dog tired brian

Hello one and all!

Again I have been massivly slack in the blogging dept. I have an excuse, I'm bolldy knackered! Today is the 19th day on the trot that i've been boarding and it's starting to tell. I've got avalance training this weekend (so more boarding, plus some digging) then a week of shadowing some instructors. By the end I'll have managed 26 days non stop.

Anyway we have yet another instructor. This one is Domonic and thankfully hes not a ragge ginger brummie twat. In fact........



....his nick name is "Mick" as we think he looks alot like Mick Jagger. He's been snowboarding forever. When he learnt snowboards still had fins!? So his style is a little "old school" to say the least, following him is like watching an 80's Warren Miller video. However he is pretty damn good and is totaly awesome in powder. Speaking of which, he seems to have some kind of sixth sense for finding the stuff. over 2 weeks since it last snowed and he was taking us to untracked poweder (and none of the crusty stuff either, this was silky smooth) only a few yards from the pistes.

Yesterday he took us down an untracked couloir in tignes. Admittedly the reason was that it took some serious moiuntineering to decend to it. At one point I was edging (board on) along a rock ledge with a 50 degree rock slope below me when the rock I was on decided to join it's brothers in the valley below. Thank god I ride a long board. The tip and tail kept me up but the base took a beating. Still the snow on the other side was definatly worth it.

Spotted this chap at the top of the Olymipc bubble the other day. He'd obviously lost a bet in the bar last night.......



Anyway as I mentioned before i'm pretty knackered so this morning I took in a few rund before tired legs and flat light made me decide to pull stumps and go home.

And the reson for the flat light......it's started snowing again! horray, not that I mind bluebird skies but we were starting to get to the poinbt were snow was desparately needed. It's pretty light at the mo but more is forecast and it should bring the pistes back from the icy edge that they've been on for the last couple of days.

On a sadder note we had our first major (and pretty grisley) injury on monday. Phil (who some of you have met) was hit by a skier who was jumping onto the piste. The impact wasn't too bad by all accounts, unfortunalty the skier's ski cut through Phils outer layers before neatly severing the major tendon just below the kneecap. Blood everywhere. They stitched him back together but he can't move his leg for at least 2 weeks and then he faces the prospect of a long haul back to fitness. Poor sod.

Right I'm off to get some fodder.

Later monkeys!