mike[space] dot net

We're back, back, back. And as is traditional for me at the end of a snowboarding holiday, I am wondering why I don't just live in the mountains all the time. Beautiful air, beautiful scenery and the opportunity to ride down the slope any day I like ... pesky life getting in the way ;-)

Tomorrow morning, at some ungodly hour yet to be finalised, we set off for the Alps, on an epic drive that is set to take some 15 hours or so. With flights costing in the region of 600 quid (a combination of disorganisation and uncertainty prevented really super advanced booking, which is required for half term holidays), the car proved to be the only option available to us. It's going to be a long drive, but I am very excited to be getting back out onto the mountains.

Snow!! And not just the usual crappy snow that sort of settles, creating a black layer of grease over the grime of London, and hinting at the beauty that could occur from a proper covering. No, this time, we've got real, actual, deep snow. So much snow, in fact, that all the buses have stopped working, and we're having to resort to alternate transport mechanisms to get around:

A couple of weeks ago, the annual Le Tour snowboarding trip took place. Much reduced in number, just the 5 of us headed out to Tignes on a rainy Friday afternoon. Just back from New York, I was not exactly in the best of mental states for it, and I headed out with my kit pretty concerned that i would arrive in France missing half the stuff I needed ... First though we had to get through the journey, which was to be a whole new experience for me as we took the sleeper snow train from Kings Cross to Bourg St Maurice. To say this was an improvement on the usual flying chaos is a significant understatement. You rock up at the station and as soon as you are on the train you feel like you are on holiday - security is straightforward, boarding is civilised, there's space to move around, the air quality is nicer, and there's no sense of hurrying up to wait, which you always seem to get with flying. The transfer from Eurostar to sleeper train is simple, with a brief stop in Paris to enjoy some GRANDE BIERE (seriously oversized and overpriced). And then you get on the sleeper, and get properly drunk in the disco carriage before passing out in your bunk. Before you know it, you are in the mountains. Without a doubt the best way I have experienced of getting to the French Alps.

As you can probably tell from the previous post, I am currently in New York. I'm actually out here for work, heading for a bunch of meetings and the like in Boston next week. But I decided to fly out early so that I could head upstate and squeeze in a cheeky weekend of snowboarding. I got in on Friday, and Ori and I soon hit the road (and a bunch of traffic) as we (and the rest of the city's population) left for the weekend. We were headed to Killington, and it was one hell of a lengthy road trip, taking us something like 6 or 7 hours. I somehow managed to stay awake for most of it, and then found out that we were six people in one apartment, which only had 3 beds (one being a fold out sofa). So I got to torture a whole new set of people with my snoring, sharing a bed with ori.

So the holiday drew to a close at the weekend, and we all had the dubious pleasure of trooping back onto a Monarch transatlantic flight to return home. This time, with no two weeks of snow to look forward to, which made the shitty service and lousy food that bit harder to swallow.

On the plus side, the holiday itself was ace, and I am very impressed with Canada. The people there are lovely, and exceptionally friendly and helpful. Claire is now a pretty proficient snowboarder, happily throwing herself down blue and black runs, which coincidentally is the colour of various parts of her body - she does bruise like a peach! On the last day we all got ourselves GPS trackers to monitor our performance on the slopes. Most excitingly, this showed me as having a maximum speed of 60 km/h, which I think is none too shabby. Prior to that we also went and saw the Calgary Flames kick the crap out of LA at ice hockey, which was bags of fun. All in all it was a great holiday - but it does feel pretty weird not to have a snowboarding trip planned in any way right now.

After much umming and ahhing, I have finally purchased a new snowboard. I've been very reluctant to do so in the past - concerned that a substantial investment might not actually yield any significant benefits with my riding. However On Tuesday we went to Sunshine Village where Salomon have a tent where you are able to rent some of their high-end boards for testing. Finally a good opportunity to inexpensively try before I buy! The three I tried were the Burner, the Strobe and the Special. Starting off on the Burner, I was amazed by the difference I found riding it. I was able to really pop the board from edge to edge, swing into switch easily, and it felt incredibly responsive through powder and on the groomed trails. The Strobe was simply too stiff for my tastes and leg strength. It was very forgiving, but I really didn't feel overly comfortable on it. The final board I tried was the Special, which was incredibly flexible, and I was very tempted on this basis. One of the things I have been trying to do is improve my abilities in the park, and this board would undoubtedly have helped in this regard. But free riding on the mountain, it just felt a bit too slow and soggy - I didn't trust it for hacking down the mountain. After a final run on the Burner I was convinced it was the board for me - even with tired legs I pulled a couple of 180s, dropped into switch and pulled off the biggest tail press I've ever managed; I might look into getting a cheeky park board next year, as it would be fun to have the option ...