My last post about where I'm going this season got me thinking... where am I not going? Where have I been so far?
This season will be the first since I started snowboarding that I haven't been to Chamonix. Chamonix was my first real snowboarding experience; over the last four seasons, including that first time, I've spent either one or two weeks there.
It's kind of a shame because I really like the place, but one of the great things about snowboarding is going to places you've never been to before - travelling and exploring. And besides, I'm not entirely sure that I'm good enough yet to get the most from Chamonix. The best off piste terrain, or at least the areas that I've read about as being good, seem pretty difficult.
This will also be the first season since I started that I haven't driven to at least one mountain resort. Another shame because I really enjoy a good road trip - the plans this season just kept pushing towards the plane. I'm not complaining though!
Actually, there's a pretty cool article in this month's (January) WhiteLines magzine that compares the three main modes of transport for getting to resort: the plane, the car and the train. In the article they use Tignes as the finish line for a race, which reminded me that I wanted to note down our experience of driving there last season...
Anyway, onto the purpose of this post. As I was reflecting on previous trips and how they might compare with what I have planned this season - I thought it would be worth jotting them down:
January 2003 - 1 week in Chamonix (car)
March 2004 - 2 weeks in Chamonix (car)
November 2004 - 1 week in Les Diablerets (plane)
January 2005 - 1 week in Tignes (coach)
March 2005 - 2 weeks in Chamonix (car)
July 2005 - 1 week in Zermatt (plane)
January 2006 - 1 week in Meribel (plane)
January 2006 - 1 week in Chamonix (car)
March 2006 - 2 weeks in Tignes (car)
June 2006 - 1 week in Les Deux Alpes (plane)
It's probably not much compared to some peoples' experience, but the list doesn't look that short. I wonder how it compares with doing a season?
What about the future? Well, I haven't ridden in Austria yet and there are one or two places there that I'd love to try. The crazy amount of powder to be found in Japan seems like it shouldn't be missed, and I'd really like to visit an American or Canadian resort to find out how they compare with Europe...
Back in July I was wondering about good snowboard parks in Europe - and about where to go this season. It's not that I don't think there are plenty of good parks in Europe, it's just that I don't know that much about them or where they are.
You see, I don't think that there's much information out there. Sure, some of the UK snowboarding magazines do a nice job of highlighting resorts with good parks, but there's only so much they can cover. I do read the WSG, but there's not enough room in it to show what a park is really like - and besides, they rated the park in Tignes which I thought was very average. Most of all though, it's the lack of online detail that seems a little crazy.
Anyway, given my lack of knowledge in this area, it's maybe not surprising that the two destinations I'm visiting this season are both from the list I made back in July: Avoriaz and Laax.
Yet it was due as much to word of mouth as it was from stuff I'd read/seen about them, that caused me to shortlist these resorts. These were just parks that I'd heard were good: talking about in passing or from reading a short paragraph somewhere.
You might say that Laax holds a pretty strong reputation for having a great park - renowned as one of the best in Europe - and you'd be right. But try googl'ing for some pictures... I haven't found any.
So I'm looking forward to finding out what these resorts and their parks have to offer. Despite the focus of this post, I like to ride around the whole mountain as much as I like to hit the park. Hopefully I'll be able to share some of what I find, here, on afterbang.
Well I'm finding it really hard to make my mind up with the camcorder issue. I started out by saying that I didn't really need good image quality, yet the more I think about it, that was the thing that impressed me most about my last camera.
The editting and clip management benefits of a HDD setup are really compelling, especially as I take a lot of footage, regularly. But you can get much better quality for the same, or less money, with miniDV. There's also the possibility of stretching things a little to go for a HD camera...
For interest, I've been using this site for camcorder reviews - they're pretty good. Sooner or later I'll just make a decision, save the money and stick with it.
Much simpler at the moment is my running program. I got two good runs in last week, and I'm starting my first of this week's this morning. I'm settling in to the routine nicely - but keeping it going next week over Christmas will be a challenge!
I'm also collecting together all of the footage that we took last season, with the intent of putting one or two things together before any footage is taken this year... if I ever make my mind up about what camera to buy! So keep an eye out for some new video.
Here's an example of the park layout on the indoor slope at Castleford. The pictures aren't great because I took them right at the end of the session and I was kinda in a hurry. But they should give a good enough idea of what's on offer for those who don't know...
The choice between MiniDV and HDD has been made: I'm going with MiniDV. I might be wrong, but I get the feeling that I don't need the benefits that HDD offers; whereas MiniDV provides me with better image quality for the money, a more flexible video format and there's no chance of the hard disk freezing or jumping. There's also the fact that I've aleady got a lot of miniDV tapes ready for use.
So which one should I get? Well I've done a fair amount of looking around and for the price bracket I'm looking at the choice has come down to 2:
They're both about the same price (online) and they should both offer very good image quality. Here are the advantages of the sony as I see them:
True widescreen: there's no clipping to get it into 16:9
AV-in: which would allow me to attach a helmet cam
Here are the advantages of the Panasonic, as I see them:
Optical image stabalisation, which should come in handy while on the move
Better shape, which should make it easier to hold while on the move
It seems that I was previously misguided about wide angle converters: it is perfectly OK to use either the manufacturers own (and recommended) converter - or a 3rd party converter, providing you get the right size. I think the Panasonic has a more standard 37mm lens, which should mean a greater choice and hopefully a cost saving.
I haven't totally made my mind up yet, but I'm leaning towards the Panasonic...
Last Friday's riding was excellent. With the kicker being quite small I pretty much rode the rails all night. At the beginning of the session the box and the straight rail were closed off, so a run consisted of: transco pipe, flat-down, rookie rail and rookie box. However, after an hour or so they opened up, producing an excellent line: transco pipe, flat-down kink, box, 10m rail.
Riding with Martin was fun - it's always good having someone to push you and you can definitely learn from each other. At the beginning of the night I was using the rookie rail to work on that frontside boardslide. I had marginal success, and once we took the rookie rail out of our line, I started to use the transco pipe to practice the front-board instead...
To be honest I'm unsure whether this was a good idea or not. The gas pipe is so much fun but it's kinda tricky. The fact that it's round means you can get away with not committing: if you don't totally go for it you end up sliding a little bit on the side, and then just 'sliding' off.
But to really make it work you need to be confident and get yourself right on top of the pipe, you need your balance sorted and you need to commit.
With my frontside boardslide being work in progress, I had mixed results, including one really nice slam!
I did manage to work the lipslide though (frontside), coming out both regular and switch, and I was pretty pleased with that. I also made some nice progress on the box: going from a backside tailslide into a 5-0 and then a 180 out (if that's the right way to describe it). Feeling confident I tried moving the tailslide to the 10m rail, but that proved quite difficult - cue another slam...
All in all it was excellent; definitely worthy of the last riding of the year. I also took some photos of the park setup, which will follow shortly.
Tonight may well be my last riding of 2006: 4 hours of indoor jibbing. I might be able to squeeze in one more session this year but it's unlikely. You never know though, we might get some freak'ish snow in Newcastle...
