AG in AB

Hey everybody, sorry for the delay since my last post. I've been fully intent on having a small edit for you to take a look at however I keep getting so involved in riding that I haven't taken enough video.

Things in Banff have been going great. I've just got a second job working in a huge outdoor sports shop on Banff's main street. It couldn't come at a better time since budget cuts have resulted in my hours at the CD shop being slashed to a pathetic 4 hours a week.

The town itself is really starting to buzz. With the beginning of February we start to move into high season so there should be plenty more people out here for the next few months. Olympic fever is sweeping the nation and every town has had themselves a party as the torch has passed through on its way to Vancouver. We managed to get a grip on one of the torches in Banff while a runner waited for the changeover of the flame.

didn't expect to ever hold one of these

With the Olympics only a fortnight away the excitement is building over here, just a shame that our British athletes may not even be getting a chance to compete.

After a ridiculously warm January there is high hopes of a massive dump of snow sometime in February. The rivers and lakes that were frozen solid in December are now melting and looking like they should look in April. This has been worrying but several local mountain-men have assured me we will be waist-deep in the near future. I hope they're right!

amazing ice formations due to the warm weather

As far as riding goes I have been using the lack of new snow to focus more in the park. I have been progressing well, building up to cork 5s and 7s on the 40ft kickers at Sunshine Village. I will have to step up to the 65fters soon which will be scary stuff. Hopefully by my next post I will have some good footage to show you. Sunshine are nearly finished the second half of the park. Once it's complete it will be one of the biggest parks in North America and it has plenty of quirky little features to mess around on, as well as some mean-looking jumps.

I haven't ridden in a few days now as a direct result of doing my best Sam Longmire impression in the park the other day. After increasing my approach speed for some 7s I went for a BIG misty 5 attempt at the same approach speed but forgot to slow down the rotation. I only have a photo of what happened but if it had been a video it would have looked very similar to Sam's infamous fall in NZ this summer. The only difference being that my point of impact was the top of my left ass-cheek rather than the base of my spine. Despite the pain I was pretty happy about that as I picked myself up off the floor at the bottom of the jump. I may not have been able to sit down too well for the last few days, but the season goes on. I'll be trying my best not to make that mistake again!

Oh boaby!! Still 15ft off the ground, add another 270 degrees to landing on the back. You get the idea

And so I end this post with a promise that I will take more footage before my next . It's snowing outside at the moment so hopefully my next few days will be full of powder slashes and park progression. Fingers crossed for an edit next time around. I'll leave you with a picture of Banff's saddest dog who, despite his miserly appearance, is actually delightful when approached!

I'm sad because I can't read Unbez

AG