The STW Ski and Snowboard thread – 2011/2 Edition

well in 17 years of riding I can confirm taht I have broken all sorts of kit including several pairs of flows. They are also a pain in teh arse to get off if you fall in powder admittedly this has been resolved with the addition of normal straps…

And as for the weight yes it matters… of course it matters.

I can strap in my conventional straps while moving, and 5 miinutes to do up binders? mind you I am sick and also gnarly.

@ grahamS K2 autos are different though, they are a conventional binder with an innovative strap mechanism and yes they’re bloody good as they’re not the cinch 😉

Whereabouts, Digby? I REALLY want to visit Lofoten and the Lyngen Alps

Off to Lyngen Alps … and really looking forward to it as I’ve never been to Scandinavia before!

Need to crank up the exercise routine abit though over the next few months to try ensure I’m in ok condition … I’m not getting any younger!

No trip booked yet but I will be going on at least one, probably Alps.
Got a K2 Slayblade year before last, which is amazing and has plenty of life left so no new stick for me.
Need a new helmet, probably a get a smith variant brim. And fancy some ski boots (Salomon) as I ventured back onto 2 planks last year and loved it – planning to split my time between skiing and snowboarding this year.
No other new gear for me.

Flows: quicker; yes (can clip in while moving)

No problem doing that with Autos.

The thing I never liked about Flows (apart from the fact that they used to be very heavy and didn’t flexed like a brick) is that they may be great to slip into on a nice shallow bit of piste, but it always struck me that they’d really suck in deep powder when you can’t even see your feet or on icy steep stuff when you can’t put the board flat.

@ grahamS K2 autos are different though, they are a conventional binder with an innovative strap mechanism and yes they’re bloody good as they’re not the cinch

They really come into their own at the snowdomes or on the short UK pistes. Less time strapping in/out equals more time playing.

@Graham two posts before you dude… 😉

I bet there isn’t much in it dude, i ride with a couple of teh UK K2 team, I can strap in pretty much as quick as them using unions and they have auto evers.

I bet there isn’t much in it dude, i ride with a couple of teh UK K2 team

Maybe not for you, but I’m an old, creaky fat git that struggles to reach his toes without sitting down (and even then!) 😀

Obviously singletrackers will be far too awesome to be sitting in the crowds of snowboarders at the top of each lift straping in 😕

Obviously singletrackers will be far too awesome to be sitting in the crowds of snowboarders at the top of each lift straping in

I just tend to ski straight past them. 🙂

Obviously singletrackers will be far too awesome to be sitting in the crowds of snowboarders at the top of each lift straping in

Nothing wrong with sitting about. We do it all the time when boarding as our pace these days is a bit more “relaxed” and typically involves looking at the view, and frequent beer/cake stops. 🙂

But we usually ride with skiers, so I don’t want to sit about holding them up at the top of the lift.

Anyone know if Alpine Elements are any good for holidays?

Looking at booking for eight and they have good offers in Tignes! 🙂

Nothing wrong with sitting about.

I’m normally doing such rad stuff a few minutes later, that I need to have a moment of sitting about to consider my next sequence.

In reality, I have the same attitude as Gee-to-the-power-of-S though. 🙂

Y’knowzit doubleD 😀

Digby, Who are you staying with? What made you go with them? Self guided or guided? I’m assuming 100% touring? Breathtakingly expensive? 🙂

I really appreciate some pointers if you don’t mind. I’m definitely going in the year or 3. email in profile if you’d prefer. Thanks!

SteezyDarcy. 8)

I will mostly be putting in the 45 min drive to Glenshee with Eldest, of maybe the 1.5hrs to Cairngorm 😀 . Lots of snow days would be handy again. I mostly boarded last year in Glenshee as my eldest was learning to ski, and the powder in Glenshee was as good as anything I had experienced in Italy or France. (Never thought I would say that)

I also tend to board with skiers hence why flows are an advantage, I can be strapped in and ready while they’re still banging the snow off their bindings.

the powder in Glenshee was as good as anything I had experienced in Italy or France. (Never thought I would say that)

Glenshee can be amazing, particularly when Glas Maol is fully open and all the noobs are sticking to Sunnyside.

I also tend to board with skiers hence why flows are an advantage, I can be strapped in and ready while they’re still banging the snow off their bindings.

So no problems in deep pow or on steep ice as me an rizla suggested?

It’s been a few years since I looked at Flows seriously. I actually used to have Switch step-ins back in the day and I loved them – but I wouldn’t go back now.

@ raymond are they flows? or are they cinch or something similar I only knew they were rear entry binders because of teh high back clip and the wire…

in the last few years flows have gone from strength to strength with materials and weight but they’re still awkward for the riding i do.

But if that wire fails (which i have experienced in the past)you are screwed… If a strap fails you can still ride home.

Any opinions on Alpine Elements?

@nedrapier

More than happy to share info.

You are right – it’s absolutely eye-wateringly expensive! Staying at Lyngen Lodge, but doing the trip as part of a ‘McNab Expedition’ with Neil McNab (http://www.mcnabsnowboarding.com

I’ve done quite a few backcountry trips with McNab in the past and can highly recommended them if snowboarding is your thing.

It’s all guided touring either directly from the Lodge or using a boat to navigate the Fjords.

I doubt I’ll get an opportunity to do anything like this again, so I’m looking at it as a ‘once in a lifetime’ trip.

Happy to provide more info if you want and let you know what it was like when I’ve been!

Darcy, http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=27550

Doesn’t look too promising….

@ digby… that sounds unreal!

Digby: that looks awesome! What sort of boarding level and fitness do you need to do that kind of thing?

