TT Ski/Snowboard/Sledding Club!

[LeeD]

Most certainly a subject of debate.
Most would say TahoeDonner rates the worst.
Squaw still Tahoes best ski mountain, the steepest with the most moguls, and it's going downhill and credibility lately with all the powderpuff runs where expert runs used to be.
Alpine in there, much shorter runs, but right there and also a better boarding mountain.
Heavenly IS, if you hit top of Nevada side bright and early. Motts and Killebrew help raise the image of a bunny groomed slope. Used to love racing the chair down the Face and Gunbarrel, but that was a long time ago.
Kirkwood is the well discovered undercover mountain. Really, think about it, only TWO lifts worth hoot, but plenty of hikein take hours off your ticket riding.
Sierra is sentimental favorite for me, but lots pass on by to bigger things. It's tight, with lots of tree runs, and plenty of chutes and gullies if you know the RGarden and E slopes OOB's.
Hate to say it. I LOVE DonnerSkiRanch. Where it all started, still very remedial in amenities, but what a great small mountain. Lots of pro days there, wagon trains and slalom gates.
Bowl...some real hard core lovers there. Kinda cool, with the separate mountain and that's where you start your drop down to oleHighway40 and the Lake. Some say the chutes on a windless post storm heaven on earth.
I rate Homewood and Rose very similar. Great on pow days, worthless if it's been dry for a week.
Boreal.....true LA boarding up here in Tahoe. But when the Pipe is ripe, it ranks primo of all the resorts.
Oh, the STAR....what a waste in the old days, but the two new lifts facing N are fine, albeit short, and it's carver heaven for skis and snowboards with all the blue groomies. Plenty of freshies even days post storm, the trees opening to some nice stashes, and long pow boards advised to find them.

[Say Chi Sin Lo]

Kirkwood is the best mountain by far. That is, if you're willing to take a detour to get there.

And on stormy days, forget it, that 88 (or is it 89?) road is a death trap.

[BlueB]

Originally Posted by Say Chi Sin Lo

You're out to get me aren't you? Fine, you do realize carving effectively slow down your speed and lengthen your path of travel?
Carving as in making S turns, sharp turns left and right? Yeah I do those, but it also slows you down and that's what I meant by braking/slowing me down.
Clearly someone doesn't have a sense of humor, because that was the point of my original post.

Yeah, I loose the sense of humor right away, when someone is talking about straightlining the hill while being irritated by people below him. Not understanding the type of the turn/technique that he performs, just seals the picture.

[Say Chi Sin Lo]

Originally Posted by BlueB

Yeah, I loose the sense of humor right away, when someone is talking about straightlining the hill while being irritated by people below him. Not understanding the type of the turn/technique that he performs, just seals the picture.

Yep, I don't understand the exact turns/techniques that I perform, being self taught and able to carve my way down blacks. It's not like I'm competing in this sport, it's just a hobby.

Do I care? No. Do I have fun? Yes. But I'll let your little ego continue to run this show since proper "turns/techniques" are so important to you. So you have fun and continue to make yourself feel better, ok? Looks like you need it.

[BlueB]

Originally Posted by Say Chi Sin Lo

Yep, I don't understand the exact turns/techniques that I perform, being self taught and able to carve my way down blacks. It's not like I'm competing in this sport, it's just a hobby.

Do I care? No. Do I have fun? Yes. But I'll let your little ego continue to run this show since proper "turns/techniques" are so important to you. So you have fun and continue to make yourself feel better, ok? Looks like you need it.

Have fun, do not hit people below you. Even when they turn ahead of you.
Book a carving lesson with a reputable instructor, at least you'll find out the difference

[Say Chi Sin Lo]

Originally Posted by BlueB

Have fun, do not hit people below you. Even when they turn ahead of you.
Book a carving lesson with a reputable instructor, at least you'll find out the difference

I was told I'd be wasting their time as I already carve. Book a conversation lesson with a reputable instructor, at least you'll find out how to talk to people and hold a conversation?

