Snowboarding/Skiing Catch-all

Katy wrote:

And here I was, feeling pretty good about the fact that the local hill wasn't quite as crappy as I expected after five days of above-freezing temperatures and rain.

Hooray for machine-groomed frozen granular without too much ice?

On the bright side, my daughter got brave enough to take an intermediate lesson, and then had her friends talk her into the junior terrain park, and was really excited about it all.

lol, no worries. I'm back in Ontario now where a run lasts 45 seconds across a sheet of ice. I miss my rental powder boards.

Back home from Breck after an epic week! Did some awesome skiing, even hiked up to the peaks a few times and did some pretty extreme terrain!

If you're interested, here are my stat sheets for the last 5 days (I didn't have the app for day 1). Click on the pics for detailed stats.

IMAGE(https://alpinereplay.s3.amazonaws.com/public/users/342000/342286/visits/715056/session_sheet_734995.jpg?h=01fd0849)

IMAGE(https://alpinereplay.s3.amazonaws.com/public/users/342000/342286/visits/717976/session_sheet_738171.jpg?h=2a407e9b)

IMAGE(https://alpinereplay.s3.amazonaws.com/public/users/342000/342286/visits/723824/session_sheet_744408.jpg?h=35c81ab5)

IMAGE(https://alpinereplay.s3.amazonaws.com/public/users/342000/342286/visits/729252/session_sheet_750317.jpg?h=59f6b645)


IMAGE(https://alpinereplay.s3.amazonaws.com/public/users/342000/342286/visits/732018/session_sheet_753387.jpg?h=3ea0aba6)

Whoa, i wish i'd had that app at Jackson Hole, that's great.

NSFW language.

Damn, dude. You were bookin'. I know when I get above 35 MPH I become very aware that I'm moving fast and the snow starts looking really hard.

Yeah, holy smokes. And 32k vertical? i guess you need to be going 48 mph to get that much:)

jonnypolite wrote:

Yeah, holy smokes. And 32k vertical? i guess you need to be going 48 mph to get that much:)

48MPH is up there with my fastest times, but it's certainly do-able on much shorter, smaller mountains:

IMAGE(http://i.imgur.com/6G8sqJ9l.png)

Serengeti wrote:

Back home from Breck after an epic week! Did some awesome skiing, even hiked up to the peaks a few times and did some pretty extreme terrain!

If you're interested, here are my stat sheets for the last 5 days (I didn't have the app for day 1). Click on the pics for detailed stats.

Needs more air time.

Awesome. I totally want that to clock my speed while snowboarding. I know I'm not ski fast, but I still get going freaky fast for a board some times.

Damn, next trip I'm getting that app! My iPhone 4 barely holds a charge through a full ski day at this point.

jonnypolite wrote:

Yeah, holy smokes. And 32k vertical? i guess you need to be going 48 mph to get that much:)

48.3 mph was my sustained speed, my max was 57.3 mph. Was really trying hard to break 60, but didn't quite make it

I first thought of that as best air, and i was like whoa.

Hehe, I wish I could do 20 seconds of air in one jump, but my "jumps" were just little hops this trip. I didn't spend any time in the terrain parks since I can ride terrain at home anytime.

Edit: Also got a bunch of new pics up if anyone is interested. http://s135.photobucket.com/user/serengeti000/library/Breckenridge%20-%20Feb%202014

Went out snowshoeing today. Hardly needed the snowshoes -- I expected more drifted snow after the snow and wind last night.

I watch out for the ice trolls when I walk through here -- reminds me of Skyrim. (Much more likely to be assaulted by an unleashed golden retriever, though.)
IMAGE(http://i.imgur.com/ajXxk0v.jpg)

Another shot from down in the park.
IMAGE(http://i.imgur.com/uvkQFH0.jpg)

Also tried out the Alpine Replay app during our very cold trip skiing last night.

IMAGE(http://i.imgur.com/pgp1N2s.jpg)

Before next season, I need a better way to cover my entire face without completely fogging up my glasses under my goggles. (Or better anti-fog coating on my glasses, I suppose.)

So, my brother picked up a GoPro after prattering about it for a few months now. Here's his first video, I thought you guys might enjoy it.

Typical older brother, better looking, more athletic, etc.

Sweeeeeeet. Where was this, Druidpeak?

Silver Mountain, Kellogg Idaho.

Just pulled my skis on to the bench today, knocked the rust off the edges, sharpened and waxed them up. Ordered a new set for my wife. Watched some Mad River Glen videos from last week.

Soon.

Just got mine back from the shop. I'm not fancy enough to do all that stuff myself

One good possibility for this season is that work may take me from home in Toronto over to Vancouver for a month come January. Looming forward to spending my off hours getting some west coast turns in.

billybob476 wrote:

Just got mine back from the shop. I'm not fancy enough to do all that stuff myself

One good possibility for this season is that work may take me from home in Toronto over to Vancouver for a month come January. Looming forward to spending my off hours getting some west coast turns in.

Oh, man. You totally are. It's dead-simple, and the cost (once you own the gear) is less than 1/10th of the price of having it done at a shop. There's no excuse to not ride sharp, waxed skis every single time you go out, either.

So, what gear do you need, and is there a good tutorial out there you can point to?

