Posted: October 19th, 2011 | Author: Aaron | Filed under: Boards | Tags: 2012, Libtech, Powder, Review | No Comments »
Lib-Tech does it again. The company that kick-started the rocker revolution and brought magnetraction to the world has a fresh take on the powder board. The Birdman takes a normal board and wraps it with a massive powder nose. The goal is to create a board with unmatched float that still holds an edge traversing across nasty stuff on the way to the goods.
A quick glance at the specs of the Birdman give a hint that something’s going on. The massive 170 has the same contact length and sidecut radius as the Attack Banana 156. It seems that Lib has taken an attack banana-lik design and mounted a massive nose on the board. The nose gives you float when you’re in powder, and the attack banana design gives you control when you’re not.
Our thoughts: Can’t wait to give one a try. One of the big complaints we have with highly tapered pow boards is that they don’t track well on edges. You don’t want to traverse an ice-field above a big cliff on a tapered board. The Birdman solves this problem by keeping the edging of a normal board. And we can only imagine what it’s like to open up in a big powder field on a 170 or 180.
Camber: The Birdman has Lib’s BTX, which is their reverse-camber “banana” design plus magnetraction.
Shape: With a nose like that, it’s clearly directional.
Sizes and Options: You’ve got two choices – massive and gigantic. The Birdman comes in 170 and 180 lengths, both are wide with 26 and 26.5 waste widths.
Posted: January 3rd, 2010 | Author: Aaron | Filed under: Boards | Tags: 2010, Libtech, Powder, Review, Rocker | No Comments »
Lib-Tech puts a lot of design innovation into the signature models for their resident mad-man Travis Rice. Besides offering ice-gripping magnetraction and a choice of camber options (traditional camber or Lib’s C2BTX), they also offer park-focused blunt nose shapes and powder-specific pointy shapes. We care about powder, so we’re focused on the pointy shaped options.
With no taper and a minimal set-back, this board relies on the old-standby’s of speed and rear leg burn to keep the nose floating. But if you’re like Mr. Rice and spend almost as much time riding fakie as normal even on powder days, taper would only get in the way. And with magnetraction, you aren’t going to be hating life if you stumble on some hard-pack on your way to the deep stash.
Our thoughts: This isn’t the board that you’re going to take on a back-country trip. It’s designed for the rider who wants to rip all conditions; not just powder. We’re purists and aren’t looking for any sacrifice in the white room, but it we could only have one board, this would make the short list.
Camber: Available with Lib’s C2BTX, which is rocker between the bindings and camber underneath them. This gives the fun of rocker with the powder of camber.
Shape: Directional twin-tip with a slight set-back.
Sizes and Options: The powder tip comes in a 161.5 and 164.5, as well as a blunt tip shape in 153 and 157. You choose between camber or C2BTX.
Posted: September 26th, 2009 | Author: Mark | Filed under: Powder Stash, Resorts | Tags: Fun Runs, Powder, Trees | No Comments »
Some quick and easy tree runs near Midvail
One of the things I love most about a mountain the size of Vail is I can almost always find somewhere with powder even if the rest of the mountain is tracked out. Vail in particular seems to have two or three distinct snow zones which typically vary greatly in snow quantity.
So, when in doubt, keep looking… keep dropping into new areas.
One problem: As we all know, not all clusters of trees are created equal. Growing up in Colorado, my friends and I affectionately referred to some areas as deadly trees. These trees were too close together, had too many fallen logs, rocks and other obstacles to enjoy riding. So, I’m letting you know of a few places I’ve had good luck with in the past.
This first patch is just to the left of Midvail. It doesn’t look like much on the map but has the advantage of being close to runs should you decide to bail on the power. When you drop off the Mountaintop Express head down Springsville. You can either drop in at Whistle Pig or Cappuccino and immediately cut into the trees to your right. Inside you’ll find nice powder and friendly trees for a nice “run between runs.”
If you head down further and drop in near the top of Riva Ridge you’ll find a very long tree run crisscrossed with cat tracks allowing you to drop out at regular intervals. If you’re hard core you can ride these trees all the way to Golden Peak.
Have fun, be safe and send us a note with your favorite powder spots and we’ll add them to the site!
