Ottawa pre-season!

[Ian M]

Hey everyone,

Wanna talk seasons passes? Who's thinking of buying where?

I was thinking about Mont Cascades, so i went and hiked around this afternoon. There is one sweet slope under a quad that is wide, steep, and kind of roll-y :eplus2:, but all the other trails look a little tame or very narrow. I'd love to hit this a few times during the season, but am not sure about buying a night pass.

Vorlage was very good last season; always very quiet, and consistently good snow and grooming. That says a lot considering the pathetic amount of natural snow. I was really craving something steeper by the end of the season, though.

So, where is everyone else at? Any new purchases? I'm ordering a new Donek in a few weeks; similar to the one that I rode at ECES last season - Metal freecarve, 13-15m variable sidecut, 183cm... :eek: (I rode 185cm 12-16m) This is replacing my old Burton that I like to ride in soft conditions, so I want it fairly stiff.

Cheers :D

[Ian M]

The website for Vorlage is still out of date, but I called. The night pass is on sale until mid-September, and is $109 individually or $99 if two or more are purchased : )

[Keyser Soze]

I found Vorlage to be quite icy and very narrow on our trip last year, so I'll be sticking to Cascades. I'll make it out to Vorlage here and there to ride with you guys.

[Tabatha]

There are enough of us to really get the most of the $99 passes. You really can't go wrong there, and it doesn't stop us making field trips to a few other hills.

For me the point of a night pass is consistency not adventures, although with you boys, it usually is anyway. After a full day at a desk job, just shutting off and riding without epic is a nice way to decompress.

How many more days till we can be out there again? I miss our Tuesday nights.

[Ian M]

I found Vorlage to be quite icy and very narrow on our trip last year, so I'll be sticking to Cascades. I'll make it out to Vorlage here and there to ride with you guys.

Bummer... maybe you hit a bad night. I remember one icy night during all the times we rode there. (Not counting that spring night... shudder...)

That wide slope as Cascades has my name written all over it. I'll come out and join you a few times this season! Hey Keyser Soze, is there a cheap night pass at Cascades? I didn't see it on the website. Something in the 100$ range...

[CaRtharsis]

My riding this season will likely consist of 2 nights every other week. Its going to be difficult with my wifes new schedule and going back to school. We will have to see how things play out. Even day trips will be impacted as her only day shift is now 9-5, which will make it difficult picking up 2 kids and getting. I may actually end up riding more weekends unfortunately. :mad:

[Tabatha]

Chris, we will still love you - even if you can only come and play every second night. But I might get good and try and kick your butt! :AR15firin

But weekends rock too - we should try and get some adventures planned. Calabogie is close and not as crowded as parts of the Gatineau's. Are you willing to go there after what happened in 2009? And there are always day-trips to Mt. Blanc ... oh; road-trip!

[Tabatha]

Vorlage has a $99.00 night pass deal, but you have to be two or more people. I will be buying them this weekend, I currently have Ian, Billy and I as down. If you are interested, please let me know ASAP so that I can include you in our group purchase.

Note that a single night-pass is $109.00

Dreaming of snow

[Keyser Soze]

Hey Keyser Soze, is there a cheap night pass at Cascades? I didn't see it on the website. Something in the 100$ range...

Last year, they had this pass:

GANG-UP TO ROCK THE MOUNTAIN
Valid 7 nights and weekdays all season, including Christmas and March Break*
<SMALL style="FONT-STYLE: italic"><SMALL>*Monday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m.</SMALL></SMALL>

$79 per person with a group of 8 people or more.
$89 per person with a group of 4 to 7 people.
$99 per person with a group of 2 or 3 people.
$109 for one person

But you're right, they haven't posted anything similar for this season yet.

[slabber]

Bought my Vorlage pass on Monday - was able to still get the early bird price, but ended up paying for a 'single' as didn't get around to finding a second to get the $99 deal.

Look forward to meeting up with some more carvers this winter.

cheers
Andrew

[Ian M]

Congrats on your first post, Andrew. I look forward to meeting you and riding with you! Are you new to Ottawa or Bomber?

Cheers,

Ian

[slabber]

Relatively new to Ottawa (moved here in 2007 following a brief stint in 2001) and have been a longtime lurker here...

[Ian M]

^ Cool :) Any other hills around here that you like?

