Some stories and feedback that got to us.

Archived here is some of what appeared on the Letters & Stories and Poetic Scrapbook pages of the earlier stoked.at site version.

(only plain text without the images and links that were included on the original pages)

Hallo Zusammen,

bei den Bildern könnt´ich gleich wieder los in die Berge !! Seit ca. 4 Jahren bin ich begeisterte, fast will ich sagen fanatische raceboarderin. Im Frühjahr bin ich immer total pleite weil alles Geld, welches ich irgendwoher bekommen kann "in den Schnee" fließt...

Ich, bzw. wir - mein Freund und ich (fährt auch race und skwal) sind mitlerweile schon in vielen Skigebieten gewesen, aber was mir persönlich immer wieder auffällt, dass es fast überhaupt keine Frauen auf raceboards zu sehen gibt. Und eine Frau auf einem Virus oder pogo schon gleich gar nicht. WIESO nicht?? Wissen die denn nicht wie unglaublich g... es ist üble Furchen in die Piste zu reißen und diesen Druck in den Beinen zu spüren. DANN fühlt man doch, dass man (Frau) lebt !!!

Ja gut, dass wir mal drüber gesprochen haben...

Jedenfalls und überhaupt ist die stoked Seite seeeeeeeeeehr fein !!!

In diesem Sinne - mehr raceboarderinnen braucht das Land !

Viele liebe Grüße aus Düsseldorf

Tina (das snowboardtinchen)

[ Vielen dank für diese botschaft deretwegen diese ‘Letters' page überhaupt erst eingerichtet wurde ... auch werden wir weiteres feedback von weiblichen ridern hier gerne präsentieren und hoffen ebenfalls auf mehr frauen die so shredden wie Du oder Victoria Jealouse auf diesem foto aus dem Snowboard Journal ]

Auf meiner Website hat es ein paar Stories...vielleicht gefällt Dir ja eine oder Du kannst meine ganze Website mit Deiner verlinken...

Cool, Deine Seite ist sehr informativ....

Viel Spass und Sportliche Grüsse

URSULA

www.ursulabruhin.ch

Deine Seite finde ich übrigens super gelungen....endlich mal was aus allen Richtungen des Alpinboardens...auch was das Extreme angeht...da lacht einem das Herz ;)

Danke und viele Grüsse
Susanne

Bernhard, love your site. You're getting me pumped quite early this season!

rice girl [ SnOhio forum ]

Hallo und guten Abend!

Vorab möchte ich erst einmal mein dickes Lob über Deine wirklich erstklassige Hompage aussprechen, über die ich neulich durch's MBM (Ausgabe Jan.'05) gestolpert bin und mich durch und durch gelinkt habe! Und wenn ich mich etwas salopp ausdrücken darf, dann kann ich nur sagen, daß mir der Sabber floß, als ich die Videos gesehen habe! Ich selber carve seit 5 Jahren und bis dato meiner Meihnung nach nicht schlecht, doch was ich da gesehen habe - respekt! Mehr geht nicht!!!! Um an dieses Level zu gelangen, muß ich wohl noch ein wenig üben!

Ich fahre aktuell den F2 Speetster SL 163 (01/02) und bin mit diesem Brett komplett durch! Desweiteren liebäugel ich seit geraumer Zeit mit dem aktuellen F2 Silberpfeil 168, kann mich aber noch nicht dazu entscheiden ihn zu kaufen! Nach relativ kurzer Recherche, bin ich nun zum Entschluß gekommen, mir ein Extremecarver von SWOARD zu kaufen!

[...] In diesem Sinne verbleibe ich Vorab mit besten Dank, freundlichen Grüßen und dem Zitat: best carves to you!

C. Orlik

[ MBM SWOARD F2 ]

Great job!! Your site is really sweet!!
I wish you were working on mine instead!!

Just returned from a three week road trip, starting with SES 2005 in Aspen. Hope you can make it next year. Good fun!

Bryan

- I buy Vintage Snowboards of all makes and models. Historian also seeks mags, posters, videos, stickers, clothes, most anything 8 years and older. Thanks!!! Just remember www.oldsnowboards.com

[ SES ]

Hallo,

bin über die page vom sigi grabner auf deine Homepage gestoßen, gefällt mir sehr gut. Weiter so!

