Merry Christmas!

Well, I'm just about to finish work and head to the airport. We're spending Christmas in Ireland with Ciara's family, I'm really looking forward to it.

Merry Christmas all!

Proporta BeachBuoy: Review

The Proporta BeachBuoy is a waterproof case designed to keep small devices and valuables safe from water, sand, dirt, dust, and... snow?

As it's name might suggest, along with the information that comes with the case, I'd say the BeachBuoy was designed mainly for use on the beach, or situations where you're around water. However, I decided to take a look at one, and review it's usefullness to snowboarders.

But first up - does it work?

Waterproof to 5 meters
The instructions that come with the BeachBuoy advise a Tissue Paper Test. Test it on something that's not valuable, and shows wet'ness easily. I thought that was a little timid - so opted for the Twenty Pound Note Test. I sealed it up, dunked it in the sink, waved it around a little, and then tested the dryness of the note.

Bone dry. Phew.

I then moved onto my mobile phone. Same routine. Same result. The phone was dry and working after being submerged under water. Nice one, it's waterproof!

Making a call
Proporta also say that devices can be used whilst inside the case, for example, making a call. Easy enough to test. I called someone, asked if they could hear me, asked if the call sounded any different. The response was "it's fine". I could hear them, so I'd say that works. Obviously device use doesn't extend to earphones, as this would break the seal on the case :)

Ease of use
The first couple of times I tried to seal the BeachBuoy I was thinking, wow, that's a bit difficult. The case has two grip-seals, and getting them fully closed takes a bit of finger-work. Then you fold the top over twice, a bit tough, and stick down the velcro flap...

But once you've done it a couple of times, it becomes easy, and the result is a waterproof seal.

So at £10, the BeachBuoy provides a cheap, light-weight case, that's handy for keeping stuff dry and clean on the beach and/or around water. But should you go and buy one ready for your next winter holiday?

The BeachBuoy and snow
My first thought regarding its use on the mountain was well it's nice, but I don't think I'd use it. I don't like to carry too much stuff around with me, it feels a little big to go in a pocket, and besides, my pockets are waterproof... enough. For example, my phone has never been damaged, and I take a bank card out from time to time.

If I am taking more stuff up with me, then it'll be in my backpack, and again, that's reasonably waterproof. Enough for me to not worry about stuff.

But the use of a phone whilst inside the case is compelling. I tend not to make calls whilst on the hill, and I'll avoid getting my phone out if it's snowing hard. But I'm sure there are people out there who make a lot more calls than I do when snowboarding/skiing. And if you're one of these people and you value your phone, a cheap, light-weight and waterproof case could prove really useful.

And as I think about it, the Euro notes do sometimes get a little damp, and what if you needed to carry something like valuable like a passport (which does fit, just)?...

Summary
I'll take this with me next time I'm away. I might not use it very often, maybe not even at all, but it may come in handy. Others, perhaps heavy phone users, might make better use of it. But for me, it doesn't really fit with my on-the-hill setup, it won't be an essential item. I reckon I'll use it more at the beach.

Lots Of Snow / Avalanche Safety

There's been a lot of snow recently around the Alps at the moment. A lot! According to this article from SCUK, this is the best season start that Europe has seen in a long time. And it continues, check out this extract courtesy of WhiteLines' Friday Fix:

Here's our latest dump alert from Anne-Marie Sainsbury in Morzine: "It started early on Wednesday and didn't stop until late at night. I went up yesterday, visabilty was pretty sketchy but lovely floaty fluffy pow everywhere, even on the piste! It cleared up today but I didn't get to go up cos I had to work, from what people have said it is still pretty awesome up there, still loads of untracked sections, plus the park and the stash are looking good. I am struggling to get in my front door as there's knee deep snow in front of it - so if it's that deep in town, you can imagine what it’s like up the mountain!"

Awesome.

So the season's kicking off with a great base, and if it continues, we'll hopefully be shredding some pow in January. Finding good powder might not be the easiest thing mind, as I don't really know the terrain too well. It's one thing to get first lift up, but if you're heading in the wrong direction once you're up there you're gonna miss out. But that's another matter - perhaps I'll start asking around - see if anyone is willing to give up their favourite spots. Unlikely.

Hitting up the off-piste often makes me think about avalanche safety; the things that I know and the things that I don't. Last season was a little strange. I bought my own beacon, practiced with it, read up on some avalanche theory, and then when I got to Fernie I never went out of bounds once.

You see, there was so much good terrain, all in-bounds, and all cleared by the ski-patrol, that there was no need to venture farther afield. I used the beeper on the cat day, but apart from that, I don't remember if I used it while in-bounds.

In Canada, well, Fernie at least, as that's the only Canadian resort I've been to, the situation seemed fairly black and white. They open things up if it's safe. So if it's open, you can shred it. The ropes are all clearly laid out, and they patrol them, really well. You don't go into areas that are restricted. The result of this, I found, was that even though there was a lot of snow, I felt safe whilst in-bounds.

Europe is different; it's much more grey. More of the decision making is left up to the individual...

With this in mind I've been thinking about brushing up with my beeper. I remember the last time I practiced, on the beach, I was thinking about a way to show the pattern of flux lines transmitted from a beacon. I'd like to try that. I'd also like to have a few more attempts at multiple burial situations - but getting a few beacons together isn't easy.

I've never done an avalanche training course, which is something I'd like to do. I've never actually seen the resulting debris from an avalanche, after it's stopped. I'd like to see first hand how hard the snow settles, and have a go at using a probe and shovel.

Has anyone been on one of these courses? What kind of practical training is given? From what I've read about them - they seem to be very good...

Shoulder And Fitness, Again

Well it's exactly a month before we head out to Morzine and the Portes Du Soleil. A few weeks ago I started to ride into work in an effort to build some fitness before I start shredding. Remember, hard day on the hill + no hot-tub can = sore muscles. I don't like to waste any time out there.

Alas, I've stopped riding into work; for now at least. Mainly because my setup sucks. I'm not knocking the loan of a bike from a mate, but no breaks starts to become an issue on steep hills. It was ok for the first 5 or so journeys, but then I travelled out in the rain, and found the break-performance to be less than safe.

I started to resort to the foot-wedged-between-tyre-and-bike approach to slowing down. Not great, and my skate sneaks didn't like it either. The more I did this the more I knocked the break system out of place, so they stopped working on flat areas too, with the added annoyance of constantly being resisted by one of the pads always pushing against the rim.

It got worse after we had snow. With the ice hanging around on the pavements for a day or two I was forced to use the roads. Not too bad on the way in, when it's light, but after wrongly assuming the ice would melt during the day, I had to use the roads in the dark. No lights, no breaks, busy roundabout. Dumb.

So I've swapped that for 20 minutes on a cross-trainer style machine that we've got at home. It's ok - but especially good on the legs.

What's going better is the shoulder rehab. It's responding well to all the excercises and stretches that I give it. After my "warm-up cardio", I do something like this:

• 2 sets of lateral raises
• 2 sets of shoulder presses
• 2 sets of wide press-ups
• 2 sets of shrugs
• 2 sets of curls
• Some shoulder stretches
• 2 sets of squats on a balance board - that's fun
• Some 'core' excersises

A lot of that is aimed at strengthening the shoulder, but the core stuff and squats will help on the board.

The shoulder's getting stronger. I'm pleased. It can still be a little sore in the morning when I wake up, and I haven't tried any pull-ups for about a week now, and last time it was a no-go. But the progress is good.

I suppose I'll only know how good it is for snowboarding after taking a few slams...

Fernie Footage January 2008, Simon's Edit

I've been sitting on this for too long. Simon put this together from our footage last season, from our trip to Fernie. I love watching it, it just makes me happy :) All that snow. Plus I like the way he editted it.

With a bit of luck, the way this season is shaping up in Europe right now, we might get some more crazy pow. Whether or not it will be as epic as that which The Griz delivered is another thing, but here's hoping. In the meantime, it'll be a serious injustice if I don't do something myself with the footage, before I shred in January 2009, a full year later. Maybe I'm just put off by the thought of using Moive Maker... or is it all of those fs 3s that I don't land?

