Adventure Blog Scotland | Snow » 2008

World Cup happy days

January 31, 2008 on 10:51 pm | In Snowboarding | No Comments

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I am just back from Bardonecchia in Italy where I was riding in the 3rd World Cup of the 07/08 season. The event was held in the same pipe as the Turin Olympics were held in so I did not hold out much hope for a good result as this particular pipe has never been lucky for me in the past. I went there with fellow Roxy rider and Norweigan ripper, Lisa Wiik after having been to Kitzbuel for a few days to watch Alain Baxter compete in the Slalom event there. I had been really impressed by Alain’s skiing and was gutted for him that he had such a late start number and therefor little chance of making it into the top 30 and gaining World Cup points.

I was definitely inspired though and as I left Kitzbuel I was very much looking forward to my next World Cup after quite a long break from the World Cup tour. I knew I was riding well after having won the qualification at the Burton European Open in Laax but I did not want to count my chickens before the hatched so to speak and all my past performances in the Bardonecchia pipe ended up in crash results. I got through the qualification round easily and then made it through the semi final round and into the finals in 5th place.

I was very happy to have made the finals and at that point I would have been happy with 6th which is the worst you can do from the finals. I rode well in the finals though, just missing out on third spot and ended up in a very happy 4th place. This is my best result since I broke my ankle nearly three years ago and puts me in 5th place in the overall pipe rankings, the best of any UK alpine athlete this season.

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It was generally a great weekend for UK snowboarding as Jenny Jones rode into a very respectable 4th place in the slopestyle at the X-Games and Zoe Gillings also rode into 6th place in the Boarder X at the X-Games. Also at the X-Games, skier Emma Longsdale skied into 9th place in the half pipe ski event. Go the UK Ladies!!!!!!! I am now chilling at home for a few days watching a blizzard outside my window and wondering if I will get in any home snowboarding before I go off to the US to film for a few weeks. I certainly hope so. It is great to see a good Scottish blizzard anyway!!

Lesley McKenna
http://www.chunkyknit.com
Professional snowboarder, film maker and ambassador for Visitscotland. All sorts of outdoor sports from skiing to mountain biking and now mixes her time on the Snowboard World Cup Tour with time in Scotland doing these sports.

The European Open 2008

January 24, 2008 on 9:07 pm | In Snowboarding | No Comments

Torah Bright in the pipe…

I have been with the Roxy team who spent a very successful and fun week at the Burton European Open in Laax, Switzerland. The pipe and slopestyle were in the best shape we had ever seen and the riding reflected this. The field in both the ladies and mens event was as strong as it gets with riders battling it out for much coveted TTR points as well as points towards the Burton Open Series. With a lot of prize money up for grabs for both the TTR overall title and the Burton Open Title, as well as the BEO prize purse and a brand new Suzuki for the overall male and female at the BEO there was everything to ride for.

The slopestyle was interesting and challenging with good aspects for kicker and rail riders making sure the best overall rider would come out on top. Team Roxy were very strong in the qualifiers with Lisa Wiik and Margot Rozies riding particularly well. They made it through to join Kjersti Buaas and Torah Bright in the semi finals. The general riding from the girls in the semi finals was great. There were 7s and 5s in abundance and a lot of very technical jib tricks were being thrown down. With the girls really pushing the limits, there were a lot of crashes and a few great riders missed the cut due to crashes. Unfortunately, Torah Bright was one of the crash casualties to miss the cut.

She was in good company as the Dutch ripper and one of the slopestyle favourites, Cheryl Maas also failed to land a clean run. In the end it was Kjersti Buaas and Margot Rozies, who was riding better than ever in her home park, who made it through to the finals. Margot continued to ride out of her skin with super solid and flowing runs on the rails and kickers and ended up in a very respectable 5th place. Kjersti had some issues on the jibs and just could not stick her massif frontside 720 cleanly so ended up in 7th. There was great riding from all the girls though and the end result was Jamie Anderson in first, Jenny Jones in second and Sylvia Mittermuller in 3rd.

The competition in the pipe was equally as fierce from the qualification to the finals. I rode particularly well in the qualification round, winning my heat comfortably. I went on to join Lisa Wiik, Kjersti Buaas and Torah Bright in the semi finals. The semis of the pipe mirrored the semis of the slope with a lot of crashing going on due to the levels the girls were pushing themselves to. Kjersti and I just missed having clean runs, although we both rode very well, which left Torah the sole Roxy defender in the finals. She was out to prove a point after missing the slopestyle finals and rode out of her skin putting down cab 9s and switch backside 7s, by far the most technical pipe riding by any girl in the World ever. In the end if was Kelly Clark who piped her to first place though with some of the largest airs anyone had ever seen in a ladies event, or mens for that matter!!!!!! The final result was Kelly Clark in first, Torah Bright in second and Hannah Teter in third.

Team Roxy are now off to the X Games where they hope to ride hard, have fun and clean up, while I am heading back to Scotland to check out the conditions at home. I have heard they are epic and I really can not wait to get up Cairngorm and see for myself!!

Margot in the slopestyle..

SNOW!!!!!

