5 comp days and 5 powder days after the biggest storm in 50 years!

So I'm going to start off by saying that the title is slightly misleading as for me it reads that i had 10 days of powder which i can only wish to have been the case! Truthfully I had maybe 4 days at the start of last weekend which were incredible and myself and Daniel Bond were just lapping the Downhill tow at Temple Basin before we headed up for a few hikes (photos to follow). The 1st competition was the GNOMES freeride Competition at Temple Basin which turned out to be a lot of fun. It consisted of a 2 run final and with some good local riders and resulted in some good lines and a 1st place by yours truly! After the Competition we built a booter over the judges area and got some lovely photos for the sponsors. It was one of those competitions which count Skiers and Snowboarders, Men and Woman as equal and thus normally is dominated by the Male Ski crowd! Luckily for us Snowboarding types we managed to claim 1st and 3rd with a lucky skier squeezing his way in to claim 2nd. Before moving on I would like to thank GNOMES for sponsoring and to CUSSC (Canterbury University Snowsports Club) for organising the event.

After the 4 days in Temple we knew the rest of the week was never going to be as good with the snow conditions but it didn't matter as CHILL put on a great 4 day comp in Craigieburn and Mount Olympus. The We arrived at Craigieburn a day before the Comp and spent most of the day scoping and riding the qualifier face for the following day. This turned out to be a big mistake as everytime i went through i would adapt my line and make it more and more complex and difficult! By the time the competition came round the next day it had been over a week since the snow fall and most of the faces were tracked out, luckily i had picked a very unusual line and one that nobody had thought to ski, however at the bottom was a nice ski track which lots of people had used to cut under the face in order to get back to the hut! I was number 44 to drop in and even though very happy with the technical part of my line the ski track underneath had me very worried!!! I hear the starter call " Vinny your up, 3,2,1 Rider on course!". I was off, top section was easy, middle section through the rocks was technical but fun. I got to the drop, sent it, came out with speed, hit the ski track and gave the crowd the biggest stack of the day! I was gutted as this was the qualifier for the next 2nd day which meant I finished the Craigieburn comp as Dan's assistant helping him choose lines and cheering him on!
Day 3 of competition we had moved to Mount Olympus which I was very happy about as this was my chance to get back in the game and at one of my favorite ski fields. 1 hour inspection time was given to choose a line so thats what i did. I rode through twice checking it and getting every turn in my head then once it was my turn to get up there I completely changed my mind and took a line i had not checked, not looked at and never riden and finished the day in 3rd!!! This was a big wake up call for me as it showed me that staying on your feet is job number 1. On the 4th and final day of the competition it was all up for grabs in every division with the top skiers from each day falling or injuring themselves and even in the snowboarding with Callum Goodwin not qualifying for final day and Rurai Macfarlane coming 4th after day 3.

After 2 more runs and a lot of beers the results were ready and so were we. 1st came all the spot prizes and then the big ones! My hopes were very low as they used a point system that included your runs in Craigieburn and Olympus so with just one having any major impact i was hoping for around a 7th or 8th place so when i was called out for 6th I was very happy but at the same time could help bu think about the ski track that could of changed everything but at least the crash made the news http://www.mountainwatch.com/Features/9438921/Day-1---2-of-the-K2-Big-Mountain-CHILL-Series-at-CRAIGIEBURN

Just a quick thank you to RIP Curl for giving me my outwear which still hasnt got a single tear in even with all the rag dolls i have managed to do in this lovely NZ hard packed snow!

I will put up some photos soon from the last few days but check out some of the lines from the competition on www.thedailydumpsnowreport.com

Cheers and I'm off to Mount Ruapehu for the 4* Export 33 Extreme comp! Aiming for 1st place!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Couple of Riding pics!

Just looked through the last few postings and realised that i havent put many photos on recently!! A couple of little shots from this year.

Love this pic just for the snow coming off my feet

Thanks RIP Curl for the new flash gear!

Double? triple? Pillow type line to win round 3 of Park 9

Little seatbelt grab to celebrate stopping a nice double

No speed, No room, still stomped! 

Conditions are shit but fun to be had!

Safe trick when you cant see whats on the other side!!

Nice little double to win round 8 of the park 9 comp

Olympus! Valley of the Gods and Hell for the cars!