Habe eine Frage zum Artikel "Burton to Re-Enter Alpine Market" weißt du da was neues oder ist das nur ein April Scherz gewesen?

Grüße aus Graz,

stefan

[ Aus welchen gründen auch immer ist es eher schwierig von Burton eine stellungnahme zum alpinboarden zu bekommen und so gibt es eben immer wieder gerüchte wie das angesprochene vom ersten april 2004 :) ]

Ok I won't tell you that I'm on my way to WP for some freshies. Here's part of my snowline this morning:

Good morning fellow snow carnivores, it's the Winter Park Snow Goddess with your ski and snowboard report for Wednesday, January 12th. We've got a heaping helping of powder for you, 2 inches in the last 24 hours with almost 3 feet recorded by the ski patrol this week. We're flaunting a 54" mid-mountain base and a 63" base at the summit. The terrain park features are freshly groomed and ready for you to go huge.

The snow conditions up here are enough to make you drool! We have 16 lifts running with 113 trails and 2,060 freshly-powdered acres for you to pounce on, rip to shreds and devour!

Seeya,

Cindy

[ Cindy Kleh (Snowboarder, Snow Goddess, Writer) also provided some articles for stoked.at! ]

It's funny when I coach b/c I can say "Now....bend your knees". That sounds simply enough. However, my rider may be leaning back out of FEAR. So, before I can get them to bend their kneew and get forward, I need to understand and relate to the fear that exists. It's soooooo much more mental than people think b/c certain body movement are inheirant to fear.

Kent

[ good point and for advanced confidence gaining there are some practice drills available on this page ]

echt coole seite übrigens - gratuliere. ich habe leider nicht so viel zeit zum surfen - daher auch meine verspätete antwort...

lg sigi

[ SG Snowboards by Sigi Grabner ]

Hello!

Damn, I just noticed that you were not in our links page.

Now you are :-)

Best regards!

Patrice

Dave (Canada)

I may have had an unusual start to snowboarding. I'd just turned 30, didn't snow ski, had hung up the steel-shoe synonymous with dirt-track motorcycle racing and tossed away the studded tires that are essential for motorcycle ice-racing. How was I going to get my speed ‘fix'? Where was I going to find the adrenaline rush that comes from being just on the edge of... of what?

Enter into the picture Kevin Delaney. Some of you may recognize that name as the television colour commentator during the PGS Alpine Snowboard events at the Salt Lake City Olympics in 2002. Kevin, and his brother Brian, owned and operated a snowboard camp for adults. It was this camp that sealed my fate during the winter of 1993. They put us into hardboots and fastened us to freeride boards with plate bindings. Three days later many of us had not only mastered getting down the Colorado slopes unscathed, but were able to do it with linked turns.

It was at this camp that I knew I was hooked. At some point during the camp at Buttermilk, I managed to get my board up on edge, albeit briefly, and felt the indescribable feeling that comes from a clean, carved turn. Not only was I hooked on snowboarding, but I'd also found my old friend, ‘the rush'. Although I didn't make it to the slopes again that winter, I could hear them calling.

Since that first season, there has been a slow progression in my search for ‘the rush'. First came the seasons of being speed-freak. Try as I might, I just couldn't control the speed. Then came the seasons of gear-freak. Try as I might, I just couldn't control my spending in hopes of getting the best equipment! It wasn't until I met up with a group of seasoned carvers that I made the next step in my progression, that of carve-apprentice. It still amazes and humbles me when I realize how little I knew about making clean, pencil-thin lines in the snow and how willing these journeymen (& women) were to offer guidance, support and even their equipment to ride.

During my carve apprenticeship I've learned to control speed by carving across and sometimes even up the fall line. I've learned to read the terrain, looking for rollers and banks that just beg to augment a rider's carving sensation. I've learned how to share my equipment with those looking to give alpine boarding a try, but more than that, I've learned there is a whole other side to alpine snowboarding... the racecourse. This season I took my first run through the gates. Amazing. Humbling.

