Is It Worth Making Your Own Snowboard Clips?

Why do the likes of you and I take a video camera with us when we go snowboarding?

The obvious answer, I suppose, is that we want to record ourselves and our friends/family, snowboarding, so that we can watch it back later. There's nothing wrong with that; nothing at all. But do I sometimes spend too much time on it? Do you?

A couple of things have prompted this post. First, I was sorting through a bunch of camcorder tapes, working out which ones were from last year. In doing so I watched quite a bit of the video we took. It was fun, but I didn't see a lot of good stuff, and I say that in relation to how many times we took a camera up with us. In the two seasons prior to last season, I ended up with some footage that I thought was a step forward. Some off-piste stuff, some nice natural hits, the type of stuff I'd like to get more of. But I didn't see much of that this time around.

And the second thing was an article I read in a magazine asking "Do good photos matter?" The article was asking if the average reader of a snowboard magazine is really bothered about good quality photos; would they rather see photos of their mates?

Incidentally I think the answer is "yes". When I read a snowboard magazine and look at the pictures, some of them make me stop and think how the hell do they do that? or that looks so awesome I want to be there. The relavent point here is that it reminded me that for photogaphers and video makers, it's their job. Making a video part can take a whole season. I know there are stories of riders who put things together in a really short period of time, but on the whole, it's a big job that takes a lot of effort.

If I'm shredding for two weeks of the winter and I score a couple of good powder days, do I want to be worrying about getting some footage? Or should I just be enjoying the moment?

I do think that making a video of your snowboarding matters. At least, it does to me. I love watching over my snowboarding experiences. It's good for remembering the times. It's good for analysis and similarly it's good for progression. It gets me excited about going snowboarding. And most importantly it's fun. I like making the video clip.

But I do worry that my goals are perhaps unrealistic. Unjustified. To get better footage than what I've been getting it's more compramise on the actual riding. How about just leaving the camera at home?

Who knows? What are your thoughts?

There's An Inch Of Fresh Outside...

It snowed here yesterday, and a little the day before. There's like an inch of fresh! But the base is a little on the thin side, with a depth of zero :)

Seriously though, we don't often have snow where I live, so when we do it's pretty cool, even if the next day it's either melted away or frozen on our pavements.

Looking out of the window definitely gave me that excited feeling of wanting to be in the mountains. To finish things off, Ciara picked up some continental cheese and meats, plus a few baguettes. Add some mayo, some token French lager, and it was just like being in the Alps ;)

I want to go snowboarding. Soon.

New Goggles: Dragon DXS

So I've got some new goggles, and, contrary to comments in a previous post, I've gone for some Dragons, the DXS...

But here's the thing, when I looked at them I thought they don't look pointy at all. And they're not; they're just the shape that I like. And they're small too.

In fact, the "S" in "DXS" is for small (I think). Although I like smaller goggles, this nearly put me off getting them because everywhere online was making it explicitly clear that they are small. I don't want kids goggles or anything like that! As it happens, the Dragon packaging labels them as "medium/small."

In reality they're fine, a good size in fact, and they fit well with my lid too. They're not quite as comfortable as the Oakley Crowbars, but nothing to complain about. In the end, apart from a sale price, the thing that swung it was the free, low-light lens; something I've wanted in the past.

Here's a question: do any of you guys regularly switch lenses for different light conditions? I've only tried it once in the past, and it was a doomed effort as I had the wrong replacement lens which simply didn't fit! Scissors didn't help. Do lens swaps end up damaging the lens-goggle fit, or the lens themselves?...

Black Winter Out-Takes - Check It Out

Was just reading through the Friday Fix and watched some out-takes from the Black Winter movie. There are some nice backcountry lines in the clip, and the tail grab at 2:00 is the type of style I really like. Definitely worth posting here, so check it out...

Maybe I should buy this movie?

Snowboards For The Pow

OK, I don't think I'll be buying a powder board for this season, but it is something that I think about often. In the past, I've owned a 158cm Rome Anthem, a freeride machine. But unfortunately, I replaced it before ever really experiencing a good powder day. How I regret that eBay sale. Since that time, subsequent fresh has been enjoyed on a range of different freestyle boards, with varying results...

So what would I buy if I took the plunge, and returned to carrying two boards with me?

I've looked on with envy at a friend's Fish - as it surfed its way through the deep, Fernie powder, entirely at home. For a while, I decided that as this second board would be for powder days only, that's what I was going to buy, a Burton Fish. But I can't get past what they've done with the binding inserts on their boards. Why?

A swallow tail? No thanks. I have zero authority on this matter, but I reckon I can shred the powder on a slightly more regular board, just fine. I'm not saying that a swallow tail isn't great in the fresh, but I'll still, most likely, be making my way through resort trails and runs on powder days and the swallow seems like too much of a restriction...

So it's a freeride board, or, big mountain as some people like to classify them. These are the characteristics I'd be looking for:

• Length. Somewhere in the range 158 - 160cm.
• Directional shape. As much as I aspire to being able to land tricks switch in powder and ride on, the truth is that 99% of the time I'll be riding forwards. So I want a board that's geared up for directional, powder use.
• Setback stance. Similar to the above point, I want the default stance to be at least 1" setback. I want it designed for powder.
• Nose and tail specifics: a 'scoopy' nose for sure and perhaps a tapered tail - but I'm not on firm ground with this second point.

What about the rocker design? Well, it's true that a lot of the freeride/powder boards seem to be coming out with rocker shapes, and this should help to keep the board floating... It's not that I disagree with this, or that I don't welcome it, it's just not a key design point for me. Yet.

Whitelines produced a decent summary of freeride/big mountain boards in their Buyer's Guide. I won't say review as quite frankly, I don't think the info given on individual products lives up to that. It's more like a catalogue.

Here are some of the bunch that caught my eye - all boards that I'd relish the opportunity to try on a powder day:

• Atomic Banger
• Capita Charlie Slasher Pow
• K2 Gyrator
• Option North Shore

Binding Update: Union

I was taking another look at bindings and came across two models from Union: the Force and the Contact. Union isn't a company that I know much about, I'm not familiar with any of their bindings and I have never considered them, until now.

So, I did a quick search for some reviews and found a couple of videos from the guys at Union. I was pretty impressed, so I'm posting them here. I kinda like the look of the Contact bindings - nice and freestyle - but the website I want to buy from doesn't have my size in stock at the moment. I think the Force still offers what I'm looking for in a binding, so I might get them instead.

I should add that Gigi rocks the Union Contact, and if it's good enough for him...

The Union Contact:

The Union Force:

A Turn-Up For The Books

Leading up to the last couple of seasons, around about this time, I've reported that I really need to get fit ready for snowboarding... I even remember saying something like a trend is developing. Well, I'm pleased to say that I won't be repeating that this time around.

Ciara and I have done a decent amount of running over the summer, and for the last couple of months, we've been hitting the gym, 3 times a week. I'm not gonna say that I'm in the best shape ever, I'm not even close. To be honest, the running and gym sessions have been aimed at getting back in shape.

But at least this time around it's not reactionary to the approaching season. It's been a more consistent effort.

Apart from not wanting to miss out on any potential time on the hill, someone recently made a good point that fatigue is a big factor in trick failure. So whilst I'm not in great shape, yet, I'm also not worried about leaving it too late. I'm already on the right track and going strong.

How about you? Anyone afraid that they're gonna have aching legs? Or are you confident that you'll be shredding from first lift to last and still have the energy for a few pints?