jburk Posted October 24, 2018 Report Share Posted October 24, 2018 because I'm addicted to turning as hard and as often as I can because I don't need to wait for a powder day to ride because I can have fun riding even when it hasn't snowed for 2 weeks because riding inbounds takes a lot less effort than hiking to find untracked because riding inbounds makes the most of my limited riding time because I'm a tech weenie and like fiddling with all the gear and minute adjustments because no matter how much I ride, there's always room for improvement because if I don't give it all of my attention, I'm immediately reminded that I need to in order to ride decently; no halfway measures or sight-seeing allowed because it always seemed to me to be the best of both worlds from "technical" skiing and softboot snowboarding because when I used to skateboard, I was never into tricks; my favourite thing was controlling speed on hills too steep and long to ride straight down by carving from side to side without skidding, turning uphill to bleed speed. Sound familiar? And the trees on the edge of the ski slopes seem to approach a lot slower than the cars parked on the side of the road 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mig Posted October 25, 2018 Report Share Posted October 25, 2018 14 hours ago, jburk said: because I'm addicted to turning as hard and as often as I can because I don't need to wait for a powder day to ride because I can have fun riding even when it hasn't snowed for 2 weeks because riding inbounds takes a lot less effort than hiking to find untracked because riding inbounds makes the most of my limited riding time because I'm a tech weenie and like fiddling with all the gear and minute adjustments because no matter how much I ride, there's always room for improvement because if I don't give it all of my attention, I'm immediately reminded that I need to in order to ride decently; no halfway measures or sight-seeing allowed because it always seemed to me to be the best of both worlds from "technical" skiing and softboot snowboarding because when I used to skateboard, I was never into tricks; my favourite thing was controlling speed on hills too steep and long to ride straight down by carving from side to side without skidding, turning uphill to bleed speed. Sound familiar? And the trees on the edge of the ski slopes seem to approach a lot slower than the cars parked on the side of the road This pretty much all applies to me as a softbooter, and how I design my boards.The exceptions are I don't care about bridging with "technical" skiing, and I still skateboard like that every dry off-season day since 1975. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b0ardski Posted November 4, 2018 Report Share Posted November 4, 2018 (edited) no matter what gear is on/under my feet, it's all about the turn and edge control and playing with g-force. That is maximized in a hard boot interface on a single edge. and it does not require groomers Edited November 4, 2018 by b0ardski 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icebiker Posted November 12, 2018 Report Share Posted November 12, 2018 (edited) I ride Alpine as I prefer to stay glued to the ground (my aerial days skating are well behind me). I was perfectly happy carving on my Supermodel with 3-Straps until a business trip to Zurich that presented a chance to board at Wengen. Went to the rental shop the evening before and was presented with a step-in hardboot set up (they had no softies for rent anywhere (this was circa 98)). Had never seen or ridden such a set up and was skeptical. But beggars can’t be choosers. Needless to say I was hooked by the support the boots gave me (legs far less tired) and the ease of clipping in/out. Tried to find a similar set up when back in the US but really had no luck till I found Bomber. Haven’t looked back since. Edited November 12, 2018 by icebiker 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fish Posted November 28, 2018 Report Share Posted November 28, 2018 I decided to give riding in hardboot gear a try because my favorite thing about snowboarding was and is turning! Especially as I got a little bit older and a little less willing to smash my body in my leisure time activities, I decided to focus my riding on making nice turns. I soon figured out that hardboot gear was the best tool out there for what I was looking to do on the snow. After making that realization, it took more than a year for me to collect some gear (the wrong gear). And then a little while longer for me to put together a hardboot kit that didnt all but guarantee death on the slopes. Keep in mind that I live in a place where the snow isnt great and the mountains aren't great either. Perhaps if I had regular access to excellent conditions nearby to distract me then I'd never have pursued alpine riding. But that's not the case. After playing with gear and technique for a couple of seasons I can now say that I'm totally hooked. The amount of control that riding on properly set up alpine equipment affords an intermediate level rider like me is really an awesome thing! I find myself carrying speed through turns in a way that I could not have imagined just a few seasons ago. A lot of what I have learned in hardboots has improved my softboot game as well. Im finding that both kits have their