Right Top: Down Transco Pipe (side kickers) / Flat-Down Kink Rail
Right Bottom: Slide Box / 10m Rail
Normally if I'm riding by myself I like to have a few set things that I'm going to work on. It keeps me focussed. But tonight I should be hooking up with a friend, Martin, so I'll wait and see what comes out of riding with someone else.
Although I really would like to get something better than the sketchiest front-boarslide on the smallest possible rail, so I'll keep that in mind.
I'll also try to get some photos of the indoor slope setup, as a few people have asked to see what it looks like...
It was pointed out that the song to Jules Reymond's part in More was missing from the soundtrack list. I checked in with the DVD credits and found that it was missing from their also...
So it turns out that the song is "Neighborhood 3 (Power Cut)" by Arcade Fire. I can't believe I missed out the best tune from the film!
Then something twigged and I realised that I have a couple of their albums on my mp3 player... I just haven't gotten around to listening to them yet. Needless to say I gave them a try tonight, and, at the risk of sounding a little behind - I think they're really good!
I've been listening to their first album - Funeral - which has the "Neighborhood 3 (Power Cut)" song from More. There's some great music on there. If you haven't heard it I'd recommend checking it out.
I'm gonna do another run tomorrow morning and evening, going to and from work. When starting something like this that I want to be regular, I'm always keen to establish the regime as soon as possible. But I'm gonna be careful to not do too much too soon. Last week's run told me that I'm not as fit as I used to be - so I'm only going to do it once this week and step it up to twice next week.
Besides I should be riding on Friday at Castleford so that's gonna help a little with the season fitness.
Remember that competition that I mentioned a short while ago - to win a season in Avoriaz? Well, Ciara entered and was shortlisted to the final ten. The general public have been voting on who they want to win since Monday morning this week.
The positions have been kept up to date making it possible to track the progress of your favourite. The leader has been changing regularly throughout the week. I've got to say that I'm a little bamboozled with the voting, as there have been some rather fast and dramatic changes...
Anyway, the voting ends today, at 5pm UK time. So this is your last chance to support Ciara and put a vote in!
Well my first real movement towards improving my fitness for the coming season started today with a run to and from work. I reckon it's roughly 2 1/2 miles each way so it's a good enough distance to build up with.
Until this year I've never really had any issues with fitness while being away, but my first trip last season (Jan 2006) kinda caught me out. I don't know whether it was because I was simply less-fit than the times before, or because the runs in Meribel were longer than most. I do know that I was riding continuously for longer stretches because it was a much smaller group, so less waiting around. Whatever the cause - for the first time ever I was getting some serious leg burn! The type that makes you want to stop and rest. Once or twice I had to stop.
That first trip definitely served as a warm up, as I snowboarded un-hindered by time I got to Chamonix. But who wants to use a week to warm up? Who wants to feel hindered due to fitness? Not me, if I can help it.
So, with around 8 weeks until I visit Morzine/Avoriaz, I'm going to start running again and add in a few strength related exercises. The target is to be able to ride hard all day, each day that I'm on snow this season.
I bought the 2004/2005 32 Lashed snowboard boots. Strictly speaking this isn't a comparative review as I was moving away from the Salomon Malamutes, which are a different kettle of fish all together. However, some features of a snowboarding boot are the same whether it's a freestyle, freeride or an all-round boot (e.g. the lacing system).
So I was looking for a more freestyle orientated boot. At the time I was totally pleased with the Malamutes, but when I started to do more jibbing, especially on the indoor slopes I found that they were too stiff. Flex was the main motivation...
How Light?
However, the thing that drew me to the Lashed boots was their weight. From the moment I picked up the 32s in the shop, I knew that they were light. Seriously light. I haven't tried this on an accurate set of scales (maybe I should?), but the old test of holding one boot in the left hand and another in the right speaks pretty loudly here. You can easily tell the difference when you put them on... it's like walking around in a pair of sneaks!
This actually made me think that they were pure freestyle boots, but 32 push them as all-mountain. I suppose the label doesn't matter though if the boot works for you.
Laces
The other feature of the 32s that interested me was the basic lace set up: velcro, laces and hooks. The Salomons used the pull-and-lock-off set up, which although very easy to use, had two things that I didn't like: firstly they seemed to loosen off after hard/long riding and secondly, the clip thing that you're supposed to hook onto the edge of your boot always fell off, and ended up clattering around your bindings.
Plain old laces seemed to be exaclty what I wanted: a double knot that wasn't going anywhere. Simple.
And they're great. I tie them up once at the start of the day and don't bother with any re-tying. No need. The laces just stay right where you put them. Although I've got to say that the gadgetary of other lacing systems (lock-off, hooks, boa etc.) do have advantages. I sometimes find myself fumlbing with those pesky hooks... the lace is always jumping out. This might not be a problem for those with a little more dexterity!
Fit
The best thing about the 32s in my opinion is the fit. Of course the same boot might be a great fit for one person and a horrible fit for another: feet come in different shapes and sizes! However the design of a boot can help out a lot.
Although the boots are relatively soft, as you bend and flex, the boot keeps it shape and hold with your ankle and leg. The softer flex doesn't seem to compramise the control as the boot bends. I think there are three things that contribute to this:
A velcro strap that goes around the top of the inner boot, preventing the inner from opening up
The control/freedom that you get with the simple laces, you can have the boot tight where you want it tight
The tying mechanism for the inner boot: an 'ankle brace' that it attached to the outer boot behind the inner boot. When you tie the inner boot it is pulled-in against the outer
This setup really makes the whole boot work in sync with your feet/ankles/legs. Even though it's a soft'ish boot you still feel like you've got great control. Consequently I don't really notice the boots when I'm riding. The fit is great.
The Inner Boot
I'm going to mention the inner boot and it's molding capabilities - which is somewhat of a double edged sword. (I think) You can have them molded to your feet when you buy them, but I was told you get a better fit if you let the moulding happen naturally. Whether or not that's true, that's what I did. Besides, I didn't have a choice because I bought them on eBay :-)
It works. The inners totally match the shape of my feet/ankles. For me this is an excellent feature as my right ankle is permanently swollen so it needs more space than the left. Great comfort and fit.
But... it has been noted (strongly) by others that the inners stink. My two previous set of snowboard boots never smelled (honestly), but these 32s are always the worst culprit in the chalet. To further back this claim up, I visited some seasonairres' accommodation last season where the majority of the lads were riding 32 boots. They all stank! I think it must be the material of the inners...
Of course I'm kinda joking with this point, and it doesn't bother me in the slightest. Chances are you'll leave your boots somewhere out of the way and the performance clearly isn't effected. You never know though, it might put some people off!
Overall
The 32 Lashed boots are excellent. Not a single complaint. Thanks to the design of the inner boot and how it works with the outer boot, I don't seem to get heel lift or 'opening' at the top. The boots feel great to ride in, it's like I don't notice them, and they're like sneakers to walk around in. Being super light and having a soft'ish flex they work well for me as a freestyle boot and perform great around the mountain. If I was doing a lot of aggressive freeriding I'd probably want something stiffer - but I'm not. Fumbling with the laces was the best I could do for a negative point. And besides, once they're done up you don't need to worry anymore. I know that there are other compelling freestyle/park boots out there that claim light weight, low profile and the like. No doubt some of them are great too - just like these 32s, that I can't fault!