The drive up to Mount Olympus could have gone better. I drove straight into a nice big rock on the track and put a hole in our 3 week old Subaru! The next couple of days involved trying to get the car back to Christchurch and finding out how to fix "The Hulk". This did not affect the riding and fun we had infact i think we had a couple of extra beers to celebrate not having to drive home!!
After a very light sprinkle in the mountains and lots of sunshine we had a couple of very very good days up at Olympus! The lookers left section of Mount Olympus called "Little Alaska" is holding its snow very well and not getting tracked out too much, well hadn't until a few of the boys and girls from the heli challenge turned up on tuesday and im sure since have copied and stolen many of the lines i was looking at. I hope they all enjoyed themselves and i will be meeting back up with Will and a couple of others over in Temple next weekend. Even though the snow level is high the conditions are a lot of fun!

View of the back of Little Alaska!

Infact the sun was shinning so nice that we decided to have a little nude sunbathing and serach for the nearest pub.

Pubs that way boys!

Dan making his drop on the second attempt! 1st drop sent him double front flipping over the rocks!

Having a beer at the top whilst having a read

Rossignol! What more can i say! Xavier De Le Rue rides them, Dan Bond rides them, Maybe i will eventually also! 

"Clear that rock and you should be good" - Daniel Bond

This weekend im hopefully off up to Hanmer and Lyford which should be fun! Just want to wish Austin "Texas" Schneider, Toff LeArtiste and Ted Davenport all a very quick recovery! Lets go big but lets stay safe!

Wind in the mountains and snow on the flats!

The week started off looking very promising with a lot of snow forecast to come in over the mountains but as always the reports went from 30cm down to about 5cm and we ended up with a soft sprinkle to just help cover up the hard snow underneath. The weekend consisted or a friday at Porters with a few tight shoots and a couple of nice NZ classic rock drops to ice landings. Saturday we decided to head out a bit further and go to Mount Olympus and on the 1st run Austin hit a wind lip and chipped his knee cap! Being the true friend and rider he is he made us carry on the day whilst he stayed in the hut watching us do a few lines. In honor of him we decided to hike to the top of the biggest peak and dropped some super sick lines. All in all Olympus looks to be a great ski area and one im looking forward to heading back to very soon and am very happy that they are in the process of planning a big mountain competition to be held there in the next year or 2.
Sunday we decided even though the weather had come in and the winds had picked up that we should go for a ride to Craigieburn and check it out. I have heard so much about this resort and it lived up to its name even in the strong winds and flat light we still managed to find some wicked lines inbetween the 30min stops in the cabin to warm up and wait for a patch of clear sky.

Dan waiting for the next patch of clear sky

The last couple of days we have been snowed in in Christchurch and so have decided to write up the CUSSC (Canterbury Uni Snowsports Club) game of G.N.A.R. It is be based on the same G.N.A.R rules that Square Valley use with a few changes (eg. Talking out Liv Winn for lunch at a chippy) and adding a few extra to help make it more relative to the students of Canterbury of which i am now an honorary rider for, plus the addition of the new internet based craze of planking. The game can obviously be played at all times of everyday but we will hold a special weekend up at Temple Basin specific for the game of G.N.A.R.

A naked plank at the top of a peak earns you 5000points

The idea was to head up to Mount Lyford today but with the 250 people trapped up at the resort and the roads closed off due to high winds and avalanche warnings we have decided to chill and catch up on some good old blogging instead. New blog after the weekend with hopefully some powder ripping shots.

Friday at Porters then a weekend at Temple!

We headed up to Porters on friday for a little warm up before a big weekend at Temple Basin.
I was not sure what to expect with the NZ snow and resorts but I must admit it lived up to expectations.

last run of the weekend, was one of my best runs for a couple of years

Temple Basin can only be described as an outback retreat for the snow crazy, mountain loving, hiking mad skiers and boarders of New Zealand which a handful of us European riders such as myself and Michael "The Plug" Butler are now enjoying. With a hike of around an hour from the car park to the cabin only the keen go and only the keen make the most of the terrain available.

At the top of a peak before an amazing powder run

Saturday was a fun day with a nice few runs, getting used to using the nutcracker lifts and getting the legs back for an NZ season of hiking. 

Dan at the back of the hike after his little drinking incident the night before!!

Dan + Alcohol = ..........

Sunday was a beautiful day full of blue skies, lovely soft snow on the shaded side of the mountain and a hangover which took 3 hikes to clear up!! Even though dan came out with a black eye i still feel that the biggest error of the weekend was the fact that we left the other lens for the camera in Christchurch so Plug could not show off his camera skills and we could not get the picture of me riding with a rabbit running 10m infront of me (true feeling of back country riding). 

