So What About Next Season?

Is it too early to start thinking about where to ride next season? For sure there's still a lot of snowboarding left in the current season, especially with the recent snowfall, but I don't think that I'm going to be able to get to the mountains any time soon...

So maybe it's not too early then, in which case, there's no harm in thinking about the question where to ride next year?

This winter I tried two new destinations: Morzine/Avoriaz and Laax/Flims. Both resorts have good alround reputations and they both have good parks. In many ways, they both delivered; but I'll leave those thoughts for a different post. It's enough for now to say that I wanted to try something new, and I was pleased.

So is something new on the cards again for next season? I think probably; and that's mainly because there are so many excellent places that I haven't yet tried. However, I'm reminded of the format that I've been using over the last few seasons, that has worked quite nicely: a week away towards the end of January and then a two week trip sometime in March. This means two destinations, the first of which provides a good opportunity to go back to somewhere I really like.

Avoriaz, with more snow? Switzerland with SnowMotions: visiting different resorts each day for a week of backcountry riding? Or Chamonix? I'd definitely like to revisit Chamonix with more backcountry in mind, and a budget for guided-days.

And what about somewhere new? Canada: Fernie, Big White, Whistler. Colorado? What about Japan? Inghams have 2007/2008 early bird holidays in Japan on their site right now. And then there is Alaska. A friend has discussed plans to set up a 10 day trip to Alaska next year, which will include heli-boarding days, hiking, and snowmobile days. Expensive no doubt but it has the potential to be amazing.

There's a lot to think about, but no doubt I'll enjoy considering the different possibilities...