There's a new addition to the rider profiles section - Simon Blaney:
I haven't known Simon very long. However, in the short time that I have known him, I've learned that he really likes snowboarding - a lot.
The first time I met him there was a small group of us sitting around drinking cold beer and talking about snowboarding. Simon happened to have his laptop with him and we spent a good hour sifting through photos, watching footage and talking about how good Canada is (well I haven't been yet, so I was just kinda listening). Excellent! I asked Simon if he wanted to use some of his stuff for a profile on afterbang - and here it is...
Rock'n'Roll Highschool by Teddybears STHLM is an album I've been listening to recently. Their music has featured in Afterlame and The Playground. See the updated music section...
Quick notice for anyone in the UK looking for some snowboarding boots. I have a set of Salomon Malamutes, Size 6.5 and a set of Salomon Synapses, Size 9 for sale on ebay. Both in good condition, but the Malamutes especially are virtually new. Check them out if you're interested...
With the season being just around the corner, I'd really like to get something to film with. The question is: should I go with a Hard Disk Drive (HDD) camcorder, or stick with MiniDV? Just in case anyone doesn't know, with a HDD camcorder the data is written straight to a disk, so there are no "tapes" involved. MiniDV tapes are those small tapes that the vast majority of digital camcorders use.
I found this quick comparison on a forum:
In terms of pros and cons of HDD camcorder vs. miniDV (tape):
Pro: Can shoot for hours without need to change tape.
Pro: Copying files to PC is faster than with tape
Pro: Can do basic editing on the camcorder itself.
Con: Quality for your pound is not quite as good as DV.
Con: If you are on a trip and fill the HDD, you have to offload it somehow. With tape you can always buy more tapes.
Con: What do you archive your footage to? (Tape provides you with an archive).
To me, the convinience of not needing tapes is a big plus point. You don't have to worry about running out of film when you're on the hill. If you take some footage that you don't like I assuming that it is quite easy to delete it straight from the camcorder. This will save time later at the pc when you're sifting through your video. Quite a few people these days have laptops, so if there's one in your group you can off load data to it while you're away. The setup just seems more simple.
What about the quality? Well normally with these types of things I prefer to go for what ever gives the best image quality/sound quality. But looking at it realistically, most of the video that I take is ending up on the web, here on this site. I'm pretty sure that compressing video for the web imposes a much bigger restriction on the image quality than the move from miniDV to HDD. So I'm not sure this is an issue for me.
Will it skip? That's the big question for me. Will writing to the camera's hard drive be effected if you're filming while moving around - if you're filming while snowboarding? That would be a problem...
I've been wanting to get Rider Profiles going on afterbang for a while now, and I'm pleased to annouce that they've arrived - well, the first one has:
Ciara Corrigan is the subject of afterbang's first rider profile. I met Ciara around 2 years ago and we've been together ever since. I asked her if she wanted to do a profile with me to get the ball rolling with this stuff and she accepted. Read on...
The Rider Profile section is still a work in progress: there's no link to it on the menu yet and I'm thinking about the possibility of changing the layout/style.
Simon Blaney will feature next, and I'm hoping that with the season starting there may be one or two readers who would like to be part of a profile - questions, pictures and video. Take a look at the first one and see what you think.
I've been keeping an eye out for different helmets - especially those that have integrated audio. I think the helmets on offer from Bern have some pretty nice styling - and the basic models (those without audio or liners) are quite cheap - relative to pure snowboarding helmets. The one pictured here on the left is around £30.
I haven't tried one or, or even seen one in the flesh so I can't comment on how they feel. But, if you're in the market for a helmet I think they're worth a look... I kinda like the one with a peak!
The place to buy them in the UK seems to be StoreTwentyFour.
So I've put together a few clips from last week's Xscapeology/SNO!storm freestyle night. Simon volunteered to stand around for 15 minutes at the end of the night for which I'm really grateful: it's always nice to collect some shots, but this time in particular I think I can definitely learn something from it. Here's the video:
Analysis
Here are two photo sequences of me doing a frontside 360. In both airs things start off pretty well. However, before long I'm no longer looking over my shoulder in the direction I'm spinning, and my shoulders start to point in the opposite direction too. The rotation slows down and I don't spin the full 360. In fact, in the first sequence I'm still looking back up the hill after I've landed:
What's going on? It's clear now why I have trouble spinning this frontside three. Often I end up spinning 180 only. With a frontside 360 the second half of the rotation is 'blind', so you don't see the landing. Maybe it's this that's stopping me from keeping my head in the right position? I don't want to take my eyes away from the landing after the first 180 so I stop looking over my shoulder? It's probably only momentum that's sending me past 180...
I suppose I've got to put some practice in at making sure I keep looking in the directin of the spin. Wait until I see the landing that way. This has kinda got me thinking that backside 3's might be easier to begin with, for me at least. With a backside 3 I'll see the landing all the way through the second part of the spin...
Music. The song that I've used in the clip is called "The District Sleeps Alone" and it's by The Postal Service. You can buy it here if you want, direct from iTunes:
Here's a still of that nice slam I took just to finish things off:
Cabnine competition
If you're thinking about doing a season this winter - this competition has got be worth considering. I heard about it on the GoneBoarding forum, so if you're a regular there you may have already seen it.
Competition deadline - 10th November 2006.
If you win you get to snowboard for 4 months in Avoriaz - all subsidised:
A full range of either men’s or women’s CABNINE™ clothing.
Return easyJet Flights to Geneva Airport
Accommodation and food from the 2nd January 2007 to the end of the season – provided by rudechalets™
An AVORIAZ ski pass.
A brand new RIDE Snowboard and bindings.
GRAVIS trainers and rucksack.
A Zimstern jacket and pants.
A NEFF beanie
That's pretty amazing!
Note though that the competition winner doesn't get a "free ride" - they've got to be motivated and dedicated to improving their snowboarding. There are '"basic requirements":
You must be willing to push yourself to get better at snowboarding.
You will have to record a video diary.
You will have to update an online blog.
You must always wear a crash helmet.
You must be relatively tidy and respect your room mates.
You will need to provide your own winter insurance which we will need to see proof of purchase of.
If you're the right type of person it truly is an excellent opportunity.
All of the details are on the site. The closing date for entry is the 10th November, 2 days away. So if you're interested go an fill in the Entry Form!
Castleford had an Xscapeology (now called SNO!storm) night last Friday and it was excellent. This was the second one of these that I've been to and I must say that the park setup has been great at both. You also get an extra hour of riding for the same price, making it a 5 hour session. Here's what was on offer on Friday evening:
Gap kicker. Good size and really well shaped
4m Down Rail (side kickers)
Down-Flat-Down Kink (side kickers)
Slide Box
Raised Magic Rail
10m Rail
SNO!storm Whale Tail Box
Raised Transco Pipe
Raised C-box
C-Box
Double Picnic Bench
SNO!storm Wall Ride
Rookie / Snowskate park with rookie rails, boxes and kickers
The rails were organised into 3 separate 'lines' and there was just loads to choose from.