Started well

Didnt go so well from this point!!!

All in all a great weekend riding with some new guys such a Michael"Plug"Butler, Austin Schneider and as always Dan"Ripper"Bond. Thanks to all and hopefully more snow on the way and a trip to Craigieburn next weekend.

Sweden done!! NZ to come!!!

The Sweden trip was a very good experience and not something i will forget soon for multiple reasons. 1st of all the fun of the travels and the joy of riding in new resorts and countries. I very much enjoyed the change of environment with the lack of darkness and the temperate change compared to what we suffered for most of the European winter. The competition was fun but unfortunately I was not on top form (far from it) and had a big fall losing my headcam and basically just walking away with my head between my legs. Nevertheless this meant we (Chris Southwell and I) could concentrate on the photo shoots we had planned in our 10 day visit to the Arctic Circle. We managed to get a few nice shots but with the poor weather conditions and lack of snow we were not spoilt for choice. We did manage to find a couple of nice jib areas and the drop off the side of the train tracks.

NZ!!
Landing in christchurch was one of the greatest moments of the last few years, not just because I was in an amazing place i have wanted to come to for years and not just because i was catching up with a very good friend (Dan) but more because i had been stuck on a bloody plane without water or food for 2 days and would prey to tell everyone that when flying with Air Asia (already not recommended) that you prepare lots of sandwiches etc and bring money that they will accept!!!
The 1st thing we did before even bringing my bags to my new cupboard/bedroom for the foreseeable future was to go straight to the Chill pass office and get my lift pass for the club fields around Christchurch.
So I had made it to NZ, i had my pass, the next most important thing before dropping off the new bags was beer! Top 3 tasks complete and now time to see my new humble abode.
Today i awake at a surprisingly normal hour after my long journey and am now waiting to taste my 1st experience of what NZ has to offer me in the snow department. We are off to Porters today for the opening and then heading up to Temple Basin for the remainder of the weekend! Hopefully some nice photos and more to follow............

RIP CURL and Rikgransen here we come!

So the season has basically ended and even though we have not had a very good season snow wise it has been a successful season for myself with getting into the FWQ tour and sorting out a new sponsor with RIP CURL.

It is time to close the resort down and get out! Im off to the Arctic Circle for a competition in Riksgransen and a big photo shoot with Chris Southwell. We are being covered by Fall Line Magazine and are hoping to get a lot of coverage in the UK.

After the hopeful very successful trip in to the Arctic Circle i will be taking a nice week in the south of France with the family before heading out to NZ! I bought my CHILL pass yesterday which covers me for 11 small ski areas in the South Island in the Christchurch region. Looking forward to riding with Daniel Bond again and am very confident we can get some good training in for the next N hemp season.

SNOW!

The lack of snow over the past few weeks has meant the camera has stayed in and the piste has been riden a lot. A few of the Verbier team went over to St.Moritz for the FWQ and the snow was much better but still not amazing over there! It was my 1st competition against Chris Southwell (ranked No2 in UK). It was a good day with good conditions and a lot of top riders. Verbier on a whole did well with a couple of the girls finishing quite high and the Verbier snowboarders (Christoffer, Mike, Dan, Chris and myself) finishing 5th, 6th, 9th, 14th and a poor 23rd by Chris Southwell.

I tested out a new FURLAN Snowboard last weekend and found myself very much enjoying it!
If you see them about give them a try!
Have a look at the website www.furlansnowboard.com
Dont judge them by there website!
The Boards are lovely!

Next update either after the Italy comp or when we get snow!!

Start of the 10/11 winter season!

The start to the season has been good so far and even though the snow has not been amazing the whole time we have managed to get some nice lines and drops in even with the holiday crowd. 

The same drop can be extended and you can go off the rock band before (or at least i thought so).

The start of the season has been a sunny one!

The clouds have been coming in though and my trademark pencil tweak has been coming out

The purchase of my new camera lens was a big day and we put the zoom into full use for Dan's line

However we soon realised the zoom can be to much sometimes and you don't get the full image

I know i don't have the grab in the photo but i still like it

Oh and this is the difference between a so called Pro snowboarder (Chris Southwell) and someone out to have fun! Not exactly the same take off point.....

Above - Me 

          Below - Pro?

Lets finish off with a little thanks to Verbier and Allian!