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Thunderstruck riders nail 5 first ascents last weekend in Revy

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Congrats AKSnowrider........well done:beer;

Love those days on the mountain. Slayin something I was uncertain could be until that day:D.....I looked at that range for the whole year......only one sled got totalled dropping in;)
But the best part is sharing it with my riding pals and something I will remember forever:beer;:beer;
Nice touch on the contest Jim!!
The greatest sport on earth:D
RS
 
Congrats AKSnowrider........well done:beer;

Love those days on the mountain. Slayin something I was uncertain could be until that day:D.....I looked at that range for the whole year......only one sled got totalled dropping in;)
But the best part is sharing it with my riding pals and something I will remember forever:beer;:beer;
Nice touch on the contest Jim!!
The greatest sport on earth
RS

Thanks Climbmax, just got a little lucky is all.....cannot begin to explain how impressive all you big hill riders are..is such an awesome site seeing the stuff you guys pull..here's to you guys :beer;:beer;:beer;..and to jim and all the other filmmakers that allow us to see you in action..:beer;:beer;...mike
 
Great idea Jim, I am getting more excited by the day. This years offering is going to be epic!!! I can feel it.

A big salute to the men and women of Thundrstruck!!!
 
randy are you still going off or have you calmed down after that supper chute? I cant wait to see it on the big screen...
 
Jim, was that you driving home yesterday? I saw a trailer and I think it said "thunderstruck" on the side. It was just south of Shelby, heading south, around 6:30 pm.

I picked up a sled from Yellowstone and was on my way home. I always look for other sledders on the highway.
 
I can appreciate everyone doing these climbs and so on but is it not cheating doing it when the snow isn't really snow anymore and in fact is more like glue? Sure you need the power, the sled and the balls to do this in the first place but wouldn't it be a lot more impressive to do that in February or March? I would say so.
 
I can appreciate everyone doing these climbs and so on but is it not cheating doing it when the snow isn't really snow anymore and in fact is more like glue? Sure you need the power, the sled and the balls to do this in the first place but wouldn't it be a lot more impressive to do that in February or March? I would say so.

Yeah you can do it in Feb, but they are so steep that the chutes would have an extreme avy risk. Only marginally safe time to do it is in spring snow. Otherwise its too risky. Risking it all in springtime is enough, adding to the risk factor by trying to do it any other time would be stupid.

We have enough respect and admiration for these guys and the lines they pull in hard snow, I'd seriously consider boycotting a film maker if they asked or encouraged these guys (or if their viewers wanted to see it) to be completely reckless with their lives. We have enough "In Memory" threads on here as it is, and no one wants to explain to anyone's wife and kids that daddy died risking his neck for a bunch of beer drinking wanna bee's so someone could sell a couple more DVDs.
 
Nice work fellas!


I can appreciate everyone doing these climbs and so on but is it not cheating doing it when the snow isn't really snow anymore and in fact is more like glue? Sure you need the power, the sled and the balls to do this in the first place but wouldn't it be a lot more impressive to do that in February or March? I would say so.

The way I see it, spring snow is far less forgiving than soft snow. And in my book makes a spring climb equally as impressive as in pow. Ever seen a guy not a make a spring climb and slide 1000ft down a rock lined chute at mach speed on his back? I have, and it's not pretty. Many times there is no sticking the sled if you don't make it. It's a yard sale. And avy danger aside, it's more risky to make a spring climb than a pow climb. Pow is forgiving. Yes it shows what the sled is capable of, but spring snow equally, if not more so, shows what the rider is made of. Either way, pow or ice, all these type of climbs are IMPRESSIVE!
 
Yeah you can do it in Feb, but they are so steep that the chutes would have an extreme avy risk. Only marginally safe time to do it is in spring snow. Otherwise its too risky. Risking it all in springtime is enough, adding to the risk factor by trying to do it any other time would be stupid.

We have enough respect and admiration for these guys and the lines they pull in hard snow, I'd seriously consider boycotting a film maker if they asked or encouraged these guys (or if their viewers wanted to see it) to be completely reckless with their lives. We have enough "In Memory" threads on here as it is, and no one wants to explain to anyone's wife and kids that daddy died risking his neck for a bunch of beer drinking wanna bee's so someone could sell a couple more DVDs.


id do it.
 
Riding in spring snow requires a whole different skill-set. Sure, the sleds can get up a hill quicker and easier.

I can carve around rocks and trees all day in powder snow and have a ball...but when it's time to carve around them on spring snow, you'd better have your schit together. And I'm talking about carving, not two skis down on the snow and straight pointing.

