We skied the first day at Copper Mountain. Temps were around 40 and it was BRIGHT and sunny. Pretty much the perfect skiing weather. The whole area had received about 6 inches of powder two nights before, and there was still lots of untouched areas. We made the first few runs down groomed trails as we explored. I quickly noticed how much better the Sherpas are than the 120's at keeping speed on the groomed stuff. I was able to repeatedly make long hard turns without running out of speed.

We worked our way up the mountain and got into some powder moguls. The Sherpas were able to handle them no problem, but this time I noticed that the 120's feel more responsive in that environment. Don't get me wrong, I would choose the Sherpas over my old Rossignol cuts anyday, any trail condition. Before the day was done, I finally found some completely untouched glades powder. This is where the Sherpas really stood out. Usually deep powder skiing ends up hurting my legs from leaning back, but the Sherpas took care of that. With almost no leaning back, they were able to just float through the powder, maybe 6 to 8 inches below the surface. Keeping up my speed was easier too. The 120's are good in powder, but the Sherpas are even better.

The second day we skied at Vail. All three pictures I took were at Vail. Vail had pretty much the same conditions but my legs were still tired from the day before, so we mostly stuck to the groomed or groomed/mogul trails. I had a lot of fun playing around on the edge of the trails. Dropping off into the powder and the woods and then coming back onto the trail to build back up my speed. The Sherpas really are a fun ski. Like I said before, I love my 120's but I think the Sherpas would probably be easier for someone who has never skied on a "skiboard" to learn.

Overall:

Pros:

• The Sherpas are fast and very stable.
• They are Amazing in deep powder. I wouldn't consider powder skiing on a regular ski again.
• Although I feel like I personally can turn sharper on my 120's the Sherpas are still a very maneuverable. I turned hard enough a few times to almost touch my hip to the ground.
• They turn heads too, I got a lot of people saying "Wow, look at those." or "Those look like fun"
  

• ................

I got out on a pair of Sherpa's today at Wolf Creek in Colorado. These things are absolute powder beasts. Wolf Creek has a 117 inch base midway, and has had 66 inches of dry powder fall in the past week. Today was my first day out trying the Sherpa's and the powder plates, so I started off with the bindings set at the most centered stance on the powder plate. When first getting off the lift I could hardly turn on these things because I was so used to how effortless my EMPs were to turn. After a couple hundred feet of trail, I started to get the feeling of how to weight the boards right to get in and out of turns.

On that first run, I ended up running through at least 4 feet of untracked powder and didn't sink more than 6 inches at any time and without putting all of the weight on the tails like on normal skiboards. As the day went on and I got more comfortable on them, I rode them down some steeper untracked snow and was taking face shots in knee deep powder and flying through the glades while cutting untracked turns that skis and snowboards would have had a hard time making. About halfway through the day, I decided to try setting the bindings back on the powder plate to see how big of a difference it made. I personally preferred having the more centered stance as even the first setback started to take away a little bit more of the skiboard feel. They still were more maneuverable than skis however. On runs that had been pretty well tracked out already, they had no problem cutting through the choppy snow. If I had tried doing some of the stuff I did on these boards on shorter boards, I would have eaten countless mouthfuls of snow.

They didn't even bother to run a groomer across the greens today, so I can't say how these things compare on groomed, hardpack, or ice yet, but these things would replace my EMPs on deep powder days. I have not yet tried the Condors or the 120's, so I can't give a comparison, but the only word that can describe these boards, from their sheer size to how they fly over powder and cut through choppy, is beastly. Unfortunately I couldn't hunt down a camera today and my early 90's camcorder just couldn't have handled the weather today, so no pictures or videos yet, but we'll see if I can change that later this season.

 

Jeff,

Just a quick note to let you know that yesterday was my 4th day skiboarding and on my Spruce 120's and that it all seemed to come together. The day started on rock hard corduroy and improved to a few inches of powder as the day progressed and a little snow fell. 

From the first run I knew it was going to be my day.  It just all happened for me.  All of a sudden I took on this sort of Frankenstein pose with my knees bent, backside somewhat down and my arms out and quickly realized that if I watched my hands that the rest of me followed.  I stopped really paying attention to the fact I was skiboarding. 

