mahatma
01-07-2009, 07:12 AM
OK, I spent the day intentionally pitting the Spruce Sherpa and Lacroix 125's on the long, steep mogul pocked land known as Happo One. Before I get to the story, I'm one very tired puppy. Damn.
There was no powder today. Hard pack with powder dust. I always start the day with a few bunny runs to see what condition my condition is in. My plan was to use the Sherpa's as I had a certain familiarity with them. But, in the end the Lacroix's came out of the bag first so were snapped on. I found the Lacroix's to be well mannered in all circumstances. Not a single complaint. That said, there was something about that demeanor that came across as insincere on the bunny. The boards felt well, the best way I can describe it was the Lacroix's seemed bored. I didn't lay down a single carve on the long, fast bunny I was on. I just kept the boards flat and ran down at a very good speed but the boards were just stable and firm. I never felt out of control but the one time I tried to lay the boards over they basically balked. OK. Up to higher ground. I bumped up a lift and hit an intermediate slope. I didn't try to take it down Superman style and the Lacroix's balked. They weren't interested. Up one more stage. Now I'm just one level from the top of Happo and it is steep and fast. I chose a wide run, set up tight on one side and decided to let fear decide when I tried my first carve. Bingo!. The Lacroix's immediately (and I do mean immediately) laid up on both edges and acted like they were on rails. I wasn't dragging my knuckled. I had my knee up in my chest my downhill board extended but not to the point it was stretched out but the boards just railed. At speed, transitions were a dream. Just roll the boards over and rail. No soft edging bullshit. Scrub off too much speed and boards return to yawning status. They are stiff but they do flex. When you get the boards to flex you will notice an odd, deep noise. That's the sonic boom you just created. They don't do soft edge really. If your on a transition slope just keep the Lacroix's flat and push them around. It's not a power driven thing. It's more style - even finesse. The boards want to be treated in a certain fashion. Oh yea, I give the Lacroix's serious props in moguls. No bull. They get the job done. They feel very small and easy to keep together.
I could have rode them all day. There was a reason I didn't. At around 1030 I was at the top of Happo for the 2nd time and it has a steep, relatively narrow run down to where you can make a decision to go 3 different ways. If you hook a 90 degree turn you are on a steep, wide pitch that is perfect for high speed carving. Skiers love it. Snowboarders were doing it too but it's skier heaven. So, I hooked the left for the second time, was barreling down, and set into my final carve hard core gorilla style. 10 feet in front of me as I turned was another human being in a hard core skier type carving crouch. It was nothing close to a fair fight. I leveled what turned out to be someone's grandmother. The old bird was hauling ass, I'll give her that. I knocked her out cold. I of course screeched to a halt which at that speed to a bit of distance, got my boards off, ran over and stabbed them into the groom in an X pattern in front of her, scrambled around picking up her goggles and poles while her husband who was not far behind started slapping her hand and she came around. Ski patrol showed up in short order, checked her out and the old man, while using words I didn't fully understand so the ski patrolman translated essentially said that his opinion was no one was at fault. He was behind us and we were right across from each other at one point and I turned left at the exact time his wife turned right and that was that. I was just too damn big. The old lady came around in about 5 minutes enough to get up and make it to the coffee shop at the bottom of the run and we exchanged cell numbers and the old man said if they did not call me then everything was fine. They never called. I went and put on the Sherpas as my carving buzz was shot.
The Sherpa's were a total joy in everything but the one tight, rutted mogul patch I took them down. They were just too much for me to handle. Too big to keep together and the pitch was way too steep for me to even think about bouncing along the tops of the moguls. Although, there were a few skiers doing exactly that and looking damn good to boot. Unlike the Lacroix's the Sherpa's soft edge well. I really enjoy the sort of V8 feel of the Sherpa's. You just know you've got something underneath you that is powerful. The Lacroix's were much more invisible. They chewed up the fast groom in grand style, never feeling large or bulky. To the contrary they were very pleasing. On the Sherpa's I dragged my knuckles. They are a totally different carving experience. They hook up in a longer arch. Well, to me anyway and therefore lend themselves to a more stretched out, lean against the mountain type of feel. I also ran the Sherpa's through some of the nice ungroomed sides snowboarder style and had a blast. I really enjoyed the 2 hours I spent on them today.
But, the carving jones returned and demanded to be fed. I had no choice but to comply. For me, today, at Happo, the Lacroix's were the preferred platform. I loved them.
