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Moving to the UK...Dry Slopes!!! Eeek!



 
 
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  #1  
Old March 11th 04, 09:48 PM
Tom Holmes
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Moving to the UK...Dry Slopes!!! Eeek!

Hi,

I am moving back to the UK, its been a few years, I will miss my runs up to
the local ski centers in Southern PA. My question is about dry slopes, I am
moving to the Guildford area and I know there are 2 dry slopes with in 10 or
so minutes from my new house. A tiny one in Guildford and a bigger one in
Aldershot. If anyone knows of these slopes could they give me their
impressions, the websites are pretty basic to say the least.

I have skied on Dry Slopes before but never been on a board on one. I know
it is going to be horrible but how bad is it? should I just not even bother.
I like to freeride but would be happy to mess about with little kickers and
rails if they have them, the 300 foot long road width run might get old
pretty fast with out some diversion.

Boards I have 3 of them, My orginal K2 JuJu 151 which is short for me but
fun on the east coast when the conditions don't really require floatation
just a sense of humour, less board to hit people with on a crowded slope
during a holiday week end. Its a soft board but as it was my first I am very
attached to it. My bigger mountain board is a 160 Incline...great board!
rode it for the first time this year in CO..it was recommended to me by
people on this group last season. Now I don't think I will be taking the
Donek on a dry slope!!!!! Finally I have a pretty awful Liquid 159 which was
my old big mountain board (I got it in a panic for $50 when I realised that
my chances of floating in powder on my trusty 151 were 0. It is very stiff
but with a pair of mid/high end bindings on it is actually fine. It needs a
little repair it is starting to delam up by the front side nose. My thoughts
were to rent a board for the first few times at the Dry Slope as I am bound
to damage the thing with all that falling I will be doing, but after that I
intend to patch up this liquid board and make it my Dry Slope board..how
quikly will it rub away to nothing snowboarding on carpet? Waxing? I will
mount my old K2 Free Ride bindings on it, they are old don't have ratchets
but they are solid and I guess that my hand will be warm enough in May in
england out of my gloves, Does the carpet rip thru bindings too?. And boots
I have a nice pair of Solomans Dialogue and an older pair of Vans...should I
expect the boots to get pretty scuffed up?

Any thoughts on Dry Slopes would be welcome, I am depressed about missing
out real snow but being able to board in summer would be great. I have for
the record been to a Snow Dome (tamworth) before, I also have folks up near
castleford and sheffield so I will visit the slopes there at some point. So
please don't tell me to go their instead they are about 3 hours in a car
away from my home.

I will still be doing my annual winter holidays to the real stuff, I will
probably go twice a year now infact, so don't feel that sorry for me.

Any info and thoughts woudl be great.

TIA

Tommy Holmes


Ads
  #2  
Old March 11th 04, 10:18 PM
Tim Sampson
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Moving to the UK...Dry Slopes!!! Eeek!

"Tom Holmes" wrote in
news:O754c.59734$Ri6.55678@lakeread04:

great. I have for the record been to a Snow Dome (tamworth) before, I
also have folks up near castleford and sheffield so I will visit the
slopes there at some point. So please don't tell me to go their
instead they are about 3 hours in a car away from my home.


What about Milton Keynes at about 1.5 hours? (1 hour and 5 mins according
to multimap.) The plain slope takes about 12 seconds to ride down but at
least they have a couple of jumps and rails.

Cheers
Tim
  #3  
Old March 11th 04, 10:49 PM
Iain Bishop
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Moving to the UK...Dry Slopes!!! Eeek!

Hi Tommy,

I lived in Harlow, Essex for a year where they also had a dry ski slope (its
been ripped down now). On average I probably went once every week or two.
Basically I think they're great. When the choice is between that and
nothing, its obviously better to have one. Just being able to go that
consistently improved my boarding in a year heaps. It would probably have
taken me 6 years of going once or twice a year to real snow to improve by
the same amount.

They feel a bit different on your edges, but once you get used to it you'll
be fine. I remember when my Aussie mate, who's a very good skier, came over
to England and went on a dry ski slope for the first time. He attacked his
first turn quite fast and just skidded off the edge of the slope and ended
up in a heap on the grass. So you'll need to just take the first runs nice
and slow and get a feel for how your edges are behaving. Dry ski slopes are
not very forgiving, so you need decent technique. ie. its very easy to catch
an edge if your turns are sloppy. Its not like powder thats for sure. I'm
sure you'll be fine though, having lived in the snow.

