Shaun (Mini Shred) Palmer turned 40 years old this month. I’ve known Shaun for over 25 years now and would have to say he’s the same little stinker that I met 25 years ago at Lake view sports, except he could now beat the crap out of me….not saying he would, but I’m just saying. The nick name Mini Shred was given him way back in the reign of Terry Kidwell, Bob Klein, and Damian Sanders. I recall hooking him up one year on our Snowboard team, this is at a time when he rode for Sessions officially and for us on the sly. That year he got a cover shot wearing the Shoreline team wear in International Snowboard Magazine (ISM). He later asked for some long underwear because he was cold…..I was such a jerk back then that I said “NO, no one will know what underwear you have on, only the logo wear counts”….As I look back at that encounter it says much about the Sponsorship athlete relationship, it can be an evil one if you forget the human aspect as I did. Now I remember back then I was 26 year old a drug infested self centered ego maniac, it would be four more years until I kicked the drugs and alcohol. Life is a trip, in my case it wasn’t until I encountered the power of god did I learn what true love was. The Corporate attitude to treat athletes like a disposable commodity is nothing new. When you’re young, you feel so invincible that you think you’ll some how be the guy still ripping when your 40…. The carnage of young extreme athletes is huge! The years of productivity for a Skater or Snowboarder is at best 10 years, and for most is much less, Tony Hawk & Shaun Palmer are freaks…not the norm. So if you plan on making it in the extreme sports pay attention, get clear contracts from your sponsors, and save your money because your career may be short lived.
Meet Alex, He stopped by at the Shoreline gate, and talks to us about the new lifts at Kirkwood and Boreal Ridge. Alex works for Mountain Pride Construction out of Tahoe City, they build lifts all over the planet. Alex sheds some insights on the new surface lifts at Kirkwood, they will make it easier to acess areas of the mountain that in the past only those committed to hike for the powder, would ski / ride. To the local Kirkwood skier / rider this is a bit upsetting, The Kirkwood local knows on a good powder day they can keep one step ahead of the masses. By plotting out their day, mixing chairs runs with hiking they will eat up all the powder like packman. The new lifts don’t really offer anything new to the hard core kirkwood skier / rider, so will this be good or bad for Kirkwood? A few years ago, Heavenly open up the fire brake area under the their new Gondola, to see so many ya-hoos trying to descend an area that was clearly mark as expert only was a bit shocking. Normally the extra hike would kind of weed out the ya-hoos, to increase accessible to expert terrain could end up ruining the powder for those who know how to rip it up. (Did that sound elitist?) So what is the local Kirkwood skier / rider to do? Increase your runs by learning new powder patterns, a good kirkwood local, can easily find Powder stashes 4 or 5 days after a dump. you’ll just have ski / ride those a few days sooner then normal, and be content that on the first day you got more vertical feet in because you hiked less….congratulations Kirkwwod on your new lifts….because the truth of the matter is most of us like to ride more then hike.
Ryan Kronenberg from Salomon / Bonfire stop by the Shoreline gate to let us know about the up and coming Movie premiere at Divided Sky, Check out local ripper, Jamie Anderson in “What I See” Also Gigi Ruff’s new production company called “Pirate movie product” new release “Overseas” This is a Totally Free show, with tons of raffles goodies that benefit Boarding for Breast Cancer.
Smith Holt audio helmets, are the bomb! The best function and style can be found in Smith helmets.From the skate park to the terrain park, the Holt has you covered with a smooth style and a year-round convertible pad kit.
Features:
+ AirEvac design maximizes helmet and goggle airflow to reduce fogging and control temperature
+ Convertible Pad Kit for year round use
+ Bombshell ABS Construction
Skullcandy Single-Shot:
+ Skullcandy Single-Shot audio system allows for hands free music listening. The included standard audio jack makes the connection perfect for MP3 players, Cod players, and cassette decks. The system comes complete with a removable connection cord and adjustable cord.
