First off, what kind of blogger forgets the camera cable!? Maybe I'll take some phone pics, maybe I won't take the time because I'd rather be 'out there' anyway.
Back to back days riding Snowbird (Utah) was some of the leg-thrashing-est riding in my life. Three-thousand vertical at a shot on one tram blows away anything I've ridden before. Add to that the steeep pitch and chunky bumps (at least the first day) and my legs were ready to go on strike when we went back at it day 2.
Day 2, of course it snowed, but it was a weekday, so it was empty. No waiting for the tram, just my buddies waiting for me. This list of friends old and new includes, but is not limited to Ben Pellegrino, Forrest Shearer and Mark Edlund. How am I supposed to keep up with that!? 'Where's Graham?' became the #1 hit song for the day. Mostly I made it back to the tram to meet them. When we switched it up to the other side of the mountain, the phone tag game began. Let me be clear, it was dumping outside, too. The fresh was 6-8" deep and I was having a blast. When it came time for one last traverse out the gate that felt like it lasted forever, I knew it was last run and really hoped that no 'last run' jinxes tripped me up. When the traverse finally turned into downhill, the pow was epic; soft and deep. Face shots, roostertails and inadvertent cannonballs. We took it all the way to the road and hitched out of there to cap off a beautiful day.
Next up, Jackson Hole. Here I sit banging a keyboard instead of exploring new territory. That ends now. Details from riding yesterday and tomorrow will emerge in a few days. . . and maybe even some pictures.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Monday, February 22, 2010
A Journey Begins: Glenwood Springs
What's snowboarding without getting out to see friends and new mountains? This year I'm headed on a three-way trip that will take me to Aspen, Salt Lake City and Jackson. Time is short now, but leg 1 is already done! A whirlwind of four days in and around Aspen and Glenwood Springs, CO saw new snow measured by the foot, fur coats measured by the dozen and house prices measured by the tens of millions. Vail and Snowmass had the in-bounds fluff and Williams Peak held the backcountry deepness. Deep in this case was between kneecap and nutsack. My 155 stayed at home in favor of a borrowed 164 wide. Fluffy, too. They claimed it was heavy for them, but that's just the difference between western Colorado and northern Oregon. That was just what I needed. Next stop Salt Lake. I hope Snowbird got in on that storm...
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Baker Banked Slalom Final Wrap: Banks for All the Memories
Some riders ran their 25th race and won gold, some crashed out spectacularly in their first showing. Personally, it was my third Banked Slalom and I've never made it into the race. I have made a bunch of friends and had some good times along the way. Here's a sampling of what I take away from this year.
This year, I spent more time riding with friends and less time on things like checking out the race and demoing boards. In years past I didn't know as many people, so I watched the race, rode groomers on demo boards and met some folks. Now things are a little different. It always has been kinda my style to show up solo (in this case, I had a place to stay with parents of a friend) to some event that I've heard is fun, but I don't know much about. From there I proceed awkwardly until I meet people. You youngn's might not know, but this is what social networking was like before the internet.
Baker's got some great terrain and I finally had friends to take me to the goods. Thanks for some sweet riding everybody!
In a squeaker in the Older Amateurs division Tom 'T-Bird' Monterosso of Snowboarder Magazine fame and Colin Wiseman of frequency The Snowboarder's Journal qualified last and second to last respectively. Before their finals runs on Sunday, I asked if they had anything riding on the outcome. T-Bird jokingly suggested the loser write a 2000-word feature for the winner's magazine. They settled on something a little more gentlemanly: a beer. At the end of the day Sunday, by a margin of about a second and a half, T-Bird was adding another couple bucks to his expense report and Colin was sipping some sweet, free suds. There's your glory, Colin!
Speaking of the Older Ams, Gwyn Howat says it was a first, so I'll believe her. She thinks it's the first time Baker locs have taken a clean sweep of the duct tape in a division, that's just what Craig Newbury, Josh Charles and Jack Freysinger did. It pays to know the course.
Speaking of knowing the course forwards and backwards, Sunday night before the gates were plucked, one extra race was set. One run, winner take all, switch. With $75 on the line, Rob Kingwill took home the largest cash prize ever at the LBS. At the ceremony, he pledged to spend it that at Milano's in Glacier on his fellow competitors.