I think I spent my time roughly 50-50 between the kicker and the rails, although maybe a little more time on the kicker. I was most determined to work on the frontside 3, but also worked on the fs 180 and a basic backside shifty. Right at the end of the night I got a couple of short shots on the kicker, which I'll post shortly...
The rails were a lot of fun! I tried the down-flat-down for the first time, although I've got to say that the kink was pretty mild compared to previous setups, so it made for a good introduction. I was using the short rail with side kickers to practice ollie'ing on from the side to a 50-50; beginner stuff, but it was the first time I'd gotten around to trying it. As you progress to different rails riding straight on is rarely going to be an option so it's something that I need to be comfortable with. I also started to hit the slide box switch.
The wall ride was another first. Nothing impressive to report unfortunately.
All in all this was probably the best session that I've had at Castleford (and that was without playing around on the snowskates!) The park was great. I just wish that they'd put these sessions on more often...
I visited the Metro Ski & Snowboard Show last month, London, Olympia. With the season getting under way, trips being planned, new equipment being bought, it was perfect timing to absorb all things snowboarding. Here's what I thought.
What type of things were on offer?
The show was extremely varied: video showings, kit to buy, snowboard demos and competition, fashion shows, art, resort information, accommodation information, flight companies, chalet groups, magazines, snowboard clubs... if you were looking for something in-particular there was a good chance you'd find it, or at least someone who knew something about it.
How useful was it?
Well there was something there for everyone, so it kinda depends on what your interests are. Do you want to know more about something, buy new kit, are you browsing? The fact that some parts the show were more information-oriented, and others were exhibition-oreinted worked well.
For example, I sat down and watched a presentation about car safety in the winter, followed by ChunkyKnit's new film Last Winter. I was quite interested in the car safety stuff but felt it was more of a demo and sales-show. Last Winter on the other hand, suited me much better.
With the snowboarding film I was quite happy to just sit back, watch and enjoy, but to get more out of the talk, I should have chatted to the presenter afterwards.
Some information, I sought specifically. The snowboard show was a great opportunity for me to talk to the guys from BASI and McNab about instructing. Face to face is often much better than browsing a web site - which is all I had done until that point. I received some really good, unbiased information, along with details of what their companies had to offer.
I was also particularly impressed by a talk regarding setting up your own chalet company. The presentation gave a good overview of key things to consider - and the invitation was there to talk to the guy afterwards.
There were lots of people from lots of different backgrounds, all willing to help.
What kind of deals were there for buying new kit?
I think a lot of people would expect big discounts at a show like this. I didn't see any. Nothing that stood out as being show-specific. There were sales from last season's gear - but the new gear that I looked at was all listed at regular price. There weren't "big savings to be had".
That said, when we bought a new pair of boarding boots we did get a free t-shirt and DVD, which was a nice bonus. Oh yeah, and a beer to drink while we waited for the heat-molding!
I suppose the big plus point for merchandise at the show was choice. There was a lot of choice under the same roof - so there was plenty to try on, look at and compare. It's not normal to have that many snowboarding retailers in the same place. What's more, with some of the smaller/internet shops having stalls you also got to see some less-mainstream products...
Was the snowboarding good to watch?
I think I missed the best action, which may have occurred on Friday with the Orange Aim series competition.
But that's not to say that the riding I saw on Saturday wasn't good. It was just more demo-like. I thought the set up they had with the quarter pipe was pretty impressive, and it succeeded in bring some real-action into the show, which was great.
Should I go to the next one?
I thought the show was excellent. There were loads of resources to tap into which enabled me to learn about some of the more 'niche' things that I'm interested in. There was also an abundance of mainstream stuff like resort offerings - so if you're looking for somewhere new you can take your pick. I chatted to the guy from Big White in Canada, perfect.
If you're into browsing then it's all there. The latest gear, the big strores, the smaller shops, interesting art work and real life snowboarding demos. You can spend the whole day just walking around soaking it all in.
If you're new to snowboarding a show like this makes for a perfect introduction. Any possible questions you might have can be answered and you're certain to go away craving your first holiday and planning your first lessons.
I watched The Playground last night for the second time, and was impressed for the second time. I really like it. The Playground is a UK film produced by the Hungerpain crew - and it's free with this month's WhiteLines magazine!
Recenently, I also managed to get a copy of the film Hungerpain (Hungerpain's movie from the season before The Playground) - which was equally impressive. Any non-British people out there who are wondering what UK snowboarding is like would do well to get hold of one of these movies. The guys at Hungerpain seem really sorted, so if you're looking for a copy and you can't find one, I'm sure that if you contacted them they'd point you in the right direction.
It's on, two weeks in Laax next March. I'm looking forward to this big time: great park, great terrain and The Brits is on while we're there. Sick.
I'm going to mention the chalet company that we're going with - SnowMotions - because the owner has been really helpful. We'll be staying in Flims. If you're thinking about riding in the Laax area it's worth checking the website out. I pretty much knew nothing about staying in Laax, so all the help I received was great.
"More" was the film that I was most looking forward to watching this season. Mainly because I really liked Futureproof, but also because the trailer looked so good. So how did it stack up against last year's production from Absinthe?
Opening
The opening sequence with Gigi Ruf, Nico Muller and Travis Rice riding huge pillows really sets the precedent for the rest of the film: lots of powder, great shots and great riding. There isn't a park kicker in sight. If you like the powder scenes in Futureproof you're sure to like this opening. I do think it would have been cool to see some of those lines in normal speed, but you can't complain, the riding here is great.
Stand Out Sections
All of the riding in the film is good - but these are the parts that stood out to me:
Erik Christensen's section is full of great shots and for me it probably represents the best editting in the film. Add in some sick, varied riding and a cool beat and it's just so good to watch. One of the better sections I think. You've got to check out the extra in this part with Philip Damianakes, just after Eric 50-50s the gnarly kink both regular and switch...
Wolle Nyvelt has some excellent back country action: impressive powder terrain, pillows and big, natural jibbs. Sweet style in there and it really is hit after hit after hit - impressive. I'm just not sure about that black and white getup...
Mark Frank Montoya. Nice powder riding. His nollie cliff drop is beautiful and there are 3 box hits that I can easily put on rewind and watch again and again. If you like smooth lines and slashes in deep powder you're gonna love Kurt Wastell's part. I think they filmed this really well - some of the moving camera shots give you a perfect, smooth view of the sweet, floaty style on display.
Chris Coulter and JP Solberg have some awesome shots and locations, including some lovely back country follow-cam clips. Matt Beardmore is riding to the same tune in this part: his FS 5 off a back country hip is mint, and I also really like the tweaked, off-axis 7 to close this part.
Justin Bennee and his friends bring a real urban, jib-heavy feel to the film, with loads of street and concrete jibbs, varied and gnarly. There's two great displays of style from Justin hitting a park rail. Mikey LeBlanc continues the urban vibe with a lot of skate-like, aggressive hits in his section.
Any Bad Bits?
Of course it's not possible for each section to stand out as far as the next: different riding styles, shots and locations are going to appeal to different people. The super-urban jibbs aren't totally for me - but I do appreciate them. That said, there's no riding in the film that I don't like. However I do think the the song for Mikey LeBlanc's section represents a low point on the soundtrack.