Suddenly my apprenticeship has taken a new direction... just when I thought I was an alpine snowboarder.

Tim Rider Page (USA)

Carving is the best. Been surfing since 1951. Skiing since 1959 untill I started snowboarding in 1992 on soft boots. Only do soft boots in powder now.

Bernhard Rider Page (Austria)

Mir persönlich hat jeder Schritt Spaß gemacht ... das erste Mal das Board bewegen, einige Turns zu schaffen, schwierigere Abfahrten durchdriften, Tiefschneefahren und auf der Piste die ersten mehr oder weniger gecarvten Turns ... alles mit einem Freecarveboard und Hardboots. Wenn jemand meint Snowboarden wäre mit Freestyleboards und Softboots leichter zu erlernen müssen ich und ein paar andere die talentiertesten Snowboardanfänger der Welt gewesen sein ...

Alpinecarving profile page available on other site (Canada)

hehe I have one funny story...

I was carving real low and compact on a wide green run, all the way across the fall line and back on a 181 with 15m sidecut, so real big carves, and at every toeside finish I would look up the fall line to see if anyone was bombing down and going to take my line. So no one was there so I blasted down into a heelside left carve, and right as I was perpendicular to the fall line about to transfer to toeside, I see this idiot guy bombing down the fall line so fast right in front of me right into my line, about to colide! I didn't even have enough time to bail, but luckily, he bombed right into my board, which was angled at about 50 degrees because I was carving on edge, and he took it like a jump and got launched into the air and did a cartwheel, then miraculously landed on his board before catching an edge and sliding ass first down the fall line. Hehe no one got hurt, except my topsheet that motherf*cker :) But i was getting a new board anyways, so i was just happy he didn't hit his head since he didn't have a helmet.

Dieter Krassnig Pro Rider (Austria)

ja, damals [in den 90ern] waren alpinsnowboarder noch opinionleader, trendsetter usw coole jungs denen alles egal war, hip hop -trallala, party usw... jetzt schredden da farblose typen die den ganzen tag am ergometer sitzen und denken sie wären so cool wie damals peter bauer... und damals gab´s noch
super-g, ein event mit speed, mit adrenalin und mit netten wipeouts.. heute kurven wir im flachen umher da die FIS denkt es käme besser am TV - die haben keine ahnung was story schafft, was die leute sehen wollen.... aber zum glück gibts den BX - da hol ich mir meine dosis adrenalin +auch die motivation im alpinen meine sponsoren zu beglücken um davon leben zu können

take it easy

JCallen profile page available on other site (USA)

My first day ever on an alpine setup. It was a really crappy day, actually. I was riding my Oxygen Proton 178, with a 14m sidecut and I didn't realize the speed needed to turn it. I was having a grand old time until I went to do a toeside turn, and fell and broke me nose. Hey, it was fun though.

Al email link (USA)