A standard place to stop for morning coffee and pastries on the way to Mt. Baker is the Wake n Bakery in Glacier. They have a funny little sign inside that says something like 'Astronauts like Hot Tang.' One morning I bought a scone and they asked if I wanted anything to drink, so I said jokingly, 'I'll have a hot tang.' Turns out the joke was on me. They actually serve it. I opted for a small and it wasn't nearly as bad as a steaming hot, artificially orange beverage could be. Courtney, the proprietor, insists it's the ultimate hangover cure.
With that the 25th Legendary Banked Slalom is one for the history books. Snowboarding fast through some twisty gates with your friends. A course that challenges kids age 9 to 69 and pros of the highest caliber. Eating salmon and drinking beer. If that sounds like a good time keep an eye on lbs.mtbaker.us and come check it out next year. If not, there's an event in Vancouver coming up that might be more your style.
This year, I spent more time riding with friends and less time on things like checking out the race and demoing boards. In years past I didn't know as many people, so I watched the race, rode groomers on demo boards and met some folks. Now things are a little different. It always has been kinda my style to show up solo (in this case, I had a place to stay with parents of a friend) to some event that I've heard is fun, but I don't know much about. From there I proceed awkwardly until I meet people. You youngn's might not know, but this is what social networking was like before the internet.
Side point: there's something for everyone at Baker Legendary Banked Slalom weekend.
Baker's got some great terrain and I finally had friends to take me to the goods. Thanks for some sweet riding everybody!
In a squeaker in the Older Amateurs division Tom 'T-Bird' Monterosso of Snowboarder Magazine fame and Colin Wiseman of frequency The Snowboarder's Journal qualified last and second to last respectively. Before their finals runs on Sunday, I asked if they had anything riding on the outcome. T-Bird jokingly suggested the loser write a 2000-word feature for the winner's magazine. They settled on something a little more gentlemanly: a beer. At the end of the day Sunday, by a margin of about a second and a half, T-Bird was adding another couple bucks to his expense report and Colin was sipping some sweet, free suds. There's your glory, Colin!
Speaking of the Older Ams, Gwyn Howat says it was a first, so I'll believe her. She thinks it's the first time Baker locs have taken a clean sweep of the duct tape in a division, that's just what Craig Newbury, Josh Charles and Jack Freysinger did. It pays to know the course.
Speaking of knowing the course forwards and backwards, Sunday night before the gates were plucked, one extra race was set. One run, winner take all, switch. With $75 on the line, Rob Kingwill took home the largest cash prize ever at the LBS. At the ceremony, he pledged to spend it that at Milano's in Glacier on his fellow competitors.
A standard place to stop for morning coffee and pastries on the way to Mt. Baker is the Wake n Bakery in Glacier. They have a funny little sign inside that says something like 'Astronauts like Hot Tang.' One morning I bought a scone and they asked if I wanted anything to drink, so I said jokingly, 'I'll have a hot tang.' Turns out the joke was on me. They actually serve it. I opted for a small and it wasn't nearly as bad as a steaming hot, artificially orange beverage could be. Courtney, the proprietor, insists it's the ultimate hangover cure.
One Norwegian's first exposure to Pop Tarts
With that the 25th Legendary Banked Slalom is one for the history books. Snowboarding fast through some twisty gates with your friends. A course that challenges kids age 9 to 69 and pros of the highest caliber. Eating salmon and drinking beer. If that sounds like a good time keep an eye on lbs.mtbaker.us and come check it out next year. If not, there's an event in Vancouver coming up that might be more your style.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Baker Banked Slalom Day 3: Banks, A Million
Sources of much pride
The 25th running of Mt. Baker's Legendary Banked Slalom is in the books. Rather unsurprisingly, Temple Cummins and Maelle Ricker took home the top prizes. Each already has enough duct tape to open a specialty store, neither showing any sign of slowing. In a first, Rob Kingwill won a spur of the moment, one run, winner take all run of the course... switch. He pocketed $75, the largest cash prize ever awarded by the LBS. In anti-cash prize news, the Craig Kelly Thunderbird Award for a rider based in the Northwest who's made an outstanding global contribution to snowboarding went to old-school shred Dan Donnelly.