Favourite Sections
Although the best riding may be elsewhere, there are two sections that really stand out to me.
Gigi Ruf. He brings a funky tune, awesome powder and such an easy, smooth, fun style to this movie. The reason I like his riding so much is that despite how big his tricks really are, it still manages to come across as just 'playing' around in the powder, filming with your friends, which we all love to do. Sick riding, sick angles and the way Gigi closes the film is pretty clever. That front flip looks wicked!
Jules Reymond's part, to me, brings so much to More. To begin with it's introduced really well with them all skating through the street. His frontside 180 from the piste over the barrier tape and shed is the type of shredding that I love to see in movies - a glimps of pro riders doing something a little more normal and making it look so good - great style.
There's some popup text that reads "Jules 1st AK Line" - things like that really help you relate with the rider. I swear it looks to me like he went to Alaska for the first time, was so happy to be there and decided to start jumping off everything. The editting flicks to show some of the other riders hitting the same lines and it really works. It just looks like they're having so much fun - which is what it's all about. I liked Jules' riding in Futureproof and I like it more here. It's all aided by what I think is the best tune in the movie - great section.
Best Riding?
I'm not sure how, but it took a second, maybe third viewing before I realised how good Nicolas Muller's section is - that's got to be an indication of how good all of the riding in this film is. I can't really say anymore than Muller's riding is insanely good, freestyle anywhere and everywhere, he never dissapoints. It's better to just watch it yourself.
So for me, it's between Muller and Travis Rice. Muller's ability and desire to use all the terrain around him puts him so close to the ideal of all-mountain freestlye. But Travis has similar qualities, and honestly, his part in More is full of hugely impressive riding. It seems like there's no end to it. There's a boned shifty that has so much style, followed by a sick double backflip. Check out the double corked frontside 10 - which has a funny-as-shit hidden extra to back it up. Travis goes huge, with sweet moves on big mountain steeps. His level of riding in More is pretty amazing!
Soundtrack and Filming
The soundtrack to More is pretty good. I'm not clinging to it the whole way through, but there are some good sounds there and I like the way Absinthe match the music to the video.
The filming is again, top notch. Absinthe really push the production side of things and the results are good. Not every shot from a hanging wire stands out, but the majority do and there are some truly great clips that enhance the whole experience.
Extras
There's a lot and they're pretty much all good, but for me the best two are:
The Making of Futureproof. An excellent addition. Lots of documentary style footage from the making of Futureproof. It's a must-watch. Romain De Marchi trying to blag a free flight for his girlfriend - excellent!
The Scott Sullivan music compilation. That's right, you get a free music CD, and it's really good. I first heard Scott Sullivan's music on Robot Food's Afterbang, so I was well pleased when my favourite tune, Seatown, appeared on this CD. Sweet.
Conclusion
Great riding on varied terrain. You've got big mountain stuff, back country kickers, natural back country, pillows, trees, rails and urban jibbs. Lots of powder.
The film is excellently put together, a good soundtrack, maybe with one or two exceptions, and progressive filming. There's also lots of it. Lots of riders, a long film, good extras, even a free music CD. It's what I'm coming to expect from Absinthe - a top class snowboard movie.
More Soundtrack
If you're after some of the music from More, here's a list of the tracks, with links to iTunes:
"Gangsters" - by The Specials
"Code of the Streets" - by Gang Starr
"Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)" - by Arcade Fire
"Mutual Slump" - by DJ Shadow
"Don't Need It" - by Bad Brains
"Random" - by Lady Sovereign
"Sugar Pill" - by Ambulance Ltd
"Hard Times" - by Baby Huey
"Retreat" - by The Rakes
"Dirty & Stinkin" - by Ol' Dirty Bastard feat. Method Man
Last weekend was a success: snowboarding on Friday night and then the Metro Ski & Snowboard show on Saturday. It was a tough schedule but it worked out.
The jibbing at Xscape was nice. I wanted to try some frontside shifties which is something I've never done before; not sure why, I just haven't gotten around to it yet. They turned out to be easy enough, though I'm not sure how smoothe they looked. What was more difficult was trying to grab stalefish... this needs some more work. Check out Absinthe's new film, More (review coming), for a perfect frontside shifty stalefish by Nicolas Muller.
I then hooked up with Martin and started hitting the rail/box line, which consisted of a flat-down, a long flat rail, the long box and a rainbow box. I tried quite a few new things, some were successful, others weren't... Either way, it's always easier when you're riding with someone else.
50-50 to switch 50-50
So I wanted to try hitting the flat-down 50-50 and then frontside (FS) 180 to switch 50-50. With the rail being kinda short I figured hitting the down part after a 180 wouldn't be too bad: if I got it wrong there would be no rail left for to fall and land on.
Well I was right about that bit - I didn't fall and land on the rail once. But the FS 180 in the middle wasn't happening - I just wan't committing to it, I kept landing in a boardslide, or not landing at all. I should probably start practicing hitting the rails switch 50-50 first...
Boardslide on the flat and down
Pretty basic, but up until now I've only gone either 50-50 the whole way or 50-50 to boardslide. So boardslide on the flat and then down was a step forward, albeit a small one. I also managed to tweak it a little, pressing the first part of the trick a little on the back foot and then popping onto the down so that the boardslide was more on the front foot. It felt pretty sweet, but I've got to confess that the first time it kinda happened by accident; after that it was by design.
Boardslide to frontside boardslide
Boardslide on the flat and then front boardslide on the down. It's worth pointing out that I struggle with front boardslides, so this wasn't anything spectacular. A little pop off the flat and then touch the down rail in FS boardslide. With the down part of the rail being short this wasn't too bad at all, and it gave me a feeling for hitting the rail frontside.
5-0 on the rail, 180 out
Long flat rail. Again, beginner stuff. This rail is pretty long but you can ride on. So here I'm kinda riding on, starting to 5-0 and then beginning to rotate ready to 180 out, frontside. I'm gald I tried this because trying to hold the position for the length of the rail was fun. I got one or two that felt good. More practice, stop riding on...
Nose press on the rail
Nose pressing the long, wide and flat box is ok, but the rail is much narrower. The ride on is perfect for practicing, but I didn't really get this. I'm pretty certain that the one time that I made it to the end of the rail the tail of the board was like 1mm in the air. But still, it felt like trying new stuff was progressive and the learning part is fun.
180 to nose press on the box
This wasn't happening. Simple as that. However Martin was pulling some sick 180 to 5-0s. Sweet.
Frontside tailslide to frontside noseslide
Hmm, I don't know how to describe this trick at all. In fact, I think the majority of my rail definitions are sketchy, so if anyone can correct errors just leave a comment. Anyway, here's what I was trying to do: hit the box regular into a frontside tailslide. Pop out of that, spinning frontside into a noseslide, at which point I've got my back to the end of the box.
It wasn't really going anywhere, although I was at least getting some practice at popping from one tip to another. I reckon there are easier rotations to try first.
So, mixed results. But some of the new stuff I tried felt really nice which was enough to give a big sense of achievement! Like I said before, feel free to correct any bong rail terms... I can't wait to ride again.