[Tabatha]

Andrew, Welcome to Ottawa!

How many more days till we can hit the hills? Probably too many! Yesterday I was on the bus watching the ocean go by after two fantastic scuba dives and all I could think about was snow! What is wrong with me?

Looking forward to carving it up with everyone soon.

PS; we should do pre-season drinks when I get back to plot Tremblant and a State-side trip. Billy said he would organise it.

[Ian M]

Lol... I went to the first night of dryland training with the Ski Extreme club yesterday. If I don't die, I'm going to be in GREAT shape for the season! :D

[Keyser Soze]

That looks pretty awesome... If it wasn't the day before my Futsal matches I might join up.

[Ian M]

^ Dude, did you buy a Kessler?

[Keyser Soze]

Nah, that's actually a cap of Jasey-Jay's board mid-carve. Only the Canadian national team have those flags on the base. Maybe some of the boards Kimi sold in the Classifieds have them.

I picked up my '09 SG last season, and I'm VERY happy with it. I came across good deals for some F2s and a pair of Kryptons over the summer, so I'll be getting used to change for the first couple of months.

[Ian M]

^ Cool! How would you describe the ride of the SG? I've never been on one.

Yah, change is good and bad. Often in the short-term it throws you off, but eventually you end up much better off. That was me a while ago with new boots/bindings/board. Wait... maybe that's still me :P

[Keyser Soze]

Man, the SG is awesome. It's a World Cup Race board, so that pretty much says it all. The edge hold is nuts, the ride is smooth. I'm still adjusting, and we'll see how it is with the ski boots + F2s.

[Ian M]

Why ski boots, though? Curious.

Do you find the SG hard to freeride on? I mean, does it have a tendency to accelerate you a lot out of turns? Last year was my first season on a freeride board, and boy, does it ever suit my riding style better. I've only seen you ride once though, and don't know if you actually race.

Cheers!

[Ian M]

3 more sleeps 'till Calabogie opens on Saturday! :biggthump I'm going to head out and meet some more of the other instructors. Most of the other local hills seem to be opening this weekend too. I'm guessing the trail count will be fairly limited, but seven months is long enough to wait I think.

Does anyone else ever wonder if they'll remember how to carve? This creeps me out every year, right up to first successful turn...

Looking forward to riding with you guys soon!

[slabber]

^ Cool :) Any other hills around here that you like?

I've ridden only at Fortune, Edelweiss, and Calabogie (and Tremblant). My wife's pregnant right now so I have a bit more flexibility to go carving this winter (she rides in soft boots).

How long before Vorlage opens up? Hope I made the right decision getting a pass there... :)

[mikel45]

Looking for recommendations on the best place or person to take my board to get a tune-up in the Ottawa area - thanks in advance.

[Ian M]

Looking for recommendations on the best place or person to take my board to get a tune-up in the Ottawa area - thanks in advance.

Hi mikel45! Where do you like to ride around here? Would you like to meet up sometime to ride?

Two places I've had good experiences with are Dinardo's in Bell's Corners, and the Kunstadt on Bank street in the glebe. Frank is the owner at Dinardo's, and does impeccable hand-tunes. Highly recommended. (Great boot-fitter, too) The tech I've dealt with mostly that the glebe Kunstadt has very large glasses and wears hawaiian shirts, his name escapes me at the moment but you can't miss him. He did base grinds and side edges on both my boards last season and they were great. He even did a 0deg base bevel on my Coiler, which is a hassle for him.

Cheers!

[Ian M]

How long before Vorlage opens up? Hope I made the right decision getting a pass there... :)

You totally made the right decision, because it's great evening carving, and you'll have company there! We had a great time riding there last season. It's very empty after 7pm, so you can really rip around :eplus2:

The opening date isn't shown on their web page, we'll have to call to find out! It may be later for night skiing, too.