Baker Banked Slalom Day 2: Race Gates or Access Gates?
Mt. Shuksan looms over the Arm
My choice was obviously access gates. The sidecountry access at Baker is amazing. At the top of Chair 8, a patrolman checks your beacon and you leave the resort (if you want). After that point, you better know what you're doing because the only avalanche control that happens past that gate is natural or accidental. We were treated to some good stability yesterday and my friends knew the spots, so we were also treated to some sweet snow on Shuksan Arm. My only regret is that I'm not in good enough shape to make the hike without sucking some serious wind. That first pitch is a doozy.
Not Shuksan Arm, just a pretty picture
As for the race, well that went on just fine without me. I didn't get any video like I'd hoped, maybe tomorrow. Most of my friends qualified for the finals. Good for them, bummer I might not get to ride with them Sunday. I didn't demo any new boards, either. Hiking for pow is all-consuming. If you don't go, you'll never know. Hanging out in a new place with friends who can show you where to drop without fear of a cliff-out, I wasn't thinking about much other than getting the goods. Tomorrow, my legs might have me thinking otherwise. Maybe groomers on next year's boards taking video of The Gravitron. Maybe you'll get some more sweet shots of snowy peaks with fewer tracks than people.
The real highlight of Saturday: salmon BBQ, bonfire and beer garden
Friday, February 5, 2010
Baker Banked Slalom Day 1: Qualify Today and Shred Pow Tomorrow
Just wakin' up in the mornin', gotta thank God
Nothing says variable weather quite like the Legendary Banked Slalom. Hell, they've canceled the thing before, so I should be happy. The snow level was at the lower parking lot and stayed there most of the day. Just one spitting of rain came through that I felt. Other than that, the clouds rolled in and out, the snow came and went, the wind iced my face and then fell silent. As far as the stuff on the ground, if it was a song by Disturbed, it would be Down With the Thickness. The stuff was tough. The top six to eight inches was a step away from being too hard to ride through. Also, the stability wasn't exactly rock-solid, so it didn't break my heart that the snow was mediocre. After a couple hours of slackcountry we ditched the packs and finished off the day on groomers. I think I heard my legs cheering. Most valuable tool to have at Baker: a friendly local. Not even close. Things like, 'Don't go left or you will have to swim out' or 'Don't go right or you'll wish you had wings' make a guide invaluable. Thanks, Martin! That's all I can say or they might not have me back...
I could stop typing, this says it all.
Some gates were set up on the hill, too, so I decided to check that out. I'm not much of a competitor, but why would you race in such a weird, up and down, zig-zag line? I kid, I kid. The LBS course was kickin'. Good coverage made some deep banks, some deep ruts and a couple special features. As I mentioned yesterday the final corner this year is The Gravitron. Riders have a roller option to air into the final 180-degree, downhill, right-hander. Word was the gates before it were iced over from all the speed checking. The other gate that is eating people up is the fourth blue gate. A combo of ice, tightness and maybe a lack of banking is giving folks the old heave-ho. About half of the riders I watched at that spot hit the deck. The Blue Cheese!
It happens to plenty of guys, Colin...
The Gravitron cannot be confined to one picture.I'll hit it with video tomorrow.
Tomorrow, more of the same. Another try at qualification will set Sunday's finals field. The weather's looking to hold steady tomorrow, so look for a hard and fast course and some good conditions for those of us looking to hike for turns. Demos start tomorrow, so get up here and try out the super, next level type gear. If you want all the LBS info go to the source and you'll know when we all know. You know, except for those of us who are actually here. Like you should be.
Baker Banked Slalom: the Night Before
I'm officially a Bellinghamster for the next few days as this weekend is the Legendary Banked Slalom. You might as well make this your homepage 'til Monday, I'll have all the info you need. Actually, I'll probably 'blow it' and hike around the mountain with a bunch of friends I don't get to see nearly often enough. You know I gotta get out there with my new toy, though. It's Baker, what would you do?