I only have one board and always used it for both dry and real snow. I've
never noticed it rub away to any degree or any other damage in fact. My
boots have always been fine too. A dry board can't hurt though. I never used
to wax as I think this will probably come off immediately. At Harlow they
used to have a lubricant at the top of the slope that you walk your board
over before each run - that helped a lot in reducing friction. If the dry
ski slope have good sprinklers friction will be reduced too.

My one piece of advice to you though is to get some skateboard pads. It
hurts when you fall. Its hard and it burns. I had knee, elbow and wrist
guards. If you're worried about what you look like, just wear them under
baggy clothes (you also need to cover all your skin). Mittens are better
than gloves too as theres less chance of a finger getting caught in one of
the holes in the slope (the surface is a grid with holes in) and breaking.

Actually I envy you. I now live in Sydney, Australia where I just wish they
had dry ski slopes. The only out of season riding I can do is on my Freebord
which is even less like snowboarding than dry slopes and involves walking up
hills, and trying not to get run over by cars when coming down.

And if you get bored of Englands dry ski slopes, you can always check out
our 'real' ski resorts... http://www.snowlion.freeuk.com/index.html
Good luck with it!

Iain

"Tom Holmes" wrote in message
news:O754c.59734$Ri6.55678@lakeread04...
Hi,

I am moving back to the UK, its been a few years, I will miss my runs up

to
the local ski centers in Southern PA. My question is about dry slopes, I

am
moving to the Guildford area and I know there are 2 dry slopes with in 10

or
so minutes from my new house. A tiny one in Guildford and a bigger one in
Aldershot. If anyone knows of these slopes could they give me their
impressions, the websites are pretty basic to say the least.

I have skied on Dry Slopes before but never been on a board on one. I know
it is going to be horrible but how bad is it? should I just not even

bother.
I like to freeride but would be happy to mess about with little kickers

and
rails if they have them, the 300 foot long road width run might get old
pretty fast with out some diversion.

Boards I have 3 of them, My orginal K2 JuJu 151 which is short for me but
fun on the east coast when the conditions don't really require floatation
just a sense of humour, less board to hit people with on a crowded slope
during a holiday week end. Its a soft board but as it was my first I am

very
attached to it. My bigger mountain board is a 160 Incline...great board!
rode it for the first time this year in CO..it was recommended to me by
people on this group last season. Now I don't think I will be taking the
Donek on a dry slope!!!!! Finally I have a pretty awful Liquid 159 which

was
my old big mountain board (I got it in a panic for $50 when I realised

that
my chances of floating in powder on my trusty 151 were 0. It is very stiff
but with a pair of mid/high end bindings on it is actually fine. It needs

a
little repair it is starting to delam up by the front side nose. My

thoughts
were to rent a board for the first few times at the Dry Slope as I am

bound
to damage the thing with all that falling I will be doing, but after that

I
intend to patch up this liquid board and make it my Dry Slope board..how
quikly will it rub away to nothing snowboarding on carpet? Waxing? I will
mount my old K2 Free Ride bindings on it, they are old don't have ratchets
but they are solid and I guess that my hand will be warm enough in May in
england out of my gloves, Does the carpet rip thru bindings too?. And

boots
I have a nice pair of Solomans Dialogue and an older pair of Vans...should

I
expect the boots to get pretty scuffed up?

Any thoughts on Dry Slopes would be welcome, I am depressed about missing
out real snow but being able to board in summer would be great. I have for
the record been to a Snow Dome (tamworth) before, I also have folks up

near
castleford and sheffield so I will visit the slopes there at some point.

So
please don't tell me to go their instead they are about 3 hours in a car
away from my home.

I will still be doing my annual winter holidays to the real stuff, I will
probably go twice a year now infact, so don't feel that sorry for me.

Any info and thoughts woudl be great.

TIA

Tommy Holmes




  #4  
Old March 12th 04, 02:07 AM
Tom Holmes
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Moving to the UK...Dry Slopes!!! Eeek!


"What about Milton Keynes at about 1.5 hours?"

I have kids, so school pick ups and all that, so I am really hoping the
local slopes would fit my normal needs. I am bound to hit one of the indoor
domes from time to time, and I want to check out the half pipe at Sheffield.

Tom Holmes


  #5  
Old March 12th 04, 02:41 PM
David Brown :o\)
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Moving to the UK...Dry Slopes!!! Eeek!

Hi Tommy,

I lived in Harlow,
Actually I envy you. I now live in Sydney, Australia where I just wish

they
had dry ski slopes. The only out of season riding I can do is on my

Freebord
which is even less like snowboarding than dry slopes and involves walking

up
hills, and trying not to get run over by cars when coming down.


