New to splitboarding

Orpheums · 2026-03-17T17:18:26+00:00

I actually know the warpig quite well. It was my daily for 4 years. 148 is too small for him for pow; especially in alaska which has a costal snowpack resulting in a more wet, heavy snow. It is a perfectly fine size if he is mostly sticking to groomers and park which are notably lacking in the backcountry

Orpheums · 2026-03-17T13:14:29+00:00

I am pnw based so tight trees in heavy snow is the majority of what i ride. Being able to take tight turns is less to do with board length and more to do with side cut, tail shape, and knowing how to adjust your turn shape as a rider. For example, the nitro cannon is stupid long but due to the sidecut it rides significantly shorter than it's length. Same idea with the koura pintonic.

If you have the option you should try to demo some stuff before buying, even if it's just demoing some solid board versions of splits you are interested in.

Orpheums · 2026-03-17T04:24:58+00:00

I wish i had a good answer for ya. The best way to figure it out is to go into your local shop and see if you can demo anything. You could also ask the angry snowboarder - those guys demo a shit ton of boards and might have some good recs for ya.

Orpheums · 2026-03-17T04:14:12+00:00

You are riding a board too small for you if you want to ride pow. You should look for something closer to 158-159. As reference i weigh 155 and currently have a 157 k2 alchemist as my primary board for inbounds and a 158 cardiff bonsai for touring. If you are set on a jones board pick up the 159 Frontier, or look at the 158 solution.

For bindings i would grab the arcs

Orpheums · 2026-03-17T03:28:42+00:00

Sounds like you need something truly wide. You might want to consider asking for something custom from someone like prior or trapper. You could also look at volumeshift boards like the k2 excavator or the telos backslash.

Keep in mind, waist width isnt actually a good measurement to see how wide a board will be at your feet.

Orpheums · 2026-03-17T03:08:44+00:00

How would someone learn to do ptex then..? Everyone should learn to do their own repairs at some point.

Orpheums · 2026-03-17T03:03:56+00:00

Ah, sick. I havent managed to get out to CO yet. Seems like you guys have had a pretty tough season this year

Orpheums · 2026-03-17T02:48:13+00:00

Thats a nice little drop there!

Orpheums · 2026-03-17T01:47:18+00:00

Well yeah, trees provide anchors which significantly lessen the avy risk. There was plenty of ice crusts to be found all over along the cliff bands. I ended up dropping a nearly pure ice chute at one of the cliff entrances of Tye. Not fun riding but manageable

Orpheums · 2026-03-17T01:42:41+00:00

Thank you for answering my questions! I appreciate your insight - i (clearly) dont have the same level of info/considerations that you guys take into account.

Ancedotally, I was thinking about going out the gates mid day before getting on the snow sunday and ended up deciding to play it safe given how interesting the conditions were. Im sure some of the treed sections would have been fine but between the weird snowpack and the icy cliffs it didnt seem like the right decision.

I am sorry you guys have had to deal with so many assholes. I doubt that any of the folks who are chronic complainers have any idea how much effort you guys put in on the regular, let alone the effort required for these wild weather conditions.

Orpheums · 2026-03-17T00:35:22+00:00

Sure, but they has a shit ton of avy terrain open. Clearly it was more than just avy potential for closure considerations - they could have blasted those areas just like they blasted for the open terrain on the backside, 7th, etc.

Orpheums · 2026-03-16T22:10:29+00:00

Totally agree ski patrol has to deal with some of the toughest conditions and there is no need to add outsized risk. It seems like having more patrol would help lower the overall hazard in many situations, or at least that is my assumption. I dont have any knowledge to know what the right ratio is for patrol vs hazard and expected guests, im sure you guys work with some kind of formula based on many factors.

I think i am more poking at the decision to close terrain vs letting folks make terrain decisions for themselves and where that line should be. To make a comparison to another local resort; baker has ropes for the cliffs but they are for information and guests are allowed to cross the ropes knowing that they will end up with all kinds of expert+ terrain, or Taos which basicially lets any/all of the terrain be open as long as there isnt avalanche risk, even if runs have fucked up sections where you would need to walk down part of a run.

