Rome Snowboard Design Syndicate

all natural baby

Well, winter is happening here in Northern New England.   Stowe has been getting snow since about Christmas Day.  Through the  power of modern snowmaking and grooming, you may not think it looking at your backyard, winter is here.

Above was some of the all-natural terrain (no snowmaking, no grooming, etc. )  that I rode this morning.

So it’s happening… may not be as epic or unforgettable as last year but it’s there for the taking.

Stowe’s had a foot of snow in the last week, with more snow on the way

Get after it.

This is what Liftline at Stowe looked like on Tuesday.

We had over a foot of snow a week ago. The guns are on now but I’m impatient.

I’m planning a bonfire and like a responsible citizen I know I need to call it in to the Fire Department.

So I Google “stowe fire department vermont’ and one of the top five results was this blog post about former Rome employee Capt. Al

Don’t go changin’ Capt.

So anybody who knows me, knows that I work real hard.  One might even ask why I work so hard…

Well safe to say Friday was one of those days that helps to balances it all out.  This was the scene out my window Friday morning at the office, as I was working away catching up on email…

February isn’t the busiest month for Operations, so I made a managerial decision that once my last meeting for the day was over, Justin (who works with me) and I would punch the clock and head to the mountain.

Here’s a few pics of the fun we had…

The above picture was a little early; my feeble action sports photography skills tell me to take the picture just before the good moment.

Fortunately my finger was fast enough to take this picture a few seconds later of Justin…

Justin's in there somewhere, I swear...

Here’s a picture Justin took of the scribe/photographer right after I took his picture…

(Like my pose trying to get a cell signal to email the picture?)

If you can’t tell from my beard the weather was a little harsh up on the peak on our way over to this spot.  I joked we were 5 minutes away from being the story on the morning news and 10 minutes away from the awesomeness you see in these pics (obviously, make smart choices and in poor visibility conditions only choose terrain you know EXTREMELY well)

After the picture above I started up and made some turns, and Justin captured this one of me that you may have seen on the Rome Facebook page… (I’m a big deal on the internet ya’know)

So, as you can tell a good Friday afternoon for the Operations department at Rome SDS.

So do I, but since I lost my car keys in the two minutes my pocket was open to pull my camera phone out, take the picture, and put it away, I’m not sure I’ll be able to think about  this moment with any fondness…

[NBD, I have an extra set stashed in the car for exactly these circumstances]

People who read the blog know that I’m a techy dude and one of the things I love most of my job is testing new stuff and giving feedback. It’s what the ‘Syndicate‘ in SDS means, after all.

Well there was a little car crash on the Mountain Road today in Stowe; let’s just say the Lay’s truck won’t be racing at Thunder Road any time soon.

So as I was sitting in traffic and decided to share some of the stuff I’m currently testing…

Here’s my Old 561 mitts.  I’m a big mitten person to begin with, but I’m wearing them now more than ever for a reason you’ll see below.   I especially love how they are collecting heat from my defroster; when I actually do get to the mountain, they’ll be nice and toasty.

Now, the next thing I’m currently testing is this stylish $13 wrist guard from CVS.  My major complaint is how it inhibits my shifting a little bit.   (looks like I’ve also been testing some Mansfield Dairy chocolate milk and a Red Bull)

Here’s my 2012 Libertine PF boots that Doctor Fung has me testing.  They feature the new ZeroGravity outsole.  Now I like this new outsole as it lets me feel exactly how far I have my clutch in.  Especially in situations like this, you need a nice feather touch on the pedal as you are never really getting out of first gear.  Additionally, the PureFlex lacing doesn’t stiffen the boot which is noticeable when depressing the clutch or gas pedal.

Here’s my Highway bag.  With the large opening it is easy to find things while you’re driving and keeping an eye on the road.    Below, you see my Park Pack on the floor of the passenger seat; I really enjoy how this carries my work clothes.  The side pocket is perfect for contact lens solution and holds it securely.

Well, I hope you enjoyed my quick review of the products I’m testing at this moment while I’m sitting in traffic.