If I get tired enough, I'll venture down to the course and see what's up. News is the final turn has been dubbed 'The Gravitron.' Here's hoping that's the only thing that resembles a carnival. If they hired barkers for lifties and the chairs smell like cotton candy and vomit, I'm demanding a refund. Unless I can play skee-ball and win a five-foot stuffed pink giraffe. That might be hard to ride with, though.
I'm calling it an early night tonight in favor of getting an early start tomorrow. Weird, I know. The way things are laid out this weekend, I'm sure future-me will thank current-me for that decision. If you happen to be at Baker at all this weekend, come check out the race and watch a little bit of history. Terje's not training for the Olympics, you can come fan-out on him. They serve free snacks at the top of the course and they have free demo snowboards at the bottom. You don't have to eat before you come or even bring your own deck. How's that for full-service!? If you see me, come say hi. I'll be the one with the dented helmet, broken goggles, beard-cicle and oversized neon safari animal...
Toys that I hope I never have to use.
If I get tired enough, I'll venture down to the course and see what's up. News is the final turn has been dubbed 'The Gravitron.' Here's hoping that's the only thing that resembles a carnival. If they hired barkers for lifties and the chairs smell like cotton candy and vomit, I'm demanding a refund. Unless I can play skee-ball and win a five-foot stuffed pink giraffe. That might be hard to ride with, though.
I'm calling it an early night tonight in favor of getting an early start tomorrow. Weird, I know. The way things are laid out this weekend, I'm sure future-me will thank current-me for that decision. If you happen to be at Baker at all this weekend, come check out the race and watch a little bit of history. Terje's not training for the Olympics, you can come fan-out on him. They serve free snacks at the top of the course and they have free demo snowboards at the bottom. You don't have to eat before you come or even bring your own deck. How's that for full-service!? If you see me, come say hi. I'll be the one with the dented helmet, broken goggles, beard-cicle and oversized neon safari animal...
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Board Exam: 2008/2009 Salomon Answer Snowboard Review
The Rep Said: Great, poppy all-mountain freestyle board.
Stats/Setup: I'm checking in around 6'1" and 170# depending on what I ate for breakfast. I got the 32s on my toes, size 10.5 Focus Boas to be exact. Keeping them company are some Union Force SL bindings. I rode this board on a demo day, so I only had it for one, short run. "It" was the 159 size.
Conditions: Rain at the resort (Mt. Hood Meadows). Groomers anywhere from hard and icy at the top of the lift to soft and slushy at the base.
First impression: Cool graphics-on-wood topsheet. Average weight.
The Ride: In a word, poppy. This is a cambered board with bamboo construction that will have you boosting over 'SLOW' signs with your eyes closed. Couple that with a mid-firm flex (I'd give it a 6 out of 10, 10 being lead pipe) and this board owned Ridge Run, which is basically a long quarterpipe wall, regular-footer's (me) frontside. Careful with the switch, though, it is a directional deck.
Bottom Line: The rep nailed it. The Salomon Answer is a super-poppy, all-mountain frestyler. Hit the pipe, lap the park, maybe skip the rails. At least I did. Spring from turn to turn with all the life expected from that much bamboo. Maybe even feel good about the environmental qualities of your board. The Salomon Answer, what was the question again?
Stats/Setup: I'm checking in around 6'1" and 170# depending on what I ate for breakfast. I got the 32s on my toes, size 10.5 Focus Boas to be exact. Keeping them company are some Union Force SL bindings. I rode this board on a demo day, so I only had it for one, short run. "It" was the 159 size.
Conditions: Rain at the resort (Mt. Hood Meadows). Groomers anywhere from hard and icy at the top of the lift to soft and slushy at the base.
First impression: Cool graphics-on-wood topsheet. Average weight.
The Ride: In a word, poppy. This is a cambered board with bamboo construction that will have you boosting over 'SLOW' signs with your eyes closed. Couple that with a mid-firm flex (I'd give it a 6 out of 10, 10 being lead pipe) and this board owned Ridge Run, which is basically a long quarterpipe wall, regular-footer's (me) frontside. Careful with the switch, though, it is a directional deck.
Bottom Line: The rep nailed it. The Salomon Answer is a super-poppy, all-mountain frestyler. Hit the pipe, lap the park, maybe skip the rails. At least I did. Spring from turn to turn with all the life expected from that much bamboo. Maybe even feel good about the environmental qualities of your board. The Salomon Answer, what was the question again?