Anyhow, enjoy Simon's efforts. Thanks mate! If it doesn't make you want to get to the mountains you're probably not a snowboarder...

"Go Snowboard" Instructional DVD - Continues To Be Popular

A while ago, I wrote a review of "Go Snowboard" (Neil McNab), an instructional DVD and book, the crux being, I highly recommend it as an instructional source.

Along with that review, and this post, is a link to the product on Amazon. As an affiliate, I can see how many times "Go Snowboard" has been purchased via this site. It seems to be quite popular. In the last 12 months I've sold close to 50 copies (well, Amazon has sold them really). Still, that's quite a lot, and it's way more than any of the other products I've reviewed that are also on Amazon.

What I'm wondering is: if you bought the book from this site, what do you think? Do you think the review is accurate? Did I do a good job?

[If you've got it but didn't buy it from here, feel free to comment anyway...]

What's On Your Trick List?

Just about every time I go riding, I've got an idea of something I want to work on; a lot of the time that's some kind of trick. Over the summer just gone, I had a rather lengthy trick list, which unfortunately, was hardly dented at all. I guess I bit off more than I could chew.

I did make two tricks from that list, however. I landed a handful of clean backside 3s at the Chill FactorE, good enough to be proud of, but none were on film. I did record a sketchy effort, but you can't even see the landing. I also nailed the shifty-shifty at Halifax. That one is on film, but be camera work isn't great, the rider (me) is too small in the frame.

This film can be found in a recent, previous post.

So never mind about the lack of progress over the summer. I'm looking forward to Morzine, Avoriaz and the rest of the Portes Du Soleil. This time I'm gonna work with a more realistic list, just 3 tricks:

• Backside 180 stalefish
• Nose grab + any rotation except a frontside 180. Preferred options include fs 3 nose and bs 1 nose
• Any 5. Feeling now is a backside 5, but we'll have to wait and see

So what's on your trick list? What are you working on this season?

Snowboards For Petite Women

OK, so I could have said snowboards for short and light women, but I think petite is perhaps a nicer description. Ciara and I are looking for a new snowboard (for her), and it's nowhere close to being as easy as it is for me to pick a new board. But before I talk about why it's difficult, let's look at what she's got already.

144 Volkl Destiny. This is a high-end all mountain freestyle board. The season that we bought it, it didn't have a sintered base like it does now. The problem with this board is that it's quite stiff for freestyle progression (learning new jibs etc.) and it's also a little long for Ciara to be freestyle-oriented. Plus, the base dries out really quickly and it's got very bad glide...

141 Santa Cruz Rebel Series. This is actually a junior snowboard. It's ok for playing around and jibbing, a bit fun, but that's about it. Ciara doesn't rate it at all for all-mountain usage, which is fair enough because it's not designed for that, but no good if you a board that does both. It rattles at speed and the base is horribly slow. I have at times encouraged Ciara to ride faster over flats to not get stuck. The response is, it's not me, it's the board. After a near-argument one day in Avoriaz, we swapped boards at the top of a run through the town, and there goes Ciara gliding past me with a big I-told-you-so smile on her face, whilst I'm coming to a stop. That's me told! The board is slow.

So when I look for a new board, the choice is almost endless, it becomes difficult narrowing the search down. But it's the complete opposite looking for a board for Ciara. She's 5' 1", and weighs around 47kg (yep, I did ask permission before publishing this data). She wants a high quality, all-mountain, freestyle board. Something that's twin, or a directional-twin, has a good base, handles the whole mountain but also has a smooth, freestyle flex.

I've got options like the Rome Agent and the Ride DH to name two - but there are many more. The problem for Ciara is the length of board that she needs. Our thinking is a board around 140cm, maybe 141cm, but definitely not longer than 142cm. Some of the women's boards do go down to these lengths, but shops and websites tend not to get the shorter boards in stock.

So we've also considered kids boards, or youth boards. In fact, as well as the Santa Cruz mentioned above, Ciara has also ridden a Forum Youngblood Mini, at 140cm, and rated it highly, better than both her other boards. But it's hard to find.

We also like the look of the Burton Custom Smalls. It's supposed to be very close to the full-on custom, but given that it's a fraction of the Custom's price tag, there will be some differences, and one of them is the base. I'm not sure that this is a deal breaker, but it would be nice to get a good, sintered base. (The smalls has their light speed vision base... I don't know what that actually means).

Ciara likes the look of the K2 Fling. It might not be promoted as all-mountain freestyle, it's described as a park board, but it sounds close. I hear it's like the women's version of the Darkstar, which is a good thing. It's got a good base and has ok size options, 138 or 142. It's an option, and I have seen both the 138 and the 142 available on the web...

Obviously I spend more time looking at guys' boards - so maybe it's just that I don't know the women's options that well? But getting the right board at the right length isn't easy.

Girls: what board do you have and what's it good for? What length is it? Where did you buy it?

First Big Review For The WSG

Over the last year or so I've written 3 reviews of UK slopes for the World Snowboard Guide: Castleford, Halifax and most recently, Chill FactorE. As much as I've enjoyed writing these reviews, I've been wondering what it would be like to review a full-scale resort...

Well, I've been given that opportunity. I'm going to be reviewing the Portes du Soleil in January, as part of my trip to Morzine. Stoked. Anxious. It's a pretty big job.

The guide already has substantial information on the main resorts in the Portes du Soleil - so some of the work required is targetted at updating existing data. However, the project as a whole involves reviewing 12 resorts within the full area, some of which the guide has no coverage at all. It's going to be fun - but it's definitely a step up.

So my plan is for Ciara and I (we're doing the review together) to learn as much as possible before we go - especially about the areas that I've never visited before, or don't know so much about. We're only there for two weeks, so we need to be prepared.

I've been looking at one of the smaller resorts, La Chapelle d'Abondance. I tried calling the tourist office there this weekend and ran into my first hurdle - they had no one who spoke english. That's not very good - on my part! I can speak a little french, but I'm not confident enough (or practiced) to try and make a phone call. Getting an email contact was difficult too. I'm going to have to work something out here. Watch this space...

Some Video From This Summer/Autumn

It's taken me a while to sort this out, but better late than never I suppose. It's just some video from two sessions earlier this year: one at Halifax and one at the Chill FactorE. Right at the start is the slam that I mentioned from Halifax...

It's been a little bit frustrating to be honest. On my old laptop I had a version of some decent video editting software - which did a good job. I've been unsuccessful installing it on my new laptop; so I'm stuck using Windows Movie Maker.

Movie Maker isn't that bad, and it is free after all. But having the basics only is not what I'm used to, and that's frustrating. What's more, the video output from Movie Maker, when presented by YouTube looks bad. If I choose 4:3 ratio in Movie Maker I get black bars at the top and bottom of the video - because my camera is widescreen. So when I upload it to YouTube, the result is too small, which you'll see below.

If I choose 16:9 in Movie Maker, which is what I should select, it looks fine until it ends up on YouTube, where it is squashed, and basically looks pap.

These aspect problems may be caused by the fact that my camera isn't true-widescreen, which is confusing Movie Maker, maybe not. Has YouTube changed their default to widescreen? Either way, my old software used to handle it fine...

If you're a pc user, what do you use to edit your video? (Actually if you are a Mac user, what do you use?)

Shoulder And Fitness

My shoulder is improving, but kinda slowly. Just about all of the symptoms have dissapeared now. Trouble sleeping looks like it's going to hang around for the longest; lying on my front can cause discomfort in the morning.

According to the doc, it's probably a good time for me to start strength-building excercises. I know that many of you would advise going to a physio, but for now I'm going to start with some real basic shoulder excercises and stretches; see how that goes.

Which brings me on to fitness. Unfortunately there seems to be a trend developing over the last couple of years: I start thinking about fitness a couple of months before I'm due to go snowboarding. That's bad. It never used to be like that.

Anyhow, I've started cycling to work in an effor to add consistent excercise. It's only 4 miles each way, but on a rusty old BMX (thanks James), with some killer hills thrown in, I end up with a not-so-bad workout. I feel better already.

I also found a snowboard-specific excercise plan, courtesy of Pro Ride Snowboard Camps' news letter. As with most excercise plans, I suppose, you won't find anything ground breaking there. But it's good to know that people who know what they're talking about have put the plan together - and targetted it at snowboarding. Plus, the home-made balance board is cool - I might try that!

