Wushuguy's Skiboarding Adventures

[wushuguy]

Hey everyone,

I decided to restart the thread in the Media Section as to not spam other areas of the forums and keep these things documented in the proper place. Once again, I will be updating these as I go along on my adventures and it's a nice place for me to record my own trips and reminisce. Of course, to start, here's a little about me.

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Profile:
Age: 27
Location: Toronto, Canada
Height: 5'8 (172 cms)
Weight: 190 (86 lbs)
Experience: 1 Year

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Gear List:

This is a list of some of my gear. I didn't add the jacket/snowpants because I got lazy. But most of this was recently purchase (last year or two) and I'm hoping to get a pair of release bindings as the non-release is a bit scary!

Skiboards: RVL8 2015 Rockered Condors



Bindings: RVL8 2015 Black Receptors



Boots: Full Tilt 2014 Booters



Helmet: Salomon Brigade Audio Helmet



Goggles: Oakley Airbrake Snow

[wushuguy]

Mt St Louis Moonstone

MT ST LOUIS-MOONSTONE
Vertical Drop - 550 ft
Number of Runs - 40 (35 percent for beginners, 50 percent for intermediates, and 15 percent for the expert)
Longest Run - 2 km
Ski-able Terrain - 170 acres

Our first trip of 2014/2015 was to our local hill, Mt St Louis Moonstone. It was merely a trial day for most people since many of them were beginners. My buddy and I took up some of our newer boarders and spent the day teaching them. My buddy wanted to test out his new GoPRO as well. In addition, since it was my first time on non-release bindings, I was definitely itching to test out what I've heard about them. I was always rocking the new 2015 RCs and wanted to see how they worked (albeit semi-icy groomers versus the real powder they excel on. In addition, we haven't gotten much snow up here this season so it's been brutal for the ski hills. Below is an earlier review that I wrote about the non-release bindings.

So I thought I'd share an early review for non-release bindings, specifically the Black Receptors. Spent my first day on the slopes with them and I was very impressed with the tighter connection and the control. It was definitely an upgrade over the release bindings (although I never got the chance to use the Attack 13 which is very nice). However, the biggest change for me was the mental aspect. Knowing that the bindings don't release anymore, it makes me safer on the slopes. I don't take as many risks. Speed-wise, I went a bit slower knowing that if I fell, it could be bad. Jumps I avoided. Just trailed.

Another major aspect was binding in. That was a LOT more difficult than I thought it would be. It got easier the 2nd time I put em on but the first time I almost gave up and got tired from bending over trying to strap it in. So that's another thing that you should practice before you hit the slopes.

Aside from that, the connection is great. I love the response. However, I'm still thinking about picking up the Attack 13s. If they offer the same control, I would consider going that route due to the safety factor. But if they offer less control, the Receptors will be my go-to bindings.

Anyway, here are some pictures from the trip. Since I'm taking the pictures and I'm the only skiboarder, no one was there to take pictures for me!


You can see the nice green patches...


Beginners getting a lesson from one of our own


Since I couldn't take pics of myself, grabbed pics of my buddy


RC #1


RC #2


Another action shot of my buddy


Night skies over the chalet


Group picture in front of the chalet (skiboards on display)


Group picture by the slopes

[wushuguy]

Mt. Tremblant

MONT TREMBLANT
TRAIL MAP: Link
Elevation at the summit: 875 meters (2871 feet)
South Side vertical drop: 645 meters (2116 feet)
Number of trails: 96
Skiable terrain: 268 hectares (662 acres)
Total length of trails: 78.9 km (49 miles)
Longest trail: Nansen, 6 km (3.7 miles)
Maximum slope degreee: 42°
Beginner: 21%
Intermediate: 32%
Advanced and Expert: 47%

So the trip I had been waiting for. When I first started to plan this trip, it was originally supposed to be my 4 good friends and myself. However, upon talking, we realized we haven't had a trip with the girls or friends yet. So we began to add people until we had 18 people. So the planning started to unfold with myself doing the majority of it with another buddy (same as in the pictures above!). We planned the accommodations, 2-days on the slopes, meals, rides, etc. It was a lot of work but definitely worth it! In addition, this took place right after my birthday so they even decorated the chalet for me! Anyways, our chalet had a nice view over the area and had a shuttle bus that took us to the slopes. Very convenient! Weather was chilly (-5 degrees Celcius to -25 degrees Celcius). Quite a bit of wind as well, which was horrifying for the girls as many were unprepared for it. I have to say though, the snow was pretty darn good. We got a bit of powder and the snowmaking there was fantastic. Honesty, it was very impressive! Anyway, I'll break it down day by day now!