[LeeD]

I have over 10 confirmed Kirkwood fanatics buds and ettes, all with season passes.
Every time I go there, it's just ....OK.....
Chair 6 is OK. Chair 11 is pretty good, unless it's icy. Backside, and Eside.
Chair 4 is remedial fun, the long hike up to the right is good stuff, but the walk out and traverse sucks. I've hiked to the TOP at least 20 times.
Give me ScottsChute, 75, Top of the Slot, Horsetrails, SunBowl, or the OLD RedDog any day.
True carving is a specialized technique, one that takes superior conditioning and thigh strength, smooth semi step terrain, and sort "old guy" mentality.
Before you get on my case, I AM an old guy, and rode with MikeJacoby/MarkFawcett a handful of days around Tahoe, especially race training practice at the N run off the tall chair at DonnerSkiRanch.
VERY few rec skiers/boarders can carve, even after they've ridden 300 days or more. And the specialized boards/boots needed are not something the REC boarder would procure.
As for CARVING skiers, every skier SAYS they carve. Less than 5% actually do it on a run.

[BlueB]

Originally Posted by Say Chi Sin Lo

I was told I'd be wasting their time as I already carve. Book a conversation lesson with a reputable instructor, at least you'll find out how to talk to people and hold a conversation?

Can't waste an instructors time - it's their job, they get paid for it.
Care to post a video link to your "carving"?

As for the conversation, it seems that we are having one, indespite of disagreeing...

[BlueB]

Originally Posted by LeeD

True carving is a specialized technique, one that takes superior conditioning and thigh strength, smooth semi step terrain, and sort "old guy" mentality.
Before you get on my case, I AM an old guy, and rode with MikeJacoby/MarkFawcett a handful of days around Tahoe, especially race training practice at the N run off the tall chair at DonnerSkiRanch.
VERY few rec skiers/boarders can carve, even after they've ridden 300 days or more. And the specialized boards/boots needed are not something the REC boarder would procure.
As for CARVING skiers, every skier SAYS they carve. Less than 5% actually do it on a run.

I agree with your statements about percentages.
I do not agree about specialised technique/gear. Yes, for very high performance, but not in general.
At the CASI snow school progression, we intoduce the carving at intermediate level. At least, to the students willing to pursue it...

Fawcett is a really nice guy, had the pleasure of talking to him few times, when he brought the Canadian Alpine team to Cypress for trainings, prior to the Olympics. I never had pleasure of meeting Jacoby...

He, he, I like the "old guy" disclaimer I'm not a spring chicken either

[Say Chi Sin Lo]

Originally Posted by BlueB

Can't waste an instructors time - it's their job, they get paid for it.
Care to post a video link to your "carving"?

As for the conversation, it seems that we are having one, indespite of disagreeing...

Can your ego get any bigger? You make it sound like your approval matters. I hope I didn't ruin your day by saying I don't care.

I can make it down blacks in a timely manner, avoid people (that's right, I can actually avoid people, I just prefer not to when they don't know their limits and ruin my run), and not fall. You can use your imagination to fill in the rest.

[LeeD]

Yeah, when you get Mark and Mike together with beers, it's Mutt and Jeff time. I can sit for hours barely saying anything, as the stories flow fast and furious, coming from totally different sides.
It shows in their riding too. Technical or pure brute.
As for gear, I've SEEN softboot/freestyler's carve 1" lines, but they and I set the bindings closer together and ride bunny slopes. Can't truly carve freestyle gear on steeps. Need the hardboot and raceboard with +140cm edges to really carve the moderate steepness terrain.
Yeah skiers. They all say they carve. Like 5% of the time, 5% of them.

[BlueB]

Originally Posted by Say Chi Sin Lo

Can your ego get any bigger? You make it sound like your approval matters. I hope I didn't ruin your day by saying I don't care.

Approval? Hell no, you'd have to pay me for that.
It's the curiosity...

