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!