[spyder]

Plan to try carving again this year . How many of u carvers are going to use volage as the mtn. I usually go to cascade (soft booter). But I really want to give this carving a 100%. so if there's a group of u at volage I 'ld like to join u some evenings

[Ian M]

Plan to try carving again this year . How many of u carvers are going to use volage as the mtn. I usually go to cascade (soft booter). But I really want to give this carving a 100%. so if there's a group of u at volage I 'ld like to join u some evenings

Hiya spyder, welcome to the forum! There are a surprising number of us around Ottawa, but we are spread out. Last year, there were four of us who rode weekly at Vorlage; CaRtharsis, myself, BillyG, and Tabatha. Things are a little different in all of our lives this year, but the four of us have night passes there again, and so does Slabber (Andrew; above). We all love carving company, come out and play! Riding with others is the best way to dial up your season, IMO. :biggthump

If you ride Cascades frequently, send a message to Keyser Soze. He has a pass there this season again. I've never ridden there, and would like to try it out some night.

I'll also be teaching at Calabogie on Sundays, and some Saturdays I'll get out there to carve. Hilux, another new face this season, frequents Calabogie also. There are two guys (Loopback and Philpjo) who ride Pakenham a lot, and we still have yet to meet up with them.

Hope to see you out there soon!

Cheers

[CaRtharsis]

Blah blah blah... All this is moot till we get some fricking snow!!!! LOL

Keep your fingers crossed for the dumping forecast for SUnday.

[Ian M]

We haven't talked about who is available to ride which nights and where, so how about I start the ball rolling? Anyone in Ottawa who loves to carve feel free to chime in! (yup, I'm talking to you :D) Also, if your regular hill is somewhere other than Vorlage, why not invite everyone to come out and play at your mountain? Suggest a week and a day!

Suggestion: Let's try to use this great ride board more this year to plan fun with friends? Post up when you're planning to ride, and carving company will probably appear! If you subscribe to the thread, you even get updates right to your email. :biggthump

I'll definitely be at Vorlage on Wednesdays, as my girlfriend is signed up for weekly lessons. Might ride a second weeknight also. Sundays you'll find me teaching at Calabogie, and probably carving there some Saturdays and holidays also.

^Chris, don't worry... the snow is on it's way!

Cheers,

Ian M

[Hilux]

Wow, more riders eh? Sounds like Vorlage might be the hot spot this year for nights? Do they still have the $99 passes err? Calabogie is great for layout, I'll be going there whenever possible. I find it doesn't get too busy for its size, even on weekends and like the selection. I'll go wherever, not picky.

I haven't been out in a while so will need to get my legs back...not to mention "style". I'll probably feel like a calf moose taking its first steps, easy does'er. Gotta dial in my setup first. Never felt comfortable on my board but the struggle has been worth it regardless.

Wooo for 35-40cm of snow plus a pinch on Monday!

[Keyser Soze]

London, new job, all that.

Anyway, the ride of the SG is allegedly be better for freeriding than a Kessler, which is apparently a racing machine that sniffs out the fall lines and locks into them. I've never ridden a Kessler, so I don't know if that's true. I think the big difference for me is the edge-hold letting me get away with stuff that my old Donek would've left me on my ass for. Also, it doesn't launch me when I really dig into a turn and snap out of it. It moves fast, as you would expect, but there are no surprises when speeding up. Sometimes conditions aren't great, and I don't think I'm fully aware of it because the board seems to slice through crud, which is a must for racers.

Also, yes, I am the Cascades rider. I'll try to make it out a few nights in Vorlage. I still need to pick up a few screws for my bindings at the moment...

[swoopy]

Ian
I'd love to get out with the crew. It would have been last year but I was side tracked by olympics. Ah..more carving this year!

[loopback]

Phil and I have Pakenham full passes and Mont Ste Marie weekday passes.
I rode Pakenham last weekend (was awesome to be back on snow!!) and will be there again this Sat and probably Sunday morning too.
We're going to try and make some Vorlage nights too this year! I'd like to do a few nights at Cascades as well. We are planning on at least 4 days at Ste Marie over the season...it was EPIC both weekdays we went last year. No crowds, perfect groom and awesome carving runs.

Any local guys looking at Jasey Jays camp? I'm tentatively in for the Feb session.

//Paul

[Hilux]

Hey, loopback, what days are you guys typically at Pakenham? I'm out that way frequently as I have family/friends there. Can anybody take off weekdays to head up to Ste.Marie? Like loopback said, you essentially have the whole mountain to yourself during the week.

[Tabatha]

Hey everyone, so looking forward to getting out as soon as possible as well, all I need to do is figure out how to put my new bindings and cants on the board (I have Jasey Jay's old bindings!!!)

