Mid-October PVC Jam - No snow, no bindings, no problem

2009-10-20 17:41:37

Inspired by last week's Thanks-Jibbing shenanigans, my friend Gaby decided to host another similar event this weekend. This time, however, my roommate Dana decided it would be fun to setup his newly acquired NoBoard kit and try jibbing with it. When he suggested it to me, I said: "that's a bad idea", but we wasted little time in prepping an old Nitro 162 as the platform for the NoBoard pad. With a new toy in hand, we made our way to Gaby's, the afternoon was looking to be bananas.

Dana ordered the Burton NoBoard kit in the early fall because he figured it would be fun and hilarious (often things that are mortally dangerous are also fun and hilarious). Plus with the benefit of pro-deals it was a worthwhile investment since the opportunities to use it in armpits deep powder are generally limited in these parts and $199 CDN is a little steep for an instrument of shenanigans.

NoBoard setup

The NoBoard kit includes almost everything required to get set up (pad, mounting hardware, and leash), you just need to provide the snowboard. The only problem is that once the snowboard is used as a NoBoard, it will forever be a NoBoard (or possibly a splintered mess after you've crashed into enough things while using it). The pad is a giant sticker; once it's on, it's not coming off.

When setting up the NoBoard, you must make sure to line up the pad where you want to position it before peeling off the backing. The slots of the pad must properly line up with the board inserts; there are slots to accommodate three and four hole patterns as well as ICS. Mark the position of the pad then peel and stick.

The next step is to attach the loop straps for the leash. These are fastened to the board using the inserts that are exposed in the slots cut into the NoBoard pad (remember, we lined them up with the inserts). This will require one screw for 3-hole insert patterns or ICS, and two screws for 4-hole insert patterns. One gotcha we encountered was that the screws provided by Burton were too short. If you use the provided washers, it's nearly impossible to get the screws threaded into the inserts. Fortunately, we had some screws kicking around with the same thread but about one quarter of an inch longer so we were able to finish the assembly.

The other snag we encountered was that the Burton instructions were not clear on how to sandwich the two washers and loop strap. The washer ensures that the screw head does not pull through the hole in the strap, so we decided the best configuration would be to put the screw in the beveled plastic washer, the metal washer beneath it, then the loop strap, then screw the whole thing into the desired insert hole; easy peezy, mac 'n cheesy.

When the straps are attached to the board, thread the leash through the front strap, then thread it again through itself to secure it to the board. There is one loop at each end of the leash make sure that you thread the end with the larger loop through the front strap or you'll have a hard time getting it threaded through itself again. The other end of the leash (with the smaller loop) should have a carabiner that will hook onto the rear strap. Click it on and you're ready to ride.

Now We Shred

We got to Gaby's in the middle of the afternoon and immediately went hunting for some snow. When we got back with a trailer full of the white gold, some of the other guys had showed up and were busy setting up the tube. We took the time to get more snow this time around, four loads in total, so things would be a lot less muddy than last time (technically, however, this was still not enough for NoBoarding). While getting the second load, the arena staff came out to tell Gaby that the snow was probably full of hockey player spit. How random! (Note to self: make sure mouth is closed when falling). When she told me this I told her she should have responded by saying "it will add a little extra kick to our snow cones." -- I wonder why people don't take me seriously.

Once all the snow was shoveled into place, it was time to test out the NoBoard. After Dana guinea pigged it, and got up without any obvious signs of bleeding or other internal injuries, it was on and we spent most of the afternoon trying to jib the PVC tube with the NoBoard. Most of the other people in attendance weren't so keen on it though (perhaps they are allergic to looking dumb); they decided to session the tube while strapped into their bindings (cheaters).

The biggest challenge, I found, was lining up with the tube. It was especially difficult as it got colder and the run-in got icier; NoBoards don't turn so well on ice. In fact, we came to the conclusion that the best strategy would be to let the board decide where to go and adjust accordingly, with amusing results:

In spite of the physical torment, I'm sure there will be another NoBoard jib session at some point this season. It's a good example of using a little ingenuity, a little creativity, and a lot of disregard of self in the name of having fun. Besides, how many people can actually say they've tried jibbing on a NoBoard? And even though we crashed a lot, the afternoon wasn't entirely unsuccessful: Cody actually managed to front board the PVC pipe (high-five you bastard). Even I managed to 50-50 the pipe after it got dark. Watching this video, however, I now know why I have bruises in places where I didn't have bruises before. Fortunately all these bruises were to the fleshy parts of my body and not to my ego.

