fresh tracks at Treble Cone

August 5, 2007 on 10:06 am | In Snowboarding |

I got the first true powder freshies of my New Zealand trip this week at Treble Cone Ski Area. It snowed for a few days and we got up early the next morning to beat the crowds to the summit of the mountain in the search for un-tracked powder. I went riding with Juliane Bray, a fellow World Cup rider and Kiwi ripper who kindly gave me a tour of her home mountain. Ju and I are planning a trip to India next winter with Chunkyknit Productions to investigate life in the Himalayas and especially how it is to be a woman there. We are trying to do as much back country riding before then as possible so we get as much experience as possible before we go to the back of beyond. We are also planning to do a fairly high level avalanche course in a few weeks time at Treble Cone so it is good for us to get a good feel for the current snow pack and watch how it develops in the next weeks.

Avalanche risk is always a factor when heading to the back country and you really can not have too much knowledge or experience when it comes to dealing with avalanche terrain. Avalanche terrain is found where there are slopes of a gradient 25 degrees and steeper but occasionally even on slopes less steep than this. Slopes around 30 to 45 degrees are usually the most avalanche prone and there are lots of factors that can effect this, like snow conditions, general weather conditions, wind directions, temperature etc, etc. Avalanche phenomenon can also be found in Scotland and is often caused by large wind cornices cracking under their own weight and setting off slides. We spent a few weeks filming in the back country in Scotland and found some pretty impressive cornices. Here is a picture of me in Jacobs Ladder, which has a very large cornice at the top of it. The other picture is a line in the back of Treble Cone which has no exit. Juliane and I had been thinking about doing it but then a skier beat us to it. You have to stop half way down the line and traverse out to the right or you will fall off a large cliff. A pro skier died in an accident there a few years ago. It is always really important to know exactly where you are going when you are riding back country and to know if the slope you are on has a safe exit as well as taking heed of avalanche conditions.

There is not much avalanche danger for us this coming week as it is competition week at Snowpark Resort with the Burton New Zealand Open taking place throughout the week. The finals for the half pipe and slopestyle are next weekend with the various qualification rounds during the week. There are 5 Brits in the contest and all are riding well. Jenny Jones is a top favourite for the womans’ slope style and Ben Kilner is tipped in the mens’ pipe.

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.