Seasonnaire holidays in Chamonix

So we've set up a company called Ice Break that offers awesome weekly to full season seasonnaire and sabbatical skiing and snowboarding holidays in Chamonix.

The website is at http://www.ice-break.co.uk.

The chalet is fully catered with Abi (currently working as a chef in Le Delice in Les Houches) and cleaning and keeping the place homely. I'll be taking people out on the mountain and we'll be doing loads of snowboarding and skiing - powder, pistes, backcountry, hiking and more. We'll be rock climbing and ice climbing when conditions are good and generally having an amazing time.

Give us a shout through the website on the contact page if you're interested in coming out and staying with us!

The Love

After Friday Frenzy - the traditional end of week gathering of the various boys and girls - of last night, I woke up this morning with a peacefully dozing Tinks. I got up and popped the kettle on for the first fruit tea of the day and sat myself in front of the computer to check up on breaking world events, the latest project developments, if someone had overtaken my iSketch and most importantly, the weather and snow conditions of the mountains in the valley.

The resulting information was good, very good - no natural disasters around the world, no panic emails reporting broken code, sitting atop the iSketch hi-score table and a solid half metre of snow topped with a beautiful layer of fresh on the Grands Montets. Things were shaping up well.

A few texts and phone calls around to the boys resulted in being picked up by Mark from the center of Chamonix and meeting up with various boys and girls up the mountain. We duly set off with Mark a little worse for wear as a result of the exertions the previous night and arrived at Argentiere as hyped up as if we'd consumed a heady cocktail of Red Bull and sugar cubes the entire journey.

No queues at the bottom cable car and small pockets of friends meant that an impromptu meet & greet session followed and with everyone beaming from ear to ear we jumped on the lift and headed up to Lognan. The only open higher lift from there was the Martmottons chairlift so up we went struck dumb by the incredible snow and shifting cloud dominating the passage upwards. There was pretty much full coverage of the mountain - thin off-piste but some really good windblown sections.

We ripped the thicker off-piste to the left-hand side of the piste initially from the top of the Marmottons lift before rejoining the route and riding on some really good soft snow back to the mid-station and then joined a late-arriving Crampons for another few blasts down the same route. It was really good - we all skied like shit, but hey - first full day back, what do you expect? The beauty was that for every bad turn, bad trick, bad jump, there were two great ones. And some of the powder to the side of the piste was really, really good. The summer drought of fresh snow was seized and broken in two and everyone helped themselves again and again.

It's a great feeling to ride on a really quiet mountain where you keep bumping into friends and laughing and smiling and seeing everyone beaming ear-to-ear, all enjoying the situation regardless of any external factors - very pure riding. It's great to be there with your friends who just love to be there. Conversations on chairlifts always conducted with a smile tugging at the corners of the mouth, laughing commiserations for those falling over underneath the lift, cheers ringing out for people on the piste really ripping it up or landing a slick trick. Just awesome.

Crampons and I joined up with another group of friends after a quick coffee at Longnan then had a few more runs before a final run down the Pierre a Ric home run right down to the mountain and onwards for an apres-ski beer in the Elevation bar. Just a perfect day. I'll admit the really low visibility that drifted in and out was like being in a horror film sometimes, some pistes were as lumpy as the mid-Atlantic and there were patches of seriously icy snow ready to catch the edge of the unwary skier. But I had an absolute blast. And all the guys we rode with had a blast too.

We're all going back out tomorrow with snowshoes to get some untracked powder. I can't wait.

Enough! It's time!

Got up, quick blog post before whacking on the snowboarding gear then head up to the Grands Montets with Mark to meet up with the MountainGoat, Sarah, Crampons, and many more of the local dignitaries and idiots for some communal sliding fun.

Made sure not to get too pissed last night, cup of tea this morning and a check of the interweb this morning (find out what's going on in the world in order to have conversational topics on chairlifts and checking the latest weather reports for the mountains) and we're just about ready to go.

Bring it baby, I'm revved up like a kid with attention deficit disorder. Shame about the unreal low visibility. Time to polish the yellow lenses.

Tignes Roadtrip

Mark from All Mountain Performance and I shipped off to Tignes on Wednesday to go rip up the high glacier they've got there. It was awesome, damn cold but awesome.

