Song for Sunday

Here's a nifty number from French MC Hocus Pocus featuring the Procussions who have sadly now split up. They've left a pretty sweet catalogue behind them especially when collaborating with Hocus Pocus. Dig it

April Highs and Snows

Apologies for my complete inability to post anything for over a month. As I sit here now I can't really think of an excuse other than that I've been crazy busy. Days turned into weeks as I moved non-stop from shred to work to bed with the occassional piss-up along the way. Recently I noticed how long it's been as Duthie churned out the posts and so I figured I'd sort out an update. So here goes...

When I last blogged, my family were about to arrive. They duly did, and an epic 10 days was had with plenty of fine dining, rediscovering the joys of tourism and hitting the slopes almost every day. It was a nice easy week that allowed me to get back into riding since my shoulder had healed-up. My family left and it was time to get back to work and less full days of riding.

I've decided that rather than write an endless post documenting everything I've done this month it would make more sense to do a primary-school book style 'picture blog' with a super-simple accompanying storyline. Don't worry you will not be hearing anything about 'Spot', or about seeing him run either for that matter.

Are you sitting comfortably?

Since my last post...

I went to Calgary

I did some ice-fishing

I got a new snowboard (stoked)

It snowed (lots)

It got really hot for a week...

and just recently, when it looked like the snow was on its way out, it snowed crap loads again! I had some wicked untracked chute lines in Sunshine's Delirium Dive only a few days ago! The weather has been crappy the last couple of days but I have my sights set on the park for the next 3 weeks. Hopefully there will be plenty of sun.

Lake Louise closes this weekend and until they do they have Canada's version of the airbag set up under their XL kicker in the park. The design is even better as it is set up on the down of the landing and thus allows riders to stomp tricks like real and even ride them out if they can control the board down the slidy plastic coating. Heading there twice this week to try some new stuff so I'm super-excited about that. Here's a video of the Katal landing pad to give you an idea

Katal Innovations - The Landing Pad from NuuLife Cinema on Vimeo.

I hope this post gave you a reasonable idea of what I've been up to recently. As the season winds down over the next month I'll have plenty more to show you. As riders all over the northern hemisphere pack up their boards the season at Sunshine rages on. It has really made me understand why so many people come back to this place year after year. The season is a good month longer than anywhere else and, once the snow is gone, there is plenty of kick-ass stuff to do. I may be getting closer to my 2-month riding hiatus, but I'm not dreading it at all.

I'll sign-off for now, but to keep you entertained here's a video of me making a hash of taking freestyle to the backcountry in the Lake Louise powder bowls. 3 hours of hiking in the baking heat and next to nothing to show in terms of landed tricks. It was a good test for my newly-recovered shoulder though.

Till next time Unbezzers!

AG

Back Bowl Bails from Ally Gray on Vimeo.

Duthie's Diaries: It's all over now, baby blue

Even when blessed with great conditions, the Meribel season seemed to end with a fizz rather than a bang. With over a week left, half the lifts were already closed, and the Moonpark had been demolished for weeks. It was all pretty depressing, so we headed over to Val Thorens where they were still in full swing. A long-overdue trip to their park was the plan: I had got word early on that it was the best in the Three Valleys, with a budget reportedly five times as big as Meribel's. The only problem is that it's not very handy for Meribel residents to get to, whereas the Moonpark is only one chairlift away. After finally sussing it out, I really wished I'd made the trip earlier.

Val Thorens' park is well stocked for beginners, but the red and black lines are where it really earns its reputation. Each jump is better than the last, with mellow transitions and long, steep landings. Add to that the column, hip, wallride and barrel tap features down the bottom, and a flawless rainbow and S-rails up top, and you've got all you could ever ask of a park. On only the second lap, the excitement of it all got the better of me:

sheeeeit clarence....

After a quick dust-off, it was back to the kicker line for a few laps. The next day was the same, and yeilded some of the best times I've ever had on a board. A lot of this is down to just how much better the features are, but the biggest difference was the atmosphere. The riders in the Val Thorens park weren't there to pose, and just about everyone was stepping up their game. Much like the Meribel park, skiers dominate, and only one boarder was joining them on the black line. Still, he made up for the rest of us with countless variations of 7s, each smoother than the last. The flow worked better too: the Moonpark was plagued with ESF instuctors and misguided parents leading their barely-snowploughing kids over the knuckles and down the landings, but there was none of that here. The last day's blizzard with zero vis was devastating; it's a truly awesome park, surely among the best in Europe.

having too good a time to worry about shots, but Kyla grabbed this from beside the park. back5 stale over the red

But that was that: it was back over to the Brides bubble for one final descent. The last day's fresh was like a kick in the teeth, especially once the vis had improved, but generally we were ok with how we'd finished the season. Still, it's hard not to think about Val Thorens, open til 9th May with plenty of snow, and that park.

