Bored Yak

Goggle Review: 2013 Zeal Optics Slate

noreply@blogger.com (BoredYak) — Sat, 19 May 2012 00:57:00 +0000

Zeal Optics are reinventing themselves. It's time to relearn anything you thought you knew. Now owned by high-end, independent sunglass maker Maui Jim (third in sales behind Luxotica brands Ray-Ban and Oakley) the brand was rebuilt by snowboard industry vet and new Director of Marketing, Joe Prebich (who came over from Oakley). This is a good time for me to get familiar with Zeal because I didn't know anything about them in the first place. They sent me a couple pairs of goggles from the new 2013 line to demo and return. Here's my take on the Slate.

Zeal Slate with Phoenix Mirror lens

First the lenses, the Phoenix Mirror is rated at 28% visible light transmission. I got a day to test them that started out partly cloudy and then cleared up. These lenses are not for your sunny days. They performed much better in the cloudier conditions. One reason is that they show some haloing when looking at brighter lights (brighter reflections around the actual light). The tint is neutral to brown/orange with a gradient to the bottom of the lens that shifts subtly to a gray/green. I'm not a fan of the gradient, but if that's what you like it, go for it. You don't find it in many lenses, so just be aware. I didn't test these goggles in a real deep or rainy day, just some sprinkles, but they never did fog. Most goggles have that figured out by now, thankfully. Changing the lenses was easy, too. I popped it out and put it back in first try, no problem. What more do you want? Now check out these frames:

Separate foam liner for cheap replacement

That's right, in a stroke of genius Zeal made the inner foam liner detachable from the rest of the frame. Now, when you wear out the foam, all you have to do is replace a $20 part and you're back in action. The final pricing for that isn't set just yet, but it'll be cheaper than the frames, that's for sure (MSRP of $149). Now if they could make the upper foam as easy to replace, they'd have me for life.

How about the looks? I got the black frames with white strap. Black logo and name hits adorn the strap, along with a reversible leather and plaid snap-on piece of flair. They've got a half dozen colorways, all classic looks, nothing flashy. They worked great with my huge helmet and even have strap to spare. Like most new goggles they have the rubberized strap to keep it stuck to your bucket. I'd say these goggles are for a medium-sized face. My XL noggin would like something a little huskier.

Goggles are all about personal preference. If you like a lens with gradient, check these out. If you need a giant, flashy fishbowl, look elsewhere. That said, peripheral vision, optics and comfort are all good. Nothing to really blow you away, but with the replaceable foam liner, they might be your go-to frame for years to come.

Also, lookout for Zeal's techy Z3 and Ion goggles with heads-up display and built-in video respectively. Finally, some serious Jetsons tech in a goggle!

Canned Heat: A Guest Blog

noreply@blogger.com (BoredYak) — Wed, 16 May 2012 17:33:00 +0000

Everyone, meet my brother. We'll call him Mule. Mule, everyone. Introductions aside, he lives in Minnesota, but does not snowboard, much less demolish rails. He tried skiing once and was not having it. He's more of a football guy. He reads my blog, but often has no idea what I'm talking about. He thinks a backside 180 is what happens when you have to turn and look at a girl's ass as she walks past.

Near as I can tell, he is attracted to energy drinks for their convenience and their taste (yes, he likes the taste) in spite of the near-foreign language spoken on their ingredient lists. As he mentions, I don't drink them often. I get them at movie premieres and give them to a friend as payment for rides up the mountain and work on my car. Currently, I have five energy drinks and four sodas that will serve as currency.

Past that, I will drink one on the occasional long drive. I generally opt to sip a sugar-free variety over a few hours. I do not think they have any place in snowboarding. I think they're best served for maintaining your consciousness and cranking out short, quick efforts, as in the weight room. Hence my posting in the summer, though he wrote this many months ago. Why waste any time on them? They're out there, might as well drop some knowledge. I lobbied for him to include water, coffee and beer in his experiment, but he declined. The following are the words of my esteemed sibling.

Want the other side of the story. Just ask Scotty Wittlake.

PS Mule also thinks Monster Rehab tastes like ass.

Every time I stay at the Yak’s house, I find various energy drinks in his fridge. He explains to me that he gets these for free from snowboarding events, but doesn’t drink them very much so they just kind of accumulate. That is, until I show up and drink them all over the course of a weekend. Extreme sports and energy drinks going hand-in-hand, he asked me if I would write a guest blog reviewing some of the more popular choices.

The experiment: I judged each drink for its energy and taste. For some semblance of scientific control, I tried to limit myself to one a day: between the end of my work day and the beginning of a workout. There are no winners or losers except my motivation level (winner) and journalistic integrity (loser).

Red Bull

Aesthetic: Basic. Everybody knows Red Bull by its packaging, so there’s no need to change. I went with the standard 8.4 oz can, although Red Bull is also available in 12 oz cans and pounders. The gas station was offering two pounders for $6, which seemed a bit excessive (What? You don’t have to drink them all at once?). With the exception of Red Bull Cola, they have only one flavor.

Cultural Significance: Spawned a $10B industry; multiple soccer and racing teams; Jagerbombs

Taste: Relatively tame citrus flavor with little carbonation. Combine that with the smaller can size and it’s easy to pound.

Energy Boost: Not much in the way of what the FDA would consider “essential nutrients”—250% of B6, 100% B3, 80% B12, and 50% Pantothenic Acid, plus energy-standards caffeine and taurine. Provided a nice opening boost; kept me going throughout the workout; perhaps worth mentioning that I found myself raking leaves in the dark when I got home. Crashed hard about 4 hours after drinking.

Monster

Aesthetic: The gothic can indicates it may appeal to a younger audience; indeed, Monster is catching up with Red Bull in terms of sales. Also contributing to its growth is a wide variety of choices including juice and coffee hybrids and a line with infused nitrous oxide. I went with the standard pounder; Monster is also available in 24-oz silos and the completely unnecessary 32-oz BFC (and you know what that stands for).

Cultural Significance: Similar sponsorships of extreme athletes, Warped Tour, and X-Games, not to mention De-bo and Wee Man. Also, this lawsuit from a huge fan of the Strange Brew movie.

Taste: Super-sweet bubble-gum citrusy flavor, again with little carbonation. Goes down smooth; before you know it the can is gone. Maybe there’s a need for the BFC after all.

Energy Boost: Hella vitamins! 200% B2, B3, B6, and B12; 1000 mg Taurine, and 2500 mg of an energy blend full of things I can’t pronounce. The initial kick packs a wallop, which is a shame because I wasted it at work in my cubicle. A high peak, but a low plateau--I had no motivation to do anything after my workout.

Rockstar

Aesthetic: The radio-friendly can design suggests it should have been called “Pop Star.” Quite the variety of flavors, but not as many as Monster.