It becomes less of a "wow, that was fun..." to a mindset of "holy crap, I pulled that one off...".

You have to put away your powder riding skills, (which IMO is easier and more graceful), and dig out the spring snow skills, (which causes far more bad decisions, road rash, wrecked hoods, bent tunnels, broken bodies and bruised egos than that soft forgiving fluffy powder stuff.

Imagine trying to water ski on nice buttery glass where you can carve and turn at ease..and then trying to do it when the lake is frozen with 5" of snow on top of it. NOT gonna ride with the same technique are ya? A little more risk, eh?

Try running down the sidewalk when it's dry..and then try running down the same sidewalk when it's glazed with ice. NOT the same eh? Your inner thighs are very sore at the end of that one. Different technique...and a higher risk.

It's a different muscle group.
Even after riding all winter in powder snow, I still have sore muscles in the spring after a hard ride that I didn't have in Jan, Feb and into March.

Anyone that says climbs done in spring snow are less impressive than powder snow haven't been riding enough to understand the consequences to riding in these conditions...and I'm not talking about avalanches.

A big pull in powder is a testament to BIG HP and a well set-up chassis...and some good rider ability.

But a big pull in spring snow is a testament to rider courage, technical skills under MUCH higher speeds that require a far greater need for quick reaction time.

IT's not always about HP and spring snow being easier to go UP hill on.

Some of you flatlanders are still giving flatlanders a bad name.

Think of it this way....if a guy has to turn out in February, it's easy to say that the snoconditions that day were his match. But if he messes up and rolls 2000 feet down a mtn, it's probably because he screwed up and either got tentative or made a dumb mistake.
 
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I agree with the spring riding, way less forgiving than powder riding. One important note about this season, it snowed constantly through April and half of May in Canada. Therefore, we only had maybe 2 or 3 days on spring ("hero") snow this year. You will see in TS7 that many of our climbers are throwing huge clouds of powder as they go up (We had fresh snow all year!)! It was a great, wintery spring (until those 80 degree days hit!!)

Here is another perspective shot of Randy's SUPER CHUTE. So tiny is that Apex on this hill!!!! :):face-icon-small-coo

2008RandySuperChuteweb.jpg


JIM
 
you guys are nuts. congrats on the impressive pulls, can't wait to see it in the vid.
 
Riding in spring snow requires a whole different skill-set. Sure, the sleds can get up a hill quicker and easier.

I can carve around rocks and trees all day in powder snow and have a ball...but when it's time to carve around them on spring snow, you'd better have your schit together. And I'm talking about carving, not two skis down on the snow and straight pointing.

It becomes less of a "wow, that was fun..." to a mindset of "holy crap, I pulled that one off...".

You have to put away your powder riding skills, (which IMO is easier and more graceful), and dig out the spring snow skills, (which causes far more bad decisions, road rash, wrecked hoods, bent tunnels, broken bodies and bruised egos than that soft forgiving fluffy powder stuff.

Imagine trying to water ski on nice buttery glass where you can carve and turn at ease..and then trying to do it when the lake is frozen with 5" of snow on top of it. NOT gonna ride with the same technique are ya? A little more risk, eh?

Try running down the sidewalk when it's dry..and then try running down the same sidewalk when it's glazed with ice. NOT the same eh? Your inner thighs are very sore at the end of that one. Different technique...and a higher risk.

It's a different muscle group.
Even after riding all winter in powder snow, I still have sore muscles in the spring after a hard ride that I didn't have in Jan, Feb and into March.

Anyone that says climbs done in spring snow are less impressive than powder snow haven't been riding enough to understand the consequences to riding in these conditions...and I'm not talking about avalanches.

A big pull in powder is a testament to BIG HP and a well set-up chassis...and some good rider ability.

But a big pull in spring snow is a testament to rider courage, technical skills under MUCH higher speeds that require a far greater need for quick reaction time.

IT's not always about HP and spring snow being easier to go UP hill on.

Some of you flatlanders are still giving flatlanders a bad name.

Think of it this way....if a guy has to turn out in February, it's easy to say that the snoconditions that day were his match. But if he messes up and rolls 2000 feet down a mtn, it's probably because he screwed up and either got tentative or made a dumb mistake.


Totally concur, whole nother deal altogether, with more damaging risks.
 
wheresthesnow&Scott---EXACTLY!!!!:D:D:D

BIG Kudos too ALL of these brave souls who conquer & go where no man has gone before...:cool:

they definetly risk theirs lives with most every pull they take!:eek::face-icon-small-ton
 
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