From now til next season, Brides-les-Bains is the go-to town for French salad-dodgers looking to slim down with the help of the local spa pools and health workshops. Ski rental stores are now summer fashion outlets catering for the rotund, and walking around town is comparable to being on the spaceship from Wall-E. The town may have changed drastically, but it's as hospitable and friendly as it was all winter. We may have landed in Brides because it was the only place we could afford, but it turned out to be just what we wanted. We can't recommend it highly enough.

The Three Valleys as a whole is an incredible range, but there's no escaping the big let-down of the season. Sorry to go on about it, but it's a thorn in my side. It's no surprise that the Meribel park was never firing when the overwhelming majority of its seasonaires have no real interest in riding, even when presented with so much amazing terrain. Everyone's entitled to their own way of enjoying their season, and the party side of things should and will always be a part of it, but the balance isn't right in this resort.

The biggest surprise of the winter ended up being how much I missed the dry slope sessions back home. At the mat you're guaranted to ride with folk who are truly stoked on it, and don't take any part of it for granted. Just a glance at Will Nangle's stuff from Morzine and Mayerhofen shows that there's plenty of awe-inspiring progression happening on snow as well, but at the mat you'll find it in its purest form: just the other day Barry Parker and Kris Bell raised the bar yet again with this Garthdee box session, easily more impressive than anything I witnessed in Meribel. I'll be back to the mat soon, to ride with them and the others who, for me, have the right idea; more thrills, less Jack Wills. Can't wait.

That's all from Brides. It's been an awesome five months, with more highlights than I can list here. Thanks to all those who read Unbez over the winter. Thanks especially to Kyla, for everything. The last word must go out to the good people at Sire de Beaupre, to whom we are both eternally grateful. We'll miss you.

Duthie

Duthie's Diaries: Beep Day

up to no good from Andrew Duthie on Vimeo.

Cheers again to Ben and Coz for another awesome Tignes trip, this time featuring Nicol Paton. Got a good wee shred in with him before he and Ben headed off to Morzine for the Lowrider grom camp.

Back in Brides, the conditions have stayed as good as we could have hoped for. With the slopes getting quieter, and the park demolished, the Meribel season is almost over. Before it was too late, we had to tend to some unfinished business...

If you look at a 3 Valleys piste map, you'll see fifteen lifts ("beeps") marked with a special symbol. Ride all these beeps during your stay, and you get a certificate. It's a device aimed at getting holidaymakers to really appreciate the size of the place, as well as providing an incentive for complacent seasonnaires to explore. We had seen first-hand how it had inspired some to head out on a miserable afternoon, stinking hangover to boot, just to get to the far side of Les Menuires and tick another beep off the list before crawling back to bed. What intrigued Kyla and myself, though, was talk of people hitting all fifteen in a single day. Daunting but not impossible, the only way to reach the far-flung beeps would be to melt it down every run, from first lift to last. Last Saturday, the conditions were just right to have a crack at it....

8.25am: We're at the bubble in time for first uplift, but there's a problem. No-one is being let on while the lifties try and get it sorted. We don't have a lot of time to spare, so it's the last thing we need.

8.55: Finally, we get onto a bubble and make our way up the hill. Time will tell if the lost half-hour will make any difference.

9.30: The Roc De Fer, overlooking a bulletproof race piste, is the first chair of the day. Conditions are perfect, and we're both stoked to get going.

9.37: #1, the Olympic Express. 1 down, 14 to go. It's a good one to start with, seeing as the next one is 900 vertical metres down in St Martin de Belleville, and the run is a beaut. We're the first ones to ride it, joined only by a pistebasher finishing off the groom.

The count starts

After the depths of St Martin, next stop is the hights of Val Thorens. 70 minutes and 5 lifts later, and we're at #4, the Moraine. It's another wide, even piste, ripe for holding onto your hat and pointing it. The epic conditions mean that runs like this might help us make up the lost time.