Not this kind of Poaching…

Nor this kind…

And especially not this kind…

That kind of poaching, bad.

This kind of poaching:

Not so bad.

A couple years ago I did a review of the Notch on here and I definitely still love it (that board is on the wall of my office, as we had some good days together), but more and more I found myself wanting to ride switch in natural snow so last year I was on a Postermania instead of the Notch and I liked it.  Well early season wasn’t too kind to my P-Mania 159 so I had to retire it this week.

I went Postermania over Notch 1985 mainly for the groomer performance I talk about in the Notch review I link to above.    The few times I rode the Notch ’85 I found it got knocked around a little on the trail.

So when I grab a board for poaching, I’ll admit I don’t grab a new one.  I’ll grab something from a demo fleet or maybe something that has come back from a PR thing.   I know it’s going to get beaten up anyways, so it makes no sense to grab the newest freshest whatever.

I started searching around the office for the replacement and the most similar thing I found in the building was a Pusher 159 from one of last year’s shop test fleets.

I had eyed that model last year when considering the P-Mania.  I can’t remember now to why I ended up going with the P-Mania (I had ridden the P-Mania before in natural, so it was probably that comfort).

What caught my attention about the Pusher last year was the Nose and tail shape.  The squared off tip is a little more pointy so I think it stays up a little nicer and the tail sinks a little nicer.  Despite being rocker I still ride these boards  0.50 to 1.0 inch back of center to drop the tail (I always maintain my angles and width no matter what board I’m riding; I do adjust my centering based on the task the board is supposed to be performing). 

It’s the same basic Rocker concept, but the Pusher has a little more Rocker than the P-Mania.  That will always help a board’s performance in the fresh.

Thursday was my maiden voyage and I have to say I’m converted.  The Pusher is a little stiffer so it’s a little more solid under foot and really wants to be ridden a little faster. You ain’t lolly-gaggin’ down the trail with your Fish-hand in the air on this thing. You have to be a little careful when a board is trying to lure you into being more aggressive; you never know what’s lurking, so be smart (I mention knowing your terrain below and that’s really where that comes in).

So if you you’re looking for something that can go switch, go from piste to woods to side-country,  I have to say I’m excited for the rest of my season right now riding the Pusher.

The Pusher, my new poaching tool.

When you find snow up there at the end of the day you know it wasn't too shabby of a day

No animals were hurt in the creation of this blog.  Always make smart choices and go with friends.  Know and understand the terrain you’re riding.  What I duck on, I know where to be to the right of the trail, and where to be to the left; I know what “Lower” trails. 

I already hurt my wrist this season and it was on the simplest travese exiting out of my kill.  My one crash today was on the entrance of something, not actually going down the trail.  Don’t be cocky.

Mark just made a good Poaching Tool joke,  “bring someone with you in an all-over print jacket so they get busted and you get away scott-free”   I guess that rider truly would be the Poaching Tool

The past week has been super warm here in VT, so I think we can put aside any thoughts of any more late season storms.  (Man I swam in Foster’s the other day…hard to think I was riding pow just a few weeks ago)

It’s like 4 am and I can’t sleep right now so I figured I’d do a post that I’ve been meaning to do for a couple weeks.  This is the “the one picture alone isn’t enough to blog about at the time but hopefully all these random pics from the whole winter will come together as a good blog” annual retrospective blog.

I’m pretty sure I’ve used none of these pics before so feel free  to call me out if I have…

Went up to the mountain to do some "work" last fall...this was the day...effin' beautiful

This was my quiver of decks this year...P-Mania 59 was my pow board... that's my OG Design that I use as an early season hiking board on the right... I also rode an Agent 54 this winter as my skate deck

Sully holding court during our Winter Sales Meeting... That's a 2011 Smith boot in the upper left

Stared at this pic for a while wondering what the heck it was of...then realized I must've been on first chair...I'll get there early, but getting first chair on a good day at Stowe is definitely a sport that I don't generally win

This pic kind of sucks as it's back into the light...but it really has grown on me...It's also a great moment: having just hiked the chin with anticipation of the drop in

Different day but the whole world is in front of you when you're ready to drop...