By 1500 my thighs refused to filter lactic acid any longer, became weak and took on a gentle shake. I stopped a little early today.
There was no powder today. Hard pack with powder dust. I always start the day with a few bunny runs to see what condition my condition is in. My plan was to use the Sherpa's as I had a certain familiarity with them. But, in the end the Lacroix's came out of the bag first so were snapped on. I found the Lacroix's to be well mannered in all circumstances. Not a single complaint. That said, there was something about that demeanor that came across as insincere on the bunny. The boards felt well, the best way I can describe it was the Lacroix's seemed bored. I didn't lay down a single carve on the long, fast bunny I was on. I just kept the boards flat and ran down at a very good speed but the boards were just stable and firm. I never felt out of control but the one time I tried to lay the boards over they basically balked. OK. Up to higher ground. I bumped up a lift and hit an intermediate slope. I didn't try to take it down Superman style and the Lacroix's balked. They weren't interested. Up one more stage. Now I'm just one level from the top of Happo and it is steep and fast. I chose a wide run, set up tight on one side and decided to let fear decide when I tried my first carve. Bingo!. The Lacroix's immediately (and I do mean immediately) laid up on both edges and acted like they were on rails. I wasn't dragging my knuckled. I had my knee up in my chest my downhill board extended but not to the point it was stretched out but the boards just railed. At speed, transitions were a dream. Just roll the boards over and rail. No soft edging bullshit. Scrub off too much speed and boards return to yawning status. They are stiff but they do flex. When you get the boards to flex you will notice an odd, deep noise. That's the sonic boom you just created. They don't do soft edge really. If your on a transition slope just keep the Lacroix's flat and push them around. It's not a power driven thing. It's more style - even finesse. The boards want to be treated in a certain fashion. Oh yea, I give the Lacroix's serious props in moguls. No bull. They get the job done. They feel very small and easy to keep together.
I could have rode them all day. There was a reason I didn't. At around 1030 I was at the top of Happo for the 2nd time and it has a steep, relatively narrow run down to where you can make a decision to go 3 different ways. If you hook a 90 degree turn you are on a steep, wide pitch that is perfect for high speed carving. Skiers love it. Snowboarders were doing it too but it's skier heaven. So, I hooked the left for the second time, was barreling down, and set into my final carve hard core gorilla style. 10 feet in front of me as I turned was another human being in a hard core skier type carving crouch. It was nothing close to a fair fight. I leveled what turned out to be someone's grandmother. The old bird was hauling ass, I'll give her that. I knocked her out cold. I of course screeched to a halt which at that speed to a bit of distance, got my boards off, ran over and stabbed them into the groom in an X pattern in front of her, scrambled around picking up her goggles and poles while her husband who was not far behind started slapping her hand and she came around. Ski patrol showed up in short order, checked her out and the old man, while using words I didn't fully understand so the ski patrolman translated essentially said that his opinion was no one was at fault. He was behind us and we were right across from each other at one point and I turned left at the exact time his wife turned right and that was that. I was just too damn big. The old lady came around in about 5 minutes enough to get up and make it to the coffee shop at the bottom of the run and we exchanged cell numbers and the old man said if they did not call me then everything was fine. They never called. I went and put on the Sherpas as my carving buzz was shot.
The Sherpa's were a total joy in everything but the one tight, rutted mogul patch I took them down. They were just too much for me to handle. Too big to keep together and the pitch was way too steep for me to even think about bouncing along the tops of the moguls. Although, there were a few skiers doing exactly that and looking damn good to boot. Unlike the Lacroix's the Sherpa's soft edge well. I really enjoy the sort of V8 feel of the Sherpa's. You just know you've got something underneath you that is powerful. The Lacroix's were much more invisible. They chewed up the fast groom in grand style, never feeling large or bulky. To the contrary they were very pleasing. On the Sherpa's I dragged my knuckles. They are a totally different carving experience. They hook up in a longer arch. Well, to me anyway and therefore lend themselves to a more stretched out, lean against the mountain type of feel. I also ran the Sherpa's through some of the nice ungroomed sides snowboarder style and had a blast. I really enjoyed the 2 hours I spent on them today.
But, the carving jones returned and demanded to be fed. I had no choice but to comply. For me, today, at Happo, the Lacroix's were the preferred platform. I loved them.
By 1500 my thighs refused to filter lactic acid any longer, became weak and took on a gentle shake. I stopped a little early today.