stone cold brian

It was cold this morning..... -24 in the village, even northern Gary risked being called a poof and donned a coat.

Anyway, once we'd all got warmed up it was off to practise what we teach...

Max and me partnered up to teach the ever so tricky art of running straight down a gentle slope with one foot in a binding. This is highly technical stuff only for the advanced boarder.

Needless to say we pulled it off with style and grace and managed to avoid maiming any of our "students" (actually the others in my group, pretending to be beginners.

There then followed some minor technical stuff to tune our boarding skills beyond their already razor sharp pitch.

Guys, I fear that any off piste activities for the next week or so may have to be limited as the informed opinion of pretty much everyone around here is that the avalance risk is currently "suicidal" (i'm paraphrasing). We bumped into our old french instructor (Bastion) who'd nearly been caught in an avalance in the trees over at La Fornet. Everyone who has them is wearing beacons and air bags and the most we ventured off piste today was the cafe.

On that note I've found a cool little cafe over in near the finicular in Tignes thats not to expensive for lunch.

To compensate there is fantastic boarding to be had on the slopes.

And with other news: I am now the proud owner of a pair of burton Mission bindings having decided to stray from my Flow roots.

Pros:
More forward lean than the flows
More ankle flex than the flows
Less heel lift than the flows

Cons
Take ages to get on - god how do you guys get any riding done?!
Not quite as comfy as the flows (but not too bad)

I'll see how I get on with them.

I did take my camera up today to record the fantastic conditions. I've uploaded some pics onto the site, but I still can't seem to display them.

Maybe tomorrow.......

sweeeeeet 16

The more perceptive amongst you may have noted that I've been away from the keyboard for a few days. I've not been kidnapped or anything exotic. I've been laid low by the bug now known as the Val D'isease (see what I did there...) basicly a sore throat, hacking cough and a feeling of total crappyness. So I took sat and sun pretty easy, a decision made easier by the awful conditions on the hill.

Sunday was pretty good fun with a bunch of us building a kicker out the back of the appartments. I have some pics and will post them when I get my head together and remember my cable.

we've now had a good metre of snow and as a result, the pistes are in top notch condition and there's bundles of pow around. unfortunatly the avalance risk is at 4 and there have already been a few fatalities. In tignes some poor sod was killed and another chap lost a leg in a slide a few days ago. What was most shocking was that they were only a few meters off the piste. :-( There's evidence of slides everywhere with several having tracked across pistes (fortunatley at night). I've just heard over the radio that there have been 3 deaths in the Alps today, at least one in Val.

Yesterday was pretty bad with whiteout conditions and howling gales. One or two of our party had to contend with the onset of frostbite as well as the rather crappy visability.

As compensation today was what the brochure people call a "bluebird" day, clear blue skies, blazing sunshine and chest deep powder! Sweeeeeeeet!

The only bummer (apart from the ever present risk of death by snow) was the ball achingly low temperatures -20 in the resort! My goggles were actually freezing over! Bring lots of thermals and a face mask of some sort unless you really like skin grafts.

I've started the instructors course proper now. Our instructor is a tiny little Scot called Neil and his is pretty damn good at riding, Guy, think Crazy Yohie with a scottish accent and a mullet, the rest of you, think of a tiny little boarding god, with a mullet.

Anyway we've been doing loads of the basic stuff, side slipping, falling leaf and the like. It's actually pretty interesting and all helps with my general riding. Even though it's reall basic there is still loads of good stuff for an itermediate to learn, Hands up who knows about peddling and board torsion? We're going to practice teaching tmrw and we've got to try to keep practicing over the next few weeks. So for thoses of you coming over I apologise in advance for trying to get you to do falling leaf and garlands etc.

I've also being perfecting my nose/tail presses and have nearly sorted buttering on my nose (for the non-boarders that's spinning around on the nose of the board - it looks super cool). I say sorted, I can do everything right apart from stay on my board.....but thats a minor detail.

I will take my camera tmrw and try to get some shots, however it's not really supposed to go subzero so it will probably refuse to work.

'til tmrw!

ten and eleven

Ok so I skipped yesterday, I was knackered and ill.

That and I was out for dinner with steve's Mrs and all her coven (look it up). There was a fondue which, thinking of my waist line, I wisely avoided (I'm only joking about the coven thing). I like cheese on toast as much as the next man, but a fondue is taking things to extremes. Apparently if you drink too much water with your fondue, the cheese solidifies in your gut meaning you have to pass an Edam cheese next time you visit the bog. Nice

Talking of dumps (see what I did there?)