Day 0:

The day we left, a major storm blew in over the midpoint of our routing. Luckily for me, I was coming up in the later car since I was working that morning. However, our 4 other cars got stuck in a 75-car accident (they were not involved) but they weren't able to move for quite a bit and ended up having to take a very long detour. Basically, their cars left 6 hours before our car left Toronto and we arrived about 55 minutes after they did at the lodge. (We took a different route). Everyone was wired and exhausted by the time they arrived at the chalet and so, not many pictures were taken except for a few.



Dinner is served!



Gear + Streamers



Guys decided to run around the balcony barefoot hoping for snow!


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Day 1:

Bright and early, we woke up and cooked breakfast. Looking out the balcony, we got our first view of the mountain with the sunrise, as we had arrived late the night before.



Many people were sleepy after having a rough day in the cars so the nice brisk temperatures was a good wakeup call. We decided to take the shuttle to the mountain as it saved us from finding parking. Of course, we missed the first bus and had to wait another 20 minutes outside. Here's a picture of our chalet (middle) and Mt Tremblant in the background.



By the time we hit the village, the girls were already frozen but we were welcomed by the base village!



Here's a picture of the village area + the gondola that takes you to the base of the slopes.



Picture of the girlfriend and I before the slopes



Here's a group picture. I'm on the far left.



So then we took the gondola to the base of the hill, and geared up for some bunny hill runs.



Personally, I was in pain pretty fast. I usually wear my thin ski socks but due to standing outside after missing the bus and being in running shoes (not boots yet), I decided to wear my thermals. Come time to change, I got lazy and didn't take em out. By the time I hit the top of the magic carpet #2, I was in pain so I had to sit on the slopes and take off my socks. Then it worked out nicely for me from that point on.



After we warmed up a bit on the bunny hill with the noobs, we decided to hit the gondola line to the top. At this point, I got a lot of stares and points about the boards People were pointing and wondering what they were. Sorry Greco. Left the business cards at the chalet =/



So once we hit the top, we realized that there were a TON of people up there already. In the picture below, you can see the marker at the top of the hill that indicates the lifts etc.



At that point, we took the beginners on the long green run and it took them almost 45 minutes to an hour to get down so it killed a part of our day. Still, got some nice pictures in



After that, it was the boys to the top for a final run down the blacks.



One of my buddies geared up for his final run



At that point, I experienced a VERY scary moment. My bindings got loose and my toolkit was with my gf (she took my backpack to go shopping). As a result, my boot was sliding back and forth inside the binding (front wiggling back and forth) so I have NO idea how that happened. Very scary! It fit perfectly tight before and at that point, I was more scared than anything to have it come off mid run. Luckily, I was able to make it down with no problem but I went home that night and tightened it back up. Turns out that somehow, the front binding moved up a notch creating a less-than-tight fit. I have no idea how that happened since it was measured perfectly heading to the slopes the night before. At any rate, here are the final 3 pictures of the day with my boards.









Day 2:

After an early bedtime, we woke up to another day! We had anticipated an earlier start but some of our new boarders were banged up from the day before and took their slow time to get ready. As a result, we had to run for the bus and managed to catch it. Good thing that the lift tickets were already in our possession. After some gear adjustments and picking up rentals, everyone made their way to the slopes. Instead of starting on the bunny hills, my buddy and I decided to warm up at the top with a nice black diamond run. Of course, not the smartest of ideas but it turned out pretty fun and we got a bit of early morning powder before people plowed it all.