Traditional Sizing:
+ X-Small 52-54cm
+ Small 54-56cm
+ Medium 56-58cm
+ Large 58-60
+ X-Large 60-62cm
ROME LIMITED EDITION BOARDS—THE POSTERMANIA AND ANTHEM SS
With snow flying in Tahoe and the resorts opening up in Lake Tahoe, the Rome SDS is introducing their 2008-09 Limited Edition Collection: two limited-edition new board designs featuring two new camber lines to enhance your park and powder pleasures—the Postermania 1985 and Anthem Superlight Series (SS).
To slide in between the Artifact 1985 and the Notch 1985, Rome unveils the reverse-camber Postermania 1985. While the Artifact 1985 is dialed in for late night rail sessions and the Notch 1985 prefers tree lines and pow-filled gullies, the Postermania for riders who like to shred jumps, powder lines, rails and ledges. With Rome’s Reverse-Free camber line tuned for a pure freestyle approach to the mountain and park, this profile also gives the board a natural de-cambered shape when up on edge for better edge hold and control through a turn. It also lets the rider generate more edge pressure in the tip and tail for stronger turn initiation and completion.
Created for riders who value first chair on a pow day, who ride inbounds with power, and who are down to hike for untracked chutes, the other limited edition deck in the collection is the high-tech Anthem Superlight Series (SS). Loaded with innovations like the Airpop Core, the bamboo-driven PowerAmp Technology, and the CarbonBiax Alloy Laminate, the Anthem SS is a super-poppy, kill-it-all model that rivals the Rome Design for lightness. Rome’s new Hybrid camber profile combines the pop of camber for most of the body of the board, with the added float of reverse camber in the nose and tail.
Sessions ski team member Shane McConkey doing what he loves…pushing the limits
Shane McConkey, Miles Daisher and Chuck Berry of the Red Bull Air Force recently pioneered their way into the heart of China. After months of negotiation, the government allowed the Red Bull Air Force and friends into their borders for a BASE jumping session at one of China’s natural wonders, a giant cave depression. Although no professional camera crews were allowed to follow, we managed to give all the guys a few hand held cameras and a quick cinematography lesson on the way to the airport. We all think they did a bang-up job.
Sessions Ski & Snowboard Clothing is one of those rare Companies that both Skiers and Snowboarders like to be seen in. Great looking, highly functional, Sessions Ski & Board wear has also partnered up this year with Neff headwear. The Sessions/Neff collaboration is really in your face? Loud, loud, loud, can you see me now? Just like the guy trying find cell service, when your out in a photo shoot wearing the Sessions/Neff Collaboration…they’ll see you now.
What is 686 Smarty? The Smarty collection is men’s and women’s snowboard jacket and pants that are not only smart looking, but very smartly thought out. These styles have been very popular, the last few years here at Shoreline, because we often lean more towards the functional side of board wear. Sure who doesn’t like some crazy Jacket that draws a lot of attention…but if your not in the mood to have all the extra attention drawn to you, then you had better side with function. The 686 Smarty Collection all have removable liners, plenty of vents, pockets & hoods. you have the option to wear the SMARTY liner as insulation on the hill or separately to chill indoors. This collection sells out every year, because it is such a great value. SMARTY offers three performance levels- 20k, 15k and 10k water proof coatings. Check out the whole collection of 686 Smarty Jackets and pants at Shoreline of Tahoe.
WHO?
Anyone who owns their own snowboard and wants to learn to take care of it on their own.
WHAT?
Waxing the base of the snowboard – melting wax into the base, allowing it to cool, and prepping it for a good ride.
WHEN?
If you’ve ever experienced a time on a flat traverse where you slowed down a lot and other people were flying past, or at least still moving, or if you’ve felt your snowboard slow down when it really didn’t seem like it should, you probably need to wax your board. A good way to check is to look at the base of the board. If it looks dry, like dry skin, then it IS dry. Or, if you see a lot of black tarry stuff on the base, it’s also a good idea to clean it up and rewax it.
