heard it in the lift line 2013-14

[summerski]

"Nice boarder X board dude"

[Guest]

Presidents' weekend - super crowded. I got so many questions on my board that my throat was starting to hurt from talking on every lift ride. By the afternoon here's how I started responding:

Generic Skier Guy: "Now what kind of board is that?"

Me: "it's a mono-ski, I'm using ski boots and bindings you can easily find online, it's exactly like skiing, I just don't use poles."

[BlueB]

Last Sunday:

"Oh, look, Super G board! Or what it's called?"

I was on an SL...

Sent from my Nexus S using Tapatalk 2

[Puddy Tat]

Last Sunday:

"Oh, look, Super G board! Or what it's called?"

I was on an SL...

I while on a 185cm NSR with an AF plate last night I was asked "Is that a slalom board?"

On the upside at least people know its a racing discipline oriented board (even though i'm not a racer and I only use it for carving).

[Neil Gendzwill]

Last Sunday:

"Oh, look, Super G board! Or what it's called?"

I was on an SL...

Sent from my Nexus S using Tapatalk 2

I while on a 185cm NSR with an AF plate last night I was asked "Is that a slalom board?"

On the upside at least people know its a racing discipline oriented board (even though i'm not a racer and I only use it for carving).

I think it's pretty ridiculous to figure the average Joe will recognize a discipline-specific alpine board. If they call it a "race board" that's about as good as you can expect, although I usually will let them know that mine is not a race board and is for free riding.

[Puddy Tat]

I think it's pretty ridiculous to figure the average Joe will recognize a discipline-specific alpine board. If they call it a "race board" that's about as good as you can expect, although I usually will let them know that mine is not a race board and is for free riding.

Yep hence my comment.

[garybergmann]

"Where do you guys even get alpine stuff anymore?"

[bruincounselor]

I think it's pretty ridiculous to figure the average Joe will recognize a discipline-specific alpine board. If they call it a "race board" that's about as good as you can expect, although I usually will let them know that mine is not a race board and is for free riding.

Stepping outside the chalet with my ancient Burton Fusion (and TD3SI's) earlier this year a hill employee commented, "A race board". I said thanks, but it's not a race board. "Yes it is", he insisted. I said I have real race boards at home, but this wasn't one of them. When he insisted it was a race board one more time I walked away. I was most frustrated that he knew a bit but wasn't interested in learing just a bit more. I get not knowing when it's got a flat tail - but when it's rounded with kick and the owner tells you it's not it's probably time to believe him.

I bet he felt really silly later when he saw me following my six year old down the hill on her skis and I wasn't even clipped in.

[theboarderdude]

lots of "Dude, it's a ski board!" and then, if it's not a dad talking to his son, I'm more than happy to correct them

[kieran]

last night;

young boy in parallel lift queue to world at large, eyeing up my shiny silberpfeil ; "wow! is that a ski or a snowboard?"

unexpectedly clued-in father "it's a snowboard, just a different style from what you'll normally see. you'll see him on his way back down."

[Unicorn Poop]

This is too awesome not to share.

I was out on my Kessler 1.85 this morning when a guy said, "Hey, is that the same Kessler that they race in the Olympics?"

It caught me off guard because I'm used to fielding the usual questions we always post about every year. I said that yes, it was and that I was surprised he noticed. He said he'd never seen one in person, but sees them on the internet from time to time and thought how badass it was that we can lay out our turns the way we do. By this point, we'd gotten on the same chair and were on our way up to the top. After some discussion about the technology that goes into the boards and what they can and can't do, he asked me the question I'd been waiting all year for someone to ask: "What's it like?"

"How would you like to find out?" I replied. :)

The parking lot I was at was at the top of the lift, and I had my Kessler 1.68 in the trunk. We first swapped out his bindings onto the board so he could see how the board felt while still being in familiar soft boots. He had smaller feet, so with a 33/30 setup, his toe and heel overhang was minimal. Two runs into it, he was nailing his body position and doing way better than I thought soft boots would ever do on that board. At the end of the second run, his eyes were like dinner plates and he was absolutely blown away at how fast, stable and easy the board was to ride. Almost literally, he couldn't stop talking about how amazing it was and how blown his mind was. lol...

On the way back up the lift after the 3rd run, I suggested that we go down to the rental shop and get him set up with some rear entry ski boots, my treat. I only suggested this because I had tried them out one day out of curiosity to see how they stacked up to my HSPs. Truth be told, they really weren't that bad. Not ideal, but barely perceptibly stiffer than my HSPs. At the top, I made a quick run to my car to get my F2s and then we headed down to the rental shop.