virtues. Looking back, I must say that I totally failed to predict the number one benefit that I have experienced when it comes to riding on alpine gear. Sure, the high speed turns and riding up the mountain are great. But without a doubt, the number one upside and the very best part of riding my local ski hills in hardboot gear is all of the favorable attention that I find myself getting from the ladies. I mean it. The snow girlies apparently can't hold themselves back when they see a man walking in a pair of UPZ boots while holding a really skinny snowboard. I don't know why that is the case. But I've seen it first hand and I know it to be true. If before I got involved in this project I had known that so much female attention was lavished on hardbooters (even entry-level hardbooters) then I know that I would have put together an alpine kit a decade ago. I feel like someone should make a PSA telling men about this phenomenon and post it up in the various Corvette owner forums and really any place where there might be appreciable numbers of men who might be thinking about purchasing a toupee. But I'm too busy for all that. Happy carving my friends. And may the 2018-19 season see you making your best turns yet. Whether you're on the snow or not. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pusbag Posted November 29, 2018 Report Share Posted November 29, 2018 Because I got a bad leg alpine is the only way 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik J Posted December 20, 2018 Report Share Posted December 20, 2018 Horrific conditions today. Loose corn like granular over boiler plate ice. But holy hell did I have fun. I very literally cackled out loud for about 4 full turns like a drunken madd scientist. This is why I ride alpine. Modern equipment is so ridiculously fun to play with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveo Posted December 20, 2018 Report Share Posted December 20, 2018 18 minutes ago, Erik J said: Horrific conditions today. Loose corn like granular over boiler plate ice. Ouch. Those conditions scare me to hell! Good job! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottishsurfer Posted December 21, 2018 Report Share Posted December 21, 2018 Well since i now have an alpine setup albeit not from this decade i can answer this question :D. It's an enjoyable new challenge and im pretty sure its going to improve my soft boot riding if only by making it feel significantly easier :). Out of curiosity what are folk running angles and stance wise on there alpine boards im currently at 45/36 41cm(this is max width...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lonbordin Posted December 21, 2018 Report Share Posted December 21, 2018 4 hours ago, scottishsurfer said: Out of curiosity what are folk running angles and stance wise on there alpine boards im currently at 45/36 41cm(this is max width...) The angles are really only the outcomes of a proper setup. http://beckmannag.com/hardboot-snowboarding/hardboot-binding-configuration 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveo Posted December 21, 2018 Report Share Posted December 21, 2018 (edited) 6 hours ago, scottishsurfer said: Out of curiosity what are folk running angles and stance wise on there alpine boards im currently at 45/36 41cm(this is max width...) 60/55 @ 54cm width. I'm 190cm tall. No cant with a plate for carving and inward cant on front foot for powder without a plate. Edited December 21, 2018 by daveo 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottishsurfer Posted December 21, 2018 Report Share Posted December 21, 2018 Thanks that's a good read, I had a feeling I was being a tad to conservative with the angles and that confirmed it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pow4ever Posted January 2, 2019 Report Share Posted January 2, 2019 While searching for how to conquer the steep: http://www.bomberonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Carving-the-Steeps.pdf Came across this: http://www.indyskiclub.org/docs/articles/SnowboardingforGrownups.htm It sum up much better than I ever could; I wonder if it's the same Doug Taylor. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big mario Posted January 5, 2019 Report Share Posted January 5, 2019 (edited) Chicks man. That is all Mario https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilkoi93aqW0 chairlilift Interveiw on day one of the 13/14 season by Everette, I am the first voice you hear. Rode like shit that day so no video so love that edge Edited January 5, 2019 by big mario 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carver Posted January 10, 2019 Report Share Posted January 10, 2019 (edited) Nice vid of Stratton! Does anyone ride with a gunfighter stance anymore? Did it most of the time at Mammoth when I lived there. Keeping a still upper body makes for smoooth turns. Just me? Edited January 10, 2019 by carver Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottishsurfer Posted January 11, 2019 Report Share Posted January 11, 2019 Having ridden a bit more alpine since my previous post with more angle (58/50) on the bindings I have some further thoughts on alpine :). The biggest challenge one of the enjoyable things is that im having to ride with a smoothness and precision in movement that i dont need while riding softs. This for me