We set off from the center of a very cold Chamonix (registering -4°C on Mark's car's thermometre) at just past 7am. We were loaded up with cold pizza for breakfast and had orange juice and danish pastries to put some energy into our bodies during the 2 1/2 hour drive down. A few detours, getting stuck behind trucks, some extremely hyperactive conversations and a pit stop at a pharmacy to load up on cold medication later we pitched up at the base of the funicular railway at Tignes. One of the good things about Tignes is that you can drive up pretty high. We drove up to somewhere around 8,000 feet before needing to switch transports. It was cold though, damn cold and all manner of fleeces, glove inners, warm socks and thermal undies were employed to stave off the poking bony fingers of chill.



Of course Mark and I looked totally pro falling out of his people carrier (fully badged up with AMP logos, etc) with pizza crusts and cigarettes in our hand. We looked especially pro because the rest of the car park was full with national ski racing team transports from around Europe. They use Tignes as their base for pre-season ski training.

Off we trotted up the the glacier via the awesome funicular railway that runs inside the mountain. Popped out at the top around 12,000 feet and immediately felt the effects of altitude. I've got to admit I was kind of shitting it feeling a touch breathless just walking around to get to our next lift. I hoped I'd acclimatize quickly and be able to get on with the skiing. It was really cold up high, I'd guess around -10°C with high winds and lenticular clouds around the tops of the peaks near and far.

It obviously hadn't snowed for a while, massive sections of the glacier were just plate glass ice with no snow at all. The dark, forbidding depths of the glacier contrasting with the white, groomed runs they sat inside. With more than just a minor concern for proper riding technique hanging over our shoulders we made our way up the T-bar lift to the top of the first run. Small crevasses were to be avoided being dragged up the ski lift, and if you're a snowboarder then being dragged for 800m up a slope by the inside of your thigh by the lift is not a great deal of fun. "Things" can get pinched and that's a killer. Imagine being led around by your gonads - it's a similar feeling.

We clipped and strapped in at the top of the rain and set off, shaking like a shitting dog with being nervous from it being the first run for many months. The high winds were blasting ice chips around the place like freezing daggers and I was pleased to be wearing my snood to cover my face. Slow and easy for the first run - a few slash turns in the cumulated snow on teh piste corner blown their by the wind and we were both feeling a lot better.

We had a roam about the available ski area for a few runs after - keeping the board as flat as possible when going over the sheet ice sections, more slash turns in the soft snow, a few ollies and flatland tricks. Things were really starting to come together. The nervousness had faded away and we were really starting to get into things. All the time of being on the lifts or stopping on the pistes we could watch the most incredible skiers training and they were FAST. Fast like you'd never believe. Because we could ride next to their courses it was pretty special being able to watch these fluid bullets hurtle past at speeds easily over 60mph+

A quick hot chocolate break to warm up and the temperature started to dip as the day wore on. We blasted a few more runs, starting to throw down some backside and frontside 180's and really picking up speed. God it felt good.

Several hours after we arrived, we were done in - tired, happy and with the warm feeling of apres ski. We chipped back down to the transport, peeled off the gear and made our way home. Unfortunately we'd rather underestimated our energy levels and were like zombies initially in the car. 3 cans of Dark Dog energy drink later we were bouncing off the walls, laughing and joking and chatting the whole way back to the Elevation bar in Cham for a traditional apres-ski beer.

All in all a fantastic day. My gear kept me warm, happy and content. Theere was enough snow to keep a smile on our faces the whole day and for ages after and I'm still chuckling and feeling the love as I type.

Both Mark and I are hyper now to get the season underway in just a handful of weeks. He's back to Tignes to do some pre-season race training courses next week and I might just see if I can slip off over there for a day's riding. The body's a little bit weary from the exertions but it feels great to finally be back on a board.

Snowboarding Sunday

Tignes tomorrow.

Yes! Get in.

Beautiful day

The mountains just look amazing today - clear blue skies and some high turbulent cloud around the peaks like an unruly mop of hair in the wind. It's days like this where I'm working away and feeling content that I really, really love my life.



I'm really looking to give one of my old boards its first wax ready for the season and I'm even thinking to bring out an old board, the silver dart (Burton Special 57 tricks board) and give it a bit of a slide at Tignes. Awesome.

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.

The Winter Season

So here's some of the favourite photos from the winter season that finished last month. Funky stuff. Looking forward to the next one!