Once we sized his foot for the boots, we swapped out his bindings for my F2s, made a few adjustments and were on our way. After about four orientation runs that involved lots of crashing and skidding, he finally locked it in on his heelside. I was about 50 yards down slope and could hear him hooting and hollering. He continued past me and I followed suit. At the bottom, he was speechless and kept looking down at the board while grinning and shaking his head. His first words, "THAT is what I always thought snowboarding should be like."

He spent the rest of the day in hard boots on my board and when we parted company at the end of the day, I gave him my number and this website and told him not to be a stranger. :)

[breeseomatic]

Wow, that's a great story/experience. Thanks for sharing.

[lowrider]

I nominate Unicorn Poop " Ambassador of the Month " for Alpine boarding.

[Unicorn Poop]

Hah, thanks. However, we are all ambassadors. Every time someone asks a question, no matter how silly it may seem to you, they're asking it because they're genuinely curious.* Take that chance to engage them and to stoke that flame of interest. If you have a spare board, offer to let them try it out. If not, see if they'd be willing to try some different stance settings or technique so they can experience carving on their own board. I ride alone a lot because my free time schedule is very different than most, plus I can go at my own pace, but also because I like catching a chair with other people. It gives me about ten minutes to make the sales pitch if someone's genuinely interested. It's not really that hard; just smile, answer all their questions honestly and ask them about what they're on. The best way to make someone like you is to get them talking about themselves. ;) Snow sports are ego- driven, so be sure to return that "sick board" compliment right back.

*When I skied, and when I soft booted, I never had anyone strike up a conversation about my gear, nor have I ever heard anyone make any attempt with anyone else about what they're on. One time, I told a guy on an Arbor that I really liked his board and he just kind of sideways glanced at me and said, "yeah." I think the fact that we have a thread every year about what people say in the lift line is very telling and should be an indicator that there is a ton of interest in what we do and that we should take those opportunities to inform, educate and introduce people to what we do. This is North America's hub for hardbooting and everyone is saying "SEE!" about Mr. Wild following his dreams and bringing the gold home to those that believed in him. Let's start the movement at the grassroots level; let's start it in the lift line.

Edited February 21, 2014 by Unicorn Poop

[lonbordin]

Slow clap... well done Unicorn Poop.

...

[b0ardski]

be fishers of men

Nice work UP(are you rainbow colored?)

[freerider81]

Wow!!! An endangered species!

[NWboarder]

Great stuff UniPoo! Digging your generosity (time and $) in the name of the sport!

[b0ardski]

symptoms of ignorance in AASI:smashfrea

or; why I want to move to Russia(just watched Olympic PSL)

My wife Becki has been a ski and snowboard instructor for most of 20yrs. She told me of a couple young snowboard instructors laughing & talking in the locker room about the guys they saw riding boards in ski boots, one saying "that's not even snow boarding" the other insisting it was monoskiing. Becki had to explain to them that they were indeed snowboards and snowboard boots.

The ignorance of so called professionals about their chosen sport saddens me.:(

[Keenan]

symptoms of ignorance in AASI:smashfrea

or; why I want to move to Russia(just watched Olympic PSL)

My wife Becki has been a ski and snowboard instructor for most of 20yrs. She told me of a couple young snowboard instructors laughing & talking in the locker room about the guys they saw riding boards in ski boots, one saying "that's not even snow boarding" the other insisting it was monoskiing. Becki had to explain to them that they were indeed snowboards and snowboard boots.

The ignorance of so called professionals about their chosen sport saddens me.:(

Don't get me started.

[b0ardski]

you might like this,emails from last year

From: Troy Moore [mailto:switchcarve@yahoo.com]

Sent: Sunday, January 20, 2013 8:06 PM

To: Member Services

Subject: carving

Why does AASI ignore the viability of alpine carving; especially for older(30yrs+) riders and board curious skiers that have no intention or desire to slide a rail or box, or pull tricks in the air?

For an organization that purports to create a life long appreciation of the mountain experience, insisting on a duck stance and focusing on teens to twenty-somethings who want to ride parks, equates to denying half the population a chance to experience the joys of riding a single edge.

PSIA has Nordic, telemark, alpine and adaptive categories; why doesn't AASI have a hardboot alpine/carving category that caters to racers, skier crossovers and others that just want to make nice turns?

As a life long skier, telemarker and snowboarder who's wife has been a PSIA member for 20 years, this seems like an egregious error in AASI's marketing push.

