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Dire need of finding a good purveyor of crepes and waffles!!!
Nice article in the Grauniad on my local resort here in Sweden
Why is it so impossible to not check the weather forecast EVERY BLOODY HOUR in the final days before a trip even though there is absolutely nothing you can do about it?
Well that was the first big weekend of the year. Queues and all the powder that can be reached from a lift tracked into mounds within an hour or so. Some trendz then from cool to head shaking.
Kool:
The pipe 'n' park kidz doing stuff that makes me thankful I was born too late. Cheap as chips K2 Sights with marker bindings on their feet (the boarderz are in the neighbouring resort). To be found everywhere carving through the powder, flying through the air or slaloming the piste marker poles.
Trad Cool:
The carvers, racers, 70s skis 3.5mm apart, powder bouncers (so long as they made the first chair of the day). Various slalom and piste skis on their feet.
The patinettes:
A bit like the mono these are a thing of the past (thankfully) but those still using them skate, skip and zip around in fine style.
The mass:
The lack of "classes de neige" and Wednesday ski clubs is showing though. French yoofs don't ski as well as they did but the latest generation of skis compensating for ability they still get down without too many tumbles or crashes. I haven't tried them but the latest all-rounder piste skis are clearly very easy to ski.
The anti-social gits:
They could have anything on their feet or between their legs (snow skooter things). The skiing equivalent of the owner of an Ibiza with a huge exhaust, louder sound system, zero ability, zero consideration and a gram each of dope and alcohol in the blood.
The water skiers:
Do you realise just what a dick you look clattering around like a duck on a frozen pond with those huuuuuge freeride planks on your feet in the worked-out powder 5m from the piste? I realise you'd crap yourself then pass out faced with a descent the skis are designed for but you don't have to buy them just because they're twendy. Go back to the shop FFS and trade them for some of those K2 Sights which will flatter the ability you do have most everywhere.
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Slightly late to the helmet party, but I find myself in the very rare circumstance of agreeing with Edukator.
I wear a helmet for as near 100% of my personal snowboard as makes no difference, but I don't like wearing it for instructing, for communication reasons as stated. I can see, hear and speak perfectly well with it on, but it just feels easier to connect with people without it.
Wallop, yes, it is impossible.
Good work Dave, great result.
From the bristles at Pendle to WC podium.
helmet party
😆
(Sorry)
That does sound like my kind of party though.
A beautifully sunny day at Lake Louise. Started off at about -20C and warmed up to -12C. The back bowls in the early morning sun were glorious and whilst the grooming was visible the front was fantastic as well. Sadly by early afternoon the light had faded on the backside and the sheet ice Louise is locally famous for (partly due to them having an early season world cup) had returned. Forecast looks wonderful for views; less so for fresh snow.
Early morning looking at Mount Temple and valley of the 10 peaks.
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Yours truly dropping into the backside.
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Do you realise just what a dick you look clattering around like a duck on a frozen pond with those huuuuuge freeride planks on your feet in the worked-out powder 5m from the piste? I realise you'd crap yourself then pass out faced with a descent the skis are designed for but you don't have to buy them just because they're twendy. Go back to the shop FFS and trade them for some of those K2 Sights which will flatter the ability you do have most everywhere.
No way I'd want a set of 84mm waisted park skis on a powder day. Out west everything from 98 to 112 is considered an all mountain ski. I suspect the skiers in Europe would have a heart attack at the size and shape of my Slant Ambushs.
Looking good sweaman! Whistler is pretty similar. Fresh snow a few days ago and now cold and sunny (though not the -20 we had last month!)
If you have multiple skis then absolutely. I have a set of BD Helios 116 for powder days but if you can only have one ski I can't see the point of wide skis. Even yesterday there were a few sliding (cause they barely carve) down Louise front side.
Having said that my "resort" skis are still 96mm waist so not all that narrow.
home from a sensational week Sainte Foy. 48hr dump before we arrived then wall to wall sunshine & blue skies for the whole week. low temps kept conditions prime up toward the end too, but its ready for a refresh now...
there was even a lot of snow on the ground when we arrived in Grenoble, all up the the valley and loads in Bourg. was very exciting!! perfect week.
Rented a pair of Volki Kendo's. ive never really had a pair that ive thought were any better or worse than the last, but these made a big difference to me on the fresh stuff. great fun.
Nice sweaman2. I see Lake Louise looks as mobbed as ever - I do wonder what Canadians would make of the Alps at half term 😀
Back on the subject of fixing stuff: what's the current go to substance for patching up boots? Is Shoo Goo still the business or has some clever Sugru-derived thing superseded it?