Capt. Al lives in Boston now... I generally take pics like these to text to Al to vibe him on what he's missing out on...This unfortunately also shows what kind of winter we had...these pines would have been covered in another year

If you were wondering who Capt. Al is... well, he's this guy shotgunning a Hawaiian Punch before the 050601 party... Who else would he be?

Classic Stowe Locale

Another shot from the 'Brook... Smuggs in the distance

Morning Alpenglow...no Photoshop here...real deal

Anybody who lives in the mountains knows that inversions never get old...there is nothing better than being in a foggy/cloudy valley and breaking through to bluebird up top

Every year we do Ride with Rome days... This is the only pic I took...

We caught some beautiful days at Carinthia at Mount Snow (which is really doing a ton of things right BTW; if you are from the east and haven’t gone, I’d highly recommend it)   Here’s a video that tells the story much better…

What better way to end a season than with a party...Fenway may have the Pesky Pole, our parking lot whiffle ball game had the bonfire George built

…and I didn’t have the one I had been using today.

Dedicated readers of the blog will know that I’ve done a few splitboard adventures in my time.  Long story, but one of our team riders needed one and since he “gets shots” it’s safe to say I had to give up the board I had…

Well I wasn’t bummed about not having the splitboard until today (I’m sure you can find some other posts about our season here in the East).

Instead of trying to do a video I just took some shots…

So my poles are set to 46" let your eyes do the rest of the math...

So I originally took this one as well to demonstrate snow depth...notice the layers of snow that were created as the temperature changed. I'll admit this didn't make for perfect riding, but I'm not complaining.

So again skins rule...this tele guy (and his little dog too) was just closing ground on me the whole second half of the hike. He caught up just as I was strapping in. (phew)

Anyways as my last post indicated it’s good out there…go get some…

Product Used:  Design 158, Taipan Jacket, Franken- Targa Bindings, 2011 Libertine Pureflex Boots, Blitz Pack, Emblem Gloves (Hike Up),2011  Index Gloves (Ride Down)

So March was crazy warm here in VT, and when it was happening, we all knew that we were seeing days off the end of the season.  It was almost like March was doing an impression of April…

Starting with closing day, April’s been doing a good impression of March. I was trading texts with Capt. Al that this weekend definitely had good potential for snow and subsequent hiking.  So I wake up Saturday morning with shred on the brain and try to go to Stowe’s webcam to check out conditions: broken.  Well, that’s when it starts pouring here in Waterbury.  Just so I’m clear, it was POURING rain.  So I end up running errands in Burlington, ya know, a nice little Saturday, even had time to get to Bed Bath & Beyond.

So I get home and see the post Eastern Boarder has made on their Blog about Wildcat, which of course get’s me thinking about when I’ll go to Tuck’s again.  After a check of the radar, I see pink in NH and was all bummed that it seemed all the snow went to Wildcat and Mount Washington.

Well I had blown off the work I had to do this weekend until Sunday and this morning I was continuing to procrastinate when I got this photo from Josh…

A little snow at the top of the Quad...

I have to admit I wasn’t totally convinced.  I saw the icicles and remembered the POURING rain and figured the snow quality probably sucked pretty bad.

Then the call came…someone driving a snowcat had given Josh a ride up for a second run… he verified the snow was definitely the shredable variety.  One of my bosses was urging me to go ride, so my work could wait, seemed logical at the time.

I finished my game…struggled to find pants to hike and ride in…and got on the road… safe to say I shouldn’t been the first person down the trail I went down… but I was…

(POV video always seems like a better idea when recording it than when you actually have it on screen.  This is definitely my half-assed video editing, do not hold this against the Kids on Shred boys).

So East Coasters, get out there and earn some turns…

(oh BTW, West Coasters… ease up, we know you have snow, but remember those years you didn’t and then you’ll let us enjoy it when we actually get it)