Jonesieblog

I’ve just survived my first day back at school after returning from Canada at the weekend - no mean feat given the mess that my body-clock is in.

Whistler and Blackcomb are awesome - masses of fresh snow, and every kind of terrain, from wide open pisted cruisers to bowls full of untracked powder to groovy gladed runs though the trees that held onto their fresh snow for the whole fortnight.

The resort village was great too - loads of shopping, drinking and eating opportunities, all offered up by genuinely friendly staff (many of them aussies!).

Here are a few photos, which of course fail to capture the experience!

Stumble it!

On Tuesday Monday we went to the Lecht. The snow was pretty slushy, but we had a laugh building a tiny kicker. Craig and Samantha had a go at snowboarding too - both naturals!

Stumble it!

My son and I are sitting in Cafe Bleu enjoying the free hotspot and waiting for Ellis Brigham to open so we can get some essentials for our day’s boarding.  The weather is a bit grey but the road to the Lecht is open!  Can’t wait!

Stumble it!

The boys having fun at Xscape last Friday.

I know it’s pretty poor quality. I keep trying to do some decent filming or photography whilst I’m boarding, but I just can’t seem to keep still long enough. Once I’m on the snow, boarding always seems to be a better option than standing still recording someone else doing it

Indoor snow is all well and good, but I can’t wait to get back on the real stuff - here’s a bit of footage from Rendl, by St Anton last April. Now that’s more like it!  If you look carefully you can see Fergus cut across my fresh tracks.  Ahhhh fresh tracks.

Stumble it!

I switched my wee voting plugin yesterday to ask what you like doing most in the snow.

I should say before a ski vs snowboard flame war erupts that I do both, and love doing both.  I prefer snowboarding, in fact I would describe myself as a snowboarder that also sometimes skis, but I’d like to think that the bad old days of animosity between skiers and snowboarders are over.  We’re all just riders now aren’t we?  In these days of twin-tip skis in the park and hard-boot snowboarders blasting down slalom courses the old division makes no sense.

Stumble it!