Cultural Significance: The first to rip off Red Bull; several music tours; potentially overcompensating for homophobia

Taste: The flavor, much like the can design, is bubble gum. Heavy texture makes me feel like I’m drinking maple syrup. Highly-carbonated for minimum slam-ability. It’s definitely different, but that’s not always a good thing.

Energy Boost: So many vitamins it made my pee look like Mountain Dew. Comparable to Monster but with double the B2. It didn’t kick in right away, but it still foiled my plans to eat only half of my Jimmy Johns Gargantuan. Kept me extra wide-eyed throughout my workout. Extra long-lasting buzz, if you can choke it down.

Xenergy

Aesthetic: The can looks like something out of The Matrix with its tech-y font features. Comes in a dozen flavors. I didn’t know which was the standard flavor, so I chose a pounder of fruit punch.

Cultural Significance: Official energy drink of the UFC.

Taste: A ton of bite, and the super-tart fruitiness made me pucker a little. I’m not gonna lie, I’ve had several flavors and they’re all delicious. Difficult to slam; this is a savoring drink.

Energy Boost: Zero B-vitamins, which I found strange, but high on taurine and ginseng. No sugar and zero calories. Not much of an initial boost. Didn’t appear to give me any extra energy, but I wasn’t lethargic, either. No buzz to speak of. But damn is it tasty!

5-Hour Energy

Aesthetic: A small two-ounce shot—hello my friend! Now I don’t have to go through the hassle of all that drinking.

Cultural significance: tiny serving sizes, marketing to cube-jockeys such as myself, under-produced and over-distributed commercials

Taste: Pretty awful. A flat berry flavor with an aftertaste that will make you look like the cop in Dumb and Dumber. There’s a reason they don’t give you 16 oz. of this stuff.

Energy Boost: 2000% B6, 8333% B12 (that’s not a misprint), 1870 mg energy blend. I was a bit drowsy when I took the shot, and it pepped me right up. Was able to take a nap shortly afterwards, but got up and had immediate energy which included a tingling sensation in my fingers. No crash to speak of.

These are only a few of the more popular brands. On your own time, you can try others such as NOS, SnakeEyes, WhoopAss, and SLAP. Almost every beverage distributor now has a line of energy drinks, so slam one before your next snowboard run and thank the Yak later.

This Ain't No Stadium Cheer

noreply@blogger.com (BoredYak) — Wed, 16 May 2012 04:58:00 +0000

2nd Annual Big Wave Challenge Barrels Mt. Bachelor

The surf was firing at Mt. Bachelor this weekend for Gerry Lopez's 2nd Big Wave Challenge. Bachelor Parks staff were putting in serious work with Superpark just finishing up and now an ocean full of berms, hips and snake lines constructed for this event. They even had to bring in an excavator for the over-vert cradle at the bottom of the hill.

Mystery rider just getting shacked

Contestants were ripping the course from every possible angle. Big methods and bigger slashes were popping every other hit. The judges - Bend resident Austin Smith among them - were were under constant fire as one 'wave' was right under their chairs. I'm not sure if spraying the judges helped or hurt scores. I bet it felt good either way. A big middle finger to the man. Contestants and public alike sessioned the course until long after the event was over. Curtis Woodman was ripping all day. After his first run, he exclaimed, "That was the awesome-est run of my life!"

The line-up

Some kook

Bjorn Leines taking a big drop.

Leis and Hawaiian shirts were in full effect all day. Board shorts, too, as the temp broke 50. The sweet sounds of Hawaiian musician Bill Keale kept everyone feeling the aloha into the night. Well, that plus the drink specials.

Men

1st - Gus Warbington

2nd - Forest Devore

3rd - Josh Dirksen

Women

1st - Ashley Thornton

2nd - Desiree Melancon

3rd - Jess Kimura

Old Dogs

1st - Mike Newcomb

2nd - Matt Montage

3rd - William Weaver

Groms

1st - Gus Ferguson

2nd - Alder Butsch

3rd - Lui Bilello-Lewis

Show them what they win.

Nice little fin plaque

Custom Gerry Lopez board for the real deal.

Superpark 16: Go Ahead and Tell 'Em

noreply@blogger.com (BoredYak) — Tue, 15 May 2012 02:10:00 +0000

Snowboarder Magazine's Superpark 16 presented by Gatorade, Prinoth and Sunriver Resort (should have been presented by Drink Water or Boneyard Brewing) is officially over. I think some ski contest is ~~desecrating~~ using their jumps now. Mt. Bachelor saw some heavies over the week and it all got critical on the final day.

I didn't witness any of them, but I sure heard the cheers and stories about three triple corks that went down. Two out of three (ain't bad) of them are on the day 5 video (don't miss the frontside 5 to tripod and Big Mike spitting hot fire - shirtless, natch - on the top Boreal feature). I never did hear who pulled off the third triple cork, but Pat Bridges himself was trying to hunt down video of it as late as the wrap party.

Speaking of the editor of Snowboarder Magazine, he knocked off his 68th different handplant location at Superpark 16. I think he goes by event because he also said he planted three different features at Superpark. What's up, Pat? What's the plant count and criteria?

Back to the day at hand. The first thing I did on the last day was peep that weird Mt. Bachelor feature:

Not that weird.

All that and a pole jam on the backside. No homo.

Dudes were handplanting and jibbing. No weird simultaneous air/jib/plant action. I hope someone did that though. That feature had more angles than the Missouri River. Wait, maybe that's 'anglers.' Either way, fools were reeling in the transition like walleye.

Handplant-tastic

Wyatt Caldwell jibbin'

After that, I rolled down to this multi-purpose structure you may remember from Thursday:

All about choices. Some of the lines cut in this thing were straight confusing.

Just in time to see this gang mobbing through:

My snowboard for a video camera, STAT!

The resultant Chinese downhill plus innovative slope feature was the best thing I saw all trip. Nothing but homies popping up and disappearing, over and over. Like being in an Airblaster movie.

Not even close to doing it justice. So much fun.

I ended the day and the event at the Boreal feature up top. I didn't really think that thing was ever going to get finished or look good or get hit if it did get finished. Proven wrong once again. It looked like a shred BBQ when I got there. Fools just camped out drinkin', smokin', straight west coastin' and all that.

Some more interested than others.

Pat Bridges, interested; photog, not.

Jake Olson-Elm with the drop after creeper crawling across the top of the wall.

Bjorn Leines, frontside 5 tail tap, shadows looming.

Fo' real

At the end of it all, riders descended on Bend's Astro Lounge like ants on a forgotten deviled egg. Wes Makepeace rocked a set and Pat Bridges gave some of that Gatorade money to Seth Hill for the Driven from Within award. Said he had to kick Seth off the hill at 7pm multiple times. Said Seth broke a board at the sunrise shoot before most riders were awake. Probably a safe bet it was before some of them were asleep. A member of Bachelor's park staff confirmed it. Said Seth was dropping twice to most others' once. Look for this young Sims rider on the come-up.

