sealcove Posted March 1, 2015 Report Share Posted March 1, 2015 (edited) I have been boarding at some level since 1986, and rode hard boots and alpine boards 90% of the time from 1993 to about 2001. During that stint in the 90's I was teaching boarding full time each winter, but after that, work and life changes moved me away from it and I had not touched it until last Friday (no boarding for 14+ years). I went to a small local hill and had a great time! It was hero snow, which helped, but it was like I had never stopped riding and I will try to get out from time to time now that I have the bug again. Question, what happened to alpine riding during my 14 year hiatus? Other skiers and even boarders were looking at me and asking questions about my rig like I was an alien. Quite a few riders wanted to know if that was some kind of new setup! When I got home, a quick web search revealed that more mainstream companies had long since dropped the discipline. Looks like what is out there now has progressed nicely, but is probably too costly to attract many new riders. So what happened? I know alpine/race was always a small subset, but it must have really taken a nosedive, which is too bad. If it were not for alpine boarding, I would be on skis! Here is a shot from Friday. My 44 year old body can still arc turns! That is a 1999 Factory Prime 173 (almost new still) with Bomber bindings. I forget what those boots are. Edited March 1, 2015 by sealcove Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertAlexander Posted March 1, 2015 Report Share Posted March 1, 2015 Welcome back, lots of design improvements, look into it, decambered tip/tail, carbon, metal, the performance is incredible. As far as popularity, alpine boards are still not mass produced (like in China) and hung on shelves in Ski/snowboard stores, So the general public has never laid there eyes on one , or the boots or bindings either. You stopped close to when I started. Rob in NH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael.a Posted March 1, 2015 Report Share Posted March 1, 2015 Nosedive in popularity, possibly. But with the internet, youtube, and online stores I feel hardbooting is rapidly growing by reaching a wider audience. And what has vastly improved are the boards and binding tech (boots are pretty much the same) that have made carving in crap conditions quite easy and efficacious. I don't know how the scene looks like the US but in Europe these are good times, lots of board manufacturers to choose from, a good amount of used equipment available online, and good grooming throughout. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philw Posted March 1, 2015 Report Share Posted March 1, 2015 Yeah, we lost the game to the aerial ballet people. Half pipe died too, if it helps. On the plus side skis can now do more stuff. Ballet is now called "free"-something-or-other. It's still ballet. If you were here in the 1980s it should be very familiar. You can't buy the gear anywhere, people have never seen anyone do anything like that... Nothing changes. I suppose the whole ballet thing isn't going to last very long, so pretty soon what was old will indeed be new again. The changes are in the rag-trade and the boards - metal's a significant issue, but everything else is pretty much the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowrider Posted March 1, 2015 Report Share Posted March 1, 2015 Keep riding what you have and when money is burning a hole in your pocket and your body is beat up from riding in rough conditions look at buying a modern metal construction board with decambered nose. Be sure to attend ECES next year to try out some new stuff. If you really want to look like an alien pick up a Skwal to ride ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
www.oldsnowboards.com Posted March 1, 2015 Report Share Posted March 1, 2015 FYI, Sealcove!! at 44 you don't get to complain much about an old body, around here 50 gives you some rights and 60 earns you free flow of complaints. There is a current thread in regards to the "Over 50" crew and you might be surprised how many still rip. Me ? 57 and whining a bit :) Welcome back!! and Welcome to Bomberonline!! Get out there and ride. When you are not, you have allot of reading to do here to catch up. Bryan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powdahbonz Posted March 1, 2015 Report Share Posted March 1, 2015 Looks like Camden Snobowl? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hilux Posted March 1, 2015 Report Share Posted March 1, 2015 The reason I've heard most often is that when Burton pulled the plug (2004ish?) on alpine, that was it...for mainstream anyhow. They started to sell jibber lifestyle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowmatic Posted March 1, 2015 Report Share Posted March 1, 2015 (edited) Nice clear view to the landscape, but helmet and goggles are not from 1999. Burton Wind boots ? Burton stop selling raceboards and hardboots since more than one decade. Bomber Toaster or Trench Digger ? Burton Factory Prime 7.3 200 ? Was the top-of-the-line board that time sold for $449,95 that season. This forum is right the place to be for You. Check prices of that "lots of design improvements" new boards. You will pay now some vew bucks more. Myself I'm asking every time, why someones can't follow me on slope if I ride such old stuff. Doesn't matter on what they are, Kessler, Oxess ($1,899), or last week a FIS racer on a red SG Full race Titan GS, while I was flying down the icy slope with my about 7.5m SCR SL board (no radial or variable sidecut, it's shaped). "carving in crap conditions quite easy and efficacious" sounds good. But if slopes are like this, mostly on the end of day, the slopes stays empty. Best time to carve, even if riders on well known actual brands are dissapeared, but also if whole FIS Worldcup should be in town. Maybe more in town than on slope. And again welcome to this new World, a World of much wider stance. Don't miss to take an update. Try out the things. Edited March 1, 2015 by snowmatic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big canuck Posted March 1, 2015 Report Share Posted March 1, 2015 Stance width's got a bit wider on a lot o boards, made a BIG difference to me. And yeah 44 is about average age here... Still feels wicked to arc turns IMHO. Welcome back. KC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