11.48: #5, Peyron. Over in the 'fouth valley' of Orelle, the Peyron is maybe the most remote of all the beeps. Having only headed over here once before, we're stoked to be back. It's a definite upside of the whole plan.

A drawback, though, is that those other beeps aren't going to get themselves, and we don't have the time to hang around and enjoy more of Orelle. There's a lot of runs still to do, and most won't be as good as what the morning offered. It's back over into Val Thorens, and on to Les Menuires.

12.30: #6, Plan de l'Eau - Sure enough, we just rode down the 3 Valleys' shittest run to get to the 3 Valleys' shittest chairlift, only to do the same shitty run, but for longer. With the snow really starting to soften up, the back feet come out on the flat sections.

13.10: Masse 2 (#7), over the far side of Les Menuires. We're eating into the afternoon with less than half of the beeps covered, so we're not optimistic. Almost an hour later, we hit #8. With so much left to do, we lower our expectations.

14.33: Finally on the Pas du Lac bubble headed to Courcheval. 9 down, 6 to go. The danger now is that in our pursuit of the more remote beeps, we might miss the lifts back over. One eye on the clock from now on.

15.10: Chapelets (#11). Pointing it down every run was beginning to take its toll on the legs. At the start of the day chairlifts seemed to take forever, and we couldn't wait to get off them. Now, having just reached the furthest side of Courcheval by beating our way through choppy slush, they were over far too soon.

#12, and with only ten fingers I needed help with the count. Telling Kyla that Take That are shit did the trick.

16.04: with only 3 to go, we head back to Meribel on a lift we hadn't planned to be on. It was a low moment when we decided not to head down to get the one in La Tania, but we were out of time. The worst part was that, had we the 30 minutes that we'd lost at the start, we could have probably have made it. Now, though, it's anyone's guess as to whether we can get the last remaining beeps in Meribel.

16.43: Dent de Bourgin (#14). With seven minutes to spare, we make it to the last beep of the day. Having ticked off the Golf down in Meribel Village, it was two tense will-we-won't-we chairlifts before we reached the Dent, but we got there. By the time we reached the top the hill was all but deserted, and there was nothing for it but to take an easy cruise down the home run under the motionless lifts.

now don't be sad, cos 14 out of 15 ain't bad

Last shredder standing; Kyla heads home

17.15: On the bubble back to Brides, exhausted and a bit bewildered. After 31 lifts and 40-odd runs, it turned out to have been decided in the first half-hour. We may have failed, but still we're confident that we'd have made it to la Tania had it not been for the delay. For us, that was a good enough reason to celebrate.

Even if we hadn't come as close, it wouldn't have mattered. The day was a stormer, up there with our favourites of the season. Sometimes all you need is an old-fashioned burn around to have a good time. 3 days left before the bubble closes, stay tuned for one last post.

Duthie

The full shebbang. Orange = our lifts, purple = our runs, red = what we missed, yellow = detour.

Wills Westbeach Wednesday

The Westbeach European Airtimes - Episode 3 from will nangle on Vimeo.

Duthie's Diaries: Good things come

An uncharactaristically upbeat post this time around. Anyone who's been following the weather in the Alps will already know why. The rest of you, read on....

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, it was hard to get excited about the 3 valleys recently. Even with my newfound drive to make the most of the time that's left, the continuing hot spell was a problem, and from 10am onwards the whole area was a sun-baked slushfest. Not too different from what you'd expect for the time of year, and normally we'd have welcomed it without fuss. The only problem was the weeks of thaw that preceded it and left the mountain struggling to cope. Park sessions, usually the standard for this part of the season, have been few and far between; slow snow meant that the black jumps were fenced off, and even the last red hit was often off-limits due to rocks poking through the landing.

The Avalon boardshop got enough of the slush down to put on a rail jam in Meribel, and dozens of riders headed down to have a go at the flat-down box. Despite a fairly sketchy drop-in, the setup was mellow enough to give less experienced riders the chance to compete while still allowing the seasoned shralpers to step it up. Entrants ranged from the bearded French superstar of the Moonpark to an eight-year old girl with a fine line in backside boardslides. It was a good event all round, despite only offering enough time for three hits before we had to leg it to the Brides bubble.

hit #3: salvaging a failed switch back 1 on with a front board

Despite the conditions, I had reason to hold out hope for an improvement. I've been on the mountains at Easter time for the last twelve years, and during that time a pattern has emerged: odd years bad, even years good. Whether it was Cairngorms in 1998 and 2000, or Tignes in '02 and '04, or the freakish out-of-nowhere dumps of Courmayeur and Saalbach that followed, I always seemed to be in the right place at the right time (every second year, at least. The less said about 'gorms '99, Risoul '05 and the rest, the better).

