Summer shredding in Scotland!

Cairngorm last week… Or is it Tahoe?! Photo: Fiona Reid

With many ski resorts across North America and Europe having long since closed their lifts for the winter season, incredibly, winter sports in Scotland were still in full flow right up to the end of May!

This is incredible for several reasons…

Firstly, it’s nearly June! It’s actually not unusual for Scotland’s resorts to have a good end to the season, but by the end of May it’s normally heather rather than snow that dominates the landscape. After all, the peak of CairnGorm is only 1245m which is considerably lower than the base of most resorts in Europe and North America, and the snow has long since disappeared from the lower slopes there.

Fresh tracks at Cairngorm on 20th May!

It could normally be argued that Scotland’s summer temperatures aren’t a patch on those on the continent and across the pond, but with the heat wave that we’re experiencing at the moment, temperatures have been higher than the likes of Mallorca, let alone the Alps!

What’s even more remarkable is that the Scottish ski areas had had a particularly bad season until the end, and by early April the snow had all but disappeared from most of the slopes. However, thanks to a ‘spring’ which saw temperatures swing from the mid 20s to zero in a couple of days and stay that way for longer than was bearable for most of the country’s inhabitants, the slopes were replenished with more snow than they’d had all season.

View of CairnGorm from Loch Morlich

The resulting conditions for May in Cairngorm were reminiscent of spring in Tahoe, California. Sadly, the exceptionally high temperatures have finally taken their toll on the slopes and Cairngorm finally closed for the season on Saturday (26^th May!) but before the temperatures soared, pow was plentiful.

Cairngorm on 28th May, just two days after closing day!

In just a matter of days, it’s become a very different scene on the slopes of Cairngorm and the snow has practically disappeared. Conditions are fantastic for hiking and mountain biking though and you won’t find too many Scots begrudging the warm weather. After all, it’s not often Scotland gets to bask in this kind of heat for a prolonged period!

The Snowboard Test 2012

Last week I was out in Kaunertal, Austria for the annual Snowboard Test, and one final shred of the season.

The event which is run by industry stalwart and editor of The Reason magazine, Ian Sansom, brings together snowboarding brands, shops, media and pro riders to test ride and review next season’s hardware before it hits the shops for next season. As well as being an important industry event, it also provides the perfect opportunity for everyone in the UK snowboarding scene to catch up, and is widely regarded as being one of the best weeks of the season.

Conditions this year were fantastic with loads of fresh snow and sunshine – pretty incredible for early May!

If you’d like to find out a bit more about what went on, here’s a review that I wrote for Snowboarding Deals UK…

‘The Snowboard Test 2012′

There are also more photos on the Riding Switch Facebook page, and I’ll be doing reviews of next season’s kit for Snowboarding Deals UK over the coming months. Roll on winter 2012/13!

Another twist in the tail…

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Well, the storm that was forecast to hit Colorado this weekend (see previous blog post) certainly didn’t disappoint! Just when it looked like the fat lady in the sky was about to sing, she started puking pow!

Breckenridge received 8 inches of snow in 24 hours, and, in an ironic twist that would make Ms Morissette wail, Aspen got 13 inches, just in time for its closing day! Still, it must have been a pretty epic closing day!

...to this. In a couple of days!

These pictures show just what a difference a couple of days have made, providing yet another twist in the tale of the tail, of this crazy season!

Breckenridge is open until the end of the month, so there’s still time to enjoy its revitalised slopes…

Thanks again to Pip from Powderbeds.com for the pre-storm photo. Typically she had left before the arrival of the fresh snow, so the second picture is courtesy of the lucky people at Aspen Snowmass.

Winter 2011/12: a season of surprises and mixed fortunes

Fresh snow in Argentière on Wednesday

Winter 2011/12 really has been a season of surprises and mixed fortunes. In Europe, it started with a worrying lack of snow, but within a matter of days had gone from one extreme to another, leading to lock down in certain resorts, and some of the best snow records in recent years. Then early March saw the premature onset of spring, which brought temperatures more commonly associated with summer. Fortunately the fantastic base that had accumulated earlier in the season managed to withstand the prolonged period of high temperatures and minimal snow, but by early April it was beginning to look as though the end might be nigh.

However, in keeping with the twists and turns of the season, this week has seen winter return to the Alps, replenishing the pistes in certain resorts with more than 20cm of snow, and ensuring that the season definitely isn’t over yet!

A very bare looking Aspen Highlands earlier this week

Unfortunately it isn’t quite the same story over in parts of the US, where they’ve had a pretty dismal season. In Colorado, spring has well and truly set in, and without a substantial base to withstand the high temperatures, the snow has started to retreat rapidly. Pip Holmes from Powderbeds.com has been out in Colorado for the past week and sent these pictures, which show the extent of the thaw. Unsurprisingly Aspen have announced that they’ve decided to close Aspen Highlands this Sunday, well before its scheduled closing date.

It’s a completely different story up in Canada though, where it’s been dumping all season. In Whistler they’ve had an incredible 13.4m of snow so far, and the end still seems a long way off. It’s also a similar story in Banff and Lake Louise where they’re pretty close to beating their annual snowfall record.

