Guest Armon Posted December 29, 2004 Report Share Posted December 29, 2004 On power days, when all the runs are choppy and bumpy do you guys switch out for a different board and go through the trees? Are softie setups better for powder or do your alpine setups work fine too? Either way, I know I'm waking up EARLY tomorrow.. everyone else in the tahoe area better be doing the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike T Posted December 29, 2004 Report Share Posted December 29, 2004 [rant] .... in a non-Nino year that storm wuld probably slam into Mt Hood. We're *barely open* up here, where the f^&k is the snow!?!?!? [/rant] Now that I got that off my chest... I find plates work fine as long as the snow is light enough. If it's heavier and more than about 6 or 8 inches deep I break out the softies. First few times on plates in deep snow were frustating but now it's a blast... as long as it's not deep and heavy in which case I still feel a lot better on softies. Enjoy the freshie, and make some turns for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
utahcarver Posted December 29, 2004 Report Share Posted December 29, 2004 Armon you've got to arm yourself with a powdergun! It might be a nice long Rad-Air Tanker or a swallowtail like I use. Short of that, you could do what most riders do and step your bindings back a couple of inserts. If you already feel comfortable in powder in your softies why not try plates in fresh or crud? Many of us here use plates for powder. You could also try riding with your buckles a bit looser, or your boots in 'walk' mode for more flexion. Try these ideas first. I would not recommend using binding setback at first, though. Learn to ride with the board 'trimmed out' instead of braking or pushing the snow with the board. You will go a lot faster and have greater control. You may 'pearl' more often by doing this at first but, you'll be a lot more faster and aggressive in crud and powder. My two cents.... Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sean Posted December 29, 2004 Report Share Posted December 29, 2004 What do I do on powder days? Ride my alpine deck of course- the fc171 or axis 172 is swell all over the mountain. Really-it is. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-Sub Posted December 29, 2004 Report Share Posted December 29, 2004 I sit at home with a hot toddy and wait for the groomers to get all that nasty fresh snow under control! (or break out the Oxy178 big ol' tank that I have;)) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flash Posted December 29, 2004 Report Share Posted December 29, 2004 Lib Tech Snow Mullet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kirtap Posted December 29, 2004 Report Share Posted December 29, 2004 ha, Kent, when was the last time we got a decent amount of powder out here? Maybe I just dont remember it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philfell Posted December 29, 2004 Report Share Posted December 29, 2004 Real pow deserves a real pow set-up. Softies are the way to go in deep snow. The right tools for the job, if hardboots were an advantage the big mt. guys would be rocking hardboots (some of them are cross over racers and have experience on hardboots). But if it's just choppy and bumpy I pick my hardboots any day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
utahcarver Posted December 29, 2004 Report Share Posted December 29, 2004 Use one of these to 'Step Into Powder'.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kipstar Posted December 29, 2004 Report Share Posted December 29, 2004 Anything less than a genuine knee deep is pretty much totally rideable; you can even ride asyms in powder of that sort of depth; Bumps are no problem; in fact is is kinda fun to just leave the bindings where they are, and ride soul style, all weight in the back foot straight through the bumps. Over knee deep, and it starts to get hairy. The skinny boards just don't have enough floation; if you come to a halt, it is really hard to get going again.... at most resorts you don't get that sort of snow so many times per year; never in NZ; I've had maybe 10 days in total in my life deeper than knee deep all over the mountain?! I guess a swallow tail and softies is the way to go..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kent Posted December 29, 2004 Report Share Posted December 29, 2004 Originally posted by kirtap ha, Kent, when was the last time we got a decent amount of powder out here? Maybe I just dont remember it. LOL.... No powder in Minn, perhaps 5 years ago there was one day, but by the time you got speed, the run ended. Luckily for me, I travel to our place in Vail/BC 5-6 times per year in addition to the race schedule.... k Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k_t Posted December 29, 2004 Report Share Posted December 29, 2004 what i do Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Armon Posted December 29, 2004 Report Share Posted December 29, 2004 Originally posted by utahcarver Learn to ride with the board 'trimmed out' instead of braking or pushing the snow with the board. You will go a lot faster and have greater control. You may 'pearl' more often by doing this at first but, you'll be a lot more faster and aggressive in crud and powder Well, at the moment I only have a softie setup. I've been in tahoe for 2 weeks praying for snow, and trying to learn how to carve in the spring skiing conditions we have had. It's been fun and I've actually laid out a few nice carved turns here and there. But now the powder has come, and like a cheap whore I am addicted. Or, readdicted I should say. I already feel comfortable in the powder and I don't really need to move my bindings back as my board floats fine. However, I'm not sure what you meant by 'trimmed out'/'pearl' etc. I'm always looking to improve though.. so, care to explain a little more? And Mike T sorry to rain (or snow) on your parade over at Mt. Hood. If it makes you feel any better the conditions at the mtn I go to at tahoe have been pretty weak since I've been out here. A lot of closed runs, sheet ice, and bare spots here and there. You'll get that snow eventually.. just makes it that much sweeter! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