Look for me not snowboarding again for a while. Unless it's at Timberline just getting my slush slash fix. Actually look for the Big Wave Challenge recap coming up quick. In a word: awesomefunsurftastic. Hashtag that twerps.

Superpark 16: Eyes Wide, Shut Up and Sit Down

noreply@blogger.com (BoredYak) — Fri, 11 May 2012 19:44:00 +0000

I feel like I should be riding around this place with a bag of Reese's Pieces and a bucket of popcorn. Maybe some Junior Mints and a Pepsi. Between all the tech rail wizardry and aerial acrobatics performed without harness or net I'm in a constant state of astonishment. I know, I shouldn't give in. I should remain fully with-it and detached. 'He wheelied a little on the landing of that switch backside 12. I wouldn't even use it in the edit.' That should be me. With the cappuccino in the shade. I'm not that guy. Hope I never am. We'll leave that to jaded team manager dude. I just close my eyes and shake my head. Take for example Jaeger Bailey. Watch this video all the way through and tell me what you think of the ender - his second edit-ender, by the way. Did he really just do that? Close eyes. Shake head. Usually I'll talk about someone doing a late front flip as a way of saying he fell on his face. Guess I'll have to come up with a new one. Plenty of guys doing tweaked out shifties and slo-mo spins on these uber-booters, too. Chris Bradshaw's style. Andrew Brewer's backflips. A double cork over here. A handplant on a tree over yonder.

That's the only problem with Superpark. It's too big. You never know where - or when - the epicness is going to go down. Two things to look for are the big inflatable Gatorade bottle and Pat Bridges. One of those usually oversees all things earth-shattering. Pat, being more mobile, is the better bet. But he's also smaller and harder to pin down. Here's a rundown of the shred rad that I managed to witness on this day.

Knut Eliassen, Robbie Sell and Cory Grove among a crew checking the upper Seven Springs jump.

He could tuck the knee more, but the style arm is right there. That's as jaded as I get.

To the hills.

Oh, we got rails, too. I'll get a better shot of this feature. Too much rad for one shot.

Speaking of rails, the Boreal rail feature was one of those 'right places' last night. Niko Cioffi blasted a wallride across the whole thing, Sage Kotsenburg gapped the whole feature and Halldor Helgason did a sick nose stall to backside boardslide to shut the place down.

As close as you're going to get to a sequence from me...

...because this one's from a non-make anyway. Halldor Helgason

Aaaand here's how to miss the shot. Niko Cioffi with the full-pull wallride.

I've got one more day of Superparking left, so prepare to be astonished just a little more. Bangers and hammers. None of that 'He came off the rail a little early,' bull. Close your eyes. Shake your head.

Superpark 16: Seeing Ghosts

noreply@blogger.com (BoredYak) — Thu, 10 May 2012 18:06:00 +0000

Snowboarder Magazine's Superpark 16 is such a mindjob. So many riders are cruising around and they're all so good. I had never heard of half these kids before I got here and they're all just out of control. Jaeger Bailey sounds like some college-kid drink. Turns out it is a person and he rips. Check out the shin-bang front flip he does to end this video.

Plenty of old-school shreds are representing as well. Dale Rehberg, Dave Lee, Russell Winfield and Wes Makepeace were cruising. Winfield was riding on '93 rules, "Nothing over a 360 and if you don't poke it, you gotta go home." Chris Brunkhart was even capturing it all on Super 8.

How to give a cop a heart attack. Rider: Brandon Reis, Graffiti: Avert Guldemond

So much fun, even I took a run through.

The mountain in the back is Broken Top, the rider is hoping not to get broken off.

At one point, Austin Hironaka came up short on this burly step-up, sending the photographers on the deck scrambling. Everyone was OK, but it prompted a brief shutdown to reshape the takeoff and change underwear. The photo below shows the deck, photogs and I supposed we might as well put a feature there, too.

Josh Dirksen practicing for this weekend's Big Wave Challenge

Pouncing on the cat

Peter Line, still a big deal. The Burtners know what's up.

Keep checking back. Features are still being built, if you can believe that. Boreal was still working on an even bigger wall when I left last night. Of course, check out Snowboarder Magazine for all the best. It being their event and all. Now go chug a Gatorade and buy a Prinoth! Energy! Snow pushing!!

Superpark 16: This is Not a Contest

noreply@blogger.com (BoredYak) — Wed, 09 May 2012 07:12:00 +0000

Superpark 16. It's all there in the name. It's just like your resort's park, only super-sized. Just like the dudes who ride there, only super-pros. Just like the bloggers who cover it, only, well actually the bloggers are the same. The other photogs and filmers are super, though. The number 16 represents the number of years Snowboarder Magazine has been running Superpark. I'm glad they didn't go with the easy 'Sweet Sixteen' theme and opted instead for a gameshow motif.

You're the next contestant on Superpark 16

Props go out to Gatorade for sponsoring the event and hooking everyone up with liquid sugar. They also have some 'energy chew' candies this year that are basically gummy bears for vegetarians. Wait, do vegetarians eat gummy bears? No? The gelatin, eh? Also on the sponsor tip, Prinoth. Never heard of 'em? They make snowcats, which are important to this event. Look for lots of them parked in the channels and on the decks of jumps. You know, to provide context and texture.

Prinoth: pushing pow for prime pop

Just in case you forgot who was paying for the show

Mt. Bachelor is hosting the proceedings on the Sunrise Lodge side of the mountain, the Sunrise and ultra-slow Rainbow lifts shuttling riders. Park builders from Boreal, Loon and Seven Springs joined the Bachy crew to turn what's left of the snow into features fit for freestyle fantasy.

Keeping the Mongols at bay

Look for some jumps to really start going off tomorrow. Speed should be checked. Conditions should be prime. Corks should be multiplied. Dudes gettin dizzy. 'Til then, this.

Get To Meadows While You Can!

noreply@blogger.com (BoredYak) — Sat, 05 May 2012 17:52:00 +0000

This is the last weekend of the season at Mt. Hood Meadows! Get your Cinco de Mayo shred on today and your, well, Seis de Mayo shred tomorrow. Sunday is looking like the nicer weather day with sun and upper 40s. Either way, once the lifts stop running Sunday at 3pm, they won't start up again 'til next season.

Coming next season, RFID gates like at Mt. Bachelor...

Board Exam: 2011/2012 Capita Charlie Slasher Snowboard Review

noreply@blogger.com (BoredYak) — Tue, 01 May 2012 00:19:00 +0000

First off, I didn't demo this board. I got a good price ($240 after 40% off, late-season deal), so I bought it straight off. The difference with this board is that I rode plenty of other pow boards, so I knew what I liked and didn't like. Charlie is a good combo of the likes without most of the dislikes.