The shoulder is fully recovered and I am eager to start my second season on a hard board by being on the hill as often as possible. I have a Vorlage Night Pass and am pretty much open to night suggestions. I like Mondays and Tuesdays because they tend to be very quiet, but Wednesdays and Thursdays are cool. Hell - I would be OK with two nights a week plus weekends. Also eying Calabogie - I enjoy the hill on the weekends and agree with the earlier statements ... usually not very crowded.

If there is snow and local hills are open during the day before Christmas, I would even be willing to play hookie and get out there for some pre-season carving. Road trip to Tremblant anyone?

[Ian M]

It's great to hear from everyone, and I'm looking forward to making turns with all of you!

^ Hilux - I believe that the price went up at the end of September... not sure what it is now. Don't worry, we'll find a way to get you more comfortable on your board. Are you free Saturday?

^ Keyser Soze - Congrats on a new job! If you ride Vorlage, I'll ride Cascades :P

^ Paul - Hell yes! I've made sure that I have at least 4 vacation days that I can take mid-week to ride through the season. I was thinking of trying Mont Blanc also, but I'd happily go to Mont Ste Marie if you guys have passes. I also have one Tremblant ticket to use sometime. I'd like to get in a day-trip before Christmas, but work has picked up a bit... not sure if I can. I'm trying, though.

[loopback]

@Hilux:
I usually do Pakenham 3-4 times a week. My son teaches there and only has his learners driving permit so am back and forth constantly. We almost always do Sat and/or Sunday mornings. Usuallly 9am opening till 11-12 ish , depending on the crowds.
Friday nights too....Usually Tues/Friday/Sat/Sun but it really varies.
We're hoping to use the Mont Ste Marie weekday season pass at least 4 times this year

@Tabatha
Any girl or guy who carves (and isn't a huge dickhead) has pretty much instant "bro" status with me...the "guys" was not gender specific at all:)

@ Ian
We did the group of 4 for $99 each at MSM for the weekday season pass and as mentioned are hoping to at least do 4 weekdays....I'd be happier with 6-8 though. I'd like to get to Tremblant once before Christmas too but am not sure if I will have time either (+ Duncan lift is still closed and I heard they are having snowmaking tech issues, and only 14 runs right now)

Unless something goes way south I will at Pak tomorrow at 9am...

On an unrelated note(s)

1. I bought telemark gear this year (part of the bucket list to get competent at all snow sliding sports).....anyone experienced enough to give a few pointer...maybe a quick lesson?

2. I bought all of Dave Morgans (YYZ Canuck) TD2 parts inventory and can pretty much replace any piece of a TD2 SI binding 5 times over (including 5 prs each of yellow and purple rings). If you have a break and need something fast I will give you the part until your Bomber order arrives and you can replace it.

THINK SNOW!!
//Paul

[Keyser Soze]

How'd you score Jasey's old bindings!?

I was looking at the camp, but I don't think I can take a week off before the end of fiscal. And $3000 is pretty steep, even if meeting Jasey would be the coolest thing in the world next to meeting Zinedine Zidane or Samir Nasri.

[philpjo]

I not sure if I should be posting as I'm boardless right now :mad:

That's only cause I'm waiting for my NEW BOARD!!!!:biggthump

Bruce (from Coiler) said it should be ready any day now.

Can't wait to get out and meet everyone.

[Ian M]

^ That's great news, Phil. You're going to love your Coiler. Mine came with anti-gravity and crud-eating superpowers! :eplus2: What kind of board will it be? Definitely looking forward to seeing you make some turns on it. :biggthump

So, did my first runs of the season at Calabogie today! God, it felt good to be on snow again. Certainly rusty (first run I actually got launched into the woods by my Factory Prime - Bad board! Don't do that!"), but things went quite well after that. The snow was good, firm spring-type snow and very carve-able. Only three runs open so far, so definitely room for improvement on the coverage side. Snow will come though!

I spent an hour in the afternoon working on my soft boot riding, and did a 'first': rode top to bottom fakie, without fallling. In 19 years of snowboarding, that's a new one. It was very humbling riding that slowly again and re-learning how to ride the other way... :o

Cheers!

[Ian M]

I was looking at the camp, but I don't think I can take a week off before the end of fiscal. And $3000 is pretty steep, even if meeting Jasey would be the coolest thing in the world next to meeting Zinedine Zidane or Samir Nasri.