I am an old fart to start this story- 58 yr young. I refuse to let age dictate what I do or how I do it. I started skiing when I was about 44 yr old thanks to a working friend of mine that hauled me up to the slopes on Friday night and fitting me up with gear to ski. I have two children a daughter who is 36 and a son who is 30 so after I told them I was going skiing they said "great , lets go sometime" So fast forward several years and new pairs of skis every year my kids start snowboarding and then start working on me to try it. I kept saying no no no but they kept saying yes yes yes.. so one Christmas day I said ok - lets rent a snowboard and see what this is about. Well, a few hours later and a very sore ass with bruises on both cheeks I said "enough of this where is my skis?" I started to watch them and others from the lift and see how it would and could be fun to ride a board instead of two sticks and two poles. So next year I tried it again and again I had a sore ass and bruises but kept at it - I am a stubborn 48 yr old at this time, 6′3″ or 191 cm so I had a long way to fall. I then bought my own boots and board so I did not have to keep renting each time I wanted to go, local snowboard shop talked me into a 175 Glissade Longboard which in hindsight now was way too much board for me at the time. So I continue to try and learn, take lessons and then my daughter dated a guy who was a alpine racer/snowboarder and she told me of a different type of snowboard equipment - Hard boots and narrow boards - my engineering ears perked up and I said to her "tell me more , this sounds like what snowboarding should be" At this time I was riding intermediate runs on my only snowboard but felt I needed a little more boot support due to my 220 lbs or 100 kg, So when I heard her tell me about hard boots and a snowboard mating together, my feet and ankles start to yell to me "yes yes - let's try that!" SO then I find Bomber , learn a bunch about hard boots, buy a pair of Raichles and Trench Digger bindings - and then start to experiment with binding angles and a couple of boards - mainly freeride boards since finding an alpine board was not easy. A couple of years pass and I start believing that hard boots was an excellent idea but couldn't hook up on the snow very well due to limited board selection. I find a Burton Coil at a cheap price , mount my binding take two rides down the hill and sell it. Buy a Volkl 173 RennTiger and found what I thought I was looking for - excellent ride - tight turns - high speed stability and best of all, I hang my skis up forever. Now my quiver of boards is or has been 178 Volkl RT, 174 Prior 4X4, 173 Volkl RT, 177 F2 Speedster, 185 Prior WCR, 163 Volkl SL, 177 Donek FC, 177 Coiler AM. The Volk 178 RT 004 model is by far my favorite ride mainly due to its smoothness and easy ride ability - I can ride it all day for 4 days straight and not be tired where all the other boards tire me easily but ride pretty darn nice - like the Coiler 177 AM- great board but not for 4 days. Now I can ride without damaging or tiring my weak knees or ankles - and pass most skiers down the hill and PLUS my kids can not catch their dad anymore - Just too fast for them. Hope to keep riding hard boots and narrow boards even when I am 80 yr old.

 

Ursula Bruhin Pro Rider (Switzerland)

Auf dem Podest zu brillieren, die Beste zu sein und im Mittelpunkt zu stehen gibt ein solches Glücksgefühl, dass man alles andere vergessen kann. Doch dieses ‚Flash' hält nicht lange an. Erfolg und Geld allein, machen nicht glücklich. Wieder zuhause angekommen bleibt letztlich alles beim Alten. Du fällst sogar in ein Loch, in ein Tief, weil sich doch nichts geändert hat. In einer Woche spricht keiner mehr davon. Dann fährst du wieder ein Rennen und wieder ein Rennen. Es ist nicht das Ziel alleine, das wichtig ist. Der Weg zum Ziel ist es, was einen stark macht. Das Leben selbst auf dem Weg soll Freude machen. Diese Freude mit guten Freunden zu teilen ist doppelte Lebensqualität. Diese Lebensqualität kann man ins Unendliche verdoppeln, wenn man sich in die offenen Arme von Jesus Christus legt.

Peter email link (USA)

January 21, 2004 We decided to do a day shot to Aspen for some carving - hard boots, long alpine boards. It meant leaving Denver at 4AM, but Todd and I both had the day off, so we figured why not. Our connection, Larry, couldn't make it, but he gave us Joey's number in Aspen: "He'll show you around." Seemed fine with us. Slightly before 8AM, we rolled into town on a blue sky beauty of a day. Outside Joey's condo was a PureCarve board, maybe 170cm or so, with Bomber bindings; we were at the right place, so we knocked and entered. Joey, Sparky, and Mike. Three gray-haired guys, all around 60, greeted us between sips of coffee, gulps of oatmeal, and trips to the bathroom. As they shuffled along, getting ready for a day of riding,Todd and I looked at each other - what had we gotten ourselves into? These guys were our guides? We followed the gang to Buttermilk, via the Tiehack lift. They put on their helmets, laughing and needling each other continuously, put on their alpine boards, and up we went. At the top it was simply "follow us," and they were gone. An alpine board carves an unbroken trench in the snow in the form of an arc, and you can place a #2 pencil in any part of the turn a good rider makes. Todd and I looked down at three sets of perfect turns, and we looked ahead as three riders disappeared beneath us. If we didn't move fast, they'd be gone for good. We rode Tiehack, we rode Summit Express, and we rode Buttermilk West. And these guys didn't stop: 2000 foot vertical runs, at speed, all morning, in the sunshine, on the groomers. Trenches everywhere. Lots of laughs, lots of turns, lots of stories. Lunch, then to Aspen Highlands for the steep stuff. The steep stuff now ? Do these guys ever stop? Yeah, about 3:00. We had a beer with the boys in the lodge at the base of Buttermilk. Mike and Sparky had flown in from California the day before, and this was their first day of the season. They were a bit tired, they admitted, as they laughed and told more stories. Outside the XGame frenzy - it was starting in two days - had already begun. Half pipes, loud music, and all the dudes. And I'm hanging with three "old" guys who make the best carved turns on the hill, turning the heads of just about everyone on the chair lifts as they rip on by. You want to talk about what riding is all about? Ride with these guys.