What the rep said: Take it straight from Blue.

Stats/Setup: I'm around 6'1" and 165# and I went with the 164. I generally strap Salomon Dialogue Boots (size 9.5) into Union Force SL bindings.

Conditions: Everything, but this board was made for powder. You'll have a better board for other conditions. This is a quiver board. Not to be confused with a quivering broad.

First impression: Big and gnarly. I'm so stoked it just snowed.

Uh, it's the one on the left.

The Ride: I was lucky enough to pull the trigger on the Slasher just before one of the best pow days I've ever ridden at Mt. Hood Meadows. Knee-deep and sunny in Oregon just doesn't happen. Enough about my luck.

My biggest concern about the board was that it wouldn't perform in the trees. The combo of not much sidecut and a wide waist had me even more scared than the graphics. This video calmed me down. Then I took it into the woods myself and it lived up to the hype. Why? My guess is it's taper and enough torsional looseness to steer quickly. The nose rocker also aids maneuverability in powder's 3D world.

The true test of a powder board is its float and you know Charlie is on top of that. The 6mm rocker from the front insert pack to the tip, the 20mm taper and the overall width and surface area keep the Slasher cruising like a missile. Ride enough deep pow and drop enough cliffs and you'll eventually find yourself too far over the nose. It happens to everyone. Charlie has an answer for that, too. The two, 30mm-wide carbon stringers extending forward from the waist to the tip will bring you back where you belong. I'm not sure I've fully exercised these yet, but I've definitely had the nose sunk and not tomahawked. At the same time, I'm able to center my weight to a point where my back leg isn't nearly as tired as it normally is on a deep day. All of this on a board with a real tail that has power through turns and decent pop. A tail that buries trees and skiers alike in tsunami slashes.

Negatives about this board have to do with taking it out of its element. This is not an all-mountain, do-everything board. The only time you should ride it switch is when buttering. Short-radius turns on hardpack expose that shallow sidecut and wide waist and make it feel a little sluggish.

This board is not called Charlie Side-Slipper for a reason. Open it up and crank out bigger turns and you will be rewarded. If you have to ride it on hardpack, say between your favorite stashes, point it straight and rip it hard. Bury a skier and disappear.

Bottom Line: Pow-specific board with a freestyle feel. This should not be your first board, it should be your second.

Similar Boards: If you take this another step towards all-mountain it would look like the Ride Berserker. One more step and it's the Lib Tech Lando Phoenix.

For a limited time, check Capita for the full scoop.

Alaska Always Makes You Think

noreply@blogger.com (BoredYak) — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 22:00:00 +0000

View across the street from basecamp.

Fellow snowboarders, I'm back from AK. What was I up to while I was there? This stuff. Hence my lack of writing on this fair site. I didn't do nearly as much riding as I had hoped, but I got plenty of good work done, including some enlightening interviews that could lead places. Exciting places.

Along the way, I did learn a thing or two that you might find interesting, if not entertaining. I will share that information with you now. Cue that song.

It's not always all about the snowboarding. It's the whole experience. Northern lights to bar fights. Maybe you score a free heli flight for being with the media. Maybe your sled breaks down halfway up and you miss all but two runs of the contest you were supposed to be covering.

View from inside the cat.

You'll probably get some sled bumps, maybe a cat day, some road runs. Splitboard. Hike. Get out there. Just don't worry if you don't. Do something just as mind-blowing instead.

You will get sick either in Valdez or immediately upon return. Some attribute it to the oil pipeline terminus. I attribute it to the late nights and drinking. My friend and photographer never went to sleep sober or before 4am, he came back with pneumonia and plenty of new friends

Snowmobiles are the best way around Thompson Pass. I never had a smooth trip on one in two weeks including a spontaneous trip into a creek and a halfway-to-the-contest-finals breakdown. Maybe it's because I never referred to them as 'snowmachines' as the Alaskans say.

Mike Basich's pickup holds a sled and pops up.

Speaking of which, you can fit a snowmachine into the back of a Suburban. You saw that in the last post, but did I mention he slept in there with it one night, too?

Tips for getting rides on a sled: have your own, have a loyal friend (most friends will just bail on you), have money, have drugs, be female. I guess the old 'ass, grass or cash' mantra holds.

The female-to-male ratio is probably more like 10-to-1.

Pam Robinson was definitely digging the ratio.

A 10 in Alaska is a 4 elsewhere. Try not to think about what gets a 4 in Alaska.

Andy Bergin-Sperry set up a business drying other peoples' clothes. I hear he even got some takers.

The guy serving you drinks at night might be giving you sled bumps by day. Tip well.

Gilly and Jonesy, 'nuf said.

Kevin Jones is the real deal. He said, "You're not a snowboarder if you don't come here." But he still thinks too many people are showing up. Maybe there are just too many people. He's been coming here for 17 years. Private heli for 30 days? Done it. Still says a splitboard changed his life. Genuine article, folks.

"Do what you can today, for tomorrow may be gray." -- Dave Geis, Alaska Snowboard Guides

"What's the difference between Valdez and Maine? What do you think this is, a joke?" -- Darren "Gilly" Gilmour, former Mainer

Manly man. I couldn't get the moose in the frame.

Alaska locals look kinda like Portland locals. Except they're bigger and their clothes look tattered from doing actual work. That and they look like they would beat the shit out of you or just shoot you. The beards, though, the beards are similar.

The sign said "No Sopping Avalanche Area." Now what?

Finally, I'd like to thank Chris at Snowboard Magazine for giving us the chance. We wouldn't have gone without that and I hope we delivered. I'd also like to thank the guys at ClifBar for hooking us up with 30 pounds of food and promotional goodies. Our time on the pass would have much more expensive or just straight malnourished without them.

Tailgate Alaska, Here We Come!

noreply@blogger.com (BoredYak) — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 06:51:00 +0000

Car 1 of 2 in the caravan

The drive from Chugiak to Valdez went down today. Breathtaking mountain vistas, half-rushing-half-frozen rivers, giant wolf dogs standing in the road. All in a day's drive in the 49th state.