Sure enough, last weekend the temperature plummeted, and it was snowing for only the second time in over six weeks. Not just snowing, but dumping like it hadn't for months. Before long the pistes were covered in fresh, and the snow line was right back down to Les Allues.

Kyla gets over-excited at the unfamiliar sight of falling snow

The next few days passed in a whirlwind of fresh tracks and new discoveries. Having had only a tiny taste of riding powder before the heat wave, Kyla was stoked to try some more. By the end of the first day we had claimed plenty of virgin lines, with the overnight dumps giving us the chance to do it all again the next day. And the next....

Nae vis? Nae bother.

Yesterday was the best day yet, maybe even the finest of the season. Blue skies, sun, cool breeze and at least a foot of fresh, fluffy pow on-piste as well as off. It's on days like yesterday that the Three Valleys stands up to any other resort. The terrain is ridiculous in its quantity, variety and ease of access. All the steep, deep, trees, hits, drops and gullys you could ask for, and most of it right off a lift. These last few days, I wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere else.

Fellow Brides resident Alex Young switches it up

Today the temperature shot up about 17 degrees, and the slush is back. Even so, to get a few more days of pow has made all the difference to our season. Just got back from another trip to Tignes, more on that later this week.

Duthie

Song for Sunday

Sketchy Saturday

Sketchy Saturday

Song for Sunday

So this is a bit late but these guys are a sick little treat for your ears! Check out their myspace, The XX.

AG in AB

OF INJURIES AND CRAIG

The past month in Banff has been eventful to say the least. Only a chronological approach will allow the story of March to make any sense at all. Wind the clock back around 2 weeks and position yourself mid-afternoon beside the first medium kicker in the Sunshine Village park. Who's that skier hammering down the run-in without the slightest sign of a speed check? He's going to go big whoever he is! It's a backflip attempt! Is it a single? Is it a double? Who knows? The only obvious fact is that he's in bad shape after hitting the ground. The crowd of Sunshine instructors rushing to attention suggests he is one of them. Why it's none other than Aberdeen University's Alumni legend Sam 'you're making a scene' Cowie, and he's fucked himself!


Continuing the relationship between those named Sam and horrific season-ending injuries, Cowie went and broke his femur. Clean in half in fact. He broke it so cleanly that they pinned it in Calgary and he'll be walking in 4 to 6 weeks. Regardless of that he'll be heading home to Scotland at the beginning of April so it's curtains for 09/10 for Sam. Wherever you are shredding, spare a thought for the boy who's having to sit in his Banff apartment, with his arse of a Landlord telling him to cleanup despite his obvious problems with movement, for the rest of the month. If one thing is to be learned from his fall it would be that you should never, no matter how ballsy you feel, go straight for a big trick without speed checking a kicker. Remember that and your major bones should hopefully stay intact.

The lengthy description of Sam's fall was unnecessary as there is a video of it in all its glory. Watch and be glad it wasn't you!

Moving swiftly on... before Sam could even get back from hospital in Calgary I decided he could use some company in his recovery so I went and separated my shoulder. After a morning of sweet fun in the park working on a bunch of new rail tricks and always hitting the first kicker switch to improve my cabs I was on a high. All that went out the window the second a massive error resulted in a toe-edge catch at the lip of the kicker. I tucked and flipped to save my face and came down on my shoulder. After riding for an hour or so more I figured a trip to the doctor may be in order. Most of my work colleagues thought it was dislocated which to my relief it wasn't. I paid a measly $95 for an appointment and a sling rather than the $1000 it would've cost for X-RAYS if it had been any worse. 2 weeks later I'm feeling nearly fine, just in time for the family coming out this weekend. Pretty stoked about how that one worked out, will have to make sure I refrain from any more mistakes like that this season!

Rehab. Check the bruising on Sam's left leg!