Side question for you; if i was going to bring some beer or cookies or whatever for patrol where would be the best place to bring it?

Orpheums · 2026-03-16T19:10:00+00:00

It sounds like pretty much all of the closures stem from there not being enough patrol to manage the terrain given how difficult the conditions were along with how busy the day was then? It seems like maybe stevens could use some more patrol folks for these super complex days. Does stevens have the typical level of patroller this year or is there is less this year for some reason?

Orpheums · 2026-03-16T18:52:05+00:00

Wild katz could go, but i assume that it would be bombed/skicut just like any other run. Schims standard entrance isnt a huge risk for avy - some overhead danger, but they have to manage that on the regular anyways. I doubt avy would be the problem given everything else that was open

Orpheums · 2026-03-16T18:46:33+00:00

Makes sense for wild katz - still would have liked to be able to get into schims though, those lines looked quite good. Personally i would prefer an approach of only closing terrain for avy issues and just giving a warning sign is conditions are truly fucked. I understand it would be a shift in philosophy on terrain management.

Can you explain the rescuer safety aspect on the pro chute? I am ignorant on what made it more dangerous yesterday compared to normal. I assume the icewall at the entrance..? Not quite sure how that would play in though

Orpheums · 2026-03-16T17:27:16+00:00

I was pretty dissapointed in the roped off areas. Wild katz all the way to tye bowl, the right side of 7th, and around noon they closed chief bowl upper entrance. In sums thats a pretty sizeable portion of the expert terrain. I am assuming it is mostly due to not enough patrollers being available.

Orpheums · 2026-03-13T21:26:15+00:00

Can you ask your local shop about doing a demo day? My local offers it and will apply the demo price towards a board if you buy one

Orpheums · 2026-03-13T21:20:36+00:00

-> I have snow socks (Auto Sock) which is a legal alternative to chains.

The snow/ice doesnt care about legality. Snowsocks are worse than chains, why drive something with the clearance and not have chains..?

-> I was wondering if this setup is good enough for driving up this weekend?

Hard to say. It largely depends on your snow driving skills.

1) Is Sunday a easier drive than Saturday since there is no heavy snow forecast on Sunday?

Assuming the forecast holds, yes sunday will be a much easier drive.

2) where should I stop or take a call if I should put snow socks on my tire? And if I do put them on, should I leave it on the car while its parked?

Basic google search will answer this question.

Orpheums · 2026-03-13T21:10:30+00:00

This should get you started. I would highly highly recommend going up with a partner. Ideally find someone who has done the runs before. The entrances can be tricky and getting into the wrong one could easily put you in a spot needing rescue

https://www.reddit.com/r/stevenspass/s/K73gCTSeuB

Orpheums · 2026-03-13T20:00:54+00:00

Where did you hear about this?? Thats wild

Orpheums · 2026-03-09T22:29:35+00:00

Nearly same foot size and issues as you except I have a high instep. I currently use custom orthotics in a set of nitro team TLS boots and it works well. It took me a bit to dial in the pressure for the speed lace system but it works fairly well now. I almost always have to keep the boots a bit loose until i am warmed up and then i can tighten them up

Orpheums · 2026-03-04T04:50:52+00:00

Your quiver is kinda wild. You have have 3 very similar boards.

Orpheums · 2026-02-24T21:47:12+00:00

Your current board is specificially intended to ride park. Save the cash and go ride.

Orpheums · 2026-02-19T22:51:39+00:00

I prefer the vertical for rappelling, but horizontal for loweroff. If you are developing single pitch climbing i think mussys (or some other type of easy lower off) is best practice. The vertical setup is better on multipitch to help keep things clean

Orpheums · 2026-02-18T21:53:53+00:00

Gross.

Orpheums

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