The Tailgate lot is just getting finished. It's looking bigger and badder than last year. They're rocking a sun deck on scaffolding and the bbq zone is best described as a trailerpark courtyard. Pictures on the way. Forecast for the week is precipitation. Riding forecast is small ball. File this under something you've never seen before:

The old 'snowmachine in the Suburban' trick

A Snowboarder On the Road

noreply@blogger.com (BoredYak) — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 04:05:00 +0000

Jet planes are like time travel. Still, I was the last to arrive. A combination of my love for the demo and Utah's lack of measurable snow had my flight touching down in the late AM hours on Monday. Of course that meant that Snowbird got dumped on to the tune of a foot plus. Closed the canyon to anything but 4WD or chains. My ride had neither. An hour wait at the bus stop had me jonesin' (is that a thing people say anymore?). I finally got to the 'bird after noon and met the rest of my crew stopping for lunch. Not me. I'll see you at the lifts. Knee-high fluff on groomers, much deeper drifts. Ben tackled one up to his shoulder. He's 6'2". That deep. And me with only half the day to scrounge for leftovers. After the rest of the group wore out, Ben and I headed back to the Tram. Who should we run into for the eight-minute ride up but my old friend Benny. Sometimes it's just easier than texting. Two laps later and the Tram was closed along with the rest of the mountain. Benny provided guidance and hope for the next ten years of my life. That's how much older he is than I. He still rides harder than anyone at any age I know. Helps to have that Tram in your back yard.

Benny's actual back yard

Speaking of back yards, Benny lives in Aubrey and Josh's back yard, so when the crew crammed their castle, I crashed with Benny. Late-night crab legs and Peddie Files. His lady works at some high-end restaurant and brought home the snacks to refuel the shred legs. We didn't even get to the chicken parm.

Sunny PowMow smoke break

Next morning was a later start. Powder Mountain was the objective with Grand Targhee on the docket for that night. The road trip was taking shape. Bright sun greeted us at PowMow along with an icy wind. The pow started off dry but softened up as the day progressed. Laps through Powder Country. Bus transfer. Then, disaster. Shanna dropped into the line first. A hundred yards, then out of sight into the aspens. Ben turned on his Go Pro to catch all the action. Cassi, Aubrey and Kyle each took their own line before I dropped, fully mobbing. A few trees into the glade came a sight I'll never forget. Shanna, face down, twisted around five trees. Is she joking? Is she... dead? My thoughts were racing. I called out several times before reaching her. She did not respond. As I got to her I heard her panicked breathing. Any breathing is good breathing. Then, she lifted her head and arm. With that, Ben disappeared for the road and ski patrol.

The next half hour was the longest of my life. Shanna wasn't bleeding and she didn't show any signs of broken bones. Her helmet was cracked for six inches with wood embedded in holes on the other side. Her memory was spotty. She asked the same three questions every two minutes. What happened? What did I do wrong? Do I have all my teeth? Occasionally she'd ask about her board. She forgot who Ben was but knew her name and the names of those around her. After a few minutes, I decided to climb up hill and test cell phone service. I was able to get through to 911 and instruct them to my whereabouts. I don't know if Ben got to ski patrol first, but eventually they appeared atop the ridge. They made their way to me and then down to Shanna. To cut this story short, Shanna got a toboggan ride to the road followed by an ambulance ride back to Ogden. She was treated and released with a moderate concussion. She regained most of her memory, but still has a few hours missing. The GoPro footage filled in a little of that. Without her helmet, well, the scene would have been entirely different and grotesquely worse. Pain killers and no more riding for at least 10 days. Shanna's riding this trip was over. Without a helmet, her life may have been over. Maybe I'll put that GoPro footage up sometime.

Aspen-induced helmet break

That didn't stop us from putting rubber to road with Driggs, Idaho on our minds. Shanna finally got the nap she needed. A palatial rental cabin with Teton views and hot tub was just what everyone needed. We took the next day off as Grand Targhee hadn't gotten fresh snow and was alternating from 20s overnight to 40s during the day. A little day-drinking, a little tubbing, some napping and kingly eating pressed the 'reset' button. Shanna remained drowsy and dizzy. That didn't stop her from checking out the Tetons when they finally popped. With a little lift from a friend.

Drunks shouldn't give the concussed piggy-back rides.

Targhee was gaper day. Ben rocks the same one-piece that Renee Renee wore in the DC Mountain Lab movie. Highlighter yellow. Plus a fanny pack, three bandanas and a gold-painted helmet. Good looks. He lent me a pink bandana for some flair. Transitional spring riding. Hard and fast in the morning, soft and slow by 2. Beers and nacho fries. Summary:

Gaper crew

The last stop was Montana. At least the sunny warm days made for easy driving and great scenery. No unscheduled stops for deer or bison on the roadway. Just mountains, sky, trees and that big sky.

The snow at Big Sky Resort was the same roll of the dice as Targhee. For a couple hours the snow was just right to rip. Before that, death's glaze; afterward, quicksand. Cold Smoke beers, Yeti Dogs, back to the condo for hot tubbing, then Thai food and the first birthday of the trip.

Lone Mountain, home of Big Sky and Moonlight Basin

Moonlight Basin replay the next day. Plus some views of the Freeskiing World Tour qualifier. Bombing, hucking, spinning, cheering. Clueless announcers, sunbathing cougars. Everyone loves backflips. Then straight to the Broken Heart smoke shack. I can't tell you where it is, but it was the best view I've ever had whilst taking a leak. That was the ender-ender. No more injuries. Chocolate cake for the second burfday. Cholula does not make cake taste better. Lemonade Mike and Ikes make everything better. Never did get that Graham Slam ice cream. Always a reason to go back. That and the peak tram at Big Sky.

Suave on the road

Long trip back to SLC. Utah is not a lotto state. Idaho is. Border village looked like the carnival was in town so many people at the gas station buying tickets. Little person biker sighted. Wind howling like Ozzy circa 1983. Terrain looking like North Dakota plus volcanic substrate. Giant lake plus salt. Giant air vehicles once brought us together, now bring us home.

Demo-lition

noreply@blogger.com (BoredYak) — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 03:01:00 +0000

Sunday's demo day had a huge turnout. The line for paperwork could have easily been confused for the line for some hot band's autograph signing, perhaps Ween. For good reason, too. This was easily the biggest demo day Meadows has hosted. About 10 snowboard companies were on hand (and as many ski brands) with boards and bindings and wait times for all but the hottest boards (GNU Impossible, Never Summer Cobra) were minuscule.

I put the screws to five new boards. Many of them were similar in the all-mountain freestyle category, but all had their pros and cons (that pun will hit you in a second here). I got on the following boards, in chronological order - all 2013 models - Lib Tech's C3 Jamie Lynn (back to camber-dominant, banana-submissive), Salomon's Man Board (camber profile, radial sidecut, how old school), Ride's Berserker (Jake Blauvelt's narrow, directional destroyer), Burton's Con Artist (152cm micro pow shredder) and Never Summer's Proto CT (twin, all-mountain freestyle, rocker-camber). Full write-ups forthwith.