Too steep for me, too. Jasey Jay is awesome, but for that money, I'd go to SES in Colorado. I'm very curious about his new boards though. I wonder if he's building them himself or if one of the other guys (Coiler, Donek, Prior) might be making them. Yay for more board choices!

[mikel45]

I've had good experiences with are Dinardo's in Bell's Corners


Hi Ian, thanks for the suggestions, in fact, I dropped by Dinardo shop yesterday to check them out. Ultimately like to learn to do my own tune-ups so I was quite interested to see that they sell tune-up supplies, also, I was informed that they are happy to give "how-to tune-up" lesson to any group of three (3) people. Anyone interested?

[mikel45]

Hi mike! Where do you like to ride around here?


I'm totally new to the sport. Spent the past 9 months acquiring second-hand equipment. I decided to go with a skwal board (Volkl monocarver), so my learning curve is going to be quite steep. When not ski patrolling at Pakenham, love to have the opportunity to meet up with other hardbooters, day or night. As always then, CHEERS! Michael

[philpjo]

^ That's great news, Phil. You're going to love your Coiler. Mine came with anti-gravity and crud-eating superpowers! :eplus2: What kind of board will it be? Definitely looking forward to seeing you make some turns on it. :biggthump


Cheers!

It's VSR XTight, 169 cm. Old School Woody graphics.

Just need this stupid rain to turn to snow

[Ian M]

[quote=mikel45;323919I was informed that they are happy to give "how-to tune-up" lesson to any group of three (3) people. Anyone interested?[/quote]

Sure, I'd be up for more info. I'm already doing my own tuning, but could certainly learn more. Any idea about price and scheduling options? I can do most weeknights and weekends until Christmas, then Sundays are out.

Skwal, huh? That's cool.. I've never seen anyone ride one firsthand. By the way, Gord at the Glebe Kunstadt also owns and rides a skwal. Come out and show us what it looks like!

Cheers :)

[Tabatha]

Bindings - I met some people at SOS last year who teach and had a hook-up on second hand bindings from the National Team. They sell them cheap to their students and had an extra one - so I bought it. The one they had left happened to be Jasey Jay's (2009 pre-Olympics) bindings. Now I just need to figure out how to put them on my board with the cants - I am still a newbie to the sport and am trying to figure stuff out.

A website I like to obsess over: http://www.skiottawa.com/

If anyone wants to try other gear, I somehow ended up with a mega board last year (it is over 6foot long and I am barely 5'2) and is STIFF. Someone borrowed and sharpened it last year - let me know if you are interested and I can bring it along. Ian and CaRtharsi might be able to provide more details, they were there when I won the beast.

[mikel45]

- best days are monday & tuesday evening
- need at least a week heads up to schedule us in
- cost $40
(includes how-to lesson and you also walk out with your board tuned)

2 people interested, need a 3rd, anyone else interested?

[Ian M]

^ Mike, that works for me. Count me in!

I'm planning to ride at Calabogie on Saturday; would anyone like to come out and play? My girlfriend will come and try out her skis, (first time skiing in a while) but she's happy to have a fair bit of time on her own.

Anyone else have weekend plans? I could ride Sunday somewhere else also :biggthump

[CaRtharsis]

Mike I have a patrollers shell from when I was a member back in the mid 90's. Think anyone might be intersted in it? Its in great shape just taking up space in the closet. I don't ride regularly enough to be able to commit to joining again.

[Tabatha]

Starting the weeknight tradition early. Heading to Edelweiss tonight. There are only three runs open - but I am hoping it is empty. Shouldn't be an epic night. If anyone wants to join me - would love to see you there

[Tabatha]

Hey - while only one run was open at Edelweiss - it was a perfect start to the season. Hard base with a forgiving top (for when I bailed). The weather wasn't cold either.

Bumped into RocketMan while I was there and gave him the heads-up about meeting up with us over the winter. He has some great tips for newbies! (Thanks!)

[Ian M]

^ Good stuff! Who is RocketMan?

Have you read Jack's article on how to set up bindings? It should answer most of your questions: http://www.bomberonline.com/articles/setup.cfm.

Cheers

[Tabatha]

Thanks for the link - I will give it a shot this weekend and see how I do.