Typically Mother Nature decided last week would be the perfect time to end Banff's 2 month snow-drought. Not much to report on the riding front from me for obvious reasons. However if you bump into Craig Donald any time soon he can fill you in. Craig was out for 10 days starting around about when I binned myself. We didn't shred together but we got a few good nights out and some serial chillin' in the playboy mansion-esque grotto-style hot pool at the Fox suites where he was staying. Cheers Craig!!

Me and Craig on a snowy Banff Ave.

That's the story of March so far. Still to come, a visit from my whole family, Sam's family and a handful of other noteworthy shredders and piss-artists. Should be a belter! Plus I get back on my board after nearly 20 days of annoying recovery time. As promised here's an edit of when I went out to kicking horse in early march with a great crew of riders and skiers (Sunshine park action to come when I stop hitting the ground with my body and start hitting it with my board).

WHAT'S GOLDEN? from Ally Gray on Vimeo.

AG

Duthie's Diaries: Gettin' sick. Not like that.

After the good times riding powder in Tignes, I was hoping for more of the same back in the Three Valleys. There hadn't been any dump to speak of since Hamish left back in early February, and we were due. There had indeed been a decent fall the day I got back, but all it did was go some way to repairing the damage of the previous days' rain. Still, there were runs to be had: a short hike up above Courcheval led to two barely-touched gullys of deep, lightly crusty powder. After an afternoon of fresh tracks in the sun, I couldn't wait for the next dump.

before....

....after

And I'm still waiting. In fact, since that day, there's not been as much as a dusting anywhere in the Three Valleys. The snow cannons barely have an impact against all the traffic on the hill, and the scraped slopes are showing the strain. At their best, the runs are similar in quality to the Braehead snowdome. At their worst, they are more like the Braehead ice rink. The scenic shred down to les Allues is no longer an option, unless you like walking through mud. Even the path to la Raffort is out of the question, so there's no way to miss out any of the return gondola.

It's got to the point where the 2 whole centimetres forecasted for Thursday will feel like Christmas come early. If it comes, that is, and if I'm ready to ride it. Since Saturday I've been confined to my pit, spending the days guzzling cold remedies and watching Catholic scandal on CNN. All the while, I've been dwelling on the days last week where, citing the poor conditions, we didn't head up til the afternoon, or headed home early.

the gondola station: a sorry sight since mid-February

Missing the last few days has given me some much needed perspective, a kick up the arse if you like. We may only have a month or so before the powers that be close the Brides gondola, and I'm determined to get as much out of that time as possible. Every day on the hill, even those spent dodging rocks in flat light, is another day to look back on when we're forced to hang up our boards for good. Whether it's due to climate change or bad knees, that day is coming for all of us. Until it does, let's get out there and ride.

Pretty sure my phlemy presence is putting most of the people in this restaurant off their dinner, so I'll sign off for now.

Duthie

Song for Sunday

Epic Norsk band, Check out Ungdomskulen! Their sound is pretty hard rock with a twang of funk.

Sketchy Saturday

sunday Song

sketchy Saturday

Duthie's Diaries: Back to the well

thumbs-up moments from Andrew Duthie on Vimeo.

While the snowfall records at Scottish resorts continue to tumble, out in Brides it's been nothing but thaw and rain. Even in the heights of Val Thorens, it's resembling late April at the 'gorms. High time, then, for a change of scenery....

Ever since I spent a season there in 2004, Tignes has always been, for me, the resort to beat. The memories of the thankless dogsbody job fade away when reminded of the great people, great times and still the best all-round terrain I've come across. As soon as I heard that the Three Valley season pass gives you two complimentary days in Tignes (as well as another two in the Paradiski area), I knew it wouldn't be long before I made the pilgrimage. When a particularly bad run of weather at my end coincided with fellow season survivor Paddy Dunleavy's visit, I dropped everything and headed Killy-wards.

A train and two buses later, I met up with former Garthdee stalwart Ben Kinnear (regular Unbezzers will need no introdution) at his base in les Boisses, just below Tignes and right on the piste. It was snowing heavily as I arrived, in a way that the Three Valleys hadn't seen in weeks. After dinner and some unidentifiable booze (cooking brandy, we later discovered. Definite thumbs down) we headed out to Alpaka and the Loop to take in the sights of a knitting circle and a sponsored chest wax, respectively.

Calvados: non!