Meadows Demo Day Sunday

noreply@blogger.com (BoredYak) — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 05:44:00 +0000

Ever wonder how I ride all the latest snowboards before they're even on store shelves? Seriously!? It's all about demo days at my local resorts. These days you can try out boards as fast as you can switch your bindings. All for free! This Sunday (3/18) the Northwest Demo Tour hits Mt. Hood Meadows. Get there by 9am for first shot at more boards than a lumber yard. Rapid fire you're way through a dozen boards or pick one and give it a good thrashing. Reps will be on hand from K2, Capita, Never Summer, Lib Tech, Gnu, Arbor and maybe some more if you're lucky. Be sure to bring your own boots, though. Full details at Mt. Hood Meadows' site.

Ben Beavon BEN-efit Party

noreply@blogger.com (BoredYak) — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 05:23:00 +0000

Another story about a local shred who got broke off. Let's help him out. You want to drink on St. Patty's Day anyway, right? I don't even know this guy, but it could easily be me. He broke his leg and needed an heli-lift to safety. Why not drop a couple bucks, buy a raffle ticket or two and get this guy out of his wheelchair and back up on a snowboard. For all the details, check Crack Grease Wax.

Mt. Hood Spring Passes Looking to Offer Good Value

noreply@blogger.com (BoredYak) — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 03:05:00 +0000

If somehow you were able to wait out the season, through the positively paltry December, January and February snowfall and arrive in March with a couple hundred bucks saved, well, good job. Mt. Hood will reward you now. Meadows is offering a spring pass for $149 and Timberline is running theirs out at just $110. At these prices, two trips is the break-even point either way. I'm a Meadows season pass holder and I might just get a Timberline spring pass for the longer season and better park action. Meadows has the Pond Skim coming up as well as a demo day. Don't forget about the Bonezone Banked Slalom at Timberline. Either way, the season is just getting started, so you can't lose.

Gear Review: 2012 Homeschool Snowboarding Line Up 2.5L Shell Pant Review

noreply@blogger.com (BoredYak) — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 21:27:00 +0000

Homeschool Snowboarding - check out these legs

First off, his is the same shell material as the With Teeth 2.5L shell jacket I reviewed a little while back, so I'm not going to repeat a bunch of that info here. Check out the first few paragraphs of that review for the goods on the fabric. Synopsis: Cocona Xcelerator technology for xtreme breathability and great water resistance in a supple fabric with a comfortable cut. No insulation, so be sure to layer up. Now, let's get to the pant specifics.

Mmm... kibbles

The first thing I noticed about these pants was that thing on the right leg. They call it the Homeschool accessory holster and you can be skeptical all you want. I was. "I'm never gonna use it and it's gonna snag a tree branch and turn my new pants into basketball-warmup-style tear-aways," I said to no one in particular. Never happened. Turns out I actually use the thing. Every time. My gloves go straight in there whenever I take them off. They're easier to get at there than in a pocket, but still secure enough that they won't fall into the urinal.

What about the rest of the pockets? Homeschool went with one back pocket on this pant. In reality, 'zero' is the correct number. Maybe some fake pockets back there so it looks normal, but back pockets on snowboard pants are terrible. I never use them. Too much chairlift time (most shocking stat from Alpine Replay). While we're on negatives, the cargo pocket on the left leg is poorly placed. Whatever you put in it falls squarely on your knee. I never use it. Then again, I never need to. The two hip pockets are plenty.

A note on fit, the 'Homeschool Engineered Fit' is neither loose nor baggy. I clock in at a 33-inch waist and 32-inch inseam and went with the medium. It fits as advertised. The waist has an adjustable inner velcro belt to tighten things as needed. Want ball-flattering tightness or gun-smuggling sag? Size up or down, use the belt or a sewing machine.

Other details include zippered ghetto slits with snap-adjustable boot gaiters, full seam taping, mesh-backed inseam vents and some subtle yet stylish logo hits including a lift ticket 'ring.' The jacket to pant 'interface' is of the 'loop and snap' variety, so they include extra loops below the belt loops for that. Like I said in the jacket review, good but not great.

These pants have given me zero problems this year, but at a retail price of $225, you might want assurance that they'll last a few years before you swipe that MasterCard. Unfortunately, that's something I can't give you. I've only ridden these pants about 15 days at this point. They still look like new. They still perform like new. Their longevity will play out over the coming years. For now, I can only give my recommendation. Give Homeschool a chance. Discover what real breathability feels like on a garment designed by Northwestern snowboarders.

Check back for long-term updates in the "My Gear This Year" series to see how these and other products hold up to Father Time.

3rd Rail Jam Coming to Meadows

noreply@blogger.com (BoredYak) — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 01:00:00 +0000

3rdrailjam.com

Looks like a non-scaffolding rail jam. Winner-take-all? Graffiti artists and DJs? Everyone gets a free Kangol? They better sign up some breakdancers quick for the full hip hop effect. Saturday, February 25. Get to Meadows' site for the 411.

Mt. Hood Meadows Announces Spring Pass Dates and Dollars

noreply@blogger.com (BoredYak) — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 19:38:00 +0000

Maybe the snow will come in the spring. It can't just not snow this 'winter,' right? That in mind, Meadows is offering a $149 unlimited spring pass good from March 12 until the lifts stop turning. That should give you two months. If you buy before then, you get $20 midweek lift tickets until March 9. You really only need to ride three times to make that a good deal.

Gear Review: 2012 Homeschool Snowboarding With Teeth 2.5L Shell Jacket Review

noreply@blogger.com (BoredYak) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 06:30:00 +0000

Portland, Oregon is home to a new outerwear company in Homeschool Snowboarding and they are out to refocus the game. Ultimate breathability folks, pay attention. You sweat, it condenses inside your gear, you get wet from the inside out. When it isn't even raining or snowing or maybe even wet outside at all. You're sweating, so you stay wet. Garbage bags are water-resistant, but we can do better. Enter Cocona xcelerator technology. Activated carbon from coconut fibers. You need to keep the kit in a locked briefcase. I don't understand it, they do. End of the day, hyper-breathable and still water resistant. Now on to the real jacket.

The hood actually works OK over my XL dome-piece.

First off, the breathability listed at 30,000gm performs as advertised. I wouldn't advise playing a basketball game in Death Valley in it, but for snowboarding and related exercise (hiking to your favorite spot) it shines. On New Year's Day, I hiked out Mt. Baker's Shuksan Arm to Safety Ridge in conditions that would normally have me in just a base layer. The With Teeth jacket (vents fully open, of course) was up to the test more than my hungover head and gut were. The only thing I could compare it to is my Volcom Gore-Tex Soft Shell. It's close, but I give the edge to the Homeschool jacket. I might have to wear the Volcom again to compare. I haven't worn it all year.

