Freezing Cold

For the past 5 days the temperature in Chamonix hasn't risen above -4°C. In fact it's dropped down to -15°C in the night sometimes. That's pretty nippy by any stretch!

I had to do some chores yesterday and needed to dig Merv out of the snow in the morning. 2 feet of snow all over the lad requiring moving. Unfortunately I misplaced my gloves the other day and was in a bit of a hurry so rather than getting some snowboarding gloves, figured just to dig him out with the tools at hand. Bad mojo. I think I got a bit of frostnip in my right hand - after 4 tries of digging away the snow with a broken ice-hockey stick and a scraper the size of a fingernail he was free. A couple of weeks ago he would have been stuck solid but his new snow tires gripped as they should and he was released onto the freedom of the road.

After doing my bits and bobs, I decided to get a new pair of gloves from town and spent a few minutes checking out the vast array of winter handwear in the various shops. I love France and the French have a differing style but there's some seriously hideous fashionistas that obviously choose the clothes for some of the shops here. I actually found a pair of woolen leopard-print gloves, some black leather gloves of the type frequently appearing as part of serial-killer garb on CSI, rubberised (WTF?!) winter gloves for the more deviant man/woman about town. Of course there were some nicer options too. I went for a pair of black woolen fingerless gloves that are convertible to mittens with a fleece inner. Very warm and very funky.



I've got to dig Merv out again tonight to go down to Tinks'. Time to test them out.

Pre-pre-season training at Tignes

Aaah Tignes. That godawful resort. It's a shocker, architecturally and skiing-wise. I guess it fulfils a purpose but it's not what I'd like. There's not much soul there but there is fresh snow, and it's all-year round high altitude skiing accessible from lifts.

I went out for a beer with Mark from All Mountain Performance yesterday and he asked me to do a two-man roadtrip for the day to Tignes to get in a bit of pre-pre-season riding in. He's running some pre-season advanced skiing courses there in a couple of weeks and wanted to get a quick slide in before we hit the time when we're all supposed to look a bit more professional on the mountain. Actually I don't have to look pro, he does, but any chance to go snowboarding right?

Mark ripping it up.


I've purchased a pair of MacDaddy Bling Bling goggles as well. They're on discount discount (last years model and discounted further). A pair of Von Zipper Feenom's with a spare lens. I love them. They will make me a better snowboarder and they're so beautiful probably a better man too.

Feel the Bling.

Nose to the grindstone

Got so much work on it's untrue. It's great to be a busy little squirrel hoarding nuts for the winter, this is exactly the position I want and need to be in. I've written a list of things that I need for this winter season and am ticking items off as I earn the money to buy them.

Essentials
Year's lift pass

The big one - just under €700 this time round. Expensive isn't even the word. Still unless I suddenly turn into a combination of Spiderman and Superman we're going to need one.

Avalanche transceiver

A fairly necessary bit of kit, my one's not looking very healthy at all and it's nice to have one to stay alive. I have a feeling it blips when it should blap and vice-versa. This isn't good.

Avalanche shovel/probe

Important for keeping mates alive. My shovel is cracked and I don't really want to be finding out it's not up to the task whilst digging out one of the lads. Better get one in advance. My probe is wonky (it bends to the left by about 8", vicar) and so this requires attention as all the riding buddies are stick thin and this would miss 'em.

Goggles

After having gone through 4 pairs last year (well technically 3 but the last pair have a cracked lens) these need replacing. Also I remember swearing a lot when they fogged up. We'll be trying to avoid hitting trees, dogs, other skiiers, chairlift supports this year with a pair of crystal-clear goggles.

Gimme gimme gimme
iPod nano

After an unfortunate incident slamming into a quarterpipe at the end of last season, my long-loved iPod screen got cracked. It still works but only plays tracks in artist alphabet order. I listen to A LOT of AC/DC and Aerosmith and The Animals these days. It's not essential to have a new one, but I'm going to miss listening to music whilst riding. I've got a backup plan for this tho which involves going to Carrefour and buying a cheapy mp3 player.

Riding trousers

It's generally acknowledged that I have a pair of the coolest snowboarding trousers in the whole of the Alps but unfortunately they're starting to be built of more gaffer tape than material these days. I do have a spare pair, but they're old. Hmmm, I can get another half-season out of the pair of them I reckon. Just wear an extra pair of long johns and deal with the frostbite on my giblets by soaking in a nice warm bath at the end of the day.

Snow booties

Need some footwear for the winter. Last year I missed out on purchasing a pair of insulated wellington boot type snow booties. This year we're gonna have 'em to keep the feet dry and the toes toastie. They don't look stylish but then neither do I, mind you I don't particularly care!

Snowboarding boots

Yeah mine are missing some essential bits. I'm going to try to fix them but to be honest they need replacing at some stage soon. Going to see if I can find a pair of last years model on sale. Something bling baby.

Snowboard

Rodney the Rocket (my main board) and I had a wee bit of an accident last year and we cracked his tail rail. This isn't good but I did ride him for a while after without any serious repercussions. He needs to man up and take the punishment for the first part of the season until I switch to my other board (which I've a feeling I'll snap as it's very spinney) or purchase a new one. I predict I'll be blogging about purchasing a new board 6 weeks into the new season!

That's pretty much it for the gear. Merv needs a service and some snow tires and whatnot but that's going to get done shortly.