The next day on the hill passed by all too quickly, but we definitely made the most of the good conditions. Among the many highlights were the tree runs down to les Brevieres, discovering 'Coz's Corner' in Val Claret, lapping the Val Park rails, a pit-stop at the notorious Folie Douce and a hilarious, hair-raising adventure down the Lost Valley. With regards to the latter, thanks are due to the man in the flourescent pink ski jacket, whose many pratfalls on the perilous descent just about had the tears streaming from our eyes.

Corrine, Ben and Lucy negotiating the Lost Valley

Paddy arrived the next morning to blue skies and even more fresh powder. Sadly, it didn't last, and by the time we met Ben in the afternoon the visibility had become pretty poor. Lucklily, in Tignes there are always trees to explore, so we headed back down to les Boisses and les Brevieres. Before long we were finding lines that even the locals hadn't ventured down yet, complete with all the drops, pillows and jibs that anyone could ever want. It seemed we were finding new features on every run, and once again it was all over too soon. To anyone looking for the complete resort, offering the best in everything from park, powder, sidehits, glaciers and trees, Tignes is the number one choice. Hopefully I'll be back soon.

Corrine on home turf, les Boisses

Cheers to Ben and Corrine for putting me up, and to Paddy and the rest for a great couple of days' riding. A special thanks to 'Rachel' for the supreme effort after I missed my train. I owe you one....

Duthie

Wills Westbeach Wednesday

The Westbeach European Airtimes Episode 2 from will nangle.

Nicols catch of the month

Traditionally On the first of February is the opening day on many a Scottish Salmon river, some like the Tay choose to open on January 15th, some wont even open untill March with Beats further upstream sometimes not even kicking in untill May. Currently we are experiencing one of our coldest winters for as long as the younger generation can remember.

This can slow the prized spring Salmon down on its migration upstream, some will even stay out at sea until there is sufficient water flows and the temperatures are not to cold!!.

Present in every Salmon river at this time of year are Kelts, this is a Salmon that has already spawned and is slowly making its way back to sea, the majority of the cocks (males) die and most of the hens (females) survive. Kelts can give a short lived excitement as you feel the take and then you soon realise its not the real deal as they quickly come to the surface as they tend to be almost weightless as they havent eaten for literaly months, as salmon dont eat in fresh water.

Having spent a great fun day on the opening day on the river Ness with good friend and fisher Andrew Goodenough, I accounted for three kelts, Andrew had 1.

The Ness is not historically a famous spring salmon river it tends to have its most prolific runs in what we call the back end, from around the end of july untill mid October.

The famous Aberdeenshire Dee on the other hand is regarded by some as the best spring Salmon river in Europe.

After getting a phone call from my previous work (Orvis) I had been invited down to fish Banchory Lodge by Ghillie Walter raitt. It turned out x footballer Hendrik Larsson had paid for the beat for a week, however as soon as his wife got wind of this she booked a week in the seyshells as she did not want to hang around the icy banks of the river Dee all week. This was fine by us as we gladly fished Hendriks rods for him, myself and a couple of other guys fished all day but only caught a few kelts. A little disappointing but I knew i had a day on Crathes coming up where i was in with a good chance of a spring salmon.

Monday arrived the river had a days rest after no fishing on a Sunday, we met our very knowledegable Ghille Cleave then began Fishing, it was biterly cold in the morning even with thermals under the waders, this didnt stop us from casting and hoping for a fish!! just before lunchtime in the Boat pull I had a fish on, it put up an ok fight, however Cleave landed it and declared it a kelt, the rain came on so I joined the Ghillie and Andrew who was also fishing for a quick warm up cup of coffee, I had a feeling inside me this was going to be my day, so i quickly finished my coffee and began to fish again, with in minutes I had a strong take, the fish shot of straight away and went deep, the signs were looking good, I shouted on Andrew and Cleave within minutes they were both next to me as the fish continued to take line from my reel, Cleave was getting excited as Andrew kept on saying how big do you reckon it is, I was so nervous I was going to loose this fish as it is every Salmon fishers dream to get a spring salmon, especially a Febrauary Dee springer, 20 minutes later we landed the fish, an absolute stonker a sure springer, I was shaking, we weighed the fish which turned out to be 15lbs, took some scale samples for the scientests and returned him safely to the river. Just before lunch i landed another three kelts and had one at the end of the day, Andrew had one kelt. What a day to remember. something tells me its going to be a while before my rod is in action again as the ice floats down the river.

Nicol Paton.