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Board Exam: 2009/2010 Salomon Burner Snowboard Review
The Rep Said: This one's an all-mountain charger with Zeolit, the fastest base we've got.
Stats/Setup: I'm around 6'1" and 170# with size 10.5 32 Focus Boa boots wrapped with Union Force SL bindings. I tested the 160 board and it was a demo day, so I only rode it for a few runs.
First Impression: Very light on-foot on the lift.
Conditions: Resort rain. Hard to icy groomers with soft, slushy spots.
The Ride: It's supposed to be fast, you say? First stop, weaving through traffic and making a slight uphill traverse to the other side of the mountain. That oughtta test it. Just when I thought it might slow down, it didn't. I don't know if it was faster than any other board, but it just... kept... going... maintaining speed like no other. And it made this sound like it was sliding down a zip line when I carved at speed. Or was that just in my head? Speaking of carving, the first time I tried to rip a heel-sider on some hardpack, I went straight to my back. Even though I was never able to recreate that on other parts of the hill, it doesn't bode well for the Burner's edges. A board that's designed for that kind of speed should be able to rein it in with a hard turn. The last thing you want is a lack of confidence in your edges. This one's all about drawn-out, long-radius carving. That is, when it's not straight-line blasting, which is definitely the main attraction. Not an exceptional amount of spring off the tail, but it soaked up whatever I was to fall off.
Bottom Line: The Salomon Burner is a quiver board with one thing in mind, charging hard with the nose (not the tail, it's a tapered directional) pointed straight down the fall line. It's stiff, stable, damp and fast. Not for the timid, green groomer cruiser. Not for the bedazzled, bandana-ed trashcan tapper. If you're after speed, we've got your stick. Light up a Burner. Any questions? Ask Salomon.
Similar Boards: Burton Supermodel X
Stats/Setup: I'm around 6'1" and 170# with size 10.5 32 Focus Boa boots wrapped with Union Force SL bindings. I tested the 160 board and it was a demo day, so I only rode it for a few runs.
First Impression: Very light on-foot on the lift.
Conditions: Resort rain. Hard to icy groomers with soft, slushy spots.
The Ride: It's supposed to be fast, you say? First stop, weaving through traffic and making a slight uphill traverse to the other side of the mountain. That oughtta test it. Just when I thought it might slow down, it didn't. I don't know if it was faster than any other board, but it just... kept... going... maintaining speed like no other. And it made this sound like it was sliding down a zip line when I carved at speed. Or was that just in my head? Speaking of carving, the first time I tried to rip a heel-sider on some hardpack, I went straight to my back. Even though I was never able to recreate that on other parts of the hill, it doesn't bode well for the Burner's edges. A board that's designed for that kind of speed should be able to rein it in with a hard turn. The last thing you want is a lack of confidence in your edges. This one's all about drawn-out, long-radius carving. That is, when it's not straight-line blasting, which is definitely the main attraction. Not an exceptional amount of spring off the tail, but it soaked up whatever I was to fall off.
Bottom Line: The Salomon Burner is a quiver board with one thing in mind, charging hard with the nose (not the tail, it's a tapered directional) pointed straight down the fall line. It's stiff, stable, damp and fast. Not for the timid, green groomer cruiser. Not for the bedazzled, bandana-ed trashcan tapper. If you're after speed, we've got your stick. Light up a Burner. Any questions? Ask Salomon.
Similar Boards: Burton Supermodel X
Monday, February 1, 2010
Board Exam: 2009/2010 Lib Tech Dark Series C2
The Rep said: Check out this stiff-ish, all-mountain freestyle board. Oh yeah, and our C2 Power Banana.
Stats/Setup: I'm around 6'1" and 170# with size 10.5 32 Focus Boa boots caged inside Union Force SL bindings. I tested the 158 board and it was a demo day, so I only rode the board for a few runs.
First Sight: What's up with that riser pad built into the board under the inserts? (I didn't get good pictures, check Lib's site) It felt pretty light swinging from my foot on the lift.
Conditions: Resort in the rain. Hard to icy groomers with slushy pockets.