Do me a favor, though, don't buy a jacket like this and wear cotton underneath. I know, not everyone has access to the full Cocona Continuum Trifecta (that's base, mid and shell layers). God knows, I wish I did. You're going to want to layer up, though. This is a shell, as in no insulation. Just be sure to get some wool or polypro. You can pick this stuff up second-hand at Goodwill or Army surplus joints anywhere. You sweat into cotton, it doesn't much matter what your shell is, you're going to be wearing your sweat far longer than is comfortable. Sorry for the rant, but cotton kills, remember?

The water resistance is rated at 10,000mm, not stratospheric by any stretch. The argument is that unless you're drinking from a fire hydrant, you don't need anything more. In fact, more would sacrifice breathability and we'd be back to that Hefty bag scenario. In my days with this jacket, I would agree. It's seen plenty of wet northwest conditions and I've never felt better. Now, water doesn't always bead right off. Sometimes it looks like it's seeping, but like I said, I've never gotten wet. This is a 2.5L jacket. Good enough for Mt. Hood this winter (more rain than snow) should be good enough for anywhere.

The company calls their fit the "Homeschool Engineered Fit." It's not tight or flattering, but it's not baggy either. Sorry ladies, no women's-specific cuts. I measure a 29 1/4" sleeve and a 38" chest and went with the large size. Partly because I like my jackets a little bigger and partly because this one doesn't have wrist gaiters and I have to run the cuff straps over the thumb to keep things dry. This takes some effective length from the sleeve.

I would still like a wrist gaiter on every jacket.

How about that hood so prominently displayed in the top picture? Homeschool calls it the Darth (wind) Hater. It's adjustable via three elastic tabs ( two side, one rear). The front zipper comes to your lower lip and the panels on the sides come to the bottom of your goggles. Ideally, all you have to worry about are your nose and lips. I rarely use hoods, but this is the best I've seen. A smear of your favorite weather proofing on nose and lip (I use Dermatone) and you're invisible to the elements.

Up until now I've been pretty positive, but it's not all powder days and sun rays in this jacket. The front zipper is a big and burly Riri Aquazip, that's great. Why then do you need an inside storm flap and a 3/4-length outside flap for it to get caught on (which it does every time)? I say get rid of the inner flap, which is usually the culprit, and keep the outer which gives you the option to throw the coat on with just a couple snaps and the central, magnetic closure.

I'd like a better powder skirt. Homeschool uses the snaps, which are good, but there must be a better fix. Just because I like my jacket a little bigger shouldn't mean my powder skirt works worse, which seems to be the case now. I hate the fact that the zippered skirt is patented, but if you put the loops for the snaps a little lower on the pant, that would be a good start.

That's it, kids. That's all for the negatives. Snaggy zipper, good-but-not-great pow skirt and no wrist gaiters. Can you live with that? Are you OK with no flashy color options? If so, you get a long list of benefits. Breathable, water resistant and still supple fabric. The best hood in the game. Well thought-out pockets including a chest media pocket, a clear pass pocket and magnetic closures on the waist pockets. A Recco reflector. Mesh-backed pit zips. Fully-taped seams and mesh lining. All with a clean cut and subtle styling. No neon outside, but the print inside shows some classy flair.

Durability is always a question in a quick review like this one. The With Teeth retails at $325. For that price, I want a jacket that will last a few years. Here it is mid-February on an off snow year. I've taken it through the trees a bit and taken some good spills in it and it hasn't shown any wear yet. Whether it holds up for years to come will be revealed in the years to come. For now I can only say that I recommend giving Homeschool Snowboarding and the With Teeth jacket a chance.

Check back later for long-range updates in the 'My Gear This Year' series as the years go by.

Double Helicopter

noreply@blogger.com (BoredYak) — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 01:08:00 +0000

BOOM!

Thanks to A Man and Ft. Lewis for making this otherwise military people-killer into something of a punchline. If you don't know you better axe somebody. And I didn't download the damn video, so I can't show you if you axe me.

27th Baker Banked: Another Legend

noreply@blogger.com (BoredYak) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 07:54:00 +0000

Yup, last one to the party, no doubt, with the 27th Annual Legendary Baker Banked Slalom info. Had to make the haul down I-5 yesterday with some stops. Then, crashed out early because today was a powder day at Meadows. Who'da thunk? That crazy ice layer is still lurking, though. Tripping heel edges you thought were going to spray powder all over the free world. Serious damage done today. In a real way. To my meat box. Not some metaphorical 'destruction.' I feel broken. Enough about me, though, things got legendary over the weekend. Let me tell you what eye saw.

Saturday. Hard to get motivated when it's been raining all week. More on that later. Managed to get down there and check out the race. Even demoed some gear: Jones Hovercraft, Yes Pick Your Line and Now IPO bindings. All good in different ways. You will hear more, but here's the teaser.

2013 Yes Pick Your Line

2013 Jones Hovercraft and Mountain Twin flanked by Yes men

JF Pelchat sets me up with the Now IPO.

Mervin boards I didn't ride. Look for C3 BTX next year.

What about the race? I watched a few folks from the top and a few from the middle. Not much middle ground as far as the race. Folks were either slaying or getting bucked. Gnarly-ass course. Makes me wonder whether I really want to get accepted to ride in it. Gwyn Howat said that for the first time ever some of the banks were over her head. And she's no pixie at six feet tall. Another first, mid-week the course was an icy mogul field and the crew was praying for rain. You read that right. They can't just power-till the course, so the only natural cure would be the four-letter word we usually curse. It came. Course softened. What could have been a bobsled track got downgraded to 'challenging.' Thank the rain. Ha. Just make sure it knows its place. For example, don't rain on the salmon feed/handplant contest. Thank you.

Who is this, Marben? Where's the light from, God?

So much food they were giving it away at the end.

The grindage up top was looking tasty, too.

Sunday Finals. No demos as my crew again lacked motivation and the demo tents were packing up early. I did get a glimpse of some pro men's runs and some groms' after them. Let me tell you something, it's easy to appreciate video-part-quality snowboarding when it's on a screen in front of you, but it's even easier to appreciate when it's carving down a hill in front of you. Professional athletes on a closed course. Sit back and watch. If you can't watch Josh Dirksen take his LBS turns and aspire to replicate them, you're either Terje or you're numb. Not everyone films a three-minute shred-porn section every year, but, much like REM said, everybody turns. Sometime. Still, no one ever says, "I want to turn like Josh Dirksen." Well, I do. Maybe next year I'll ask all the micro-groms who their favorite riders are. I will take special note of those who respond with Dirka-Dirka-San. All that said, this is a results-based game, no one cares what you look like, you gotta WIN! Overheard in the lodge before the awards, "Dirksen has all the qualities you envy in a person except the ability to win." I should have asked that dude his name, I'd love to have an attribution for that. You know who you are, third floor of the lodge around 4pm. Of course he goes on to take second AGAIN. Maybe he just knows that silver is the only real duct tape color. Everything else is an impostor. Who would want that? Temple Cummins came in third because the only place he ever lands at this event is on the podium. Terje won because he's that good. He had to bounce to Norway and the World Snowboard Championships before the awards, though, because he's in demand. And because he's that good.