I'd like to give a shout out to Big Dreams, a snowboard company in Dorset, UK. During the search for a new snowboard I was pointed in their direction. I gave them a call to enquire about the possibility of a last season's Jeenyus Eddie Wall; from that point onwards I received nothing but good service.
The staff that I spoke to clearly knew what they were talking about, but not only that, they were interested. Interested in taking the call, interested in what I was asking about and, simply interested in snowboarding. That matters.
The only reason that I didn't buy the board from them was that I like to support my local snowboarding shop, LD Mountain Centre, because the staff in there have the same qualities.
So I decided to go with the T2. The more that I thought about it the more I wanted to try something with a little more all mountain performance. That's not to say that I don't like the jib board, far from it. To be honest I'm not entirely sure that I'm going to prefer the T2; all I know is that it's going to be a different ride, and I'm just going to have to try it and find out. Besides, I've still got the Kink, damaged as it may be.
Earlier this year I took both the Kink and a 158 Rome Anthem to Meribel. I rode each of them during the week to compare. I remember preferring the Kink, mainly because I was jibbing around a lot and it was fun. But I also remember thinking that the Anthem was simply an excellent board, it felt so good to ride: fast, solid, stable, aggressive and lots of pop.
That's why I decided to go with the T2. It's stiffer than a pure jib board and a little more aggressive. I had it laid down on the floor in the shop next to a 55 Ride DH and the differnce in side cut was noticable. So it should bring me some of the qualities that I liked in the Anthem: stability, speed and pop. However, unlike the Anthem it is purely freestyle orientated, having a shorter and twin-tipped design.
At the last minute I contemplated the DH or the Agent, yet the T2 prevailed; it's the board that I've been drawn to. In the end I opted for last season's model rather than this year's "Eero" T2. Nothing against Eero of course, it's simply that the old one came with a sweet discount and I have a tendancy to go through boards at a fast rate...
The Metro Ski & Snowboard Show opened today, London, Olympia. I've got to say that the first I'd heard of it was in this month's WhiteLines, which is strange given that it's a huge show. After checking out what's on, I'm really intruiged. In fact, I'm heading down there this weekend.
I've decided to combine the London visit with some Friday night jibbing at Castleford. I'll hit Xscape first and then continue on down to London, ready to see the show on Saturday. It's gonna be tight, but what the hell. After all, with the season knocking on the door, the more snowboarding action I can get the better.
The quarter pipe setup sounds pretty impressive, so I'm really looking forward to see that. I'm also stoked that Blue Tomato are going to be at the show; I really value them as an online shop having always had good service, so I'll be checking them out in person. What's more, it seems that I'll get a chance to see this year's ChunkyKnit film, sweet.
In fact it all looks good. I'm just gonna walk around and soak it all in.
Of the boards I've been looking at, I've decided to group them into 3 categories. Yeah, I know, I'm probably over-analysing this whole thing, but what's wrong with that when winter is around the corner and you're waiting for snow? Besides, these boards do have varying characteristics so it's worthwhile thinking about it, at least a little.
Some freestyle boards are more all-mountain orientated, being slightly longer and stiffer than the "jib board", often having a directional element to their design and a more aggressive sidecut. Pros like Travis Parker who take their freestyle all over the mountain need something that is gonna work well in powder and be stable on super fast kicker run-ins, etc.
For the likes of myself, this type of board will give me a freestyle-orientated stick that's got better all-mountain performance than a pure jib board. More basic freestyle tricks and jibbing around are gonna be a little more difficult. Based on what I've read I'm gonna class the TP Texas as being a 'stiffer' freestyle board.
The T2? Well I'm not sure about this. According to the Nitro blurb, Eero likes the Misfit for back country and the T2 for park and rails (hence his two pro models this year). Seems as though Nitro have the T0 and the T1, and also the fact that Mr. Ettala does insane things in the park and pipe, I reckon the T2 is gonna be stiffer than the other boards that I'm looking at here. And let's not forget the good old "flex" test I did in the shop.
Eero T2 >>> Travis Parker Texas
I'm gonna rule out the Travis Parker here for the simple reason that the T2 is a twin tip. I prefer a twin tip, so if I'm gonna go for something a little stiffer, then I may as well get the T2.
There's no doubt that the Artifact a jib stick. Easy. Likewise with the Evil Twin. I'm not sure about the Evolution... but for now it feels like I should group it here. They're all easy flexing true twins, built for park and rails. This type of board is gonna be more suited to lazy jibbing, indoor slope riding and to some extent, my freestyle progression. However I'll be compramising on things like edge hold, maybe performance in the pipe and general all-mountain stuff.
Artifact and Evolution >>> Evil Twin
It may be folly but I'm going to discount the Evil Twin here. Based on a few test runs I think I prefer the flex design of the Kink over the Evil Twin. I'm pretty sure that the Artifact is gonna have a similar feel to the Kink, and I can get it in a 153 whereas the Evil Twin is either a 51 or 55 - I prefer the 153.
The Sapient Evolution. I've got a mate who rides for Sapient and his favourite board for all-situations is the Evolution. The Evolution also did really well in the Transworld Good Wood Test - which should count for something. It's an appealing board.
To be honest I don't know anything about the Jeenyus ride, but seems as though Eddie doesn't ride for Jeenyus anymore, he rides for Forum now, there's no Eddie Wall board to buy. Jeenyus need to update their site...
The Agent isn't a pure jib stick but I know it's not that stiff. It's an excellent board, fast base, good in the pipe, smooth and buttery, probably just what I'm looking for. Something in the middle of the two. However I have owned one before and I'm kinda keen to try something new. Maybe I should consider the Ride DH?
Nitro T1
I've just noticed that I missed out the T1. I guess I haven't been thinking too much about it. For that reason I'm gonna just leave it out. Besides, I think I'd rather go for another Kink ahead of the T1... in fact, I'm going to add the Kink onto the list just in case, I like it a lot.
2005/2006 Ride Kink, 152cm.
I've had the Kink since the beginning of the 2005 season, riding it for a week in Meribel, a week in Chamonix, two weeks in Tignes, a week in Deux Alpes and a handful of times on the indoor slope at Xscape, Castleford, UK. This riding has included jibbing around, hitting rails and boxes, hitting park kickers, riding around the piste and a very small amount of powder.
Shape & Flex
The Kink is a freestyle board - but more specifically it is a jib board. Twin tip and twin flex design - it rides exactly the same in both directions which is pretty standard for a jibbing board. I wanted a true twin so naturally the symetrical aspect of the board's design was appealing. However it's not just the shape that I have liked, I've also been impressed with the board's flex pattern. Despite it being advertised as buttery (I recall some slogan like "20% more butter"), it has always felt lively, with a good amount of pop, which you get evenly from both nose and tail. It's buttery and easy to press, but that softer flex doens't bring a flat, washed out feel with it. It's springy. This makes it fun to ride, and easy (easier) to learn new tricks on.
