Buck Hill Summer Skiing

[DonPablo]

In the image above, only my toe side looked like that, probably cause I was able to dig the edge in deeper than heel side.

[bobble]

went out saturday morning.

i had problems holding onto the tow rope. the very first time up the rope i went maybe 20 ft and let go. the rope burned through the gloves. i went to the ski swap and bought new gloves but those were only marginally better. there were people that were riding the tow rope bare-handed! 

i went maybe 5.00  runs. it was getting crowded with boarders at the bottom and top. 

prior to my last run i felt the metal edge of my board and the temperature felt extremely hot like the hood of car on a sunny day. i can see why this cause problems. when you ride the tow rope there are these white strips that look like towels that are suppose to lubricate the board. 

the ride feels strange especially when transitioning turns. i don't know how to describe it. one person described it like early morning spring skiing. i was really focused on making turns and trying to figure out how this stuff works. i think that this surface will help with dialing in technique.

there were a couple guys there with the nastiest rock boards. one had the tail snapped off and looked like an asym alpine board. another had bolts holding the nose and the tail just flapped like it was hinged. i was envious of their ingenuity, indeed.

saw a guy sans helmet impale his face onto the neveplast. good times!

[bobble]

went after work. the terrain park was somewhat crowded but around 7pm it got lighter. i think that's probably when i'll start going.

the g-team was out there. there was one rider in hard boots riding a donek.

my gloves suck. i am not sure what i should be using. the kinco's that buck sells look like decent gloves but the padding has no grip. burns when trying to tighten the grip around the rope.

[BobD]

"my gloves suck. i am not sure what i should be using. the kinco's that buck sells look like decent gloves but the padding has no grip. burns when trying to tighten the grip around the rope."

 

Maybe use velcro backed 60 grit sand paper on the palms of your gloves... which makes me think..... might be worth experimenting with mixing sharp sand and tool dip, and painting the palms of your gloves with it.

Edited September 27, 2016 by BobD

[www.oldsnowboards.com]

Not sure I understand, isn't that a "T" bar in the background of the photo?    Shouldn't be allot of rope burn?  If it is indeed a tow rope,  in the old days we used a heavy glove sleeve that fit over the normal gloves .   I think I still have a pair somewhere.   Please explain? 

 

[bobble]

 

9 hours ago, www.oldsnowboards.com said:

Not sure I understand, isn't that a "T" bar in the background of the photo?    Shouldn't be allot of rope burn?  If it is indeed a tow rope,  in the old days we used a heavy glove sleeve that fit over the normal gloves .   I think I still have a pair somewhere.   Please explain? 

 

there's no t-bar. there might've been one at buck decades ago.

i'm just finding out that the Kinco gloves are ski gloves. 

http://snowboardmountaineer.com/gear-review-kinco-ski-gloves-901/

i'm just not able to grip the rope tight though the gloves. the gloves are insulated. i bought finger gloves (i didn't see any mitts which was my preference). the glove fingers are stiff when clenching. the leather is smooth and kind of feels a little waxy. i just wish i could make them work. might be great for Olympic tow rope. if nothing else, good carving gloves.

i do have kombi glove guards. i might try wrapping those around some thinner work gloves. seems counter-intuitive to go thinner but i need clenching power to hold the rope. just worried about getting burned. i already have rope burn on my forearm.

looking forward to when the main run opens. i think many skiers are waiting because the terrain park gets crowded with guys (and 1 girl) sitting on the run waiting to hit a feature.

i imagine that bobd is waiting too. amirite?!? have you tried the dry slope yet? the neveplast on the bunny hill slope is way too short if you're going to teach skiing.

[DonPablo]

Textured rubber gloves? They might grip well once before they start melting. There is no winning with this tow rope. Try to grip with your hands as far apart as comfortable, then push down with your forward hand and up with your back hand, the physics makes sense in my head. 

 

Sliding up hill on plastic is wierd, on snow you can weight an edge and control yourself. This doesn't work on plastic, that stuff is hard so you don't sink in, instead you just glide on top of it. Which also makes carving kinda wonky.

[bobble]

got some thinner work gloves. i was able to grip better but towards the top where the pitch suddenly changes the rope started slipping through the gloves and burning my hands. heard two others complaining about how hard it is to hold the rope. i ended up walking the run.

i didn't notice this before but there's about 2-3 inches of gap between neveplast tiles. 

milkrun looks like its almost complete. i hope the ski teams don't take up the entire run. 