I was an expert skier and telemarker before taking up snowboarding full time in my 30's and found soft boots inefficient and the "gorilla" stance used by AASI's model uncomfortable, so I gravitated to hard boots, plate bindings and carving.

Riding every weekend I talk to a lot of skiers and boarders that ask about my set up and the graceful turns they see; and I can only direct them to a couple of internet sites instead of ski school. Something is wrong with this picture.

Don't get me wrong, I tell everyone who wants to try snowboarding to "take a lesson 1st", but carve oriented instructors don't seem to exist, or are outright dissuaded. I know several duel certified instructors that have given up on AASI because of this park oriented focus, this seems short sighted on your part.

Snowboard racing is an Olympic event so why is hardboot snowboarding ignored and discouraged?

You are market creators so please don't write these questions off by saying the gear manufacturers don't support it. The gear is out there, I see it on FIS, USASA racers and Olympians all the time and it is of the highest quality.

If you even consider this worthy of a response, I and the people I talk with daily about our beloved sport would like to understand your position.

Thank you

Troy Moore

the response left me underwhelmed

Hi Troy,

Thanks for your e-mail. I taught in hard boots for many years and can appreciate the grace and power of riding a race board.

Riding carving boards has been a part of snowboarding for a long time and has always been treated as one �style� of riding that AASI addresses. In fact, each of the educational manuals that we produce have referenced carving boards and equipment. And, as we develop our next manual, this will again be the case. Our ultimate goal is to provide instructors the knowledge and tools needed to address the widest range of riders possible and these rider�s corresponding range of motivations for riding. An instructor should be helping the guest achieve what the guest wants not what the instructors wants. AASI training and certifications also reinforce this by asking participants to be proficient carving and at basic freestyle.

Areas I have worked at, or been to, typically accommodate guests that are riding carving boards or are interested in learning how to ride like this. And, while many instructors don�t ride hard boots, there are still many teaching that understand and have the skills necessary to ride a carving board. A few divisions offer specific sessions to provide the opportunity for those instructors curious about hard boot riding or interested in developing or keeping their skills sharp. Some of these are race-oriented events and others are focused on carving.

Certainly there are many with strong personal opinions regarding hard boots. Ultimately, my goal is that we help the guest be the rider they want to be- whether this is carving trenches (in hard boots or soft), surfing the trees and steeps, boosting in the pipe, or simply cruising the groomers.

All the best!

Earl

Earl Saline

Professional Development Manager

Professional Ski Instructors of America (PSIA)

American Association of Snowboard Instructors (AASI)

133 S. Van Gordon St., Suite 200

Lakewood, CO 80228

[Waboarder]

Interestingly enough , Earl was a training director back in the day when my son was an instructor at one of the sattelite schools at Stevens Pass. My son quit instructing when they insisted he ride duck foot. He could ride circles

around all the level 3 's , examiners and training directors and was an excellent instructor but that was the last straw.

We started riding when he was 9 or so , he became the youngest instructor hired at Stevens Pass when he was 14 and quit when he was 20 or so. Today ,he is 33 we still ride together all the time he still rips and we both ride 30-35 in soft boots. Now ive just got to get him to spend some time in hardboots!

[druidfluid]

I had a good one today.

Was up at the hill solo today, and got on a triple chair with two little girls, both probably between 6 and 8 years old. We had a conversation that went something like this:

girl 1: What kind of snowboarding are you doing?

me: What do you mean?

girl 1: I mean what is that thing...

girl 2, interrupting girl 1: OH! Is that a racing snowboard like the ones on the Olympics last night?

me: Why yes, yes it is!

girl 2: I've never seen one of those in person before! That's so cool!

It was nice to hear, since the previous ride up I got my 27th "is that a monoski" of the year.

:)

[lowrider]

Boardski: Well at least he replied to your inquiry. Good for you for writing to him. I once contacted the equivalent in Canada CSIA about teaching" Duty of Care " to new instructors and was met by a similar blow off. Real issues are the ones leaders shy away from. Snowboard restrictors not instructors. Carve on !

[Keenan]

Boardski, send them my way. My supervisors want me to ride duck and teach in squishees as well. I do not. My reply is often, "would you want to ski in soft boots?".

Back to Heard in the Lift Line: I have 45 minutes to ride in the mornings before lessons. The lift op asked why I wasn't in uniform and I told him new policy says I can't freeride that long in uniform. He told me I should have my ski school jacket on because skiers would see me ride and wan't to try it and it would be free advertising.