The 120's seemed to smooth out just about everything and I just went about the business of having fun.  I was actually keeping up with and even passing skiers on the blues and snowboarders spent the day in my rear view mirror.  I also hit a few powder stashes (small stuff that I could see through to the other side or it was clear where the groom met back up) and quickly found how much easier powder is on my legs when skiboarding. 

I fell a few times as I discovered that at speed you must always pay attention to weight distribution - not doing so carries an immediate (and I do mean immediate) price.  I should mention that in the morning when it was rock hard the 120's held a great edge - even under my less than deft guidance. By the end of the day my thighs were pure pasta.  A great day. 

Negatives? I still look like a dork getting my first skiboard off if the terrain is less than flat.  I'm hooked beyond redemption.  I'm a 41 year old father of 3 and feel like a teenager, again.  Do you know anyone who wants a nice Donek Sasquatch 170?  Ha ha.

Vannon

120 Spruce - Meets My Needs

First some background: I never participated in any snow sliding sports until 4 seasons ago when I rented some Big Easy skiboards at a local resort out of boredom while waiting in the lodge while my children were snowboarding. Since then I have used 90 Snow Jams the first two seasons, and 105 EMP last season. The EMPs took me a huge step forward in boosting my confidence to try more challenging terrain and are a fun and controlled ride. When I am accompanied by my wife (on Tanshos), we like to cruise the green and blue groomers, and occasionally challenge ourselves on the black runs. But I found that when I pushed hard to try and keep up to my young adult children (advanced snowboarders) while racing on the groomers, and negotiating the powder or the trees, I was exhausted and beat by the end of the day, having struggled to keep my balance (front to back) when going through uneven terrain, crud or changing conditions.

Although I rarely post, I read the forums every day and took notice of the many comments (by Valmorel, & Jack to name a few) of the Spruce 120s being stable, forgiving (and requiring a sharp edge). So I picked up a “blue” pair from Greco and mounted Salomon S810ti bindings on a Spruce Composite riser with a 35 mm setback, and polished the edges (0 degree base, 89 degree side, detuned 1” from the front and rear contact points), and gave them a hot wax.

These are my first experiences with the 120 Spruce:

Day 1 - Local hill (250') with only one short run open with manmade snow and about 1” of fresh powder.
My first impression, “these are long”. But skating was not a problem and it was effortless since they glide so well. I did notice that with the extra length up front, the edges caught a few times on my first run. But after a couple of runs, I learned to weigh the tails (stand straighter) to alleviate the front edges from catching while cruising. But when I wanted to carve aggressively, I would keep them on edge and change to a lower (gorilla) posture to weigh them centered/forward. My first full day of the season was without a stop and not a single sore muscle (or spill). I knew they were fast but the real test against my son was yet to come.

Day 2 – Local hill (110') with a single groomed run and the balance set up as a terrain park. The run was very hard corduroyed man made snow and it was bitterly cold. (I joined my snowboarding daughter who was being certified by the ski patrol.)
I made the first tracks in the rock hard corduroy and found that the edges held well and I was not sliding out. After about three runs, I was confident that I could stop prior to the lift (confined area) and get around the moving pylons (new snowboarders) if I just ripped down the hill. By mid afternoon, I started noticing that middle age skiers were waiting for me to get off the lift so they could race me. And by the end of the day they were joining me on the same chair so they would have the same momentum at the top of the hill. Not a word said, but definitely a competitive atmosphere. If I did not beat them, it was a tie at its worst.

Days 3 to 6 –Lake Louise, Sunshine Village, and Norquay resorts, in the Canadian Rockies and Kicking Horse resort in the Purcell Mountains. (This was our annual family Christmas trip to get out of the flat lands of the prairie where we live.)

This was my first opportunity to ride with my children. My son's on hill statement sums it up best: “those boards made a big difference for you Dad”. He made the proclamation after the two of us exchanged the lead position during a race that left my daughter and her boyfriend in the snow dust.

My on mountain impressions of the 120 Spruce:

• Very stable as others have already noted. It takes a major error or loss of balance to find yourself on your butt as I did once in the four days coming out of a wind packed powder tree run (the steepest longest and most difficult black I have ever tried). As Valmorel has pointed out, if in trouble, put them on edge and you will recover. It allows for a very relaxed non-tiring cruise at speed on the groomers.
  
• Skating was effortless, with great glide. So much so that I did not take poles with me to the mountains this year, which I had in the past due to the long flat sections at some resorts.
  