 

* * * p o e t i c S c r a p b o o k * * *

 

1) When ever I hear about a young freestyler going too big and getting hurt, I stop and think for a moment, and say to myslef... Natural Selection

2) This is not a mono-ski, a skiboard, a Grooveboard, a teleboard, or a cross-country snowboard. It looks like this because it is the fastest, hardest, and most bad-ass snowboard around, and it makes me feel hapy.

3) My church is not a building, my priest is not a man. My church is a long, wide groomer, my priest the weather, and my god lies within the eternity that arises when you send yourslef sailing over a knoll with a perfectly timed transition.

4) Careful son, watch out for that trench.

////////////////////////////////////////
veni
vedi
carvy
////////////////////////////////////
Yeah, I used to ski.
//////////////////////////////////
Fun, the best thing to have.
More snowboards, the second best.
////////////////////////////////////
Who do I have to sleep with to get first ride up the chair?
/////////////////////////////////////
Todays lesson: going fast.
Next week we will cover stopping.

"That looks like fun."
anonymous (skier)

snowboarding it`s like a drug for me

Those of us who ‘free ride' the earth have a bit of eccentrcity that has remained largely undefined. To find pleasure ridng in snow, waves, and air is an allure, even an acquired taste if you will. It is not meant for the masses of people. Though, not as fine as a fine Chardonnay perhaps but, once aquired is more intoxicating than any wine. And it can become a passionate pursuit, a mistress, a lover, and a lifelong partner.

-Think Snow.
-Moguls Suck.
-Snow cats turn me on.
-My board is bigger than yours.
-Stoked.at: Where every day is an expression session.
-I used to ski.
-Wanna Race?
-I can ride circles around you...Literally.
-Ask me about my board. Please?
-Softies Suck.
-That wasn't a fall.
-I meant to do that, you know.

Hell, it's just plain fun!

Speed / Racing theme

-Get your spead freak on. Alpine snowboarding.
-Yes, it's a snowboard. Wanna race?
-Get used to seeing the back of my head.
-Good luck trying to keep up.
-If you were fast, I'd still pass you.
-Fast.
-You are like a (slowly) moving gate to me.
-You are like a (slowly) moving gate to me. Don't worry, I usually don't bash them.
-My board is to a Ferrari as yours is to a Toyota. Alpine snowboarding.
-Speed is nothing without control. Alpine snowboarding.
-Alpine Snowboarding, riding down the mountain faster than you can say "What the #@!&"
-The hardest part about alpine snowboarding isn't the equipment. It's spending so much time on the lift.
-Gates and Plates. Alpine Snowboard Racing.
-Gates, Plates, and Waits (for your friends). Alpine Snowboard Racing.
-Freestlye is fun, racing is work.
-Judges can be bribed, but the clock can't be. Alpine Snowboard Racing.

Anti- Freestyle / Pro Carving

-Continue to jib and jump. I will carve around you at blinding speeds.
-Stay in the park or risk being my slow moving gate.
-"Just say no" to park monkeys.* (*from the 80s "just say no" anti-drugs campaign)
-No, I can't really do many tricks. But you're probably not good enough to ride my board, so it's all good!
-No, I can't really do tricks on this board. But you can't really carve on yours, so it's all good!
-You ride a rail. I rail every ride. Alpine snowboarding. (I like this one)

Respect theme

-Technique. Power. Speed. Alpine snowboarding. (I like this one)
-Technique. Strength. Speed. Guts. Alpine Snowboarding.
-Respect the Old Skool. Alpine Snowboarding.
-Got technique? Alpine snowboarding.* (*taken by the "got milk?" campaign)
-Respect the Old Skool. Or you will get Skooled. =). Alpine snowboarding. (include a smiley at end)
-I might be old but I'm still faster than you :).
-Hard boots, hard bindings, hard pack. Hard as #&*!. Alpine snowboarding.