January 16, 2008 on 10:17 pm | In Snowboarding, Uncategorized | No Comments

What a bumper start to the season in Scotland!!!! Way to go. I hope you are all getting freshies. I am currently in Switzerland at the European champs but I am heading home as soon as possible to get in some home grown powder. Hope to see you on the slopes!!!!

Here is Abi Depster ripping it up at Glenshee at the weekend!!!

See you on the slopes.

Glenshee is amazing!

January 14, 2008 on 12:48 pm | In Skiing | 3 Comments

I’ve patiently waited for my ankle to fix itself after an injury last season and I’ve had a few tentative days on telemark skis but when two large parcels got delivered last week it was time to open up a can of whoop a$$ again.

In those parcels were a set of new fat skis and some comfortable booties. Couple that with the massive snowfalls the Scottish hills have been subject to over the last couple of weeks and we’ve got the perfect ingredients for a day on the hill…

oh and did I mention the bluebird skies?!

Looking towards the Cairngorm Plateau

I’d packed the car the night before, lunch was made, clothes laid out ready to jump into so as to waist no time. Beep beep beep, the alarm goes and I’m into overdrive. Talking of driving; I’m sure skiers should be exempt from speeding fines. [NOTE FROM THE EDITOR; Ben - speeding should only be practised while on the slopes! For the record we DO NOT justify speeding under any circumstances.] Anyway it was a great drive over the Lecht towards Glenshee. As we approached the ski centre the snowbanks rose from the side of the road, sun kissed the tops of the hills and the pair of us couldn’t keep the smiles off our faces or stop bouncing up and down in our seats.

A swift change into ski gear and the reassuring clunk, clunk into my bindings and we were off. Off into Scottish skiing shangra la. The runs were in perfect knick, skies were blue and there was a definate buzz about the place as everyone lapped up the perfect conditions. Our first port of call was Corie Fionn for some fresh tracks.

Oh the sweetness of opening it up through fresh windblown snow! What a hoot!

The sun was moving fast so we headed for the Tiger and spent some time there taking shots. The weather station at the top of Cairnwell was frozen solid and I reckon the only temperature it was recording was ‘bloody cold’. It was a day of amazing snow, exhilarating skiing, and breathtaking views. And when all was said and done we ate lunch when we got back to the car after the sun went down on a perfect day.

After a day like that and seeing the amount of snow they have, things are looking good for the forseeable future so I’ve only three words for you.

‘Get up there!’

Ben skiing the Tiger at full boost irnwell weather station

Ben Thorburn
http://www.freeskiing.co.uk
Freeskiing and telemarking are my main sports but in the off season it's all about the mountain bike... that and a bit of hill walking and running.

Skiing at Glenshee

January 13, 2008 on 1:17 am | In Skiing | 1 Comment

Making a change from flying (though I did grab a quick flight on the paraglider near the end of the day!) Skiing was the order of the day on Friday 11th of January. Once the cloud lifted and cleared at lunch time Glenshee saw some lovely January snow conditions in a fairly mild sunny conditions with just a light and variable breeze.

For visitors to Scotland that have not yet enjoyed skiing and/or snowboarding the “Three Valley’s” that make Glenshee the largest ski center in Scotland, I’ve uploaded a few simple video clips (YouTube) at http://www.Ski-Video.co.uk currently the videos only feature “Sunnyside” double chair and poma tows, but will expand soon to cover as many of the runs as I get the time to film more runs as well as uploading filming done in previous years.

I hope these clips will encourage those from down south who have not yet been to Glenshee to make the trip to Scotland, and not just to play in the snow here at Glenshee but also at all of the Scottish centers.

See you on & off piest in 2008 (not to mention joining me in flying above the snow!)

Murray Hay (East Scotland Paragliding club)

Murray Hay
http://www.paraglidingscotland.co.uk
Born in Kenya from Scottish parents, 'full time' job is commercial photography but the last ten plus years has seen me fly well over 3,500 hours, paragliding all over Scotland!

Happy New Year!!

January 8, 2008 on 4:56 pm | In Snowboarding | No Comments

There is no better time of year to go for a few drinks with your friends in Aviemore than over the festive period. There are always a lot of interesting nights and this year was no exception. It is nice to see the legendary Woodshed Bar, at Coylum Bridge Hotel, back to full form and even better to see live music playing there especially when it is the local band The Starlings who played in the Woodshed on the 24th to kick off the festive season. It was a great night attended by many local faces and everyone was in the festive mood. As well as getting to see ‘The Starlings’ the lucky crowd got a sneak preview of the Roxy Snow film ‘Labour of Love’.

As well as catching up with my friends over the festive period I got the chance to get out in the chilly highland air. As well as the customary walks around Loch an Eilan and Loch Morlich with my family I took a run up past Ryvoan and Bynack Stable and all the way up to the Barns of Bynack. I had never been all the way up there before and am glad to say that the view was definitely worth it, although it was a bit chilly at the top!! We actually cheated a bit and rode our mountain bikes up to the Bynack stable then ran the rest of the way. It was a good way to do it as the winter light was already fading when we got back to Loch Morlich.

After the festive break I headed out to Morzine for a few days of training in preperation for the next competition, the European Open, which kicks off in Laax, Switzerland next week. Hopefully the rest and recuperation along with the nice bit of dryland training I got in will see me in good stead to start the new year with a good result.