Photos from Le Tour
Ice crystals forming on a fence. These little bits of beautiful natural formations always blow me away. I always stop and look around at these things when riding and they never, ever lose their allure.


Jon using his cool photographer skills to get a shot of himself in my lens. He's actually holding the camera by his waist and I'm looking down. A fantastic day's riding with a really good mate in beautiful weather. It doesn't get much better.


A turn in a steep clearing in the woods in Le Tour backcountry. One of my favourite places to ride with really interesting terrain. I'd just come flying off a natural roller and stomped the landing perfectly about 200m farther up next to where a group of around 7 or 8 people were having a picnic. They gave us a whoop and a cheer and as always my face went bright red and I got a big embarrassed grin on my face.


Backside ollie 180 on the path down to Vallorcine. After a while, you spend the entire time on paths doing flatland tricks to pass the time. I like this photo because it just looks so strange mid-air. Jon and Kev and I had just been riding some gullies and chutes on the back side of Le Tour and we were heading home via the Vallorcine gondola.



Photos from Les Houches
Kev's board and my board in a snowstorm at the top of Les Houches waiting for the girls to arrive after a great day cutting first tracks all over the mountain. Kev came out with some great quotes that day putting forward the opinion that riding powder is a privelege and you shouldn't ever waste it.


Looking down the valley in a brief moment of clear skies. It's me riding down in the foreground feeling like I'm dropping straight into the valley floor. It's not actually that steep but it looks proper gnarly.


Trying to pick out a line in low visibility. The whole valley was whited out this day but Kev and I found masses of untracked powder amongst the beginners at Les Houches blasting through everything we could see. I remember people cheering me from a draglift as I put in a couple of powder turns then dropped a little ridge covered with snow-covered bushes. Awesome memories of that day.



Photos from Les Grands Montets
The sun dropping below the ridge casting grooved shadows on the piste. This is the start of the run from the top of the freestyle park to the middle station.


First lines dropping in from Le Petit Vert. I hiked up with Mark from All Mountain Performance to catch the first lines down. We spent the vast majority of the time looking around at the view and then trying to catch our breath with the altitude stripping the air of oxygen. It was the last bit of riding I did for the season. The last run - fresh tracks down the mountain. Perfect.


Monkeying about in deep powder on one of the best days of the season. It just was binning it down with snow for a few days previously and on that day. I think the previous day the whole mountain was closed with avalanche risk 5 out of 5. This photo was just taken just next to the cat track that runs through the Dream Forest. It was the best tree riding all season with huge powder pillows and endless small drops. We kept meeting people we knew and ended up riding in groups around the mountain before all going for a beer in the FuBar in Argentiere. One of the highlights of the season was this day.


Stopping to listen to an awesome tune - headphones are built into the hat. I've posted before on listening to music but I just love it for easy piste riding. It's like having a soundtrack playing to your own personal snowboarding film. I've even got different playlists on my iPod for different riding like pistes, parks and rails, hiking and clear and low light. Unfortunately I cracked the screen on my iPod after a slight mishap with a quarterpipe but it still plays so it's all good.


Blasting down the glacier from the top cable car. This was taken by Kev a bit further down from when we hiked up Le Petit Vert on the last day of the season. It reminds me of how massive the mountains really are. I remember riding really well for this section - fast and powerful.


Dan and Jules on a chairlift in a snowstorm. We had some incredible days riding all together and Dan ripped up most of the mountains he set foot on. One of the best skiers I've ever ridden with. Jules is Kev's wife and has an amazingly fluid style that far outclasses most of the boys!


Some days were so cold and low visibility. This was one of them - but the powder was incredible. When I was little we used to have a 1.5k single person chairlift to get up the Wiedersbergerhorn mountain at Alpbach, when it gets cold and the weather closes in I always think back to then and remember how much fun it is just to be in the snowy mountains. I still get the same feeling of excitement on the way up a mountain on a chairlift. I guess when that's no longer there it's time to turn the snowboards into shelves.


The Boss des Bosses moguls competition. I rode for the Chamonix team against Zermatt, Val d'Isrere, Meribel, Courchevel and Verbier. We ended up a very creditable second. Two things stick in my mind - the sheer size of the moguls. I'd never ridden anything that size and I doubt I ever will again. It was incredibly daunting dropping into moguls waist to chest high with a kicker at the end. They were pretty dangerous and one of the competitors had a bit of a tumble and ended up getting choppered off the mountain. The other thing that stuck in my mind was the after-partying. It was really weird to have people I didn't know come up and say hello and buy me drinks. I was out with two friends so I stuck with them most of the evening, but it was a strange feeling nonetheless. Funky for a day I guess.


