, don't just launch over the blind rolls and stay out of the gully's it can be a very fun area after a dump. Judging by the amount it was tracked out in the afternoon yesterday lots of people feel the same way.

I was riding close to the edge of the gully on skiers left as the snow was un tracked there and was surprised at the number of peoples tracks that got caught going down into the gully.

[Cousin of Beagle]

9:00 - 12:00. Lightly snowing. 4" to 8" fresh. Snow was a bit heavy, but the Dynastar 3800 - 163 cruised through it like a champ. Runs of the day: Top Gun & Moons.

Pearled the nose on Panorama, which catapulted me into the air. Cartwheeled. Two complete rotations. On the second rotation, I looked down past my feet and board, and saw sky. My head easily cleared the snow about 12". The two rotations seemed to last a long time.

That's it for a couple of days, because Cypress is closing early today at 4:00 due to inclement weather. It'll be closed on Friday too. Hopefully it'll be windy enough for windsurfing tomorrow.

P.S. I cannot start a new paragraph by hitting the <Enter> key. What's up with that? edit: problem fixed.

Edited February 28, 2013 by Cousin of Beagle
Crikey!

[charliechocolate]

P.S. I cannot start a new paragraph by hitting the Enter<enter><enter> key. What's up with that?</enter></enter>

Probably a browser problem. When posting, try using source mode on the Editor. To do this, click on the top-left button in the Editor, the one that looks like "A/A". Maybe that will help.

[BlueB]

Do you think they loosened it to try & steal it?

That is, if you had it locked up in the ski-key racks?

No it wasn't locked. That's the scary part - someone wanted me to wrack myself :(

_____

Tony, see if the shift+enter would give you a new line.

[BlueB]

... I think I put the front foot all the way back. It seemed to work like a charm for me.

That is the way to set it! Front binding all the way back, set the stance length from there. Carving and pow both. Doesn't need much nose pressure, if any for bigger guys.

[Cousin of Beagle]

Probably a browser problem. When posting, try using source mode on the Editor. To do this, click on the top-left button in the Editor, the one that looks like "A/A". Maybe that will help.

The A/A thing worked!

[Cousin of Beagle]

Both bindings all the way back in the inserts. Doesn't pearl in waist-deep fresh. Carves groomers too.

[charliechocolate]

Now I want a 3800, too.

[timmytard]

I run a fairly narrow stance so I didn't go all the way back with the back foot but I think I put the front foot all the way back. It seemed to work like a charm for me. I was at cypress all day Tuesday and till about 1:00 on Wed.

I picked up the Dynastar for my less than perfect carving days and it didn't disappoint in the powder. As for it being 169 the last free ride freestyle board I had was a 166 so it didn't seem big at all. I have not really just bombed around the hill on it yet but I think If I center the binding out it would carve well on the groomers. On the one groomed section that I did try to carve hard on it I over pressed the nose and slid out twice before I remembered I would have to put way more pressure on the front foot to utilize the whole edge since the stance was set back.

I have been through the Permanently closed area a number of times and understand why the powers that be don't want people in there. But if you ride in pairs, keep track of where your going, don't just launch over the blind rolls and stay out of the gully's it can be a very fun area after a dump. Judging by the amount it was tracked out in the afternoon yesterday lots of people feel the same way.

I was riding close to the edge of the gully on skiers left as the snow was un tracked there and was surprised at the number of peoples tracks that got caught going down into the gully.

I think you should @ least put the rear back in the farthest inserts to try it out.

I figured being so light, I could/should center the rear binding as well.

Maybe it was my weight? but the tail kept hooking in the powder & I actually pulled something in my back.

So, as per blueb's comment that she likes it in the rear :D I tried it all the way back on both.

Completely different ride, the hooky-ness was gone & it became an instant powder slayer!

I only did the one adjustment & it became awesome.

The 163 on the other hand, hasn't been so easy to get perfect.

Put 2 different sets of bindings on it, in all sorts of different configurations & still not right.

Hope I don't regret selling you the 69 & getting the 63? I have other boards for all the other conditions.

What I needed was a powder slaying monster for only super deep powder & @ 169 that fit the bill.

That area is a nightmare when the conditions aren't perfect, it's only good sometimes, even right now.

If all the clutter on the floor isn't completely covered, like it is right now, there are far too many hidden trees & rocks.

I poked my head in there a couple weeks ago, there weren't many tracks from the day before.

It was like a super smooth, bullet proof slide. You couldn't dig an edge in unless you jumped.

All I could think about was if you fell, there would be no way to stop.

You would be in a giant game of Plinko, bouncing off trees.

But when it's good, it's the best on Cypress.

TT