Decision Made

This week, for the first time since last winter, I went to my collection of snowboard jackets and selected one before going out. It's getting cold.

This jacket-wearing coincided nicely with the gifts that Whitelines magazine give out each year to it's subscribers, among which is always a beanie. This year in particular, they've offered a pretty sick design.

It was around the time that I was leaving the house, accompanied with the above snowboarding jacket and beanie that I decided "I'm gonna plan a two week trip for this season." I've been procrastinating over this point - putting off thinking about the financials because we're saving for something bigger next year...

...So it wasn't flicking through a snowboard magazine, it wasn't watching a snowboard movie (although I haven't seen any good ones yet this year) and it wasn't updating this blog... No, it was wearing my trusty, old Quiksilver jacket and a new Whitelines beanie that made the decision for me. I'm going shredding...

So the obvious question is where to? And that's a good question. Some family and friends are hitting up Whistler in January. Alas that's a little beyond my vapour-budget. I should add that I'm not looking forward to the period during January when they're all playing in the Canadian snow!

Europe. France.

The current thinking is Morzine. Again. Here are the reasons:

• It's close, easy to get to and has a wide range of accommodations. All in all, it's handy.
• Morzine town is pretty good...
• The Portes Du Soleil has a good selection of snowboard parks. I should know - I visited all of them last season. Parks are always a good backup for poor conditions, and by European standards, this area scores highly. Plus I love the Stash.
• I know some decent places to go if there's a dump.

The last point in particular is important to me. When we went to Fernie a couple of seasons ago, we had amazing snow. Luckily for us, we also had a pretty amazing guide in the form of our friend, Simon. Sure we would have found plenty of good, fresh lines. But Si took us to good spots, quickly, because he knew where to go.

It's so important. A good powder day can be wasted if you're floundering around trying to find the fresh. In this regard, I feel fairly confident heading back to the Portes Do Soleil. It doesn't mean I consider myself familiar with all the hidden spots (if anyone who is reading this does fall into that category, email me :) - I'm just confident I can find some half decent lines...

And I guess that's the trade off. Going back to the same place may seem like you're missing the opportunity to try something new, and of course, you kinda are. But the more I snowboard, the more I appreciate the necessity to know where's good. And in absence of a group that knows a certain area really well, or a big budget to have a bunch of guided days, I'm opting for expanding my knowledge of somewhere I've been before.

It's getting a little late in the day for choosing things, but at least there's less time to wait now :)