One day Kev and I saw there was a boardercross comp on so we decided to go to the Grands Monetets for a ride and have a look at it. It was very nicely put together and it's always interesting to watch really talented riders in any snowboarding discipline. I remember this day too because I caned myself trying to ride away a switch 360 and bounced and ragdolled down a slope for what felt like ages. Luckily I didn't injure myself but I remember sitting at home afterwards thinking that I was lucky the snow was soft - these guys were falling on hard packed at full speed.



Photos from Brévent/Flégère
This day stood out for me this season. Deep powder everywhere and Kev and I by ourselves ripping the mountain putting down fresh lines everywhere. This was one of the rare times going through chop but there was so much snow it was still awesome. You can see on the trees how deep the snow was and we just tore it apart until my goggles broke after a bit of a tumble. Definately a standout day. Taken at Flégère.


Firstly - how deep is this!! Taken on the same day as the photo above this was possibly the best run of the season. Deep, deep untracked powder - really solid technique all day and hardly anyone on the mountain. I'd dropped into a chute and was putting slash turns in the whole way down - like a kilometre of thigh-deep powder that was as flat as an artists canvas. I can still remember riding the whole day with my ears pounding and adrenaline pumping through the veins. Taken at Flégère.


This is just Dan at his best styling away on a windlip. I know we all had a go at doing this but Dan just caught it perfectly and Kev snapped a great shot. This was one of the few bluebird powder days we had and the Chalet Le Courtil crew was out in force riding together. We had some great long runs on this day hitting The Tit (a natural kicker) and spending the whole day grinning at each other. Taken at Flégère.


Shortly after the above photo was taken we rode into the Charlanon bowl and dropped one of the big cornices that had built up in the wind. I got the oppertunity to drop in first and my hand's reaching down for a little tweaked indy grab to try and style a little more. I love jumping in powder because the landings are so soft. Joe and I ended having to hike out of a terrain trap soon after this. Taken at Flégère.


The mountains are so high in the valley that you often get the cloud layer miles below. In Chamonix itself it was nasty weather - sleet and 100% overcast. Where we were it was glorious and the views were dramatic. I love it when the climate produces things like this. You just don't get to see it in England and I never tire of it. Taken at Brévent.


A wicked shot of the Aiguilles from Brévent showing some cool cloud formations.


Joe on the way up Brévent in the gondola for a days riding. On the way up the gondola was always full of laughter and energy. On the way down it was also full of laughter but at the start of the season everyone was shattered. As it went on everyone had more and more energy as we got fitter. Towards the end we could ride all day and still have enough energy to go climbing in the evening! I was surprised just how fit I got this season.


Photos from going out
Aaah, dancing on the tables at Chambre Neuf with the band playing. I loved this place - a proper apres-ski atmosphere with everyone drunk after one beer and singing and dancing everywhere. I can't wait to go there next season. The boys from the chalet (plus some random on the left) showing how it's supposed to be done. Left to right - Random dude, Dan, Chopper, Al, Jim.


Jon came out for a week with Godfrey and unsurprisingly got plenty of snowboarding and drinking in. We'd cleverly been on the Jagermeister test tubes and were in the process of turning into naughty mode. It was really great to see him out here and he's coming back for a bit of climbing this summer. Looking forward to it immensely.


Aaah, the end of season party. Everyone up the mountain for fun, games, drinking and general monkey activity. Nice switch water ride from this chap.


For the end of season party at Le Delice Andy and I decided to pitch up in drag. Katy's help and clothes were hired and she did us proud. Rather worryingly Andy's still got his lipstick at home. We spent many evenings in Le Delice having a beer and talking to friends. Everyone really misses it when it's closed as it's such a hub for all the friends to congregate in.


Joe, myself and a rather worried looking girl in Chambre Neuf towards the start of the season. For some reason in this photo Joe and I have swapped hats. It was my favourite beanie but someone pilfered it (or rather I lost it!) after a particularly agreeable night out many months ago.