AG in AB

AG in BC actually. For the last couple of days I've been at Kicking Horse mountain resort. I'll get to that in a bit. Firstly I have to mention what went down when the first member of the Aberdeen Snowsports Centre massif set to grace Banff this season came in the form of Louise Moig. Plenty of riding was done, followed by plenty of drinking. A sick day was had at Lake Louise just before Lou headed home. Plenty miles under the board, plus Louise had decided to snowboard that day because deep down she knows it's better.

Me and Lou atop Lake Louise

We had a dramatic incident involving a horse-drawn sleigh at the Fairmont Chateau up at the lake. Anyone who has spoken to Lou since she returned will probably have heard. After checking out the sculptures from the world ice-sculpting championships we were heading back to the bus when the sounds of hooves and sleigh-bells came from behind us. We turned to see the horses rampaging towards us with the driver screaming at them to stop. Thankfully we managed to dive out the way as the horses tore past, slung the sleigh into a snowdrift (nearly flipping it and throwing the drivers dog over a fence into a bush)and continued manically down the road and into the woods.

Horses: bloody mentalists

From one type of raging horse to another, across in BC. Kicking Horse mountain resort is quite simply the best hill I have ever been to. I have never seen a resort with as high a quality of snow and terrain coupled with hardly any crowds. It hasn't snowed there for ages but it was still epic. The minute I hear of a dump there I'll be heading straight back.

I was there for a couple days with a group of lads. Six in total, all sick riders and hungry for big mountain lines. One of the boys parents have an apartment at the resort complete with BBQ and Jacuzzi on the balcony so the stage was set for much manly activity. Two sweet days riding and a massive piss-up were had before I had to head back to Banff for work. The rest of them are staying out there for the week. I am jealous to say the least. Plenty of footage was taken however I can't get most of it till the guys get back to Banff. I'll get an edit up here once I get my hands on it. For now check out a couple of vids I dug up on YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNh7z8B5GX0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bB8cv6uUqp4

It's amazing how much terrain is available within the ski area boundary. Almost everything you can see is accessible by traversing a ridge. Kicking Horse lies above the town of Golden, BC, a hick-town whose residents have little to no interest in riding. Consequently the resort is dead and there are fresh lines to be had for a long time after a snowfall. If you ever get the chance then get yourself there, you will not regret it!

Things in Banff have been good recently. One of the upsides to the unusually warm February that we're having is that the resorts are already riding like it's spring. With such a good platform for park progression I can hopefully bag some new tricks over the next couple weeks while Banff awaits a massive snowfall (wishful thinking).

spring came early

I'll sign off for now. Only six days until Craig Donald arrives in Banff. It should spell carnage. Will keep you posted

Stay tuned for some Kicking Horse video action.

AG

Song for Sunday

Check out The Dutchess and the Duke, from the west coast of the Amerika!

Sketchy Saturday

Its a Classic

Duthie's Diaries: GET.... OUT.... OF MY..... VILLAGE!!!!

Another post, another venture into shambolic rant territory. Apologies...

Astrology. High School Musical. Anyone who orders a steak "very well done". These are the things that, even if I mellow with age, I will doubtlessly hate forever. Expect my Room 101 to be filled with adolescent douchebags singing about the alignment of heavenly bodies, stopping only to hack at a blackened, shrivelled hunk of cow.

You'd also come across sights such as this:

down the stairs, past the nightclub, almost back to the river. Not a good sign...

It's been a bad week. 35 minutes of queueing (added to the half-hour spent on the gondola), just to get to a Meribel that resembles the Normandy landings, is guaranteed to bring out my inner misanthrope. Unless you're prepared to wait til midday for your runs, this is what Brides Les Bains has to offer during school holidays. The last seven days passed by in a blur of long lines, scraped pistes and a mobbed park. Far, far too slowly....

