Board is wicked fast

I've always used rentals when it comes to downhill skis and snowboards. They were always good enough and maybe it was because I didn't know any better. Until now. After an evening's worth of waxing the board and dialing in the "Magenta Madness" bindings, I ventured back out to Mt. Crescent.

First time up yesterday, almost a disaster. After passing under the "check for loose articles of clothing" sign with a picture of a guy being dragged by a strap, I stand up to get off of the lift chair. I then realized that my Camelback strap was caught between the seats! Pretty sure I did the, "Oh sh*t" shout and yelled I'm caught! I ended up kicking the safety stop bar, stopping the entire chair lift. The chair had already made it's way around the turn and I was still hooked on. Got my strap free and walked off the side of the lift. Wow, embarrassing.

I buckle into my board, first thing I do is fall forward. Happens again and again because my board was digging into the snow. Not even a quarter of a way down and having second thoughts about my purchase. Great, did I buy a board that I can't ride? Then I remembered that I needed to adjust the Dialflad which sets the amount of forward lean in the bindings. Problem fixed, ready to shred the hillside!

The '09 Custom Burton ICS with Cartel EST binding is super fast, has great control, and very comfortable to ride all afternoon. The board and binding colors were definitely a head turner. Lots of looks and stares, but also a good number of compliments. Some kid behind me said OMG, that is an 09 Custom board, I gotta see the bottom. Umm okay, it was 70% off which is all that I could come up with.

Great success! Now I just need to get out to Colorado for some real snowboarding.