Snow Sports and/or Surfing

OK smartass, I actually DID ride my bike yesterday - on dirt even. I rode my surfboard-rack-equipped Specialized to and from the surf break. I was one of three pedal bikes of over 30 bikes I saw or encountered at Trestles. So yes, I pushed the pedals. Probably a full 100 vertical feet of climbing.

 

See? Works great.

 

Snow summit was awesome for me, not so awesome for many others. Got to the remote lot with 40 minutes to first chair. For how screwed up the traffic on Summit Blvd was, the shuttle driver let us get out and walk the last block. But it was fine really, was on the lift just in time for the first chair folks to be coming back down. Went straight to Chair 7, did a dozen laps, and left after the lift line went from zero to two chairs. Got back to my car at 11, this was waiting for my bus to arrive—hopefully these folks get a couple runs in before the night session ends:

I was wondering why my laps were so empty when the lot was such a zoo. Talking to the bus driver, Alterra outsourced the driving to Mountain Transit, and the Sheriff declined to help with traffic, so the parking lot is apparently being organized by the local cannabis cooperative.

 

Our local resort, China Peak, has been bought my the group that owns Mountain High and Dodge Ridge.
Deal was finalized earlier this month.
I hope this is a good thing.

 

Both the new and old owners were interviewed on The Storm podcast. Both seem like relatively upstanding folks. The buyer got an investment group from Chicago to pitch in. More money is probably a good thing.

Other than sharing a season pass, I bet not much changes.

 

Looks like it's either going to snow a lot over the weekend locally, or rain a lot. I know what I am hoping for!

Either 1-2" of snow or 12-20". What a difference a couple of degrees makes!

 

Glad you got in for the window you did. I still don't have a clue why people would want to make the challenging drive, just to get stuck in a clusterfuck of lines and traffic for a mediocre ski hill and crappy snow.

But on behalf of those of us at Mt. High, I'm sure glad they do!

 

And the people were still coming!

Plan was to go Friday but I had a work thing. After today Bear should have chairs 4 & 8 open, which make the Friday trips far more worthwhile.

Adding China Peak to the Mt High pass ups the attractiveness for my family, as CP is the closest hill to my daughter.

 

First snow trip in about 10 years, took it easy, had fun, played with the camera, left early to beat the mega storm.

 

The below pic is not a claim. I am not an expert, and this is not actually expert terrain. But it is me about to drop in on my first run of the season. Busy day in Mammoth for a Wednesday in mid December, but I suppose a couple big storms will do that. Drove up this morning and got to The Mill around 10am. Parking lot was full, but I entered just to turn around and park on the side of the road. Timed it just right to score an extra wide spot in the lot as someone left at the same time. First ride up chair 10 I had the chair to myself. Starting things off nicely.

Nice, firm, but very edgeable packed-powder snow. I wasn't in top form to say the least, but 1 day of snowboarding in the previous 3 seasons will have that effect. Did a couple runs and retreated to chair 12, which was empty as always. Much better snow, good side hits, and hiked someone else's boot pack for a few hundred feet to get about 4 legit turns of side-ish country untouched 2-day old pow, so I could at least say I made some powder turns on day 1.

Took chair 6 to get back to my car a the end of the day, and ran into pro snowboarder Zeb Powell at the top of the chair. We'd never met, but he's from my tiny home town, rode the same tiny hill that I grew up skiing on, and my parents are good friends with his. He was pretty shocked to meet someone from where we're from in Mammoth, and we had a brief but fun exchange.

Pretty nice start to the season. Think I'll head over to June tomorrow to dodge the crowds a bit.

 

I could hit that brown wood fence down below wtihout half trying. Even if I was trying to avoid it...

 

Day 2. Decided not to make the trek up the road to June in favor of more ride time. Hit Chair 2 at the opening bell. Mammoth felt surprisingly less crowded than yesterday, and the snow seemed slightly better. Found the groove early today, and rode much better than yesterday. Lapped my favorite old man jump that usually doesn't form until later in the season. Called it at noon as things started to get busier, and hit The Mill for some tri-tip chili before the trip home. Snowboards are fun.

 

Mt. High with Taylor (formerly @tbarnesarc) today. Beeeyoootiful weather and good snow.

15 runs for me including 9 runs on skis, 6 on snowboard. This includes a 30 minutes stop for lunch. Home by 3:30. 14,400 vertical feet.

I think the sign is a little ambitious at the moment...

 

"....may exist." That's how they stay relevant.

 

I haven’t snowboarded in 10-15 years. And can’t remember if I’ve gone since my oldest (Gavin)was born. Bought a season pass for the local resort (less than half an hour away). Went up today to see if I still remember how to slide. Strapping in for my first run and the rear ankle strap on the binding broke. FAK!! The toe strap was good enough to get down. I only took four runs with the bum binding. Enough to find the stoke. I’ll be back soon…with new binding straps!

 

Looks like a decent amount of snow - what ski area is that? Lee Canyon?

 

Not Lee Canyon, not Nevada. The resort is Cherry Peak in Richmond, Ut. I am now living in Preston, Id. which is about 25 mins away.

 

Got new board fever after last week's shenanigans, and felt like I could more or less justify it, having not purchased a new set up in several years. Strayed from my usual Never Summer patronage this time around, and went a little smaller than usual too. Capita Mercury 155 and a fresh set of Union Atlas. New gear is fun.