Carving theme

-I carve like crazy so you can skid.
-Carving lessons taught here.
-Caution: makes wide turns (like those road signs)
-Trench Digger.* (obviously taken from BOL).
-Caution: Leaves Deep Ruts.
-Free carving lessons taught here. (get it? "ha ha" i know., cheesy..)

Misc

-Old Skool.
-Performance > Style.
-Carving instructor.
-Hardbooter freak.
-Weird board, hardboot, plate binding guy. (play on the "uh what that heck is that thing?" state of mind)
-The Weapon Mountain Destruction is attached to my feet. Alpine snowboarding.
-What's your ? (for the laid back friendly side of all of us)
-Step up to the plate. Alpine snowboarding. (another sorta cheesy one)
-Down with the G's. Alpine snowbording. (the urban influence here)

Adult humor

-I hate skid marks. Freecarving.
-Alpine snowboarding: Guys With Size
-I'm hard right now. Alpine snowboarding.
-The ride is quite stiff right now. Alpine snowboarding.

You ride benches I dig trenches.

p h i l o s o p h y

follow the snow hooked on the edge
sharing the stoke with folk on the slope
carve your own lines rail every ride
ride for fun close to the snow massaging the soul
with forces of nature down with the G's
I don't ride a bench watch out for that trench
painting the slope with snowboarding stoke

this one has a little norwegian influence: "bra", or "flott"

"Gorgeous"
"let it snow"
"feel free, feel snow"
"you stupid snowmelt" ... hihi, ... hm...aem...najo...

sticks like that get you laid on the slope

"I carve" or "You carve" meaning like "I rock" or "I rule"
(btw) is there a band called "supertrench"?

Live your life without limits

Here are most of the lines that are randomly displayed at the bottom of the startpage ...

Riding is its own reward in it for the total experience the soul-enriching exhilaration of great riding feeding the stoke hooked on the edge the g-force will be with you committed to the edge carve your own lines life is good that's one of those half ski, half boarding things ... it's called a Grooving Board wow awesome raceboard, guys that ride alpine are sooo hot is that hard? ... nah it's not too bad I have been dancing ballet for 30 years ... what you are doing is ballet nice turns wow I didn't know you could get your body layed out so close to the ground like that that's just about the coolest thing I've ever seen just because you are on one of those monoskis doesn't mean you can speed ... and I have no idea what that is it's falling with style when I get it right it feels like flying riding and smiling feelin' good's good enough I feel the need ... the need for speed ready to be happy? playing on the edge Careful son, watch out for that trench. The hardest part about alpine snowboarding isn't the equipment. It's spending so much time on the lift. You ride a rail? I rail every ride. I know what I'm doing this winter sharing the stoke with folk on the slope style is free I hate skid marks it's just plain fun harnessing the laws of physics to achieve an adrenaline induced euphoria it's like riding a slingshot from one carve to the next those of us who ‘free ride' the earth have a bit of eccentrcity that has remained largely undefined snow cats turn me on caution: makes wide turns down with the G's get laid on the slope think snow let it snow painting the slope you stupid snowmelt supertrench you feel 100% of what you're doing just basic riding, it's such a buzz ... ... and you're not really thinking ‘Oh, I'm weighting, I'm unweighting'. Who gives a shit. industry of cool? fun times happy trails Is that harder than snowboarding? Can you snowboard too? Is that like snowboarding? schau ... typische Snowboarderpose, sitzt do, sehr sportlich absolutely beautiful lines great carving you must be an artist Hey I remember you! You're the guy that leaves a line behind you. nice carves nice arcs Why do you ride one of those boards? ~ Follow me. they say jump, you say how high? now you do what they told ya? That looks like fun! What do you call it? ~ Snowboarding.