RocketMan rides near Barrie, but work will be bringing him to the valley sometimes, so I told him about the thread and hopefully he will post when he is in town so we will have another person to ride with.

Anyone else planning on riding this weekend or next week after work?

[mikel45]

Chris, I'll ask around at the patrol shack tomorrow and let you know.
Happy Holidays to you and family.

CHEERS!

[Tabatha]

Hey, I can't do Saturday (planning a hang-over), but I would love to be on the hill first thing Sunday morning. Anyone interested? Just to meet up on the hill. I usually like to be there first thing and be done by lunch. Open to location suggestions.

[Ian M]

So, what do you call a tiny hill with 4 hard-boot carvers? Mt. Pakenham :D

Went out to ride with Ryan (Hilux), and finally met Paul and Phil. Very nice guys, hot riders! Another fellow named Neil said hello when he saw our gear; apparently he just moved to the Ottawa area from out east... used to ride Marble Mountain, Chris's old stomping ground. He was on softies today and rides hard-boots also. I asked if he was on here, and he is, so hopefully he'll stop by and introduce himself further!

While 'Mt. P' is a little on the short side, it does have two good runs that are quite wide. It's a great place to try new technique, and might be complimented by the steeper wide run at Mt. Cascades.

I'm sure everyone will be thrilled to hear also that my soft-boot carving is coming along quite well...lol :rolleyes:

Cheers!

Ian

[Tabatha]

Hey everyone,

I managed to upgrade to my "new" F2's onto my Coiler and I am now convinced that the board is the sexiest thing I own (is this wrong?). I have two issues:

I am very new to this sport and don't trust myself with things technical. I set them up exactly how the old bindings were, and read through the article cited above. All the hardwear is tight there is no boot overhang (although with tiny feet, this isn't hard). Is there anything else I should be aware of? Any usual pit-falls and common mistakes that newbies make when mounting bindings? Is anyone willing to take a look?
I have cants for these bindings, but have no idea how to install them. I am going to give this set-up a try sans-cants, but would love to try after Christmas. Would anyone be able to help?I will bring a screwdriver with me to the hill this week - just in case!

Happy carving and I am looking forward to meeting many of you. If I had have known a group would be at Mt. P. I would have swung by; next time. Will you be there Jan 1st?

[Tabatha]

FYI - planning another outing to Edelweiss tonight. Hope to be there between 7 and 7:30pm.

[CaRtharsis]

- best days are monday & tuesday evening
- need at least a week heads up to schedule us in
- cost $40
(includes how-to lesson and you also walk out with your board tuned)

2 people interested, need a 3rd, anyone else interested?

If we can co-ordinate such that its a week my wife isn't working evenings I would be interested.

[Ian M]

Hi everyone,

Chris has started a new ride thread to replace this dated 'pre-season' thread. If you're subscribed to this one, you might want to add the new one also. Vorlage this Tuesday anyone?

http://www.bomberonline.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=32544

Cheers!

[GoofyFoot]

Hi folks,
I have been lurking on the message board for some time now :sleep: so I figured I should create an account and join the <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comhttp://www.bomberonline.com/vbulletin/ /><st1:City w:st=<ST1:pOttawa</ST1:p</st1:City> conversation.
<O:p</O:p
I live in <st1:City w:st="on"><ST1:pOrleans</ST1:p</st1:City> so I rarely get out to Packenham and Calabogie. However, I ride at <ST1:p<st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Camp</st1:PlaceType> <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Fortune</st1:PlaceName> almost every Saturday and escape to Mt Tremblant as often as I can. I spent the last three days there and will be back next Sunday. If anyone would like to join me for some big turns on the big mountain, drop me a line. I always like to share some trenches with another carver.
<O:p</O:p
Cheers,
<O:p</O:p
Brian

[Ian M]

Hi Brian, thanks for posting and saying hi. We're pretty lucky to have a fair number of carvers here, and it just keeps getting better!

Killer license plate, btw.

Many of us have a Tremblant ticket to use before the end of the season, but hopefully we can ride sometime sooner. How do you find Fortune on Saturdays? Isn't it rather packed?

Cheers!

[CaRtharsis]

Hi Brian! Great to hear from another rider. Not sure if you have already read but several of us have evening passes for Vorlage and hope to ride there as much as possible. Unfortunately that will be sporadic for me but I hope to make the best of the weeks I have.