Awesome! Nearly went to Greenland with him last year, but found another way. Don’t know if I would have had a better time on his trip or not, but the report looked amazing.

Just read the “once in a lifetime” bit. I’m finding that opportunities to go on once in a lifetime trips come up quite often! It’s a slippery slope: once you’ve bought all the kit, it gets cheaper every time!

I would avoid Alpine Elements and Crystal/Thomson, they can be good, but they can also be absolutely woeful.

On step-ins for snowboarding, I’ve never liked them, it takes 10 or 15 seconds to strap in at the top of a lift, not a big deal really.

My advice would be don’t skimp on the fitness. Do everything you can! loads of biking. You might be able to get by with less, but I reckon it’s a totally open ended relationship: more fitness = more comfortable skinning, less sweat, more time at the top waiting for the last in the group, more scenery gazing and more photos, less deterioration of technique, more fun on the downs, more runs, less pain in the morning…

And from what I’ve heard and read, if someone’s fit for another run, Neil will go! May as well be you!

And I want to see the photos!

@GrahamS

Quoting from the McNab website:

“Technical ability levels are scored on a scale of 1 to 6 where 1 is a beginner with little or no experience (up to 3 days) and 6 is someone very experienced and able to perform at the highest level, anywhere on the mountain.

Fitness is also graded on a scale of 1 to 6 where 1 is a person with a very basic fitness level and 6 represents someone with a very high level of fitness”

The Norway trip is graded 5 in terms of both technical ability and fitness … hence the need to do some work on my fitness particularly CV fitness!

I’ve only been riding for 9 years but I did learn to ride [properly] with Neil McNab as I had some shocking bad habits at first – then did a season four years ago and have spent a month riding in Canada every year for the past few years as well as a few backcountry trips in the Alps, so I’m really hoping I can make the most of the experience!

@nedrapier

Yeah … I know what you mean about the ‘once in a lifetime’ recurring theme – I said that when I was about to do a season a few years ago! just one more hit! 🙂

Thanks for the fitness tips. Greatly appreciated! 🙂

What was your Greenland trip like? Would like to hear about it. I know a couple of guys who went with Neil last year on his Greenland trip and they said it was an amazing experience!

Circuit training is pretty good for ski-touring type fitness. If you cycle a fair amount your endurance should be decent, circuits will increase your core strength and balance and get you used to breathing out of your rear end and recovering quickly.

Cheers Digby. I read the site, but I wondered how that compared to the actual courses.

I’ve been boarding since the late 90’s ( 😯 ) but typically only a week or two a year. I’ve never had any lessons, so I probably have shocking technique, but I can get down most runs and like messing about on (not very far) off-piste pow.

I guess I’m probably a 4 on Technical Ability and a 2 on fitness 😀

Hmmmmm…

On step-ins for snowboarding, I’ve never liked them, it takes 10 or 15 seconds to strap in at the top of a lift, not a big deal really.

Back when I had Switch step-ins I’d click-in while still on the drag then just ride away when I got to the top.

Yeah didn’t save much time, but it was just less faff and it was nice to breeze past everyone sat in the snow. Plus you always had the same tension/feel rather than starting a run and then realising your strap isn’t quite as tight/loose as last time.

But yeah, now I’ve gone to softer boots and Autos I wouldn’t go back.

@GrahamS

The McNab courses are pretty demanding for sure – I did the splitboard touring course last year and although I was riding & hiking in Fernie for a month before I went to Chamonix, the hikes at altitude still hurt as nothing can prepare you for altitude like altitude and Fernie is pretty low in comparison.

However this shouldn’t be a problem in Norway! 🙂

I can definitely recommend the McNab tech-clinics if you fancy working on your off-piste technique etc.

Digby: sounds like I’m probably a step or two away from that. Especially in fitness 😳 I should probably take some intermediate lessons on holiday some time, but it always seems like such a waste of chill out time with my friends.

Digby: it was frickin ay-mayzing! Amazing snow, a few of the runs are collectively up there in my top 3 powder days ever. The trip had pretty much everything you’d want/expect from a polar trip: Terrible weather, delayed flights (great couple of days in Iceland!) skidoo rides, arctic hares, fox prints, polar bear approach (flares, rifle, track following to make sure it had gone), tent bound storm days, low viz gps tours, sunset whisky and powder turns at 11pm. First ascents, first descents, incredible pow, nadgery couloirs, windlip hucking, heart in mouth blind rolls, sluff (thankfully very stable generally, just 2″ of slow moving corn over crust, on the very last run of the trip!)

Still haven’t got round to whittling the photo’s down to something manageable – we started at over 2000 bewtween the 4 of us!

Val d’Isere for a week in early January with a large group. Should be fun if I can get some work in to pay for it.

@nedrapier

Wow … that does indeed sound like a absolutely fantastic trip!

Loving the comma separated synopsis! Trips like that aren’t just about the riding are they – it’s the whole experience!

And whilst I’d love to see a Polar bear, I’d be soiling myself if one came anywhere near camp! 😳

Would be good to see some of the photos if you ever get round to sorting through them!

digby, how are you set for bindings? I’ve got a spare set of Spark Ignition IIs with Mr Chomp crampons if you’re interested?

either way, ping me an email, I’ll let you know if when(!) I put a trip report up on splitboard.com Be good to hear about Fernie too, I’ve got few friends out there.

On the subject of Fernie, if anyone is looking for accommodation then I HIGHLY recommend giving Susan at http://www.canadianpowdertours.com/thechalet.html a go. Best catered chalet we’ve ever stayed in. Great atmosphere and amazing food.