Every year I ski Holiday on opening day. I didn’t this year. Sounds like I didn’t miss much.
After rocking these heelside boots for ten years I decided to get some new ones…
The Heelsides are one piece boots and have always felt super comfortable, never changed the laces or done anything really. Just some dryer sheets inside in between seasons. Last weekend the padding behind my ankle/calf had settled to the point where there was a 1/2" gap about halfway up. I’m pretty sure it caused some pain/stress. With my up coming trip to Tremblant I decided it would be best not to spend 3 solid days riding on boots like that.
Lo and behold the Flow Rift boot:
I’m skeptical of any boa system but I guess a lot of people ride them across different boot manufacturers. I also tried on a Burton boot but this one is a little wider in the toe box and the foot pad actually conforms to my foot right out of the box. The guy said they will ‘pack’ a half size or so which will turn out perfect, right now they feel too tight. But of course, that is coming off of 10 year old slippers I called boots. I had a lot of movement inside the boot which most likely translated to the soreness I feel and I am hoping riding will be more accurate since my foot wont be moving around without having an effect on the board.
A couple weeks ago I also bought a board bag for the first time to store my new board in (Ride capita). I guess the board has to be dry before putting it in there as the edges were a little rusty. The thought never crossed my mind since I’ve never used a board bag before.
12 days until I leave for Tremblant, hopefully they get a snow storm as there are only 15ish trails open out of 96, I believe.
You should notice the difference in boots immediately; I did. I noticed at the end of last season my 5 year old Burton Shaun White’s were shot and were limiting my riding my fatiguing my legs quickly. I got a set of Burton IONs just before the season started out here, and the first time out, the first run down the hill was like night and day comparison. I rode for about 6 hours and by the end my legs were shot, but that’s good for out here.
I did a lot of research on boots before I bought, most boots last 75-100 days on the hill for the average rider. After that, they should be replaced.
Went yesterday for 6 hours. Traded the ‘new’ flow bindings in on some Burton Cartels tonight. Even though I had flow boots and bindings the bindings didn’t fit the boots that great; in order to get the toe tight enough it had to be sinched down to the point where the ratchet wouldn’t ‘lock’ shut. So I always had to fuck with it. These cartels feel super baller. I should be going back to HV Friday if it doesnt all melt. Then to Treblant on Monday
Heading to HV tomorrow (Thursday) Friday, Sunday I’m teaching, Monday to ride. 4 out of 5 days. Should be fun. Happy to see we are finally getting snow down there. I know after talking with my buddy who works the lifts, they are planning to open Morning stars life (IMO one of the best they have) and should be more runs as well.
With the snow they are suppose to get and the colder temps to shoot snow… they should have anywhere from half the more than half the resort open. At least by the beginning of next week. If not, then I’m sure they are just not wanting to run it all.
Any one care to meet up and ride, PM me.
easily the best day of the season at the valley today, hopefully it sticks around
Any updates from Holiday… How much snow fell?
heard 7" as of an hour ago and still dumping
Such an amazing amount of snow. I was there on Monday but got torchered. lol I was stuck on the bunny hill the whole time because I took someone that asked me to teach them. She didnt leave the bunny hill, and I wasnt ditching her.
I’m hoping to go tomorrow and leave a bit early from work. This past weekend, I’d say they got about 13-14" Although, you can still hit bottom because it was a bit fluffier, it is still amazing!
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Also, buddy of mine went during the Holiday week. He is in the Military and found that Holiday valley does not offer military discounts during those times.
Now I’m not about war and I’m not about people getting hand outs in life, but if it really werent for these people and other war vets, we would not be having the Holidays we would be having. Along with that is the fact that these people come home during this time of the year for a reason… the Holidays. I believe it should be something honored all the time for those people. At least if you are going to honor it in the first place.
Heading to Holiday Valley. Should be in the 40s tomorrow, so get the snowboarding/skiing in tonight.
Anyone else heading down?
Just got back from Tremblant last night. Tuesday/Wednesday were typical west coast icy trails and I wasn’t pleased. The temperatures were also at or below zero most of the time which didn’t really bother me but the girls didn’t enjoy it. Yesterday it finally warmed up and snowed a bit. I think it was around 20 degrees all day which is perfect. The top of the mountain was in a cloud most of the day but it did snow a bit which made a world of difference. My buddy and I ended up ditching the girls for a few hours and explored the harder trails a bit. We found this one off shoot that went through a woodsy part with about 2 feet of powder. It was probably the best 45 minutes of the whole weekend. We repeated the same trail but stayed on the groomed part and did the run in 10 minutes. 20% of the mountain was closed and they only had 3 small-ish sized jumps so big let down in that category.
All in all I had an ok time but will not be making a return journey. It seemed just like holiday valley but with more runs that were longer, conditions were basically the same. West coast or bust next season.
I couldn’t really figure out my new equipment so my feet would hurt after 5 mins of slow/sustained riding. When I was on a difficult trail I didn’t notice, but trying to hold an edge for a while without switching really killed. I think the way I have it now is good but my feet are so bashed up that I can’t tell.
Pictures of the summit to follow soon.
Its me and the bartender at KB north. Wtf?
id be there now if some a-hole didnt steal my board
I’m selling an Atomic “hatchet” snowboard with Drake “Mikey Leblanc fighting irish” bindings. $180. let me know if you are interested. I have it posted in the FS section
Well, looks like the conditions out here in UT might start begin to improve. It’s dumping snow right now, and the forecast for the next 7 days has 6 with accumulations, not including lake effect/enhansed. Should start getting the snow/base/powder we’ve been waiting for all season here. We’re 40% of average right now, it’s bad.
Was at WhiteFace this weekend and got to be part of the first group up the Gondola, then the first group when the summit opened. Awesome conditions to start since it snowed all night, but by 12:30 or so it became apparent why the place is nicknamed ‘IceFace.’ Felt great to get longer runs in and a little bit of powder.
One thing that fucking sucked is that my GoPro didn’t take any video. I’ve got sound, but nothing else. Apparently -10 degrees is too cold. 
Now I know for next time to keep it in my jacket pocket between runs to keep it warm.
Jackson hasn’t gotten a lot but it is apparently more than most. Sad.
WTF are these stupid things. For all you guys that cant seem to pick up snowboard.
http://www.dualsnowboards.net/
This is like skateboarders becoming fruit booters. lol
finally some big storms for the western continental us. PNW is gettin it now. Should be awesome through the weekend in Jackson, SLC and idaho where they are forecasting 5-8 ft in the mountains.