Rails
I don't have much experience of riding rails and, the Kink is the first board that I've hit rails/boxes on so I don't have a reference point for comparison. However, I can say that the Kink feels nice to press with, and, when boardsliding on rails the flex is forgiving and leaves room to shift your weight around. A lot of jib kids are gonna dull their edges down, but I've done nothing with mine and I haven't had too many hang ups... This little clip of the Kink being ridden on boxes/rails might be useful.
The rest of the mountain
The Kink is the shortest board that I've ridden; others include a 154, a 155 and a 158. Yet I haven't felt too let down by its (relative) all-mountain performance. Although the edge hold hasn't been great in some situations, I think the board does pretty well at speed: not too gittery, not wanting to wash out all of the time. I wad worried that with a pure jib-stick I'd be sliding all over the place, but it's simply not the case.
It's probably more accurate to say that I haven't felt held back, around the mountain. The difference between it and my Rome Anthem for example, is significant. But if you're looking for a jib board you already know you're going to be making compramises in this area. It functions, but don't expect something that's gonna eat up difficult terrain and float on powder.
How's it compare with other freestyle boards?
I've owned a 55 Rome Agent, a 54 Squad Flex 4 and recently had a quick test run on a 51 Evil Twin. I thought that the Squad Flex 4 had similar feel/design with respect to soft flexing tips, yet it lacked the pop of the Kink. It felt a little flat in comparison. Volkl stopped calling it the Flex 4 and opted for Squad Jibster, so maybe they changed things a little.
Some jib boards, like the Evil Twin for example seem to be softer in the middle and stiffer at the tips. So they have a slightly different ride. Which is better is a matter of preference. What kind of flex do you like? Softer in the middle should be better for connecting with rails; softer tips easier to press, butter and pop. It's up to you. I thought the Kink was lighter than the Evil Twin.
The Agent is marketed and designed to being a little more all-round freestyle than a pure jib board. It's not a true twin and sticking to weight ranges will give you a longer board, therefore a little heavier a little slower to spin/move around - but we're probably talking small differences here. I certainly found the Agent to be better all mountain, it definitely had better edge hold in the halfpipe and it had a smooth, buttery ride to boot. So is it just like the Kink but better? Maybe. But then again it is considerably more expensive and probably doesn't ride rails as well. You may also crave a true twin, a real jib-stick...
Durability
This is my only issue with the board. I've done around 6 weeks of riding on this board and I need to replace it. I think the edges have been pretty weak and I picked up a crack near the nose. It wouldn't have lasted a season. I do hit rails and boxes but that represents a small amount of the action that this board has seen.
Maybe I've just been unlucky? Maybe my next board will fare the same? I just don't know. Given the choice of boards out there I kind of feel it's worth trying another once just in case.
Conclusion
So what's my overall take on the board? Well, I've really enjoyed riding a true twin board - but this feature isn't unique to the Kink - there are many twin tip boards to choose from. The board's flex on the other hand is part of the Kink's design, and this I am impressed with. Easy to butter with whilst at the same time having a lively, poppy feel. In fact, as I've written this review I've realised how much I like this board. There's not a single thing I don't like about the way the board rides. It's a lot of fun and it performs. And don't forget that the Kink is very competitive when it comes to price. Perhaps I was unlucky with the durability of the board, perhaps not; this might be the only thing that stops me from buying another one.
The Kink is a good board - the fact that I'm probably going to buy a different board now shouldn't count against this one, I simply want to try something different.
I've added a music section to the site. You can access it via the menu at the top right.
A short while ago I posted a thread on GONEboarding inquiring about albums/bands that people have discovered through a song from a snowboarding film. I figured it would be a good idea to collect my findings here on afterbang. If anyone has any recommendations I'll be happy to check them out and then list with acknowledgement.
I've also started a soundtrack reference as people seem to find these useful!
First things first - I haven't used this board enough for this to qualify as a "review". This is simply my brief experience of a "test drive" - four or five runs on the 150m, indoor slope at Castleford.
In fact, there is only one comment that I'm confident in making - so you're welcome to stop reading after the next sentence. If you're thinking of buying Bataleon's Evil Twin - try it out before you buy, because it feels different to other snowboards.
Courtesy of Simon, a rider from Castleford, I got to strap into a 151 Evil Twin. The base design that Bataleon are using is certainly unique, but we'll come to that in a moment. The first thing that I noticed was that the board seemed a little heavier than the Kink (152). Nothing major - but heavier still.
This was followed closely by the flex pattern - which is different to the Kink. Relative to the Kink the Evil Twin is stiff in the nose and tail, being softer in the middle. I believe that Bataleon's intention here is to make the board really good for locking onto rails whilst still maintaining some rigidity for good pop and stability. Conversly the Kink's tips are much softer - designed to be easier to press and smooth to butter.
How did I come to this conclusion in 5 runs? Well, you know what it's like when you strap into a new board. You start popping off the tail here and pressing on the nose there... I also tried a few butters on the flat, nose press, tail press and popping out of the butter. It is stiffer than the Kink in the nose and tail, but it's still a jib board that you can do all the usual stuff on.
Which is better? Well that comes down to personal preference. How do you want your jib stick to flex?
So, triple base technology? You feel the difference straight away! I hear/read that it's better for edge initiation, better for riding straight/flat and better for not catching an edge when jibbing (check it out - yeah for it!)
I experienced some of this. Riding straight felt kinda weird, but I can see how with time, the base would lend itself well to this. The base design also seemed to help with sketchy landings, providing a small window before an edge makes contact.
However, my only substantial comment regarding the triple base is that my first impression was "this feels like a board that's gonna take a little getting used to". And like I said at the top, I haven't ridden it enough to be used to it.
So what the board really rides like I can't say. Nor can I say how long it takes to get familiar with it: maybe it's an hour, or a day, perhaps longer. It has however had good reviews, and nothing about the board made me think it wouldn't be really sweet. It was just different.
To anyone thinking of getting one, my advice is this: try it out, use it for longer than I did. Maybe when it comes down to it, it's not that different - but find out. Either that, or speak to someone who's opinion you trust and who has ridden the board on the terrain that you intend to ride.
Personally I'm not sure that I want to "get used" to a different base design, but maybe that means I'm missing out. The Evil Twin has a good following, it "feels" like a quality snowboard in the hand, I've heard nothing but good things about it and the graphics are sick...
Increasingly over the last year I have become more interested in the UK snowboarding scene. Originally I had seen one or two movies, but it was when I saw the talent on our indoor slopes, and some clips from Standing Sideways that I was really grabbed.
Do other people know how good some of our indoor riding is - specifically rails? Do they even know that we have indoor slopes? How will our riders make the transition to international snowboarding? And how will they get on?
Since then I have seen first hand some British action in the Protest Jib Vid contest, earlier this year in Tignes. And of course, there was the Winter Olympics...
We have a strong scene here in the UK, with talented and dedicated people.
So, I was really happy when I read Document Snowboard magazine - there is a lot of focus on UK snowboarding. What's more, the article on Team GB is pretty inspiring.
The stoke continued as I moved on to White Lines. The editorial hits the nail on the head - with what it's like to be a British rider. And the interview around the new UK flick The Playground tells of a UK crew taking a different direction for British film making - it's exciting!
It's good to see our magazines focussing on our home scene - it can only be good for British snowboarding.