There's some people to thank for being there this season and letting me steal their photos:
GoodJon
Kevin
Chamonix-Valley
Listingslab
Dan
Jim

Merv the Swerve

A while ago I bought a white Renault van called Merv (Merv the Swerve to give him his kennel name) and have been using him as transport for myself, friends and boards around the valley. It's actually pretty necessary to have a car here as although the bus services are pretty good they don't exactly run to a perfect schedule nor do they last very late in the evening. In fact you could easily get stranded somewhere in the valley!

The day after my birthday I went riding with Fred and Pierro up to Brevent/Flegere and drove everyone up there in Merv. It was a fantastic day with incredible weather and was really good to get some of the final riding of the season in.


Pierro standing next to Merv.


Loading up with boards and people (taken over my shoulder).


About to head out of Les Houches in beautiful conditions.


Looking back to the Les Houches ski area.

Pierro even brought a little camera with him for some video moments:

Me popping a tweaked grab.

Knee update

Well I kind of didn't give *all* the information yesterday when I posted. I felt something give in my knee when I fell over and it wasn't good. Just a little pop, but I've done ligaments before and I knew it wasn't a major tear or anything manic. I shipped myself off to l'hôpital this morning to get it all checked out and make sure I wasn't doing anything daft and get some professional advice.

Cost a few quid but worth it to get the good news. I just pulled my one of the ligaments in my knee out of place (they popped it back in and it and things felt better straight away) and pulled it a wee bit. Only out for a week too - basically they said when it stops hurting I can ride again. Painkillers and rest is the cure. Awesome!

It's the first time I've been to hospital this season and I hope it's going to be the last. There's an incredible sense of irony that it was just bad luck to get this one - after all the jumping off cat tracks, rocks bands, cliffs, fast riding, tricks and spills I hurt myself getting off a chairlift at 2mph! Aah well - live and learn =)

Worky worky!

So not done a lot of riding recently - just lots of work. I've really got into the habit of going on the slopes for a couple of hours in the morning then coming into the office and working until early evening.

Everything's coming together nicely - money's starting to poke its nose into the business with contracts and whatnot, the site's coming together and there's a decent blend of work and play.

Friends are appearing next week and there's a change in the clientele of the chalet meaning the group dynamic will shift a bit which is good. Change is fun! Plus the boys are staying at the chalet which will be awesome.

I managed to swing up to Brevent/Flegere this morning for a quick ride before work and finished up early to head home. I was getting off the chairlift near the Altitude 2000 restaurant and slipped on the ice and twisted my knee, immediately feeling a spark of pain inside the inner part of my knee. One of those really annoying slow speed spills where you just fall awkwardly. It's already stiffened up and it's a bit sore but nothing's broken or seriously wrong and so I'll leave it be for the next few days and let it settle. There's lots of work to do and to be honest the snow's not really great so I'm not bothered.

It's not a bad idea to take the next week off and let all the small niggles heal up until the lads appear next Saturday as well, so all in all a pretty good time to have a small injury.

Ill and working

So I've had a cold for the past few days - nothing really traumatic but just enough to really take away energy and feel the need to get well. Thankfully I feel way better today and have been in the office for quite a while now. I've done lots of really good work and sorted out a whole bunch of stuff. I really feel happy with the output and earlier even wriggled out to teach a snowboarding lesson which was cool - nice to get a few extra bucks!

It looks like the main Chamonix Valley advertising project is nearing completion and we can start marketing businesses to advertise with us. Awesome stuff and some really good income for the company. Also earlier we found that we've been getting more hits to the site than we previously thought, in fact chamonix-valley.com is really taking a good portion of the market we are targetting, and that portion is increasing. Marvellous stuff!

We'll get the software finished this weekend and with only a small amount of luck and a good bit of work, we'll be rocking and rolling.

I found out this week that a couple of mates are coming out in a week and a half's time as well. This is great - enabling us to finish this software before any "distractions" appear, then having fun with said distractions!

Chamonix valley snow reports

Am writing snow reports for our Chamonix Valley website. Please do read them and check them out. Certainly forward the link on to people who are thinking about coming out here. There's information on the best places to ride, off-piste tips, backcountry info as well as descriptions of snow conditions, avalanche conditions and even a bit of happy journalism thrown in for good measure.

Chamonix Valley snow reports.

Powder day at Flegere!