softbootsurfer Posted March 1, 2015 Report Share Posted March 1, 2015 (edited) Welcome Back... I must say Carving either on Skis or Snowboard, is done by a very select few...personally I think the G Force, Dance combo is addictive literally to some of us, because the way our minds perceive Carving, we are unable to stop doing it...However I have seen many and perhaps All, come and go through the years at Milkland...I actually refer to the peak times here in the late nineties as the age of Camelot at Milkland, both for the whole mountain being groomed almost daily and for being one of the Carving Meccas...also Cliff and Pure Carve was going strong. There would be easily over 40 Carvers every weekend ripping it...and some Like Joey, Mike and others would come and spend months, carving daily. As Snowmatic has stated in a couple of post, "just Carving is Boring !" at least most people apparently feel that way...so be it Though, I think really, most here ? would argue that point... All of the Ski Co Energy is being steered towards Terrain Parks here now...less Groom every year and more Terrain Park... Besides Chris, Angie, Jim, Marco and a few others...HB in Aspen have long since come and gone and now with SES moving on...I wonder if I will see any Carvers at Milk next year, though my first season there were none as well... Edited March 2, 2015 by softbootsailer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmorita Posted March 1, 2015 Report Share Posted March 1, 2015 Snow does look nice in the photo. Welcome back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corey Posted March 1, 2015 Report Share Posted March 1, 2015 Welcome here! You found the right place. Try to meet up with local hardbooters for more fun. Hardbooting is a very niche sport. It's advanced a long way but costs have risen due to fewer customers and higher quality equipment. Keep riding what you have and upgrade if/when you want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sealcove Posted March 1, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2015 Thanks for all of the thoughts and updates on the sport. I don't foresee getting out too frequently, so the gear I have is fine. The gear combo I was riding probably has less than 10 days on it and it felt darn good. I am sure a modern board would be that much better, but i probably would not bother unless I had a big lifestyle change down the line and was able to ride frequently. Hoping I can find one more day this season, and will be sure not to let 14 more years go by before I get out again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sealcove Posted March 1, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2015 (edited) Nice clear view to the landscape, but helmet and goggles are not from 1999. Burton Wind boots ? Burton stop selling raceboards and hardboots since more than one decade. Bomber Toaster or Trench Digger ? Burton Factory Prime 7.3 200 ? Was the top-of-the-line board that time sold for $449,95 that season. The goggles are brand new, but that helmet was purchased on my last riding trip in 2001. I just checked, you are right on the boots. I remember now that I had a pair of Burton Fire boots (all red), but they were stolen from the pro room where I taught. I got the ones I had now to get me through the last bit of riding late in 2001. They felt okay on Friday. The Prime would have been purchased as a pro-deal along with the bindings. So I bet I have less than $350 into it for the combo. BTW, the bindings have TD on the toe clamp, so I assume Trench Digger (didn't know that there was more than one option back then). Here is a shot of the prime with its friend. A 167 Rossi Race with Burton Race Plates. I remember loving that board and it still looks to be in excellent condition. Edited March 1, 2015 by sealcove Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowrider Posted March 1, 2015 Report Share Posted March 1, 2015 If you do decide to upgrade your board in the future and you choose a modern metal board the Race plates are ok but the TD1's aren't suitable for new titinal construction. Keep having fun. Equipment doesn't matter as much as having a smile on your face at the end of the run ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
That Guy... Posted March 2, 2015 Report Share Posted March 2, 2015 Welcome back! You certainly picked a good year (at least at your end of the country) to return. If you're comfortable on the gear you're on and you don't want to spend the money on new stuff, don't even test ride a decambered metal board, because about two turns into it, you'll be thinking of ways to justify the purchase. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tugboater Posted March 2, 2015 Report Share Posted March 2, 2015 Welcome back! I just turned 44 and feel like the new kid around here. It's very motivating to see so many more "seasoned" carvers that are still tearing it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powdahbonz Posted March 2, 2015 Report Share Posted March 2, 2015 Sunny breeze snowboard stickers taking me back! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mase Posted March 2, 2015 Report Share Posted March 2, 2015 (edited) Hi all, I was around in the 90's in kiwi land and there were heaps of us. Treble cone had at least 25 season pass holders who were full time dole bludging alpine free riders. The other mountains had around the same numbers (maybe more) I have got back into it now my kids are old enough to learn to ski. But have had to suffer in soft boots on my 182 tanker. Until this year that is. I got the upz and sno pro's sent from Dan Yoja and I have found a custom built coiler in Melbourne. Made for the same height and weight as I am! (From a member here) who is now my best friend. I saw one hardbooter last year at Perisher and was stoked to see how many people on the chairs turned to watch him defeat the g's. I spoke with the crusty old ski tech on the mountain and he said he tunes around 5 boards a year if he is lucky. I want to see an Aussie SES organised here. Put your hands up fellow ANZACS and we will dig down to the dirt! Edited March 2, 2015 by Mase Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markbvt Posted March 2, 2015 Report Share Posted March 2, 2015 Funny you should post this; I'm in pretty much the same boat. Rode religiously up to the early 2000s, but a number of factors lessened my enthusiasm and ultimately made me lose interest. We had several winters in a row of very cold temps but little snow; I got a little bored with the mountain I rode at, but economically couldn't justify switching to a different one; I ran out of people to ride with; and in particular, I just wasn't having fun anymore dealing with crowds. It just stopped being worth it dragging myself out of bed in time to get to the mountain for the 7:30 first lift, and leave by 9 when the crowds showed up. But last winter I got out once and had fun, so figured that this winter I should get myself back into it. And I have -- not to the extent I used to ride, but enough to rekindle my interest. So I signed back onto this forum after years away and did some research about the boards now on the market. The changes in our little niche of the industry are fascinating. I am of course still riding my old gear from the late '90s/early 2000s. Favorite board is a Prior 180 custom GS with an 18cm waist and a huge amount of camber; the thing has awesome edge hold and is a very fun, engaging ride. I've also got a '97 Burton Factory Prime 5.7-180s slalom board that's a lot of fun when conditions demand tighter turns. Plus a number of other boards that see infrequent use. I have not of course ridden any of the new metal boards or variable-sidecut models. I'm curious how I'd like them. The Prior 180 has really spoiled me for a lot of other boards; it sounds like in terms of geometry/design, it's very different from the new metal boards, and probably rides very differently too. I'd love to do a comparison. Maybe I'll make it to the ECES next year and demo one of the new boards. I'm glad I've gotten back into the game. It's good to be riding again. --mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stokely Posted March 2, 2015 Report Share Posted March 2, 2015 also started in 1993 and had exactly that sort of shock in 2004 already :) after not riding for a couple of years . . . so you might find the following I compiled back then worth checking out / Sigi Grabner put some blame on burton for sure as for the also included german quotes from his 2003 book . . . guess in general while there was a decline compared to the 90s on a smaller size alpine is alive and kicking and has done so for over 10 years since 2004 without a lot of marketing in mainstream media so that is also impressive in its own right for sure . . . 2004 https://freecarvers.wordpress.com/2014/07/30/its-alive/ 2005 https://freecarvers.wordpress.com/2014/07/30/carving-away-at-the-myths-about-alpine/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowmatic Posted March 2, 2015 Report Share Posted March 2, 2015 (edited) sealcove, take care to Your transparent Burton Wind boots. Tighten the screws of heel/toe blocks and check sometimes if there are cracks on the shell. It's not realy a problem, but it's good to know. www.oldsnowboards.com: around here 50 gives you some rights and 60They are called silver surfers (grey hair / over 50s). Some bigger ski-builder are introducing now extra ski's for them (Volkl).There over on the Alpes we have extra ski lessons silver surfers can book. Skiing in elegance and save your power, do it with less force. As written on the good links from stokely many hardboot rider switched back to skis. And the Youth take profit of the much more advanced softboots/freerideboards compared to the 2000's. Alpine snowboarding is not that dead in Europe. Maybe on huge skiresorts, Yes. But on small resorts they ride daily. Some Youth ride also on them. This season on around 50% of my days on snowboard I saw some teenagers on hardboots. Even some of them are racing gates, like Noora, she is winner on that under-13-Years podium: (Gold-medal on golden hardboots) Edited March 2, 2015 by snowmatic 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lordmetroland Posted March 2, 2015 Report Share Posted March 2, 2015 They are called silver surfers (grey hair / over 50s). Silver Surfers? You have singlehandedly driven me into the arms of "Just for Men." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack M Posted March 3, 2015 Report Share Posted March 3, 2015 (edited) Howdy Neighbor. A lot has changed, for the better. Come to the ECES next year and try out the latest and greatest. Come up to Sugarloaf and take a lesson from Erik Beckman. I wrote a piece on the subject of the "new" tech - metal, variable sidecut radius, and tip/tail rocker here: http://www.bomberonline.com/resources/Bomberfiles/the_new_hotness.html Edited March 3, 2015 by Jack Michaud 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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