Sooooo Good!

I saw this (Torstein Horgmo in Northstar Park) over on P.Wikberg's blog - but had to post it here too. It's soo good. I'd like to visit a mountain with a park like that...

Fernie: Cornerstone Lodge Review

During the 2007/2008 season, we stayed in the Cornerstone Lodge, in Fernie, Canada (BC). The Cornerstone Lodge is in the actual resort, rather than Fernie Town, which is a bus ride down the road. I don't know the exact price that we paid for the 6 person appartment as we booked as part of a package holiday; based on what we looked at around the time, I think the Cornerstone is middle of the road for the in-resort accommodation. Prices are available on their site.

First off, and probably most important, I thought the location was excellent. Perfect in fact. The Cornerstone is situated right between the two main lifts that take you up (Elk and Timber Bowl Express), and right next to the beginner chair (the Deer). When you step out the door, you can literally be at any of the three lifts in under one minute. Awesome. and depending on what side of the building you're on, you can look out from your balcony to see if there's a queue on a powder day, which chances are, there won't be!

What's more, you have both the Griz Bar (after-shred-beers-and-nachos) and the ticket office immediately outsite the lodge. There's also a restaurant and coffee shop on the ground floor of the building. Tight.

If you want on-the-hill, true ski-in, ski-out, the Cornestone is the best, it's right bang smack in the middle.

If you want to be in Fernie town however, it's obviously no good. Personally I'd rather have the mountain right on hand; first on the lifts on a powder day. Sure there isn't much happening in the resort - but I prefer to spend bus-time on the evening and not when there's good shredding to be had!

The quality of the accommodation was good - especially in the rooms themselves. We had 5 people in a 6 person appartment, which had the typical 2 bedrooms plus double sofa bed. I don't often like this configuration becuase who wants to sleep in the living room? That said, there was plenty of space.

The bedrooms were nice, spacious and comfortable; good storage space and nice bathrooms. The hot tub was ok - just what you need, soothing and relaxing - but nothing like what's on offer at the Lizard Creek Lodge. Think indoor health club hot-tub, rather than outdoor luxury, steaming tub, while looking up at the stars. But then again, I think the Lizard is way more expensive...

The only slightly weird thing is where you check in. There isn't actually a reception in the Cornerstone - you use the reception at the nearby Griz Inn. It's no biggy - as long as you know what you need to do. If you don't, you can end up walking around in the cold. It also helps if you're in a group so that some can stay with the luggage so you're not hauling it around!

To summarise - if I was going back to Fernie I would stay in the same place. To me, the location was perfect, it was reasonably priced and good quality. What more do you need?

Early Season Last-Minute-Deals

Just recently someone mentioned to me that there are some pretty good last-minute deals going with Crystal Ski. Naturally I had a browse over the weekend, and, they weren't wrong!

Flights and accommodation for £149 is pretty good - as are the destinations (Mayrhofen, Tignes, Cervinia). I think the deals on offer here fly mainly from Gatwick; maybe one was from Manchester also... It's tempting if you're looking to steal a week early season; I wish I had the spare time (and a little extra spare cash!)

I've never been on a Crystal Ski package, but I have been on two others, and they both turned out well. Looking at some of the snow reports, it seems Cervinia and Tignes already have some decent riding available and there's more snow forecast. If it keeps up there could be some high quality, cheap, early season shredding...

Injury Update

I spent a little over two hours in the hospital this evening, waiting to see a doctore and then to get an x-ray. It's been around a week and a half since the shoulder-slam, and the end of the collarbone has been feeling weird.

To be clearer - towards the end of last week the regular pain/bruising/difficult-movement started to subside. But I've been left with a shoulder that's really painful in a few positions only; and it's a strange pain, like it's on the bone. Well, at least that what it feels like to me.

So I thought I'd get it checked out - just in case.

Well, nothing's broken or fractured which is good. Man, am I a bit of a hypochondriac or what? That's twice this year I've been for an x-ray to check on a snowboarding injury, and twice there's been nothing broken!

The doctor suggested that lump on the bone/around the bone could be a resurgence of a previous shoulder injury a few years ago; my left shoulder is gonna be weak in this area he thinks.

Still, it's on the mend, I've got a good range of movement, so I've just gotta wait for it to heal - then I can go shredding/skating again...

New Shred Stick: It's A Lib Tech!

I bought my new board this weekend. It's pretty sick; I like it a lot.

You might have my previous post which listed the 8 boards I was considering. From that collection, I'd made a short-list in my head: the DH, the Skate Banana and the DC MLF - and maybe the T1, but it's hard to find.

Well the board I bought isn't from the short-list; it's not even from the long-list. So how come I ended up buying it?

Because I wanted to!

Each year my local snowboard shop has a slightly different line. Some board manufacturers are present each season, but some come and go. You can always find a Burton for example, and they like Nitro a lot; a couple of years ago there were quite a few Rome options, now there are none.

When I made my first visit about a month ago, I was hoping that there would be some boards from my-list - given the option I'd prefer to buy here and support my local shop, they're worth it. Well they had the skate banana, the DH, and even the pro-model version of the T1 - but none of them in sizes that I wanted.

I couldn't help but notice they had a wide selection of lib tech boards: the skate banana, the Jamie Lynn, the trs and the t.rice. And they all looked so good; just oozing quality. Plus it was the first time I'd seen the magne-traction edge-design in the flesh; and a rocker design also for that matter. I was drawn in.

I waited for a few weeks as there was a chance they'd be getting the 152 skate banana in, and that's the one I wanted. But after going back a couple of times I found myself considering both the Jamie Lynn (154) and the Travis Rice (153).

It was the third visit, this weekend, when I had the cash in my pocket, that I decided I want it. I bought the Lib Tech Travis Rice, 153.

It's probably a little stiffer than I was after and it's not a true twin (it's a directional twin) - which is something I normally insist on. Plus, there's usually something that holds me back from getting a pro-model; like, it's designed for the pro, rather than the general rider... But that all went out the window. I just wanted to buy it.

153 is a perfect length. It's got magne-traction and a rocker-base, both things I'm keen to try (although I accept I might not like them). I really like the blunt nose, it's got great stance options and it feels like it's got lots of pop. It feels like a good board. The 20% off that was on offer this weekend didn't hurt either!

I can't wait to shred on it. In the meantime, I'll just prop it up against the wall and look at it...

New Dakine Luggage: Split Convertible & Tour Bag Review

For a while now I've been intending to move away from having an all-inclusive, wheeled boardbag (e.g. Burton Wheelie Locker), to using two pieces of luggage: a regular case plus a smaller board bag.

I've now completed the transition, pairing a Dakine Tour Bag with a Dakine Split Convertible. Despite having more first hand experience with Burton luggage products, and being impressed, I opted for Dakine for 3 reasons: 1. price, 2. availability/choice and 3. confidence in their products.

The Tour Bag is considerably smaller than the Wheelie Locker, but as you can see, it still holds a lot of stuff. In the picture above I've got my board and bindings, my boots, my lid, snowboard pants and jacket, some impact shorts, a change of street clothes and a few other smaller things like socks. This is going to let me keep bulkier items out of the case as well as distributing the weight - think airport weight limits and their cost structure for extra bags.

The Tour Bag is well padded so your board is going to be safe. Plus there are separate compartments for boots and bindings - though you can use them for whatever you want. These separate pockets have waterproof lining, so they're good for anything that's wet and needs packing.

The smaller size (and cost) means no wheels - but I reckon these are designed to be used in addition to another case (most likely wheeled), so the shoulder strap fits well - wheeling two items can be tricky. It's going to be in the region of 10 - 15kg, so carrying over the shoulder shouldn't be a problem.

The Split Convertible is one of the larger cases available at 120L. I'd have been just as happy with the more common Split Roller, but I was able to pick mine up in a sale, which made the change worth while.

As it happens though, the convertible design is actually quite handy. Both sections can be used separately, so you can down-size to a smaller setup; although I'd say it's more practical to use the bottom one, as it has the wheels and the handle. If you're using the bag in it's completeness, I'd say it's unlikely that you'd ever want to split it up at the airport so that you can check in two separate bags, as per the Dakine blurb. However, you might find splitting it up handy for squeezing into a restricted space, like a small car for example...