The snow's arrived! Woohoo! And in buckets too. Alarm clock this morning was the sound of the pisteurs blasting the unsafe slopes - and the subsequent rumble of the avalanche. It's dumping it down with snow here, we've had a solid half meter already and there's more falling and more forecast. I eased up to the snowy playground that is Flegere with Kevin earlier to get some riding in before coming to work later this afternoon.


Between the trees.

It rocked. Lots. Possibly had the best run of the season so far dropping down into an untracked chute filled deep with powder - each turn sending up a curtain of snow that you could turn back into and blast through. Seriously yummy. Visibility was slim to non-existant though - no problem with snowbarding being all about touch and feel though? Hehehe.


Deeeeeep powder!

Everywhere's going to be closed for the next few days I reckon - there's just so much snow falling that they need to make it all safe. Kev and I could feel some of the slabs shifting when we rode a couple of slopes today and we even refused a few lines because it looked really sketchy. Was really stoked, came down a steep section and got the nose of my board caught as I was riding along, it was pitching me forward anyway so I jumped it up and did a front flip down the drop, landed perfectly and started grinning. Sweet =) Got the old cheer from Kev as well which was groovy.

So did a load of work this afternoon. We had a business dinner the other day and got a load of stuff sorted out which rocked. Things looking very nice. All I need now is to find Mrs Narg. I guess that'll happen soon enough in its own time!

Not dead

Haven't posted in a while - apols people. Went to the ice hockey to watch Chamonix play Villard (whipped them 9-1) then watched the top of the league team Morzine play Chamonix (currently 7th in the league) and win (4-2). Both good games in their own way but there's something nice about watching your team win by a lot. It's also cool to go down as a group and sit in the same seats and have your favourite players tap on the glass in appreciation of your support. There's a Slovakian player called Bohme who always gives us a smile and a gesture and it definately makes it all feel a little more personal.

The snow here's pretty average. Nothing really bad but nothing to write home about but there's more forecast. Down to this, I spent the whole day in the office yesterday and got a bundle of work done which was cool =)

I've started to write snow reports for the Chamonix Valley website. Check em out and let me know what you think. It also gives a nice purpose to the riding and makes you try varied runs and sections on the mountain to give a fuller overview.

On the whole, feeling very positive after a bit of a low period whilst everything has been settling down. Going to do the Vallee Blanche in a day or so and spend a bit more time in the office too. Plus I've got a bit of a man date with Chris on Friday to have a drink and a laugh which I'm looking forward to.

Oh, and one of the girls in the chalet got given a parapenting ticket for a tandem flight - she unfortunately dislocated her elbow and gave the ticket to me to have a go with! Looking forward to that - should be good.

Share the love people, the next few days should be really cool.


Parapenting in the Chamonix valley.

The backcountry playground

Dropping a cornice

So the quotes for the new work went in yesterday, we've got stuff tabled and we've done a load recently so Chris and I decided to take the day off to ride the new powder. I went out riding with the usual suspects of Chalet Le Courtil in Brevent and Flegere - two ski areas within walking distance of the chalet.

What a day. We all rode really well - 4 friends out in the backcountry riding all the natural terrain with powder faces, chutes, couloirs, gullies, windlips, cornices and natural kickers. It's like one big snowy playground up in Flegere and is really one of my favourite places to ride just because the topography of the place really leans itself to freeriding. There's a huge natural kicker called "The Tit" up there which we hit a couple of times. You run flat out at it and there's a windlip at the top that kicks you up in the air. I managed to pull a 360 off the top but unfortunately butt-checked the landing - but because it's just this bulge in the landscape (guess what it looks like!) it feels like your 40 feet in the air when you take off (you're not, no way near). We also dropped a whole load of cornices and ridges - everyone pulling different tricks or sometimes just floating off the drops. There's a photo of me dropping one at the top of this blog entry. There was also a load of freeriding powder with people carving huge swooping turns and riding fast and steep terrain with cultured aplomb. I've started to get into the habit of pulling tail presses in the powder sending up a bit of a roosters tail and luckily Kev grabbed quite a good photo as I went passed him.

