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............