try again backcountry on powder plates

[rgzip]

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The crazy man on the Sherpas is my son-in-law

[jjue]

thanks for the video , rgzip .. glad to see other folks hiking for turns and having a great time in the backcountry .. !!!

hats off to the videographer , daughter or daughter in law ? what is she riding ?

i am very interested in you and your son's take on the powder plates on the alp and the sherpa

what is your preference in the kind of snow you were riding in the video ?

would you ride the alp 110 at center, 5cm back or 8.5cm back as your position of choice ?
how about the Sherpa , center , 5cm or 8.5cm back ?

how much effort would you say it is in riding center vs set back on the two boards ?

how much do you and your son weigh?

how about the extra weight of the powder plates .. worth the extra weight on your back on the way up for ease on the way down ???

thanks for any information ... i am really trying to get a handle on set backs on different boards and what they do for backcountry conditions...

[mahatma]

You guys look fabulous and you'll understand I just have to hate you for those conditions. Hey, near the beginning of the video it looked like you lost something there for a few seconds. Ha ha. Great stuff.

[rgzip]

Mahatma.
Ha Ha is right. it's funny how much you slow down when you loss was of your skiboards!!!

Jack
Okay, the videographer was my niece (Tasha) who was over form Germany visiting for the winter. My wife (Susie) was also there.

The ladies stuck to snow shoes and my son-in-law (James) stayed center mounted on the Sherpas. This was only his second days on the sherpas and his first time skiing with a pack. I could not imagine needing the powder plates on the sherpas. James is about 200 lbs and I’m 170.

As for the powder plates, they diffidently make a difference. They are very lightweight and the extra weight was not an issue at all.

The first run (without the pack) I had 5cm setback. I think that would be my preference on the 110’s. that still gives you the tails of a 100cm board. The second run (with the pack) I was at 8cm set backs. There is no doubt they add a lot of float at 8cm, but I felt almost like I was driving with the parking break on.

The following week I took my ALP’s and did some hardcore riding with a excellent big mountain skier. It had just snowed almost 2ft so I had the powder plates on set back at 5cm. Honestly I had a real hard time staying up with him and my legs burnout about ½ way through the day. Granted part of this was that I don’t have near the skills this guy did but I was really missing the sherpas that day. That in mind riding ALPs on the wide open steep and deep we were riding I think I would of done better center mounted.

So I guess the bottom line is, big mountain wide open I’m staying center mounted, but On deep powder days of all mountain or backcountry riding 5cm on the Alps would make things easy. I want to try the 8cm setback in tight trees on a deep powder day. I have a feeling they may be magic in that situation.

[rgzip]

Here's a few of photos from the trip. (I don't know how to embed them.

[sempai]

So on the powder plates the first setback is 5cm and the second setback is 8cm?

[wjeong]

Rg,

Nice video and good entertainment. You had some great snow for this outing. The ALP seems a little under gunned for these conditions even with the setback. I love to use the powder plate when we get deep powder here. Often our powder gets heavy by the next day due to the warmer conditions. The plate works great for me. I can't take the thigh burn for long on a center mounted board in powder. I do notice the extra weight when I carry my boards, but don't notice it when skiing. I have the old and new redsigned plate which I also tested for Jeff. I have skied it 5 and 8 back on my Summit 110. I agree that there is not enough tail at 8 back on the 110 and prefer the 5 setting. I also have a riser drilled to allow a 4 setback on the 110 and another rised drilled to allow 3 on the long boards. On the Sherpa with a setback, I find I can press much harder on the tips without any fear that they'll go under which makes turning in powder much easier. I could never ski powder at all with any confidence until I started using setbacks. The first time time I tried the 120's in the trees with a setback I was amazed at how easy tree skiing in powder could be. It was like 'ALL RIGHT I'VE GOT IT NOW!'. For those who have not yet ventured off the groomed on a powder day, the powder plate will really make it easier to learn to ski it. It does away with that delicate balancing act of shifting the weight forward and backwards which a new person doesn't need to deal with when he's just trying to learn to turn in these conditions. Who else has and uses powder plates? Give Jeff some feedback so he keeps selling them. I don't want to have to go back to drilling extra holes in my risers.

Wendell

[rgzip]

" The ALP seems a little under gunned for these conditions"

There's no doubt that my son-in-law was having a much easier time of things on the sherpas but it's nice to know you can have an enjoyable time in any conditions on the ALPs with the help of the powder plate.
I was trying to think of a way to accomplish the desired extra lift with out sacrificing the tails. one of my wild ideas, is a tip extension. Crazy?

My first time on the 120's was last weekend they were a lot of fun. I have a feeling that at my weight with 5cm set back on the 120's things would be as easy as the sherpas.

[rgzip]

Okay here's the cardboard and duct tape verison of the crazy "Tip extension" idea

[sempai]

Who else has and uses powder plates? Give Jeff some feedback so he keeps selling them. WendellI used to use powder plates on my 120s, but I stopped. It felt like they lost their skiboard feel and became more like skis. I never tried the powder plates on my ALPs. I would never want to ride them other than center mounted. That's just me.

[wjeong]

I used to use powder plates on my 120s, but I stopped. It felt like they lost their skiboard feel and became more like skis. I never tried the powder plates on my ALPs. I would never want to ride them other than center mounted. That's just me.


Sempai,

You must have been using them on hard snow as I don't notice any difference with the plate in powder other than having to sit back less.

Rg,

Those tip extensions will work if you can figure out how to make them stay on. I remember someone posting something like that a few years back.

Wendell