 

Hah! That's hilarious - my friend Taylor that I've posted about above got himself a new board in the off-season...

A Capita Mercury (160) - with Union Atlas bindings.

Oh - and he's a goofy footer too.

 

Nice, how does he like it? It was kind of a coin toss between that and the Black Snowboard Of Death. Atlas have been my go-to for years, but I haven't ridden this newest version. Haven't owned a Capita in over 10 years, but Never Summer isn't currently making the camber profile that I want.

 

He loves it - and in my opinion watching him ride his Capita Defenders of Awesome last year - the Mercury is a way better board for him. He seems more relaxed, making better turns. He's ridden it three times at mt. high on groomers. No jumps for Taylor these days (yet).

BTW - I absolutely LOVE my Never Summer Heritage. Short radius, long radius, hard snow, soft snow, fast, slow...it is the most adaptable board I can imagine.

 

Hmm wondered why my ears have been burning lately grampsAlot . In all honesty I think the DOA wasn't the issue but more to do with the union strata's being too soft for what I was use to "back in the day" . I like the Merc better regardless and thanks for the kind words. As far as jumps go, switch back rodeo 5 by the end of the season.

Probably a good call over the BSOD but people rave about it as well for big mountain riding. The Merc is a beast regardless. It's kind of like a DH bike in that once up to speed it really comes alive. It's stable as F to put it bluntly. I went Capita because of Blue Montgomery who was pro in my peak riding era. His Bomb Hole episode basically lit the fire to get back into boarding after an 18 year hiatus. I hope you enjoy the Merc as much as I do. Truly a riot to ride.

Edit: if you want some inspiration in regards to your purchase go look up Bahamas and Relapse by Beyond Medals on youtube. Kevin Backstrom has parts in both where he absolutely murders it on the Merc.

 

A visit by the man, the myth, the legend @tbarnesarc after a two year gap!

Don't be a stranger. The 10 remaining active members appreciate your input, banter and harassment!

 

Now that this is a snowboard forum, it’s gonna get huge.

 

Coincidentally I just listened to Blue's episode of Bomb Hole on my drive up to Mammoth last week, and it totally poured gas on the fire to buy a Capita. That episode was really compelling in many ways. That's awesome that it had such an effect on you!

I had a BSOD 12ish years ago, but it was a softer board then. I didn't love it. Your description of the Merc is exactly what I'm looking for, but also why I felt ok going a size smaller than I usually would. Granted I was probably always at the very bottom of the (taken with a grain of salt) weight range for the 157-159 boards I have tended to ride, and I've dropped about 10 pounds of muscle over the last 5 years. I'll definitely check out the vid you mentioned. I believe the Merc is what Arthur Longo rides as well, so I fully expect to be replicating Side Hit Euphoria next time I ride.

 

Yeah, Blue's episode was inspiring as you witnessed as well. One of those people you could just sit there and listen to all the time. They've had some pretty amazing episodes beyond his as I'm guessing you've heard/seen. KJ's was gold as to be expected but Danny Davis had my dying of laughter. Currently chipping away at T Ricky's over 5 hour episode. I'm still hoping they get Jamie Lynn, Guch and Terje at some point.

Sounds like you picked the right size Merc for your weigh then. I'm 225 and a size 12 boot so the 160W was the right call for the one board quiver. Those vids I mentioned are shot so well they're just a fun watch. I believe Longo rocks the Mega Merc from the clips I've seen? Same shape either way. He's amazing to watch ride isn't he. Pure creative genius on a board. Side Hit Euphoria is calling your name. Watched a couple of those a while back which are damn fun to view too.

 

.
So after years away, I rented a Burton Flight Attendant 155. Hows that compare to the boards you guys are riding? I know nothing about them these days!
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We seem to gravitate towards the same riders. I actually have Jamie & Guch art pieces prominently displayed in my home. I'm really just going through Bomb Hole as of recently. I involuntarily took almost 3 full seasons off of snowboarding due to ill-timed injuries, COVID, and a career change. I totally checked out from snowboard content during that time, and unfollowed anything snowboard related just to maintain my sanity. The T Rice episode will probably have to wait. I think he's a truly fascinating dude, but I've also realized that I like hearing other snowboarders talk about Travis much more than I like hearing Travis talk. Mark Carter's episode had some good Travis content. Currently listening to the Eddie Wall ep.

 

If it's in the same vein as it was when it first came out it's a stiff-ish, directional, tapered freeride board. So probably not super forgiving, but fast and stable.

 

To quote Ruth from Ozark "I don't know Sh!t about F@ck" But it looks like the Flight Attendant matched up with the Capita Mercury pretty well. Both are traditional camber boards that are directional, relatively stiff and intended for all mountain ripping. My Never Summer Heritage is a "rocker-camber" hybrid as opposed to traditional camber. What's that mean to all of you reading this who don't know camber?

Traditional camber (skis or snowboard) means that when the board/ski is resting flat on a surface, the base is raised in the middle, and only the areas under the tip and tail are touching the surface. Thus, when you step on it, the weight is distributed fore and aft to create full-length edge pressure when tipped over to the side in a carve.

Rocker means the tip and tail are actually off the surface when the ski or board are unweighted. This is for easy pivoting either for spinning on park features or riding deep/soft snow where carving turns is not the priority.

Rocker/Camber is a hybrid of both - usually rocker under the foot, but camber out at the tip and tail. Sounds horrible. Works well on snowboards. Never tried it on skis.