The bottom part of the bag is a single, large compartment. The top bag, as shown above is split into three main compartments, plus the two sticking up on the top; all good for organising your gear.

My one question is the coupling of the two separate bags; they are joined with 4 large clips/straps. Although I haven't used the case in earnest yet, say, taking it through an airport, it does feel sturdy and durable. I don't anticipate any problems and I'll report on this after the first proper use.

Price: 2 bags vs. 1
Personally I much prefer the flexibility of a case and board bag vs. one large wheeled board bag - but does it cost more? I've only owned one of the large do-it-all board bags, the Burton Wheelie Locker, so I'll compare the price of two separate bags against that. The Wheelie Locker retails at around £170. The Tour Bag sells at £40 and the Split Roller 120L at £100 - making the pair £140. If you want the Split Convertible specifically, it's another £30, I think, which is quite a bit more: I'd recommend sticking with the roller as I'm not sure the convertible design is worth it.

Those are full prices though. One of the great things about getting a Dakine bag is that there are plenty of them around. Do a quick search on google and you're almost certain to find one in the sale. I got my Tour Bag for £28 and the Split Convertible for £80 - so a pretty good deal!

Castleford Shred

We headed to Cas' last night for an indoor freestyle fix. It's been a long time since I was there last, and I haven't ridden since I was last at the Chill FactorE, when I slammed pretty hard on my back. Probably a little rusty, and out of shape... I gotta do something about that.

The drive down there was a bit of a set back; we got stuck in traffic and ended up being over an hour late - leaving us just under 3 hours to ride. Not good when you have to pay for either 2 hours or 4 hours on a freestyle night...

Or not! We were hit with a pleasant suprise when we arrived - you can now opt for a 3 hour ticket at £30 (2 hours @ £25 and 4 hours @ £35). Bonus! It's probably been like that for ages, but hey, when was the last time I was there? Things were starting to look up.

And the set up - it was pretty fresh. OK, so the kickers were rubbish, but a good indoor kicker seems to be the exception rather than the norm, and I've known that for a while. They had the long flat (10m?) rail out, which is always good. Plus the long box and a short down rail. Both the flat rail and the box are ride on (if you want to), but the down rail was raised so you need to ollie on - the proper way.

There was also a rather nice spine/jib setup, with a huge, fat pipe serving as the coping - for want of a better description. A picture here would have been cool, but I didn't take any cameras - shame.

Despite being a while since I've snowboarded, I did try a few things that turned out quite nice. A half cab to 50-50 on the long rail; I made my first attempt at that and then all the ones after didn't measure up. A tight little frontside 3 mute; small, but I liked it 'cos I've never grabbed mute on a front 3 before.

Mart and I put the spine-jib to good use. I don't really know how to describe it, but my best effort was a frontside rotation to press/boardslide along the pipe and a 270 off, landing on the other side of the spine. That jib was real fun all night long.

I'd been hoping that the small amount of time I've been trying to do frontside boardslides on my skateboard was going to help me out with getting something frontside on a rail/box. My inability to do front-boards is in my opinion (and probably most others), a major failing. I feel like until I get this down, I suck on rails. So I want to sort it out.

I had marginal success on the box, but nothing worth writing about (ha!). I really do need to file my edges down, mind. Even if it's just to stop me thinking about it - 'cos I caught quite a few heel edges while sliding backwards, not good. Luckily I wasn't going fast enough for it to be a problem. It wasn't until I unpacked my bag when I got home that I found the file that had eluded me earlier on when getting all my gear ready. Bummer.

I'd spent a bit of time on the side-kicker-rail, which is the first of it's kind that I've tried (I think). Just a 50-50 was daunting at first. I tried some board slides, getting some contact before dropping off again. I decided that I wasn't committing enough, so towards the end of the session I went for a full on, rail-dead-central-between-bindings, boardslide. I caught an edge and went head first to the landing, fast. My left shoulder took all of the impact, and I was immediately aware that it was a nasty slam.

Memories of James' broken collarbone came flooding back. Luckily for me though, it only felt like I'd broke something, as far as I can tell everything is still intact (whimp!). Boy did it hurt though. It's pretty damn sore today, stiff, and I've got a lot of restriceted movement - although I did manage to drive the car, moving up the gears is ok, but changing down is hard.

Still, at least I committed to the rail :)

Century Optics .3x Ultra Fisheye Adapter

As per the previous post: I want one!

...I've had a quick search on the web and the prices seem to vary quite a bit - maybe there are some subtle differences between similar models? Anyhow, here's a clip showing one of the Century Optics fisheyes being applied:

Skating, Homemade Handles, And Wide Angle Lenses

I went for a skate yesterday morning with a couple of friends; it was a good session and I've been reminded of it all day today. I'm obviously out of shape, not good.

The skating was though. Unlike usual, I was skating some street. I'll just clear something up in case anyone was wondering: I kinda feel weird differentiating between street and ramps/bowls, because (a) I'm a novice, so any notion of specialisation seems wrong, and (b) I don't skate nearly enough - so it's just "skating" to me.

Anyhow, we were skating street, and I spent a good while trying boardslides and frontside boardslides on this sweet little rail. It was pretty motivating 'cos I suck at any frontside rail action on a snowboard; maybe I'll learn something here? I don't wanna big this up mind, I'm talking about a 12" high, flat rail, and me sliding about 18" and dropping off switch. Still, it felt good, and the regular board slides were longer :)

The skate park, known to locals as "5 bridges", or just "bridges", is also the location of the new mini-ramp being built that I mentioned briefly. It's local - around a mile from my house - and under a bridge, so it's always dry. Unfortunately it turns out that it sucks. I think they got some building company to make it rather than someone who knows how to build a ramp. We tried skating it and the transition was horrible. Never mind - the bowl at Silksworth isn't that far away.

While we were there I spotted this kid with a clever little handle for his video camera. I asked him about it and he told me it put it together using two l-shaped brackets and a rubber handle; it looked similar to this, or this. Man, I can't believe I haven't made something similar before now...

...I'm wondering if I could make something with shock absorption built in?

As I took a quick look around the web to investigate camera handles (hence the above two links) - I noticed that a lense on one of the featured cameras peaked some interest from other readers. It peaked mine too. A Century Optics .3x 37mm. Here's an example on youtube.

I think it looks impressive - although it's not like I know too much about this stuff. After all, I've been interested in a wider-angled lense for a while now and never found one. Obviously looking in the wrong places...

iPhone Blogger (again)

Here's a little context regarding the previous post. My current phone contract is coming to an end and I'm planning to hook up an iPhone. My desire has been doubled due to Ciara's recent acquisition of the 8GB version; watching her use it makes my phone look so primitive and un-cool. I want one.

The chalet we're staying in this season, in Morzine, is missing an Internet connection, also primitive. So, I was wondering if it would be practical/easy to update my blog using an iPhone. Hence the quick test.

I'm obviously not up-to-date because there are apparently a few blogger apps available for the phone and I haven't even seen them. There are ftp programs too - although I don't know how flexible the process of getting some photos taken with the phone onto this website will be? I pretty much always downsize photos, or edit them in some way...

There's also the question of network coverage - will 3G be available out there?

Still, it's a possibility, and it might turn out to be really handy. I'll just have to wait and see...

iPhone Blogger

I want one! This is just a quick trial run - posting from Ciara's iPhone... A bit clumsy to begin with but I'm sure it could work well enough while you're out and about. Sick

Which Snowboard?

I've started to look around at the various snowboards on offer this year; my criteria being freestyle/jib. As I started to make a list I thought I'd check out the boards I was considering a couple of years ago (has it been that long?) when I bought the T2. At the time, my shortlist looked like this:

• Nitro T2
• Rome Artifact
• Rome Agent
• Ride Kink
• Sapient Evolution

I'd also been considering: Nitro T1, Bataleon Evil Twin, Jeenyus Eddie Wall and the Capita Travis Parker Texas... but at the time, these boards were dropped from the shortlist.