[bobble]

took one run on Milkrun. it was very fast. almost scary. when i got to the bottom i inspected my board. yikes! i knew my board was extruded base but didn't think the damage would be so quick. this is front foot heel-side edge.

the new owner came over to me to ask how it was riding on the neveplast. he sympathized. i had been riding the terrain park and didn't have issues. the owner was on skis and he showed me the bases. they looked find after 5 runs.

he said they're trying to work with other companies to develop equipment for this surface. he said the rental equipment seems to hold up well so that's an option.

another shot...

 

[bobble]

early morning shot of the workers lubricating the run...

 

[www.oldsnowboards.com]

Do you think you may have hit something or is that just from the surface material?? Did you see others with that much damage???

 

[bobble]

it does kind of look i hit a rock doesn't it. there is damage to both edges but heel-side of front foot is worse. having flashbacks to SES. i had hit a rock on Slot that pulled the edge. Bruce fixed it.

before i went up i talked to a lifty. he only rode the run three times and the damage to the board was much worse than mine. he was riding a rock board.

i tried to take a photo without being obvious but unfortunately l didn't get a good shot. at the pressure points of his board, the base was scraped way past the cleats (tangs?) of the metal edge. 

anyways, my thought was i'll take it one run at a time and assess. took one run, done.

dusting off an Elan Ballistic. i think it has a sintered base.

 

[BobD]

On Amazon UK

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/DataWax-Polar-Dry-Slope-300g/dp/B00BH14ZHU

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hydrazorb-Dry-Slope-Ski-Board/dp/B00JWNWCES

https://www.amazon.co.uk/DataWax-Super-Slip-Cream-Snowboard/dp/B00BFWJKS0

https://www.amazon.co.uk/DataWax-Polar-Dry-Slope-300g/dp/B00BH18FO4

[TLN]

What's your overall opinion on that? Worth going?

If there's a rental nearby? I don't wanna trash my Coiler or other boards like I see here on a pics.

[bobble]

22 minutes ago, TLN said:

What's your overall opinion on that? Worth going?

If there's a rental nearby? I don't wanna trash my Coiler or other boards like I see here on a pics.

Buck rents skis and freestyle boards. i believe their gear has extruded bases that will hold up to the Neveplast. 

I've emailed both Donek and Coiler about riding on Neveplast. The consensus is that riding on Neveplast will damage the boards.  Donek and Coilers have sintered base and while it can withstand the heat it might deform and cause delamination. 

So I would recommend a rock board if you want to attempt riding on Neveplast.

i tried going out last night with plates mounted on an Elan Ballistic.  I couldn't carve. I was going way too fast for the board to turn. I had a painful boot issue and left after two runs.  Going to try again this evening.

There was abrasion along the edges but no gouges.

 

[TLN]

18 minutes ago, bobble said:

Buck rents skis and freestyle boards. i believe their gear has extruded bases that will hold up to the Neveplast. 

I've emailed both Donek and Coiler about riding on Neveplast. The consensus is that riding on Neveplast will damage the boards.  Donek and Coilers have sintered base and while it can withstand the heat it might deform and cause delamination. 

So I would recommend a rock board if you want to attempt riding on Neveplast.

i tried going out last night with plates mounted on an Elan Ballistic.  I couldn't carve. I was going way too fast for the board to turn. I had a painful boot issue and left after two runs.  Going to try again this evening.

There was abrasion along the edges but no gouges.

 

My thoughts, exactly. 

I will probably be there, and just grab a regular freestyle board.  I don't have  a rockboard in US, so rentals is the way to.

Mind you asking about prices for tickets or may be rentals?

 

ps. You're talking about old Elan Ballistic or new with titanal?

[bobble]

5 hours ago, TLN said:

My thoughts, exactly. 

I will probably be there, and just grab a regular freestyle board.  I don't have  a rockboard in US, so rentals is the way to.

Mind you asking about prices for tickets or may be rentals?

 

ps. You're talking about old Elan Ballistic or new with titanal?

a lift ticket is $26 on weekdays or $32 on weekends. rental equipment is $29 for boots/board.

old Elan Ballistic. i think 2003? no titanal. 

i went out in the rain last night. the rain helped cool down the edges of the board. a couple times when i stopped to feel the edges, they were cool to the touch.