Gee2DaEss, steezy man.
You're sure going ghetto style this year. Duct-taped slacks and glued together boots. 😀 Have you seen how much Westbeach slacks have been reduced?
I had an unfortunate locational coincidence with a chunky return on the heel of my boot and the bottom of the heel cup on my Flow bindings which ended up pulling the heel away from the sole of the boot. I used Freesole (around seven or eight quid from Amazon) to glue it back on. It's worked but it's a fiddly bloody job getting it in there. So, maybe try a tube of that and some shoogoo - they may even be the same stuff.
Ultimately though, the damage was done. I couldn't clamp the sole/heel back to the boot as tight as it had been previously, and while the glue held, the heel cup kept catching on the binding, making the step-in-out-ability useless. Such a pity, I had to buy a new pair. 🙁
So from the 28/1 I will be gnarring it up in these babies in the 3V:
Ride Insanos <-- 😆 (Not a bloody lace in sight!)
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And while I was buying those, I picked up one of these too. Figured it's time to replace the Gnu which has served me well but ultimately, is a bit too long and has lost it's pop (kinda like its owner).
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is a bit too long
ahahahahaahahahah!
a nice hard charging all Mountain shred stick deadlydarcey!
^ Now that's a fat pair of skis!
Hey dubbaD, welcome back.
You're sure going ghetto style this year. Duct-taped slacks and glued together boots.
That's okay - I've always liked the grunge look.
Only gapers have shiny new kit head to toe anyway 😉
Have you seen how much Westbeach slacks have been reduced?
Yeah, but these were brand new, very nice Bonfire strides. They've literally done 10 days on the snow (and 4 in the pub). I'm not binning them before they've even had their first wash! 🙂
So, maybe try a tube of that and some shoogoo - they may even be the same stuff.
Shoo Goo is sort of a gummy rubber goo. It's better at filling in worn bits than actually gluing bits together. If your boot damage is split rubber then you could always try good ol' vulcanising solution from your puncture repair kit. But yeah clamping can be a pain.
Nice boots. They look [i]very[/i] similar to the dual-Boa Vans I'm rocking at the moment.
(top tip: get spare Boa wires of the correct lengths. You'll hopefully never need them, but you don't want to be stuck trying to find spare in some tiny resort. Oh and carry the tiny little screwdriver that comes with the laces with you - because you also don't want to be looking about for wire cutters to get yourself out of jammed boots)
Despite that, I love Boas.
Nice board too. Flat with rocker tips - playful 🙂
Didn't know they did those in child sizes 😉
the dual-Boa Vans
Are they blue? I tried a pair of those on somewhere but they were a bit toight. Tip on spare Boa wires: noted and ordered.
Nah black. A good few seasons old now - pretty close to retirement when finances allow (hence the shoo goo).
Can't remember the name now, looking at the Vans site maybe an early iteration of the Encore.
Ah, I see. No, just checked, they were Auras. Double Boa thing too. Nice boot, but too tight for my feets...which is nothing new.
Oh yeah Encore is only a single, maybe they are Aura then. Not sure.
I see Lake Louise looks as mobbed as ever - I do wonder what Canadians would make of the Alps at half term
Too true. Although a friend has recently visited Austria and was extolling the virtues of such luxuries as heated, detachable quads and automatic lift passes. Both of which sound fantastic when compared to fumbling in pockets for the pass or shivering on a rickety 1970's era diesel powered double at -20C.
for me Lake Louise was all about the trucks. ford f150s as far as the etlye could see. glorious . oh and wings Wednesday was top drawer
Howsyourdad1, yes huge pickups with a flatbed and a pair of 'Sleds' on the back.
I got a lift in one, it could have got my Ford Ranger inside.
Out west everything from 98 to 112 is considered an all mountain ski. I suspect the skiers in Europe would have a heart attack at the size and shape of my Slant Ambushs.
Had a similar conversation with a couple of ex-seasonaires in Ste Foy back in 2012, convinced me to go 100 min. Sadly bust my knee on that trip so no skis purchased, not yet anyway 😉
Howsyourdad1, yes huge pickups with a flatbed and a pair of 'Sleds' on the back.
I got a lift in one, it could have got my Ford Ranger inside
stop it , oh God the trucks. I am not a car person at all but these were amazing. almost arousing 😯
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Good work Dave, great result.
Yes indeed. Bit slow to pickup this story but wonderful result in the most technical discipline and thus hardest for a Brit.
Bit of hope on the horizon for more snow in the Alps at the end of the month / start of Feb. Everything crossed!
a quandry.I went snowboarding today with a new group and all of them had helmets on. Howev?r all of them had that hectic hat goggles helmet thing going on. Should I just conform?