After reaching the bottom, we took up another group of friends. We also started to encourage people to test their limits, as I was doing so myself by going ON black diamond runs period! Haha! What ended up happening was beginner/intermediate boarders trying out a very steep 40 degree angle black diamond hill to get to lift #2. Unfortunately, they all ended up with various bumps and bruises from falling and one of our group actually hit his head pretty hard on the snow. Luckily, he had his helmet off and he ended up shaking it off. But having a doctor in our group was beneficial to monitoring him for concussion symptoms.



At that point, my buddy and I took the girls down the greens for some practice, which turned out nicely because the slopes were a bit emptier. Girls managed to learn how to heel/stop and toe on their snowboards.



Once we reached the bottom, we went for lunch. We took our time since it was the second day and we ended up just missing everything by several minutes. We met up with the intermediate/advanced people and brought them up to the very top. Once there, we decided to explore the North side and were definitely rewarded with some beautiful areas and challenging ice. I was leading the pack and I noticed a nice blue trail through the trees. Since this was the closest we got to glades, I decided to venture in. Skiiers and myself were fine but snowboarders had a bit of a difficult time.



However, it set up the scene for a very nice group photo (not our full group)



After exiting the other side, we were present with blacks versus blue. Since we were with some intermediate, they weren't ready for the black. When we went down the blue run, it was almost all ice (maybe that's why people didn't venture to the north side!). However, it was good practice for me as I just went straight down with slight slarves. Worked on my stopping on ice, although I slid right past one of our fallen friends haha!



Being at the bottom, I got to take the first photos up the hill and caught some of my friends in action. Unfortunately, it was starting to snow a bit harder so I couldn't really capture that much without the lens on the camera getting wet.



After that, we took the chairlift back up to the summit where the intermediate people took a separate side trail back to the bottom via greens/blues. The advanced group decided to test out a black diamond run that was closed the previous day, Kandahar. When we got there, it was literally sheet ice. We saw at least 6-8 snowboarders sit down on the slopes and slide down with their legs in the air. It was that bad. However, I was able to set my record speed run on that part because of the amounts of ice and having to go straight down to avoid turning and killing myself. Unfortunately, I couldn't take out my actual camera from my bag so I had to resort to the camera phone.



After a grueling run (and friend snow plowing me twice!), we were finally at the final crest before the bottom.



Amazing runs and a great experience. I couldn't believe the distance traveled and the fast speed. I did feel really out of control at those speeds though since I wasn't used to it.



Nothing like capping off our day with a picture of the advanced group. Great bros and 4 of them will most likely be on our next trip to Gore Mountain and Whiteface!



Anyhow, thanks for tuning into my trips so far in 2014/2015 and hopefully, I'll keep you guys posted in the future on more adventures!

[wushuguy]

No picture writeup on this one.

My buddy and I decided on Monday to hit up the slopes for fun. We were both off work and it was supposed to be -35 outside with the windchill. We figured we'd hit a cheap local hill for some adventures. What ended up happening was our first time in the terrain park. I'm riding the 2015 RCs and he was on his snowboard. Because of the cold and a school day, not many people were on the slopes in general and nobody was in the terrain park.

We are both terrified of jumps/heights so it worked out that no one was around to watch. First and foremost was getting comfortable with the speed (going up baby halfpipes) and getting used to the falling feeling. I hate roller coasters so even the tiniest of falls gives me crazy vertigo. Luckily, we got to try a few things out. I managed to get on my first table box. I even tried a small jump. I didn't really manage to land anything though because in my mind, I have to stop after every jump and box. Because of that, I watched a video of myself and found that I was coming off the boxes and jumps on a slight angle in anticipation of the stop. In addition, because I'm scared, I'm leaning way too far back on the jumps and it's causing me to land awkwardly and causing me to fall.

It clicked on the final run that we did that speed is key. Although I'm terrified of the idea of going into a jump with speed, it was actually a lot better because the speed carried me further down the slope and thus I didn't have to lean as far back to brace for impact. That was probably my closest to landing a jump.

In addition, there's a terrible hesitation (pyschologically) about jumping sideways onto a pipe/table. Dunno why but I'm not too comfortable with that which makes me only eligible to hit the wider boxes. Also, the difference is that the skiboards are wider and thus feel slightly like falling off the side since they don't fit snuggle on the box.

Anyway, it was a great first experience and resulted in blue snow dye all over my jacket. Thought I'd share!