There was, however, one place to find relief: when snow cover allows, there's a route all the way down to Les Allues, a tiny hamlet between Brides and Meribel, which serves as a mid-station for the gondola. It's a run that is almost always closed, but never unrideable, and always enjoyable. The narrow path takes you through trees, over rivers and past ruined farmhouses, and offers some of the valley's best scenery. Occasionally a decades-old piste-marker will appear, providing the only reassurance that this is indeed a legitimate run and not just a one-way trip into the middle of nowhere. It's a rare thing to see another soul on the way (even when the run is open), making it the perfect antidote to the congestion further up the hill, as well as a great way to skip two-thirds of the gondola down.

sweet relief off the beaten path

The influx of holidaymakers, infuriating as it was, did offer one potential consolation. With great crowds come even greater piles of dishes that aren't going to wash themselves, and I was due for some shifts. However, the hotel management chose that week to halt all cash-in-hand work, and so the hours have dried up. This may have been for the best, though, given what happened next. After the manager hadn't been seen in a while, the rest of the staff had to search for him. His door was kicked in to reveal that he had up and left in the night, taking a cool five grand from the safe with him. Interpol are now on the case, but as no-one has a copy of his passport (or even assurance that the name he gave is his real name), it looks like he might have got away scot free. Sadly, none of this affected hotel policy, and so it's time to find some more gainful employment.

Other than that, not much else to report. The Olympic half-pipe was worth staying up for, both as a great event, and as reassurance that we're not the only resort having unseasonably warm weather. It's pissing down in Brides as I write. Given the temperature, it's likely to be doing the same in Meribel. Happy days....

Duthie

Song for Sunday

A new song from Norwegian duo "The Kings of Convenience", check oot their new album "Declaration of Dependence"... Winner!

Sketchy Saturday

Will Nangles Edits

Jamie Nicholls Baby Park from will nangle on Vimeo.

my letter to steve

ez dude, it was rad seein u up the hil, thanks for headin up, right, wat we did was no way in anyform a comp, but purly an exersize in settin up bangin rails and proseeding to shralp! even so, we hav some product to distribute, and im gonna do a facebook vote, but i dont think any1 will argue wen i say that u diserve the bottle of 16 year tomintoul wisky for 'most knaar stack' wen u 'toe edge caught' on the flat bar to 'full on bolluck dunk'!!!, big upz!!!!

Duthie's Diaries: hard lines for Bayne, fresh lines for us

As promised, it's the first real riding update. But first, an appeal....

Wherever you are, spare a thought for Ali "short straw" Bayne. Arriving for his three-week stint in Brides a day late due to a cancelled flight, his trip out had more than its fair share of lowlights, including a smashed camera screen, a lost liftpass, and a botched backside 180 that resulted in a hellishly bruised arse. His streak continued right to the day he left, where even the frustration of his five-hour delay at Chambery Airport was surely nothing compared to having to leave town during the biggest dump of the season so far. Nae luck Bayne....

Hamish, Jono and Tom drop in

Yes, the powder was back, but the visibility was horrendous. Hamish and I called up Tom Myers, a friend and former Meribel seasonnaire, who was out for a week and could lead us to the good spots. Being such a huge area, Meribel has plenty of quality off-piste, and a lot of it is accessable right from the lift without the need to hike. With the pylons as our guide, we lapped a couple of chairlifts which had seemingly endless fresh lines, even into the early afternoon. At lunch we met Jono Hunter, another Aberdeen rider, and headed for the tree runs on the steep face under the Loze chairlift. Just as we got set to drop in (right about when Bayne was finally boarding his flight), the sun came out, and pretty much stayed out all afternoon. After a couple of hours in which we hadn't even come close to sussing out all the natural hits and drops, we finally called time on one of the best powder days any of us had seen in a while.

Jono underneath the Loze

The rest of the week saw some weather fluctuations straight out of Al Gore's nightmares, as the temperature rose from the minus twenties to a toasty 8 degrees in the space of a day. It was time for a long overdue park session. Over the last few weeks the Moonpark had been gradually taking shape, but with so much terrain to explore we had never dedicated any serious time to it. Hamish, myself and a handful of staff from the hotel did laps of the perfectly groomed park in the sun until the knees couldn't take any more.

Knuckle-bound....

Joining us in the park were huge clusters of army, navy and air force troops, decked out in matching garb and preparing for the Combined Services Snowsports Championships. We watched as the squaddies, male and female alike, all stepped up from basic freestyle to the bigger booters in a matter of days. They had no doubt been encouraging each other with threats of a Full Metal Jacket-style soap-in-socks beating for whoever didn't man up, and the results were impressive. As one trooper put it: "it beats being in Fallujah, anyway".

Yesterday the powder returned, so the park sessions are once more on hold until after the freshies are gone. Til then....

Duthie

P.S. Adios Hamish Duncan. Don't think Brides Les Bains was HD ready. Thanks to you and Bayne for the good times....