Neveplast is weird stuff. like don pablo (randy) mentioned, unless you're on level ground it will be a challenge getting into the rear binding. any movement and the board slips out. had difficult getting into the bindings at the chalet. i did fall on my ass while coming down to the lift. i had skidded to a stop and the board slipped out from underneath me. Neveplast hurts to fall on it. my elbow has a rash even through a jacket.

while going down Milkrun, the Neveplast is fast. i was mostly speed-checking and trying to slow down. even near the bottom where you would think it would be slow -- its still fast. maybe it was from the rain. i tried to set an edge but i couldn't make it work. its like the Neveplast doesn't hold up to a single edge. i'd love to hear what the other hardbooters think of this stuff.

to answer you're earlier question, is it worth going? maybe once for the novelty. the surface is not snow so lower your expectations. if the goal is to do off season training, then it would be worth it. the ski/snowboard teams are really digging this.

photos of my board.  the base near the edges is scoured. there's a hairline fissure close to the metal edge. i didn't notice is until i attached the images. not sure if that occurred today.

 

[DonPablo]

Your board cracked at the edge in the top picture? I think you swapped the terms, coilers and doneks are extruded but you want a sinistered base for this stuff. How I understand it, an extruded base is solid plastic. A sinistered base has tons of little air pockets in it, it's very porous, which is good for wax absorption but in this case very good for resisting tempature change. Vinyl windows kinda work the same way, the frames aren't solid plasltic, they have air chambers, the more, the more energy efficient they are which is to say they resist the changing the temp between inside and outside.

I'd like to give this stuff another shot sometime.

All you can eat taco bar tonight at the new restaurant I think.

[DonPablo]

On a side note, I think pretty much all motorcycle brakepads are now sinistered, dunno about cars.

Edited October 7, 2016 by DonPablo

[bobble]

10 minutes ago, DonPablo said:

Your board cracked at the edge in the top picture? I think you swapped the terms, coilers and doneks are extruded but you want a sinistered base for this stuff. How I understand it, an extruded base is solid plastic. A sinistered base has tons of little air pockets in it, it's very porous, which is good for wax absorption but in this case very good for resisting tempature change. Vinyl windows kinda work the same way, the frames aren't solid plasltic, they have air chambers, the more, the more energy efficient they are which is to say they resist the changing the temp between inside and outside.

I'd like to give this stuff another shot sometime.

All you can eat taco bar tonight at the new restaurant I think.

Donek and Coiler use a sintered base. Not sure if I mixed the terms  in previous post. Reading via cellphone. I think I sent you copies of Donek and Coilers emails on this subject.

I'm not sure if the crack was from riding on Neveplast. What drew my attention was the green flecks of Neveplast so I took a picture. I didn't notice that crack until I posted. I'll keep checking.  

Need a base made out of Formica or quartz along the edge. 

[DonPablo]

I must have miss-read your email, the quote you have from Buck said they were having better luck with sinistered bases. I was thinking their rental gear was sinistered. Wonder what my Burton is...

[bobble]

16 minutes ago, DonPablo said:

I must have miss-read your email, the quote you have from Buck said they were having better luck with sinistered bases. I was thinking their rental gear was sinistered. Wonder what my Burton is...

The sinstered skis and boards and boards do better. The rain last night seemed to keep edges cooler. I forget if I mentioned this but they've placed pools of water near the chalet to cool the skis and boards  

I'm not sure about Burton but you're welcome to try my Elan. 

Or you could bring a screw driver and grab the silver Burton FP that's in the bar bolted to the wall and ride that one. 

 

 

 

[www.oldsnowboards.com]

I see a possible run on old alpine snowboards in the future!!   The good news is I saved a few dozen!!!

 

[DonPablo]

Might use an old non-alpine board with some plate bindings the next go. The Nevaplast run all the way down to the chair or do you have to walk to it?

[bobble]

The Neveplast runs top to bottom. No walk to the chair.

Going there after work. I'll probably be at the bar around 6pm meeting a friend. In case you want to see the base up close. 

Oldsnowboards  I'll let the g-team kids know should I see them  there were four out last night.