The Ride: First, what I didn't ride: powder, pipe, rails. A damn shame we didn't have any powder, I've been wanting to test that C2 in the soft stuff and just haven't gotten a chance. That will have to wait. The dude-ditch and the metal features just don't attract me, so they're the last things I demo. Didn't make it there with the Dark One.
I did, however, take the jump line through a notoriously slow, beginner park to test the other freestyle aspects of the ride. The combo of this board's light weight and pop had me overshooting landings that are all too easy to fail from lack of speed. Chalk one up for the new Dark. On the icy patches, Magne-Traction shines. This is no gimmick folks. It might not turn ice into pow like they say, but at least you can keep your board under you in some hairball situations. Couple that with a camber point at the tail from the C2 and this board was powering from one turn to the next. I found that the Org Throttle 3-d Riser (mentioned under First Sight) gave this otherwise narrow-ish board the heel and toe clearance of a wider board while still retaining edge to edge quickness and most of the board-feel. Still, I wonder if it's really necessary.
Bottom Line: The Lib Tech Dark Series C2 is a high-end, all-mountain freestyle board. With the C2 upgrade over last year's model it feels stiffer, more stable, more responsive and comes with added pop at the cost of buttery softness. Then again, if you wanted that, you'd be reading my Skate Banana review. The addition of traditional camber points suited this board perfectly. Big cliffs and park jumps with potato chip ridged landings will no longer scare you. Another cool quality of Lib Tech boards is that they're made right here in the USA (near Canada) in Washington state with more environmentally friendly features than you can hug a tree at. A bio-plastic topsheet made from beans? You know it. But all this technology comes at a hefty price. That's where the 'high-end' comes in. Suggested retail price of the Dark Series with C2: $666 (how's that for dark). If you don't fear the price (nor the reaper), take a walk on the Dark side.
Stats/Setup: I'm around 6'1" and 170# with size 10.5 32 Focus Boa boots caged inside Union Force SL bindings. I tested the 158 board and it was a demo day, so I only rode the board for a few runs.
First Sight: What's up with that riser pad built into the board under the inserts? (I didn't get good pictures, check Lib's site) It felt pretty light swinging from my foot on the lift.
Conditions: Resort in the rain. Hard to icy groomers with slushy pockets.
The Ride: First, what I didn't ride: powder, pipe, rails. A damn shame we didn't have any powder, I've been wanting to test that C2 in the soft stuff and just haven't gotten a chance. That will have to wait. The dude-ditch and the metal features just don't attract me, so they're the last things I demo. Didn't make it there with the Dark One.
I did, however, take the jump line through a notoriously slow, beginner park to test the other freestyle aspects of the ride. The combo of this board's light weight and pop had me overshooting landings that are all too easy to fail from lack of speed. Chalk one up for the new Dark. On the icy patches, Magne-Traction shines. This is no gimmick folks. It might not turn ice into pow like they say, but at least you can keep your board under you in some hairball situations. Couple that with a camber point at the tail from the C2 and this board was powering from one turn to the next. I found that the Org Throttle 3-d Riser (mentioned under First Sight) gave this otherwise narrow-ish board the heel and toe clearance of a wider board while still retaining edge to edge quickness and most of the board-feel. Still, I wonder if it's really necessary.
Bottom Line: The Lib Tech Dark Series C2 is a high-end, all-mountain freestyle board. With the C2 upgrade over last year's model it feels stiffer, more stable, more responsive and comes with added pop at the cost of buttery softness. Then again, if you wanted that, you'd be reading my Skate Banana review. The addition of traditional camber points suited this board perfectly. Big cliffs and park jumps with potato chip ridged landings will no longer scare you. Another cool quality of Lib Tech boards is that they're made right here in the USA (near Canada) in Washington state with more environmentally friendly features than you can hug a tree at. A bio-plastic topsheet made from beans? You know it. But all this technology comes at a hefty price. That's where the 'high-end' comes in. Suggested retail price of the Dark Series with C2: $666 (how's that for dark). If you don't fear the price (nor the reaper), take a walk on the Dark side.
Any questions? Check out Lib's propaganda
or peep Eric Jackson's part in Standard Films' Black Winter.
Similar Boards: Never Summer Heritage-R
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