Scotty Wittlake praying

Scotty Wittlake slaying

Another special moment for me that day was Kevin Pearce's presence. What can you say? Has a time ever mattered less? Kevin looked more stoked than anyone at the awards ceremony. What an inspiration to anyone who's ever had to come back from a serious injury. Traumatic brain injury to gnarly banked turns in a couple years. Ending in Banked Slalom entries for life. See you next year, Kev. Wear your helmets, kids.

Watching Milo Malkoski race and win his first gold was pretty cool, too. You can read all about it on his proud pop's blog. What he won't tell you is that dad was pacing/racing Milo down the first half of the course. Talk about a stoked dad. Milo's time was just a little slower than the old man's, too. What does he get when he finally beats you, Johan?

Who says the groms don't take it seriously?

Hearing the crowd go nuts when someone from Glacier wins is amazing. Makes me wish I could have been there when Lucas DeBari won in 2007. Must have been off the meter. My first year was 2008, when Temple won it and I thought that crowd was nuts. I couldn't even hear Danielle Davis's name getting called this year. And this wasn't her first win. Glacier loves its own.

Sarah Taylor, "I get second every six years: 2000, 2006 and 2012."

Maelle Ricker owns the women's pro division. This year marked her sixth win in a row. And she won by almost five seconds. She also wrecked into the fence in her second finals run. Like a true pro, she unstrapped, hiked up around the gate, took a bow, buckled back in and finished her run without a DQ. Is the mark of a pro the flawless winning time or the unwillingness to give up?

That quote sums it up.

Finally, I just can't top Baker for getting together with all my shred buddies. I have quite a few that I only see there. I wish I could see them more often, and I wish I'd stop missing some even there, but as long as the Legendary Banked Slalom goes down, at least I'll know where they'll be for that one weekend in February. You guys know who you are. See you next year!

Mt. Hood Meadows Chairway 2 Heaven, Sunday

noreply@blogger.com (BoredYak) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 05:49:00 +0000

Yes, CHAIRway. Apologies to Led Zeppelin. Here's the deal, speed dating on Meadows' Blue chair. If you know anything about this chairlift, you know 'speed' isn't usually anywhere in the mix. It's a nine-minute ride barring any slowing or stoping, which usually happens due to the exit ramp being among the gnarliest lines on the entire mountain.

Anyway, the lift lines are split into one line for ladies and one line for fellas. I guess it's hetero only, look, I don't make the rules. You get nine minutes to get to know one another and then decide. Did he blow you away with his use of 'bro' as almost every word in a sentence? Did she flawlessly navigate that dicey exit ramp? Perhaps it was meant to be. Make your way to the 'Meadows Mingle' near the bottom of the lift for some mellow tunes from Barry White or Luther Vandross while feeding each other chocolate-covered strawberries by the fire pit.

Take a long walk on the beach over to Mt. Hood Meadows' website for full details.

The Winter Beard

noreply@blogger.com (BoredYak) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 20:07:00 +0000

This is a winter beard. I haven't touched it since Thanksgiving, except some mustache trimming, so I can eat respectably. Contrary to the belief of my snow buddies, this is not a year 'round feat of facial hair. Plenty of folks wouldn't even recognize me in the summer months. When that thing goes so goes 10 years from my face.

Right now is supposed to be mid-winter. I should be in mid-season form. Instead, Mt. Hood has less than a third of it's normal snow. I've ridden so little, my legs are atrophying. The sun is shining on Portland so much that folks are sporting flip-flops and tank tops. Meanwhile, I have to check the address on my mail to make sure I'm in the right town.

This is Portland. In February. The trees are starting to bud out! Flowers are popping up thinking it's April already.

Why bring up the beard? I'm holding it hostage. If it doesn't snow another foot at Meadows by the time I get back from the Baker Banked Slalom (check my twitter @Boredyak for updates and results), I'm shaving that thing off. I must admit, I've already had to trim it because of a bald spot that developed from my constant fidgeting and plucking.

You hear that, snow!? Show yourself or the beard gets it!

This beard is for you, snow! A token of my respect for your ability to chill my chin. Regardless, your seasonal visits and their resultant mounds of fluff always bring me joy. What now? Now you only come around every once in a while. Where's the joy in rain? I drive for hours to get to where the rain turns to snow. Now that place is getting farther and farther away. Mountains are no place for rain. No one ever made rain angels.

Board Exam: 2011/2012 Lib Tech Travis Rice Limited Edition Snowboard Review

noreply@blogger.com (BoredYak) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 06:43:00 +0000

What the rep said: All-mountain freestyle; mellow magnetraction; C2 power banana for better edge hold, stability and pop; true twin shape

Stats/Setup: I checked in at 6'1" (1.85m) and 170 pounds (77.3kg) when I rode the Travis Rice Limited Edition in a 157 with Salomon Dialogue Boots (size 9.5) and some old Technine MFM Pro bindings at Mt. Bachelor, Oregon. Count the prepositions in that sentence.

Conditions: Hardpack, ice, some slush

Check out Lib-Tech's site for the goods

First impression: Dig that limited edition Art of Flight graphic by Mike Parillo

The Ride: A nice deep sidecut has the T.Rice going edge-to-edge like a tweaker standing on a rocking chair. When the turns open up, the mellow magnetraction shines. It's not as aggressive as the MTX found on some of Mervin's other boards, but it will hold on even when you're carving like a Euro hardbooter. I don't know exactly which boards have which version of magnetraction, but my guess is the deeper the sidecut the less need for a deep magnetraction. It works for this board anyway. It charges hard and holds on tight.

Another shining area is the stability. Even at 157 when I'm used to something longer, I was comfortable at speed, through chop and falling off stumps and jumps. This is a damp board that likes speed and likes a challenge.

The pop was pretty good. I've found Lib's C2 poppier than full rocker (or their earlier BTX), but not as poppy as full camber. This is to be expected as it has rocker between the feet, but camber to the contact points. The C2 does give you that little bit of buttery flex advantage over camber, though, for those who like to get your press on.

Bottom Line: It's not going to get you into a helicopter followed by a helicopter all by itself, but it can do everything else. In general, a hell of a lot of fun to ride. I wish I could've ridden the 161 and ridden it in a wider variety of conditions because this seems like a great all-mountain freestyle board.

Similar Boards: My Never Summer SL-R

Bonus Package: As a bonus to the Limited Edition board, the LE package includes The Art of Flight book, DVD and Blu-Ray all in a collector's edition box. It's a rad little package that I paid $80 for. Check it.

The art of book, Field Notes for scale

What's inside

The collector's edition, pop-up box