Well, from the boards above (both lists), I am now considering: Rome Agent, Rome Artifact, Ride Kink, Sapient Evolution and the Nitro T1. But there are some problems... first off, I don't like the graphics on a couple of those boards - the Artifact and the Kink. I'm not sure that's a good enough reason to not buy a board, but for me, it's a big factor. I don't want crap graphics. Second, it's hard to source the Nitro and the Sapient from the UK...

Then there are boards that I wasn't considering last time. I'm currently in America with work - so on the way out here I put the flight time to good use, pouring over the new WhiteLines Buyer's Guide.

Although a little hesitant, I'm interested in the Lib Tech Skate Banana. There's also the DC MLF; both of these boards are new to me. Add in the Ride DH, which I've breifly ridden in the past and liked, plus it continues to be reviewed highly. And finally two Forum boards: the Youngblood and the Eddie Wall.

Taking out those with bad graphics, that makes the following list:

• Rome Agent
• Sapient Evolution
• Nitro T1
• Lib Tech Skate Banana
• DC MLF
• Ride DH
• Forum Youngblood
• Forum Eddie Wall

Cat Skiing / Boarding In Fernie: Review

Towards the end of last season I mentioned that I'd bumped into (well, exchanged emails) Tom Gordon-Walker from NonStop Snowboard during my visit to Fernie. Speaking to him over the summer, he asked if I'd like to post a review about Cat Boarding in Fernie.

Naturally there's a mention of NonStop, but, for anyone who's thinking about trying catboarding/skiing, but isn't quite sure what's involved, this is a great run down of what's involved - so read on...

Fernie is one of the most special and fantastic resorts in North America, the secret is definitely out on how great it is, but if you rush you can still experience it in relative solitude. The main reason it is so great is the snow, specifically how much snow it gets. In two consecutive weeks this winter Fernie received 170 cm and 140 cm, that is pretty amazing! Riding the resort here it is pretty easy to see why so many people flock to Fernie and keep coming back, the terrain is steep, deep, tree filled and has tons of hidden little gullies to play in. However, even on the best days the resort will become tracked out and that is the time to turn to the cats!

Cat boarding is a lower cost version of heliskiing, loads of fun but not quite so hard on the pocket! The cats give you access to terrain well outside the resort that is always untracked and uncrowded, pretty much the ideal scenario. In Fernie there are several operators, Island Lake and Fernie Wilderness Adventures either of them are excellent to use and will be able to find you that untracked powder we so crave.

A typical day starts early, say 7.30am, when you meet at the cat base for a safety briefing, and kit supply if you need it. Then it is onto the cats for the first climb, you will usually get between 7 - 9 runs in a day (each taking 20 mins or so, so save your energy). Once you get out the cat you will see what Fernie powder is really about, there is tons of the stuff and it is all for you and your group. It is well worth adjusting your kit before you set off (moving the bindings back) as the snow is so deep that it can feel really hard work with your usual stance. Then its up to you to let rip, the guides will give you a good idea of where to go but there is a good degree of freedom on each run. I can say I have never seen powder like it and hope you get to ride the same. After 7 or so runs you will be feeling pretty tired, the really deep snow conditions do take there toll. The runs are full of trees and you will be loving the riding in these conditions and you will be leaving the day totally stoked but knackered.

A day as amazing as this is included on all NONSTOP Snowboard 11 week courses. For those of you that don't know NONSTOP run snowboard instructor courses in Canada at Fernie, Banff, Red Mountain and Whistler. Their courses train you up to Canadian Level 2 allowing you to instruct pretty much anywhere in the world. For more information check out www.nonstopsnowboard.com.

Tom.

I've got to agree with that - a day riding backcountry with a cat as transport can be an awesome experience. We went catboarding when we in Fernie; you can read me review of the day here, there are some extra photos (including barrel roll action) here, and here's the video we made of the day (it's also in that first link):

Dakine Split Convertible

I've decided to get the Dakine Split Convertible. I guess I'll find out soon enough if I like the convertible design - but I've been impressed with all the other DaKine products I've owned so I'm expecting to like this one too.

I ended up getting the bag from Two Seasons, along with some new pipe gloves - as my old ones are wrecked from using them on snowflex (yep, I do fall enough to wear my gloves out). They're starting to get new gear in for this season and there are still plenty of bargains from last year (I got the DaKine luggage in the sale) - so it's worth checking out!

All I need now is a new snowboard...

Snowmotions Getting Set In Lenzerheide

Back in 2007 I had an excellent trip to Laax/Flims, and stayed with a company called Snowmotions. During the course of that season I became friends with Snowmotions' head guy - Jason Savidge - so I'm kept up to date with what's going on out there (the downside being that I find myself on the receiving end of an email depicting some incredible powder day).

New for this season, Snowmotions now has a lodge/chalet situated in Lenzerheide. Before visiting Laax, I hadn't heard much about Lenzerheide, but we spent a day there doing a back-country tour, and it was awesome. There is access to some amazing terrain.

I'd love to get out there this season; with holidays and cash being limited after Morzine, I'm just gonna have to wait and see... It's definitely worth checking out their site, especially if you're into freeriding.

Here are some shots from Snowmotions in Lenzerheide last season. Tempted?

Is That A Gorilla?

I was just cruising YouTube looking for some shred in Avoriaz and I found this. So good...

Dakine Travel Bags

I'm looking at getting one of the many Dakine travel bags. Originally I was thinking either the Split Roller 90 or the Split Roller 120; the 120L option seems kinda big - but you never know, that extra space can come in handy...

Dakine also do some convertible designs, which you can convert into two seperate bags, and therefore check them in seperately. To be honest I've never been attracted to this option - thinking it unneccessary. But, I've seen one in the sale which naturally makes it appealing :)

So are they any different to the regular split rollers? Do the two seperate bits join together well? Anyone got one?

Morzine

It looks like the destination for 2009 is going to be Morzine; things are moving along quite nicely.

There are one or two things that I'd like to buy this season: most importantly, a new snowboard. My Nitro T2 has taken a bit of a beating riding the snowflex at Halifax - plus I'm ready for a change. I'm thinking of returning to something a little shorter and softer, like the Kink, but again I think I'll try something new there.

I'd also like to get a new travel bag - something like the Dakine Split Roller. It's not absolutely essential (neither is the board), but I am without a bag so I guess I need something.

On the flip side, I've got one or two things I'd like to sell: a BCA Tacker DTS (avalanche transceiver) and an accompanying probe. I've used mine quite a bit, well practiced with it, and I rate it highly. I bought 4 last season for our group but ended up only needing 3, so there's a brand new one left over. At some point I'm gonna put it on eBay, but if you're interested, drop me an email. I'll probably post about it again before it goes to the auction...

The Usual Suspects?

Well we've started to look into organising something for next season - with France being the destination. Here are the places that we're looking at:

• Morzine/Avoriaz
• Chamonix
• Les Arcs
• Serre Chevalier

Personally, I hope we end up in either Chamonix or Avoriaz - although I'm interested by Les Arcs. Chamonix and Avoriaz are both really easy to get to and they have good accommodation options for larger groups.

I've heard a few things about the park in Chamonix and I'd like to try it out; plus the rest of the mountain(s) is awesome. After visiting Avoriaz once with poor snow conditions - I'm still eager to go back again with hopefully more of the fresh stuff. Plus it's got good parks.

We're coming into this pretty late on so a lot of places have been snapped up. Gotta move quick now...

The Season's Coming And I'm Not Ready!

It feels strange admitting that, but it's true. Normally, each year when the shops start to get their new gear in and the first WhiteLines Friday Fix makes its way to my inbox - I'm counting the days until my first snow.

But not this year. That's mostly due to the fact that I've got nothing planned yet, nothing to look forward to. I'm fairly confident that I'll be shredding some real snow this coming season, but I don't know when or where. Nothing's planned.

The summer (if you can call it that) seems to have passed in a flash. I've been spending time dealing with things at work and home. A lot of boring stuff that you don't want to do: diy, re-mortgaging, cars. Pap.

I'm still thinking about the 'summer' sessions that I'd like to get in at Cas and the 'fax; maybe learn a trick or two before my next holiday. My back still hurts from those slams I took. My most local skate park looks like it's being extended; I think there's going to be a mini-ramp. I've only just gotten around to looking at the footage from Fernie, and burning it onto DVDs for Simon. Where did the summer go?

