A-Basin, SPF 2000, heel pain and thank you

Last week I took my first trip to a real mountain,. Arapahoe Basin in
Colorado.

I want to thank the people who provided useful information about
traveling with a snowboard. A wheeled bag is definitely the right way to
go. It was stuffed with board, bindings, boots and clothes. The bag and
contents survived without a scratch.

A-Basin was a challenge, and it was fun. I started boarding last winter
and got in about 12 days during February 2003 on local hills. I got out
as often as I could this winter and my skills significantly improved,
though I can see that I still have a lot that can be learned if my knees
will hold out. A change in board also helped.

The fresh snow on Friday morning was fantastic! The view from 12,500' -
breathtaking.

Sun Protection Factor (SPF) 2000 - that's probably what my skin needed
at A-Basin. What I had was a TiO2 SPF 45 that worked well. Use
sunscreen. Lots of sunscreen.

Heel Pain - About mid-February of this year pain started in my back
(right) heel. New boots with a more adjustable liner helped, but did not
cure the problem. I tried placing a pad over the part on my heel where
the pain occurred, but that only made the problem worse. I had not
boarded in three weeks before arriving at A-Basin because the local snow
was gone. I hoped my heel had healed, but some pain came back. It wasn't
as bad as before and I got through a day without a major problem. The
next day I tried something different. I placed a pad above the area were
the pain occurred rather than on the area. I was surprised and pleased
to find that no pain occurred. The pad is about 8 layers of gauze held
in place by a large adhesive bandage. Apparently the padding filled the
area above my heel, stopping lift and pain. A cheap and simple solution
for me.

Dean

On Mon, 26 Apr 2004 21:28:31 +0000, Dean wrote:


Heel Pain - About mid-February of this year pain started in my back
(right) heel. New boots with a more adjustable liner helped, but did not
cure the problem. I tried placing a pad over the part on my heel where
the pain occurred, but that only made the problem worse. I had not
boarded in three weeks before arriving at A-Basin because the local snow
was gone. I hoped my heel had healed, but some pain came back. It wasn't
as bad as before and I got through a day without a major problem. The
next day I tried something different. I placed a pad above the area were
the pain occurred rather than on the area. I was surprised and pleased
to find that no pain occurred. The pad is about 8 layers of gauze held
in place by a large adhesive bandage. Apparently the padding filled the
area above my heel, stopping lift and pain. A cheap and simple solution
for me.

Dean

You should try a replacement foot bed insert in your boots (or smaller
boots)- if you've got fairly stiff boots, you might want to get a custom
made insert or liner. In any event, it sounds as though your boots are too
large, or just the wrong shape for your feet. I'd look at a more permanent
solution as poorly fitted boots are going to hamper your progress...

Ian

Ian wrote:

You should try a replacement foot bed insert in your boots (or smaller
boots)-

If the boots were any smaller my toes would stick out the front :-)
Shoe size: 11.5 US
Boot size 10.5.

The old boots (Salomon Dialogue) were fine for 2.5 months, used 2-3 times per
week. They were the best fitting boots that I could find. Then the problem
started. Maybe the liner got packed out and no longer fit right. I replaced
them with Salomon Malamute, which fit better in part because they are more
adjustable than the Dialogues. My current problem might simply be that my heel
needs to completely heal. Since I probably won't use the boots again until
next winter, the heel should have plenty of time to heal. However, I will look
into adjustment options.


I'd look at a more permanent
solution as poorly fitted boots are going to hamper your progress...

Thank you for the suggestions, but the most significant factor hampering my
progress is my age and bad knees. Unlike fine wine, joints do not improve with
age.

Dean

Yeah, The Basin Is pretty good right now. I was just up on Monday and it's
still got great coverage and the snow was good. I'm amazed at how much more
snowboard park stuff they have with jumps and sliders. Good time.

Anyways, Hope you enjoyed your trip. For your boots you might try Dr.
Scholls shoe liners stuff. Might help Time to let that heel heal

Laters, Chris
"Dean" wrote in message
...
Last week I took my first trip to a real mountain,. Arapahoe Basin in
Colorado.

I want to thank the people who provided useful information about
traveling with a snowboard. A wheeled bag is definitely the right way to
go. It was stuffed with board, bindings, boots and clothes. The bag and
contents survived without a scratch.