Hello Iain,
Did you have a freebord when you lived in Harlow? I live in Harlow and
bought a freebord a few months ago but haven't had a chance to use it yet,
mainly because of having no pads or helmet and being too scared ) but
also coz I don't have a car and there are few hills in Harlow. How wide a
strip of path do you need?
I was thinking about the cycle track that runs from the top of the greyhound
hill along the ridge to school lane and down school lane to the greyhound.
Then it's just a short walk back up the greyhound hill. Is a cycle track
wide enough to learn on a freebord? (taking into acount that the cycle
track I'm talking about runs along a ridge with a steep slope either side)

Cheers
(The pic below is Harlow Town Park BTW)
--
David Brown )
http://kitemap.co.uk/stack


  #6  
Old March 13th 04, 07:45 PM
lizbubb
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Moving to the UK...Dry Slopes!!! Eeek!

Any thoughts on Dry Slopes would be welcome, I am depressed about missing
out real snow but being able to board in summer would be great.



Instead of dry slopes, how about mountainboarding? It's growing pretty fast
in the UK right now, with a fair number of snowboarders taking it up.


Liz


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Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
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  #7  
Old March 14th 04, 10:46 PM
Iain Bishop
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Moving to the UK...Dry Slopes!!! Eeek!

I would say you really need something thats about 5 metres wide, but it
depends on how steep it is. If its very steep, you're going to be doing more
travelling across the 'slope' and so you need something wider. I didn't have
my board in Harlow, so don't know of anywhere specifc. I usually just try
and find really quiet roads and look behind me after every turn. Or if you
can find a quiet one way road (where all the traffic is going up the hill),
then you don't have to worry about a car coming behind you, you can see any
cars in front of you. I usually just cyle around looking for somewhere
suitable.
I've heard multi storey car parks are good, but haven't tried them and
they're steep so you wouldn't want to learn there.
Has that park replaced the ski slope then?

"David Brown )" wrote in message
...
Hi Tommy,

I lived in Harlow,
Actually I envy you. I now live in Sydney, Australia where I just wish

they
had dry ski slopes. The only out of season riding I can do is on my

Freebord
which is even less like snowboarding than dry slopes and involves

walking
up
hills, and trying not to get run over by cars when coming down.


Hello Iain,
Did you have a freebord when you lived in Harlow? I live in Harlow and
bought a freebord a few months ago but haven't had a chance to use it yet,
mainly because of having no pads or helmet and being too scared ) but
also coz I don't have a car and there are few hills in Harlow. How wide a
strip of path do you need?
I was thinking about the cycle track that runs from the top of the

greyhound
hill along the ridge to school lane and down school lane to the greyhound.
Then it's just a short walk back up the greyhound hill. Is a cycle track
wide enough to learn on a freebord? (taking into acount that the cycle
track I'm talking about runs along a ridge with a steep slope either side)

Cheers
(The pic below is Harlow Town Park BTW)
--
David Brown )
http://kitemap.co.uk/stack




  #8  
Old March 15th 04, 01:39 AM
Tom Holmes
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Moving to the UK...Dry Slopes!!! Eeek!

I have a Flowboard, which is kinda the same thing, just not sure I will find
a smooth enough surface for it. Still too scared to try it, leaning in to a
turn on tarmac seems dangerous.

Thanks for your post though, I will give this dry slope thing a go and work
it out for my self.

Tom

"Iain Bishop" wrote in message
...
Hi Tommy,

I lived in Harlow, Essex for a year where they also had a dry ski slope

(its
been ripped down now). On average I probably went once every week or two.
Basically I think they're great. When the choice is between that and
nothing, its obviously better to have one. Just being able to go that
consistently improved my boarding in a year heaps. It would probably have
taken me 6 years of going once or twice a year to real snow to improve by
the same amount.

They feel a bit different on your edges, but once you get used to it

you'll
be fine. I remember when my Aussie mate, who's a very good skier, came

over
to England and went on a dry ski slope for the first time. He attacked his
first turn quite fast and just skidded off the edge of the slope and ended
up in a heap on the grass. So you'll need to just take the first runs nice
and slow and get a feel for how your edges are behaving. Dry ski slopes

are
not very forgiving, so you need decent technique. ie. its very easy to

catch
an edge if your turns are sloppy. Its not like powder thats for sure. I'm
sure you'll be fine though, having lived in the snow.

I only have one board and always used it for both dry and real snow. I've
never noticed it rub away to any degree or any other damage in fact. My
boots have always been fine too. A dry board can't hurt though. I never

used
to wax as I think this will probably come off immediately. At Harlow they
used to have a lubricant at the top of the slope that you walk your board
over before each run - that helped a lot in reducing friction. If the dry
ski slope have good sprinklers friction will be reduced too.