• Moguls were very manageable. What little manoeuvrability was lost due to length was made up in stability and less effort to keeping your balance if the best line was not taken.
  
• I found that I was no longer giving much attention to the conditions. I only knew I was on ice or crud by the change in sound I heard. It was my signal to point straight down and if required, reduce my speed somewhere else.
  
• The flex of the board made it easy to negotiate rough terrain and trees in a (speed) controlled manner or transition into softer conditions withouta face plant.
  
• A fast or a relaxing cruiser, the rider's choice.
  
• Edge hold was good with a sharp edge (89 degree). Only noticed some sliding on my last day on very icy conditions. This was not unexpected given that I had not undertaken any edge touch-ups after prior days of edge abuse on granite rocks hiding under the powder and on early season marginal coverage runs.
  
• I did not have the opportunity to ride in knee deep plus fresh powder. But I was able to find some wind packed powder and had no problems (other than the rock hiding underneath).
  
• The black sintered base will be easy to repair.

We all are looking for the perfect board that meets all our needs. I am lucky because I have found mine; the 120 Spruce meets my needs.

Thanks Jeff and Greco for making it possible with such a great product.

BTW: I am 48 years old; consider myself non-athletic, and am 5' 11”, 186 lbs without any riding gear.

11/12/07

Opening weekend of Mammoth Mountain and this afternoon we were treated to an unexpected snow storm that dropped 10-12 inches of new powder snow. Some of you may have seen my summer review of the Sherpa but this was the first time I was able to get the board out into pow. As Valmorel and I have found out, this board is one hell of a ride on firm, icy snow and cut up crud but take this board out to pow and you will have the ride of your life. Today my son and I were racing each other in low angled pow - you know, the kind of stuff that is death to skiboards. He was on a BURTON fish asymmetric tail riding 160 cm snowboard, and I was on my rear Telemark mounted Sherpa. Two other snowboarders were totally bogged down in the pow, while both of us were sailing along neck and neck having a whale of a time. This board is totally the equal or better in float and speed through pow of the Icelantic Scout 143 or for that matter of any 180 cm mid-fat ski or of a 160 cm snowboard, yet is way more maneuverable and yet grips like a fiend on ice. How sweet is that .. !

It was also one of those days with the snow blowing sideways and visibility near zero at times but I could just trust the wonderful stable platform of the Sherpa, smoothing the ride out in off-piste variable snow, you know bumpy snow, moguls, deep pow stashes mixed with ice and can't see kind of stuff !!

You know just stepping into this board on your living room floor feels like it will be the most cumbersome board possible, compared to a 110 or 105 skiboard with a shorter and narrower shape, but don't let that fool you at all. The thing becomes the most maneuverable board ever once you give it some gas, and those 160 tips are totally completely amazing in lifting you up like magic in the pow or crud. I have never, every ridden any snowsliding device that has been sweeter as an all arounder. This board does everything, it evens out rough terrain like it was groomed snow, it floats you high in the pow dream like, it carves like a demon on ice and has extraordinary hold at speed, and is the totally the equal or better of any other snow sliding board out there in the big mountain arena. BUT HERE IS THE MOST AMAZING AND WONDERFUL PART OF THIS WHOLE PACKAGE. Jeff Singer has engineered a 7.5 meter turn radius into this thing!!!! This thing turns on a dime, think turn and it turns whether in the deep or the firm pack. With this thing on my feet I feel like I can FLOAT LIKE A BUTTERFLY BUT STING LIKE A BEE !!!

I know this board will not be everybody's cup of tea, but think of how important this board is for skiboarding as a sport. Up until now, many folks have thought of skiboarding as a compromise sport. Great in the park and on packed and variable snow, but if you really wanted to ride big mountain lines better ditch your skiboards and grab skis or snowboards. Jeff has designed a board that in one fell swoop defines a new paradigm for big mountain skiboarding.

And think of what this board does, it allows regular alpine skiboarders to ride the thing with a powder plate and release binding in any of three set back positions, it lets backcountry alpine touring types ride it also in any of three set back positions, and for those crazy skiboarding telemarkers out there (Hey, I can't be the only one ???)come talk to me and I will tell you how to design a custom riser mount that makes this board sing !!! 

P.S. I tried climbing around and walking around in pow with the Sherpa and it is the best flotation device ever for carrying you up a steep powdery mountain, and lives up to its name !