Notag

Cooler temps brought packed powder today. The big news is the kids did blacks today. AND one of the harder blacks at Afton. I think I was more nervous then the kids.

First run was pizza most of the way down. Each run afterward things changed from pizza to turns, to almost bombing the hill!

I officially let the kids do any run now that they want. There is nothing at Afton that is to hard for them now.

40F is just too warm for snowboarding. Vented and stripped down to just my shell and layer 1 I still was very hot. Wore my thinnest socks and got squishy boats. Nothing worse then having sweated so bad to make your boots squishy.

Snow was frosting. Lines are still short. Spent time on the greens working fakey and graduated to the blues and rode fakey with some comfortable.

Will be going with kids tomorrow. Looking forward to it.

Today the weather was much warmer. Almost 40F. That’s too hot. Snow was packed powder and creamy frosting.

Today was promised to kid #1. Of course there is a no fear here. From bombing the hill, to taking little jumps, to doing “tricks” kid #1’s enthusiasm is contagious.

Spent the whole day riding fakey. Great practice and makes the easier runs challenging.

Snow was slush, frosting, and packed powder. Still only 12 runs open. Nothing in the highlands are open yet.

Looking forward to going out this weekend too!

New boots came in on Friday. Drive to Tonka, slide on the boots, and walked around the store for 30m. Felt great. The idea of the new lace system is cool, but I wanted to field test them.

Saturday temp was on the low 30s, uppper 20s. Packed powder. 12 runs open. Was pumped about the bowl being open and 1 black. The new lace system really shines in the cold. You don’t have to take off your mittens, just tug, lock, and go.

Saturday it was just Leaf and I. Spent alot of time in the Bowl and on black run. Having a board that is more rigid really makes a difference in the chop. I’m still struggling with the extra 7cm on the new board, especially on a toe-side turn.

Not many people out. Lines were short. Ended the day with an hour or so riding fakey in the meadows.

First run of the 2008-2009 season was the bunny hill! Nothing else was open yet. It was crowded, the lines were long, but they moved fast.

Snow was packed powder (you excepted something else?) and the base was shallow, just a couple inches.

On side was “park” box slide, kinked rail, jump. Other side was just free ride.

New board performed well. I really like the performance. I had to adjust my turns to accommodate for the new board. Particularly the length (old board 151, new board 158).

Strap bindings feel great, but I’m slow to strap in. The quick step-in of the flows will be missed. But I love the light weight the strap bindings.

My boots still have not shown up, so I wore my old boots. They felt good but I’m looking forward to the new boots and that lacing system.

Can’t wait to hit the slopes this weekend.

Afton Alps opened Nov 30, 2007 for the 2007/2008 season.

Looks like they might open a little bit earlier this year.

Nov 11, 2008

I still don’t have my boots!

Currently making snow.

After Wednesday Afton will be open regular winter hours, weather permitting (if it rains our hours may change) Rates TBD.

Skiing & Snowboarding
Open daily Mon-Thurs: 9:30am to 9:30pm.
Fri, Sat & Holiday dates: 9am to 10pm, Sunday 9am to 9:30pm.

Khemisty writes “Back in grade school you were probably taught the importance of warm-up exercises, and it’s likely you’ve continued with pretty much the same routine ever since. Science, however, has moved on. Researchers now believe that some of the more entrenched elements of many athletes’ warm-up regimens are not only a waste of time but are actually bad for you. The old presumption that holding a stretch for 20 to 30 seconds — known as static stretching — primes muscles for a workout is dead wrong. It actually weakens them. In a recent study conducted at the University of Nevada, athletes generated less force from their leg muscles after static stretching than they did after not stretching at all. Other studies have found that this stretching decreases muscle strength by as much as 30 percent. Also, stretching one leg’s muscles can reduce strength in the other leg as well, probably because the central nervous system rebels against the movements.”

Read whole article here.

Next the bindings. The Triad EST. Went back to strap. Mostly for durability and part replacement. I love the Flows, but at Winter Park the lock broke and I could not find a replacement part. Strap parts? All over. Part replacement is important. I ended the season with a skate lace lashed to my board and foot.

Lastly boots. Ruler. Same make/model as my old boots, but the new lace system and inner boot system. Store only had 8.5 white, I need 9 and I want black. They are getting 2 more shipments of Burton gear over the next 2 weeks. They will call me when the boots come in.

My Burton Custom Motion final bit the dust. Nose of the board split deep. So, time for some new gear!

First the new board. The Burton Custom X 158. Slightly longer then my Motion, but I weigh more now. My weight pushed me to the next board size.

The Custom X is stiffer board then the Motion, but for chop snow, I suffered on my Motion. I wanted a stiffer board for carving and less chop.