......more snow today! Unfortunatly it's pretty heavy stuff so the pistes are getting good but the off piste is a bit like wading through mud.

On the plus side it is bringing the base back up to scratch and ice is becoming the exception rather than the rule. Horray!

My new boots got thier first run today. All I can say is "snug". Not as slipper comfy as my old ones but a shed load more responsive. I rode them all morning and the only problem was some pressure on my toenails, so off to cut them tonight (you get all the good stuff here).

Next on the hit list are bindings. Will probably stick with my current board as
a) I'm tight
b) I'm tight
c) I'm tight
d) my stick rocks anyway

The base has taken some heavy damage, no core shots yet but some pretty meaty gouges.

The resort is starting to fill up now as we get towards hi season. There was an Ice sculpture dude and some weird siamese twin ompah band thing going on in town and I cam across this little shop



Imagine my disappointment when i found they only sold T shirts :-(

And here's a piccy of a mountain to round things off



Nice!

Anyway tmrw is my last day of general training before I start on the teaching side of things. So I guess my days will be a little less intense from a riding point of view but more theory and stuff.

nein!

Well the good news is that the long promised snow has arrived!

It started cloudy this morning and started with a few brief flurries before kicking off big style around mid morning. So far we've had about 3-4" in the village (I always say 3-4" is enough for anyone) and more on the hill. The downside is that its blowwing an absolute gale at the top. This is preventing the snow from settling high, however the lower runs are getting more than their fair share.

As I type it is still dumping with a vengence so tmrw morning should be good.

The one (big) fly in the ointment of my happiness is the risk of avalance that has risen from medium to high and will probably be at dead cert by the morning. We are probably all getting avalance bleepers tmrw along with a ration of shovles and a few sticks.

For those of you coming out (so to speak) I am living at the Jardains de Balme

For those of you staying there you will be glad to know that they are perfectly livable for a week or two. I'll let you know if they are livable for 11 weeks......

At the moment our room sounds like a terminal care ward with Bruce (room mate #1) coughing away like an 80 a day pensioner and me hacking up some dubious stuff.

It has been brought to my attention (by Dave shaking me awake with "mate - you sound like a chain saw) that I snore. Now I've never heard myself snoring but I am lead to belive that it is pretty spectacular at the moment. I think it's the altitude. Anyway I've got a bag of ear plugs coming to give to everyone in the room.

Currently our training is focusing on getting our riding up to scratch. So there are loads of exercises with "bend zee knees" and "foward wiz zee 'ips". Its working though. I'm still pretty slow but thats a confidence thing and with the new snow I'm starting to speed up.

To those of you that chipped in with the helmet and goggles a massive thank you. They are proving invalauble at preventing pepole laughing at a chubby bloke with a green helmet and blue goggles. They also keep my head warm and stop my eyes from frezzing. When Ed comes over they'll be laughing at a skinny bloke with a green helment...

ate (get it?)

Back on the slopes for me today, the snow is trully crap with huge sheets of ice and rock. My poor board is getting a total beating with some massive gouges out of the base and the odd nick out of the edge.

On the plus side everyone is saying snow is (finally) on the way with some 30 odd cm forecast. Hopefully this will be the start of some proper conditions fo me and my board.

Anyway off for some lumps of meat in sauce (our provided evening "meal")

a day of rest

Well, Sunday was our day off so I took full advantage and slept in. In truth I was actually sleeping off the night before. Ther was a bit of a pub crawl going on so my head was a little "fuzzy" (ahem).

Once I finaly dragged my carcass out of bed I decided to go and check out new boots to replace my aging (but slipper comfy) flows. Tried on about 6 pairs from some nice Vans BFBs (apparently Best Flipping Boot or similar) to a lovely pair of Burton Ions (or as I like to call them Ion$).

Unfortunatly the best were the Burtons weighing in at a heafty 330E - trust my bloody feet to have epensive taste!

As always I'm going to sleep on it, and probably try a few more pairs. Also looking to complete the separation from flows with a set of bindings, probably cap straps, so I'll be looking to take your set for a test drive Mr P.

There is still no sign of snow so the runs are starting to get really dicey. A group of us took a ride down the Solaise yeaterday and it was pretty tough, even the skiers were falling over and getting there one-pieces dirty, only kidding none of the skiers are sad enough to wear one pieces.