I managed to drop a 20 foot cliff with a 12 foot powder landing that ran into a piste. There was no-one on the piste but a family of four with clear blue sky and I could see the landing from the take off so dropped down and pulled a safety grab, landed perfectly and shot onto the piste where I stopped immediately and had a look up where I'd just jumped from. The dad in the family rushed up to me and started shouting "That was mad! That was amazing!". I was giggling to myself anyway beforehand and I just burst out laughing and said "Thanks mate". It was pretty special - he said that he and his son just turned around and saw the take off and kind of decided to watch. It was another one of those wicked moments where you feel embarrassed and pleased at the same time. We ended up having a chat about his family and stuff and it was really cool - maybe I'll get the chance to bump into them in town and say hello. I hope so and I feel quite priveleged to have met them in the way we did and hopefully give them a small talking point over dinner tonight.


Tail press in the powder.

We're all surprised how well we're riding now - we're tending to put down really interesting lines and finding better and more progressive ways to use the mountain. It feels really good to be part of a team of riders who really are doing some amazing stuff. Joe's riding is coming out leaps and bounds and constantly amazes me with how much he picks up every day and executes it all with a nice style. His choice of lines down the mountain is really starting to come on as well. Dan always looks stylish and rides his skis fast and true down the steep stuff and he takes on all jumps, drops and kickers with style and grace - especially the 180's he's started to pull all over the place. Kev's just an awesome rider and really lays down lines that are beautiful to look at - his technique and style are something we all aspire to. For my part, I'm just happy to be riding so solidly and I feel pleased that the other guys say I push them as much as they push me. Looking at the photos from the day, I can safely say that we're all really starting to lay down the style like the usual suspects we are.

I've put the full set of photos from the day up on flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/narg/sets/72157594373785298/

iPod riding

Narg + iPod feeling the music love.

So there's two schools of appreciation on this one. Those who enjoy riding with music and those who don't I strictly belong to the former and love nothing better than listening to some tunage while travelling at warp 9. It's pretty cool. There's some drawbacks - you can't hear things (directions, friends, avalanches) but there's some real benefits such as having a soundtrack and a pace to ride to. It's wicked - like being the central character in your own snowboard movie. But there's something also really nice about being in total silence with only the noise of your board and breathing accompanying you down the mountain.

I went riding with Kev on the Grands Montets today for a quick couple of hours and we did a LOT of vert. Dropped into one of the big bowls that is hard to access and had a few k's of just pure riding backcountry. Really good fun just to be out there with a mate riding alone and coming together to plot the next line down the mountain. Kev rode well, we both did, with a few rock drops and kickers and lots of pure freeriding. Good day - solid. Powder and adventure.

Freeriding the powder in Les Houches

So it's an offical powder day which means riding. Kev, myself and a load of the girls went up Les Houches, the ski area next one down from Chamonix in the valley. Kev and I split from the girls early (who ended up having an extremely eventful day with people getting hit by pommels and hiking for an hour up a ski slope after being unable to negotiate the draglift!).

Kev and I however had an awesome day. We cut fresh tracks on pretty much everything we rode, even laying the first lines down the mountain a couple of times. Such a special feeling - especially seeing that no-one else had followed the lines we chose even at the end of the day. The pow wasn't too deep - a foot or so, but padded up in the leeward sides of ridges and gullies and deep enough to really send up showers of snow after long, arcing powder turns. We dropped next to one of the lifts and caught some really nice drop-offs - tapping the top of the bushes with the board in mid-air sending sparks of snow crystals from the branches falling to the floor. The run was so good that we tried it again choosing different lines. I dropped a series of pillows of powder sitting on top of a steep section covered with small bushes, board in a straight line, just bouncing down off the soft snow. Immediately after that it bowled out next to a lift and came screaming through at mach 9 sending a massive curtain of snow 12 feet in the air in a big powder carve then hit the lip of a roller and pulled a beautiful tweaked stalefish shifty. Some guys on the lift started whooping and cheering and shouting "Get In!" so kind of had that embarrassed, pleased feeling which lingered throughout the day.

It's weird - snowboarding's like this personal journey. Everything you do is to make yourself happy, but when people give positive acknowledgement of your riding, that's really cool. Anyway, it's just great to ride with guys like Kev, who push you to ride better and enjoy riding for what it is - not the massive jumps, nor the racing but just using whatever is on the mountain to create the most interesting and fulfilling way down .