Categories: Snowboarding, Gear, Ride Journal, Moose Tech T.V. | 4 Comments

Happy Thanks Jibbing - Invasion of the shredding turkeys

2009-10-14 12:32:47

This weekend was Canadian Thanksgiving. For most of us north of the lower 48, this means no work on Monday, Turkey, and football. However, for some of us -- Yeti, Scott, Jaimie, Gaby, and myself -- it also meant a backyard PVC pipe jib jam. It was also my first day of snowboarding for the 2009/10 season (Yeti, Gaby, and Jaimie had a session on Thursday while I was having turkey with my family); not bad for the second week of October.

The plan for this backyard jib jam was actually hatched over the summer by Gaby. She works on a construction site and managed to score a large piece of PVC tubing in exchange for bringing the workers coffee every morning during the summer months. With the PVC tube tucked away in her yard, all that was missing was some snow.

The weather in October in these parts is generally not cold enough for precipitation to fall as snow. Occasionally we get lucky, but even then the ground is too warm for it to stick. This year was no exception so we would have to provide our own snow if we wanted to get any jibbing done. For this purpose, the local hockey rink is a gold mine. So we drove five minutes to the nearest rink to load up a trailer full of that white gold. Once back, Gaby and Jaimie fired up the BBQ to make food while Yeti, Scott, and I got busy being a surrogate for mother nature and old man winter (i.e. spreading the snow on the ground in such a way as we could ride on it).

After an awesome feast of steaks and chili dogs, it was time to suit up and shred. It was closing in on 8PM at this point, however, so flood lights were required -- my abilities with the force are not yet well enough developed to allow me to jib with my eyes closed. Somehow, I was selected by committee to "guinea pig" the setup. I wasn't that concerned about it though, after all what could possibly go wrong on a backyard PVC tube jib (famous last words perhaps). The test went smoothly and no adjustments were required so the rest of the crew started jibbing without hesitation.

We sessioned the setup for about two hours. between high-fives, discussions about how we had more snow than Chill on the Hill, and hope that Jay Peak opening weekend would be late October rather than mid-November, we progressively got bolder on the PVC tube. Yeti and I both attempted spins onto the pipe with varying degrees of success: a higher degree for Yeti, a lower degree for me.

Highlights of the night included Gaby's successful attempt to 50-50 the full length of the tube; something she'd never managed to do before. However, she got owned by karma when she claimed it before she owned it: she started celebrating before coming to a complete stop and wound up falling on her backside when she ran out of run-out snow and got stuck on the grass. Scott also landed his first ever front board; on the last hit of the night no less. Check out some of the video footage documenting our Thanks Jibbing shenanigans. Unfortunately neither of the above highlights actually made it into the video due to a software glitch:

This weekend was a good example of voluntary simplicity. With nothing more than our snowboards (skis for Yeti), a big piece of plastic pipe, and some second hand snow form a hockey arena, we felt inwardly rich for a few hours while shredding with friends in spite of the light rain that started to fall throughout the night. Even though the setup was pretty basic, it provided a few hours of fun for our whole group regardless of skill level. This shows that the important thing is not so much where or what you ride, but who you ride with. For a few hours, we were all ten years old again, playing in the backyard with our friends. I can't think of a better way to start the season.

Categories: Snowboarding, Ride Journal, Moose Tech T.V. | 0 Comments

Introducing Moose Tech T.V. - The birth of the Mighty Moose

2009-05-21 20:47:49

Digital technology has made it easy for anyone to produce and share videos. Digital video and video editing software make it easier for the average person to make professional looking videos at a low cost, while YouTube and Vimeo provide venues where these same amateur filmmakers can express themselves. With this in mind, my roommate Dana and I decided to get in on the action. The result that was hatched from our collective coconuts was Moose Tech T.V.

Episode One: The Birth of the Mighty Moose

In the first ever episode of Moose Tech T.V., we introduce the viewers to Moose Tech. Moose Tech is our pet project which is the convergence of low and high snowboard technology. This emphasizes the notion that, even though technology can make snowboarding more fun, it won't necessarily make you a better snowboarder. This has lead to the development of the Mighty Moose (I believe the words "if I can ride this, I can ride anything" were uttered more than once).

This episode also introduces the Moose Chug game. You may have already guessed that Moose Chug is a drinking game (even though I don't drink... my glass was full of ginger ale. I hate to disappoint).

Hopefully as Dana and I get more comfortable with video editing, Moose Tech T.V. episodes will come out more frequently. In the meantime, pour yourselves a drink, and enjoy the premiere episode of Moose Tech T.V.

Categories: Snowboarding, Videos, Moose Tech T.V. | 0 Comments