We were offered a chance to take part in a torch lit decent of "La Face" on tuesday. Hummmmmm an acknowledged difficult black run, covered in ice, in the pitch black, whilst holding an incendiary device, surrounded by other idiots.........better check my insurance to see if I'm covered for acts of supreme idiocy.

Well I'm off to watch some american football then an early night so I can be ready to tear it up tmrw.




and on the fifth day....

Ok I give up on uploading photos, however go here to see a picture of Val....

http://www.flickr.com/photos/94295144@N00/3316920/

Anyone notice what is wrong with this picture?

That's right, unlike my barnet there's not enough white.

Snow is now forecast for next week, heard that before.

Anyway spent today off the slopes learning first aid. Lots of stuff about CPR and heart conditions. Spent ages going up and down on a plastic doll in front of a room full of blokes. I was exhausted after a few minutes. Especially as you have to keep up 100 strokes a minute....

Still if anyone has a heart attack I know what to do so that's something. If the thought of me bearing down of you with mouth to mouth on my mind doesn't start your heart then you're probably dead anyway.

Tmrw we are practicing our skill out on the mountain. I'll take my camera and try and get a few shots in.

Right off 'cos it's someones birthday and I'd better show my face or risk being labled anti social.

Day 4

I've finally managed to kick my sore throat using a combination of orange juice, vodka and TCP....not all at the same time.

The weather continues to be sunny and cold and the pistes are slowy disappearing before my eyes. The promised snow is not going to arrive until next week at the earliest.

My riding has been steadily improving with me trying out tail presses, nose presses, nollies, ollies, front and backside butter 180s on the nose and tail (non-boarders all that just means spinning around and jumping about whilst grunting alot)

I've tried to upload some pics but no joy yet, maybe tmrw.......

Must go now as it's dinner time.

Can someone tell Guy this site (and will and anyone you know) 'cos I'm not sure they are getting it, so to speak.

Later.......

Jour Tois or something

My sore throat yesterday turned into a bit of a fever with me feeling really wobbly, sweating alot and croaking (no jokes please). So i took this morning off and slept in (slacker!) it was only a half day anyway as we have french lessons this afternoon (la plume de ma tantes sur la table de ma tante etc etc). Anyway I feel a bundle better and ready to tear it up tmrw.

There was the first season killer injury yesterday. A chap in my class went down hard off piste and tweaked his knee. If he's lucky it's a week or so off but at the moment there's loads of swelling and talk of ligament damage - bummer.

I have some general photos but in true style I've left the cable in the room so you'll all have to wait until tmrw. Either way David Bailey is safe for a while longer.

Hopefully I'll manage some on piste shots as well. Of course I've got to work out how to upload them onto this blog. I'll also upload a picture off me so we can see the evolution of my "dirty mexican" tan lines over eleven weeks.

'Til tomorrow........

Right then I'm off to try and learn french.

Day Two

Well the end of my second day and I'm truly knackered. Lots meore to learn and a full 7 hours boarding (poor me) have left me a wreck and to top it all I ave a sore throat, hope it's nothing nasty.

Anyway I have a half day tmrw so will try to take some photos of the place.

The snow at the moment is not great with lots of bare patches and rocks. More like late march than mid Jan. Our instructor says this is the least snow that anyone can remember for this time of year. Bugger.

On the flip side the pistes are being kept open by constant bashing and as many snow cannons as they can get going.

They keep forecasting more snow but always a few days away.

Right I'm off to bed with some vitamin C

Day one

Well, I finally got here last night at around 9 after some pretty crap organisation by the company who's organising this whole jaunt. They would probably fail the "arse and elbow" part of the IQ test.

My room is what a London estate agent would describe as "a compact studio apartment in a desirable development with all mod cons", in other words there is not enough room to throttle a mouse let alone swing a cat and we have a kettle. For those of you who went to Tignes a few years ago, my apparment is slightly bigger than that one and there are three of us. Bets are on as to exactly how stinky the room will be at the end of 11 weeks. My only consolation is that I'm not sharing with Adam (kidding mate).

Anyway the snow is currently ok, a bit patchy in places and prone to the usual Val/Tignes icyness. Hopefully there will be snow mid week.

For those of you interested in the guess brians weight loss (or gain) sweep stake I am setting my starting weight at 100kg in tshirt, jeans and trainers.

As for inside information i can say that the provided breakfast is cereal and jam on toast. I will be eating a sandwich for lunch, probably made from jam and bread swiped at brakfast.