wetline dave
Steelhead
Just curious as this is Swimmy's thread has anyone heard from him? or what is going on?
Dave
Dave
He told me he's taking a break from the forum.Just curious as this is Swimmy's thread has anyone heard from him? or what is going on?
Dave
I've noticed a few things in my personal journey through the different sports:
Tele: I started here, so it's my baseline. Even though I make probably 90%+ P turns on any given day, the "feel" of a tele turn done in the right snow conditions is super fun. Plus, shuffling/sidestepping around is so much easier. That being said, I've somewhat plateaued in my progression. I'm not going to start learning new tricks or getting extra gnarly because I'm older and don't bend anymore. I will also say that my switch from 75mm to NTN back in 2008 really saved my interest in tele. Better boots (which are now desperately obsolete compared to their AT counterparts) and bindings make for better skiing experiences for me.
Alpine: After a decade or so of freeheeling only, I figured I'd give alpine a shot. Sure, it's faster and more stable but it hurts a lot more when you crash, and I crashed a lot more since I was going faster and seemingly more stable until I was not! Plus, the stiffness was like riding a rigid bike again. While I still keep AT gear around for the rare occasion where super light and efficient is going to be the difference between success or failure, I rarely use it. In my experience, going from tele to alpine/AT made skiing less interesting. I'm never going to be a big trickster or huckster so for the things I do nowadays, I might as well be on tele gear.
Snowboard: This is a new thing for me in the last five seasons. Being based at Baker, there is no shortage of amazing snowboarders to watch and admire. Plus, as a longtime shitty surfer, I wanted to approximate that surfy feeling as best as I could. By my 10th day on a snowboard I could make the turns I've only dreamed of after 20 years of surfing, and I'm only getting better. I'm still ticking off "personal first snowboard descents" of lines I've skied hundreds of times, and there are plenty of lines that I know I'm not quite ready for. On a snowboard I'm seeing the progression that's been lacking in my skiing for a while.
There's a big difference in the way I look at the mountain depending on the gear on my feet. When I'm skiing, my lines are generally more fall line oriented, with terrain features playing less of a factor unless I'm aiming for airs. When I'm snowboarding I tend to draw out my lines much more and actively seek out terrain features to smash and slash.
I haven't gotten a chance to ride with Dano for a while but this vintage segment kind of sums it up for me. Schmidt is obviously THE MAN, but the lines Dano draws are unquestionably more "soul-y" to me. I can still spot his tuck-knee stance from a long ways away.
And then there's Austen. He's got to be my favorite snowboarder to watch:
As far as skiing goes, Markus Eder may have put together the best ski edit of all time with this:
I don't really have any big tele inspirations these days.
That’s really great to hear.It has been quite a winter so far in interior Norcal. Snow removal is no joke this year as is ice dam chopping. Skiing has been amazing!
I work for a non profit that built and runs back country ski huts and yesterday two of our guys went up to help the caretakers dig down to the chimneys!!
Check the date of my post. Did not mean to confuse you.I thought Mikaela still had to break Ingmar Stenmark's record to have the all time record. Regardless, she is inspirational. And a class act.
Cherish these days. They are gone before you know it. Believe me I know too well.The shack nasties have been hitting me pretty hard lately since I haven’t been able to get out this month because of family things, life, etc. so I had plans to go fishing yesterday but of course my kid decided she REALLY wanted to go snowboarding so I bailed on my plans and took her up to Hood. She had a blast so it was worth it.
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Don't worry, I doCherish these days. They are gone before you know it. Believe me I know too well.
I don't know what happened. It appears @adamcu280 is safe though?I’m afraid to say that the Japan trip mentioned in this thread ended tragically. I was shocked and very saddened to hear this.
I don’t know what else to say