As Ian mentioned we do hope to get out to Tremblant a few times this season and make the most of what we have. Last season didn't end for me on a high note with breaking a binding there so I hope to turn it around!

[GoofyFoot]

How do you find Fortune on Saturdays? Isn't it rather packed?

Yes, but I teach there so I manage:D

[GoofyFoot]

Not sure if you have already read but several of us have evening passes for Vorlage and hope to ride there as much as possible.

As Ian mentioned we do hope to get out to Tremblant a few times this season and make the most of what we have. Last season didn't end for me on a high note with breaking a binding there so I hope to turn it around!

Yes, I read about your collective enthusiasm for Vorlage. Unfortunately, of the four Gatineau hills, that happens to be my last favourite. I occasionally drive to Mt Ste Marie (1 hr 15 mins from Orleans), however since I can be at MT in under two hours, that resort wins out pretty much every time I get away from CF.

BTW, here is the hot tip I overheard at MT over the past WE; they are allowing riders to buy TWO T-packs. A T-pack is essentially two tix at half-price so I highly recommend visiting MT's website and ordering one or two T-Packs if you wanna ride MT on the cheap.

Another option (for next season) is to join either of the two big ski clubs in town which sell preseason tix at ~$50 each. I picked up six at $51 each in Nov, for example.

[Ian M]

Cool, Brian. Everyone has hill preferences; difference makes the world go 'round! Do you have any time to free-ride before teaching on Saturdays, if I come out to CF some week?

[GoofyFoot]

Brian, do you have any time to free-ride before teaching on Saturdays, if I come out to CF some week?

You bet! My mantra is that "the first hour of the day is the best hour of the day!"

I have "reserved" 8:30 - 9:30 for personal training when the runs are freshly groomed and few people are on the slopes. Traffic also thins out dramatically at 3:30, but by that time the runs are well chewed up and the boilerplate factor sets in (on all the local hills that have night riding). If only the Gatineau resorts would groom at dusk prior to night openings - like Mt-Ste-Anne does! ...which is where I am headed for the first full week in Febuary (4-11). If anyone is interested, I could play tour guide at that resort too since I know it as least as well at MT.

Getting back on topic, I occasionally get to CF on Sundays as well. Give me a shout if you are in the neighbourhood.

[GoofyFoot]

Looking for recommendations on the best place or person to take my board to get a tune-up in the Ottawa area - thanks in advance.

Mike,

Like Ian, I do my own tuning in my basement and am always willing to share my knowledge and experience with anyone who is interested. Price of admission is a six-pack of my choice (which is typically shared :)). You get your board tuned, plus you get to see what you need if you are interested in doing your own maintenance. I get some company while tuning which rates only slight more exciting than watching grass grow.

If you are looking for recommendations in town, the last time I checked a couple of years ago, Kunstadt (the Kanata location) had the best machine in Ottawa, a fairly new Wintersteiger machine. I believe they also have an older model at the Bank St location. I know the tuner there and he gave me the rundown on the options available on the Wintersteiger - very impressive technology! - if you are prepared to pay $50 for a full tune-up.

-Brian

[Ian M]

You bet! My mantra is that "the first hour of the day is the best hour of the day!"

Cool! I'll try to come out to CF some Saturday morning, unless you are able to make Sugarloaf and/or Carve-fest :)

(See 2011 Ride Thread for evolution of Carve-fest and link to poll)

[GoofyFoot]

Cool! I'll try to come out to CF some Saturday morning, unless you are able to make Sugarloaf and/or Carve-fest :)

(See 2011 Ride Thread for evolution of Carve-fest and link to poll)

Hi Ian (& anyone else listening :) ),

This Sat I will be standing in the Clifford chair lift line at 8:29 ready for first tracks (and every other Sat except 5 Feb).

As for Sugarloaf, can't make it, but I am up for a local carvefest whenever and wherever it happens.

-Brian

[mikel45]

I have a patrollers shell. Think anyone might be intersted in it?

Chris, if still available, I would be interested in the patroller shell.

[mikel45]

Chris, Ian, you guys still interested in tune-up instructions with local store shop?

[CaRtharsis]

Yes I am. Just have to co-ordinate with my wifes schedule. The next 2 weeks are out. Week after would work. If you choose not to wait that long i'm ok with missing it.