My one piece of advice to you though is to get some skateboard pads. It
hurts when you fall. Its hard and it burns. I had knee, elbow and wrist
guards. If you're worried about what you look like, just wear them under
baggy clothes (you also need to cover all your skin). Mittens are better
than gloves too as theres less chance of a finger getting caught in one of
the holes in the slope (the surface is a grid with holes in) and breaking.

Actually I envy you. I now live in Sydney, Australia where I just wish

they
had dry ski slopes. The only out of season riding I can do is on my

Freebord
which is even less like snowboarding than dry slopes and involves walking

up
hills, and trying not to get run over by cars when coming down.

And if you get bored of Englands dry ski slopes, you can always check out
our 'real' ski resorts... http://www.snowlion.freeuk.com/index.html
Good luck with it!

Iain

"Tom Holmes" wrote in message
news:O754c.59734$Ri6.55678@lakeread04...
Hi,

I am moving back to the UK, its been a few years, I will miss my runs up

to
the local ski centers in Southern PA. My question is about dry slopes, I

am
moving to the Guildford area and I know there are 2 dry slopes with in

10
or
so minutes from my new house. A tiny one in Guildford and a bigger one

in
Aldershot. If anyone knows of these slopes could they give me their
impressions, the websites are pretty basic to say the least.

I have skied on Dry Slopes before but never been on a board on one. I

know
it is going to be horrible but how bad is it? should I just not even

bother.
I like to freeride but would be happy to mess about with little kickers

and
rails if they have them, the 300 foot long road width run might get old
pretty fast with out some diversion.

Boards I have 3 of them, My orginal K2 JuJu 151 which is short for me

but
fun on the east coast when the conditions don't really require

floatation
just a sense of humour, less board to hit people with on a crowded slope
during a holiday week end. Its a soft board but as it was my first I am

very
attached to it. My bigger mountain board is a 160 Incline...great board!
rode it for the first time this year in CO..it was recommended to me by
people on this group last season. Now I don't think I will be taking the
Donek on a dry slope!!!!! Finally I have a pretty awful Liquid 159 which

was
my old big mountain board (I got it in a panic for $50 when I realised

that
my chances of floating in powder on my trusty 151 were 0. It is very

stiff
but with a pair of mid/high end bindings on it is actually fine. It

needs
a
little repair it is starting to delam up by the front side nose. My

thoughts
were to rent a board for the first few times at the Dry Slope as I am

bound
to damage the thing with all that falling I will be doing, but after

that
I
intend to patch up this liquid board and make it my Dry Slope board..how
quikly will it rub away to nothing snowboarding on carpet? Waxing? I

will
mount my old K2 Free Ride bindings on it, they are old don't have

ratchets
but they are solid and I guess that my hand will be warm enough in May

in
england out of my gloves, Does the carpet rip thru bindings too?. And

boots
I have a nice pair of Solomans Dialogue and an older pair of

Vans...should
I
expect the boots to get pretty scuffed up?

Any thoughts on Dry Slopes would be welcome, I am depressed about

missing
out real snow but being able to board in summer would be great. I have

for
the record been to a Snow Dome (tamworth) before, I also have folks up

near
castleford and sheffield so I will visit the slopes there at some point.

So
please don't tell me to go their instead they are about 3 hours in a car
away from my home.

I will still be doing my annual winter holidays to the real stuff, I

will
probably go twice a year now infact, so don't feel that sorry for me.

Any info and thoughts woudl be great.

TIA

Tommy Holmes






  #9  
Old March 15th 04, 01:43 AM
Tom Holmes
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Moving to the UK...Dry Slopes!!! Eeek!

I thought about that and in the area I am in, pretty rural, off road is
probably the way to go, I have to check out the comon ground behind my new
house.

Any shops that sell mountain boards in the UK you could recommend?

Tom Holmes


"lizbubb" wrote in message
.. .
Any thoughts on Dry Slopes would be welcome, I am depressed about

missing
out real snow but being able to board in summer would be great.



Instead of dry slopes, how about mountainboarding? It's growing pretty

fast
in the UK right now, with a fair number of snowboarders taking it up.


Liz


---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.591 / Virus Database: 374 - Release Date: 17/02/04




  #10  
Old March 15th 04, 09:42 AM
David Brown :o\)
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Moving to the UK...Dry Slopes!!! Eeek!

Any shops that sell mountain boards in the UK you could recommend?

Tom Holmes


You'll get them all over the place, even Halfords do them from about £100.


 




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