Anyone had experience at Steamboat? What's it like?

Katy wrote:

So, what gear do you need, and is there a good tutorial out there you can point to?

You'll need an iron (a ski wax iron, not a clothes iron), some wax, a set of brushes, a scraper, and an edge guide and stone set.

I've linked to the "really nice stuff"; you can also get kits for a lot less.

Tuning is pretty straight forward:

    Waxing:
  • Put your skis on something sturdy - a couple of dining room chairs, some saw horses, whatever. If you have access to a ski shop, they'll have special vices and a bench, but you don't need one. Just find a way to stabilize them, bottoms facing up.
  • With some heavy elastics (some kits come with special ones, but you don't need them), pull the brakes down on your bindings and secure them out of the way.
  • Brush the skis firmly (but not so hard that you're gouging the ski, of course), always working from tip to tail, with the steel (or brass) brush. This cleans out dirt and opens up the base material.
  • Plug in the iron; the temperature you want to set it at depends on the wax to some degree, but "hot enough to melt, not so hot that it smokes" it about right. That's around 265F for me, with the wax and iron I linked to.
  • Hold the iron 3" or so above the ski, and drip/melt the wax onto the ski base. It won't completely cover the ski; that's OK. Aim for consistent coverage, about 50% or so.
  • Working from tip to tail, and with the iron in motion, work the iron along the base to melt the wax evenly. It will liquify as the iron moves; you're spreading it around, allowing it to cover the entire base. Don't worry about it being perfect, just get it to cover the entire base.
  • Let the ski cool; some people let it sit overnight, but I just give it a few minutes.
  • With the scraper, working from tip to tail, scrape off the wax. This is going to be an arm workout; you're holding the scraper at an angle, pulling it from the tip backwards, letting the wax curl away from the ski. You want to get it all off (don't sweat a bit left on the very tip/tail -- it won't hurt anything); for a point of reference, this step takes me 10-15 minutes per ski.
  • With the nylon brush, brush each ski from tip to tail again. You're now "laying down" the fibres of the base material, and the ski should start to have a nicely polished look.
    Edge Maintenance:
  • Now, you want to prepare to sharpen the skis. To start with, take your gummy stone and rub it gently along the skis to take off any rust; this is pretty easy. Be gentle; this is just a gentle cleaning, basically.
  • Next, you want to file the edges to set your angles. The bevel tool I linked to will hold a stone in one of two positions, one for doing the base edge, the other for the side edge. There is a little wheel with a degree indicator; the standard I always set is 3 degrees for the sides, 1 degree for the base; note that the file will have an arrow indicating that it can only be used in direction, so you'll need to flip it around a few times.
  • Next, polish your edges using your diamond stones. You'll work the side edge then the base with each stone in succession, from the most coarse (typically the black stone) to the least (typically the blue then the red). For these, you'll want to keep them a bit wet; a spray bottle can be helpful.

There are a ton of videos out there, but a nice and simple set are these for edging and waxing. My techniques are (minorly) different, but as you'll see, both processes are pretty easy.

That's it. Once you've done it a few times, 30-45 minutes will give you a perfectly waxed and sharpened ski; I do this every 2-3 times I hit the slopes, sometimes more frequently if my time allows. Makes a huge difference in the experience!

jonnypolite wrote:

Anyone had experience at Steamboat? What's it like?

I went there many, many years ago and it was fantastic. The resort has a very cool village at the base that is full of bars, food, shops, etc. There's tons of lifts and the mountain is very large. Being that it is in Colorado, the lift tickets are fairly spendy (at least to me, they are), but that is what it is. There's tons of lodging at the base, on the slopes and shuttle distance from the lifts.

It is a place that I'd always like to go back to in winter or summer.

That sounds great. It's Plannin time!

My wife's new skis came in this past week!

IMAGE(http://i.imgur.com/hIkZDY1.jpg)

Today is all about preparation, as we're hitting Okemo tomorrow. Going to edge, wax, and prep 3 pairs of skis, buy new poles for myself and a buddy who bent his last year, and buy helmets (at my wife's request). Also mounting the Thule crossbars and ski racks to my new Jeep this afternoon.

12"+ of fresh powder in VT, so it should be a great early-season day!

The local PA mountain opened up last weekend, I'm wondering how awful it is this early...

Ok folks, it's official, I'm going to be spending all of January and early Feb in Vancouver. I'll be living downtown with a car. What do I do for night skiing and what should I hit on the weekend?

Been a rough week. Laid up after a minor surgery and not allowed any real physical activity. Going a bit stir crazy. On the up side, the weather has been crap - way too warm for decent snow - so I'm not technically missing out on anything.

I did discover Supervention which is spectacular, and allows me to live my ski dreams from the comfort of the couch. Highly recommended!

Next weekend I'll be heading up to Devil's Head in Wisconsin for Shred the Head. Never been to that hill before, so looking forward to it!

billybob476 wrote:

Ok folks, it's official, I'm going to be spending all of January and early Feb in Vancouver. I'll be living downtown with a car. What do I do for night skiing and what should I hit on the weekend?

Only one answer for what to do on the weekends... Whistler!

Shoot, I may have to plan a trip up there this season...