utahcarver Posted December 29, 2004 Report Share Posted December 29, 2004 Armon, You've been given some great ideas here by several riders and I'm sorry I've not been clear with my terminology. 'Pearling' refers to the nose of a surfboard diving quickly under the wave thus launching the rider into the surf. Trimmed out refers to a centered stance tip and tail that results in a snowboarder riding powder without digging in either nose or tail. Since you are riding softies and in full addiction mode, I suggest to just get out there and ride and form your own style. There isn't so much a right and wrong as there is a freedom to find your own flow. Just go ride dammit! Experience is the best teacher. What I like others find boring. What you like about powder is a result of your experimentation and your own physical abliity. Might I add one more thing? The real hook of riding powder is the Sh#t-eating grin it can give a rider at the bottom of a run. The tool you use doesn't matter so much as the charge you can get from a session in the deep stuff. many happy turns, Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jp1 Posted December 29, 2004 Report Share Posted December 29, 2004 Armon, if you've been praying for snow, it looks like it worked !! Would you be interested in "Praying for Snow", for the East Coast now ? Thanks in Advance, We NEED it BAD----------jp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Randy S. Posted December 29, 2004 Report Share Posted December 29, 2004 Armon, Where in Tahoe are you? I'll be at Alpine Meadows the next few days. If you want to try out my powder rig, I'm sure I could manage to get through our pow on a regular board. I've ridden everything from a swallow tail to a Freecarve 1 171 in powder. They all work, you just have to adjust stance/riding style. For real pow (like in Utah), my feeling is the Rossi Undertaker that Utahcarver posted a pic of is the ideal way to go. Plus he's got soft flexi bindings for hard boots on there. I've tried soft boots in powder and I just like my hard boots better. I put them in walk mode and just ride. It works fine for me and I have way less foot pain. I really want to get/try a split-board but haven't been able to talk myself into the investment for the few real pow days we get - and the even fewer pow days when I have the time to hike. That said, a split is almost definitely in my future. My current powder board is an O-sin 4807 with my old F2 bindings on it. It has a cool v-hull nose on it. All things being equal, I'd probably have chosen a different swallowtail, but I got the 4807 really cheap so it was hard to pass up. I think the Rossi and the classic wintestick, oh, and doesn't pogo make a giant swallowtail? I think I saw a picture of one that was 220+cm. I'd love to try one of those! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philw Posted December 29, 2004 Report Share Posted December 29, 2004 Hmm. Check out my new Indy booties on a Fish. There's not that much that I'd call powder, but enough to make a case I think. This was shot today. Apologies for the terrible arm position, but I was trying to avoid crashing at the time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobdea Posted December 29, 2004 Report Share Posted December 29, 2004 burton canyon 181 is my alltime favorite and its little brother 173 is close behind I had a lib tech 193 and have ridden a tanker and a big glissade but the canyon 181 had nearly as much float from the extra width and is much much more nimble in the trees those super long boards are great for cranking high speed turns on wide open pow runs though if the snow is wet and heavy like we sometimes get in march in the east I prefer a stiff GS deck normal stance angles and centering and with a little less lean on the front boot or with my AF 700s I take out the tab on the calf my front boot if its light and dry snow it will always be softboots and a freeride board if I can choose which is not always the case Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gecko Posted December 29, 2004 Report Share Posted December 29, 2004 I talked a friend into one of these a few years ago and then borrowed it on a heavy powder day, he hadn't adjusted to it yet and it was too big for him that and I've always been more comfy than him on longer boards...it was very very fun. A it soft in the nose but that could have been Sierra Cement...Glissade does make some very nice Big Guns for powder...I wonder how that 195 would feel with plates Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobdea Posted December 29, 2004 Report Share Posted December 29, 2004 yeah of the big sticks it was my favorite in the fluff on the groomed it felt a little floppy up front the tanker was the best on the groomers my lib tech felt too turny and kinda nervous for its size this could have been due to the sidecut being progressive not sure though and it was torture in the bumps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gecko Posted December 29, 2004 Report Share Posted December 29, 2004 I so wanted to like the Dough Boy that I had but sadly I just didn't like it's feel. I used to love BIG boards that are only good for morning runs before the mountain gets crowded/chopped up. If I hadn't flipped to the darkside (hardboots) I'd likely have bought a Glissade 185 custom narrowed a bit. As it stand the Ice coast gets so little POWDER that the justification for that type of board is nil and there are so many other boards that I do have at least a little bit of justification for:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoelP Posted December 29, 2004 Report Share Posted December 29, 2004 Phil, I just picked up a Fish 156, I am 163 lbs so I fit in that range for that length. I having been using Swallowtails for quite some time so this will be exciting to try this board. Can you give me some feedback as to what you are riding for stances and stance width? where you mounted your bindings? I'll be riding my plates, anything you've found about the Fish that will help me find my sweet spot. I'm hoping this will become my Colorado tree board of choice!!! You can respond here or e-mail me if you wish. jparker@sopris.net thanks, Joel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest smilenj Posted December 29, 2004 Report Share Posted December 29, 2004 Riding Powder, Crud and chop on your alpine board will make you a way better carver. Plus the race boards are faster to get into which is crucial when dogfighting for first tracks. But of course if you stay home pining away for the groomers that is cool with me to since that means more freshies for me. JC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sean Posted December 29, 2004 Report Share Posted December 29, 2004 Originally posted by smilenj Riding Powder, Crud and chop on your alpine board will make you a way better carver. Plus the race boards are faster to get into which is crucial when dogfighting for first tracks. But of course if you stay home pining away for the groomers that is cool with me to since that means more freshies for me. JC amen brother:cool: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-Sub Posted December 29, 2004 Report Share Posted December 29, 2004 Originally posted by smilenj But of course if you stay home pining away for the groomers that is cool with me to since that means more freshies for me. JC I was SO kidding. sheesh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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