It really feels like the season is getting started now. The new Blue Tomato catalogue arrived through my letter box earlier this week, with a host of new goodies to look at. Then, WhiteLines arrived yesterday with two free DVDs: Futureproof, which I've seen before, and C1RCA's "It's Time" skate DVD.
I watched the Circa flick last night and I was pretty impressed - there's some really nice skating on there - and I like the soundtrack too. If you're interested and you didn't get a copy with WhiteLines you can get it from their website. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with my spare Futureproof copy - maybe a free give away on afterbang :-)
It feels a bit weird actually, just as the season is starting I'm off on holiday for a week, and it's not snowboarding. I've got a pretty long flight ahead of me so I also picked up this month's Document Snowboard along with OnBoard. Document Snowboard looks good; there's an article in there about Team GB which I'm looking forward to reading.
I haven't yet flicked through OnBoard - but it did come with a DVD: Danny Wheeler's skyrocket. It feels like Christmas :-) I'm gonna watch that tonight.
WhiteLines' Friday Fix has started up again as well. They're really good - perfect for a Friday afternoon. With all this activity I just can't wait to go riding - but the question of where still remains. I still don't know where I want to go this winter.
I guess I've got a week to kick back and think about it...
Earlier this year in Tignes there was this bar that quite often played the same snowboarding film, around the same time during the day. Our group visited the bar, almost daily, so I ended up catching little snippets here and there, deciding that the film looked really good (most noticeably, some sweet jibbing from Jussi).
The problem was that I didn't know what the film was called. I asked a couple of guys behind the bar, but they didn't know; and I was never around when the film started to see the 'menu' screen. As we were leaving one day, I thought I caught the name in the end credits - but as it turns out now, the film was playing on VHS, not DVD, so it didn't roll back around to the menu.
To cut a long and uninteresting story short, I've been wanting to get a copy of the film ever since. Remembering a "p", "t", "i", "o" and maybe a "v"- I recently ordered "Positron", by WhiteOut Films, only to find that it wasn't the right film at all. Erm, didn't you check the rider list? Yeah I know, Jussi isn't in the film... I guess I figured he could have been in the "friends" section?!?
The DVD (also available on 'video') is currently en route from America (Action Sports DVD). I don't know exaclty how long it will take to get here, but expect a review when it does. Encouraged by the comments on GoneBaording, I'm expecting the rest of the film that I haven't yet seen to be good!
An indy nose poke. I'd like to work on adding a little more style to my riding. So I decided to start here, using a small kicker on the indoor slope at Castleford to try these out. Just a straight air - grabbing indy and boning the nose out a little. I think it just looks sweet when someone bones an air out, so I want some of the action...
To be honest, I think it might have helped if the kicker had been a little bigger. Not being familiar with boning the front leg out (or back leg for that matter) it kinda felt rushed: first getting the grab and then poking the nose down and to the right. No doubt someone more proficient could make it look smooth on a small air, but I think I made it look, well, rushed.
It was fun though. Man, I got a couple where the timing was good - held the grab, boned the front leg out and then put it all back in position ready for landing. Others were more sketchy. Sometimes I ended up 'kicking' the board out of my hand (rushed?); others I started to straighten the leg too hard before I had the grab and knocked my balance completely off (enter, one really nice face plant).
Still, I think I did enough though to get a 'feel' for the trick. A little more practice, maybe a different kicker and I should start to feel more comfortable.
While I'm on, I stumbled across a pretty decent set of trick definitions on snowboarding.com. I know some people aren't bothered with the specific names of trikcs, but if you are interested, it's pretty good. I'm kinda indifferent: it if looks nice, that's normally enough for me. But if I'm learning a trick, I quite like to know its name. At least that way I can communicate what I'm trying to do.
If you haven't yet seen it, go to the Absinthe Films site and check out the trailer for their new DVD, More. I must say I'm pretty eager to see this, the trailer looks excellent.
It looks like you can buy it direct from the Absinthe site, but has anyone seen it in the UK yet? On any UK websites to buy?
I had forgotten two boards that interested me last season, and the comment on the previous post reminded me about the Jeenyus Eddie Wall. Here's an updated list of boards I'm considering:
So here's the new damage to the Kink: a 3" crack up near the nose, and a delamination on the base near the edge. The board is still rideable, and to be honest it's going to have to be if I plan on boarding at Castleford this week or next. I haven't decided what new board to get yet - so it's either use the Kink or take a hire-board, which I don't really want to do...
Which new stick?
So what's on my list for a new board when there are so many to choose from? Here's my criteria:
It's got to be a freestyle board: but I'm not sure whether I want a really jibby, buttery rail/box board or something a little stiffer, more 'park and pipe'
I'd quite like it to be twin tip, or at least twin flex (I think you can have twin flex without twin tip?). If it has a directional shape, it's got to be slight
The length has to be somewhere between 150 and 155cm
Graphics - not the most important thing by a long way, but I don't want something that looks really crap!
I was at Xscape Castleford last night for 2 hours of freestyle fun. I got talking to a guy and ended up sessioning the box and rail with him, which was really good because he helped me to learn a new trick.
Well, actually we started off talking about me wanting to do some sort of frontside boardslde with rotation, but what I ended up doing was a backside tailslide (couldn't find an example of the snowboarding version). I've gotta say that I'm not exactly au fait with the various trick definitions - but the goal was to spin backside onto the box and then do some kind of press/slide with my back facing down the hill. That's why I ended up doing a back-tail instead of a front-board...
It's a pretty sick feeling. Last night was the first time I'd tried this, and first time up I had my weight too far over my toe edge and ended up on my knees. However, apart from that and a heel edge snag - which resulted in me sliding head first down the box on my back and then dropping off the end - it all went pretty smoothly.
I wanted to rotate it round so that I ended up pretty much doing a nose press and popping off the end fakie. The tip I got here was simply to look down at the outside of my back foot, the one that I was pressing the tailslide on, which totally worked.
I moved on to trying to 180 out, which would put me back to riding regular, but this was kinda hard. The problem was the position that I had my shoulders and arms in to prompt the slow rotation: it wasn't good for spinning out a further 180 in the same direction. From that position it felt more like I should have popped a 180 ollie back in the oposition direction to the rotation, but that was hard too :-)
More to work on next time. Great boarding.
I managed to cause further damage to the Kink, which is now firmly on it's last legs. Probably time to get a new board and do a review of this one.
It's been around a month since I was last boarding, so I was well up for last Friday's session at Castleford. However, the night unfortunately ended rather abruptly when James broke his collarbone. Ouch!
And it totally snapped - the picture here doesn't do it justice... when he moved his shoulder the bone was really poking up through the skin. I've gotta say that I was impressed, James didn't complain once.
I was also pretty surprised - by the hospital's strategy: "here's a sling, leave it as it is and come back in two weeks time". That seems pretty laisser faire - but I guess they know what they're doing...
Of course it was a shame that James broke a bone - but I'm glad it didn't happen in the middle of a holiday, and there's plenty of time before the season starts.
So our night ended about halfway through, just as some things were starting to come together. I suppose the only right thing to do is go riding as soon as possible and try to get them sorted...