I did get around to writing a review for the World Snowboard Guide: the Chill FactorE indoor slope. There's also a few sessions from earlier on that were good, both skating and snowboarding, and a little footage that's worth a peak.

But it's coming and that's that. I need to snowboard again. I need a new snowboard. I need to think about the possibility of an early season camp. I need to work out what I can afford for next season. I need to get my act together and get ready!

3rd Session - Real Snow, The WSG And Pain!

My third session of the summer was on real snow. Five of us headed to the chill factor[e] in Manchester last Saturday; it's the first time that I've been.

Real snow made a nice change from snowflex. The setup was good - especially the kicker. Much impressed. I'm not going to say to much about the slope and the facilities though because I'm putting all of that in a review for the wsg, which you should check out, if you haven't already. More on that later - when I've finished writing the review.

I should mention that I'm pretty pleased to be putting some reviews together for a guide that I've used since I first got into snowboarding - even if they're only uk slopes and not fully fledged resorts. Sick! Hopefully I'll do some more this summer.

So what about the shredding? Well, as I mentioned they had a pretty sweet kicker, nicely shaped and solid. I spent the majority of time spinning backside: 1s and 3s. They're far from being on lockdown, but the backside 3 is definitely getting more comfortable. I stomped at least two during the session, fairly smooth too.

We took a decent amount of video - for the time we had available anyway - and some photos of the slope too. I'm gonna sort that stuff out after I've finished the review...

And finally onto the pain. I mentioned before that I took a pretty hard slam last time I was at Halifax. Well, I (stupidly) managed to catch two heel edges on Saturday night sending me straight onto my back. How I managed that I don't know, but it happened. By time I got home the bottom of my back had the strangest swelling, not good!

The bruising is out now and centred around the spine, and seems as though the pain isn't going away, I headed to a sports injury clinic today. It's 35 notes for an half hour session, but it's worth it. The physio was painful, and the guy reckons I should have it x-rayed just to be on the safe side; I'll probably head back at the end of the week or the beginning of next for a second session.

It's annoying. I hope it gets sorted soon as there are plenty of things on that trick list that I wanna cross off...

2nd Session - It Rained

Ever so slightly bigger crew last weekend: Ciara, Simon and I drove down to Halifax. I hadn't checked the forecast or anything like that, so I was all prepared with a handful of buckets and plenty of cheap washing up liquid...

I didn't need any of it. It rained. And what a difference that makes. I've ridden the snowflex once in the past whilst it was raining, but it was also really windy that day, so this was kind of like a first.

Such a good session. Ciara is starting to get the hang of hitting kickers - albeit the small one - and I was working on some backside 3s and the shifty-shifty. With the slope being wet everything was much smoother; it was easy to get air.

This time around we did take some video. I'm quite happy with the backside 3s I was spinning, the technique is coming together I think; there's a decent one on camera but it wasn't from the proper kicker so it doesn't count. In fact, I didn't get 'round to spinning at all off the big kicker - it was just straight stuff.

I was going fairly big though - bigger than I've been in the past for sure. I was even speed checking 'cos the slope was so fast! Anyhow, the only thing of note trick-wise was a handful of double shifties. It was the first time I'd tried one and to be honest they're not that hard. I'd say they're easier than boning and stalling a regular shifty (depending on the size of the air).

I got an ok shot on film, but it's quite far away. I'm probably going to look for something better before I cross it off the list. They felt good though.

I finished off the session with a pretty big slam: kinda big off the kicker and landed pretty much on my back. Ouch! That's on film too, but again I'm kinda small in the shot so it's a little hard to see what's going on...

I'll collect the video sometime in the future.

As a closing thought: I think I need to invest some time learning to ride on the 'flex. I'm getting caught out when I mess up the weight I'm putting on my edges, and sometimes the mistakes are a little painful :)

1st Session - Hot And Dry

Ciara and I drove down to Halifax last Saturday to shred the 'flex. It was hot, dry, and generally a bit poo.

Being there in the middle of the day when the sun is fully out is simply too much for the aged sprinkler system. They had some wax out, and I had my usual supply of washing up liquid, but neither availed. Dropping in from the ramp was fast enough, but by the time you hit the kicker it's simply too slow. Pretty much unusable.

The best I managed was a sketchy backside 3. No photos, no videos, nothing to cross off the list.

The lift stopped also, which seems to be a common occurrence. It doesn't bother me that much, but Ciara hates using the secondary lift!

So why then, am I looking forwards to going back? When it comes to a good Saturday afternoon session, am I being stupidly optimistic or are there other ways to unlock the potential of the slope?

I was talking to the guy who runs the place (I think); apparently the slope is totally different on evenings after the sun has gone down. I can believe that. The problem is that the opening times make it too costly for me to travel there, only to ride when the sun has gone in.

So I asked him about dousing the kicker with water. Apparently a solution of water and washing up liquid is best, which is what some of the regulars use. So next time I'm there, I'm gonna take a few buckets, plently of washing up liquid, and periodically lube the kicker.

I'm sure many people consider this to be a lot of effort. Especially considering that Cas' is marginally closer and doesn't suffer from a dry-slope... They may well be right - but I just really enjoy riding there. I like the kicker - when it's running smoothe it can be awesome. So for now, I'm placing my faith in the 'fax (and a handful of buckets).

Damage Report

Wow, there's been a whole load of inactivity around here...

In part this has been due to my laptop breaking. Between myself and Ciara, we managed to drop it; now it's dead. I really need to claim on my house insurance to get some money for it, but first I'm going to get the data off. That's what I've been saying for over a month now.

As well as the obvious obstacle of not having a computer, I've also been really busy at both work and home. Work has been work, but at home I've got a good amount of d.i.y renovation style things to be getting on with. It's time sapping.

And finally there's been a rather strange close of the season for me. Normally I ride sometime early in the season, perhaps January say, and then again later on, perhaps March-time. This year my riding was all done by the beginning of February. It was strange. With friends enjoying real snow holidays during March and April, it just didn't seem time to start thinking about my own summer riding...

The net effect has been that I've been quite removed from snowboarding over the last 6 weeks or so - hence the quietness around here. It's worth pointing out that Mal's comment on my previous post about Call of Duty is way off the mark; honestly, I've hardly played the game! :)

What's more, over the summer I plan to blog a little less frequently. For sure I've got a stack of work to do on the house, but I think what I enjoy most about blogging is writing and posting things that I've actually done with snowboarding. So I'll be looking to document my summer snowboarding trips to Castleford and Halifax (and perhaps other places too).

With that in mind, I have a first draft of a trick list I'd like to tick things off from this summer. I don't know how it's going to pan out, but here it is:

• any switch backside rotation, even a one, and the small kicker is allowed
• cab 3 or better and the small kicker is allowed
• nose grab and the small kicker is allowed
• barrel roll clean and the small kicker is allowed
• Shifty, shifty
• backside 180 melon or stale, stomped
• frontside 3, stomped
• frontside 3 melon, stomped
• backside 3, stomped
• backside 3, with any grab, stomped
• any five, no grab needed

To tick a trick off the list it needs to be on film. "Stopmed" is clearly a subjective phrase - it's more there for motivation than anything else - but I won't be classing anything sketchy as a make :) Also, unless stated, the trick has to be done on a reasonably sized kicker; at Halifax for example, that's the main kicker.

I have a few things I'd like to do on a skateboard also, but I'll leave that for another time. It's enough to say for the moment that I've skated 8 times already this year, which is more than double of the entire last year put together. That's cool.

One more thing before I sign off. I've sold my Burton Wheelie Locker after much internal debate, and have opted for the case + boardbag approach. I've already hooked up a boardbag (in the sale, nice one) and I'm looking around for a case to go along with it. I'll post some pics when I've got the new bags sorted.

Here's hoping to getting back on my board asap...

Some Days Are Better Than Others

Last season I made a trip to Flims/Laax, Switzerland, and stayed in a chalet run by Jason and his company, SnowMotions. It was a great trip - with SnowMotions making it better still.