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no .
googles are for snow day only .
if sunny , wear sunglasses .
It's plain wrong. If they can get a wooly hat under there, the helmet's too big.
Edit: and sun glasses are for the terrace.
Where are people ordering replacement boas from?
Probably a bit late for us as going on Sunday but worth checking
googles are for snow day only .
if sunny , wear sunglasses
um , ok... this was at night
..
No, no.
Helmet + Goggles = OK
Helmet + sunnies = Not ok
Different lenses in goggles for different conditions.
Glasses pretty much always = watery eyes for me.
I tend to wear a buff or a bike helmet liner under my helmet when its cold. I couldn't fit a beanie in there.
That arrangement up there, isn't the adjustment buckle / clasp going to be really uncomfortable on the inside of your lid?
Also.
I think the goggles strap inside was started by the snowboard and ski freestyle fraternity.
It's so the goggle strap doesn't take up valuable advertising space on their helmet.
No sponsors, no problem.
Helmet - normally warm enough but if it's really cold I wear a cycle skull cap underneath.
I wear sunglasses with my helmet as I can't buy dark / strong enough eye protection in googles.
Jamba - can I recommend the £3 ALDI microfleece balaclavas. Their not in often but perfect under a snow or cycle helmet.
And the sunnies argument works for me too.
I tried the goggles inside helmet for about 5 mins. The strap buckles dig into your head. Stupid idea.
I couldn't even get on with a thin fleece hood under my helmet. Too much going on. Keep it simple.
Jamba - can I recommend the £3 ALDI microfleece balaclavas.
I use a Lidl one.
There's also the problem of the latest trendy skate helmets which have a shape incompatible with the strap (push the googles down) and nothing to guide/hold the strap in place. Fashion over function junk in which your nose/face will be the first point of contact in a forward fall.
Tuck and roll, Edukator, tuck and roll.
One of the reason rugby or martial arts ain't a bad idea as a kid - they reach you how to fall. I remember doing drills, running as a flat line into a forwards roll into a run and do it again.
Throwing your head towards the ground means you tend to land in your shoulders not face - but if you have to think about it, you won't make it.
Of course sometimes it's to fast and you don't make it anyway, but I've been lucky so far.
And it might work better in a board than skis - don't know about that.
Tuck and roll as demonstrated by one of the best snowboarders on the planet:
Throwing your head towards the ground means you tend to land in your shoulders not face - but if you have to think about it, you won't make it.
Sounds like a good plan to break your neck, collar bone and shoulder given the speeds involved in boarding and skiing. What's wrong with an arms in front of face or superman reflex? I owe my existence to that one. Edukator senior admits to having thrown a Rudge 500 down the road between two on-coming cars. Doing a superman he was able to do a press-up to get his head over the kerb - his only injury was a small cut on his chin.
Edukator - nothing protects in all situations. We can probably agree on that.
And I happily accept your evidence, but equally I've been over the bars, tucked, landed on my shoulders and rolled into a sitting position. For a landing on tarmac a slightly bruised thigh (no scratches even!) seemed like a decent outcome.
I've also known friends try to keep their head away from the ground and lose teeth as a result.
Sometimes things happen too fast to do anything though.
And neither of us I think is suggesting sitting in the sofa wrapped in cotton wool. Bad things can happen, but not often and it's fun in the meantime - yes?
Back slightly on topic, a big round of applause for Dave Ryding, another top ten finish in last night's Schaldming night slalom. Looks like an awesome event, I'm very tempted to go along one year - has anyone been> I'm thinking of the night slalom as it means I'll get to watch a World Cup event without losing a days skiing, as I would for a WC downhill. Are the slopes incredibly busy during the day becuase of the visitor numbers?
I have couple of problems with extreme sports. One is the media driven race to ever more extreme to the point it becomes a challenge to survive the most stupid stunt. Red Bull are top of my list of assassins. Ok so some people want to base jump, but don't given them any money or publicity FFS, you'll just encourage the glory-seeking lemmings to join them.
My other problem is with those who dress as gladiators (helmet, back protection, protection pads for various limbs) and then go out and act "rad" on pistes with kids, mums and dads pottering around. OK put a helmet on for ski-mountaineering or riding the pipe/park or doing a slalom race - because you are the only one at risk. But a 100kg bloke wearing a helmet for his own protection when thrashing down a piste where there are many vulnerable people around him is a statement I don't like. It's the equivalent of the aggressively driven X5 on the school run - I'm safe FU!