Breckenridge on Thursday

It’s even been snowing again here in Scotland, just days after we were basking in some of the hottest March temperatures on record. Sadly it’s been too little too late to make much impact on the ski areas, in what has been a disappointing season compared to the past couple of years. Cairngorm is hanging in there (they had 3cm on Thursday night), but there’s very limited terrain open.

So, conditions couldn’t be more different across the board as winter draws to a close (or doesn’t, as the case may be!), but if the earlier part of the season is anything to go by, anything could still happen. There’s even a storm forecast to hit Colorado today, which could bring a massive dump of snow! As good ol’ Lenny once sang, “It ain’t over (baby) ‘til it’s over…”.

Whatever conditions winter 11/12 has brought, one thing’s for sure: it’s definitely been a season to remember!

What have been your highlights (or lowlights) of the season? Leave a comment below… I’d love to hear from you!

The Nike Chosen Sessions: a marketing triumph

Snowboarding is constantly evolving. Be it the equipment, the tricks or the arenas in which the tricks are performed, it’s a sport that can never be accused of being dull.

Last week Nike Snowboarding unveiled a revolutionary new terrain park in Silvretta Montafon for the latest Nike Chosen Sessions. A group of 12 European amateur riders, selected from a round of national competitions, plus a panel of Nike sponsored pros (including Jamie Nicholls, Danny Kass and Halldor Helgason) , travelled to the Austrian resort to hit up the epic park which had been specially built for the occasion.

Among its many unique features were a skate inspired bowl, a scaffolding feature and a series of massive kickers arranged around a 70m Nike swoosh.

The ams competed in three different sessions: Best Line, The Bowl and Big Air, and the public were then invited vote for the best. UK rider Andy Nudds narrowly missed out on getting through to the final round where the top three ams (as voted by the public) were judged by the panel of pros to decide who would be ‘chosen’. The winner was eventually announced as Swiss rider, Markus Mathis who will now spend the next year living the life of a Nike pro rider.

Running alongside the best am competition was another for the best film crew. The winner of this is still to be announced, but there is some pretty awesome footage of the event out there.

As always, the Nike marketing machine was cranked up to full. Not only has the event generated a massive amount of publicity, but they’ve also acquired themselves a new team member, and a wealth of sweet, swoosh-ridden, promo material. Good work Nike!

What did you think of the Nike Chosen Sessions? Post a comment below to share your views…

Winter X Games Europe 2012: Tignes host another Xcellent event

The third Winter X Games Europe in Tignes has just come to an end and once again proved itself to be just as exciting an event as its North American progenitor.

Shaun White mid-flight

I was fortunate enough to be in Tignes for the first European X Games in 2010, and even in that first year it was world class event. I was working for the resort that season and it was evident that they were taking their task of recreating this massive competition in Europe very seriously. The event staff had been sent over to the Aspen for the US contest to see how it was run, and the park shapers and maintenance staff were trained by the guys who shape the park over there. They even brought the Zaugg Pipe Monster over from the US in order to replicate Aspen’s massive X Games superpipe.

Kelly Clark winning gold in the superpipe

Thanks to their thorough preparation and dedication, the event was a triumph. So much so that that they earned themselves the gig for the subsequent two years, and the Winter X Games Europe are now as synonymous with Tignes as the X Games are with Aspen.

This year’s event was arguably the best yet with incredible performances in both the superpipe and slopestyle. The bar was also raised by Shaun White who made his first appearance at the X Games Europe, and dominated both events. The women’s snowboard superpipe was won by the indomitable Kelly Clark who landed a massive frontside 1080 and secured her 17^th consecutive win. Fellow American, Jamie Anderson clinched her 5^th X Games gold medal in the women’s snowboard slopestyle with an incredible score of 98.

The UK also had its best ever representation with three of our world class snowboarders competing in the finals. Former X Games champion, Jenny Jones came 7^th overall in the women’s snowboard slopestyle, with rising star Aimee Fuller coming just behind her in 9^th. Our main man Jamie Nicholls put down his best ever run to take 8^th place in the men’s snowboard slopestyle, which is a seriously good result considering he was competing against the likes of Shaun White and Mark McMorris! But Britain’s best result came from skier James “Woodsy” Woods who came fourth in the men’s ski slopestyle.

Jamie Nicholls practicing ahead of his fantastic performance in the slopestyle

Tignes have made the Winter X Games Europe as big an event as its American counterpart, and the only down side to this is that it now attracts their best competitors, who dominated the medals tables this year. Europe has some very strong contenders though, and with a good number of them coming from our very own shores, it’s a very exciting time for British freestyle snowsports.

Did you catch any of the X Games in Tignes? What was the highlight for you? Leave a comment below…

Guest blog post for PowderBeds.com

Last week I spent an amazing four days in St Gervais and was asked by PowderBeds.com to write a guest post for their website. Follow the link below to read the post which gives the lowdown on the resort and surrounding areas, Les Contamines and Chamonix, as well as current conditions out there…

Guest blog post for PowderBeds.com: Four Days In St Gervais

And while you’re there, why not grab yourself an amazing late season deal on ski accommodation? I can highly recommend Chalet la Charme!

Check out the Riding Switch Facebook Page for more photos of the trip…