Since then I've been hoping to get out there this season - unfortunately that's not going to happen. That stupid thing called money, or lack of, is getting in the way. Still, I've been keeping in touch with Jason and how his season has been progressing; he sent me these shots just last week - with the caption "some days are better than others". No arguments there :) It seems he and his crew have been finding some sweet powder!

Powder Heaven... by Dave Blackburn // Riders: Simon, Dwayne, Jason // Arosa

Red Tree Lodge, Fernie : Review

I've looked into NonStop Snowboard quite a few times; they're a company that specialises in providing instructor courses and improvement courses in Canada. One of the resorts that they operate from is Fernie.

While we were out there I received a couple of emails from Tom Gordon-Walker at NonStop; it turns out he was reading my blog, sweet! Nice guy actually, and after chatting some, I figured it would be worth checking out the Red Tree Lodge, seems as though it's run by the NonStop peeps and he asked if I could let him know what I thought...

The Red Tree lodge offers both a restaurant and accommodation. Given that we were already sorted as far as digs go, Ciara and I were there for the food and drink only.

The first thing that I noticed was the atmosphere; a fairly young vibe, fresh and relaxed. The service was prompt and friendly, and continued to be so throughout the meal.

The food was good and there was a selection of local beers on offer. What was refreshing with the Red Tree Lodge was the menu itself - a little more varied than can be found elsewhere in Fernie.

To top it off, the price was nice. Nothing expensive, simply a fair meal. It's often the case that when new restaurants open they get some of the simple things wrong. Not so with the Red Tree. I was impressed throughout and would definitely recommend a visit it you're in Fernie!

As we were leaving I took a little look around the place. Having not stayed there I can't say much about the rest of the lodge - so here's the official scoop from NonStop:

Red Tree Lodge:

We are proud to be the new owners of a 40 bedroom ski lodge in the centre of Fernie. The ski lodge in Fernie, has undergone £500,000 and has a comfortable welcoming atmosphere with numerous social spaces and fantastic facilities.

As the owners of our own ski lodge and restaurant we can be confident that NONSTOP Ski is the only training company to not only offer first class ski coaching but also fantastic accommodation, meals and recreational facilities.

Bedrooms:

The ski lodge has spacious bedrooms each with brand new modern furnishing, queen size beds and ensuite bathrooms. Bedrooms have stunning views of the local mountains and some have private balconies.

Communal Sitting Rooms:

We wanted to ensure there are plenty of communal social spaces in the lodge where our clients can meet and socialise, chill out playing cards or watch a DVD. There are four communal sitting rooms spread throughout the lodge each of which has:

• Comfortable sofas and armchairs
• Cable TV & DVD player
• Wireless internet

Swimming Pool:

Yep, that's right... no ski lodge would be complete without its own indoor swimming pool and spacious hot tub and ours is no exception. So after a hard day riding powder you can loosen your muscles with a few lengths of the pool and a sociable soak in the hot tub.

Restaurant:

The lodge also has its own 100 seat restaurant and bar. We have designed this space with a really comfortable homey feel so that it becomes as popular a space to read, play cards and socialise as it is for eating. With a wood burning stove, plenty of comfortable sofas, dining tables, a well stocked bar and fantastic food this is the heart of the lodge. The restaurant is open to the public and serves dinner and breakfast for all our course participants prepared by our team of professional chefs.

Movie Theatre:

Films are good - especially after a hard days exercise on the mountain. We have therefore dedicated a whole room for watching movies. With an overhead projector and rows of comfortable chairs this is the place to sit back, unwind and enjoy an evening in with a good film.

Tuning Room:

If you want high performance it's important to keep your equipment in good shape. We have a room dedicated to tuning your skis or snowboard with tools and supplies for waxing, edge sharpening and gouge repair. Each of our courses includes a training session on how to tune your gear so you get the most out of your skis or snowboard.

Jenny Jones, Winter X Games And Cooler

The Cooler website has a pretty nice sequence of behind the scenes video clips from the women's Winter X Games. As you might expect, as well as some of the action, you also get to see some of the riders off the hill - with a lot of the focus on Jenny Jones. I've embedded the first of the three here, but you can see the others on Cooler.

The riding in the slopestyle is right up there, it's sick, the kickers are huge. Props to all the women riders - they're clearly pushing the standard. And right there in the mix is Jenny Jones; it's great to see a British rider ripping it up Internationally. She didn't make the podium in this contest, but she did pick up a win in Japan recently, taking home a cool $15,000. Nice one!

Afterbang Rated On "blogged"

I received an email recently letting me know that afterbang has been rated on the blog directory blogged. As of now, I'm currently in the top 10 of the snowboarding category, which is cool, but then there are only 25 snowboarding blogs listed...

Obviously the directory is aimed at helping people find good blogs in subject areas that they're interested in. The success of a directory like this depends on the number of blogs listed and the quality of the ratings and reviews. I searched for blogs to do with filming; unfortunately the result was disappointing.

For the time being, it seems that the blogs listed are either rated based on an editor's review, or are unrated. At least that's the case with the 10 or so that I've looked at. The rating for this blog, afterbang, is based on an editor's review. According to the FAQs, if a blog receives enough user rating's then the average user rating will be shown along with the editor's rating. There aren't that many user reviews yet...

I'm unsure whether or not this blog directory will take off, but no doubt some people will find it useful. Maybe I'll go back there in a while and see if there are better results for filming-related blogs?

If you've got the time perhaps you'd rate afterbang? I don't know what the criteria is, but with a bit of luck I might get enough reviews to show a user rating alongside the existing one...

Mart In Meribel

I was in work this weekend - Martin was riding the park in Meribel. That's not right. Anyway, I hear the whole weekend was pretty good and some of the park was nice too. I'm not bitter. Honest.

Here's a short clip, full of steez, erm, I mean steed :)

Solo Skate

I went for a skate last night, on my lonesome, over at Silksworth. I was really feeling the urge after skating last Saturday, plus, Martin set off to courchevel this morning on a super early flight, for a weekend of riding, so I felt like I was missing out. Lucky ass.

Despite a lack of mates it was really good. I love that skate park - the small bowl is just so addictive. I set out with two tricks in mind and was fairly surprised at my success. Note: given my current skill level on four wheels, trick should probably be read as movement, or basic move.

I could have stayed all night...

But I had things to do at home and my left leg got real sore. I must have tweaked something quite nicely last Saturday because the tightness came back last night, followed by wonky walking today.

Whilst I was there, I spent a little bit of time pondering over the ski slope they have. It's dendex you see. I even popped into the reception area to ask about the freestyle night they run. They do have one, that's a start. I also asked if there were any plans in the pipeline to resurface the hill with snowflex. There aren't; there just isn't any money.

It's a shame because the hill has real potential and the lift is good. Plus it's around 10 minutes from my house!

I see more skating on the cards. I should probably stretch next time.

$10 Binding Repair

Mid-way through the Fernie trip I was thinking that I was going to have to replace my bindings. Last season in Laax one of the front buckles locked up pretty tight, to the point that I couldn't get my foot out. It needed a tool to free it up.

Since then it only happened once during the summer, so I was just hoping they would see me through another winter. Well, it started locking up around once a day in Fernie, soemtimes more, which was getting annoying... then I snapped the base plate. Time for new bindings?

Luckily one of the shops in Fernie was a Drake dealer. To be honest I was kinda hoping that he would give me the parts for free - but I can't grumble at $5 a piece. With a new base plate and new buckle the MLBs were good to go. Still plenty left in them I think. They're turning out to be great bindings.

Wolle Nyvelt: Rider Of The Year

Earlier this month, Wolle Nyvelt won the 9th annual Transworld Snowboarding Rider of the Year award.

I'm not totally current with the international scene, but I've got to say that this doesn't surprise me too much. When I reviewed this season's Absinthe production, Optimistic, I was blown away by his riding. Sick!

Silksworth Skate Park

Mart and I went for a skate on Saturday, at Silksworth. Mart's been up all weekend celebrating his birthday. Up here, he's only skated at Redcar, so this time we tried Sunderland.

The park was good, but also busy, and at times the wind was so strong that it got in the way. We spent most of the time re-dialing the small number of tricks that we already have. However, we also tried switch rock-to-fakies for the first time; I came away with a few nice bumps and scrapes to prove it.

