illiterateabc
02-09-2010, 11:04 PM
Here's my review of the two days of awesome I spent at Winter Park, CO.
I brought both my newly bought 2007 BWPs and my well broken-in Spruce 120s. I figured I may need both in case the BWPs couldn't handle the powder I was expecting. Turns out I didn't even ride the 120s; the BWPs were everything I needed and more! However, I did need to get used to a few things that differed from my previous experiences.
A little background: I am 5'8" and 135 lbs. I started off on Line Bullets and then Spruce 120s. Both of these have turn radii greater than 7.6 meters compared to the 4.9 meter turn radius of the BWPs. Up until now, I was a strongly blue/black rider but pretty much stayed on groomed runs. Steeps would kill my legs as I was sorta wary of too much speed and as a result I would skid the turns on my 120s.
Aside--more on steeps:
My friend on long skis beats me after the steepness reaches a certain point; that point is when I suddenly lose trust in my edges, brake too hard and bleed too much speed in my turns. I become less confident in pointing down the fall line. I think the variable/choppy terrain plays a large role in this confidence loss. However, after the steepness gets firmly blue or well groomed, I start making quicker, shorter carves, exiting turns much sooner and running more straight down the fall line; when I do that, I can keep up and even beat my long ski friend.
/aside
Day 1
Snow fell all day long. My friends (on long skis) and I decided to have fun in the glades on Mary Jane mountain off of the Panoramic Express lift. I had never done tree runs before so I wasn't sure what to expect. After my first run, I looked like a kid that was just introduced to chocolate cake. The BWPs killed it in the trees, so much that my ski friends were unable to follow my lines. I felt the ultimate freedom picking any line I wanted. Officially addicted to trees.
One thing I noticed was that I could keep my legs closer together and merely pivot my weight over the knees--simply like flying, an amazing feeling. It wasn't a hard carve--it was like turning corners in a skate park/swimming pool. Inertia became my friend.
It wasn't all perfect; on top of Mary Jane mountain in the bowl, I noticed that the ice hold on the BWPs was not as good as the other two boards I've ridden, which is probably due to the more aggressive sidecut. I believe I may be able to fix this with better technique like minimizing any skidding in my turns, taking less weight off the heels and following the natural edge radius of the boards. Can anyone verify this?
Day 2
The second day was warmer and the powder was a little bit more packed. My friend and I decided to tackle bumps.
Sooo...three feet deep troughs of packed powder, blue/black steepness = difficult! Again, ice hold was again an issue here, but my technique was the main reason why I was having a hard time. I spent too much time stopped and thinking about which line to take rather than just letting the terrain take me. I made it down, just very ungracefully and totally inefficiently. My quads were also toast.
To sum it up, I now lust after ungroomed terrain and the BWPs are my go-to board for several reasons:
1) They handled powder excellently for me due to my weight and the high blunt tips
2) They are short enough for me to feel confident using non-release bindings and are therefore a lightweight, extremely responsive package
3) I believe I prefer the tight turning radius with the option of widening my carves compared to a wider radius and having to skid my turns when needed
4) They skate really well
5) Short sticks = balance development!
5) The '07 graphics are tight
I love the BWPs and Winter Park. I hope I can come here again!
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_RJlANA4cuUs/S2-56AvDWZI/AAAAAAAAE0Q/Vx4FI_jCn2w/s800/IMG_2216.JPG
I brought both my newly bought 2007 BWPs and my well broken-in Spruce 120s. I figured I may need both in case the BWPs couldn't handle the powder I was expecting. Turns out I didn't even ride the 120s; the BWPs were everything I needed and more! However, I did need to get used to a few things that differed from my previous experiences.
A little background: I am 5'8" and 135 lbs. I started off on Line Bullets and then Spruce 120s. Both of these have turn radii greater than 7.6 meters compared to the 4.9 meter turn radius of the BWPs. Up until now, I was a strongly blue/black rider but pretty much stayed on groomed runs. Steeps would kill my legs as I was sorta wary of too much speed and as a result I would skid the turns on my 120s.
Aside--more on steeps:
My friend on long skis beats me after the steepness reaches a certain point; that point is when I suddenly lose trust in my edges, brake too hard and bleed too much speed in my turns. I become less confident in pointing down the fall line. I think the variable/choppy terrain plays a large role in this confidence loss. However, after the steepness gets firmly blue or well groomed, I start making quicker, shorter carves, exiting turns much sooner and running more straight down the fall line; when I do that, I can keep up and even beat my long ski friend.
/aside
Day 1
Snow fell all day long. My friends (on long skis) and I decided to have fun in the glades on Mary Jane mountain off of the Panoramic Express lift. I had never done tree runs before so I wasn't sure what to expect. After my first run, I looked like a kid that was just introduced to chocolate cake. The BWPs killed it in the trees, so much that my ski friends were unable to follow my lines. I felt the ultimate freedom picking any line I wanted. Officially addicted to trees.
One thing I noticed was that I could keep my legs closer together and merely pivot my weight over the knees--simply like flying, an amazing feeling. It wasn't a hard carve--it was like turning corners in a skate park/swimming pool. Inertia became my friend.
It wasn't all perfect; on top of Mary Jane mountain in the bowl, I noticed that the ice hold on the BWPs was not as good as the other two boards I've ridden, which is probably due to the more aggressive sidecut. I believe I may be able to fix this with better technique like minimizing any skidding in my turns, taking less weight off the heels and following the natural edge radius of the boards. Can anyone verify this?
Day 2
The second day was warmer and the powder was a little bit more packed. My friend and I decided to tackle bumps.
Sooo...three feet deep troughs of packed powder, blue/black steepness = difficult! Again, ice hold was again an issue here, but my technique was the main reason why I was having a hard time. I spent too much time stopped and thinking about which line to take rather than just letting the terrain take me. I made it down, just very ungracefully and totally inefficiently. My quads were also toast.
To sum it up, I now lust after ungroomed terrain and the BWPs are my go-to board for several reasons:
1) They handled powder excellently for me due to my weight and the high blunt tips
2) They are short enough for me to feel confident using non-release bindings and are therefore a lightweight, extremely responsive package
3) I believe I prefer the tight turning radius with the option of widening my carves compared to a wider radius and having to skid my turns when needed
4) They skate really well
5) Short sticks = balance development!
5) The '07 graphics are tight
I love the BWPs and Winter Park. I hope I can come here again!
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_RJlANA4cuUs/S2-56AvDWZI/AAAAAAAAE0Q/Vx4FI_jCn2w/s800/IMG_2216.JPG