A-Basin was a challenge, and it was fun. I started boarding last winter
and got in about 12 days during February 2003 on local hills. I got out
as often as I could this winter and my skills significantly improved,
though I can see that I still have a lot that can be learned if my knees
will hold out. A change in board also helped.

The fresh snow on Friday morning was fantastic! The view from 12,500' -
breathtaking.

Sun Protection Factor (SPF) 2000 - that's probably what my skin needed
at A-Basin. What I had was a TiO2 SPF 45 that worked well. Use
sunscreen. Lots of sunscreen.

Heel Pain - About mid-February of this year pain started in my back
(right) heel. New boots with a more adjustable liner helped, but did not
cure the problem. I tried placing a pad over the part on my heel where
the pain occurred, but that only made the problem worse. I had not
boarded in three weeks before arriving at A-Basin because the local snow
was gone. I hoped my heel had healed, but some pain came back. It wasn't
as bad as before and I got through a day without a major problem. The
next day I tried something different. I placed a pad above the area were
the pain occurred rather than on the area. I was surprised and pleased
to find that no pain occurred. The pad is about 8 layers of gauze held
in place by a large adhesive bandage. Apparently the padding filled the
area above my heel, stopping lift and pain. A cheap and simple solution
for me.

Dean

TurboRocco wrote:

Yeah, The Basin Is pretty good right now. I was just up on Monday and it's
still got great coverage and the snow was good.

Too bad I didn't schedule my trip for today (4/28) so that I could be part of
today's party, but I didn't know about it until I saw the poster on the lodge.

A-Basin was quite interesting for my first mountain trip. It sure beats the
local, short, treeless, straight runs. Nothing like standing at 12,500' in wind
and snow, gasping for breath and wondering if you'll ever find your way down to
breath new life into your soul :-)

Dean

LOL, Guess you must of went on a more stormy day. On Monday it was all sun
and fun. Still had some freshies and the coverage was nice. While the ride
down from the very top of A-Basin isn't half bad it doesn't compare to our
other mtns? Have you been to our other mtns? They are quite nice but A-Basin
is Awesome for spring riding since everyone else is closed..

Now, this party that happened Today (28th) I was unaware of... Shucks.. Oh
well, we're supposed to get more snow this week!!! YES

"Dean" wrote in message
...
TurboRocco wrote:

Yeah, The Basin Is pretty good right now. I was just up on Monday and
it's
still got great coverage and the snow was good.

Too bad I didn't schedule my trip for today (4/28) so that I could be part
of
today's party, but I didn't know about it until I saw the poster on the
lodge.

A-Basin was quite interesting for my first mountain trip. It sure beats
the
local, short, treeless, straight runs. Nothing like standing at 12,500' in
wind
and snow, gasping for breath and wondering if you'll ever find your way
down to
breath new life into your soul :-)

Dean

Oh yeah, sorry this is TurboRocco from above. I just have 2 profiles (work &
home).. Laters, Chris
"PJ4LIFE" wrote in message
...
LOL, Guess you must of went on a more stormy day. On Monday it was all sun
and fun. Still had some freshies and the coverage was nice. While the ride
down from the very top of A-Basin isn't half bad it doesn't compare to our
other mtns? Have you been to our other mtns? They are quite nice but
A-Basin
is Awesome for spring riding since everyone else is closed..

Now, this party that happened Today (28th) I was unaware of... Shucks.. Oh
well, we're supposed to get more snow this week!!! YES

"Dean" wrote in message
...
TurboRocco wrote:

Yeah, The Basin Is pretty good right now. I was just up on Monday and
it's
still got great coverage and the snow was good.

Too bad I didn't schedule my trip for today (4/28) so that I could be
part
of
today's party, but I didn't know about it until I saw the poster on the
lodge.

A-Basin was quite interesting for my first mountain trip. It sure beats
the
local, short, treeless, straight runs. Nothing like standing at 12,500'
in
wind
and snow, gasping for breath and wondering if you'll ever find your way
down to
breath new life into your soul :-)

Dean

On Tue, 27 Apr 2004 08:53:08 -0500, Dean wrote:

Thank you for the suggestions, but the most significant factor hampering my
progress is my age and bad knees. Unlike fine wine, joints do not improve with
age.

Dean

Tell me about it! At 33 I guess I'm 'middle aged' as far as boarding is
concerned ;o)