It ended up being a fairly long session. We played some in the larger bowl, which just feels dangerous, and had time to mess on trying to get a few photos. Not really what we wanted but it's hard when your tricks are limited! We also got talking to a few other skaters, who were displaying some pretty sick skills (see the last two shots).

The four hours we were there caused an inability to walk properly on Sunday morning; the tops of my calves were so tight. It's obviously been a while since I last skated...

Now That I'm Back, What Next?

It's almost been two weeks now since I returned home from Fernie. Since then I've spent a lot of time at work, including both days of last weekend, which has delayed any updates here.

So what next?

If you've been reading my posts over the last few weeks you'll know that we were really lucky with the weather in Fernie - we had awesome snow. So good in fact that what I'm about to say doesn't really bother me that much.

You see, during the three seasons previous to this one, I've always had at least two trips planned. In those situations, returning home from the first trip never feels bad, because you know you're going away again. Then, when you return home from the last trip of the season, you still don't feel bad because you know you've had a good fill...

This time around though, I'm done. I knew Canada was going to be more expensive than the usual trips to Europe, but to be honest, it was more expensive than what I thought was a conservative budget.

And I'm content. Actually, more than content. Stoked. I only need to think back to one of the many powder days we had and I'm happy with this season's riding. Happy that I chose Fernie.

As well as looking back however, my thoughts are now starting to focus on what I'm going to do inbetween now and next year. What am I going to do in the off-season? Will I set myself any goals?

• First, there's good riding to be done here in the UK. Last year I kept a tally of days riding and it totalled 9. That was between April and January, which is roughly 1 day per month. That's not bad, but considering I was aiming for 2 to 4 times per month, I want to do better this time.
• I'd like to land some clean 5s on Halifax's kicker. In fact, I'd like to set out some trick goals for the summer - but I'm gonna give this some more thought...
• I'd like to get out on my skateboard more. Last year was abysmal. I missed it.
• I'd like to continue reading about avalanche safety and get in some more practice with my beacon - particulalry with multiple burials. Along the same lines, I'd like to do a review on the Tracker DTS using some video.
• It would be nice to get some riding in on a glacier sometime. I've been to Deux Alpes in summer and Les Diablerets in late autumn - I'd go back to either in a flash. I also think Ciara would like to try an all girls camp.
• Late last year I wrote a couple of reviews for the World Snowboard Guide - UK slopes. If I get the opportunity I'd like to write some more.
• I'd also like to invest in some better camera equipment, perhaps for stills, but more likely for video. It's expensive though...

Fernie Day 15: Steep And Deep

Friday: Our last day on the hill - it was pretty awesome, I'm stoked that we signed the trip off like this...

Mart and I started by heading up into Lizard Bowl; I'd have liked to be first in the queue, but the day before was fairly heavy on the hill and we finished things off with quite a few beers in the evening. Lizard wasn't fully open the day before, so we knew it was going to be fresh at the top. We weren't dissapointed:

That first run through Lizard was sweet. The top half was fresh all the way, while the bottom half was more tracked, but still yielded nice fresh turns - you just had to pick and choose a little.

Back on the Bear Chair, and when we got to the top we found Cedar Bowl had been opened - the first time in a few days. It was looking deep.

We made a bit of an error when we dropped straight into the bowl - the top part is pretty mellow and when it's deep like that it's not really possible to get anything going. Still, we turned up on one of the shutes from KC Shutes and it was still looking good:

When we got to the bottom of the bowl Mart decided a quick binding set-back was in order. He was on his DH; keeping it afloat is difficult when it's deep - just like the T2. I was already rocking my front binding set back by about 1 1/2 inches, which makes a big difference. Sick!

The loop back to the top of Cedar is pretty long: use the Haul Back t-bar, ride down the Boomerang chair, ride down to the Bear Chair and then take that to the top.

We were set on traversing further across the bowl to drop in on steeper terrain. We decided that seems as though we hadn't yet travelled down Snake Ridge, we'd make the full traverse and hike to get there...

It was easily worth it! Snake Ridge can take you down to the run called Steep and Deep - a slogan for Fernie itself. I'd have bought the day's lift ticket purely for that first decent down Steep and Deep. We weren't the first to go that way - but it was just about fresh. Totally awesome. With the terrain being steep it was so easy to just float your way down. Huge face shots. Probably my favourite run in Fernie, except maybe for one of the decents on the Cat Day.

As soon as we got to the bottom Mart decided to head back for The Fish. That's what it's made for so I couldn't argue. I hooked up with Ciara to take a run through Lizard and pick up some snacks from The Bear's Den. I had no intentions of coming off the hill for lunch!

It didn't take Mart long to get back to the top, at which point the three of us met up with Simon and headed back towards Snake Ridge. No doubt this terrain was a learning experience for Ciara, but it was worth it. It can be hard to commit to a steep line but she did get a few decent turns in. Still so much fun just to try it.

Here's a shot of Snake Ridge. We also got to take a look at Fish Bowl.

We ended up taking four runs down Snake Ridge. We dropped into Steep and Deep twice and Red Tree twice. By far the first run was the best, but the others were still worth the treck. I took a little bit of video on my still camera the third time through. Even with quite a bit of traffic through there you can still see that there're great lines.

We were pretty wrecked by the end of the day. Mart and I took the last run by ourselves. We wanted to hit it one more time but we couldn't make it with the lift timings for getting back; probably a good thing.

What a way to close things out. Fernie is awesome - steep and deep!

Fernie Day 14: Unbelievable

Thursday, 18:00: I'm sitting in the apartment, the Internet connection has been back up for a couple of days now, I've got a can of Kokanee and a bag of BBQ crips - it's been an epic day.

I woke this morning and let the alarm clock tick over on snooze for around 40 minutes. Yesterday was a good day, fully packed, Mart, Ciara and I just lapped Siberia Bowl. It was empty, had some decent fresh snow in there, and there're lots of good hits to jib on. Great.

Going to bed last night I had this winding down feeling; there're only two days to go, we've been so lucky with the snow, let's just cruise the last couple of days and try to get some photos/film. Mart had said yesterday: wouldn't it be sick if we had a nother big dump before we had to go back? Naturally my response was yeah! But I also said I thought it was unlikely, given how much snow had already fallen. That's why I was snooz'in this morning...

The I heard a knock on my door: Gav, wake up, it's dumped big style. I was up like a rocket. How much? And it went from there. Looking out of our window there's a childrens play area just underneath - it was full of snow, at least a foot deep. How is it possible to get this much snow?

I wanted to take photos. I wanted to get the video camera out. But there simply wasn't time. We wanted to be first in the lift line...

As it happened, we were the 6th chair up. That's 20 people on the mountain before us. The first run this morning was out of this world. We headed up the Timber and then down towards the White Pass Chair. 30 - 40cm of fresh. I had my stance set back this time and was rocking it. Whoops all the way. Probably the best day yet on the hill.

Like I said before I was really wanting to get some pictures or some film; but given that it was a week day, it was too quiet to not get everything you possibly could. Seriously, after getting off the first chair and making our way down to the next chair (White Pass), I looked up at the first chair we'd been on, which is a four-man. It was: empty chair, two people, one person, empty chair, another single...

Epic powder and hardly anyone on the hill.

I didn't wait in a single queue all day long. Unbelievable.

Curry Bowl opened mid-morning but we didn't hit it. Everyone was lining up while we were taking fresh lines through the White Pass area all morning long. There's this face that takes a five minute walk to get to and it keeps just about everyone away, especially when it's mid-week. It's steep and deep. Mart, Simon and I took seven runs through there this morning, and we only saw one other group take our line - once. How is that possible when you're riding in-bounds?

I rode a fresh line every single time. It was the best yet. I wish I had some pictures to show how good it was. My bad. The powder was too good to pass up.

The line we took led us onto a cat track that Mart and I started dropping barrel rolls from - into deep fresh - right under the chair. It was a good feeling. We got some decent whoops from the lift. I rode one of them out clean. Sweet.

Epic day, probably my favourite yet. I even got two fresh runs through Lizard while people were having lunch.

Gotta go now as we're heading into town for dinner. There's one word to describe today: Awesome!