Scottish Winter Park Time
March 23, 2009 on 10:25 pm | In Snowboarding, Uncategorized | No Comments
As Easter gets closer and the Easter storms are coming in I am looking forward to getting in the park and riding in the longer hours of sun light and hopefully also getting out into the Scottish wilderness for a bit of spring touring. I am still hopeful of a big dump so that the big lines are doable but even if it just snows a little bit in the next week, which it is doing right now, the touring will be great and the park is already pretty good on Cairngorm at least.
I just got back to Scotland from the World Cup finals in Italy where I was competing in the pipe with the other GB team members, Kate Foster, Ben Kilner and Dom Harrington. Banchory local Ben Kilner came of best of the bunch in Italy with a personal best 9th place putting him in strong contention for an Olympic place next year.
I did not fare so well in Italy falling in one run and not really laying down a smooth run in the second to come in 16h but I was 10th in the penultimate competition the week before in Spain, also meaning I am in a strong position to go to the Olympics for a third time!!I now have a much needed few days at home before making another trip to Europe to go to the British Snowboard Championships in Laax in Switzerland.
The Brits, as it is known, is celebrating it’s 20th Birthday this year, making it one of the oldest snowboard national championships out there. The first ever Brits were held on Cairngorm in 1989 on the fiacaill ridge, the half pipe being dug by hand by the keen group of competitors before the comp. I remember it distinctly as the snowboarders kept getting in the way of our little race course.
I was training with the Cairngorm Ski Club at the time. The half pipe is now a 22ft monster pipe cut with a state of the art machine and prepared throughout the season by the Laax resort. Things have changed a lot in the world of snowboarding in the last 20 years!As well as half pipe there will be slopestyle, big air and boarder X events at the Brits. Many of the riders competing there will then head back to Scotland in time for the Highlander event on Cairngorm on the 10 April.
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.
Cairngorm - The Big Jump
March 16, 2009 on 11:26 am | In Uncategorized | No Comments
Things are hotting up in the Cairngorm snow park as local riders and riders from far afield are getting ready for the Easter Highlander comp. The comp will see a coming together of Scotland’s finest with the Great Britain freestyle snowboard team making a trip back from the Alps and the Brits to participate in the home grown event.
GBR team coach Hamish McNight will travel back to Scotland directly from the British Champs in Laax, Switzerland with his team to test out the Scottish park and comp scene. Angus Leith on the big kicker last year
Meanwhile out in Europe the Scottish members of the British World Cup Half pipe team are pulling out all the stops for the last World Cup of the season. The Scots are top of the UK tree in the rankings list with Ben Banchory’s own Ben Kilner top male and me top female. We both want to better our seasons best results this weekend in Italy and it would be great if we could both post a top ten result.
In the World Cup in Spain this past weekend I was 10th and ben was 20th. We are both looking good to make the 2010 Olympic qualification criteria with Kate Foster also looking in a strong position. We will then head on to the British Champs and then look forward to coming home for a bit of fun on the Scottish hills and in the Cairngorm park.
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.
Stormy Scottish Weekend
March 9, 2009 on 1:24 pm | In Snowboarding, Skiing | No Comments
The snow is still falling today on the Scottish mountains as the weekend storm continues to add to the snowy coating already covering the hills. Ski-ing and snowboarding conditions in the last few days have been great under foot but pretty awful from the feet up as the wind has been blowing the proverbial, ‘as it had blown it’s last’ and standing up straight was becoming a challenge.
With the wind due to drop and more snow forecast the conditions on the Scottish hills are likely to be good both under and above foot in the week to come. There are a few events to look forward to this coming weekend as well, including the Nevis Mammoth Descent which is a race from the top of Aonach Mor to Meall Beag by ski or snowboard and is a whole lot of fun.
Check out the Nevis web site for more info. Conditions are also fine for many of the other outdoor activities around the ski resort towns if the weather does decide to argue. Many of the mountain bike trails around the Spey Valley have been re surfaced and up graded in the last year or so and the mountain bike centre at Wolftrax, between Aviemore and Fort William, at Laggan, is always in excellent condition and well worth a visit if you can not get your adrenaline fix on the snow.
And if the wind is the problem, then why not make use of it and get yourself out on the water at Loch Insh Watersports centre for a bit of sailing or windsurfing. Warm wetsuits are provided for rent at the centre so do not be put off by the cold!
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.
Start scoping your line now
March 5, 2009 on 8:06 am | In Snowboarding, Skiing | No Comments
As predicted a couple of days ago, the March storms have started bringing with them the usual great new snow. Cairngorm, for one, has a nice new white coat and good ski-ing and snowboarding to be had. I am sure there will be more snow to follow so in anticipation get yourselves up there and start scoping a good line for when the conditions are ON. Alternatively, cruise the lovely new powder and enjoy the amazing views of the white mountains around the Spey Valley.
I am currently in Morzine in France coaching on the Roxy snow camp for a week before heading to Spain for the next World Cup event where I will be competing in the half pipe. I am very much looking forward to making back to Scotland in the next few weeks to get in those lines I have been planning!! And to ride the various snowparks around Scotland. I hope to see you there!
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.
Mad March sessions
March 3, 2009 on 8:46 am | In Snowboarding, Skiing | No Comments
The start of March brings the mad March Hare to the Scottish hills, or at least seekers of mad March hair-raising snow escapades. There is always a dump of snow in the first two weeks of March and it is very often a large dump so be prepared as the exisiting base coupled with the great few months of on snow and good weather practice will no doubt bring the long awaited return of the extreme Scottish ski route.
Spurred on by the relatively new breed of Scottish snowboarders, many who have never been around the witness the more daring side of Scottish back-country riding, the many very talented home grown skiers who like to test their limits and pit themselves against the mountain will be out in force to get that line down Aladdins or Jacobs or drop that cliff or cornice or buttress they have not seen done for many a year.
And the snowboarders will be hot on their tails if not leading the way!! The last few seasons in Scotland have been a build up to something even better. There has been gathering momentum and a coming together of like minded back-country folks. These folks, definitely not backward at coming forward,unless riding switch that is, have had their beady little eyes on various lines and drops around the Scottish mountains just waiting for the right snow and weather to put them ‘in condition’ so to speak.
Like the big wave surfers who wait for years for the once in a lifetime storm to bring them their mega hit in the form of a huge wave to ride on, out own adrenaline junkies have been hanging out waiting for a season where they get in enough home practice to feel ready by March to take on THE LINE and this very well might be the season.
Watch this space as we wait for the inevitable March storm to hit and hope that it brings plenty of the white stuff with it, like it did last year, so the home grown snow mavericks can get their all to rare fix of ground breaking adventure adrenalin. I for one will be at the Top of Jacobs Ladder ready to jump in to the couloir and straight line the chute.Here are some pics from the last few weeks to get you motivated. See you on the snow!
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.