I can make it down blacks in a timely manner, avoid people (that's right, I can actually avoid people, I just prefer not to when they don't know their limits and ruin my run), and not fall. You can use your imagination to fill in the rest.

I used my imagination already, that's why we are having this conversation.

[LeeD]

Back when I was selling snowboards in the '90's, I always got customers who dropped by saying how they "ripped" this or that, carving and skying jumps, laying elbows, or pulling 6' off the halfpipes.
I've gone boarding and skiing with at least 50 of them, if not 80.
Not once, did any of the guys do as they advertised.
Some were very good riders, but most just rode fast, skidded and slid, and rode like the sub300 day riders they were.
Oh, I also sold skis back in the mid '70's, which is why I included skiing.

[BlueB]

Originally Posted by LeeD

As for gear, I've SEEN softboot/freestyler's carve 1" lines, but they and I set the bindings closer together and ride bunny slopes. Can't truly carve freestyle gear on steeps. Need the hardboot and raceboard with +140cm edges to really carve the moderate steepness terrain.

Good point about the stance! Slightly forward and narrower is certainly easier to carve. Stances got ridicoulously wide nowadays, mostly due to media constantly pushing freestyle. When your board is 150ish andn stance as wide to almost put you on the nose and tail of the board, there is nothing left to bend into a carved turn...

Good length freeride board with softies can carve pretty good. Look at this guy - from far you'd think he's on hardboots:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDK3MhdOUy4
or this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGiZo1o3xfQ

Last but not least, my kid at age 3, on skis:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-WK-GHV7ms

[LeeD]

That's OK carving for soft boots. By the sound, and if you look closely at the tracks, you can see it's carve initiation with some slipping exit, normal for an expert rider trying to carve with soft boots.
My AvalancheIceRocket has 144 edges, is as stiff as my HotSpot, and a soft boot stance around 19" can cave pretty well.
Soft boots also need softer snow, as in the vid.
I
I've spent many an hour riding with hard boot guys and their 184cm x 19 raceboards with my softie setup and a 157 twin tip. Initiation of the turns can be close, the the exist skid of the soft setup betrays the nice carve.
Rebound is the same, the same 12' of no tracks between linked turns.
I have 6 pins, plate, and some wire in my tib/fib that lies EXACTLY where the top of the hard boots meet the shin. That's why I've been spotted using softboats (AirWalkFreerides) with my Logical 163 with a 20" stance and almost carving like the raceboarders.

[GRANITECHIEF]

I like to see someone carve down the west face of KT. Have to skid turns if you want to stay upright longer than 2 turns.

Here's me holding my ipod in 1 hand and running out of breath at the end.

http://youtu.be/k7iv0c4Hib4

My boy boarding at 2 years old.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...L5_jkCw#t=109s

[BlueB]

Originally Posted by GRANITECHIEF

My boy boarding at 2 years old.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...L5_jkCw#t=109s

This is awsome! Hat's off to you Sir!
I instructed quite a few 2 year old children to ski, I wouldn't even dare to attempt on snowboard...

Any tips you can share?

[LeeD]

That's why I say carving is for easy runs without moguls, soft snow, or groomed corduroy.
Nobody carves down WestFace, East, or even straight down the SADDLE. OK, Saddle is a possibility in softer heavier conditions.
Carving is for the runs that are not challenging.

[BlueB]

Originally Posted by LeeD

That's why I say carving is for easy runs without moguls, soft snow, or groomed corduroy.
...
Carving is for the runs that are not challenging.

Of course that the groomers are ideal carving conditions, appropriate width of the trail helps too. Chopped up runs are doable, as well as ice.
"Easy" and "not chellenging" is rellative, I guess. For most of the people a black diamond is not considered easy. I know several people who can carve blacks, as long as it's groomed, hardpack included. A groomed blue square should be carvable by any intermediate carver.

[LeeD]

To carve, really do the 3/4" lines without a skidded exit, it takes some riding skill, something few rider's of less than 50 days can do.
Black groomies ARE easy runs for anyone who is carving.