WHERE?
A workbench is the best place – ideally set up with vises such as the RED Snowboard Vises to keep your board level and stable. Alternatively, you can use your kitchen table, coffee table, floor, whatever surface you’ve got available, just be prepared for possible wax drips or wax shavings by laying out newspapers or a tarp to cover any nearby surfaces.
WHY?
Wax soaked into the base of your board allows it to glide smoothly on snow. It also maintains the base by keeping it from drying out and helps it to last longer.
HOW?
1. Get your kit together.
At a minimum you will need an iron, wax, and a plastic scraper. It’s helpful to have snowboard vises, base cleaner, and brushes or a fibertex pad. We recommend the RED Hot Stick Iron, Dakine Adjustable Tuning Iron, or One Ball Jay Wang Chung Iron. For wax, be sure to buy ski or snowboard wax that is designed to be applied with a hot iron. Click here for a guide to which wax to use for which conditions. Great scraper options are the RED Tri Scraper, Dakine Triangle Scraper, and Dakine 10” Scraper. To keep your snowboard in place while you work on it, try the RED Tuning Vises.
2. Start with a clean base.
There are two ways to clean your base. If the base has a lot of sap, grease, or other grime in it, base cleaner like the One Ball Jay Base Cleaner might be your best bet. Otherwise, hot scraping is the recommended technique. To hot scrape your board, heat up your iron – if it’s smoking/ steaming, then it’s too hot. Then hold a bar of wax against the iron over your board. As the wax drips off the iron, move it around to evenly distribute the wax dots over the base. Once you’ve dripped wax over the board, then start spreading the wax around – just like ironing clothes with no danger of creases! ALWAYS KEEP THE IRON MOVING – you can tell when it’s heating up nicely when the topsheet of your board begins to feel warm. Once the wax is spread evenly over the base, it’s time to start scraping. This technique is called ‘hot scraping’ because you scrape when the wax is still hot. Hold the scraper at an angle with the top of the scraper away from you , the edge which will be on the board toward you. Scrape with long strokes, pushing the scraper away from you. Putting your thumbs near the edge of the scraper puts a strong, even pressure on the edge. As the wax peels off the board, it will draw out all the dirt and other impurities from the base – when the wax is still warm it will actually pull out of the pores in the base material. Scrape until you can’t take any more wax off. NOTE: since this process pulls the wax out of the pores of the base, you need to wax the board before riding.
3. Apply fresh wax.
Putting the new coat of wax on is much like preparing the board to hot scrape. Drip the wax you’ve chosen over the board and spread it over the base with the iron, making sure to cover every square inch of the running length of the base. The smoother you finish the wax, the easier it will be to scrape. Also, remember that a thick coat of wax doesn’t mean more wax in the base, it just means more to scrape off. Once you’ve soaked the wax in, allow the board to cool.
4. Scrape and buff.
For best results, the base should have reached at least room temperature over the entire board, which usually takes at least half an hour. You can also leave it overnight or until just before the next time you ride it. Scrape the board the same way you did to hot scrape. Once again, scrape the board until no more wax is coming off with the scraper. Since the wax and base have cooled, wax will remain in the pores of the base. To finish it off, get out your fibertex pad or brush and buff it to a nice shine.
Hannah Daly Shoreline snowboard soccer team member
Yea I know how did a kid who grew up in a snowboard shop become a national soccer team member and not a pro snowboarder? I think some how during her childhood she became a flat lander, and I didn’t noticed the signs, until it was to late….first sign, we offer hundreds of ski & snowboard gloves, and what glove did she pick, goalie gloves? hey Hannah check out these gloves from dakine? no no no, I had to order goalie gloves none of the gloves we sold would do…flat lander gloves? snowboard boots?, no soccer cleats, Snowboard pants?, no give me some slidders a jersey and a ball and I’ll be happy…That’s my daughter Hannah, the flat lander, where did I go wrong???? All kidding aside she is a pretty good snowboarder, but she loves soccer more…
