My Pro Model Backpack

Kind of. My cousin makes custom backpacks and outerwear. He's just made the switch after doing upholstery most of his life. Look out for Superior Threadworks. Blowing up soon. I call this the Incredible Hulk colorway.

Coming soon to the backcountry nowhere near you

Just in time for the Tailgate Alaska trip. You know what they say about getting new stuff right before a trip... Guess I'll have to blow that one off this time. Since it is my only backcountry pack and all. Not like I'm breaking out a new board. My plane leaves at 10:00 tonight. I'm so stoked!

Tailgate Alaska, Here I Come!

Backcountry, AK. The Chugach Range. Valdez, Alaska. Seeing those captions was the start of any bucket list I've ever had.  I've never had dreams of climbing the highest mountains or running an arbitrary 26.2 miles (though I might do that, eventually). Flying off in a helicopter (a fucking helicopter!) away from safety and security and into the seeming unknown of the mountains, the vastness, the solitude, those are the movies playing inside my eyelids at night. Hence, at the top of the list:

#1) Heli-board backcountry Alaska.

And now it just so happens that an opportunity to do so has arisen. A good friend of mine (we'll call him Martin because that's his name) bought his ticket to Tailgate Alaska, made a deposit on an RV and later realized he just couldn't make it work. Rather than give it all up, he agreed to eat the money he'd already put down in favor of letting someone else have this glowing opportunity of shred-nificence. I seized said opportunity with the grip of Mark McGuire's 'roid addled hands on a Louisville Slugger (OK, so actually I hemmed and hawed and had to work through some persistent self-doubt before I pulled the trigger). A half-price trip to a shred mecca!? Heroes, legends and regular folk all drinking from the same cooler? Salivating over the same snow? The people I read about and the mountains I read about!? This is gonna be sooo fucking cool! I seriously already have butterflies.

Board Exam: Lib Tech Mark Landvik Phoenix 2010/2011 Snowboard Review

What the rep said: Stiff, wide and not much sidecut. Point it and hang on.

Stats/Setup: I'm checking in at 6'1" and 165#. I rode the Lando in a 157 Wide with 32 Focus Boa Boots (size 10.5) and Union Force SL Bindings at Mt. Hood Meadows.

Conditions: Boot-top pow and soft groomers

First impression: Two-headed cobra. Awesome!

The Ride: I only got one run. After what the rep said, I decided not to hold back. The board did just what it was meant to do: charge. High-speed, big-radius turns were made for this board. Crud? What crud? Like any assassin, it goes by two names. Those are 'stability' and 'dampness.' If it were a Mexican assassin it would have a third name, but I don't know how to say 'merciless' in Spanish.

View all the gory details over at Lib's site

Anyway, the more you put into this board, the more you get out. But you better be ready. Prepare to overshoot your everyday jumps because it pops like that. Prepare to run into lifties because you can't stop. Check that, prepare to run into waitresses. In the upstairs restaurant. That's how hard this board charges.

Don't worry about pressing, buttering, dancing or getting out of the way. Some avoid, some get avoided. When you're on this board, you'll know you're role.

Bottom Line: Charge!! Not exactly a board for beginners.

Similar Boards: Burton Supermodel X, Salomon Burner
(I kinda wish I had those reviews back. I'd charge harder...)

Don't Forget the Bone Zone

Timberline. Tomorrow. One of my favorite things ever. BOARD DEMOS! From next year, even. Bank to the Future and shit. Oh yeah and a race. And it might snow. Shaping up to be a good weekend.

shrednwmagazine.com for more info (or click the pic)

Board Exam: 2010/2011 Bataleon Omni Snowboard Review

Check the full specs here

 What the rep said: Triple Base Technology (TBT) means the board is flat between the contact points, but outside the contact points it is concave from edge to edge. This is a softer, cambered all-mountain board.

Stats/Setup: I rode the Omni 159 with Union Force SL bindings and rented Burton boots at Mt. Baker. I'm currently checking in at 6'1" and 165#.

Conditions: Everything from groomers to powder and trees to gullies.

First impression: Skeptical. Average weight on my foot.

The Ride: Love the flex. Bataleon gives it a 5.5 out of 10 (10 being the stiffest) and I'd agree (maybe 5.67325 if you want to get specific and I don't). The medium flex coupled with the camber made for a nice poppy board that was stable on landings.

The TBT was subtle. It gives the board a feel like the edges are extra beveled, but It's still quick edge to edge. This took a run to get used to, but I wouldn't call it a detriment to the board. Just like all different board technologies it had a slight learning curve. No catching edges = great for beginners!

The board was damp without being dead. It could soak up most of the chop and still butter around better than most cambered boards thanks to the TBT. Let's be honest though, it's still cambered, so you're not winning any 'Nosepress of the Year' awards.

In the powder, nothing past boot-tops, it performed just fine.  Maybe a little extra float over a board without TBT, but you'll still have to set your stance back on the deep days.

Bottom Line: Mid-flexing camber with pop, stability, dampness and float. TBT isn't the selling point, it's the flex. The Omni is a versatile all-mountain machine. Something for beginner to expert. Yes, camber is still alive and kickin' like Richard Simmons in 2011!

Snowboarder Figures It Out

Frequent readers and those with better memories than mine may remember a post I wrote about winning a contest through Snowboarder Magazine, but never getting the prize. Well, turns out Snowboarder is having some legit personnel problems that left my prize in limbo. The crux is this, there never was a physical prize, just a numerical code sent via e-mail. I was one e-mail away from a trip to Colorado that whole time. November to March. Instead, I ended up in Tahoe. For the best week of their season. Thanks? Anyway, Pat Bridges came through personally and I sent the code to a buddy of mine in CO. I hope the snow is good in Breck, Cody. Enjoy.

Now if I could only get Transworld and 686 to admit that they owe me a pair of Smarty Cargo Pants...

Who You Callin' a Hoe!?

Snow and sun!? Weird.

The Tahoe trip is a wrap. The final day at Squaw didn't deliver six feet of blower on the upper mountain that it could have, but it still had 40" and that's good enough for me. Lift lines were the only real downer of the day. Twice we had to wait in 45-minute lines full of irritable folk and skiiers trying to snake you out of your spot. Once I got in line with my friend only to end up three people behind him once we got to the chairs.

Everybody and his mom

Luckily, both lines served up the goods. Knee to thigh-deep pow and open bowls. Scattered tracks, but still distinguishable as individual tracks. Definitely not moguls. The highlight was fresh tracks down Sun Bowl. A dozen or so turns all to ourselves. Run of the year so far.

Kickin' back after a long day.

Now, I'm back in Portland. Mt. Hood has been picking up right where Tahoe left off. Starting with four feet of snow this week. New lifts to open tomorrow. Let's see what Cascade is all about with that much new. Maybe some high-speed, top-to-bottom runs. After all, I'm pseudo-training now. Possible big trip in the future. Only three weeks out. Check your calendar, maybe you know what I mean...