So it's all coming together - work is picking up nicely, the snow's fallen and we're riding powder today which will be improved by the snow falling as I type. Managed to speak to the family this morning which is always nice. Technically my riding's going well with spins being laid down on a daily basis as well as good powder technique and some really nice jumps and jibs. Really looking forward to riding with friends coming out as well to go for a drink and a slide together.

Feeling the love today.

x


Les Houches

Snooooooow!

OK, the good good news is that we've got a contract to do a load of web design and that means the money worries have been staved off and allowed more breathing space. Awesome.

Also totally minty fresh, sparky, sporty, chirpy and cheerful news is that it's DUMPING snow. I was up the Grands Montets yesterday with my mate Joe and we sessioned a few of the chutes that you can drop into from near the top of the Bochard gondola. I rode like a tit for most of the time (due to the lingering effects of this damn cold) but we cut a load of fresh tracks, founds some leeward loaded wind lips and generally munched the soft white stuff like the happy gherkins we are. I managed to remove my goggles from the "ok to wear" pile to the "sell to tourists" pile of equipment as well. As a side note, also hit the park yesterday afternoon and dropped into a couple of rails and a load of kickers. As per usual was going far too fast into every jump but for some reason landed pretty much everything - got a beautiful boned out method (oooooh) and a really nice backside 180 stalefish (aaaah) as well as a few rails (niiiice). So all in all pretty nifty really.

Here's a couple photos of the front garden of the chalet. The mazo (the small house thingy) is where Kevin and Julene have their bedroom and bathroom and the other photo shows the view from the balcony. In the bottom-left corner of the picture you can just make out the rail we've made which we session when we're drunk. Bring it on!

Update!

OK, firstly sorry for not writing up a blog post for a while. There's combination of reasons - namely work, riding and illness.

I got a cold a few days ago and it took me down fairly hard. Just recovering from it now. Also, I'm now officially pumped for work and this week is going to be the true, focused start week. Got a development environment on the go last week, mapped in a load of work, got everything sorted to really be productive and got a PHP bible to usher in the latest chapter in the Narg programming book. Awesome. Time to bring in the cash.

So I guess the riding is the thing to report. Snow conditions here have been variable over recent days. After the dump of about 10 days ago the cover has gotten progressively a little thinner both on the pistes and rocks are baring their faces all over the place. Many of the home runs back to the resorts for places such as Brevant and Flegere are closed - in fact only Grands Montets and Le Tour are up and running with runs all the way down.

But, and this is a big but. Riding is going very well, b een riding chutes and gullies, finding the windblown snow that collects under cornices and ridges, and the sides of the piste are great for jibbing and throwing 180's, 360's and a few tweaked grabs. I've never spun as easily as this in my life and I'm pumped for the rest of the season. I reckon as you get that bit older, experience kicks in and you feel more relaxed in the air. I always used to have a feeling of hanging in mid-air with all the time in the world when I used to ride years ago and that same feeling is back with a vengeance. I've got to say, it feels good. As does slashing hard turns into the sides of the piste where the snow's built up sending up a huge hanging curtain of snow that sets snowy crystals sparkling in the cold air ages after the board has thrown them there.

The chalet is good, made dinner for everyone the other day with chicken thighs in red wine, tomato, herb and mushroom sauce with mashed potato and it was a great success. Very pleased. We could really do with more snow though and luckily the gods smile upon us with snow forecast to fall from tomorrow ownwards gradually increasing each day until the end of the week at least. Perfect! (snow forecast).

So I'm feeling pretty good, the stomach's gotten a little flatter and harder - the chubby hamster cheeks are receding faster than the hairline (way better than the alternative) and I've procured another 3 wooly hats to wear throughout the day. I've been really missing people from home - probably being ill doesn't help - but I feel really happy knowing that some are on their way out. It'll be great having some old friends and family over - existance in a ski resort is a very transient experience. Many of the people are here for only 1 or 2 weeks, some for a month, few for longer. I really miss having stability here and have hooked up with a few girls who are just in it for the fun. That's cool and it's their holiday but I reckon it's time to start pulling a little tighter on the reigns and only start dating people here for longer than a nanosecond. The good news is that everyone lets their standards drop on holiday and frankly I've been punching way above my weight - something one normally only dreams about.

So all in all, a little nervy and edgy, time to really start hammering away at work and let the snow fall as it may. Ride only powder days, enjoy the time in the air launching off kickers and find a wifey. Simple sort of existance really.