is a big departure from what I'm used to, riding softs my usual solution to many problems is Jeremy clarkson method of MOAR POOWWERR. Riding hardboots this just doesn't work at least on the setup i ride i have to be very very careful not to overload the nose on the entry into turns least ill end up with tail wagging in air and unpleasant things happening. So as a result i have to be gentle and relaxed in my turns focusing alot on angulation of the board and where my weight is in relation of fore and aft movement. Another curiosity is riding in boots that actually have the abilty to flex forwards, im used to riding in my modified softs that have near 0 forward ankle flex. As a result i ride alot driving and moving my whole lower legs as one almost fixed unit from the knee down this gives me huge amount of torsional power for changing edges in softs but jumping to hards which hinge forward at ankles it definitely was strange at first. Then something clicked after the first couple of hours and i stopped trying to pedal the board like i would on softs and started to actually get the board to go from edge to edge smoothly and fairly rapidly Its a very very enjoyable experience and I'm quite surprised and proud of myself at how well i've been able to adapt to this style of riding. I'm guessing this in part is due to how my style of softboot riding is somewhat based on the japanese/korean style which from what i can tell is derived itself from hardboot style. The way i see it hardboots for me are a pallet cleanser for when i want a nice smooth relaxed riding session its very much the Classical music to my softboots thrash metal Probably at some point in a few weeks ill get someone to film me for a bit on hardboots for you guys to see and no doubt give you some amusement 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pow4ever Posted January 14, 2019 Report Share Posted January 14, 2019 On 1/10/2019 at 8:04 PM, scottishsurfer said: nice smooth relaxed riding session its very much the Classical music to my softboots thrash metal Nice analogy! Love it. In term of relax -- Not sure if it's just me or anyone else? Even when I had a good/hard day: the flow is cathartic/relax but physically I am beat to hell... Any remedy? I like to think I am in decent shapes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
st_lupo Posted January 14, 2019 Report Share Posted January 14, 2019 On 1/11/2019 at 2:04 AM, scottishsurfer said: The way i see it hardboots for me are a pallet cleanser for when i want a nice smooth relaxed riding session its very much the Classical music to my softboots thrash metal Probably at some point in a few weeks ill get someone to film me for a bit on hardboots for you guys to see and no doubt give you some amusement Crazy! For me it was the exact opposite, softboots was pow, trees and relax whereas getting out the hardboots is like taking a pavement saw to the slopes, vibration, violence and hooliganism. Speaking of pavement saw, Big Black would be in my top 10 bands for a hardboot carving soundtrack. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kurt Swanson Posted January 14, 2019 Report Share Posted January 14, 2019 The speed, acceleration, precision are what keeps me carving and trying to improve. Also the relentless pursuit of the "perfect" turn. On a good day I can still feel the turns in my head and body hours later... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuisanceIV Posted January 14, 2019 Report Share Posted January 14, 2019 It felt like I was re-learning how to snowboard. I also like racing down the hill doing big turns at high speeds and they're perfect for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JRAZZ Posted January 14, 2019 Report Share Posted January 14, 2019 I spent the last 4 days on a softboot pow board. While very turney I am totally missing my Coiler. I’m just starting to understand this alpine hardboot thing and the things that stood out to me the most are: 1) Don’t like moguls. 2) Love speed 3) While the soft boot board is carvable it really can’t hold a candle to my alpine setup. Give me groomers!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corey Posted January 14, 2019 Report Share Posted January 14, 2019 3 hours ago, st_lupo said: getting out the hardboots is like taking a pavement saw to the slopes, vibration, violence and hooliganism Haha, I love this! The snow condition and my attitude at the moment change me from a yin-yang flow-type feeling to st_lupo's pavement saw. Both can be glorious when everything combines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottishsurfer Posted January 15, 2019 Report Share Posted January 15, 2019 5 hours ago, st_lupo said: Crazy! For me it was the exact opposite, softboots was pow, trees and relax whereas getting out the hardboots is like taking a pavement saw to the slopes, vibration, violence and hooliganism. Speaking of pavement saw, Big Black would be in my top 10 bands for a hardboot carving soundtrack. Pretty sure its due to what im riding my softboot set up is a very stiff donek incline vs a very old hardboot board that is probably to soft and small for my height and weight so i have to dial the aggression i normally ride with way way back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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